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Modify Defensive Scheme


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Our defense is continually built for speed instead of size. However, when Tampa-2 is built around speed it is geared to take away the big plays by giving up the short plays which has ultimately forced our defense into long series. The Colts should increase the pressure that the corners and linebackers create on offensive skilled positions by crowding the line and being more physical on anyone coming off the line. By crowding the line it will help to eliminate space/holes for any running back to hit. Furthermore, by being more physical on anyone coming off the line it will delay and tie-up the receivers -- preventing many short passes.

By readjusting to prevent the short yard plays that force our defense to be on the field, we would be weak against big plays. That is were our speed comes into effect. Big plays take time, Freeney/Mathis with more time to put pressure on the QB would result in more sacks/forced mistakes. Giving the best D-ends in the league more time to do what they do will devastate opponent QBs and strip them of confidence in their pocket. Next our D-backs have the speed to maintain strong coverage on receivers. Starting off physical with the speed to keep up will slow down their offense and creates less space for QBs to make errors. Furthermore, Bethea is one of the best pass coverage safeties in the league, and big plays mean more yards their receivers are away from their QB and closer to our safeties; which means Bethea will create more plays, and when the ball goes up, the chances of two colts vs 1 receiver is greater. 2 colts v 1 opponent will produce results.

When linebackers crowd the line and are very physical, the idea is to beat them in a medium to long passing game by getting a mismatch. This would actually be to our advantage. As much as I love Brackett, he is not built as monster. That being said, he is really good at pass coverage and has the ability to tank receivers. By having them attempt to get that mismatch their offense will aim for medium-to-long pass plays which reduce the opponent run game and allow for Brackett to drop back and do what he is best at. Reducing opponent running attempts by having them try to use mismatches to beat us in medium-to-long pass plays will allow our defensive to shine.

In short, our defense should play on the line and more physical to help reduce the time they are on the field and allow our speed to give us a better advantage than what we currently are doing.

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Sounds good in theory, but I have a sinking suspicion that there isn't anything the coaches haven't already tried or thought of.

Not to come off as a jerk, but that's why those guys get paid big bucks. They know what works best with the right personnel. That's really what it comes down to: we haven't had the right/healthy personnel.

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Sounds good in theory, but I have a sinking suspicion that there isn't anything the coaches haven't already tried or thought of.

Not to come off as a jerk, but that's why those guys get paid big bucks. They know what works best with the right personnel. That's really what it comes down to: we haven't had the right/healthy personnel.

Yeah, I understand. But, sometimes the guys with the big bucks get caught up into the system especially when it isn't broken. But yeah, overall this is just an idea to spark a good conversation about football. Thanks for the respond.

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While I am very sure you understand this, I am going to say it anyway. Our defense is built the way it is because of our offense. We expect Peyton and the offense to put up points and plenty of them. Theoretically, this will give us the lead and the other team will have to try to score quickly or else time runs out and we win. The fastest way to gain yards and points is through the air. Our defense is built on speed because we expect teams to pass against us more than they would run against us. That's also why we run the Tampa 2, it prevents the big play and when the other team eventually gets to the red zone (after burning off lots of time), our speed will be to our advantage because there is less ground to cover.

Now, when the offense doesn't do so well, that gives the opposing offense more options. They can run the ball, they can pass, they can do whatever they want because they don't need to worry about catching up to us. Our defense isn't built to stop the run as well as it is built to stop the pass and the best place to keep the opposing QB is on the sidelines. Running the ball not only keeps Peyton on the sidelines, but it also lets the other team gain yards while running off the clock, so Peyton has less time to work with to get the points back.

Personally, I think we don't have the correct personnel to run the Tampa 2 like they did during Dungy/Gruden's time in Tampa. We have a solid LB in Brackett (though he isn't as good as Derrick Brooks), we have a good safety in Bethea (though Bob was more like John Lynch than Bethea is) and we are missing the dominant DT, we don't have our own Warren Sapp. We need to be more aggressive than the base Tampa 2, we need to blitz more often, stunt more often, play a bit more man coverage, etc.

