Hi Anthony,
Greetings my friend. I hope you are doing well.
This is my take on your questions. By the way I aplogize in advance because I can get lengthy.
1) This is an Electric/Miniature football chatboard and thus most topics will consist of questions like Decals, Painting, Tweaking and other things that relate to Electric/Miniature football. So if I were to go to a Fantasy Football chatboard I would expect most topics to be centered on Fantasy Football. If someone asks a question about regular football that people want to answer then they will. I hope you understand where I am coming from regarding the first question.
2) I am old school and to me everything starts up front on both offense and defense. The front five and TE are the backbone of the offense and the front seven are the backbone on defense. You can have the best DB's who can play man to man, and zone defenses that confuse the best QB's in the game. In my book if you don't get pressure upfront then zones and the greatest DB's can be taken advantage of. I look at the DL as boxers who punch to the body. Enough body punches will cause your opponent to drop his guard. If a QB is pressured and hit enough after each throw then you can throw his timing off, get in his head, and possibly get an interception. A good example is when the Colts were 13-0 in '05 and played the Chargers. The Chargers sacked Manning four times and through his timing off. They eventually won the game. The same thing happened a few weeks later in the playoffs when the Steelers upset the Colts at home.
3) Teach your DL and LB's how to use there eyes and understand that the OL will NEVER lie. When you are lined up across an OL and you are able to rush past them TOO easily on a pass play then you know something is up. The LB's should be reading as well. If an OL has let your DL pursue the QB too easily without continue to block then BINGO that should mean screen. Also if the OL has let you get pass them too easily and the QB is not in a panic when you are rushing him then again BINGO that usually should mean screen. Watch which side the RB is sliding to and which way the linemen are leaning and that tells you the direction of the screen.
4) Remember the OL do NOT lie. If you are in the 4-3 lined up across a tackle or guard and they pull hard to the the right, which is the left of the defense, then at 75% of the time that means sweep. Instruct your DL when the guard or tackle pulls HARD then you follow. Remember the guard may pull and peel back which could mean rollout. It is how HARD they pull. As for the MLB in the 4-3 whichever way the guard pulls then you go in that direction. Make sure you stay in your lane to guard against the cutback. If it is a 3-4 then again when the guard pulls then both MLB's must go in the direction that the guard pulls and stay in your lane to protect against the cutback. As for the OLB if you are on the weakside and the sweep comes your way then you must neutralize the pulling guard and try to prevent him from going upfield. A classic example of this was illustrated in Super Bowl VII. That was the game where the Dolphins completed there undefeated season. The Dolphins ran a sweep in 1st Quarter. Believe it or not Larry Czonka was the ball carrier. Redskins OLB Jack Pardee cut pulling guard Larry Little before he could get upfield and block. This neutralized Larry Czonka because no longer did he have a blocker out front and 5'9" 175 pound DB Pat Fischer made a solo tackle. If you are the LB on the strong side and the sweep comes your way then your job is to neutralize the TE who more than likely will be blocking you. One would need to teach the front seven that the OL will often tell you what kind of play is taking place once the ball is snapped. For example if the OL raise up then you know more than likely it is pass. The next time Super Bowl VII is shown either on ESPN or the NFL Network watch for the sweep that the Dolphins ran in the 1st quarter and how OLB Jack Pardee defended the sweep.
5) That is a tough one because you really do not want your OLB going wide to cover or jam a TE. If my memory is correct Dallas Clark and Antonio Gates are TE's who are occasionally split wide. I am with Matt on this one and that is play zone and jam them the best you can. The last thing I would want is a TE running loose in the secondary without anyone at least putting a hand on him before he gets into his pass pattern.
6) I might be wrong but at least 90% of the time it is up to the LB's to cover the RB's coming out of the backfield on pass plays. Players like Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk were nightmares to defensive coordinators and LB's because of how well they caught passes out of the backfield. LT is another RB who is gifted when it comes to catching passes out of the backfield. Go back to Super Bowl XIX when the 49ers played the Dolphins. Because of how well Roger Craig caught passes neutralized the Dolphins MLB's. Bill Walsh designed plays where the RB's went out as if they were going on flare patterns. The middle of the field was wide open for TE Russ Francis. I apologize for getting carried away but as I said initially 90% of the time the RB's are the responsibility of the LB's on pass plays.
That is my .02 cents worth.
Coach_J
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