Question on man coverage

[BlitzFritz]

Slow news midweek, so I had a thought and question:

Much has been discussed about the strength of the Pats secondary, which has been built in just the past few years with the acquisition of Talib and Dennard, plus McCourty in center field.

We now have a very solid crew to play man on any team's top receiving core.

My question is this. When exactly did BB switch from the soft bend but dont break zone to a predominantly Man scheme? I seem to remember the Pats playing mostly zone for years, especially during the Middle Ages (2008-2011) when the defense was no longer dominant and not yet rebuilt.

These secondaries included many misses in the D backfield IIRC - Butler, Wheatley, Wilhite, Smurf1, Smurf 2

Was the shift to a predominantly Man coverage a critical strategic decision on the part of BB in getting this D back to the top quartile?
(Moreover, is Man coverage the predominant scheme in the NFL these days)

-- FRITZ

 

[Kontradiction]

Slow news midweek, so I had a thought and question:

Much has been discussed about the strength of the Pats secondary, which has been built in just the past few years with the acquisition of Talib and Dennard, plus McCourty in center field.

We now have a very solid crew to play man on any team's top receiving core.

My question is this. When exactly did BB switch from the soft bend but dont break zone to a predominantly Man scheme? I seem to remember the Pats playing mostly zone for years, especially during the Middle Ages (2008-2011) when the defense was no longer dominant and not yet rebuilt.

These secondaries included many misses in the D backfield IIRC - Butler, Wheatley, Wilhite, Smurf1, Smurf 2

Was the shift to a predominantly Man coverage a critical strategic decision on the part of BB in getting this D back to the top quartile?
(Moreover, is Man coverage the predominant scheme in the NFL these days)

-- FRITZ

The team started featuring zone-heavy schemes when they lost Samuel to FA and had Hobbs as the CB1 in 2008. That increased in 2009 and even more in 2010 and 2011. In the 2011 postseason, they started showing more man to man schemes in the Denver game in the divisional round and again in the championship game. Coincidentally, I believe McCourty moved back to safety at the end of that season. In 2012, they were playing a lot of zone again until Talib arrived and Dennard broke out. Simply put, the team didn't have the corners or the safeties to play a lot of man to man until those two came onto the scene. Now that they have the personnel, they're playing it a lot more than they had during the "middle ages", as you so aptly put it.

 

[Nunchucks]

They will switch off playing zone and man depending on the QB as well. QBs that can scramble will see a lot of zone coverage, while QBs like Manning will see a lot of man coverage.

Patriots tried playing a lot of man when McCourty was first drafted, then in his second year they ended up switching to zone about halfway through until Talib was added in McCourty's 3rd year. Talib got hurt and they went back to zone. This year, its been a lot of man coverage when applicable.

Zone coverage is great, especially in the red zone and against those pesky pick plays. However, a QB like Manning will pick apart zone, as it is fairly predictable. The trick is to make him think you are playing man and be really playing zone, that is how you get the INTs.

 

[dales804]

The simple and short answer is the shift to man coverage happened when Talib started playing for the Patriots.

 

[BlitzFritz]

Has man coverage become the new emphasis in the NFL now or just new for the pats post-Talib acquisition?. I seem to recall many many years ago when the Raiders were considered one of the only teams in the league to consistently play man coverage.

 

[letekro]

They play man because Talib and Dennard are studs. When either one is out, I think they play more zone. Even with those guys playing, Zone can be better if you are facing a running QB or a team that runs a lot of crossing routes.

 

[miDeuce]

There are ways to beat man coverage just like they are ways to beat zone. The best defenses can mix and match. In the first Denver game the Pats played almost exclusively Cover 1 Robber or Cover 2 Man. It's a smart coverage vs. Peyton because it makes it more about his receivers getting open than him throwing to the correct open area against zone (which he will do 95% of the time unless the presnap info fools him). Denver countered in the second half by running more rubs and crossing patterns, the best way to beat man coverage. They had more success but the Pats were solid tacklers and that helped limit the YAC.

The Pats have tried to run man a lot in recent years, but really they haven't been much good at it since the days of Ty Law. Even with the '05-'07 defense they could get away with more zone because of how good their front 7 was and how good Asante was at pattern reading and jumping routes.

