Tampa 2 Causing Fan Discontent in Detroit

[Chiefnj2]

Marinelli defends Lions' Tampa Two defense
by Tom Kowalski
Sunday October 26, 2008, 7:50 PM

DETROIT -- While Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli has done his best to maintain his composure when talking to the media throughout his team's 0-7 slide this season, he did lose his cool a little after his team's 25-17 loss to the Washington Redskins at Ford Field.

Marinelli bristled at the notion that opposing offenses have caught up to the Tampa Two defensive scheme, rendering it ineffective. The Lions went into the game ranked last in the league in total defense and gave up 439 total yards to Washington, likely cementing their 32nd rating for another week.

Marinelli, who learned the system with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under then-head coach Tony Dungy, said the scheme hasn't lost its value.

"It hasn't. When you execute it, it won't (fail),'' Marinelli said. "If you come in and watch tape and you can see where the breakdowns are, it's on execution, that's all it is. It's a guy getting in the right spot. You don't 'catch up' with execution. That's a bad question. If you're going to evaluate schemes, come up and evaluate the schemes, if that's what you'd like to do. I don't think you're qualified.''

When the reporter said "I'm asking the question any fan would ask,'' Marinelli said, "That's not the question you asked. Let's go back to the question you asked: 'Is it catching up?' I'm going to say no. It's about the details and the execution.''

The Tampa Two scheme is run by several teams in the league and with varying degrees of success.

A couple teams, the Minnesota Vikings (eighth overall) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ninth), were in the top 10 in defense going into Sunday's games, while a couple were at the bottom, including the Lions and Kansas City Chiefs (31st overall).


And there also are a few in the middle of the pack. The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts are tied at 16th in the league defensively.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

"When you execute it, it won't fail"--

Yeah Rod. The only problem is that to properly "execute it" you need at least 4 pro bowlers on your fucking defense.

That defense is nothing without an all-world front 4. And even then, you have to have incredibly speedy linebackers and corners who are balls out at tackling.

[StcChief]

fan discontent in Detriot over the Lions say it isn't so.

[Chiefnj2]

Those old Buc coaches love the cover 2.

[L.A. Chieffan]

You know what else never fails if executed properly? Sack the QB 100% of the time. IF executed properly this plan never fails. I blame the players

[chiefzilla1501]

"When you execute it, it won't fail"--

Yeah Rod. The only problem is that to properly "execute it" you need at least 4 pro bowlers on your ****ing defense.

That defense is nothing without an all-world front 4. And even then, you have to have incredibly speedy linebackers and corners who are balls out at tackling.

Look at the roster of Tampa and tell me how many pro bowlers they have on the roster. I know I was surprised when I first looked too. The scheme still works, but it doesn't work like it did in the 90's. The Chiefs need to bring in somebody who is able to put an innovative twist to the defense. That's what Kiffin's done in Tampa--he still hates to blitz, but he's opened up to using it as a wrinkle to the defense. There is no reason why Ron Rivera shouldn't be considered heavily for the D-coordinator job. He ran the scheme very successfully in Chicago and he could do it again in KC, where they have good cover 2 corners and 2 speedy OLBs in DJ and Demorrio Williams who can cover well.

Many people have claimed that Millen did an awful job getting Marinelli the right players. That's probably a large part of the argument. If I'm not mistaken, he never had coordinating experience either.

Point being, defenses evolve and so do the coaches. Kiffin's stayed successful because his defense has evolved with the times. The 3-4 defense was starting to fizzle out, but some coaches have found new wrinkles to make it work again.