Cowboys Are Drooling Over Phillips' 'D'
Cowboys Are Drooling Over Phillips' 'D'
from SportingNews
The 3-4 defense, like Baskin-Robbins ice cream, comes in a variety of flavors. The one the Cowboys played under Bill Parcells was sound and generally effective, but it had as much pizazz as chocolate chip. New coach Wade Phillips' 3-4 is more like Love Potion No. 31.
It is a one-gap scheme, which distinguishes it from other 3-4 defenses. Movement, pressure and unpredictability are some of the ingredients. The system also has built-in versatility to accommodate the personnel.
Phillips doesn't force his players to fit his defense; he designs his defense to fit the players and their skills. For example, when Phillips was defensive coordinator in San Diego, Ben Leber was an outside linebacker who covered tight ends and backs and Shawne Merriman was an outside linebacker who rushed the passer.
"Everybody thinks it's the X's and O's, but it's the Moes and Joes," says Phillips, who turns 60 next week and has been a 3-4 guru since he joined the Houston Oilers as an assistant coach in 1976.
It wouldn't have mattered if the Cowboys had suited up Moe, Joe, Larry, Curly and Shemp last season. Their 3-4 still would have been long on convention and short on suspense. Don't get the wrong idea; Parcells was a master coach whose defense was good enough to take four different teams to the playoffs and win two Super Bowls. But by the end of last season, opponents had started to figure out the Cowboys.
Even the Dallas players had to stifle some yawns. But the first time Phillips showed them tape of the 3-4 defense he ran in San Diego, they salivated, imagining what it might produce in Big D in 2007. "It's like we have more tools in the toolbox," says inside linebacker Bradie James.
A look at how the Cowboys' old 3-4 compares with their new one:
LINEMEN
Bill's way: Think of Woody Allen and his fellow escaped convicts shackled together in Take the Money and Run. OK, that might be a stretch. But Parcells' read-and-react, two-gap system -- in which each lineman lined head-up on an offensive lineman, feet parallel, and stepped right or left depending on which gap he had to fill -- stifled the ability to pressure the quarterback.
Wade's world: They'll play a one-gap scheme in a staggered stance and "shade" the man across from them. For example, instead of lining up directly in front of the center, nose tackle Jason Ferguson might be on one of his shoulders. This will allow the linemen to shoot gaps, which puts them in better position to rush the passer and make more tackles in the backfield.
X-factor: Ferguson. After having only one sack in the last two seasons in Dallas, he's looking to bring back some of the pass-rush moves he used with the Jets.
LINEBACKERS
Bill's way: The two outside men provided most of the pass-rushing pressure. DeMarcus Ware had 11 1/2 sacks, but he became a marked man after Greg Ellis suffered a torn Achilles' tendon November 12. Inside 'backers James and Akin Ayodele regularly had to try to maneuver around, or go through, guards who were 330-pound roadblocks.
Wade's world: The outside 'backers play a lot wider than in most 3-4s. If the offense slides its protection to one side, the outside 'backer on the other side might have to be picked up by a back -- a favorable mismatch for Dallas. James and Ayodele still will tend to the run, but they will rush more often.
X-factor: Anthony Spencer. The Cowboys drafted him in the first round because they think he can switch from college down lineman to outside linebacker. If he can make the transition and Ellis makes a healthy return, Dallas will have a solid pass-rushing rotation on the outside.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Bill's way: The lack of a pass rush up front put more pressure on these guys. Cornerbacks Terence Newman and Anthony Henry played a lot of press coverage and the safeties split the deep half of the field.
Wade's world: Don't expect to see much cover 2. Strong safety Roy Williams had five picks in '06, but shadowing receivers isn't his forte. He'll line up closer to the line more often and sometimes will be like another linebacker. Phillips still must determine how much zone the corners will play.
