Beasley Can't Play The Run... No One Should Care In This System!

[GoodnightATL]

Found this article. A really interesting read especially about building a team from a fiscal perspective. Replace Carroll for Quinn:

Originally, this whole article was going to be about the LEO in particular, but as the column came together it kind of shifted. What I do want to get across is why Pete Carroll uses this hybrid position. The first is that the Seahawks are able to get the most out of some tweeners with one strong skill. Chris Clemons is too small to play as a traditional 4-3 DE and probably not versatile enough, from a coverage standpoint, to be an every-down 3-4 OLB. There was a reason he bounced around before breaking out with Seattle. But Clemons can flat-out rush the passer, and Carroll wants a dynamic pass rusher on the field on all three downs, not just third-and-long. The downside is that Carroll has to find a way to protect an undersized pass-rush specialist against the run.

Hence the under shift by the Seahawks defensive line. It’s tough to run to the weak side of the formation with a three-technique no matter how soft a defensive end or LEO may be against the run. It’s always hard to get movement without a double team, and the defensive line and offensive line are 2-on-2 on the weak side in under fronts.

The reason most 4-3 teams don’t major in under fronts is because it leaves them vulnerable to strongside runs, because most 4-3 defensive ends -- Jared Allen being the prototype here -- wouldn’t do so well taking the pounding of playing a five-technique to the tight end side all game. They’d end up taking on double teams all day long, and it would sap their pass rush. That’s why the Seahawks have a guy built to play 3-4 DE, Red Bryant, as their strongside DE.

On top of being very schematically sound, the Seahawks defense has the added benefit of being made of mashed up parts that make it easier to acquire talent to fit. It’s hard for any one team to acquire two dominant 3-4 DEs as starters and two serviceable ones as reserves. There just aren’t enough big, long guys who can swallow double teams up but are quick enough to play on the edge. But the Seahawks really just need one good five-technique and one serviceable one since they are only playing them to one side at a time.

The same goes for the LEO position, which we already touched upon. It’s really hard to find 4-3 DEs who are stout enough to play the run on first and second down and then get after the QB on third down; those guys are expensive. It’s also hard to find 3-4 linebackers who can drop into coverage or rush the passer. Heck, Dion Jordan was the third pick in the draft this year on the theory that he might be able to do both despite never showing a knack for pass rushing in college.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/10/1/4787546/the-seahawks-and-multiple-defensive-fronts

Edited May 10, 2015 by GoodnightATL

[toadfishtom]

Very good point

Pass rushers are hard to find, especially good ones. This is exactly why Beasley is so valuable. Lol at all the so called experts who were so stressed about run defense.

[NateDogg1215]

I don't remember John Abraham being such a great run defender . We just need Vic to get the QB

[tldr]

Babs Soliai Tyson on 1st and 2nds?

Jarrett Hageman Clayborn on 3rds?

[UGABOZ]

good article but who cares rush the passer

[ryanadonis]

When did being an expert run stopper be such a premium in the NFL? If the Falcons would have gotten a run stuffer at 8, than everyone would be saying, WHERE IS THE PASS RUSH??!?!!?!??!!?!??!?!

[MoundBred]

I think our starting line is:

LEO: Beasley

UT: Hageman

NT: Soliai

SDE: Jackson

I don't know why it's even in question if our #8 overall pick will start on this defense, but this article and others like it emphasize why he will be out there all 3 downs from jump. I can't wait to see him sack Sam Bradford. I think Sheed will start over Babs, because all reports indicate that he has been motivated this offseason and came back ready to play. (No surprise to Hard Knocks fans. He was nothing if not hard on himself.) I think he is going to make a name for himself this year. I'm going to enjoy watching those 2 work on the backside of this def. No homer, I think both will have double digit sacks this year. Plus, Babs will be more effective on fewer snaps.

