Expect to see Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott take advantage of the versatility of all of his “tweeners”when he gets the chance during the fall.
You’re going to see defensive ends dropping into pass coverage, safeties covering wide receivers man-to-man, linebackers running downfield with wideouts and all of them rushing the passer from all types of positions.
“You’d like to be able to play your base defense and play 11 defenders during a game and let it go and let the base defense take care of itself,”¬†McDermott said. “In this league, as you see multiple personnel groupings and the way that offenses and offensive coordinators attack a defense, it’s important that you can stay multiple on the defensive side of the ball, as well, so that you can throw a counterpunch when necessary.”
Many have asked about the Eagles changing from a 4-3 to a 3-4.¬† It’s not going to happen but on 2nd and long and 3rd and long, you’re going to see variations of the 4-3 and the 3-4.
McDermott will show every look known to man.  He will have the flexibility to use his personnel in many different ways because they all can run.
It seems that the emphasis on the passing game in the NFL has forced defenses to create new types of players, who must be able to play the pass foremost, yet still have the ability to come up and make open field tackles on big physical ball carriers.
Not long ago safeties could be slower and lack good pass coverage skills.  They could be nothing more than smaller linebacker who focused on stopping the run and functioned solely as pass coverage help for the cornerbacks in the secondary.
The linebacker used to be a liability in pass coverage.¬† They never left the box and rarely had pass coverage responsibility pass 15 yards downfield.¬† That’s no longer the case.
The difference between safeties and corners is blurring, as well as the difference between linebackers and defensive ends.  Everybody has to be able to run and play pass coverage.
When I say “tweeners”, I’m talking about outside pass rushers like Brandon Graham, Daniel Te’o Nesheim and Ricky Sapp, who could stand up and play outside linebacker or put their hand on the ground and get pressure on the passer by beating offensive tackles.
The other “tweeners” are players like Macho Harris, Nate Allen and Marlin Jackson, who have the ability to play safety or cornerback.
They could line up on a wide receiver and cover him man-to-man all over the field, or have the responsibility of coming up and tackling New York Giants 265-pound running back Brandon Jacobs.
These guys must have the speed to run with NFL wide receivers, as well as the size and toughness to take on blockers and pound ball carriers.¬† In the first round of the draft, the Birds passed on a “tweener”, Texas safety Earl Thomas who along with Tennessee’s Eric Berry were regarded as “tweeners” who will develop into special NFL players.
This is an interesting philosophy which sounds logical. Regardless of what anyone says, if you can’t stop the run in the NFC East, you’re doomed. In our division, teams still utilize both the power and speed run game. Even the Eagles have begun to see the need for such diversity.
While you do still need to run the ball (Something which Andy still needs to show he understands) this isn’t the power running division it was a few years ago. Dallas is more of a passing team now, they’re still dangerous on the ground but like many other teams their passing attack is what you have to worry about. Brandon Jacobs doesn’t look like he used to. Maybe he bounces back or maybe last year was the beginning of a serious downward trend for him (RBs drop off like that with no warning), and Washington is running a bunch of older backs who haven’t had a good year in several seasons.
There has been some talk of looking at this defense like a bit of a take off of the Tampa 2 system with the pass rush from the front four (Which was a clear focus in this draft) and fast players behind who will gang tackle bigger players. One on one they might not make the play but the idea is to prevent that problem by having a bunch of guys there to do that job.
Gib, I agree with everything you said. Nowadays, teams use the run to slow down pass rushers. Dallas has done that quite effectively. There’s no need to run the ball 30 times a game. However, if a team breaks off a few good runs (7-15 yards), it slows down the rush and causes the secondary to divide its attention between run and pass defense. I’m anxious to see exactly how McDermott utilizes his personnel. It’s certainly a different world in the NFL and defenses are still adjusting to changes made in the last 7-8 years.
It’s simple physics- F=MA or Force = Mass times Acceleration. The key is finding guys who have enough mass but also enough acceleration. Its a balance that is required. A 400lb LB might be able to tackle any RB with ease IF and this is the key IF he can catch him to get him down. Therefore having the ability to be in a position or recover to a position to make a play (acceleration) is weighted higher than having the mass to make the play. The problem occurs when you are talking about guys like DT’s. These guys make most of their plays within a 3 yard range or arms distance at the snap of the ball. This is why mass is more important at that position. This is why a 3-4 defense makes more sense in today’s game. You swap out 4 Traditionally Mass players to pick up an extra acceleration player.
Ok I got my geek on and will get killed for it but I don’t care. 3-4 is the future of NFL defenses and the eagles are trying to run a hybrid 4-3 scheme that may or may not work out.