Explaining the Colts 3-4 defensive line.

[Dustin]

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Good read.

[Dustin]

 Article for the Colt's nickel defensive line:

 

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[The Peytonator]

I don't think there are very many traditional 3-4s any more. What I don't understand is how it's supposed to be a 2 gap system when you've got guys lining up in a gap. If you're supposed to control two gaps, shouldn't you be lined up over center and over tackle? It looks to me like one gap responsibility, try to tie up two linemen.

 

Good articles.

[SteelCityColt]

Very good article, thank you for sharing. 

[BleedBlu8792]

VERY good articles!

I liked their nickel packages last year. I thought they were pretty productive when they had Freeney, Mathis, and Hughes on the field at the same time. Hopefully Mathis, Werner, and Walden can do the same or even better.

I haven't been this excited about the defense since 07' when they finished #1 in 3 defensive categories and finished in the top-12 (I believe without looking it up) in run defense. That was also the same year Freeney went out with his Lisfranc injury and Bob won DPOY. I think this defense could potentially be that good and really come on midway through the season. If they stay healthy, primarily the secondary, WATCH OUT.

[Smonroe]

VERY good articles!

I liked their nickel packages last year. I thought they were pretty productive when they had Freeney, Mathis, and Hughes on the field at the same time. Hopefully Mathis, Werner, and Walden can do the same or even better.

I haven't been this excited about the defense since 07' when they finished #1 in 3 defensive categories and finished in the top-12 (I believe without looking it up) in run defense. That was also the same year Freeney went out with his Lisfranc injury and Bob won DPOY. I think this defense could potentially be that good and really come on midway through the season. If they stay healthy, primarily the secondary, WATCH OUT.

 

Since then it seems we accepted less and less as far as quality D.  Also, most teams used the same strategy against us.  Keep Manning off the field by dinking and dunking.  And that 15 yard cushion on 3rd and 7 drove me crazy.

 

Without seeing the new D, I'm pretty confident that the #1 priority (stopping the run) is going to be successful.  What I'm not as confident in is our ability to stop the pass.  And that's the D we'll be in probably 60 - 70% of the time.

 

I'm not saying we won't be able to do it, I just think we have a lot of unknowns at this time:  Ability to pressure the passer, our DBs health, our nickel and dime DBs, Bethea's return to form, and Landry's pass defense skills.  It may all work out, but there are a lot of moving parts there.

[Superman]

I don't think there are very many traditional 3-4s any more. What I don't understand is how it's supposed to be a 2 gap system when you've got guys lining up in a gap. If you're supposed to control two gaps, shouldn't you be lined up over center and over tackle? It looks to me like one gap responsibility, try to tie up two linemen.

 

Good articles.

 

That's one of the things the article on the nickel defense mentions. When they anticipate a pass play, the front is essentially going one-gap. When they want to be mindful of the run, they stay two-gap. The diagrams show one run-defense alignment, with Redding and Johnson (and Johnson is lined up over guard, but shaded to the inside shoulder), then another pass-defense alignment with Moala and Nevis, both lined up in the B gap.

 

We have three guys who can line up anywhere from 0-6, depending on the situation (Redding, RJF and Hughes). There's going to be a lot of variation in both the alignments and the gap play this season. And I think that's what Pagano wants. A true hybrid front, not just because it sounds cool, but because it allows the defense to do virtually anything in any situation.

[Superman]

Since then it seems we accepted less and less as far as quality D.  Also, most teams used the same strategy against us.  Keep Manning off the field by dinking and dunking.  And that 15 yard cushion on 3rd and 7 drove me crazy.

 

Without seeing the new D, I'm pretty confident that the #1 priority (stopping the run) is going to be successful.  What I'm not as confident in is our ability to stop the pass.  And that's the D we'll be in probably 60 - 70% of the time.

 

I'm not saying we won't be able to do it, I just think we have a lot of unknowns at this time:  Ability to pressure the passer, our DBs health, our nickel and dime DBs, Bethea's return to form, and Landry's pass defense skills.  It may all work out, but there are a lot of moving parts there.

