Exactly what is Wade's defensive philosophy?

[BriansRams]

Help please.
I thought I knew at one time, but it seems to jump all over the place. Why are we not getting more pressure or more sacks?
Is Wade trying to put a 'bend but don't break' defensive scheme onto the field?

 

[den-the-coach]

Wade likes press man coverage and to disguise his blitzes, he was handcuffed with Peters, who could not cover man to man and was better in zone coverage. The reason for the Ramsey trade is to embrace that philsophy and I expect the defense to be better because of it.

Every time Peters got beat deep, he was looking for help, whereas, Ramsey will just be in the receiver's hip pocket. I expect Christian to come on some safety blitzes, which might be the best part of his game.

 

[lordbannon]

Typically its to play tight man coverage on the outside and bring pressure.

We're not getting sacks because we've been limited on the "tight man coverage" and forced into a drop back zone. All the teams take the quick underneath routes, and the rushers have no time to get home.

Hence the swap to bring Ramsey in place of Peters. Granted, who knows how the other side will play out..

 

[Mackeyser]

Yeah, exactly this.

If you look at his most successful D, the No Fly Zone in Denver... he had very good press man coverage, solid, super smart Safety play (Champ Bailey), fast, young ILBs that can get sideline to sideline, pass rushing OLBs and one super great DL (Derek Wolfe)

We have never been closer to having the roster Wade needed to succeed than we are now.

The issue on D is that we've had guys selling out to get penetration, sometimes losing gap responsibility because teams have been easily completing the short passes and even when the run wasn't particularly effective (9ers averaged less than 3 yards per carry), they were still able to convert and sustain long drives... keeping our D on the field and preventing our O from getting into a rhythm.

What playing man does is make the QB take that extra second or go deeper into his progressions.

That brings the pass rush into play. When Denver would beat up on NE, it was because they were able to stifle Brady and make him wait just long enough for the pass rush to get there.

Wade's D just doesn't work running lots of zone.

 

[bubbaramfan]

For certain Wade's D is gonna have their hands full with Ryan #2 in passing yds, ,Julio Jones, Ridley and Hooper. Not counting on Ramsey playing.

 

[Mackeyser]

I think he plays.

The notion of having a big game against one of the best WRs in the game for his new team to PROVE his worth is too much.

Unless he really physically can't go, I would expect he'd be hyped to get into this D and play.

I would expect them to just put him on a guy and have him play man most of the game and then scheme around that.

 

[Ellard80]

hmmm... not sure any of this is right.

Didnt think his defense's blitz much.

 

[gabriel18]

Whatever it is , it isn't working so far this year .

 

[Mackeyser]

hmmm... not sure any of this is right.

Didnt think his defense's blitz much.

Yes, but they were pretty exotic blitzes and it required tight man on those plays to give the blitzers time to get home.

 

[Mackeyser]

Whatever it is , it isn't working so far this year .

Should work better with Ramsey and will really shape up when Matthews and Talib come back.

if we make the playoffs, we'll be a super dangerous D.

 

[RamBall]

Good time to get Long some reps also. If Ramsey can shut down 1 side or the #1 WR Wade can give Long help over the top and let NRC and Rapp take the slot and TE. I really think the D is going to come along quickly and as mentioned we are staffed the closest to what Wade wants on D that we have been since he got here. If Long shows well next draft can focus on OL and BPA without having to force picks at CB.

The tough part down the road will be paying Ramsey, but he may be a bit less demanding to stay in SoCal and play in a scheme that will bring him many accolades and advertising opportunities.

 

[Zodi]

Did Wade ever get extended? Everything I can find says he got a three year deal in 2017. That would make this season the last one on his contract.

 

[1maGoh]

hmmm... not sure any of this is right.

Didnt think his defense's blitz much.

I watched a video of him once, or read an article with a quote (same same), where he says he didn't blitz much because he says technically it's not a blitz unless there's less cover people than receiving options. What you'd call a zero blitz is basically the only thing he recognizes as a real blitz, so he says he doesn't do it. In today's parlance, more than your standard 4 rushers is a blitz.

So there's miscommunication. It's a byproduct of him being super old (as most annoying things are).

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

He sure likes to play a 3-4 with 4-3 personnel.

 

[oldnotdead]

I have followed and studied Wade Phillips for years. When he came to the Chargers he was playing a standard 3-4 scheme. But partnered with John Pagano, he transitioned to the 3-4 hybrid. A standard 3-4 is a two gap scheme for the front 7. The 3-4 hybrid uses the same personnel but aligns them to play a 1 gap scheme, just as it is in a 4-3. The second DE is the WIL (OlB) in this case Fowler. The object of this scheme is to penetrate and attack the offensive backfield be it run or pass. This is why SJD infuriates me because he simply doesn't attack that way. He plays too upright and gets stoned on the LOS.

Wade loves to play press man on the boundaries, X & Z receivers. He plays his safeties interchangeably, i.e. not in the traditional FS & SS roles. Both will switch off depending upon the defensive play call so OC's can't specifically target either. One safety, is generally in the box to jump that short to mid range throw.

In Wade's scheme the WIL (Fowler) is an OLB but plays as the second DE. The SAM (Ebukam) is responsible for maintaining contain by setting a hard edge on run plays or covering TE or RB in the flats. The Mike is responsible for controlling the A gaps and the MO (ILB) is either a coverage capable ILB or a 3rd safety. Because the Rams don't have a coverage safety they expect Littleton (MIKE) to perform that role. With the addition of Young they might have that coverage capable ILB. Young has 4.6 speed and is built like a SS.

This is Wade's base set. But since his days at SD with Pagano he now changes his defensive alignment with EVERY PLAY. This way OC's and QB's won't know what they are facing until the snap. This makes it very hard on a young QB to get his reads quickly and accurately. This is why Baker Mayfield who still can't read beyond his first read will bust as a QB until he learns to read defenses.

On passing downs Wade loves his double 3T & 5T look on his d-line. You will often see AD and Brockers lining up on both 3T's and Fowler and Ebukam at the 5T's. The MIKE (Littleton) covering the A gaps with the other ILB pulled for the nickel DB (Roby-Coleman). One safety in the middle about 10 yds off the LOS and the other safety in single high. So the secondary is playing press man outside, and aggressive zone short to mid range.

What confuses people is that the alignment and personnel packages changes with each play. But if he has the CB's Wade loves man coverage in his secondary. He feels this gives his pass rush more time to get to the QB. Wade only plays zone when he has to, due to injuries in his secondary.

What having Ramsey means is that they can trust him on an island and shade that single high towards the opposite boundary (Long/Hill). With the CB's Wade has had he couldn't play that way, but now he can.