DrDawkinstein Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 In reading the article, unless I am mistaken, the SAM just has to be big and fast. Not an elite talent, but an semi-ordinary DE Lite with speed. So, Curry fits the bill, as does Branch. Maybe Shea McLellin. I wouldn't think that guy is on the roster (unless you count....Kelsay...go ahead..throw the wrench at me) The thing that worries me is that Sheppard doesn't have the elite speed and athletic ability to be a monster Mike in a 4-3. The thing that really worries me is just how bad that defense was last year. Do we have ideal fits for ANY of these positions? They were drafted/signed with a 3-4 in mind. Dont underestimate Sheppard, or count him out just yet. Kid was a force on LSU's defense, and the emotional leader. Im interested to see what he can do with Wanny at the helm (and Williams-Dareus-Williams-Merriman in front of him). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Beach Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Wanny plays an "over" 4-3 which is the same defense that Jimmy Johnson brought to he great Hurricane teams and then later to the Cowboys. This article tells you all that you need to know about the defense and the personnel that the Bills are going to use. Dareus and KW are going to dominate inside next year! http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2010/9/28/1695461/miami-unc-the-4-3-over-slide-front Very nice article. Haven't seen this one before and it has some nice descriptions of the strengths & weaknesses. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 The "Will" will be Barnett The "Mike" will be Shepard The "sam" will be Merriman Based on the team we currently have this is my prediction The sam plays at the line when there is a TE on his side. Typically the largest of the group, he has to take on the TE. Why Merriman fits? (*assuming he is healthy) he can hold the line of scrimmage against any TE, playing next to Mario Williams, teams will keep their TE in for blocking duties. In the event that they pass and the TE releases you'll be asking a RT to block Williams or Merriman until he gets help. George Wilson then picks up the TE in coverage. It Kind of looks like a 3-4 with a NG head up on the Center, the 3 playing the gap between the LG and LT (which is called the 3) and the RE outside of the LT. The LE goes pretty close to Heads up over the RT and the Mike plays almost over the RG. The Key to this defense is Will, he has to be able to fly around and make tackles. Barnett is clearly our best LB and makes the most sense. When there isn't a TE on the strong side, Merriman could get lost, I am hoping that his read and react skills are better than many here think. In the draft, Lavonte David from Neb fits the Will nearly perfectly. Dont'a Hightower has the size to play the Sam and the athletic ability to play the Mike. Currently I see the following happening. on run downs (or more than 2 WR are in the game) Merriman plays Sam and Kelsey plays RE. On passing downs they can shuffle Merriman in to RE along with Moats and maybe Batten if he makes the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) Good article on defensive alignments. Based on that, is Sheppard elite enough to be the Mike? Seems more like a Hightower....I need to check te Bills website to check our LBs size to see who matches up to a traditional SAM or Will LB. I assume Barnett is the SAM, but I dunno. It's new to me. I really liked that article. I knew our LBs sucked, but now I can tell HOW they suck. The D Line is the key to this defense. Up field pressure and 1 gap schemes that lead to lots of TFLs and backfield havoc. Dareus will thrive playing 3 tech. 3 tech alignment alone will always give him the advantage to the strong side. I remember hearing Warren Sapp, who played 3 in this defense, say that Dareus's best position would be the 3...I'll take Sapp's word for it. KW is going to look a lot like the guy from 2 years ago because he's back in a 1 tech with a tilt which again gives him the advantage playside. I expect Bills opponents to running a lot of misdirection this year and then we'll see how good those LBs are. A guy like Keuckly would dominate in this defense and is a true Mike. His instincts are off the charts and he doesn't miss tackle. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if Buddy picks him. Wanny ran the same defense at Pitt and has always run this defense. He's from the JJ/Butch Davis tree and they all run the same defense. He's not changing. Maybe we'll draft Coples to be "our" Tony Tolbert. Edited March 17, 2012 by John Cocktosten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Just one thing, yes, most of the time quicker and faster LBers tend to be a little smaller, but they don't HAVE to be. I know they are rare, but a LB who is big AND fast is just a nice bonus for this scheme. Sorry, I was having a terrible Cover 2 flash back! We don't have to get "small" at LB people. From Day one Buddy said he wants big men that can dominate in the cold weather... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 The "Will" will be Barnett The "Mike" will be Shepard The "sam" will be Merriman Based on the team we currently have this is my prediction I believe the Bills have already publicly stated that Merriman is DE in this defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playman Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 i expect a lot of everything. over - under - even - whatever it takes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Dont underestimate Sheppard, or count him out just yet. Kid was a force on LSU's defense, and the emotional leader. Im interested to see what he can do with Wanny at the helm (and Williams-Dareus-Williams-Merriman in front of him). The Staff & Nix are high on this kid. IIRC Wanny or Chan already said he was the MIKE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Take the highest rated LB and then move guys around to make it work. He's listed as inside, but I don't care where we put him. Shep can compete with Morrison for the SAM http://www.bceagles.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/kuechly_luke00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estro Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) Lavonte David, from Nebraska, is the best pure 4-3 OLB in this draft, for my money. Don't know why he's not rated higher amongst the draft pundits. BTW, the biggest knock on David is his size. He's 6'1" - 233lbs. For comparisons sake, Jon Beason is 6'0" -237 lbs. So I don't see his size has a hige problem. Edited March 17, 2012 by Estro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllib olaffub Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 As much as we could use a LT at #10 in the draft, I've been wondering about the linebacker position. Namely, we've invested so much these past few years in 3-4 linebackers; so, how will this translate? Surely our D-line will now be one of the best in the league, and our secondary should be fine (drafting another corner to finish the lot is also a real possibility), and Bennett and Shepphard are good enough to play, but what of the guys like Moats, Batten, and White? Where are those guys going to fit in? And, every great defense has a really great