Cover 3 Defense

[Buffalo716]

This is the staple of a Sean McDermott Defense.

 

But what makes a cover 3 Defense click?

 

Up-front it starts with an attacking front 4... Attacking upfield and shooting gaps

 

Add in some stunts and twists upfront and you can generate pressure pretty easily with a talented front

 

At the second level with the Linebackers you need range, and playmaking ability

 

Especially with the Mike and Will who get the most snaps

 

The ideal mike in a cover 3 is strong enough to shed blocks and fill gaps, but athletic enough to drop into the deep middle on passing downs. He needs an uncanny ability to play sideline to sideline and have an excellent feel for the game

 

The ideal Will is a fast, rangy playmaker. He can be a bit undersized because he needs to have an uncanny ability to cover Linebackers and go sideline to sideline.. he is the playmaker who roams free of traffic, allowed to make plays on the ball

 

Your Sam linebacker can be a bit more throwback type because he won't be on the field as much. He is your thumper, usually taking on TEs in the run game... He needs to have the ability to blitz and be stout enough to take on double teams and shed blockers

 

In the backfield the ideal cover 3 corner is long, tall and rangy... He needs to be able to jam recievers at the Los and disrupt timing... He should have good hands at the LOS and display good ball skills while the ball is in the air

 

Your SS should be stout against the run with the ability to play inside the box and run with TEs... Think kam Chancellor

 

While the FS should be a rangy centerfielder with the ability to come up with the big pick or hit... He should have very good awareness with the uncanny ability to read and manipulate the QBs eyes

 

The 43 cover 3

Edited March 5, 2017 by Buffalo716

[Logic]

Good post.

Looking at the Bills defensive roster as currently constructed, it seems the biggest needs are as follows:

Will LB, CB2, FS.

Yes, we could use depth on the d-line and an upgrade over Preston Brown in the linebacking corps. But I view those more as "wants" than "needs. The NEEDS are as listed above.

Luckily for Buffalo, this is one of the best and deepest drafts at CB and safety in many years. While I think Malik Hooker would be the perfect FS for this defense, the depth at the safety and corner positions will allow the Bills to get quality players at those positions into the 2nd and 3rd rounds. For that reason, it makes most sense to me to use the #10 pick on Reuben Foster if he's there, or on a WR if Foster's gone.

I like the defense's chances to rebound this year and once again rank at least top 15 if not top 10.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Logic

[Bangarang]

LB group could be a problem this year.

[Buffalo716]

LB group could be a problem this year.

It definitely can be

 

Hopefully Ragland can be the pure Mike , and if we resign brown he can man the Will

 

Or we draft a pure Mike and Ragland goes to the WILL

 

But we don't have ideal speed so it will be interesting

[I Am The Liquor]

Who the f**k is Doug McDermott? S**t i knew it! Deep down I always assumed Sean McD had a twin brother who was a defensive genius that he was going to bring in to run the d!

 

LETS GO BUFFALO!!!

[Buffalo716]

Who the f**k is Doug McDermott? S**t i knew it! Deep down I always assumed Sean McD had a twin brother who was a defensive genius that he was going to bring in to run the d!

 

LETS GO BUFFALO!!!

lmao!

 

My phone auto corrects to the b-ball player lmao

Edited March 5, 2017 by Buffalo716

[GunnerBill]

It definitely can be

 

Hopefully Ragland can be the pure Mike , and if we resign brown he can man the Will

 

Or we draft a pure Mike and Ragland goes to the WILL

 

But we don't have ideal speed so it will be interesting

I have Zach Brown (if back) as the Will and Ragland as the Sam. I think we need a true fit at Mike in this scheme.

[Buffalo716]

I have Zach Brown (if back) as the Will and Ragland as the Sam. I think we need a true fit at Mike in this scheme.

