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St. Louis Rams: Nifty 50 Defense
Even before the Rams signed Nick Fairley, they were prime candidates to bring back the old 5-2 defensive front. Last year, the Rams boasted Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Michael Brockers and rookie star Aaron Donald along the defensive line, with quality backups like William Hayes and Kendall Langford in rotation roles. The Rams play in a division where the running game is king, quarterbacks are mobile and offensive lines are often rickety. Why not bust out a five-man defensive line once in a while?
A quick glance at the Football Outsiders internal database shows that head coach Jeff Fisher was never tempted: The Rams only used five or six linemen in goal-line situations. But now that Fairley joins Donald and Brockers in the middle, it's time for Fisher to get medieval, at least in the football strategy sense, and see if he can threaten some of those NFC West offenses with a 5-2 look.
The diagram below is adapted from an old 46 defense playbook, so Fisher should be familiar with it. The 46 used four defensive linemen, but the strong-side linebacker was often a huge guy, so Quinn can channel his inner Wilber Marshall for this personnel package. The play is designed for early downs against an opponent that has base or run-heavy personnel on the field. As you can see, the goal is pretty simple: Bring some extreme heat.
Quinn (94) and Donald (99) crash the two B-gaps between the guard and tackle on each side. They will keep offensive linemen away from Long (91) and Alec Ogletree (52), blitzing from the edges. Long and Ogletree each have run-containment responsibilities on their way to the quarterback. If the opponent is planning any read-option chicanery, Long and Ogletree will persuade Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernickto just hand off up the middle.
Speaking of the middle, Fairley and Brockers are running a stunt. Fairley (98) crosses the center's face and attacks a backside A-gap. Brockers (90) twists behind Fairley. Keep in mind that the guards must worry about Quinn and Donald. Unless the offense gets the tight end and backs involved, any blocking scheme is going to get obliterated.
Any six-man rush is going to force the defense to play short-handed in the secondary. The diagram shows the Rams playing simple man coverage, with no deep safety. The numbers represent the receivers the middle linebacker and safety are responsible for in coverage. The safeties get the second eligible receiver from the sideline on each side of the formation. So if Reggie Bush starts in the 49ers backfield, then motions to the slot on the offensive left, the right-side safety (No. 23 Rodney McLeod in the diagram) picks him up. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (55) takes the "middle" receiver. With clever motion, an offense could isolate Laurinaitis against a really fast running back or tight end. Fat load of good it will do in the 0.35 seconds the quarterback will have to throw the football.
We could diagram a Rams offensive play, but the team just wants to hand off to Todd Gurley 40 times per game off tackle, and you know what an off-tackle run looks like. The defensive line is where all the action is in St. Louis, and the occasional 5-2 wrinkle could be just the thing to turn some 12-6 divisional losses into 12-6 divisional wins.
St. Louis Rams: Nifty 50 Defense
Even before the Rams signed Nick Fairley, they were prime candidates to bring back the old 5-2 defensive front. Last year, the Rams boasted Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Michael Brockers and rookie star Aaron Donald along the defensive line, with quality backups like William Hayes and Kendall Langford in rotation roles. The Rams play in a division where the running game is king, quarterbacks are mobile and offensive lines are often rickety. Why not bust out a five-man defensive line once in a while?
A quick glance at the Football Outsiders internal database shows that head coach Jeff Fisher was never tempted: The Rams only used five or six linemen in goal-line situations. But now that Fairley joins Donald and Brockers in the middle, it's time for Fisher to get medieval, at least in the football strategy sense, and see if he can threaten some of those NFC West offenses with a 5-2 look.
The diagram below is adapted from an old 46 defense playbook, so Fisher should be familiar with it. The 46 used four defensive linemen, but the strong-side linebacker was often a huge guy, so Quinn can channel his inner Wilber Marshall for this personnel package. The play is designed for early downs against an opponent that has base or run-heavy personnel on the field. As you can see, the goal is pretty simple: Bring some extreme heat.
Quinn (94) and Donald (99) crash the two B-gaps between the guard and tackle on each side. They will keep offensive linemen away from Long (91) and Alec Ogletree (52), blitzing from the edges. Long and Ogletree each have run-containment responsibilities on their way to the quarterback. If the opponent is planning any read-option chicanery, Long and Ogletree will persuade Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernickto just hand off up the middle.
Speaking of the middle, Fairley and Brockers are running a stunt. Fairley (98) crosses the center's face and attacks a backside A-gap. Brockers (90) twists behind Fairley. Keep in mind that the guards must worry about Quinn and Donald. Unless the offense gets the tight end and backs involved, any blocking scheme is going to get obliterated.
Any six-man rush is going to force the defense to play short-handed in the secondary. The diagram shows the Rams playing simple man coverage, with no deep safety. The numbers represent the receivers the middle linebacker and safety are responsible for in coverage. The safeties get the second eligible receiver from the sideline on each side of the formation. So if Reggie Bush starts in the 49ers backfield, then motions to the slot on the offensive left, the right-side safety (No. 23 Rodney McLeod in the diagram) picks him up. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (55) takes the "middle" receiver. With clever motion, an offense could isolate Laurinaitis against a really fast running back or tight end. Fat load of good it will do in the 0.35 seconds the quarterback will have to throw the football.
We could diagram a Rams offensive play, but the team just wants to hand off to Todd Gurley 40 times per game off tackle, and you know what an off-tackle run looks like. The defensive line is where all the action is in St. Louis, and the occasional 5-2 wrinkle could be just the thing to turn some 12-6 divisional losses into 12-6 divisional wins.
