EXCELLENT video showing how cover 2 ISNT what’s killing NFL offenses….

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It's not just the mixing of coverages though. There's only so many variations that they can employ in game. Back when I played, we used to play split field coverages like 20 years ago, the NFL didn't use to coach basics. It was the assumption that you knew how to play a zone properly when they drafted you so they'd call a cover 2 and expect the players to understand how pass constructs work and to never just guard grass for no reason.

A straight cover 3, undisguised, coached and played correctly, is one of the most difficult defenses to complete a pass against. That's what Pete did at Seattle for years with Sherm, Earl, and Browner. I think the DCs in the NFL is where the experience lies with coaches right now and some of the better ones are actually taking time to explain how to understand where to be when they're in a zone and when you should evacuate a zone to help a teammate who's zone is being flooded. It's an extra bonus that almost all of the OCs in the NFL come from the same offensive tree so you don't have to learn new concepts every week like you might have to do in college. You just have to learn tendencies and personnel, which is easier, except for the special ones (Lamar, Josh, JJ, Chase, Pat, Saquon, etc.)

The bolded is an angle that I hadn't considered, but actually seems obvious now that you mention it. I haven't actually checked, but it does seem like DCs are tending to be longer tenured now, whether they hold the position longer, or have been within the organization longer, and worked their way up. Being able to keep the same philosophical identity long enough to truly establish a type of player that the front office needs to get them, along with a defacto SOP of how to teach concepts out really does go a long way.
 

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The bolded is an angle that I hadn't considered, but actually seems obvious now that you mention it. I haven't actually checked, but it does seem like DCs are tending to be longer tenured now, whether they hold the position longer, or have been within the organization longer, and worked their way up. Being able to keep the same philosophical identity long enough to truly establish a type of player that the front office needs to get them, along with a defacto SOP of how to teach concepts out really does go a long way.
DCs actually get to DC. Think about it...whens the last time a DC was the new hotness everybody wanted to hire? They get to actually focus on defense and build something rather than being rushed into being a HC and having to be responsible for everything and having 2 years to figure it out.
 

Rekkapryde

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TYRONE GA!
A lot of QBs should be drinking and dunking.
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Copy Ninja

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The NFL got caught up in the microwave "need it quick fast in a hurry" culture. With the quick strike, big play, offenses.

The reason football is my favorite sport is because it's also a chess match that requires patience.

They're not patient with QBs. They're not patient with the run game. There's no patience now.

The answer is to get back to running the ball. Have at least two good running backs and one of them has to have some size.

Football is like boxing, you have to work the body!

If defenses are playing a two deep shell, there's gonna be space underneath.

Watching Goff yesterday, he never got sacked because he threw it right away to underneath guys. He hit LaPorta on a few key 3rd downs with a lot of underneath throws.
 
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I have this wild theory.

NFL adjusted the rules in the 00s to accommodate Peyton and later Brady (after his ACL). Many of the QBs like them, Brees etc, started off playing under tougher rules and then benefitted from the changes to the game. Like playing a game on "hard" mode and then moving down to easy mode.

Defenses have slowly caught up....but now all the older QBs have retired. What's left are younger guys that have only ever known "easy mode" and the DCs/HCs, athletes on defense etc, have leveled the playing field.

Used to be that QBs came from everywhere. Now a lot of them are coming from the big time programs with all the talent. They go to special academies, play on loaded P4 teams with fancy spread offenses and then get to the league and are....stuck. All these things combined are making it more difficult for the young guns to break out. They lose the advantages they had in college and then the defensive coaches in the NFL are a bit better than the offensive coaches.

Defense always catches up and then either some new innovation or rule changes have to take place to put offense back on top.
 
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