[NU Sports] The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[Roy Lamberton]

Corey Wootton [2 of the 5 sacks] is a defensive end.

The 3-4 changes a lot of the pass rush dynamic since your ends are coming in the
B gap instead of the C gap. Unless you split them way outside, the 3-4 DE's have
to fight their way through the middle of the offensive line, between the guard
and tackle, instead of coming outside around the tackles. The scheme allows the
offensive linemen to double up a rush if they recognize it early.

What you gain from this is outside pressure from the smaller, faster OLBs who
then really get sacks. Lawrence Taylor, who technically was an OLB, had a
zillion sacks playing in the 3-4.

Anyway, if you check your sack leaders, they're usually OLB's, or DE's - they
have further to go, but less in the way, and they can build a good head of
steam. 

It seemed to me that Gill and Hahn plugged the middle pretty well and let our
linebackers roam at will. In a 3-4 or even a 3-3-5, that's what you want.

rsl

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
Computer Applications & Support Associates
and Publisher of Purple Reign, 
The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
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