If we re sign brown and he man's WILL, and we get a pure MIKE

 

Ragland will be a very good Sam even tho it will limit his snap count

[BuffAlone]

It definitely can be

 

Hopefully Ragland can be the pure Mike , and if we resign brown he can man the Will

 

Or we draft a pure Mike and Ragland goes to the WILL

 

But we don't have ideal speed so it will be interesting

Ragland shouldn't play Will. Ideally,he would play Sam,and maybe even Mike. I think Wlb should be in play in round one,if we can trade down a bit. That'd give us Rookie,P Brown,and Ragland. Otherwise,if we keep Z Brown on the weakside, give me Rags in the middle,and pick up Jarrad Davis to play Sam.All of this is dependent on FA tho,so there is no wrong answer,just an opinion

[Buffalo716]

Ragland shouldn't play Will. Ideally,he would play Sam,and maybe even Mike. I think Wlb should be in play in round one,if we can trade down a bit. That'd give us Rookie,P Brown,and Ragland. Otherwise,if we keep Z Brown on the weakside, give me Rags in the middle,and pick up Jarrad Davis to play Sam.All of this is dependent on FA tho,so there is no wrong answer,just an opinion

Yep

 

Lots of ways you can plug holes... Re signing Zach brown would be huge because it would give us 1 less hole to fill

[BuffAlone]

Yep

 

Lots of ways you can plug holes... Re signing Zach brown would be huge because it would give us 1 less hole to fill

Lord knows we have enough of them lol

[Buffalo Barbarian]

It definitely can be

 

Hopefully Ragland can be the pure Mike , and if we resign brown he can man the Will

 

Or we draft a pure Mike and Ragland goes to the WILL

 

But we don't have ideal speed so it will be interesting

 

not in this defense. he was picked to be a inside thumper in a 34. He is not a WIL either, his logical spot is strong side.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Buffalo Barbarian

[Buffalo716]

not in this defense. he was picked to be a inside thumper in 34. He is not a WIL either he logical spot is strong side.

Preston brown has played MIKE in a 34 and will in a 43 and by all accounts Ragland is more athletic

 

If hes forced too he can play MIKE, or WILL even if his ideal fit is SAM

Edited March 5, 2017 by Buffalo716

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Preston brown has played MIKE in a 34 and will in a 43 and by all accounts Ragland is more athletic

 

If hes forced too he can play MIKE, or WILL even if his ideal fit is SAM

 

if he is forced to play those spots that means he is not good at them and thus not good for us; Ragland to strong or rusher.

[Blokestradamus]

I find the linebacker thing so weird. Seattle play a Cover 3 a ton, KJ Wright has played Mike, WIll and Sam in that scheme at some point. Might fancy a quick search to see how he tested vs Ragland.

 

Reggie. Ragland. Will. Be. Fine.

 

R-E-L-A-X!

[BADOLBILZ]

This is the staple of a Sean McDermott Defense.

 

But what makes a cover 3 Defense click?

 

Up-front it starts with an attacking front 4... Attacking upfield and shooting gaps

 

Add in some stunts and twists upfront and you can generate pressure pretty easily with a talented front

 

At the second level with the Linebackers you need range, and playmaking ability

 

Especially with the Mike and Will who get the most snaps

 

The ideal mike in a cover 3 is strong enough to shed blocks and fill gaps, but athletic enough to drop into the deep middle on passing downs. He needs an uncanny ability to play sideline to sideline and have an excellent feel for the game

 

The ideal Will is a fast, rangy playmaker. He can be a bit undersized because he needs to have an uncanny ability to cover Linebackers and go sideline to sideline.. he is the playmaker who roams free of traffic, allowed to make plays on the ball

 

Your Sam linebacker can be a bit more throwback type because he won't be on the field as much. He is your thumper, usually taking on TEs in the run game... He needs to have the ability to blitz and be stout enough to take on double teams and shed blockers

 

In the backfield the ideal cover 3 corner is long, tall and rangy... He needs to be able to jam recievers at the Los and disrupt timing... He should have good hands at the LOS and display good ball skills while the ball is in the air

 

Your SS should be stout against the run with the ability to play inside the box and run with TEs... Think kam Chancellor

 

While the FS should be a rangy centerfielder with the ability to come up with the big pick or hit... He should have very good awareness with the uncanny ability to read and manipulate the QBs eyes

 

The 43 cover 3

 

 

Good post.

