Rocco
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I gave my thoughts on this year's linebacker unit last week. I figured I could spend a little more time breaking down exactly how they will be used this year. Some of you are more football-savvy, so this will be slightly novice for you.
Shafer and Bullough employ a 4-3 defense (and it's many variations), which is very common in the NFL. About half of the NFL teams used this style of defense last year alone. The 4-3 employs 4 down linemen (2 DT's, 2 DE's) and 3 linebackers (Will, Mike, Sam) in the "box". It is rounded out with 2 CB's and 2 safeties.
For this, I am going to assume we are in a base set.
MLB (Mike): Being the only inside LB in a base 4-3 set, the Mike acts as the quarterback of the defense. He needs to be the vocal leader of the defense because he is lined up with the center and cheats up to hear the center/QB's audibles. He barks out anything he can decipher to the other 10 on D. You will also seem him shift the interior linemen around. Watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and every other QB, as they loudly spot and bark out who the Mike is on every play. Being able to point out the Mike, allows the QB and center to verbally communicate what the protections are going to be for everyone. "Storm" and "Tango" are protections you will hear. To try and keep this post relatively basic, I am not going to get into too much detail here. The Mike's primary responsibility is to stuff the run, but needs to be able to drop into zone pass coverage in a split. If they switch to man, he is usually responsible for being the "hat" on the fullback, or sometimes tailback. Shaf typically goes into zone coverage though. As you can see, the Mike is focal point of the opposing QB, so it is a very important position.
Our Mike this year is senior Marquis Spruill (6'1", 224). He is a 4 year starter, but he is a natural outside 'backer and moves back in to the middle for his final campaign. He is ideally undersized for that spot, but is the best option there this year and knows the defense better than anyone on that side of the ball. The Mike is usually the biggest of the 3 backers, but not this year. Spruill is going to wear the weight of the defense on his shoulders. He is responsible for calling out the plays, recognizing certain patterns in the offensive sets, shifting linemen based on protection calls and picking up audibles. On top of all of that, he holds down the center of the box as the MLB. The Mike needs to possess good speed and be a sure tackler seeing he is helping out alot on the runs. Spruill is a very good tackler and is faster than most larger MLBs. Where he loses in physical size, he makes up for with his quick speed. Spruill will have to make the decision to crowd the LOS, show blitz, bring heat, drop into zone coverage and cover the SAM and WILL's space if they blitz. In the case the SAM or WILL blitzes, the Mike needs to watch out for a quick dump screen on a checkdown.
WLB (Will): The first of the 2 outside 'backers I will go over is the weakside outside linebacker or the "Will". The weakside is identified in a standard pro-set with a TE, FB and TB. The side that TE lines up on is considered the strong side, so the weak side is on the opposite side. Seeing that there is a lack of an extra blocker (TE) on the LOS, the Will typically has the ability to blitz more than any of the other 3 LB spots. Blitzing into the backfield, freedom to shoot gaps and off the edge, and protect the flat against a dump screen. Like the Mike, the Will has coverage responsibilities that will end up covering the flats and zoning in on the other side of the Mike. Will's also need to be quick and can be a bit more undersized. In the NFL, college safeties have been able to convert to a 4-3 Will because of their speed and coverage capabilities.
Our Will this year is "Killa Cam" Lynch (5'11", 230) who has a serious knack for being one of our best blitzers over the last 2 years. The Will is a perfect spot for him to be able to use his quick burst to blow plays up in the backfield and put pressure on the QB. This will be his 1st year as a starter, but he has been an integral part of the defense's aggressive play in the past. Look for Cam to focus as a blitzer while also dropping back into coverage at times. Against teams like Clemson and Florida State, he (and others) will have to be able to pressure their talented QB's into awkward throws. This will allow our DB's to stay close with their WR's. Cam is a very talented player who I am excited to see being on the field full-time.
Here is an example of Dyshawn Davis playing the run as a Will, 2 years ago as a freshman. Perfect execution of a gap heater:
SLB (Sam): Last, but not least, on the other side of the Mike is the strongside outside linebacker, better known as the Sam. As noted earlier, the strongside is the side where the TE lines up in a pro-set with an offset FB. Typically the Sam will line up with the TE, and has to share the run-stuffing responsibilities with the Mike. The Sam certainly does his fair share of blitzing and must be able to pick up either the TE or the TB in man coverage. Utilizing the zone scheme that Shafer uses, man coverage isn't used too often. By textbook, the Sam is physically bigger than the Will, which leads to the Sam being better suited against the run and eating up blockers for the safeties to pipe down for the tackle.
Our Sam this year is 3 year starter Dyshawn Davis (6'2", 225). Davis has significant playing time and has shown his ability to be very effective. He was originally recruited out of NJ as a receiver, but Shafer saw his potential at LB and talked Marrone into converting him. I'd say that has worked out well. Davis has good speed, is not afraid of making a big hit and can be pretty good in zone coverage. The biggest knock against him is that he tends to phantom and shoulder tackle. If he can work on wrapping up and finishing his tackles, he will certainly get a look in the NFL. He is an outstanding blitzer and has had great success disrupting plays before they have a chance to develop. Expect to see Davis employed as a slightly untraditional blitz-first Sam. He will still hold his own stopping the run.
All in all, we are lucky to have a veteran starting in the middle and leading the D this year. He is slightly out of position, but the aggressiveness of this particular D should help hide that a bit. I feel pretty comfortable with him in the middle. Another veteran is starting next to him in Dyshawn Davis at the Sam. Davis will be starting for the 3rd straight year and will be counted on to constantly bring pressure to the backfield, as well as continue jamming the runs. On the opposite side is Cam Lynch at the Will. Lynch is a first-time starter, but has alot of PT in his frst 2 years at SU. He and Davis will constantly be blitzing or at least showing blitz. I am very excited about this linebacking unit and think they have a chance to match up with Hogue, Smith and Spruill from 2010.
