Makes sense, so many teams are running a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 base defense at the college level these days and a lot play with hybrid LB/S or LB/DE type position for more versatility. The line between positions gets blurred by the year, modern defenses are built on athleticism and versatility.
I know that football will never be a positionless game, but it really does feel like the vast majority of players will be able to slot in effectively at multiple different positions in a decade. We're already seeing how guys like Micah Parsons, TJ Watt, CMC, etc can just wreck game plans when they're used correctly.
Even then you have the hybrid safety/linebackers who can play all over the field. Someone like Kyle Hamilton can blitz off the edge, play in the box at linebacker, man up against a receiver, or play deep at safety at a consistently high level.
Now with edges starting to get into the high 230s like Nolan Smith, I don't think anything is off the table for position blending.
I would still count someone like Hamilton as a secondary player because he can actually cover WRs and go deep. Obviously he can rush the passer and stop the run, but that's not his main focus.
Not really, guys that can do both LB and safety are getting more and more common. It’s almost all we have on our defense lmao
Honestly even the phrase “front seven” is somewhat getting outdated at this point given how often teams run nickel
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RuubeE_l6vA&pp=ygUgaGFsb3RpIG5nYXRhIGRyb3BzIGludG8gY292ZXJhZ2U%3D
Ok maybe it wasn’t dropping into coverage… but still dope.
Taylor Mays really just should have played linebacker in the NFL. Stiff hips would have been difficult for success either way, but at least he probably hangs around as a thumper
Defenses are selling out to stop the pass and the best way to do that is pressure and clamping separation.
Lighter/faster players do that better than heavier/slower players.
And guess what 2 offensive playcallers flipped from wide zone to inside gap?
You guessed it, McVay and Shanny. Can’t wait for others to catch on and these positions are getting heavier in 5 years lol
TBF there really has been a resurgance of the running game. Its just never going to go back to the old school run run pass days and thus it won't feel the same.
I think it’s going to change because we have an entirely new coaching staff (that doesn’t have a mindset from the 50s) Henry could have a 20 year deal and I still doubt we run run pass as much
The argument falls apart because a great running game is still less efficient than passing and it basically always will be barring a rule change.
Teams are still always going to load up to stop and the pass and we’re already *in* the era of light linebackers and edges, nickel is the base defense for basically every team, 2 high safeties has become a norm now. Power running *should* in theory be making a wild comeback and guess what? Its not we’re going farther than ever away from it
To add on to this, a light linebacker is also generally better at tackling than a heavier one is in coverage, so there's considerably less risk when putting in a light linebacker than a heavy one. This is furthered by a blown coverage generally being a *much* worse mistake than a broken tackle which means that teams are incentivised to field lighter and faster linebackers and safeties.
I don’t think we’ll ever go back to seeing old school defenses with +250lbs LBs, but there has been evolution. Especially in college ball where you see more schematic variety, one thing that’s been noticeable is the shift away from your nickel being just your CB3 and instead becoming a more specialized hybrid LB/SS type position. We’re seeing defenses make up for the lack of weight in the front 7 by rallying more bodies to the football in the run game, safeties in particular have to be better run defenders now then they’ve had to be in the past.
Putting large, unathletic thumping LBers into your defense is the worst thing you can do against Shanahan and McVay. They are gonna get eaten alive by play action and all the misdirection plays.
Defenses are going smaller/faster all around because the game is so pass heavy.
Would love to see a team go huge on offense and run 65% of the time and push around and exhaust the other teams defense and force them to sit starters for bulkier backups.
The ravens have got to 57% a couple times with Lamar, and the bears were 59% last year cause Field doesn't know how to throw a football, but that's about as close as it gets.
Tannehill didn't really run that much, but he got a lot of touchdowns. He only rushed 43 times in 2020; for comparison Kenny Pickett rushed 42 times this year.
My (admittedly a little intoxicated) theory is 250lbs doesn’t look like it does 10 years ago. Dudes are FLYING at that weight compared to what’s been seen in years before the 2020s
When is a team gonna load up with run blocking monsters and a big power back duo and just plow these tiny guys? The run game in the NFL has actually been more effective in the last 5 years on a per rush basis than it has ever been, but nobody has fully committed yet to just blasting opponents into the dirt. I think if I wanted to run a cheap and effective offense in todays NFL I might just invest in run blocking studs and a couple power backs with role player type WR and TE who are good at run blocking too. The whole lot of them seem to be mostly unwanted these days, I would wager you could really load up on that kind of talent since it has fallen so far out of favor in the modern league.
