How the Chargers fixed their D...

[DaWolf]

May or may not apply to us for next year, but interesting read...

Don't overlook Phillips, 3-4 defense for Chargers' success
Dec. 5, 2004
By Clark Judge

SAN DIEGO -- There are two big differences in this year's San Diego Chargers, and one of them is quarterback Drew Brees. But the other is a guy you didn't see and you didn't hear after Sunday's 20-17 defeat of Denver and whose notoriety stems from his experiences outside of San Diego.

I'm talking, of course, about Chargers' defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who in one season has taken one of the league's worst defenses and turned it into one of its most opportune -- and I call Jake Plummer to the witness stand.

The Denver quarterback was intercepted a season-high four times -- including Jerry Wilson's game-clinching pickoff in the end zone in the game's closing minutes -- as the Chargers clinched their first winning season in nine years and moved a step closer to their first playoff spot since making it as a wild-card entry in 1995.

Heck, what are we talking about here? I don't care if coach Marty Schottenheimer and his players won't concede it; the Chargers are all but a lock for the playoffs. They're two games up on Denver in the AFC West with four games left, and only one is against an opponent with a winning record.

You can talk all you want about the contributions of Brees or running back LaDainian Tomlinson, but the club wouldn't be here without Phillips and his 3-4 defense. Yeah, Denver shredded it for 202 yards in the fourth quarter, and that's not good. But it held when it had to, with Wilson making a game-saving interception after cornerback Drayton Florence -- a guy making only his second start -- deflected a pass for Rod Smith.

"He defensed it perfectly," Wilson said of his teammate. "I just kept running to the ball. Good things happen when you do that -- at least that's what I was taught."

And good things keep happening to the Chargers, in the midst of a six-game winning streak. It's not all because of Brees, who failed to throw a scoring pass for the first time in five games, nor is it all because of Tomlinson, who had both San Diego touchdowns. Somewhere in there you have to make room for that defense, especially after what happened Sunday.

It stuffed Reuben Droughns. It frustrated Plummer. And it carried the Chargers to their biggest win of the year.

"I told you three weeks ago, 'Let's see where we are after the next three weeks'," said Schottenheimer. "My assessment is: We're a pretty good football team."

Sure, there are problems, like the team's failure to defend the deep pass, but let's save those for the Dec. 26 date at Indianapolis. For the moment, here's what I like about these guys -- they've forced 23 turnovers, four more than their total for last year, and are plus-12 in the takeaway/giveaway department.

But that's not all. They went into Sunday's game ranked 12th in overall defense and second against the run -- a huge leap forward from last year's 27th-ranked defense and a key reason why they should be taken seriously. Maybe it's the new 3-4; maybe it's new players. All I know is it wouldn't be possible without Phillips, and Phillips wouldn't be here without Schottenheimer.

"I got to thinking about the 3-4 defense a year ago because our defense wasn't doing well, and I didn't think we had enough defensive linemen we could count on," said Schottenheimer. "It made sense to go to the 3-4, and I think he's as good a 3-4 coach as there is. So that was really a no-brainer."

So how come we don't hear more about Phillips? Well, one reason is Brees. His story is compelling. The guy's a lame-duck quarterback, expected to be replaced by No. 1 draft pick Philip Rivers, yet he keeps winning and winning and winning. Another is that Phillips' contact with the media is restricted, just as contact with the rest of the coaching staff is. He's not available for interviews during the week or after games.

So what you see from his defense is what you're going to get from Wade, and what you saw Sunday was a defense that made the critical play when it needed it most.

"Wade Phillips means a lot to everyone on this team," said linebacker Steve Foley, who had one of the team's four interceptions. "We all look forward to seeing what he comes up with next."

What he's come up with this year is a defense that is second only to Pittsburgh at stopping the run and that hasn't allowed over 10 second-half points in its last six starts -- and, yes, that includes the 34-31 win over Kansas City where one of the Chiefs' two second-half touchdowns was a kickoff return.

"Let me tell you something," said Schottenheimer, who once coached the Chiefs, "they have five possessions in the second half, and on four of them they don't have a first down. They had 93 yards of offense on us in the second half. ... and it was in Kansas City!

"So why the 3-4? I used it extensively, in fact exclusively, for nine years in Cleveland and another three or four years in Kansas City. It is a defense that enables you first and foremost to defend the run because you have better athletes on the field -- guys who can run and take the big play away from your opponent. Once we went to the 3-4, we got Wade Phillips and then we acquired players to fit the thing."

And then they beat Denver on an extraordinary afternoon -- when it rained, when Brees was not effective and when tight end Antonio Gates was shut down. When that happens you better have more than Tomlinson to answer an opponent, and the Chargers do.

Only, I bet you can't name half of their starting lineup. Sure, there's defensive tackle Jamal Williams and linebacker Donnie Edwards. Cornerback Quentin Jammer and linebacker Randall Godfrey, too. But where do you go from there?

"That tells you we're a pretty good team," said wide receiver Keenan McCardell. "We're very humble around here, but we're getting better each week. And that's what good teams do."

Good teams run. The Chargers do that. Good teams don't make mistakes. The Chargers have done that. And good teams play defense. The Chargers do that, too. They just proved it again.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7966452