Live Chat -- Sunday (July 31) 8:15 PM EST | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Live Chat -- Sunday (July 31) 8:15 PM EST

Very good chat. Feel like I'm a more informed football fan because of it.
 
magoo spoke highly of you to me so i figured i'd check it out...thanks

lawson and gholston...interesting...god knows i'd welcome some real competition at free safety
 
I've read the replay another successful interactive chat GM. let me know if you plan on doing a weekly and if so what time(S) for the next one.
 
WeVie said:
I have been trying to chat but my comments never show up. I think two comments showed up out of everyone I tried to send.
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All the comments are sent, but he chooses which ones he responds to.

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Thanks for chat.. always great to get more of an insight on everything. Especially nice to see a viewpoint other than "the sky is falling"
 
SRM said:
All the comments are sent, but he chooses which ones he responds to.

--

Thanks for chat.. always great to get more of an insight on everything. Especially nice to see a viewpoint other than "the sky is falling"
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So if he chooses not to respond to it, then it will not show up?
 
SRM said:
Right.. no harm meant though of course, I'm sure he has a crapload of comments going through
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Exactly. During these chats I feel like a cocaine addict sometimes with the frequency the comments come in -- it becomes difficult to keep track of everything. Chances are if it didn't get published, I probably didn't see it.

WeVie actually had some good questions and insight, I appreciated all your input.
 
yeah wevie...while your asking if chicks dig last of the mohicans hair he's talkin football...:lol:
 
Very nice job once again. One note that particularly intrigued me was Nolan adopting Saban's "transition" zone coverage scheme a few years ago (rather than his press cover 4 approach of before). I thought I knew what that meant but I found an article that filled in the details for me. Here's the particularly relevant quote for anyone who wanted elaboration on that point:

More significant, however, is that Saban heavily coaches up “pattern reading” within his zone drops. The two zone-dropping schools of thought are to teach “spot-drops” or “pattern-reading.” One can overemphasize the distinction, but generally spot-dropping is easier to teach and was the traditional approach. For example, if your outside linebacker is responsible for the weak-flat, he will take his read steps and, upon reading pass, will drop to a spot and then react to the QB’s eyes. A big advantage with spot-dropping is simply that it is easy to teach to, say, a run-stuffing inside linebacker who spends most of his time on run game pursuit and shedding blocks. But the weakness is that well coached receivers – who have enough time – can become excellent at settling in the “zone holes” between defenders. And, with good receivers and good QBs, offenses have become more and more adept and finding and exploiting these zone holes.

Pattern-reading, on the other hand, is much like a matchup-zone in basketball. Defenders are responsible for zones but they basically play man on the receivers who come into their zones. Moreover, pattern-read teams begin by immediately coaching their defenders on how to recognize popular pass combinations (and indeed, the very concept of pass-combinations themselves), and each week zero in on the 5-15 most common pass concepts they will see from that opponent. When done correctly, pattern-reading defenders know exactly how to cover receivers in their zones and seamlessly (in a quite literal sense) pass the receivers onto other defenders as they run their routes. One thing that distinguishes Saban is that he uses pattern-reading in almost all of his coverages, including the traditional Cover 3, whereas many coaches only let certain defenders pattern read or only use it with certain defenses like Cover 4.
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Here's the link for anyone who wants to read the whole thing:

http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2008/08/coaching-preview-alabamas-nick-saban-vs.html

I admit with some sheepishness that I had no idea this kind of zone coverage wasn't taught. It seems utterly illogical not to teach it, though I'll grant it requires players of a certain athleticism and especially intelligence to run it. So I'm relieved this is what Nolan's teaching.

I could be mistaken, but press man cover 4 -- Nolan's previous philosophy according to Davenport -- sounds an awful lot like Paul Pasqualoni's philosophy (PP and Nolan both learned 3-4 defense from Wade Phillips if I remember correctly). Pasqualoni was hampered somewhat by our personnel but I very much felt that he ran that defense with all the creativity of a brain dead salmon. Fighting... back... memories... of Sean Smith saying any motion by the offense made them switch into straight man coverage in '09. Ugh. Nope, I couldn't fight it back.

Anyhow, I watched two of Kevin Burnett's games the other night (@ Kansas City and vs. New England) to get a better feel for him -- although I was already a fan -- and one thing I noticed right off is that he excels in this kind of "transition" coverage. Very aware, head on a swivel. Flows with receivers. He doesn't take on pulling guards with any enthusiasm (he seems to prefer leading with his inside shoulder to the outside of the guard and then spinning back inside to try to make the tackle) but the guy is athletic and effective in both man and zone coverage. Certainly an upgrade to Crowder in this regard. Given the way offenses are played outside of a handful teams, it's a smart trade. Hopefully the combination of Burnett and Dansby (who for all his athleticism has never struck me as being particularly bright) can make up for the difference mentally.
 
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