Most surprising stat so far - sacks

[Dantés]

There has obviously been talk in the past of Capers defenses of the past few years and how guys always seemed to be confused or out of position pretty regularly. Some speculated that it could be due to the complexity of Capers system and the inability of the players to grasp it and execute it properly, and then there were those that said Capers didn't do a good enough job of communicating and reinforcing the scheme.

It seems there's quite a bit of complexity to Pettine's defense with the different blitz packages and such especially situationally, yet it seems like there's been much less confusion and better execution.

What are your thoughts on this? It seems to suggest to me that Capers did a lousy job teaching and reinforcing the scheme and making sure guys knew where they needed to be. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about the Pettine scheme as a Ryan protégée.

I know before the season that Pettine said his scheme is flexible in the sense that he can give the appearance of complexity to an offense while the execution of the defensive play call is actually very simple. Additionally, he mentioned being able to put a lot of mental complexity on players who are ready to handle it, while keeping it simple for other guys. Those things are true to one extent or another of any defensive scheme, but it seems to be that Pettine is being particularly effective at managing those aspects of his job.

Blitzes themselves are not really that complex from a player's perspective. Any player can memorize the call, know what call has them blitzing, and carry out their role. An entire mass of players at the LOS, with some dropping and some rushing appears very complicated to us as fans, but it isn't necessarily. What gets complex for players is being asked to key on certain elements of the offense and react based on those keys. Rather than having a role to carry out, knowing it before the play, and executing, you have to rather assess after the snap, react, and do so quickly enough (and in unison as a unit) for it to be successful.

I can't begin to say how complex the roles are that are being given to individual players right now, but I would guess that most of the time, they know their job pre-snap and they do it, and as a result we're seeing far fewer blown coverages this season.

 

[PackAttack12]

I know before the season that Pettine said his scheme is flexible in the sense that he can give the appearance of complexity to an offense while the execution of the defensive play call is actually very simple. Additionally, he mentioned being able to put a lot of mental complexity on players who are ready to handle it, while keeping it simple for other guys. Those things are true to one extent or another of any defensive scheme, but it seems to be that Pettine is being particularly effective at managing those aspects of his job.

Blitzes themselves are not really that complex from a player's perspective. Any player can memorize the call, know what call has them blitzing, and carry out their role. An entire mass of players at the LOS, with some dropping and some rushing appears very complicated to us as fans, but it isn't necessarily. What gets complex for players is being asked to key on certain elements of the offense and react based on those keys. Rather than having a role to carry out, knowing it before the play, and executing, you have to rather assess after the snap, react, and do so quickly enough (and in unison as a unit) for it to be successful.

I can't begin to say how complex the roles are that are being given to individual players right now, but I would guess that most of the time, they know their job pre-snap and they do it, and as a result we're seeing far fewer blown coverages this season.

Makes a ton of sense. Just blows my mind that guys who were in Capers system for multiple years would look lost and befuddled on the regular, and Pettine comes in and incorporates new wrinkles and such and everyone seems to be in position much more regularly.

To your point, it really speaks to Pettine's abilities not only as a defensive mind, but as a guy that knows the limitations of his players in knowing what they can handle. As of the present, he seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered for this defense.

 

[Dantés]

Makes a ton of sense. Just blows my mind that guys who were in Capers system for multiple years would look lost and befuddled on the regular, and Pettine comes in and incorporates new wrinkles and such and everyone seems to be in position much more regularly.

To your point, it really speaks to Pettine's abilities not only as a defensive mind, but as a guy that knows the limitations of his players in knowing what they can handle. As of the present, he seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered for this defense.

All coaches have systems and all coaches adapt their systems, but I think that some are more rigidly committed to "what they do" and others are more willing to adapt to what their players can do. I think Capers is more of the former, and Pettine is more of the latter. Belichick is the ultimate, ideal example of the latter.

I also think that these league catches up with all but the most tirelessly innovative coaches. When Capers took over, his defense was really hard for offenses to figure out. By the time he got fired, it had become predictable.

I think on the whole, Capers was a good coach. But he had run his course.

 

[C-Lee]

I think on the whole, Capers was a good coach. But he had run his course.

Sounds familiar

 

[PackAttack12]

Sounds familiar

Yep. The only difference is that McCarthy has AR to spray deodorant on it.

 

[Eduardo Valadares]

Give us a head coach, sit back and watch those Lombardi trophies coming home.

 

[Heyjoe4]

my friend and I were talking about this during the game and the biggest difference between Pettine's defense and the philosophy before is that in this system everybody can be a playmaker. It's not based around having defensive studs, it's about having defensive players. Well Alexander is a stud IMO, but it's not about setting up the stars of the defense. It's about putting people in positions to win. Everyone bagging on Matthews and he actually had a pretty good game last week. He cut inside, took 2 blockers leaving Kenny with a 1 on 1 he had almost already slipped by to get the sack. Pettine is taking OLB's and putting them in coverage to send a safety. He's creating a mismatch with OLB's so an inside rusher can beat 1 guy and go. He's picking times to use his OLB's to rush. Plays press and then brings a safety or DB. Everyone can be a playmaker. I like it.

I did not know we led the league in sacks though. Nice work guys.

Totally agree. Pettine certainly buys into the team concept of defense, and the improvements are obvious (although I’m surprised just how many sacks the team has). The biggest difference I see between Pettine and Capers is how well Pettine disguises what he’s doing. That requires a LOT of communication on the field and a very tight unit. Nice job in his first year.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Give us a head coach, sit back and watch those Lombardi trophies coming home.

I agree. Under MM, we don’t have a HC, we have a glorified OC. The HC job in GB will be the most coveted position in the NFL. I hope Glute is already looking at candidates he would like to bring in.