linebacker coordinating things. Do we have a linebacker that can be great? I don't think so - and that is why drafting a linebacker with our first pick doesn't seem totally out of the question, if the Bills believe he can be their leader and make this defense great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobillsinytown Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) Great article on the the base 43, but rememnber that college and pro is night and day. There's a lot more situational substitution going on in the pros, and also players are expected to do a lot more. So each player has a lot more responsibility in general. I believe that Buddy said the D was in a 4 DL alignment about 46 percent of the time last year. So it seems like they've been transitioning from the 34 to the 43 anyway. Those alignments don't have as much meaning in the pros, since pro defenses change alignments based on down and distance, and based on the personnel of the offense they're playing against. In the AFC East, defenses play a lot of nickel, since the Patriots dictate that alignment and the NFL is pretty much become a passing league. That's why Buddy says "you can never have enough corners". That being said, a great DL in the traditional 43 stacks up very well, because a great DL can bring pressure on the QB by itself. All in all, having a player like Mario, who forces teams to account for him, makes a big difference. Edited March 17, 2012 by gobillsinytown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) As much as we need help at outside LB the fact remains that we'll be in the nickel half the time with the same front 4 on the field. If we stuff teams early and manage to get a lead by halftime we would likely be in the nickel almost exclusively for the remainder of those respective games. Edited March 17, 2012 by RealityCheck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 As much as we need help at outside LB the fact remains that we'll be in the nickel half the time with the same front 4 on the field. If we stuff teams early and manage to get a lead by halftime we would likely be in the nickel almost exclusively for the remainder of those respective games. Very good point! Bringing us back to: Where is Bryan Scott? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estro Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 As much as we need help at outside LB the fact remains that we'll be in the nickel half the time with the same front 4 on the field. If we stuff teams early and manage to get a lead by halftime we would likely be in the nickel almost exclusively for the remainder of those respective games. Which is why we need to draft a LB who excels in nickel/passing situations, ala, Lavonte David. He can contribute immediately, and Nick Barnett is getting older. so he'll eventually take over his spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Which is why we need to draft a LB who excels in nickel/passing situations, ala, Lavonte David. He can contribute immediately, and Nick Barnett is getting older. so he'll eventually take over his spot. I like how he looked in that video you posted. If he can be had in the 2nd or 3rd+ rounds, even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Great article on the the base 43, but rememnber that college and pro is night and day. There's a lot more situational substitution going on in the pros, and also players are expected to do a lot more. So each player has a lot more responsibility in general. I believe that Buddy said the D was in a 4 DL alignment about 46 percent of the time last year. So it seems like they've been transitioning from the 34 to the 43 anyway. Those alignments don't have as much meaning in the pros, since pro defenses change alignments based on down and distance, and based on the personnel of the offense they're playing against. In the AFC East, defenses play a lot of nickel, since the Patriots dictate that alignment and the NFL is pretty much become a passing league. That's why Buddy says "you can never have enough corners". That being said, a great DL in the traditional 43 stacks up very well, because a great DL can bring pressure on the QB by itself. All in all, having a player like Mario, who forces teams to account for him, makes a big difference. Not really sure what you're saying? College defenses adjust their fronts just like the pros do especially with all of the spread offenses. Do you think USC is going to stay in their base cover 2 when they're playing Oregon? No. The 43 over is going to be the Bills base D and their fronts will be dictated by the offensive personnel on the field...that's football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Great article. Can you send a link where Wannstedt confirms to playing the "over" please? If we are to be playing the over, according to the article we're going to really only need one true MLB known as the "Mic". I highly doubt Sheppard fits that Bill this year. Maybe Barnett can fill that role. OLBs in the over system are 6 foot to 6'2 190-210 lbs. But as long as they're fast they can bulk up. There's plenty of those "type" of players coming out in this year's draft so it shouldn't be a problem filling the OLB positions this year. Just think. When the whole league is focusing on becoming a 3-4 defense, what if the Bills have a heads up on the shift that's about to take place in the NFL in the recent years to come and become one of the smartest and dominant defenses? Well, size wise I'd say that speaks more to an 80s college team (200lbs olb) than I current pro. At this point you'd be looking at say 230-240. I don't have an interview stating that's what he will run, but given a choice he always has Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Lavonte David, from Nebraska, is the best pure 4-3 OLB in this draft, for my money. Don't know why he's not rated higher amongst the draft pundits. BTW, the biggest knock on David is his size. He's 6'1" - 233lbs. For comparisons sake, Jon Beason is 6'0" -237 lbs. So I don't see his size has a hige problem. Been doing some research on this kid today.... Lavonte David played high school football for a Miami-Dade County powerhouse. Even though the Miami Northwestern Bulls won back to back state championships and a national championship, recruiters overlooked Lavonte David as a college prospect. He played Junior College at Fort Scott, leading them to the National Championship game in 2009, where they lost to Cam Newton's Blinn. He then transferred to Nebraska, and played two years there. The kid is from winning programs. The JuCo stuff has me interested because it shows he has kept persevering even when people ignored him. If we can pick him up later, he would probably show up with a huge chip on his shoulder, and fit right in with the rest of the "No Name Bills". I also like that he looks fast in every clip I see. I was a little worried when I heard "Nebraska", but running down Robinson is pretty impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I believe the Bills have already publicly stated that Merriman is DE in this defense. Not only that, but Merriman at Sam is about as "innovative" as Spencer Johnson playing Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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