A lot of y'all think Soliai and TJax suck and may/should be cut after camp. I think both of them will be much improved this season. TJax is not a DT, never has been. He isn't a penetrator or a pass rusher. So, it made no sense to ask him to do those things last season. That should have been Babs' role. TJax is a 3-4 strong side end, which is what our left end plays in base def. He does not need to be a good pass rusher (Carroll's words), he just needs to take up space and stop the run. He and Soliai will be better because they they will be asked to do less. Fewer snaps, mainly on running downs, will put them in a better position to have a positive impact on the game. Clayborn will play more than TJax, but he won't start over him.

I expect our offense to put up a lot of points (draft Julio if your league's PPR). The defense will have plenty of opportunities to rush the passer.

[vel]

If Beasley gives you 15 sacks, I could care less about how his run defense is. This is almost like people complaining about WRs who can't play ST being on the roster.

[falconidae]

Look at the TFL that Beasley had last two years. He can play the run-the same traits that make him a good pass rusher will make him good against the run as well.

What will happen sometimes is that he'll get run over in the run game. Think it's a fair trade off.

[RandomFan]

You should have posted the whole article as it's an amazing read and gives some insights to what roles certain players can expect versus different offenses. For example, even if Clayborn isn't starting most weeks, he'll still be a valuable addition for containing certain schemes like the Read-Option the 49ers run. This defensive scheme is about keeping the same simple principles week to week, but changing the personnel and positional alignments on a game to game basis in order to put players in a position to succeed.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/10/1/4787546/the-seahawks-and-multiple-defensive-fronts

Muth read: The Seahawks and multiple defensive fronts

By Ben Muth on Oct 1, 2013, 1:13p

With LEO linebackers and weakside defensive ends, Seattle's versatile front seven keeps opponents guessing. Ben Muth takes a closer look at how they do it.

"We want to be multiple." - Every defensive coordinator ever (Sound familiar Falcons fans?)

If you have read a local newspaper story about a newly hired defensive coordinator in the past three years, that quote has been hammered home again and again. Maybe he used "versatile," maybe he said they wanted to run a hybrid scheme, but the intent is always there. Defenses want to be multiple. That means using different personnel packages, fronts and coverage looks to confuse offenses and generate favorable matchups. Essentially every team wants to be able to do what the Seahawks can do, and what they did do to stop the 49ers.

The best place to start with the Seattle defense is its base defensive alignment. It’s essentially a 4-3 under. That means the defensive front four is shaded on the offense’s weak side and the Sam linebacker is walked up on the line of scrimmage. It’s a classic front that every team has in its playbook somewhere. Seattle lined up in this base alignment, the very first play of the season.

The reason I used the qualifier "essentially" is that the Seahawks' weakside defensive end is actually a DE/OLB hybrid type player called a LEO (O’Brien Schofield in the picture above). It’s important to point out that the Seahawks always send the LEO (Beasley for us) to the weak side and a defensive end, usually Red Bryant (T. Jackson for us), to the strong side. In the photo above, Bryant is No. 79, labeled as the DE on the right side of the photo. The LEO can play as a stand-up linebacker or a down defensive end depending on the individual player’s preference. The past few years Seattle’s LEO has been Chris Clemons, but with his injury to start this year, the Seahawks have turned to a couple different people. In Week 1, they leaned on Schofield at this spot.

Originally, this whole article was going to be about the LEO in particular, but as the column came together it kind of shifted. What I do want to get across is why Pete Carroll uses this hybrid position. The first is that the Seahawks are able to get the most out of some tweeners with one strong skill. Chris Clemons is too small to play as a traditional 4-3 DE and probably not versatile enough, from a coverage standpoint, to be an every-down 3-4 OLB. There was a reason he bounced around before breaking out with Seattle. But Clemons can flat-out rush the passer, and Carroll wants a dynamic pass rusher on the field on all three downs, not just third-and-long. The downside is that Carroll has to find a way to protect an undersized pass-rush specialist against the run. (The LEO was designed to protect someone like Beasley who is a great pass rusher, but not stout enough to be a traditional 4-3 DE against the run. So everyone concerned about run D from Beasley is barking up the wrong tree.)