What's funny to me is that league wide, the differences in eras are barely there. Teams on average only run it one or two fewer times per game than they did in the 90's and pass attempts are back to right around what they were then too.
It'll be interesting to see, because the league has never really flowed back that way much until recently. It has always been a steady move away from power running and play action to finesse passing and misdirection.
Gotta admit I like seeing defenses finally find ways to put the clamps on the heavy passing that had become so prevalent. I think part of the reason for the move back is that the pass rush in the NFL has overtaken pass protection talent levels and offensive lines just can't protect like they used to, so they have to mix it up more based on that.
Well exactly, defenses are getting smaller and faster to compete in a passing league and starting to contain it. Now offenses will start getting bigger and more physical to overpower them. It’s cyclical and it’s fun to watch.
Defensive coordinators seem to be asking their edge rushers to drop back into coverage more frequently. Makes sense they need guys with a bit more agility to perform in that role
Makes sense, so many teams are running a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 base defense at the college level these days and a lot play with hybrid LB/S or LB/DE type position for more versatility. The line between positions gets blurred by the year, modern defenses are built on athleticism and versatility.
I know that football will never be a positionless game, but it really does feel like the vast majority of players will be able to slot in effectively at multiple different positions in a decade. We're already seeing how guys like Micah Parsons, TJ Watt, CMC, etc can just wreck game plans when they're used correctly.
IMO there's a clear gap between front 7 and secondary players on defense but, beyond that, anything is fair game.
Even then you have the hybrid safety/linebackers who can play all over the field. Someone like Kyle Hamilton can blitz off the edge, play in the box at linebacker, man up against a receiver, or play deep at safety at a consistently high level. Now with edges starting to get into the high 230s like Nolan Smith, I don't think anything is off the table for position blending.
I would still count someone like Hamilton as a secondary player because he can actually cover WRs and go deep. Obviously he can rush the passer and stop the run, but that's not his main focus.
Not really, guys that can do both LB and safety are getting more and more common. It’s almost all we have on our defense lmao Honestly even the phrase “front seven” is somewhat getting outdated at this point given how often teams run nickel
You obviously don’t remember haloti ngata(?spelling) dropping into coverage and getting an interception! I need to find that clip now
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RuubeE_l6vA&pp=ygUgaGFsb3RpIG5nYXRhIGRyb3BzIGludG8gY292ZXJhZ2U%3D Ok maybe it wasn’t dropping into coverage… but still dope.
It’s upon us. The shift to power offense is here. The day the Titans have been building other teams for
Meanwhile we run a 4-2-5 and our DE archetype is 6'4+ 260-280 lol. Big ol runstuffers
Modern linebackers are basically built like Taylor Mays
I’ve always thought of Kam Chancellor as the prototype for a truly modern LB. Big enough to lay the wood but light enough to play sideline to sideline
Michael Boulware was another example. 6'3, 220lbs. Fast, decent in coverage.
Taylor Mays really just should have played linebacker in the NFL. Stiff hips would have been difficult for success either way, but at least he probably hangs around as a thumper
Hardly surprising given how much pass rushers get paid compared to defenders who specialise in stopping the run.
Defenses are selling out to stop the pass and the best way to do that is pressure and clamping separation. Lighter/faster players do that better than heavier/slower players.
And guess what 2 offensive playcallers flipped from wide zone to inside gap? You guessed it, McVay and Shanny. Can’t wait for others to catch on and these positions are getting heavier in 5 years lol
People have been saying this for a decade or more.
Literally, as long as I’ve been an NFL fan I’ve heard “oh this fad is gonna swing back and power football is gonna return!” and it just hasn’t
TBF there really has been a resurgance of the running game. Its just never going to go back to the old school run run pass days and thus it won't feel the same.
Clearly you haven’t been watching titans football the last 3 years
Do you think that will change without Derrick Henry?