 

I'm not sure we have enough pass rush. Maybe we do; Grigson seems confident in Sidbury and Werner. I was expecting us to load up on pass rushers. When we traded Jerry Hughes, I expected a move for someone like Shaun Phillips. But evidently, the brain trust is confident that we have enough pass rushers, and they're going to try to manufacture a good enough pass rush with interior penetration and blitzers.

 

That's what Pagano did with the Ravens in 2011; the only standout pass rusher they had was Suggs, and he even ran hot and cold (9 of his 14 sacks came in three games, which means he had a total of five sacks in 13 games). Having great linemen like Ngata, Redding, and so on, definitely helped. And versatile backers like Kruger and Johnson did a lot as well. The Ravens were third in sacks, with 48. That's 50% better than the Colts in 2012. I personally think Mathis is a better pass rusher than Suggs, so if he's healthy, and our linemen can do their job well on the interior, we have a chance to have a great pass rush.

 

And I think the secondary will be fine. Landry is adequate in pass coverage, despite indications otherwise. Bethea will be back in his natural position. Toler and Davis can make a really good tandem, and Butler is solid as a nickel.  It really starts with the pass rush, though.

[TKnight24]

On paper, the pass rush looks pretty good.

Erik Walden is no slouch, Sidbury could become a diamond in the rough, Werner will be taught by Mathis, & we already know what Redding brings to the table physically & vocally

[Dustin]

On paper, the pass rush looks pretty good.

Erik Walden is no slouch, Sidbury could become a diamond in the rough, Werner will be taught by Mathis, & we already know what Redding brings to the table physically & vocally

Walden is definitely a slouch lol.

[TKnight24]

Walden is definitely a slouch lol.

Hes really not. I've been watching Packer games lately and he's made plays that don't come up on the stat board. Sure he misses tackles, but so does everyone in the NFL. But watching some Packer games, he's done pretty well and I think now that he's on a better defense, his motor and effort will definitely increase

[Dustin]

Hes really not. I've been watching Packer games lately and he's made plays that don't come up on the stat board. Sure he misses tackles, but so does everyone in the NFL. But watching some Packer games, he's done pretty well and I think now that he's on a better defense, his motor and effort will definitely increase

I don't doubt his effort. It's his ability I doubt. He's just an awful, awful pass rusher.He rarely gets pressure on the QB. I beleive he had 12 pressures all season. On like 250 pass rushes or something like that.

[TKnight24]

I don't doubt his effort. It's his ability I doubt. He's just an awful, awful pass rusher.He rarely gets pressure on the QB. I beleive he had 12 pressures all season. On like 250 pass rushes or something like that.

I'm telling you he's gonna be something good here in Indianapolis. He'll be glad he's off of that horrid defense and this will be a fresh and clean slate for him now. Some plays I've seen he was horrible with bad angles and all which was usually late in the game or when the defense gave up a play that shouldn't have happened that a high school team could've defended better. But then he has plays where he shows what he can bring to the table and I like what I see from that side of Walden. And with Manusky & Pagano here, I believe they'll get the good side out of him. But if they don't, I'm sure they won't hesitate to pull him and put Werner or someone in

[Superman]

I don't doubt his effort. It's his ability I doubt. He's just an awful, awful pass rusher.He rarely gets pressure on the QB. I beleive he had 12 pressures all season. On like 250 pass rushes or something like that.

 

He's nothing special as a pass rusher. I don't think he has any moves, and while he has adequate strength, he's not going to simply overpower right tackles. However, as a blitzer, he's just fine. We just have to get him there with little interference. And that's the job of the linemen.

 

Even still, we're not going to feature him as a pass rusher. I highly doubt he gets anywhere near 250 rushes this season (as a matter of fact, that seems really high for last season, based on the games I've watched). He'll be used as a run container, he'll be in coverage probably 60% of the time on pass plays, and he'll probably rush 5-8 times a game. I'm assuming that he'll be subbed out in passing situations pretty often, so 100 pass rushes is probably the target for him.

[Smonroe]

He's nothing special as a pass rusher. I don't think he has any moves, and while he has adequate strength, he's not going to simply overpower right tackles. However, as a blitzer, he's just fine. We just have to get him there with little interference. And that's the job of the linemen.

