The Rams moving forward

[TanksAndSpartans]

Billy Kilmer is a strong candidate for worst Super Bowl QB performance in Super Bowl VII.

I would say David Woodley in XVII.

[JohnTurney]

Rams have issues some issues and some of them exposed. One is McVay has a system and he needs to expand it. Sure, do what works, but have something else. They don't have a FB on the roster for example. So, no power football. That's out. They are a zone-exclusive running team. And when they lost Kupp, they lost a lot, they need someone who can step into that role..I would have maybe tried Woods in the slot rather than Reynolds.

The Oline was not as good as people thought. And going forward, they need to replace 3 aging guys and a 1 poor player who was vastly overrated by PFF (Blythe)

The defensive calls and coverage by the LBers and secondary was excellent. But Suh was stealing $14 mil all year, had 2 good playoff games, and then was neutralized in SB. They need a real nose tackle if they are sticking with the 3-4 in base. And playing him at DE in nickel is not a good idea. No real pressure, except on occasion.

But Belichick outcoached McVay. Obi Wan taught the young Padawan a lesson. Pats played a 6-1 diamond front in base and Rams couldn't block it. Pats single covered Cooks and double Woods and it worked. Forced Goff to go to Reynolds too often and that won't win you many games.

Pats kicked their butts. Had Brady not been off, it would have been super ugly rather than ugly.

[lastcat3]

Obi Wan taught the young Padawan a lesson.

Obi Wan?????? Millions of people just cried out in horror because of that statement.




http://fastphillysports.com/wp-content/ ... 20x350.jpg

[nicefellow31]

Rams have issues some issues and some of them exposed. One is McVay has a system and he needs to expand it. Sure, do what works, but have something else. They don't have a FB on the roster for example. So, no power football. That's out. They are a zone-exclusive running team. And when they lost Kupp, they lost a lot, they need someone who can step into that role..I would have maybe tried Woods in the slot rather than Reynolds.

The Oline was not as good as people thought. And going forward, they need to replace 3 aging guys and a 1 poor player who was vastly overrated by PFF (Blythe)

The defensive calls and coverage by the LBers and secondary was excellent. But Suh was stealing $14 mil all year, had 2 good playoff games, and then was neutralized in SB. They need a real nose tackle if they are sticking with the 3-4 in base. And playing him at DE in nickel is not a good idea. No real pressure, except on occasion.

But Belichick outcoached McVay. Obi Wan taught the young Padawan a lesson. Pats played a 6-1 diamond front in base and Rams couldn't block it. Pats single covered Cooks and double Woods and it worked. Forced Goff to go to Reynolds too often and that won't win you many games.

Pats kicked their butts. Had Brady not been off, it would have been super ugly rather than ugly.

6-1 Diamond Front. Can you give a quick explanation what that is?

[JuggernautJ]

Wow... talk about bad timing... just a few minutes before John posted.
My apologies.

6-1 Diamond Front. Can you give a quick explanation what that is?

Not intended to in any way to speak for John or usurp his area of expertise but I found this interesting bit on the 6-2 defense, including this excerpt from Steve Belichick.

"Steve Belichick differentiates between three fundamental forms of the 6-2, based on the position of the linebackers.
If the linebackers are in the interior of the formation, with three defensive linemen to either side of them, then the formation is called the Split 6. If two guards are found between the two linebackers, then the formation is called the Wide 6 or the Wide Tackle 6. A formation where the linebackers are over the ends, in a fashion akin to the 5-2 Eagle, then the formation is referred to as the Tight 6.

Stemming from the Wide Tackle 6 front is the Stacked 6-2. In this formation, the linebackers line up behind the guards instead."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6%E2%80%932_defense

I am thinking (John, please correct me if I am wrong) that the "6-1 Diamond" would be very similar to this 6-2(-3) D with one of the backers being subbed out for a 4th defensive back. If this d back was a coverage back then the resulting 6-1/1-2-1 diamond would be more of a pass defense; if he was a "46" type safety/linebacker hybrid then the resulting 8-in-the-box would be more of a run D. Of course, any number of zones and/or blitzes could be run from this versatile formation depending on what type of player(s) were in the game (are the men on the ends of the line linebackers or down lineman?).

