New York Jets Madden Film Session: Part IV

The 46 Defense & Pass Rush

Let’s take a look at how the 46 Defense can help the Jets generate pressure, without blitzing a Defensive Back.

There’s a difference in the personnel, compared to our last NY Jets Madden Film Session Part III, so we’ll fill you in on who subs in and why.

On this play, the 46 Defense will comprise of:

—> 4 down Linemen

• Muhammad Wilkerson (96) – DE
• Mike DeVito (70) – DT
• Sione Pouha (91) – DT
• Quinton Coples (98) – DE

—> 3 Linebackers

• Calvin Pace (97) – OLB
• David Harris (52) – MLB
• Demario Davis (49) – MLB

—> 2 Cornerbacks

• Darrelle Revis (24) – LCB
• Antonio Cromartie (31) – RCB

—> 1 Strong Safety “In the box”, near the line of scrimmage.

• LaRon Landry (30)

—> 1 Free Safety

• Yeremiah Bell (37)

One noticeable replacement is Demario Davis, who subs in for Bart Scott. Quite simply, Davis has shown flashes of athleticism in camp, so it wouldn’t surprise many to hear that #49 is in the game to help out in pass coverage.

*Note: Davis may have a different number by week 1 vs. Buffalo (likely #50-59).

The pre-snap of the 46 Defense will look like this:

Each player and their responsibility will be highlighted in the next photo. To separate responsibilities, we labeled the pass rushers with red arrows, and the man-to-man coverage with yellow arrows. The blue bubbles will represent zone coverage.

Yeremiah Bell (37) is disguising deep zone coverage during the pre-snap look, but really, he is in man coverage on the slot receiver. That’s because Calvin Pace’s (97) role is a limited one. He’s only responsible for jamming the slot receiver to the best of his abilities, because it’s a lot to ask of him to run step for step with a blazing WR. With that being said, we allow him to get help—from Bell in double-coverage.

David Harris (52) is accountable for the middle of the field, especially if TE Rob Gronkowski runs in his direction. Also, if Demario Davis needs an assist defending Gronkowski, Harris is obligated to help Davis with his man.

LaRon Landry is lined up “inside the box”, and is going to shift to a deep zone once the ball is snapped.

As far as Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are concerned, they’re locked in man coverage. Anybody surprised? In my opinion, Darrelle Revis/Antonio Cromartie/Kyle Wilson are the best 1,2,3 Cornerback Tandem in the NFL.

Anyway, this is great call if you’re Rex Ryan and you’re trying to throw the opponents off guard. Teams tend to game-plan against Rex and Mike Pettine’s heavy pressure, adding additional blockers to pick up the extra defensive blitzer. That’s why analysts often suggest that the Jets should get a premiere OLB pass rusher like DeMarcus Ware or another NFL sack leader. I believe that the Jets drafted that type of pass rusher 16^th Overall in this year’s draft, but he’s a DL. Let’s see if he gets a sack, or helps another man on the Front 4 make a play…

Brady gets the ball in the Shotgun, and sees a four-man rush coming his way. Quinton Coples has his pass rush highlighted in red.

David Harris is running towards Rob Gronkowski—who’s in man coverage with Demario Davis. Both of their roles are both highlighted yellow.

The next picture will show the same play as it continues to unfold.

LaRon Landry is behind David Harris and is dropping back into his zone coverage. Harris is paying close attention (the blue eye vision) to Gronkowski. He notices that Gronkowski runs a short route and Demario Davis is holding his own. Harris then becomes a pass rusher because double-coverage is no longer necessary.

Due to David Harris’s awareness to rush the passer on this play, the rest of the front 4 Defensive Linemen were able to provide pressure on Brady. Can you guess who gets the sack? Join us on Page 2, where JETSerious gets dead serious, and breaks down another defensive play in the 46 Defense…

Jets 1^st Round Draft Pick in the 2012 draft, Quinton Coples (98) sacks Tom Brady.

On this next play, the 46 Defense will comprise of:

—> 4 down Linemen

• Muhammad Wilkerson (96) – DE
• Mike DeVito (70) – DT
• Sione Pouha (91) – DT
• Quinton Coples (98) – DE

—> 3 Linebackers

• Calvin Pace (97) – OLB
• David Harris (52) – MLB
• Aaron Maybin (51) – MLB (I know it sounds wrong, but I’ll explain later)

—> 2 Cornerbacks

• Darrelle Revis (24) – LCB
• Antonio Cromartie (31) – RCB

—> 1 Strong Safety “In the box”, near the line of scrimmage.

• LaRon Landry (30)

—> 1 Free Safety

• Yeremiah Bell (37)

The pre-snap will look like this:

The role for each player is highlighted in the next photo. With all the arrows it can get a little confusing. So, to review—we labeled the pass rushers with red arrows, and the man-to-man coverage with yellow arrows. The blue bubble shows a Cover 1, deep zone coverage.

The dotted lines signify an option read for the Defensive player. For example, Linebacker David Harris (52) has the option to shift himself to a better location…that will help make his responsibility of defending TE Rob Gronkowski much easier.

As for FS Yeremiah Bell (37), his primary responsibility is to defend the deep zone. As the play progresses, LB Harris may need some help covering Gronkowski, so it’s Bell’s judgment call—whether or not he needs to help him. If Harris can match up against Gronkowski, and there is nobody running a deep route, then Bell’s third role would be to play as a QB spy (reading Brady’s body flow/eyes).

Aaron Maybin is playing Middle LB, which some might question. He is usually a Designated Pass Rusher on the outside. However, when you have a RB running a route into the flat in man coverage, a quick LB is a necessity. Maybin runs a 4.89 (40-yard dash), and can keep up with the RB on this play. Bart Scott could’ve stayed in the game, but he’s not the ideal cover guy. If anything, Calvin Pace and Aaron Maybin could’ve swapped positions, but that wouldn’t confuse anybody. It’s important to keep Quarterbacks (Brady) continuously guessing who is blitzing and who is dropping in coverage. It messes with their (his) focus during split-second decisions.

This next picture is what Brady will see when he glances left, and dares to test Antonio Cromartie— who is locked in man-to-man with Deon Branch, and has help over the deep middle.

Brady will also see a strong pass rush that looks like it’s going to collapse the pocket.

Darrelle Revis is trailing Wes Welker, but Calvin Pace is in position to bat the ball down on any pass thrown left.

Muhammad Wilkerson leads the pass rush here, collapsing the inner pocket in front of Tom Brady. This forces Brady to hurry his throw.

Quinton Coples does a good job here of containing the outside, where he’s required to be.

Now, let’s see if the pressure gets to Brady before he can get the pass off….

Wilkerson comes up with a big sack. There should be plenty of this going on this upcoming season.  It’s expected. After all, Rex was the one to talk him up so much.

I believe what Rex is saying, but everyone knows that it has to be shown on the field before it can become a reality.

Nevertheless, Muhammad is a big dude. He showcased what he can do, in just his 2^nd NFL game of the 2011 Season, in which he recorded his first sack/safety. That’s quite impressive, if you ask me.

He’s going to be hard to ignore”    –Rex Ryan

Yeah, that’s for sure.

Look for big things from “Big MO”, and the New York Jets 46 Defense this year!

Good things are coming…Good things.