Quote:
Originally Posted by Claythan
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.