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

We don't need to go overboard in changing our defense, I just want to see a bit more aggressive play. I want to see more blitzes and more jamming. As Caldwell has the team saying during his first year, "Be the hunter, don't be the hunted"

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While I am very sure you understand this, I am going to say it anyway. Our defense is built the way it is because of our offense. We expect Peyton and the offense to put up points and plenty of them. Theoretically, this will give us the lead and the other team will have to try to score quickly or else time runs out and we win. The fastest way to gain yards and points is through the air. Our defense is built on speed because we expect teams to pass against us more than they would run against us. That's also why we run the Tampa 2, it prevents the big play and when the other team eventually gets to the red zone (after burning off lots of time), our speed will be to our advantage because there is less ground to cover.

Now, when the offense doesn't do so well, that gives the opposing offense more options. They can run the ball, they can pass, they can do whatever they want because they don't need to worry about catching up to us. Our defense isn't built to stop the run as well as it is built to stop the pass and the best place to keep the opposing QB is on the sidelines. Running the ball not only keeps Peyton on the sidelines, but it also lets the other team gain yards while running off the clock, so Peyton has less time to work with to get the points back.

Personally, I think we don't have the correct personnel to run the Tampa 2 like they did during Dungy/Gruden's time in Tampa. We have a solid LB in Brackett (though he isn't as good as Derrick Brooks), we have a good safety in Bethea (though Bob was more like John Lynch than Bethea is) and we are missing the dominant DT, we don't have our own Warren Sapp. We need to be more aggressive than the base Tampa 2, we need to blitz more often, stunt more often, play a bit more man coverage, etc.

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

We don't need to go overboard in changing our defense, I just want to see a bit more aggressive play. I want to see more blitzes and more jamming. As Caldwell has the team saying during his first year, "Be the hunter, don't be the hunted"

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE JAMMING AT THE LINE. like the first series in the superbowl. but its hard to do that when justin tryon and jacob lacey are ur starting corners (300 lbs combined)

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I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE JAMMING AT THE LINE. like the first series in the superbowl. but its hard to do that when justin tryon and jacob lacey are ur starting corners (300 lbs combined)

I can agree with this and while the Colts will never sign a FA Probowl corner (still praying for Asante), Powers and Tyron can jam and run with ANYONE. It is just a matter of staying healthy and that is something that we just cannot do. Hit someone in the mouth enough times and they lose the will to fight back.

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Here's the thing. No defense is run 100% of the time. The Colts don't play the corners off the receivers 100% of the time. They had to do it a bit more with Lacey because, while pretty quick, he does not have good long speed. 2nd is the LBers their first responsibility is their pass zone and then react to the run if they read run while taking a step to their zone, again not a 100% of the time but primarily. If you start bringing the Lbers up closer and the Cbs are jamming the receiver then all the O has to do is bring in a slot wr, put him on the line which would move the WR off the line then he gets a free slant and no LB is there to cover the zone, you get short 2 yard slant pass turn into a 10 yard gain.

You're idea has merit and being aggressive is called for in many situations during the game but it's not a new idea nor an idea the Colts haven't used. If healthy the Colts have the personnel to mix up their D a bit during the game. If you are starting two rookie LBers, One CB who is trying to learn the system on the fly and one CB who is an adequate nickle or dime back but not starting quality and two DTs who are getting tired because there is no rotation because of injuries. Well then it's more difficult to get creative with the game plan.

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While I am very sure you understand this, I am going to say it anyway. Our defense is built the way it is because of our offense. We expect Peyton and the offense to put up points and plenty of them. Theoretically, this will give us the lead and the other team will have to try to score quickly or else time runs out and we win. The fastest way to gain yards and points is through the air. Our defense is built on speed because we expect teams to pass against us more than they would run against us. That's also why we run the Tampa 2, it prevents the big play and when the other team eventually gets to the red zone (after burning off lots of time), our speed will be to our advantage because there is less ground to cover.

Now, when the offense doesn't do so well, that gives the opposing offense more options. They can run the ball, they can pass, they can do whatever they want because they don't need to worry about catching up to us. Our defense isn't built to stop the run as well as it is built to stop the pass and the best place to keep the opposing QB is on the sidelines. Running the ball not only keeps Peyton on the sidelines, but it also lets the other team gain yards while running off the clock, so Peyton has less time to work with to get the points back.

