Why are the NFL defenses bad? It's not just the new rules



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Bill Belichick looked disgusted and bewildered, as he felt something bad but did not really know where he was coming from. It was late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's showdown between the top two CAF teams, and the Chiefs had just completed their comeback in the evening, scoring 40 with a game-time training. of 12 seconds consisting of 75 Patrick Mahomes TD pass at Tyreek Hill.

Belichick is famous for his unemotional attitude on the sidelines, but this puzzled expression has manifested itself at other times of the night, including another of Hill's three touchdowns. This particular score featured the fast spread that crossed the Patriots' defense on a deep crossing road, then surpassed the safeties as it ran through the end zone.

"I would just say it was just a bad defense, a bad practice, a bad game, everything," Belichick told the New England media during his Monday morning conference call.

The Sunday night game was a gem of almost every standard – unless you expect the defenses to show up too. And that's the story of 2018. Six weeks into the season, points per game, yards per game and yards per game are reaching unprecedented heights. The teams with the top three records in the NFL (Rams 6-0, Chiefs 5-1 and Saints 4-1) all have leading coaches in the offensive spirit; Defensive coordinator Mike Smith of Tampa Bay has already been fired after his unit lost nearly 35 points per game in the first five weeks of the season. What about the Bears & # 39; 85 for a good defense? By asking this question to several current and former NFL coaches, the answers were similar: "How much time do you have?" Or, "It's a much longer conversation."

The current offensive blast, described by Albert Breer of the MMQB earlier this month, has been cited in detail, including QB Talent, rules that give offensive players the advantage and offensive concepts at the university that open large spaces. But, as the NFL cliché, well used, disappears, players on the other side of the ball are also paid. Why have so few teams been able to combine a good attack with a good defense?

It sounds boring, but many coaches report a drop in fundamentals, which often manifests as exploded coverage and a big game for the opponent. The current ACA provides less time for teaching and practice than in the past, yes. However, it is interesting to note that some coaches also indicated that defense coordinators tended to overdo it or be too cute with their stratagems, perhaps in an effort to match minds with evolving mistakes. . According to them, this can be done at the expense of the emphasis on teaching techniques such as the division of a double team or the defense of a pass without flag-firing for defensive maintenance or defense.

"Very few DBs know how to play the ball in the air without reaching, grabbing, tackling or holding a receiver," said a coach. "They never turn and do not look for football."

Coaches must teach players to play both physically and mentally, which involves adapting to rule changes. It is certainly true that the recently added rules, from defensive player protection to the restrictions on passers-by (including the now-infamous weight of body weight), have restricted how defensive players can use their bodies to prevent players offensive one piece. A crucial moment on Sunday night was when linebacker Breeland Speaks let Tom Brady let him go, which led Brady to rush into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown. Subsequently, according to the Kansas City Star, he thought that Brady had released the ball and let him go because he did not want to be penalized for mistreating the smuggler.

But it is also true that these rules will not be changed, and this is where the teaching of good fundamentals becomes even more important. The Rams, for example, do exercises with dummies where they train to buckle the QB and flip around so they do not land with their weight.

Another question is why offenses seem to benefit more from speed than defenses. Of course, there may not be anyone else in the NFL faster than Hill, who was timed in the 4.2 range in his 40-yard dash. But there are many good athletes on both sides of the ball. On Sunday night, two of Hill's three strikers took deep crossings over which the defenders had no chance.

How do you stop this? The deep crossers are designed to be men's cover drummers, which gives the attack an advantage by reducing the speed of the defender, as he is in a position where he pursues the receiver through training. In the third quarter, Hill scored 14 touchdowns for Patriots safety guard Devin McCourty in an unenviable position. On Hill's 75 yards, Duron Harmon's safety was turned in the opposite direction when Hill crossed the field to pick up the wide open shot and then turned on his jets.

But anticipation and good positioning can give an advantage to the defense. A key part of the Ravens alumni safety career at the Ed Reed Hall of Fame was the way he defended what they called these Speedo deep crossers. Alerted by a certain guy playing a certain place – in this case, Hill would line up as the second or third receiver from outside the training – Reed would change responsibility with the corner half from his point of central security, leaving him in a position of strength to jump the road. The idea is that if one catcher flees from one defender to another, it makes sense to pass it on.

There is no doubt that the offensive explosions will please the crowd. But for those who love defense, much of the 2018 season has been hard to watch. "I am so disgusted by the defenses of the league that I can not stand it," commented ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who was playing under Belichick in Cleveland. And whispered a longtime defensive coach, "Some of the worst football matches I've ever seen." Feelings that fit perfectly with Belichick.

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