Will Wannstedt use Merriman at OLB situationally?

[Logic]

Obviously, with this question, one assumes that Merriman is healthy and makes the roster at DE. I know, big assumption.

Should that be the case, I realize that he would spend 99% of his snaps at DE. HOWEVER, I can't help but think of how deadly he could be as a situational pass rusher from the OLB position. Imagine Super Mario, Kyle, Dareus, and Mark Anderson on the line and Merriman rushing off the edge from the OLB position...Now THATS a deadly look right there.

Question is, does anyone think Wannstedt would/will employ such a tactic? I understand that they don't want #56 dropping back in coverage all the time and that type of thing, but as a pure pin-your-ears-back and rush kind of thing on, say, 3rd and 11, I don't see how it wouldn't be successful. Anyone?

[HiddenInLight]

I could see them using merriman mario or anderson in that spot. =/

[dddaryl]

not out of a 4-3... He is not going to drop into coverage, and if we put him in there to blitz it will be telegraphed

[angelo73]

I wrote about this. Yes i think u will see it. Hes bigger than Anderson. So i wouldnt be surprise to see the opposite. He played mainly with his hand in the dirt last year. The scheme is very different. I had suggested to many to research Dave Wa's D's of the past and u will see alot of what we have here. Like Metz alluded to in his interview the wide9 which we struggled against last year(i wrote on that too) is some of the new things popping up in the league. Along w lots of nickel(we played 60% lastyear) dimes and 7's. However he uses the personnel is going to be interesting. We have depth also which we did not have previously. So he can do alot of things formation and alignment wise. Im positive u will see Merriman or others w a 5 rush. It could be a 5 - 1 - 5 or a 5-2-4. But u will see it. I dare even to say a 5-6.

Cowboys and Phins were stout defensively and hard to figure out. Remember the 2 superbowl losses? We couldnt figure them out. Lots of rotation. And looks that will be hard for olines to handle. They will have to keep a back and te just to protect.

Its going to be fun. And like i said in my thread "the key" this year!

[silver]

not out of a 4-3... He is not going to drop into coverage, and if we put him in there to blitz it will be telegraphed

He's dropped into coverage while playing DE. He's capable but it's unlikely.
I don't think we're ever going to see him at OLB this year, but it would be something to do in Madden.

[angelo73]

Football is all about creating mis-matches. Nearly 53% of the NFL did not use 3-4 or 4-3 last season. Its changing. Happens all the time. 3-4 has been around about 35 yrs and 4-3 longer but both originated from the 5-2 monster. Football evolves. At the pro level its all coaching-schemes-systems cause everyone has talent. Everyone is good. Some just seperate from the ordinary player and become great players (like a Michael Jordan in the NBA) but w all the passing 53% of teams used nickel-dimes-7's giants are the best at deploying these. Thats how they beat all those passing teams and held them under 20 pts avg.

[angelo73]

Also: The new most used defense in the NFL has become a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 (with some virations) without most people even noticing. The "Nickel" CB has now generally become a starter (by number of snaps), replacing either a DT or LB. Thats why we went after Brooks and plenty of DB's the last few drafts. Scott is our guy in this role hes very important. We used rodgers alot too. We should have 9-10 DB's on the roster come 53man time.

[silver]

We should come up with a new scheme. The 1-6-4 or the 7-2-3 defense. Maybe sneak in a 4-4-4.

[angelo73]

Also: In the view of some experts, there are only approximately five or six major offensive systems run in the NFL today. We will likely face each one this year. Im confident Dave Wa is going to have the guys ready. Also google what im sharing. U will see lots of NFL folks talking about what im sharing. I played Safety. Then Coached defense. Then Coached. But im a defensive guy.

[nickh542112]

We should come up with a new scheme. The 1-6-4 or the 7-2-3 defense. Maybe sneak in a 4-4-4.

You serious?

[NOVABilliever]

Obviously, with this question, one assumes that Merriman is healthy and makes the roster at DE. I know, big assumption.

Should that be the case, I realize that he would spend 99% of his snaps at DE. HOWEVER, I can't help but think of how deadly he could be as a situational pass rusher from the OLB position. Imagine Super Mario, Kyle, Dareus, and Mark Anderson on the line and Merriman rushing off the edge from the OLB position...Now THATS a deadly look right there.

Question is, does anyone think Wannstedt would/will employ such a tactic? I understand that they don't want #56 dropping back in coverage all the time and that type of thing, but as a pure pin-your-ears-back and rush kind of thing on, say, 3rd and 11, I don't see how it wouldn't be successful. Anyone?

No. Here is why:
Merriman would be coming up on the line as the WLB in a 4-3 over (more of a 5-2). That's the only way he'd do it without the play being telegraphed. In that case, he would not be the OLB. He would be kicked inside to DE (where he'd be anyway) and Anderson would play the OLB role in this scenario, to be the outside rusher. Obviously, in this scenario, neither he nor Anderson would be in that spot because it kills your versatility- neither of them are going to drop in coverage- which telegraphs the play anyway.

So two reasons are making it too obvious, and we have two players on that side, one of which is far more adept to playing inside than the other- which is Merriman- and that wouldn't be the OLB spot anyway.

...Does this make sense? I feel like my explanation is a little jumbled, but I can't really articulate it any better.

[Buffalo90]

We should come up with a new scheme. The 1-6-4 or the 7-2-3 defense. Maybe sneak in a 4-4-4.

I think we should use the 0-10-1. The 10 LBs will confuse the QB like crazy, and we will have two midgets at safety because they are half a person.

