Hardy Pyle Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Is this largely due to defenses having to contend with, to a greater extent, spread formations? Any other explanations? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Is this largely due to defenses having to contend with, to a greater extent, spread formations? Any other explanations? Thanks. Everyone dreams their safeties to be like Polamalu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Is this largely due to defenses having to contend with, to a greater extent, spread formations? Any other explanations? Thanks. Depends entirely on offensive formation and the offensive personnel you're going against. Just contrast the Bills and NE for instance. The Bills constantly line up in tight formations, very seldom spread a defense. Why? Personnel. Makes it easy for opposing Ds to crowd the LOS because the ONLY weapon that's gonna hurt them in those formations is Evans but that's negated by the man-over/under coverage and it allows a D, since they are stacked close, to bring pressure which will disrupt both run and pass plays. NE, on the other hand, has suprerior personnel that allows them to spread a D and make it impossible to bring our safety up in run support. I would LOVE for the Bills to go back to the days of single back, 3 wides as our base O. But we haven't had the personnel to run that offense effectively. In order we need better QB play, better OL play, and better personnel in the form of threats at TE, 2nd WR, and slot receiver. That requires superior physical play but more importantly you need smart players than can make solid pre/post snap reads. Again, that's on the QB and receivers. GO BILLS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardy Pyle Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'm not sure that answered my question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'm not sure that answered my question? OK. The short answer to your original question is, "yes." Another explanation, although related to the more frequent use of spread formations, is that more safeties need to be better in coverage as a result so they will tend to be smaller and DCs are not going to risk injuries as often. There are a few exceptions. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Is this largely due to defenses having to contend with, to a greater extent, spread formations? Any other explanations? Thanks. It's got a lot to do with more passing as opposed to running the ball. That, and have more speed in their front 7 to handle running backs. IIRC, only three pure strong safeties were taken in the entire draft. Them and players like former Cowboy Roy Williams simply don't have the coverage skills to play every down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Friends Call Me Tebucky Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think the speed and athleticism of tight ends compared to 15, 20 years ago has a lot to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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