You are confusing LJ with Herm, Clayton was all the way over both sides of the fence on him. Way over.

But when LJ shit the bed, Clayton just laid low. He has been consistent with that obsession.

Not since 2002 or so. We've been mostly a 3-4, 2 gap team since 2004. Sure, they use the 4-3 sometimes, but the 34 is the base.

We do play 4-3 sometimes. We somewhat famously played it as a base for the first time all year in the SB game against the Eagles, if I remember correctly.

But since the start of the 2003 season we've been PRIMARILY a 3-4 team.

QFT.

This is your classic 2 gap 3-4.

http://i40.tinypic.com/513odz.jpg

The gap to either side of the center is called the A Gap. The Nose TAckle is responsible for BOTH gaps (i.e. 2 gaps). If the ball is handed off to a RB who goes through either A gap, then the NG is supposed to shut that play down.

That was informative. Thank you. And Rep.

yes

Thank you.

So, what happens in say, a bootleg or any other roll out play? The CBs go to the inside to cover?

The corners are always going to be covering their man (if it's man to man). Likely if the offense is running a bootleg against a 3-4 they will have a tight end or fullback assigned to take out the outside linebacker the QB might be rolling towards. If he bites on the play fake (i.e. crashes down) the TE may release and become a receiver, or the TE might block him just long enough for the QB to complete his roll out, and then release into the pattern.

I could be mistaken, but because the linebackers in a 3-4 are so frequently going right after the quarterback, the bootleg can be a risky play against that sort of defense. You're more apt to see straight up play-action.

One of the advantages of the 3-4, in theory at least, is that the offense never knows which linebacker is coming. It could be either of the OLBs. In a 4-3, generally on a pass play it's the 4 down linemen, and you know where they are before the snap.

The Patriots rarely play man-to-man coverage. It's almost invariably either a zone or a modified zone coverage. The design of the Patriots defense, at least, is to stop the run first and then stop the pass. In a zone situation, the DBs have a much better opportunity to see what is going on in the backfield and deal with the competing threats posed by a bootleg.

The first time we faced the Dolphins Wildcat offense last year, we were taken completely by surprise. It was the first time they had played it all year. The 'phins ran wild. Something like 8 plays for 200 yards and 3 TDs or something absurd.

The second time we played them, it was something like 8 plays for 25 yards (3 yards per play) and zero TDs. It was shut down.

The wildcat poses a challenge, but teams like the Patriots tend to do very well as they are a disciplined defense. If everyone runs their assignments properly, then it can be stopped.

To answer you directly, as opposed to Clathan...

In general, any type of rollout play against the Patriots becomes a race between the offensive linemen to beat the inside linebackers and safeties to the point of attack. The OLB on the side of the play where the rollout is headed has a VERY SPECIFIC assignment -- turn the play INSIDE. If the OLB gets caught INSIDE, then it can quickly get ugly for the defense.

Thsi is called "keeping containment". Belichick refers to it often. The OLB MUST be strong enough to hold his position or better, and to avoid getting blocked down.

Then it's a race between the inside linebackers and safeties, on the one hand, and the "free" offensive linemen (those not tied up by the defensive linemen) to get to the point of attack. First, the defensive linemen are supposed to stop the running play from going past them at all. If it does, then the ILBs and safeties are supposed to crash down and fill any gaps.

Espeically in training camp, the team works on, and BB talks about endlessly "filling gaps" and working on the front seven "fits."

The 3 defensive linemen and the 4 linebackers are like the pickets in a fence. If they all fill in their gaps properly, there is NO WHERE for the offensive linemen to run.

The 2 gap defense is NOT designed, generally, to get at the RBs behind the line of scrimmage. You see much more of that from attacking linemen like the Steelers and Giants. Patriots defenses are more conservative -- less likely to get a stop behind the LOS, but also less likely to give up any long running plays.

By design, the Pats defense is a "bend but don't break" philosophy, forcing teams to mount extended drives without making a mistake in order to score, and then tightening down as the offense nears the red zone to stop the TD. It's not a high-risk, high-reward strategy.

So, it seems like Dorsey would be great at this type of defense, in spite of the criticisms, right? As long as he sticks to his position.

No, not really. Dorsey's talent is attacking up the field. He's supposed to be a 1-gapper.

Which takes me back to my original thought....he never was all that good at being a 1 gapper last year,.....you said it was the coaches and their play calling....but yet they played a 4-3 which he was supposedly good at? So, maybe these coaches, this defense, and their play calling will work better for him?

NE in my view will show more 4-3 this year than they have in the past...with their pick of Brace in any obvious run down they can go to a giant 4 man line that would be nearly impossible to run on.