X-factor: Free safety Ken Hamlin. In Seattle, he sometimes jumped shallow crossing routes and got beat from behind. But Phillips likes Hamlin's range and thinks he'll be a good center fielder and quarterback in the secondary.
from SportingNews
The 3-4 defense, like Baskin-Robbins ice cream, comes in a variety of flavors. The one the Cowboys played under Bill Parcells was sound and generally effective, but it had as much pizazz as chocolate chip. New coach Wade Phillips' 3-4 is more like Love Potion No. 31.
It is a one-gap scheme, which distinguishes it from other 3-4 defenses. Movement, pressure and unpredictability are some of the ingredients. The system also has built-in versatility to accommodate the personnel.
Phillips doesn't force his players to fit his defense; he designs his defense to fit the players and their skills. For example, when Phillips was defensive coordinator in San Diego, Ben Leber was an outside linebacker who covered tight ends and backs and Shawne Merriman was an outside linebacker who rushed the passer.
"Everybody thinks it's the X's and O's, but it's the Moes and Joes," says Phillips, who turns 60 next week and has been a 3-4 guru since he joined the Houston Oilers as an assistant coach in 1976.
It wouldn't have mattered if the Cowboys had suited up Moe, Joe, Larry, Curly and Shemp last season. Their 3-4 still would have been long on convention and short on suspense. Don't get the wrong idea; Parcells was a master coach whose defense was good enough to take four different teams to the playoffs and win two Super Bowls. But by the end of last season, opponents had started to figure out the Cowboys.
Even the Dallas players had to stifle some yawns. But the first time Phillips showed them tape of the 3-4 defense he ran in San Diego, they salivated, imagining what it might produce in Big D in 2007. "It's like we have more tools in the toolbox," says inside linebacker Bradie James.
A look at how the Cowboys' old 3-4 compares with their new one:
LINEMEN
Bill's way: Think of Woody Allen and his fellow escaped convicts shackled together in Take the Money and Run. OK, that might be a stretch. But Parcells' read-and-react, two-gap system -- in which each lineman lined head-up on an offensive lineman, feet parallel, and stepped right or left depending on which gap he had to fill -- stifled the ability to pressure the quarterback.
Wade's world: They'll play a one-gap scheme in a staggered stance and "shade" the man across from them. For example, instead of lining up directly in front of the center, nose tackle Jason Ferguson might be on one of his shoulders. This will allow the linemen to shoot gaps, which puts them in better position to rush the passer and make more tackles in the backfield.
X-factor: Ferguson. After having only one sack in the last two seasons in Dallas, he's looking to bring back some of the pass-rush moves he used with the Jets.
LINEBACKERS
Bill's way: The two outside men provided most of the pass-rushing pressure. DeMarcus Ware had 11 1/2 sacks, but he became a marked man after Greg Ellis suffered a torn Achilles' tendon November 12. Inside 'backers James and Akin Ayodele regularly had to try to maneuver around, or go through, guards who were 330-pound roadblocks.
Wade's world: The outside 'backers play a lot wider than in most 3-4s. If the offense slides its protection to one side, the outside 'backer on the other side might have to be picked up by a back -- a favorable mismatch for Dallas. James and Ayodele still will tend to the run, but they will rush more often.
X-factor: Anthony Spencer. The Cowboys drafted him in the first round because they think he can switch from college down lineman to outside linebacker. If he can make the transition and Ellis makes a healthy return, Dallas will have a solid pass-rushing rotation on the outside.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Bill's way: The lack of a pass rush up front put more pressure on these guys. Cornerbacks Terence Newman and Anthony Henry played a lot of press coverage and the safeties split the deep half of the field.
Wade's world: Don't expect to see much cover 2. Strong safety Roy Williams had five picks in '06, but shadowing receivers isn't his forte. He'll line up closer to the line more often and sometimes will be like another linebacker. Phillips still must determine how much zone the corners will play.
X-factor: Free safety Ken Hamlin. In Seattle, he sometimes jumped shallow crossing routes and got beat from behind. But Phillips likes Hamlin's range and thinks he'll be a good center fielder and quarterback in the secondary.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:23 PM
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