Hence the under shift by the Seahawks defensive line. It’s tough to run to the weak side of the formation with a three-technique (Babs, Jarrett, or Hageman) no matter how soft a defensive end or LEO may be against the run. It’s always hard to get movement without a double team, and the defensive line and offensive line are 2-on-2 on the weak side in under fronts.

The reason most 4-3 teams don’t major in under fronts is because it leaves them vulnerable to strongside runs, because most 4-3 defensive ends -- Jared Allen being the prototype here -- wouldn’t do so well taking the pounding of playing a five-technique to the tight end side all game. They’d end up taking on double teams all day long, and it would sap their pass rush. That’s why the Seahawks have a guy built to play 3-4 DE, Red Bryant, as their strongside DE. (That's why Jackson is built for this position, and NOT Clayborn)

On top of being very schematically sound, the Seahawks defense has the added benefit of being made of mashed up parts that make it easier to acquire talent to fit. It’s hard for any one team to acquire two dominant 3-4 DEs as starters and two serviceable ones as reserves. There just aren’t enough big, long guys who can swallow double teams up but are quick enough to play on the edge. But the Seahawks really just need one good five-technique and one serviceable one since they are only playing them to one side at a time. (This is actually interesting. Clayborn isn't a good 5-tech, but probably fills the "serviceable" role as a backup for that role. Jackson is the obvious starting 5-tech, but Hageman is the big wildcard here. It remains to be seen where Quinn will eventually use Hage, but the 5-tech is a role he 'could' be used at depending on his development. That would theoretically make Jackson expendable if both Hageman and Clayborn turn into the starter and backup and we only keep 2 of these types of players on the roster. But if Hage doesn't take that starting job, then we need Jackson to step up and earn his paycheck there.)

The same goes for the LEO position, which we already touched upon. It’s really hard to find 4-3 DEs who are stout enough to play the run on first and second down and then get after the QB on third down; those guys are expensive. It’s also hard to find 3-4 linebackers who can drop into coverage or rush the passer. Heck, Dion Jordan was the third pick in the draft this year on the theory that he might be able to do both despite never showing a knack for pass rushing in college.

Tweeners like Clemons and Schofield are much easier to find. The Seahawks acquired Clemons and a fourth-round draft pick for the immortal Darryl Tapp, and they picked up Schofield when the Cardinals cut him in training camp this year. Not exactly hot commodities around the league.

So, that’s the 10,000-foot view of the Seahawks' base front and some advantages the scheme gives them. But obviously, all schemes need adjustments based on the opponent. One of Pete Carroll’s favorite tweaks to this front is to reduce the five-technique (Bryant) down to a three-technique and play what’s known as a "Bear" front (named after the Mike Ditka/Buddy Ryan Bears). The Seahawks ran a ton of Bear vs. the 49ers in their Week 16 win against them last year.

The reason Seattle went to a Bear front so much against the 49ers last year is that the 49ers were still a "Power O"-based team then, and frankly it’s a Bitc* to run the Power O against a Bear. The reason it’s so tough is that it’s hard to create double teams and pull someone when all three interior linemen are covered. You either have to go with three single down blocks by the play side (Diagram-1) or you have to cut the backside three with the tackle, reach the nose tackle with the center and get a double team on the playside three (Diagram-2).

Neither is ideal, and both lead to a soft middle in the play that can make it tough for the pulling guard to negotiate around. The Seahawks’ Bear front did exactly what it was designed to do. It stifled the 49ers' bread-and-butter run last year, and was a big part of that rout.

The biggest downside to the Power O is that it is a slow developing off-tackle play. Bear fronts kill slow developing plays because those three defensive tackles create an absolute pile up right in the middle of the formation. The read option, however, attacks where a Bear defense is vulnerable, right at the edges. Not only that, but it attacks the weakness quickly and with the added bonus of not having to block the end man on the line of scrimmage.

People seem to forget that the read option wasn’t a big part of San Francisco’s game plan until the playoffs last year. So, while the Seahawks' Bear adjustment was great against the 49ers' old run game, it was vulnerable against what the 49ers rode to the Super Bowl. Take a look at some of highlights from San Francisco’s postseason run.

