What makes a good SAM OLB in the 3-4? (1 Viewer)

Pai Mei

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I know you have one OLB in the 3-4 that is primarily a pass-rush specialist (ie. Pat Swilling or Aldon Smith), but the guy on the other side is the one I'm not too sure about. It sounds like you need a guy that is strong enough to set the edge and play the run, but is also athletic and fast enough to play coverage (while also being a capable pass-rusher in his own right). That sounds like a lot to ask in one player. What exactly makes a good strong side 3-4 OLB? ...and is it possible that guy is already on our team in Galette or Martez Wilson? Galette appears a nice fit for the Rush OLB, but would Wilson fit at the other OLB spot?
 
I know you have one OLB in the 3-4 that is primarily a pass-rush specialist (ie. Pat Swilling or Aldon Smith), but the guy on the other side is the one I'm not too sure about. It sounds like you need a guy that is strong enough to set the edge and play the run, but is also athletic and fast enough to play coverage (while also being a capable pass-rusher in his own right). That sounds like a lot to ask in one player. What exactly makes a good strong side 3-4 OLB? ...and is it possible that guy is already on our team in Galette or Martez Wilson? Galette appears a nice fit for the Rush OLB, but would Wilson fit at the other OLB spot?

I think Wilson fits perfectly. His biggest weakness would be the lack of strength to set the edge on rushing plays but what he lacks in strength he makes up for in speed. He would be able to close on outside running plays, blow up boots and screens. Plus he should really excel as a pass rusher. As a 43 OLB his biggest weakness was pass coverage but a 34 OLB has a much smaller pass coverage role that usually consists of covering the flat or shallow zones. In other words he isn't good in pass coverage as a 43 OLB but would actually be very good as a 34 SOLB.
 
So if the coverage responsibilities are less for an OLB in the 3-4, and strength at the POA is more important on the strong side, is it a role that Galette could fill, with Wilson and his speed/athleticism coming off the other edge as the Rush OLB?

If things remain largely the same with our LB corps entering next season (with a draft pick being added that may or may not be ready for extended PT) who on our current team fills the OLB spots THE BEST?
 
I think Wilson fits perfectly. His biggest weakness would be the lack of strength to set the edge on rushing plays but what he lacks in strength he makes up for in speed. He would be able to close on outside running plays, blow up boots and screens. Plus he should really excel as a pass rusher. As a 43 OLB his biggest weakness was pass coverage but a 34 OLB has a much smaller pass coverage role that usually consists of covering the flat or shallow zones. In other words he isn't good in pass coverage as a 43 OLB but would actually be very good as a 34 SOLB.

Actually he has prototypical size, strength and speed to play the 3-4 SAM his main problem is he doesn't have the instincts and quick read react skills to be am every down player and given he is on his 3rd DC in as many season doesn't help him any either. He will need time to not only learn the position but to develop his reaction speed. This year I see him mainly as a pass rush specialist while he learns. One good thing is Rob Ryan's specialty is linebackers.
 
Jam and cover the TE or Jam , pass the TE off to someone else and rush the QB, or just rush the QB or tackle and hold the edge. this is what i would think
 
I know you have one OLB in the 3-4 that is primarily a pass-rush specialist (ie. Pat Swilling or Aldon Smith), but the guy on the other side is the one I'm not too sure about. It sounds like you need a guy that is strong enough to set the edge and play the run, but is also athletic and fast enough to play coverage (while also being a capable pass-rusher in his own right). That sounds like a lot to ask in one player. What exactly makes a good strong side 3-4 OLB? ...and is it possible that guy is already on our team in Galette or Martez Wilson? Galette appears a nice fit for the Rush OLB, but would Wilson fit at the other OLB spot?

Ability to both engage a lineman or tight end at the LOS and hold up against the run, and the ability to turn and run with said tight end in coverage.

Tight ends used to be stronger, more plodding, so you saw more defensive end style SAMs. But the modern NFL has steadily moved towards taller, faster, not necessarily excellent run blocking tight ends. A lot of them don't even get down in a 2-point stance like linemen anymore.

Wade Phillips said you could think of his defense as being more of a 5-2 than a 3-4, and certainly that's been the case in the past. But these days I think the emphasis is probably shifting towards speed, the ability to flip into coverage, and compensating for the decreased size/strength with technique/hands. The reality is, tight ends are scarier these days than running backs in many cases. Frank Gore is an excellent running back, but that's not who beat us in the playoffs in 2011.

So I think Wilson fits. Maybe instead of thinking of it as a 5-2 we should instead think of it as a 4-3 under almost.
 
So if the coverage responsibilities are less for an OLB in the 3-4, and strength at the POA is more important on the strong side, is it a role that Galette could fill, with Wilson and his speed/athleticism coming off the other edge as the Rush OLB?

If things remain largely the same with our LB corps entering next season (with a draft pick being added that may or may not be ready for extended PT) who on our current team fills the OLB spots THE BEST?

Not if we're using the same defense as the Texans (Wade Phillips' defense). The JACK, weakside OLB, is playing basically as a defensive end and will end up rushing the quarterback over 50% of the time, a higher rate than anyone but the defensive linemen. That's your pressure. You put Galette there because he's the best edge rusher on the team and we can't project how good he'll be in coverage, but probably not great. Galette at the Jack means he spends most of his time doing what he does best, and less of his time doing what will likely be his weakness.

Martez Wilson has the athleticism to keep up with the better tight ends in the NFL, and that's going to be critical.

