• March 29, 2024

Screens & Draws Against The Wide Nine Is Nothing New

As a linebacker or safety In college football, you can be a great player by utilizing only your speed, size and power alone. But in the NFL, speed, power and size alone, won’t get the job done. You have to study your opponent and anticipate what plays they’re going to run or you can’t succeed as a linebacker or safety.

Going into the Buffalo game the Eagles linebackers and safeties should have been anticipating seeing screens and draws. Every team in the league is going run screens and draws against the Eagles “Wide Nine”. Everybody knows you run screens and draws against a good pass rush.

It is total incompetence for this defense not to ready for screens and draws after a quarter of the season has already been played.

The best way to stop a screen is to get to it before it forms. You can only do that by anticipating them and looking for any keys from a formation or alignment standpoint that might tip them off. Many times offensive linemen will tip off the play, once they get a little fatigued.

Safety Jarrad Page missed at least four tackles yesterday and some of them were times when he had Fred Jackson is a tight area, but he must be closing his eyes before he hits the ball carrier. A safety who can’t tackle is very destructive to a defense because every time he misses a tackle, it turns into a big play.

The Eagles linebackers don’t know how to play screens. First of all the Eagles linebackers didn’t anticipate that the Bills were going to run screens today. Buffalo ran five screens before the backers started anticipating them.

Once the offensive linemen get in front of the running back and the running back has the ball, the linebacker must slow play the screen to delay the running back from picking up yards, as help comes from his teammates.

As a linebacker, you must get off the blockers by playing them with your hands. If you lock up with an offensive lineman on a screen, you are going to give up a big play. You have use your quickness to get the big blockers off balance, while staying on your feet and in the path of the running back. Most of time, if you use your hands and stay in the running back’s path, you can force him to run sideways rather than north of south. This buys time for you teammates to get there.

Once the screen is formed you can’t charge into it and allow yourself to be blocked to the side and let the running back head upfield immediately. If you do this, you are guaranteed to give up a big play. You should be stalling for time.

This is fundamental linebacker and safety play. I saw safety Jarrad Page give himself up far too many times against draws and screens. I think they should start Kurt Coleman at safety along with Nate Allen. They’re not anything to write home about but they’re the best we have.

Middle linebacker Jamar Chaney played a decent game. but he was terrible against the screens and the Bills were racking up big yardage on them. He didn’t use his hands on those plays.

Weakside linebacker Brian Rolle is having the same problem on screens and draws. Rolle is quick enough to fake out the lineman and get to the running backs without being blocked, but he must use his hands and his quickness.

GCOBB

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sah
sah
October 10, 2011 8:34 am

What does the wde nine have to do with missing tackles or safeties taking stupid angles. They actually had their smaller gaps yesterday, yet still had the same problem. And for the talk of Jim Johnsons defense, wasn’t their complaint that it relied too much on blitzes and didn’t work in the playoffs? Didn’t people complain about the lack of defensive impact plays before? All I heard was that Eagles needed to fond a way to get pressure with their front four. You can’t have it both ways.

sah
sah
October 10, 2011 8:40 am

Actually meant to place this in this other article

runtheball09
runtheball09
October 10, 2011 8:43 am

This wide nine BS is forcing over pursue the running back and then he gets a free lane. I watched that entire game yesterday predicting pretty much exactly what was going to happen. There is nothing surprising on defense or on offense. You can telegraph every play with this team. It’s hysterical. Andy Reid has lost it.

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
October 10, 2011 8:46 am

Sah, I agree with you 100%! G wrote many articles last year about Eagles not pressuring the QB, now that other areas are struggling lets complain and blame the coach…Everyone finds a way to complain…As great a JJ was, fact is no one on this coaching staff is JJ….The Eagles played well with the wide 9 at points in every game thus far…Problem is the COVERAGES….I Repeat COVERAGES….why are we playing off on WR’s at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 5? Why are we in so much zone…? Why are we not disguising more? that QB sneak? where were the LB’s?

nsidious
nsidious
October 10, 2011 9:28 am

G:
Why is Caldwell coaching this LB corps and not you? These guys need a boxing and martial arts class for their hands. Why wouldn’t the first line of defense for a player off the ball be their hands? Basic technique.
And when the DE’s take to the inside, the DB took too wide a route, and didn’t do the “J”. Basic technique. Babin hesitated when the TE pulled instead of sprinting to make the sack – or at least leap into the air with his hands up. 20 yard play.
These guys simply can’t get off of their blocks and the arm-tackling is atrocious. You’re right about that G.

scramz25
scramz25
October 10, 2011 9:32 am

I JUST GOT TO KNOW THIS? WHY ISNT ANT REPORTER THAT COVERS THE TEAM AND IS PRESENT AT THE PRESS MEETINGS ASKING ANDY REID THIS…” WHY AFTER 13 YEARS OF BEING HERE ALL HE EVERY AS TO SAY IS HE NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB”? HE OWS THE PEOPLE WHO HELPS PAY HIS SALARY AND EXPLAINATION. WE THE FANS BUY THE MERCHANDISE AND WE FILL THE SEATS. IF WE DONT SHOW HE DONT COACH HERE. 13 YEARS AND HE HASNT DONE A BETTER JOB. ANY OF US WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED FROM OUR JOBS AFTER SAYING THE SAME DAMN THING AND NOT MAKING A CHANGE. .. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING JARROD STINKING PAGE IN THAT UNIFORM. HOWIE NEEDS TO BE KICKED IN THE MOUTH FOR LYING TO US THE FANS THAT THESE ARE ELITE PLAYERS. JARROD PAGE COST US THE GAME ON DEFENSE YESTERDAY HE MISSED EVERY LAST ONE OF HIS TACKLES. EERY LAST ONE AND THEY ALL WENT FOR BIG RUNS……….

scramz25
scramz25
October 10, 2011 9:37 am

PLEASE ASK JARROD PAGE HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GO INTO TO WATCH FILM WITH HIS TEAMMATES AND THEY SEE HIM MISSING EVERY ONE OF HIS TACKLES. HE COST US THE GAME ON DEFENSE. HE CANNOT TACKLE FOR NOTHING. THIS GUY IS COLLECTING A PAYCHECK FOR NOTHING. ITS FUNNY BECASUE THEY WONT PUT IN THE ROOKIE AND HIS SPECIALTY IS HITTING AND TACKLING SO WHA HE SUCKS IN PASS COVERAGE TEAMS ARENT PASSING TO BEAT US THEY ARE RUNNING. PAGE IS A SUCKA FOR DOING THAT TO US. I WISH THIS WAS OL SCHOOL FOOTBALL WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A PLAYER INTHE SHOWER AND BEAT HIS ASS FOR CAUSING A GAME NO MATTER WHO IT IS. KICK HIS ASS.

DCar
DCar
October 10, 2011 9:58 am

Screens & draws kill them because the LB’s & Safeties blow Godzilla cock & the D-line can’t stop the run up front, in the wide 69! Mike Patterson sucks! Has he even recorded a tackle!? The last time I heard his name, was when he seized on the field, in pre-season. He should have been shipped out with Bunkley!