**CONTINUED IN NEXT POST BECAUSE OF TOO MANY IMAGES IN ONE POST**

Edited May 11, 2015 by RandomFan

[RandomFan]

First, let’s ignore how the Ravens and Packers are playing the "read" part of the read option. A lot of the talk this offseason was about how to defend that. There were a dozen different theories: attack the mesh point, gap/scrape exchange, feather the QB, etc. That was something that defensive coordinators had to think about, but what probably terrified them about this 49ers team was how not blocking a guy at the point of attack freed up the 49ers offensive line to kick the **** out of guys with straight double teams. Look at the playside three-techniques in the GIFs above. They are all getting absolutely crushed. I mean it looks like Charles Barkley vs. Angola out there.

If the Seahawks ran their base defense or their Bear front, they would always be left with the weakside three-technique at the mercy of a couple of 315-pound men. I think the Seahawks' defensive personnel is a little better than Baltimore’s last year and a lot better than Green Bay’s, but you don’t want to make a living taking on Mike Iupati and Joe Staley one-on-two. So Seattle needed a new adjustment to contain what the 49ers had become. Its adjustment was both simple and inspired.

The Seahawks just flopped their front. (This is genius)

Against San Francisco, Seattle always sent Red Bryant (Tyson Jackson) to the weak side of the formation, and lined him up as a five-technique over there (sometimes a 4I, which is on the inside shade of the tackle). That meant that the LEO would have to play the strong side. The Seahawks would try to protect him versus the run with a three-technique by playing an over front, but Schofield wasn’t going to be able to stand up on the strong side for a full game if the Incredible Hulk was lined up inside. So Seattle went with a different offseason acquisition at LEO instead, 275-pound Michael Bennett. (THIS is one of the primary roles that Clayborn is here to fill. To be a weapon versus Read-Option teams by playing an oversized LEO, and to play backup strongside DE, and slide inside to pass rush from a DT spot in Nickel packages. He'll see plenty of snaps, he'll have value, but he's not here to replace Jackson.)

Seattle toyed with some other fronts as the game went along. There were a couple of common denominators: Red Bryant, labeled DE on the right side of the photo and lined up over the weakside OT, either head up or with a slight inside shade, and Michael Bennett lined up to the strength of the formation.* Here’s a base 3-4 look the Seahawks mixed in too.

*This only applies to base defenses in non-obvious passing downs. Once it got to third-and-long, all bets were off.

Once again it’s Red Bryant on the weak side and Bennett over the TE. It’s just that, here, Bennett is more obviously playing the part of the world’s biggest OLB. But more important than what they did is why they did it. The best possible explanation is this GIF.

**CONTINUED IN NEXT POST ONCE MORE**

Edited May 11, 2015 by RandomFan

[RandomFan]

The 49ers can’t get a double team on the playside down lineman anymore. Because Bryant (Jackson) was so wide, it would bust the inside zone rules of a read-option play for the guard to go out there and double-team. Plus, if the guard did go outside to double-team, he wouldn’t be helping collapse a down lineman inside to widen the hole; he would be knocking the DE out right into where the QB wants to run.

Now, Joe Staley is one-on-one with Red Bryant. Staley may be the best run-blocking tackle in the league, but I’m not sure anyone can block Bryant by himself when he doesn’t know where the ball is going. Think about how hard Staley’s job is here. He wants to try to wash Bryant down the line as far as possible so either Frank Gore or Colin Kaepernick has as much room as possible off his butt. But he also has to try to cover Bryant up completely just in case Gore takes it to the strong side of the formation. The result is Bryant putting on the brakes when he sees Kaepernick keep it, and throwing Staley by.

Go ahead and watch that GIF one more time. Imagine if Bryant gets double-teamed and washed down as far as the guys in those first three GIFs. All of a sudden, Kaepernick has a ton of space and is one-on-one with a safety with an 8-yard head of steam. If that happens enough, it’s a recipe for some Kaepernick Bicep Smooches (band name?) no matter how good of a player Earl Thomas is.

