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I posted this in another thread but I figured more people would see it this way. Enjoy.
I will call the plays with McCray standing the elephant for the sake of this post. I will only refer to the 3-4 when 4 linebackers are on the field in which case Mitchell was the 4th guy each time they used this formation.
The Bills had 12 possessions and ran 65 offensive snaps.
By possession:
P1 - 9 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
P2 - 2 plays in elephant, 6 plays in 3-3-5 fake FG TD.
P3 - 6 plays in 3-4 punt.
P4 - 3 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P5 - 6 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
Halftime.
P6 - 4 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P7 - 8 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 INT by Smith.
P8 - 2 plays in 3-4, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P9 - 2 plays in 3-4, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P10 - 5 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
P11 - 4 plays in 3-3-5 turnover on downs.
P12 - 3 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
Game over.
So the break down looks like this.
I would not call the elephant package a 3-4. So in that case they only lined up in the 3-4 with 4 linebackers for 10 snaps.
They used the elephant with McCray standing and moving around 18 times. He almost always rushed the QB and only dropped in coverage a few times. I would consider this closer to the 4-3 with the same principals as dropping a lineman in coverage occasionally rather than a 3-4. Ellias talked about this earlier in the thread. >>http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124717&page=2<<
So if you want to call the elephant a 3-4, they had 28 snaps combining the elephant and the true 3-4 look with 4 backers.
The base defense for this game was the 3-3-5. They ran 37 snaps and the Bills did not have an answer for it. I think many of you may have thought they used the 3-4 more because many times Harper looks like a LBer if you do not look closely.
The beauty of this was they generally rushed only 4 or 5 guys, but they came from all over the field. Edwards never got comfortable because they blitzed from every position on the field. I did not notice if Sharper came, I think he pretty much played center field.
I think this team is one above average rush linebacker away from being utterly dominant on defense based on this game. I can't remember the last time I saw so many plays with guys coming free. Edwards did an outstanding job of recognizing it and throwing the ball away but he was never able to see where the pressure would come from before the snap.
Interestingly, they never lined up in the traditional 4-3 at all. Not once did they have 4 guys with a hand in the ground on the line. Although as stated earlier, the elephant package looks just like the 4-3 except McCray moves around before the snap.
Not many formations were used, only 3 looks but man, they brought pressure from everywhere!
This is going to be a fun year if you like defense.
I will call the plays with McCray standing the elephant for the sake of this post. I will only refer to the 3-4 when 4 linebackers are on the field in which case Mitchell was the 4th guy each time they used this formation.
The Bills had 12 possessions and ran 65 offensive snaps.
By possession:
P1 - 9 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
P2 - 2 plays in elephant, 6 plays in 3-3-5 fake FG TD.
P3 - 6 plays in 3-4 punt.
P4 - 3 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P5 - 6 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
Halftime.
P6 - 4 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P7 - 8 plays in elephant, 1 in 3-3-5 INT by Smith.
P8 - 2 plays in 3-4, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P9 - 2 plays in 3-4, 1 in 3-3-5 punt.
P10 - 5 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
P11 - 4 plays in 3-3-5 turnover on downs.
P12 - 3 plays in 3-3-5 punt.
Game over.
So the break down looks like this.
I would not call the elephant package a 3-4. So in that case they only lined up in the 3-4 with 4 linebackers for 10 snaps.
They used the elephant with McCray standing and moving around 18 times. He almost always rushed the QB and only dropped in coverage a few times. I would consider this closer to the 4-3 with the same principals as dropping a lineman in coverage occasionally rather than a 3-4. Ellias talked about this earlier in the thread. >>http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124717&page=2<<
So if you want to call the elephant a 3-4, they had 28 snaps combining the elephant and the true 3-4 look with 4 backers.
The base defense for this game was the 3-3-5. They ran 37 snaps and the Bills did not have an answer for it. I think many of you may have thought they used the 3-4 more because many times Harper looks like a LBer if you do not look closely.
The beauty of this was they generally rushed only 4 or 5 guys, but they came from all over the field. Edwards never got comfortable because they blitzed from every position on the field. I did not notice if Sharper came, I think he pretty much played center field.
I think this team is one above average rush linebacker away from being utterly dominant on defense based on this game. I can't remember the last time I saw so many plays with guys coming free. Edwards did an outstanding job of recognizing it and throwing the ball away but he was never able to see where the pressure would come from before the snap.
Interestingly, they never lined up in the traditional 4-3 at all. Not once did they have 4 guys with a hand in the ground on the line. Although as stated earlier, the elephant package looks just like the 4-3 except McCray moves around before the snap.
Not many formations were used, only 3 looks but man, they brought pressure from everywhere!
This is going to be a fun year if you like defense.
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