 

Even still, we're not going to feature him as a pass rusher. I highly doubt he gets anywhere near 250 rushes this season (as a matter of fact, that seems really high for last season, based on the games I've watched). He'll be used as a run container, he'll be in coverage probably 60% of the time on pass plays, and he'll probably rush 5-8 times a game. I'm assuming that he'll be subbed out in passing situations pretty often, so 100 pass rushes is probably the target for him.

 

True.  I think the coaching staff knows exactly what he brings to the table and how they plan on using him.  Meaning, they won't ask him to do things that aren't his strength.  (That being said, the counter argument is how they used Freeney)

 

QB pressure is an unknown, even though we may think it's covered.  I don't think anyone can argue it's going to be the key to the defense this year.  I'm optimistic that we'll be ahead in a lot of games and teams will be passing the ball to keep up with us.  We'll be seeing a lot more pass plays than runs this year. 

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

I am not as worried about the run as much this year I think we may have fixed that. I am worried about enough of pressure though. If you stop the run and can't pressure the QB we will be eaten alive by solid QB's no matter how much better the secondary is. I guess we will see.

[Superman]

True.  I think the coaching staff knows exactly what he brings to the table and how they plan on using him.  Meaning, they won't ask him to do things that aren't his strength.  (That being said, the counter argument is how they used Freeney)

 

QB pressure is an unknown, even though we may think it's covered.  I don't think anyone can argue it's going to be the key to the defense this year.  I'm optimistic that we'll be ahead in a lot of games and teams will be passing the ball to keep up with us.  We'll be seeing a lot more pass plays than runs this year. 

 

We asked Dwight to do more than what he was used to doing, but that's an issue of scheme change. Can't have a rogue Rush linebacker who ignores the run every down. I think it would have been more beneficial to move or release him, but they wanted to keep his pass rush threat on the field in hopes that he'd contribute. And he did, though not as much as they probably hoped. And the decision to keep him might have been partly influenced by Jim Irsay, given all the change the team experienced last year.

 

Anyways, I think they signed Walden because they have a particular role in mind for him. They inherited Freeney. It's different.

 

As for where our pass rush is going to come from, I agree that there's a lot unknown as of right now. But it seems clear that the pass rush is going to be heavily dependent on good play from the linemen. Not only do they have to demand and occupy blockers, but they'll also have to get penetration on passing downs. And as gap shooters, Nevis, Hughes, RJF and Redding look to be able to do that. If so, it will make life easier on the outside pass rushers, primarily Mathis.

 

I'm optimistic. I'd like to have another proven pass rusher on the roster, but if things go as planned, I think it will all come together.

[alexb]

We asked Dwight to do more than what he was used to doing, but that's an issue of scheme change. Can't have a rogue Rush linebacker who ignores the run every down. I think it would have been more beneficial to move or release him, but they wanted to keep his pass rush threat on the field in hopes that he'd contribute. And he did, though not as much as they probably hoped. And the decision to keep him might have been partly influenced by Jim Irsay, given all the change the team experienced last year.

 

Anyways, I think they signed Walden because they have a particular role in mind for him. They inherited Freeney. It's different.

 

As for where our pass rush is going to come from, I agree that there's a lot unknown as of right now. But it seems clear that the pass rush is going to be heavily dependent on good play from the linemen. Not only do they have to demand and occupy blockers, but they'll also have to get penetration on passing downs. And as gap shooters, Nevis, Hughes, RJF and Redding look to be able to do that. If so, it will make life easier on the outside pass rushers, primarily Mathis.

 

I'm optimistic. I'd like to have another proven pass rusher on the roster, but if things go as planned, I think it will all come together.

He's a beast run stopper already standing up, but hopefully Indy can find some situations and packages which allow Werner to come up to the line and 4 point. That's when you guys will see why he was drafted. I was banging the drum for Cleveland to draft Werner cause we moved to a similar D that you guys are running. Yeah there's some questions about his cover ability but his run stopping and pass rush were unequaled in college. He was 2 or 3 sacks off the national lead but none of those guys above him could set the edge like he does. And when he went 4 point he came off the line as quick as anyone in football. Indy has the ability to start Walden and Werner against run heavy teams and then against pass teams they can start Mathis and sub in Werner/Walden on the other side. Indy has some interesting options on that D. I really need to look into getting all the Colts games up here in NE OH somehow. My Browns will be going home in December but I have high hopes for the Colts to stick around till late January.