Once again, all defenses want to be multiple because this is what multiple allows you to do. Seattle is missing Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons right now, and it can still completely change its defense from one week to another and swap out its players to best fit what the team wants to do that week. In Week 1, Schofield played in 69% of the snaps and played well. In Week 2, the game plan changed and he played in just 30%. Bennett went from being the Seahawks' fifth in Week 2. One thing that didn’t change was the result, a stifling defensive performance. (This is going to be a big adjustment for most Falcons fans. One week a guy is going to get a majority of snaps and might play very well; and then the next week that same player might get only 30% of the snaps because the opponent has a completely different offense. I can hear the bellyaching already from the uninformed peanut gallery. After reading this article, I hope you aren't one of those guys

___________________________________________________________________________________

An important thing to point out is that Seattle went big on defense the week of the 49er's game by pulling the normal pass rushing LEO (Beasley for us) and inserting Bennett who is a bigger DE type (Clayborn or Hageman for us), on every down except 3rd and longs. But then the very next game they completely changed versus Denver in the Super Bowl and went almost the entire game in their Nickel and 3rd down packages. THAT is the definition of being "multiple." Being able to vary personnel and scheme from week to week.

Edited May 11, 2015 by RandomFan

[Romfal]

When did being an expert run stopper be such a premium in the NFL? If the Falcons would have gotten a run stuffer at 8, than everyone would be saying, WHERE IS THE PASS RUSH??!?!!?!??!!?!??!?!

if you let the opponent rush on you for 4 yards a play, theres no pass to rush, just saying.

[KRUNKuno]

Pretty sure Quinn has repeatedly stated that the coveted LEO position needs to be strong against the run.

[Flying Falcon]

if you let the opponent rush on you for 4 yards a play, theres no pass to rush, just saying.

True

[GoodnightATL]

Pretty sure Quinn has repeatedly stated that the coveted LEO position needs to be strong against the run.

Where and when?.. The whole system is predicated on the LEO being protected from such duties in the main. More run contain then set the edge

[GoodnightATL]

When did being an expert run stopper be such a premium in the NFL? If the Falcons would have gotten a run stuffer at 8, than everyone would be saying, WHERE IS THE PASS RUSH??!?!!?!??!!?!??!?!

It's more the fact that a player that does BOTH well cost money or will have a higher draft pick... That's why Quinn is so specific with player roles. Our players have to do one thing really well and the scheme best protects the weakness.

Edited May 11, 2015 by GoodnightATL

[DonDaLuvMaker]

Pretty sure Quinn has repeatedly stated that the coveted LEO position needs to be strong against the run.

All the Leo has to do is play contain and set the edge by turning the runner inside.

That can be learned.

[Francis York Morgan]

Pretty sure Quinn has repeatedly stated that the coveted LEO position needs to be strong against the run.

He's also said he's not worried about Beasley against the run and actually laughed at the idea of being worried about it. So I guess it's a win/win.

[GoodnightATL]

He's also said he's not worried about Beasley against the run and actually laughed at the idea of being worried about it. So I guess it's a win/win.

Yeah I'm of the belief that he's the best against the run of the LEO's that he's works with but there are a lot of people on these boards who are making such a big deal about it hence my post saying it really doesn't matter. Like you say... win/win

[Real Falcon Fan]

Good article.

[ChessPlayer1]

Pretty sure Quinn has repeatedly stated that the coveted LEO position needs to be strong against the run.

Yeah, he also said he wanted Spoon back.

#brokenpromises

[Drunken Minotaur Zebra]

When did being an expert run stopper be such a premium in the NFL? If the Falcons would have gotten a run stuffer at 8, than everyone would be saying, WHERE IS THE PASS RUSH??!?!!?!??!!?!??!?!

The moment the Falcons drafted a steal of a lightning powered pass rusher 8th overall.

[falconidae]

Yeah, he also said he wanted Spoon back.

#brokenpromises

Spoon said he would come back at a reduced rate for a one year prove it deal. #brokenpromises

[gazoo]

Good article.

I don't like to call people out on spelling errors, but here at TATF, it is spelled "artical"