 

I'd add that ideally you have length in the front 4 as well.

 

Especially if you think you are going to play zone in pass D against Brady.

[Buffalo716]

Good post.

 

I'd add that ideally you have length in the front 4 as well.

 

Especially if you think you are going to play zone in pass D against Brady.

Great point as well

 

Length in the front 4.. IE 6'6 DE

 

Can cause havoc in the throwing lanes and disrupt timing on rythem routes

[boyst]

This is the staple of a Sean McDermott Defense.

if we somehow keep gilmore we don't know what we will get. darby is much different than any cb he's had in carolina; seymour is similar to bradberry.

But what makes a cover 3 Defense click?

Up-front it starts with an attacking front 4... Attacking upfield and shooting gaps

those gaps are fine when you have a core unit of lb's who are above average at the least. he does not have that here and we will be exploited if we do not watch this.

in carolina he used consistent pressure similar to what pettine did. we are as good on the dl as we were then - just a few different pieces with lawson and depth players.

Add in some stunts and twists upfront and you can generate pressure pretty easily with a talented front

we wil have to face 4 teams that have seen this defense. 4 teams that know it. the falcons offense can adapt to these stunts with excellent qb play and play action. the saints have cool brees. he won't get shook with stunts. and tampa bay is ?? only cam newton will struggle with the reads against stunts and twists. their ol is probably the best in the division, though. we cannot afford to bring pressure from the weak side. our middle won't be able to offer much either - especailly against newton whom we will need to match up with our mlb. not sure ragland (or klein) can match against newton. only a few in the league can.

At the second level with the Linebackers you need range, and playmaking ability

we are screwed here.

Especially with the Mike and Will who get the most snaps

i would not be surprised to see us switching in players to this roll - instead of keeping in a linebacker for 90% of the snaps. i could see players getting 80% at most if things shake out like i believe they may.

The ideal mike in a cover 3 is strong enough to shed blocks and fill gaps, but athletic enough to drop into the deep middle on passing downs. He needs an uncanny ability to play sideline to sideline and have an excellent feel for the game

the ideal mike in a cover 3 is exactly why mcd ran this. it had everything to do with Luke Keuchly and Thomas Davis. Take away those two and give them average or even above average linebackers. a lot changes on defense when you have excellent elite linebackers.

The ideal Will is a fast, rangy playmaker. He can be a bit undersized because he needs to have an uncanny ability to cover Linebackers and go sideline to sideline.. he is the playmaker who roams free of traffic, allowed to make plays on the ball

a will linebacker in cover 3 is not undersized. he is quick to diagnose a play, athletic enough to turn his hips and track the ball on a run play whilst moving through traffic to get to it or cover the field. in our defense george wilson with 15 lbs. would be a decent comparison for those who do not want to go very far back. manny lawsons top few games for us were also good examples. everyone talks about keuchly but thomas davis is the best linebacker on that team most of the time. what he allows his teammates to do is remarkable.

Your Sam linebacker can be a bit more throwback type because he won't be on the field as much. He is your thumper, usually taking on TEs in the run game... He needs to have the ability to blitz and be stout enough to take on double teams and shed blockers

shaq thompson is forgotten in the carolina d because he is often the one who takes on all the blockers and offenders. he does not get the glory. this is what reggie ragland needs to play. mcd uses his ss to fill in the gaps that many teams use more athletic sam's to cover and contribute with.

