Not big news or anything, but I always find it interesting when a team innovates on the defensive side of the ball. And with Rex as our HC, makes you wonder if he could adapt/evolve it in the future. Although the 46 might just be a better option, since the Lions do have some incredibly unique talent there
...and I always wonder why so many advertise stuff like this ahead of time? Isn't it better to spring this on teams so they don't gameplan against it? You don't see Rex and BB advertising any of their new and exotic schemes pre-game. In his first game against the Pats, Rex didn't announce during the week the different blitzes he was gonna throw at the Pats, and in 2010 he didn't show the Pats anything in the 2nd match-up that he was gonna do in the playoff game. BB didn't announce in the SB or against the Colts ahead of time he was not gonna have more then one or two DL on the field all game.
Your team is another example. You think the Phins would have bulldozed the Pats with the Wildcat when they pulled it out if the Pats knew it was coming. It never worked against them again.... ...as far as Jim Shwartz goes, I don't give a fuck what he thinks either, though I don't know what that has to do with anything.
I was just making a joke about how douchey Jim Schwartz is. Should have thrown an LOL in there. My bad Anyways didn't we have decent success with it when we beat you guys in 2010? The game where Pat White had a couple big plays? But maybe that wasn't the wildcat
To be fair its a short yardage play. I mean 1st and goal from the one you know the other team is gonna stuff it up the gut, and they know you're gonna try to shut it down I think this play is all about situations when its I know what you're gonn do and you know what I'm doing, but were just gonna be more physical and out executre you
What's their to game-plan against? You know they're gonna line up four guys who are gonna try to knock the shit out of you. Hopefully you've got the players that hold up physically against that.
Im pretty sure teams usually use defensive ends and linebackers to seal the edges, not just straight DTs. Cuz most teams dont have DTs athletic enough to pull it off
How many teams in the last 15 years had four DTs as talented as these guys? That talent could potentially allow them to use that package more often than any other team has.
Good luck running against that. Good luck stunting, passrushing, or blitzing from that look though either.
I dont see where you would use that package other than on the goal line or 4th and short. That is where every other team uses their "big" package. If they plan on rolling out 4DT's in more situations than that, they're going to get rolled in the passing game and the outside running game.
I agree that they can't use it too often, but if the talent is there they can use it more often than other teams. Let's say other teams are in their short-yardage package around 5% of the time, perhaps the Lions can use it between 10-15%. Is that gonna result in some huge impact? No, but if they can feel comfortable using it on 3rd and 1 or 2 against teams that rely on their running games (division rival Vikings come to mind) then maybe it can get them off the field more often. Also, even if they only use it the 5%, if they have the best short yardage defense in the league, that can make an impact. Forcing FGs instead of TDs can win them a lot of ball games with that offense.
Lets not pretend Suh and Fairley are out of shape bums. Theres a reason that Suh was a #1 pick, and Fairley should of been one. Id say the two of them are likely more athletic than most 3-4 DEs, and probably even faster than many of them. If im going against a team like lets say the Vikings (in their division) with someone like ADP, I might use this formation more often than you think. Obviously not ALL the time, but I dont think its as useless as one would think. These are really athletic guys after all
Suh was not a #1 pick, but I know what you mean. Fairly hasn't done anything in this league, and Suh is not know as a run defender. I haven't watched many Lions game, but when the Bills played them, Eric Wood pushed him all over the field like a rag doll. If you've got Suh on an end, I feel that it might diminish the amount of plays he has the opportunity to impact. When he's in the middle, he can control things on nearly every play. I agree that using it against the Vikings more than other teams would be a good idea, though. Make Ponder try to pass the ball.
