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Been ruminating on this for awhile.
While the bull rush, swim, spin and dip & rip are all good moves, there's one that I haven't really seen an OT figure out.
I call it the Ghost. It probably has a name and I just don't know it
You can see it at the 0:40 mark.
Edit: it's even more clear on the next play at the :50 sec mark, although it can be hard to catch it because the editing of the clip is so close and it happens so fast.
You can also see up close at the 2:38 mark how he launches, engages, fakes the chuck (although he's really not in a good position to do the move, the OT still falls for it) and then bull rushes the OT literally knocking him down and gets the sack. That's the kind of thing that sets up the Ghost.
Von Miller jumps off the snap with a medium deep route to the QB and he positions himself as if he's going to either bull rush or simply apply straight pressure to collapse the pocket as he might play it on a potential screen or dump off the the RB in the flat where he might need to turn and run.
The OT and Von Miller square up and the OT reaches for Von Miller to initiate contact.
What Von Miller does next is rather extraordinary.
He extends his hands (in this clip its very quick, in others he sets up the OT more deliberately with his hands), but does not engage the OT.
Instead, he extends his arms and then bursts upfield while withdrawing his hands. There's a slight downfield chuck on this play, but I've seen instances where he never actually touches the OT. Because the OT set expecting contact, he's unable to continue kick stepping, set his feet to anchor and is left grasping air. Von Miller simply speeds past him and gets the sack.
This is not a dip and rip or even a variant in that Von Miller doesn't dip. In fact, part of what makes this work is that he stays square the whole time. With a dip and rip, the attacker flips his hips and shoulders perpendicular to the OT, gets his inside arm under the OT's outside arm and uses that leverage to get around the OT. This is different. What really fools the OT is that Miller's extended hands end up being a feint. Von Miller's hands go forward, but his body never stops moving upfield.
Von Miller is quick enough that if the OT doesn't set, he risks Miller bursting inside and being easily defeated with a spin move or being bullrushed and being caught off balance and being driven into the QB.
I saw Demarcus Ware also use this move. I wish Quinn would have learned this. He certainly had the burst for it.
It's simply an amazing move and only a DE with exceptional burst can execute it. What's really interesting about this move is that the defeat of the OT happens almost solely because the hands extend which signal to the OT to initiate contact to hopefully get hands on him and then defeat him. What actually happens is that the extended hands are simply to maintain space and get the OT to set his feet.
Not many DEs or rush OLBs use this move, but every time I see it, I wonder what an OT can do to defend it.
I haven't watched too much Mack, but I don't think I've seen him use this move. I dunno if it's a matter that he plays a more physical 4-3 DE style versus being a speed 3-4 OLB or what.
Anyway, it's a slow time and I wanted to post this before I forgot.
While the bull rush, swim, spin and dip & rip are all good moves, there's one that I haven't really seen an OT figure out.
I call it the Ghost. It probably has a name and I just don't know it
You can see it at the 0:40 mark.
Edit: it's even more clear on the next play at the :50 sec mark, although it can be hard to catch it because the editing of the clip is so close and it happens so fast.
You can also see up close at the 2:38 mark how he launches, engages, fakes the chuck (although he's really not in a good position to do the move, the OT still falls for it) and then bull rushes the OT literally knocking him down and gets the sack. That's the kind of thing that sets up the Ghost.
Von Miller jumps off the snap with a medium deep route to the QB and he positions himself as if he's going to either bull rush or simply apply straight pressure to collapse the pocket as he might play it on a potential screen or dump off the the RB in the flat where he might need to turn and run.
The OT and Von Miller square up and the OT reaches for Von Miller to initiate contact.
What Von Miller does next is rather extraordinary.
He extends his hands (in this clip its very quick, in others he sets up the OT more deliberately with his hands), but does not engage the OT.
Instead, he extends his arms and then bursts upfield while withdrawing his hands. There's a slight downfield chuck on this play, but I've seen instances where he never actually touches the OT. Because the OT set expecting contact, he's unable to continue kick stepping, set his feet to anchor and is left grasping air. Von Miller simply speeds past him and gets the sack.
This is not a dip and rip or even a variant in that Von Miller doesn't dip. In fact, part of what makes this work is that he stays square the whole time. With a dip and rip, the attacker flips his hips and shoulders perpendicular to the OT, gets his inside arm under the OT's outside arm and uses that leverage to get around the OT. This is different. What really fools the OT is that Miller's extended hands end up being a feint. Von Miller's hands go forward, but his body never stops moving upfield.
Von Miller is quick enough that if the OT doesn't set, he risks Miller bursting inside and being easily defeated with a spin move or being bullrushed and being caught off balance and being driven into the QB.
I saw Demarcus Ware also use this move. I wish Quinn would have learned this. He certainly had the burst for it.
It's simply an amazing move and only a DE with exceptional burst can execute it. What's really interesting about this move is that the defeat of the OT happens almost solely because the hands extend which signal to the OT to initiate contact to hopefully get hands on him and then defeat him. What actually happens is that the extended hands are simply to maintain space and get the OT to set his feet.
Not many DEs or rush OLBs use this move, but every time I see it, I wonder what an OT can do to defend it.
I haven't watched too much Mack, but I don't think I've seen him use this move. I dunno if it's a matter that he plays a more physical 4-3 DE style versus being a speed 3-4 OLB or what.
Anyway, it's a slow time and I wanted to post this before I forgot.
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