In the backfield the ideal cover 3 corner is long, tall and rangy... He needs to be able to jam recievers at the Los and disrupt timing... He should have good hands at the LOS and display good ball skills while the ball is in the air

this is what is funny because josh norman was no where near ideal for that carolina d but his mouth made him popular. he is a good corner but no where near what gilmore is. norman can't cover man press. gilmore can. gilmore isn't as good in floating a zone as norman but zone coverage is for amateurs. your ideal pairing of corners in a cover 3 jam at the line, as you stated but turn and match the speed. if timing is not displaced they are not going to fall off that poorly.

the issue with your hands statement is true - because they don't often get over the top help. us losing gilmore means we will see a ton of 1 on 1 matchups in a cover 3 which is a big reason i wonder if we will see it. it didn't do well for carolina last year with bradberry and worely. both struggled a lot but came on very well by the end of the year.

our cb's could get some int's next year.

Your SS should be stout against the run with the ability to play inside the box and run with TEs... Think kam Chancellor

chancellor would be a wasted investment for the panther d. and ours. he's great, all that. but to get that high of talent wouldn't be pertinent to the greater goal as it should be focused on linebackers, corners and than dl depth. safeties are plug and play for mcd. no matter whom starts at safety next year - provided we have depth ready behind aaron williams - we will do just fine. our ss will be up there in tackles me thinks due to our issues in the middle - our dt's and lb's. dareus and williams are not the tackle machines up the middle like a run stuffer. they're a 3 tech dt. that is going to be an issue. ......boy would a 1 tech nt be nice! if we do not upgrade linebacker and run stuffing capability aaron at ss won't last 5 weeks.

While the FS should be a rangy centerfielder with the ability to come up with the big pick or hit... He should have very good awareness with the uncanny ability to read and manipulate the QBs eyes

our free safety next year is going to be winded by the second half. that's because he's going to be picked apart if we do not keep gilmore. if byrd was willing to come back and play center field like he once did that'd be nice. otherwise we need a centerfielder.

The 43 cover 3

defense is fun. wanna discuss any more of this in detail? there is sooooo much more depth to this than this topical dissertation 101 level. lets take this to phD

[Buffalo716]

This is the staple of a Sean McDermott Defense.

if we somehow keep gilmore we don't know what we will get. darby is much different than any cb he's had in carolina; seymour is similar to bradberry.

 

But what makes a cover 3 Defense click?

 

Up-front it starts with an attacking front 4... Attacking upfield and shooting gaps

those gaps are fine when you have a core unit of lb's who are above average at the least. he does not have that here and we will be exploited if we do not watch this.

in carolina he used consistent pressure similar to what pettine did. we are as good on the dl as we were then - just a few different pieces with lawson and depth players.

 

Add in some stunts and twists upfront and you can generate pressure pretty easily with a talented front

we wil have to face 4 teams that have seen this defense. 4 teams that know it. the falcons offense can adapt to these stunts with excellent qb play and play action. the saints have cool brees. he won't get shook with stunts. and tampa bay is ?? only cam newton will struggle with the reads against stunts and twists. their ol is probably the best in the division, though. we cannot afford to bring pressure from the weak side. our middle won't be able to offer much either - especailly against newton whom we will need to match up with our mlb. not sure ragland (or klein) can match against newton. only a few in the league can.

 

At the second level with the Linebackers you need range, and playmaking ability

we are screwed here.

 

Especially with the Mike and Will who get the most snaps

i would not be surprised to see us switching in players to this roll - instead of keeping in a linebacker for 90% of the snaps. i could see players getting 80% at most if things shake out like i believe they may.

 

The ideal mike in a cover 3 is strong enough to shed blocks and fill gaps, but athletic enough to drop into the deep middle on passing downs. He needs an uncanny ability to play sideline to sideline and have an excellent feel for the game

the ideal mike in a cover 3 is exactly why mcd ran this. it had everything to do with Luke Keuchly and Thomas Davis. Take away those two and give them average or even above average linebackers. a lot changes on defense when you have excellent elite linebackers.