If I were project I'd say

JACK - Junior Galette
WILB (WILL) - David Hawthorne, Jonathon Vilma, Chris Chamberlain
SILB (MIKE) - Curtis Lofton
SOLB (SAM) - Martez Wilson

David Hawthorne is probably the most flexible of the linebackers, he could probably take the WILL, MIKE, or SAM. I think he'd be best at the WILL, and I know from interviews he doesn't have a desire to be on the strong-side, certainly not taking on offensive guards, tackles, and tight ends in the run game as Lofton and Wilson will have to, but circumstances may force the hand in this.

I'm not sure how Chamberlain fits in this at this point. It's not worth a lot to cut him, but the only spot he really fits in is at WILL and that's where we're overstacked.
 
I just wish we'd bring in a vet FA SAM for a visit instead of lookin at another CB. We could use the experience at that position to help the transition. I hope they don't plan to put their full trust in a draft pick
 
Ability to both engage a lineman or tight end at the LOS and hold up against the run, and the ability to turn and run with said tight end in coverage.

Tight ends used to be stronger, more plodding, so you saw more defensive end style SAMs. But the modern NFL has steadily moved towards taller, faster, not necessarily excellent run blocking tight ends. A lot of them don't even get down in a 2-point stance like linemen anymore.

Wade Phillips said you could think of his defense as being more of a 5-2 than a 3-4, .

Not if we're using the same defense as the Texans (Wade Phillips' defense).

Martez Wilson has the athleticism to keep up with the better tight ends in the NFL, and that's going to be critical.
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Great post highlighting the responsibilities of the SAM position, but my slight disagreement concerns Wilson's ability to play SAM in either the 3-4 or 4-3.

He's never been a player to Jam tightends at the LOS with a strong punch and he lacks the fluidity and the backpedal to turn and run with them down field in spite of his excellent timed speed. His speed functions best blitzing in a straight line and his press has always worked better against smaller running backs rather than large TEs. The one thing that I agree with Dion Jordan Fans about is his ability to do both well in coverage as opposed to a player like wilson. Wilson uses poor hand technique against TE's vs the run and pass and struggles to turn his hips like he did vs Jason Witten a couple of times IIRC vs Dallas last year. He seems a much better fit for the inside than out on the edge.






And even in Houston's system
Brooks Reed has been their strongside linebacker mainly because of his physicality at the LOS, his ability to jolt linemen and TE's backward, and his strength at the POA.

Reed was also a DE in college unlike Wilson.

A second-round draft pick out of Arizona in 2011, Reed has started for most of the last two seasons at SAM, the strongside linebacker on the outside. He set a team rookie record with 6.0 sacks in 2011 and had 3.5 more in the playoffs. He had 2.5 sacks in 12 games in 2012 and 1.5 more in two playoff games.

One of the Texans’ strongest players, Reed was a defensive end in college after arriving at Arizona as an H-back. His only inside linebacker experience since high school consists of a scant number of reps late last season as the Texans dealt with an avalanche of injuries at the position.
Brooks Reed to inside linebacker a possibilty, Kubiak says
 
So if the coverage responsibilities are less for an OLB in the 3-4, and strength at the POA is more important on the strong side, is it a role that Galette could fill, with Wilson and his speed/athleticism coming off the other edge as the Rush OLB?

that's my thinking

Galette appears to be the stronger of the two and would do much better in the run game defending the strong side

I can easily see Wilson getting blown out of the play on running to his side if he plays SLB

But then covering the TE, as Spam so eloquently presented, would likely be Galette's issue
 
The ability to tackle.

Laugh all you want but what separates the good from the bad at the SAM position is being able to tackle a man. None of that ducking your head crap, but strait tackling.

Wilson is a great tackler, one of the few we have on the team.
 
Great post highlighting the responsibilities of the SAM position, but my slight disagreement concerns Wilson's ability to play SAM in either the 3-4 or 4-3.

He's never been a player to Jam tightends at the LOS with a strong punch and he lacks the fluidity and the backpedal to turn and run with them down field in spite of his excellent timed speed. His speed functions best blitzing in a straight line and his press has always worked better against smaller running backs rather than large TEs. The one thing that I agree with Dion Jordan Fans about is his ability to do both well in coverage as opposed to a player like wilson. Wilson uses poor hand technique against TE's vs the run and pass and struggles to turn his hips like he did vs Jason Witten a couple of times IIRC vs Dallas last year. He seems a much better fit for the inside than out on the edge.






And even in Houston's system
Brooks Reed has been their strongside linebacker mainly because of his physicality at the LOS, his ability to jolt linemen and TE's backward, and his strength at the POA.

Reed was also a DE in college unlike Wilson.

Brooks Reed to inside linebacker a possibilty, Kubiak says

Physically Martez lines up pretty good alongside Brooks Reed in terms of measurables. Reeds a good 10-15lbs heavier but Wilson is faster. The extra strength probably does give him a better jam at the LOS which compensates for the decreased speed. But this is a coachable/trainable issues. Increased focus on upper body strength and better use of hands could greatly improve Wlson's effectiveness. He's a high ceiling player. And I'm naturally an optimist.

I do agree he's a more natural fit inside, probably SILB, but we've got players, even starting quality players there and no one at SOLB. Necessity kind of dictates our actions here, I would think. I think, if we could, we would like to bring in Victor Butler. Beyond knowing the coach and being hopefully cheap, he can swing between both OLB spots and therefore give us a decent "plan B" for both galette and Wilson. There's reason to be optimistic about both players but there is no doubt that we sure have a lot riding on a couple of guys we can't count on yet.
 

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