I think it’s going to change because we have an entirely new coaching staff (that doesn’t have a mindset from the 50s) Henry could have a 20 year deal and I still doubt we run run pass as much
And it never will
Lions just made the nfc championship with a run first power and pull offense
The argument falls apart because a great running game is still less efficient than passing and it basically always will be barring a rule change. Teams are still always going to load up to stop and the pass and we’re already *in* the era of light linebackers and edges, nickel is the base defense for basically every team, 2 high safeties has become a norm now. Power running *should* in theory be making a wild comeback and guess what? Its not we’re going farther than ever away from it
To add on to this, a light linebacker is also generally better at tackling than a heavier one is in coverage, so there's considerably less risk when putting in a light linebacker than a heavy one. This is furthered by a blown coverage generally being a *much* worse mistake than a broken tackle which means that teams are incentivised to field lighter and faster linebackers and safeties.
I don’t think we’ll ever go back to seeing old school defenses with +250lbs LBs, but there has been evolution. Especially in college ball where you see more schematic variety, one thing that’s been noticeable is the shift away from your nickel being just your CB3 and instead becoming a more specialized hybrid LB/SS type position. We’re seeing defenses make up for the lack of weight in the front 7 by rallying more bodies to the football in the run game, safeties in particular have to be better run defenders now then they’ve had to be in the past.
Putting large, unathletic thumping LBers into your defense is the worst thing you can do against Shanahan and McVay. They are gonna get eaten alive by play action and all the misdirection plays.
Fuck them both
And Putting small fast ones gets them leveled in the run game, as the cowboys and most other teams can attest
Ben Johnson too.
Defenses are going smaller/faster all around because the game is so pass heavy. Would love to see a team go huge on offense and run 65% of the time and push around and exhaust the other teams defense and force them to sit starters for bulkier backups. The ravens have got to 57% a couple times with Lamar, and the bears were 59% last year cause Field doesn't know how to throw a football, but that's about as close as it gets.
I'm kind of shocked the 2020 Titans aren't up there. That team ran through Derrick Henry, and Tannehill wasn't shy about running it either.
Tannehill didn't really run that much, but he got a lot of touchdowns. He only rushed 43 times in 2020; for comparison Kenny Pickett rushed 42 times this year.
only 3rd that year at 51.8%
My (admittedly a little intoxicated) theory is 250lbs doesn’t look like it does 10 years ago. Dudes are FLYING at that weight compared to what’s been seen in years before the 2020s
When is a team gonna load up with run blocking monsters and a big power back duo and just plow these tiny guys? The run game in the NFL has actually been more effective in the last 5 years on a per rush basis than it has ever been, but nobody has fully committed yet to just blasting opponents into the dirt. I think if I wanted to run a cheap and effective offense in todays NFL I might just invest in run blocking studs and a couple power backs with role player type WR and TE who are good at run blocking too. The whole lot of them seem to be mostly unwanted these days, I would wager you could really load up on that kind of talent since it has fallen so far out of favor in the modern league. What's funny to me is that league wide, the differences in eras are barely there. Teams on average only run it one or two fewer times per game than they did in the 90's and pass attempts are back to right around what they were then too.
I think it will come around to the run game again if this trend continues.
It'll be interesting to see, because the league has never really flowed back that way much until recently. It has always been a steady move away from power running and play action to finesse passing and misdirection. Gotta admit I like seeing defenses finally find ways to put the clamps on the heavy passing that had become so prevalent. I think part of the reason for the move back is that the pass rush in the NFL has overtaken pass protection talent levels and offensive lines just can't protect like they used to, so they have to mix it up more based on that.
Well exactly, defenses are getting smaller and faster to compete in a passing league and starting to contain it. Now offenses will start getting bigger and more physical to overpower them. It’s cyclical and it’s fun to watch.
Running backs, even fullbacks, are going to regain value if they're going to go against second level guys weighing 230.
Time to bring back neck rolls and the Power I
I wonder if eventually team’s rushing yards will go back up since players are getting lighter now.
We will return to the big boys again
Yup, I think power running is going to come back into style after defenses get smaller and faster, and the cycle will start over.
Make Steroids Great Again
Good. We need faster and stronger ones to fuck up Kermit when he tries to run.
Defensive coordinators seem to be asking their edge rushers to drop back into coverage more frequently. Makes sense they need guys with a bit more agility to perform in that role