 

The ideal Will is a fast, rangy playmaker. He can be a bit undersized because he needs to have an uncanny ability to cover Linebackers and go sideline to sideline.. he is the playmaker who roams free of traffic, allowed to make plays on the ball

a will linebacker in cover 3 is not undersized. he is quick to diagnose a play, athletic enough to turn his hips and track the ball on a run play whilst moving through traffic to get to it or cover the field. in our defense george wilson with 15 lbs. would be a decent comparison for those who do not want to go very far back. manny lawsons top few games for us were also good examples. everyone talks about keuchly but thomas davis is the best linebacker on that team most of the time. what he allows his teammates to do is remarkable.

 

Your Sam linebacker can be a bit more throwback type because he won't be on the field as much. He is your thumper, usually taking on TEs in the run game... He needs to have the ability to blitz and be stout enough to take on double teams and shed blockers

shaq thompson is forgotten in the carolina d because he is often the one who takes on all the blockers and offenders. he does not get the glory. this is what reggie ragland needs to play. mcd uses his ss to fill in the gaps that many teams use more athletic sam's to cover and contribute with.

 

 

In the backfield the ideal cover 3 corner is long, tall and rangy... He needs to be able to jam recievers at the Los and disrupt timing... He should have good hands at the LOS and display good ball skills while the ball is in the air

this is what is funny because josh norman was no where near ideal for that carolina d but his mouth made him popular. he is a good corner but no where near what gilmore is. norman can't cover man press. gilmore can. gilmore isn't as good in floating a zone as norman but zone coverage is for amateurs. your ideal pairing of corners in a cover 3 jam at the line, as you stated but turn and match the speed. if timing is not displaced they are not going to fall off that poorly.

the issue with your hands statement is true - because they don't often get over the top help. us losing gilmore means we will see a ton of 1 on 1 matchups in a cover 3 which is a big reason i wonder if we will see it. it didn't do well for carolina last year with bradberry and worely. both struggled a lot but came on very well by the end of the year.

our cb's could get some int's next year.

 

Your SS should be stout against the run with the ability to play inside the box and run with TEs... Think kam Chancellor

chancellor would be a wasted investment for the panther d. and ours. he's great, all that. but to get that high of talent wouldn't be pertinent to the greater goal as it should be focused on linebackers, corners and than dl depth. safeties are plug and play for mcd. no matter whom starts at safety next year - provided we have depth ready behind aaron williams - we will do just fine. our ss will be up there in tackles me thinks due to our issues in the middle - our dt's and lb's. dareus and williams are not the tackle machines up the middle like a run stuffer. they're a 3 tech dt. that is going to be an issue. ......boy would a 1 tech nt be nice! if we do not upgrade linebacker and run stuffing capability aaron at ss won't last 5 weeks.

 

While the FS should be a rangy centerfielder with the ability to come up with the big pick or hit... He should have very good awareness with the uncanny ability to read and manipulate the QBs eyes

our free safety next year is going to be winded by the second half. that's because he's going to be picked apart if we do not keep gilmore. if byrd was willing to come back and play center field like he once did that'd be nice. otherwise we need a centerfielder.

 

The 43 cover 3

defense is fun. wanna discuss any more of this in detail? there is sooooo much more depth to this than this topical dissertation 101 level. lets take this to phD

Sure, I'd love to get more In depth...

 

My original OP was so long, I didn't want it to be a wall of text

 

I wanted the principles to get across...

 

As for the WILL... I said CAN BE a BIT undersized... Meaning he doesn't need to be a 250 LB bruiser

 

Thomas Davis is a great will backer and he's about 235

 

Kiko Alonso is another WILL at around 230

 

They need unparalleled instincts and sideline to sideline range with the ability to turn their hips and run with ends

[Buffalo716]

Heres a big question???

 

Is Shaq Lawson dominate enough to play the 9 tech in pass rushing situations?

 

He is a very good young football player but is his first step off the edge explosive enough??

 

One thing for sure he is definitely stout enough to be a great run stuffing 7 tech in this league