Clippers of Nfl Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 If I was coaching and I evaluated my players overall. I would find no reason to keep my best players on the field. If that is Merriman on ST or even TE. I would find a way to use what I have. In my opinion, based on what I know. He is a better OLB 3-4 then a DE 4-3 at this point. I would be very tempted to run a 3-3 or 4-4 with Merriman on certain situations. I can break those down if anyone wants. What's a 3-3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 If I was coaching and I evaluated my players overall. I would find no reason to keep my best players on the field. If that is Merriman on ST or even TE. I would find a way to use what I have. In my opinion, based on what I know. He is a better OLB 3-4 then a DE 4-3 at this point. I would be very tempted to run a 3-3 or 4-4 with Merriman on certain situations. I can break those down if anyone wants. If the rest of the team can't fill gaps consistently in a base 4-3 then what will additional front combinations add? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ny33 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 What's a 3-3? Three down lineman and an edge rusher lined up against a tight end or off the line altogether. Think Von Miller in passing situations, though it's more of a 3-2 in NFL practice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) What's a 3-3? Amazing defense that most people see and think a dime. http://www.33stackdefense.com/ googled it for you, found a wonderful article. http://en.wikipedia....€"3â€"5_defense The 3-3-5 is what we would do last year with the 3-4 putting Scott in as an LB, Florence, Rogers, whoever the other CB was, and our safeties. We did it a lot, actually, and played the 3-3. Imagine Merriman in the rover position...the biggest problem is that everyone knows he cannot cover, but if all he does is chip whoever is in front of him and roll to the strongside flat drawing a blocker...it's not that bad. There is a reason it is called the stacked or spread defense, which is why it is popular in high school and college. However, right now, our DL cannot control the LOS. Give it time, they might. Without the adequate Mike in the middle we cannot run this, as we do not have the player able to shed the garbage the DL lets get to him. The Mike must scrape, as effectively, any running plays get funneled right to him, and the SS would be the backup to stop him. Remember Whitner? He had lots of tackles because our LB's couldn't stop a nosebleed because our DL was a turnstyle leaving them exposed. Now, lets look at Bryan Scott and Shawn Merriman. If the first one is swiss army knife the other is a weed whacker. Scott can do a lot of things on defense, he is reliable, useful in a pinch, and can do many things that many others cannot. He has a big tool bag, but no big tools. Merriman is a weed whacker. Something that you use to get a certain job done. You cannot use it to do your whole lawn because it'll burn out. You can't use it take a big tree down, duh. But, you can open that thing up when you have the right spot and the right job. Merriman is not going to beat down the OL and take the big guys out. He is not going to cover the entire field, he's just not that athletic. What he is going to do is take advantage of what he has, find the right route and get to the QB. If we can find a way to get a swiss army knife and a weed whacker on the field, we can introduce match up issues that teams will eventually adjust to...see the Patriots. When these adjustments are made, shift the scheme, put Merrimans hand down, rush him, drop a DL like Anderson did, and blitz a CB. Adjust! Three down lineman and an edge rusher lined up against a tight end or off the line altogether. Think Von Miller in passing situations, though it's more of a 3-2 in NFL practice I do not want to insult anyone, but the casual fan just sees 4 guys in the front and 3 guys behind them, 4-3. Or see a guy on the roster as a safety and see him near the line and don't get it. Yeah, how can you disguise where the rush is coming from? We just recently had a game where the players didn't even put their hands down much...good move! If the rest of the team can't fill gaps consistently in a base 4-3 then what will additional front combinations add? Confusion on blocking assignments and when the correct defense is called on the correct schemes, pressure to the QB. To play defense against the run all you need to do is stick to your lane! Run defense is extremely hard to do, but extremely easy to defend. Passing defense is not. Just one thing...there was another thread talking about how QB's now are way different. They check down quick, pass quick and don't really play QB like they used to. Yup. True. This is why exotic blitz's are going away. This is why when you have Dick LeBeau doing your defense he has to change his schemes every 5 plays. The NFL is going the way of a run oriented league. Edited October 26, 2012 by jboyst62 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maury Ballstein Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Wanny is so clueless there is no reasoning with the decisions that we makes. The Bills D will continue to suck at epic levels until Dave is fired. nailed it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I just watched an old school video of Merriman when he was terrorizing QB's in San Diego and he was playing OLB on every one of the plays getting to the QB. Why do we have him at DE when he's obviously a situational pass Rusher at OLB? Why do Wanny and Chan feel he is a DE? Isn't it crazy to think that part of his problem of getting back to his old form is due to us making him put a hand to the ground on every play he's in? Merriman's natural position is 3-4 OLB. I suggest you consider reading something about the different roles of the OLB in a 3-4 and a 4-3, and the different roles of a DE in a 3-4 vs a 4-3. Essentially, the role of a 3-4 OLB maps most closely into the role of a 4-3 DE. That said, successful teams find a way to put their best players into roles where they can best succeed, but flexibility/adaptability don't seem to be hallmarks of Wannstache's D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 He's never played 43 olb, so I'm not sure how it became his natural position. Ya but he is a football player & at one time a very good one so what do we have to lose by trying it a couple of 3rd downs ?? a big run for say 13 yards or so , hell were doing that now . Let the guy see what he can give , what is the big difference between a 4/3 OLB & a 3/4 OLB i know there are different assignments but is it that different if the guy is a football player ??? Ya but he is a football player & at one time a very good one so what do we have to lose by trying it a couple of 3rd downs ?? a big run for say 13 yards or so , hell were doing that now . Let the guy see what he can give , what is the big difference between a 4/3 OLB & a 3/4 OLB i know there are different assignments but is it that different if the guy is a football player ??? Guys go from Formula one cars to Nascar & Dirt track to Nascar & Bush & Trucks to Nascar so why not 3/4 OLB to 4/3 OLB ?? It's worth a couple of plays especially with what our LB corp is showing right now !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Didn't SD play a 3-4 when he was there? yes but a good DC will use a player to his talents. Wanny should put him on the outside shoulder of Mario and Kelsay and let him rush like Aldon Smith does for the 9rs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Merriman is needed to motivate and fire up our defence like Ray Lewis would. We need him more as a coach then a player to get injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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