??What type of defense gives Wco the most trouble??

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Legbreaker:

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Wasn't the Tampa Two developed to counter-act the WCO?

This. The Tampa 2 was designed specifically to counter the WCO. With corners playing short zone press, linebackers tasked with keeping their eyes in the backfield, and linemen used as funnels to direct all runs inside to the 'backers, it was really effective vs the WCO. The only chink in the armor of the Tampa 2 is its vulnerability to deep seam routes between the safeties and flood formations that expose the far side of an isolated zone.

Both of those weaknesses can be countered with zone blitzes (a natural evolution of the Tampa 2) and zones disguised with man alignment.

Good points. Good discussion.

The deep seam was where Brent Jones made a living. He read it very well and forced teams to make adjustments.

I like what Mike McCarthy did against Dick LeBeau. He used bunch formations very well and virtually took Polamalu out of the game.

Good chess match stuff...

I agree. Jones wasn't fast, but he was very precise, and had a knack for finding the seam. As for McCarthy, I give him credit. He knew that Pittsburgh is reluctant to play nickel or dime coverages because of how weak their 3rd and 4th dbs are. He went 3 and 4 wide almost all day and made the Steelers pay for staying with 4 linebackers. LeBeau rolled a safety up close to help with intermediate routes (almost a qb spy) and left Troy isolated over the top. It exposed a weakness that Troy has developed: he can't cover ground the way he used to.

[ Edited by Legbreaker on Feb 15, 2011 at 10:39:33 ]

Originally posted by Legbreaker:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Legbreaker:

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Wasn't the Tampa Two developed to counter-act the WCO?

This. The Tampa 2 was designed specifically to counter the WCO. With corners playing short zone press, linebackers tasked with keeping their eyes in the backfield, and linemen used as funnels to direct all runs inside to the 'backers, it was really effective vs the WCO. The only chink in the armor of the Tampa 2 is its vulnerability to deep seam routes between the safeties and flood formations that expose the far side of an isolated zone.

Both of those weaknesses can be countered with zone blitzes (a natural evolution of the Tampa 2) and zones disguised with man alignment.

Good points. Good discussion.

The deep seam was where Brent Jones made a living. He read it very well and forced teams to make adjustments.

I like what Mike McCarthy did against Dick LeBeau. He used bunch formations very well and virtually took Polamalu out of the game.

Good chess match stuff...

I agree. Jones wasn't fast, but he was very precise, and had a knack for finding the seam. As for McCarthy, I give him credit. He knew that Pittsburgh is reluctant to play nickel or dime coverages because of how weak their 3rd and 4th dbs are. He went 3 and 4 wide almost all day and made the Steelers pay for staying with 4 linebackers. LeBeau rolled a safety up close to help with intermediate routes (almost a qb spy) and left Troy isolated over the top. It exposed a weakness that Troy has developed: he can't cover ground the way he used to.

I'm just happy that we finally have a coach who understands that and there will finally be a purpose to the offensive plays called.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by Legbreaker:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Legbreaker:

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Wasn't the Tampa Two developed to counter-act the WCO?

This. The Tampa 2 was designed specifically to counter the WCO. With corners playing short zone press, linebackers tasked with keeping their eyes in the backfield, and linemen used as funnels to direct all runs inside to the 'backers, it was really effective vs the WCO. The only chink in the armor of the Tampa 2 is its vulnerability to deep seam routes between the safeties and flood formations that expose the far side of an isolated zone.

Both of those weaknesses can be countered with zone blitzes (a natural evolution of the Tampa 2) and zones disguised with man alignment.

Good points. Good discussion.

The deep seam was where Brent Jones made a living. He read it very well and forced teams to make adjustments.

I like what Mike McCarthy did against Dick LeBeau. He used bunch formations very well and virtually took Polamalu out of the game.

Good chess match stuff...

I agree. Jones wasn't fast, but he was very precise, and had a knack for finding the seam. As for McCarthy, I give him credit. He knew that Pittsburgh is reluctant to play nickel or dime coverages because of how weak their 3rd and 4th dbs are. He went 3 and 4 wide almost all day and made the Steelers pay for staying with 4 linebackers. LeBeau rolled a safety up close to help with intermediate routes (almost a qb spy) and left Troy isolated over the top. It exposed a weakness that Troy has developed: he can't cover ground the way he used to.

I'm just happy that we finally have a coach who understands that and there will finally be a purpose to the offensive plays called.

I am right there with you, Joe. I thin that we'll see a lot more playaction this season, especially out of 2 and 3 TE sets. Just imagine: we go jumbo on 2nd and short, run playaction with Delanie running a quick slant, Byham running a chip n' out, and Vernon running a deep seam route against a one safety high short yardage defense. The thought of it gives me a full on killboner.