Another way to think of it might be as a 4-3 with Sam and Will (the outside 'backers) lined up on the line of scrimmage, outside the interior line.

In seven man leagues our (sandlot) basic D was a 2 man rush, 3-2 zone. If we blitzed one we often rotated to a 3-1-2-1
diamond so this is a D with which I am pretty familiar. It is fun to see it in the Pro game (I used to see it a lot in Arena Football).

[JohnTurney]

6-1 Diamond Front. Can you give a quick explanation what that is?

It's men on LOS, it's a variation of a 4-3 defense with the two OLBers on the LOS. Chung, in Pats defense is a LBer, in the 3-4 they run he's been one of the ILBers, here in the 4-3 he;s an OLBer. But Most 4-3 defeneses the NFl runs are over shifted or undershifted meaning there are 5 men on LOS and 2 LBers. Ten years ago teams did run a a lot 4-3 with 4 on LOS and 3 LBers off the ball, you see it still, but less so. Anyway, when there are 4- or 5-men on the LOS there is a soft spot or "bubble" where there is a gap and often teams try to 'run to the bubble' or where the soft spot is. The 6-1 makes the edges wider, to prevent jet sweeps (which Rams use) and tosses to the outside, which Rams like with Gurley. The 6-1 eliminates those.

But, the 6-1 also means you only have one defender on the second level. So, your 6 guys up front have to win 1-on-1 battles with the 5 linemen and TE. It's 6-on-6. I think Belichick knew his linemen could beat the Rams oline via technique and with stunts.

The Pats used the 6-1 some in the Jets game week 17. THis year you can see them in 3-4 a lot, but mostly 3-3 nickel even on a lot of run downs.

The 6-1 is more of a defense you'd see in the 50s-70s.

[JohnTurney]

Here is Pats in a 3-4, which looks same as 5-2.





here is a 4-3 with 3 LBer off the line

[JuggernautJ]

Rams have issues some issues and some of them exposed. One is McVay has a system and he needs to expand it. Sure, do what works, but have something else.

Hey John,

It seems to me the Rams (unlike almost every effective offense since Sid Gilman?) play very "narrow" offensive formations.
Their "wide-receivers" aren't (lined up wide) and when they run motion the ball is often snapped with the motion man still between the tackles (and often functioning as a lead blocker).

The Rams do not often line up in formations that stretch the field horizontally.
Then from these narrow formations they either attempt a "power" run (outnumbering the D at the point of attack) into the middle of the formation or work from the "inside-out" with flares or outs.

Are we seeing the same thing?
What do you think of this approach? Is it perhaps tailored to the abilities of the Rams personnel?

I can see how playing a "6-1 Diamond" would counter this "narrow" offense.

[JohnTurney]

Rams have issues some issues and some of them exposed. One is McVay has a system and he needs to expand it. Sure, do what works, but have something else.

Hey John,

It seems to me the Rams (unlike almost every effective offense since Sid Gilman?) play very "narrow" offensive formations.
Their "wide-receivers" aren't (lined up wide) and when they run motion the ball is often snapped with the motion man still between the tackles (and often functioning as a lead blocker).

The Rams do not often line up in formations that stretch the field horizontally.
Then from these narrow formations they either attempt a "power" run (outnumbering the D at the point of attack) into the middle of the formation or work from the "inside-out" with flares or outs.

Are we seeing the same thing?
What do you think of this approach? Is it perhaps tailored to the abilities of the Rams personnel?

I can see how playing a "6-1 Diamond" would counter this "narrow" offense.

Yes, agree. Rams play "nasty" or "zero" splits a lot, with bunches near the 5 OLmen. It's been what Rams have done for 2 years. Early downs they like that "tight" look. And yea, I think having a LBer outside each DE does help counter that, they can disrupt the releases, and they can widen the defense making it harder to get around the edge, limits sweeps, jet sweeps ,like that.

[JohnTurney]

https://twitter.com/NFL_Journal/status/ ... 5210578944