While the Seattle Seahawks defense get a lot of the credit—rightly so—for their success, third-year quarterback Russell Wilson presents a dangerous conundrum for the New England Patriots defense. In order to stop his relentless aerial and ground assault, the Patriots will need to have their defensive ends ready to dominate the edge. Enter Rob Ninkovich .
Ninkovich and Chandler Jones comprise the majority of what will be the Patriots' edge defense in the Super Bowl. While Jones may have a leg up in the athleticism department, Ninkovich has the instincts necessary to frustrate Wilson.
Edge integrity is so integral to the defensive scheme against the Seahawks because of Wilson's ability to create in space, as well as the multitude of plays that are designed to go against the grain. No matter how well Ninkovich plays, he is going to need some help at the second level.
Here is an example from the Seahawks' overtime victory over the Denver Broncos earlier this season.
Lined up in "11" personnel—Marshawn Lynch is the lone running back—Wilson motions former Seahawk Percy Harvin across the formation. The Broncos defensive back does not follow him across.
At the snap of the ball, nearly the entire Broncos defense starts flowing to the strong side of the field, anticipating the ball ending up in Lynch's hands. As tough as he is to bring down—perhaps harder than interviewing the reluctant talker—defenses tend to flow to his presence.
Von Miller—playing the same position as Ninkovich—has the backside contain.
Miller takes on the inside shoulder of the in-line tight end and immediately regrets it when he sees Wilson pull the ball. Harvin is running against the grain in tandem with his quarterback, effectively optioning Miller out of the play. If Miller takes Wilson, he dumps it off to Harvin. If Miller tries to jam Harvin, Wilson takes off into space.
The big problem here is the inside linebacker, who is caught in no-man's land on the right hash. He takes one too many false steps on the play fake and ultimately is caught out of position.
Miller's quickness cuts off Wilson's escape and forces the easy throw to Harvin.
On Sunday, Ninkovich will have to work in lock-step with his linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins, who will be walking a tightrope all night long. Take your eyes off Lynch and he'll be loose in the secondary. Focus too much on him, however, and Wilson will tiptoe all the way down the field.
If Ninkovich loses containment, however, that will make things far too easy. He is the first step in a sequence of events that will play out countless times. He needs to make the first play, the linebackers need to make the second and the defensive backs need to be ready to cover down the field at every moment.
Expect Ninkovich to be cautious in his pass rush, corralling Wilson more than pursuing him. He may very well let Wilson come to him—pushed by Wilfork and company inside—rather than chase him around the field.
If Wilson and Ninkovich become well-acquainted during the Super Bowl, that will certainly bode well for New England.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1uAlMr2
via IFTTT January 28, 2015 at 03:00AM
0 comments:
Post a Comment