Personally, I think we don't have the correct personnel to run the Tampa 2 like they did during Dungy/Gruden's time in Tampa. We have a solid LB in Brackett (though he isn't as good as Derrick Brooks), we have a good safety in Bethea (though Bob was more like John Lynch than Bethea is) and we are missing the dominant DT, we don't have our own Warren Sapp. We need to be more aggressive than the base Tampa 2, we need to blitz more often, stunt more often, play a bit more man coverage, etc.

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

We don't need to go overboard in changing our defense, I just want to see a bit more aggressive play. I want to see more blitzes and more jamming. As Caldwell has the team saying during his first year, "Be the hunter, don't be the hunted"

Yeah, I agree with you on a lot of what you said. We definitely need to be more aggressive. However my theory to change the defensive wouldn't be an overboard change, it would focus on forcing our CBs and LBs to be more aggressive without having to commit to more blitzes (as much as I would love to see our Defense blitz a lot more). It would try to make Tampa-2 into a more physical pass coverage strategy. To state the obvious, normally to be physical you give up close coverage which is why the CBs allow such a cushion when they line up, however we have the speed that we don't need that cushion. They are gearing our defensive not to how they built our personnel but on textbook football. As you said, to many times have they gotten a 3-step drop and a 1st down because our CB are not being physical enough. Our speed allow us to put CB on the line to jam receivers and take away the short pass option. Furthermore by being more aggressive and possibly allowing for a big play to occur, our offensive has the power to make up for the few big plays that will occur. To take away the short plays it will get our offense on the field more often by not allowing the opponents offense to run the clock down. The more times you put Manning on the field, the more we score and win.

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When we do blitz it is effective. I remember last year when Pat Angerer got his first sack against Washington. We blitz so fast it's unreal to see. I wonder why we don't blitz all the time, because it really is that fast and effective.

Thats just one of them. You gotta go to NFL.com and look at some of the teams highlights. You'll see when the Colts blitz how fast it is.
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When we do blitz it is effective. I remember last year when Pat Angerer got his first sack against Washington. We blitz so fast it's unreal to see. I wonder why we don't blitz all the time, because it really is that fast and effective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVyu2fJ4OTw Thats just one of them. You gotta go to NFL.com and look at some of the teams highlights. You'll see when the Colts blitz how fast it is.

Agreed we definitely need to blitz more. We have the speed and power to devastate opponent offenses.

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While I am very sure you understand this, I am going to say it anyway. Our defense is built the way it is because of our offense. We expect Peyton and the offense to put up points and plenty of them. Theoretically, this will give us the lead and the other team will have to try to score quickly or else time runs out and we win. The fastest way to gain yards and points is through the air. Our defense is built on speed because we expect teams to pass against us more than they would run against us. That's also why we run the Tampa 2, it prevents the big play and when the other team eventually gets to the red zone (after burning off lots of time), our speed will be to our advantage because there is less ground to cover.

Now, when the offense doesn't do so well, that gives the opposing offense more options. They can run the ball, they can pass, they can do whatever they want because they don't need to worry about catching up to us. Our defense isn't built to stop the run as well as it is built to stop the pass and the best place to keep the opposing QB is on the sidelines. Running the ball not only keeps Peyton on the sidelines, but it also lets the other team gain yards while running off the clock, so Peyton has less time to work with to get the points back.

Personally, I think we don't have the correct personnel to run the Tampa 2 like they did during Dungy/Gruden's time in Tampa. We have a solid LB in Brackett (though he isn't as good as Derrick Brooks), we have a good safety in Bethea (though Bob was more like John Lynch than Bethea is) and we are missing the dominant DT, we don't have our own Warren Sapp. We need to be more aggressive than the base Tampa 2, we need to blitz more often, stunt more often, play a bit more man coverage, etc.

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

We don't need to go overboard in changing our defense, I just want to see a bit more aggressive play. I want to see more blitzes and more jamming. As Caldwell has the team saying during his first year, "Be the hunter, don't be the hunted"

Complete truth, and very well said.