[NOVABilliever]

I wrote about this. Yes i think u will see it. Hes bigger than Anderson. So i wouldnt be surprise to see the opposite. He played mainly with his hand in the dirt last year. The scheme is very different. I had suggested to many to research Dave Wa's D's of the past and u will see alot of what we have here. Like Metz alluded to in his interview the wide9 which we struggled against last year(i wrote on that too) is some of the new things popping up in the league. Along w lots of nickel(we played 60% lastyear) dimes and 7's. However he uses the personnel is going to be interesting. We have depth also which we did not have previously. So he can do alot of things formation and alignment wise. Im positive u will see Merriman or others w a 5 rush. It could be a 5 - 1 - 5 or a 5-2-4. But u will see it. I dare even to say a 5-6.

Cowboys and Phins were stout defensively and hard to figure out. Remember the 2 superbowl losses? We couldnt figure them out. Lots of rotation. And looks that will be hard for olines to handle. They will have to keep a back and te just to protect.

Its going to be fun. And like i said in my thread "the key" this year!

Right. This is one of the things I tried to explain. Anderson would be the outside guy, because he's the speed rusher, whereas Merriman can play the DE position with an array of pass-rush techniques, and more size. But at the same time I think it's sort of a wash, because Anderson is not in any way suited for a 4-3 OLB position. So if we see it, it won't be from the 4-3 at all, it will be from a 5-2 nickel.

[angelo73]

Check this out:
As with offensive formations, there are many combinations that can be used to set up a defense. Unusual defensive alignments are constantly used in an effort to neutralize a given offense's strengths. In winning Super Bowl XXV, the New York Giants played with two down linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs, a strategy that prevented their opponents, the Buffalo Bills, a team with a strong passing game, from completing long passes. In a 2004 game, the New England Patriots used no down linemen and seven linebackers for two plays against the Miami Dolphins.

In this past SuperBowl the Giants had so many variations.

Key word w each alignment or "what ppl are used to hearing" (most folks cant imagine u changing what they already know, it troubles them) that key word is VARIATIONS

U will see some of this. I heard in OTA's they did a few "rare" formations.

Offensively u have a very creative coach. As well as defensively.
Here is one place u could read the basic info of defense and some new things. Key word always is "variations"
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameri...tball_strategy

[angelo73]

Right. This is one of the things I tried to explain. Anderson would be the outside guy, because he's the speed rusher, whereas Merriman can play the DE position with an array of pass-rush techniques, and more size. But at the same time I think it's sort of a wash, because Anderson is not in any way suited for a 4-3 OLB position. So if we see it, it won't be from the 4-3 at all, it will be from a 5-2 nickel.

Yea when i saw u write this i knew. Def from a 5-2. But i have a very good feeling u will see some 4-3 variations. Not 100% all game every game. Lol. Sometimes on these boards u have to say the obvious. But 1-2-3 plays in a game yes. Shawne will and it might flip w Anderson alsom in that case u'll see Barnett and shep. Or just Barnett or shep. Plus the DBs set. Also similar to the giants u might see a 5 w the 6 dbs.

[steckmeister03]

We should come up with a new scheme. The 1-6-4 or the 7-2-3 defense. Maybe sneak in a 4-4-4.

The Giants use a 4-4 every now and then. I've also seen the ravens, steelers, cowboys etc. use a 1-5-5 in the past. You might even remember the sparsely used "creep" with 0 down lineman from Perry Fewell's time here. They're all interesting alignments that can catch an offense off guard but would be abused if implemented regularly.

[julian67]

Obviously, with this question, one assumes that Merriman is healthy and makes the roster at DE. I know, big assumption.

health may be an issue but he is definitely making the roster. I cant recall the specifics, but the structure of his contract pretty much guarantees he will be on the team.

Basically at this point, we have too much money in the pot to fold, we just need to see that river card!

[Stud37]

We should come up with a new scheme. The 1-6-4 or the 7-2-3 defense. Maybe sneak in a 4-4-4.

The refs will never know we have 12 guys on the field, they will be that good.

[julian67]

The Giants use a 4-4 every now and then. I've also seen the ravens, steelers, cowboys etc. use a 1-5-5 in the past. You might even remember the sparsely used "creep" with 0 down lineman from Perry Fewell's time here. They're all interesting alignments that can catch an offense off guard but would be abused if implemented regularly.

In 3rd and long situations I would love to see a 1-5-5. [if I understand, this is 5 down, 5 DBs and barnett or shep?] Its basically an honest blitz. Its like saying, hey, we are bringing 5, you know we are, we know you know we are.

No tricks, lets just see if you can stop mario, kyle, dareus, anderson and merriman.

Now that would be a sick rush. Seven blockers maybe, leaving 3 WRs vs 5 DBs.

[angelo73]

The Giants use a 4-4 every now and then. I've also seen the ravens, steelers, cowboys etc. use a 1-5-5 in the past. You might even remember the sparsely used "creep" with 0 down lineman from Perry Fewell's time here. They're all interesting alignments that can catch an offense off guard but would be abused if implemented regularly.

Absolutely. I've seen em. Thats whats so funny that some folks cannot fathom us using in a few plays Shawne at olb or anderson or in a particular formation having all 5 best rushers in. We can even go 3-4 which would be a 5-2 basically w shawne - mario - kyle - dareus - anderson... And soooooo many other variations of formations. Not every down? Never said that. But in key situations etc. Even in a base 4-3 where u are blitzing Shawne or anderson can step in at either side and blitz. I actually used several of these packages w my 140's when i coached in 2007 i have the youtube footage. I put the link on another thread. The QB nor the runner could get out of the backfield. Too much pressure.