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A 2 gap nose is one of the most important positions on a 3-4 defense because if he is doing his job, it opens up the whole defense.
In our base alignment, the nose is lined up dead on the center and is responsible for both a gaps and controlling the point of attack. He is also responsible for quickly diagnosing the play because more times than not, the backers and safeties key off his movement. A good nose tells the rest of the defense where the ball is going. He is also responsible for protecting the cutbacks on b and c gap runs.
He needs to be able to shift his weight to anchor and have a good center of gravity and balance to be able to quickly diagnose run or pass...and then act on it. The guard and centers job is to wall you off to create a rushing lane...a top notch nose doesn't get moved and forces the run to go somewhere besides where it was designed to.
Thats the basic run responsibility.
As soon as he sees pass, he needs to get his hands on the center and walk him back into the quarterback while being aware of a draw. If the quarterback tries to escape up the middle, that's time to shine. Basically, collapse the pocket and force quarterbacks outside where we have 2 beasts to mop it up.
Poe has the physical tools to be very special and we have the coaches that have a proven history of developing talent.
Classic "boom or bust" pick that is a guy that could make Crennel look like a good or bad coach to end his career.
I'm pulling for the kid.
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