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I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

QFT. I do not know if it is our corners choosing to play that way or if they are being told to play that way, but it has to change becuase it kills our defense. I do not understand why when it is 3rd and short or 3rd and 3 and our corners give a cushion of seven yards. The WR just runs a quick out route or a slant and bam its a first down. Allowing the offense to pick up easy first downs like that kills the defense because they get stuck out there way to long.

I would love to see us be more physical and more attacking on defense. I want to see our corners jam them at the line and see us blitz more. We got some of the fastest linebackers and defensive ends out there. Why not use that speed to attack the offense instead of allowing them to attack us?

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It would try to make Tampa-2 into a more physical pass coverage strategy.

From what I remember, when Coyer was hired, he distinctly said he was not aiming to change the entire defense, but he was just looking to make us a more aggressive defense playing in a base Tampa 2. In his first year, that was exactly what he did and our defense played pretty well. Last year, there was a dropoff, but I am blaming all the injuries for that one. This is his make or break year in my book.

That video of Bethea blitzing is awesome!

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From what I remember, when Coyer was hired, he distinctly said he was not aiming to change the entire defense, but he was just looking to make us a more aggressive defense playing in a base Tampa 2. In his first year, that was exactly what he did and our defense played pretty well. Last year, there was a dropoff, but I am blaming all the injuries for that one. This is his make or break year in my book.

That video of Bethea blitzing is awesome!

It's definitely fair to blame the injuries for last year, because what we were in our 6th/7th string for some positions? Yeah his first year was more aggressive but I think he still needs to step it up a notch. I think it would make a big difference if our LBs clip people coming off the line regularly and CB play within no more than a 3 yard cushion instead of 7 that they tend to. And I think we'd all like to see Bethea blitz a whole lot more

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While I am very sure you understand this, I am going to say it anyway. Our defense is built the way it is because of our offense. We expect Peyton and the offense to put up points and plenty of them. Theoretically, this will give us the lead and the other team will have to try to score quickly or else time runs out and we win. The fastest way to gain yards and points is through the air. Our defense is built on speed because we expect teams to pass against us more than they would run against us. That's also why we run the Tampa 2, it prevents the big play and when the other team eventually gets to the red zone (after burning off lots of time), our speed will be to our advantage because there is less ground to cover.

Now, when the offense doesn't do so well, that gives the opposing offense more options. They can run the ball, they can pass, they can do whatever they want because they don't need to worry about catching up to us. Our defense isn't built to stop the run as well as it is built to stop the pass and the best place to keep the opposing QB is on the sidelines. Running the ball not only keeps Peyton on the sidelines, but it also lets the other team gain yards while running off the clock, so Peyton has less time to work with to get the points back.

Personally, I think we don't have the correct personnel to run the Tampa 2 like they did during Dungy/Gruden's time in Tampa. We have a solid LB in Brackett (though he isn't as good as Derrick Brooks), we have a good safety in Bethea (though Bob was more like John Lynch than Bethea is) and we are missing the dominant DT, we don't have our own Warren Sapp. We need to be more aggressive than the base Tampa 2, we need to blitz more often, stunt more often, play a bit more man coverage, etc.

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down. This neutralizes our pass rush and the play is run so quickly that our CBs can't stop the receiver before the first down. I would like to see our CBs play closer to the line and jam the receivers more often. We have safeties that are good in pass coverage, so they will have help over the top if they get beat. Yeah, our CBs are short, but strong positioning will lead to more success in jamming than height.

We don't need to go overboard in changing our defense, I just want to see a bit more aggressive play. I want to see more blitzes and more jamming. As Caldwell has the team saying during his first year, "Be the hunter, don't be the hunted"

NOT SURE WHAT THE ANSWER IS BESIDES BETTER PERSONAL & EXECUTION BUT AGRRE I HATE SEEING

as u said

I think our CB play is the weakest link in our defense in this sense: when it is 3rd and short, our CBs line up with a 7 yard cushion. I'm not sure if Coyer tells them to line up that way or if Coyer gives them the choice of where to line up and our CBs choose to give that big a cushion, but that definitely needs to change. So many times we see the opposing offense have a quick 3-step-drop pass to their receiver for a first down.

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