Now with Talib, Dennard, Ryan and Arrington they have four versatile corners who can be physical and play man. It's really the best-suited secondary to face Manning since the 2003 defense IMO.

 

[hwc]

I don't think it's as simple as playing "zone" or playing "man". Pass defense is almost always a complex combination of the two. For example, press man coverage, jamming receivers at the line, is almost always accompanied by somebody playing "zone" behind it as a safety net.

It also depends on down and distance, the QB drop, and how quickly the ball has to come out. Press coverage makes sense to stop the quick, short passing game where timing is key and when down and distance makes a long bomb downfield unlikely.

I haven't seen anything that makes me think Belichick has changed his #1 rule: don't get beat over the top....

 

[miDeuce]

I don't think it's as simple as playing "zone" or playing "man".

This is true. More specifically the Pats are playing PRESS man now, where even last year against the Broncos they were playing primarily OFF man. PRESS is the toughest physical technique for a CB. They have to get hands on the WR and then match his route depending on what technique they're playing.

The fact that BB trusts his D to play press now is what's making all the difference.

 

[Mack Herron]

From my perspective, the improvement in the pass defense is not so much a matter of scheme but rather having the personnel that can execute those schemes. This is the best talent we've had back there in years.

 

[Ring 6]

Slow news midweek, so I had a thought and question:

Much has been discussed about the strength of the Pats secondary, which has been built in just the past few years with the acquisition of Talib and Dennard, plus McCourty in center field.

We now have a very solid crew to play man on any team's top receiving core.

My question is this. When exactly did BB switch from the soft bend but dont break zone to a predominantly Man scheme? I seem to remember the Pats playing mostly zone for years, especially during the Middle Ages (2008-2011) when the defense was no longer dominant and not yet rebuilt.

These secondaries included many misses in the D backfield IIRC - Butler, Wheatley, Wilhite, Smurf1, Smurf 2

Was the shift to a predominantly Man coverage a critical strategic decision on the part of BB in getting this D back to the top quartile?
(Moreover, is Man coverage the predominant scheme in the NFL these days)

-- FRITZ

There is no black and white answer. BB has always played man and zone, in different proportions, dictated by personel, opponent, score, etc.
Bend but don't break is not an all zone scheme, its a philosophy that says don't give up big plays. You can do that in man or zone. Example: You can play man with 5 defenders covering man to man, 2 deep safeties and rush 4. That is closer to 'bend but don't break'. Or you cover with 5 and rush 6 with no help to the man coverers. This is hit or miss, chance at big play for the D at the risk of a greater chance at a big play.
Additionally there are different techniques in man. Patriot corners historically play outside leverage, which is desgined to prevent the deep sideline throw and give the advantage to an inside route where there is help.

Finally, a key concept is the 2gap run D. For his career until 2011, BB ran a 2 gap defense religiously. This fosters the bend but dont break as in the running game your front 7 is engaging the blocker and controlling the los rather than penetrating. Again safe vs big play chance and big play allowed risk. Then on pass plays the DL starts at a disadvantage as their first move is toward engaging rather than avoiding the blocker.

BB always employs elements of all these schemes week in and week out, and opponent, situation, his roster, and score dictate the mix.

If what you are actually asking is what I think, and you mean when did the man coverage and more attacking system become more prevelant I would say it started in 2011 and became very prevelant when Talib arrived.

 

[Wax Frog]

There are ways to beat man coverage just like they are ways to beat zone. The best defenses can mix and match. In the first Denver game the Pats played almost exclusively Cover 1 Robber or Cover 2 Man. It's a smart coverage vs. Peyton because it makes it more about his receivers getting open than him throwing to the correct open area against zone (which he will do 95% of the time unless the presnap info fools him). Denver countered in the second half by running more rubs and crossing patterns, the best way to beat man coverage. They had more success but the Pats were solid tacklers and that helped limit the YAC..

Ahh, just what I love about this site. I tend to be a "lazy" football viewer, so while I know there's an identifiable reason for games where a scoring onslaught suddenly turns into a drought, I never get around to figuring out why. Nice to have someone else do the heavy lifting for me

 

[Fencer]

BB's roots include a strong preference for 2-gap and a weak preference for zone. But they also include a preference for hitting the receiver before the pass. And under the Polian rules, the main way to do that is in press man coverage.

So we should assume he's been trying to staff up for press man coverage for a while.