I hope the explanation helps people understand what the hell everyone is talking about when they throw out the Mike, Sam and Will terms.
Shafer and Bullough employ a 4-3 defense (and it's many variations), which is very common in the NFL. About half of the NFL teams used this style of defense last year alone. The 4-3 employs 4 down linemen (2 DT's, 2 DE's) and 3 linebackers (Will, Mike, Sam) in the "box". It is rounded out with 2 CB's and 2 safeties.
For this, I am going to assume we are in a base set.
MLB (Mike): Being the only inside LB in a base 4-3 set, the Mike acts as the quarterback of the defense. He needs to be the vocal leader of the defense because he is lined up with the center and cheats up to hear the center/QB's audibles. He barks out anything he can decipher to the other 10 on D. You will also seem him shift the interior linemen around. Watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and every other QB, as they loudly spot and bark out who the Mike is on every play. Being able to point out the Mike, allows the QB and center to verbally communicate what the protections are going to be for everyone. "Storm" and "Tango" are protections you will hear. To try and keep this post relatively basic, I am not going to get into too much detail here. The Mike's primary responsibility is to stuff the run, but needs to be able to drop into zone pass coverage in a split. If they switch to man, he is usually responsible for being the "hat" on the fullback, or sometimes tailback. Shaf typically goes into zone coverage though. As you can see, the Mike is focal point of the opposing QB, so it is a very important position.
Our Mike this year is senior Marquis Spruill (6'1", 224). He is a 4 year starter, but he is a natural outside 'backer and moves back in to the middle for his final campaign. He is ideally undersized for that spot, but is the best option there this year and knows the defense better than anyone on that side of the ball. The Mike is usually the biggest of the 3 backers, but not this year. Spruill is going to wear the weight of the defense on his shoulders. He is responsible for calling out the plays, recognizing certain patterns in the offensive sets, shifting linemen based on protection calls and picking up audibles. On top of all of that, he holds down the center of the box as the MLB. The Mike needs to possess good speed and be a sure tackler seeing he is helping out alot on the runs. Spruill is a very good tackler and is faster than most larger MLBs. Where he loses in physical size, he makes up for with his quick speed. Spruill will have to make the decision to crowd the LOS, show blitz, bring heat, drop into zone coverage and cover the SAM and WILL's space if they blitz. In the case the SAM or WILL blitzes, the Mike needs to watch out for a quick dump screen on a checkdown.
WLB (Will): The first of the 2 outside 'backers I will go over is the weakside outside linebacker or the "Will". The weakside is identified in a standard pro-set with a TE, FB and TB. The side that TE lines up on is considered the strong side, so the weak side is on the opposite side. Seeing that there is a lack of an extra blocker (TE) on the LOS, the Will typically has the ability to blitz more than any of the other 3 LB spots. Blitzing into the backfield, freedom to shoot gaps and off the edge, and protect the flat against a dump screen. Like the Mike, the Will has coverage responsibilities that will end up covering the flats and zoning in on the other side of the Mike. Will's also need to be quick and can be a bit more undersized. In the NFL, college safeties have been able to convert to a 4-3 Will because of their speed and coverage capabilities.
Our Will this year is "Killa Cam" Lynch (5'11", 230) who has a serious knack for being one of our best blitzers over the last 2 years. The Will is a perfect spot for him to be able to use his quick burst to blow plays up in the backfield and put pressure on the QB. This will be his 1st year as a starter, but he has been an integral part of the defense's aggressive play in the past. Look for Cam to focus as a blitzer while also dropping back into coverage at times. Against teams like Clemson and Florida State, he (and others) will have to be able to pressure their talented QB's into awkward throws. This will allow our DB's to stay close with their WR's. Cam is a very talented player who I am excited to see being on the field full-time.
Here is an example of Dyshawn Davis playing the run as a Will, 2 years ago as a freshman. Perfect execution of a gap heater:
SLB (Sam): Last, but not least, on the other side of the Mike is the strongside outside linebacker, better known as the Sam. As noted earlier, the strongside is the side where the TE lines up in a pro-set with an offset FB. Typically the Sam will line up with the TE, and has to share the run-stuffing responsibilities with the Mike. The Sam certainly does his fair share of blitzing and must be able to pick up either the TE or the TB in man coverage. Utilizing the zone scheme that Shafer uses, man coverage isn't used too often. By textbook, the Sam is physically bigger than the Will, which leads to the Sam being better suited against the run and eating up blockers for the safeties to pipe down for the tackle.
Our Sam this year is 3 year starter Dyshawn Davis (6'2", 225). Davis has significant playing time and has shown his ability to be very effective. He was originally recruited out of NJ as a receiver, but Shafer saw his potential at LB and talked Marrone into converting him. I'd say that has worked out well. Davis has good speed, is not afraid of making a big hit and can be pretty good in zone coverage. The biggest knock against him is that he tends to phantom and shoulder tackle. If he can work on wrapping up and finishing his tackles, he will certainly get a look in the NFL. He is an outstanding blitzer and has had great success disrupting plays before they have a chance to develop. Expect to see Davis employed as a slightly untraditional blitz-first Sam. He will still hold his own stopping the run.
All in all, we are lucky to have a veteran starting in the middle and leading the D this year. He is slightly out of position, but the aggressiveness of this particular D should help hide that a bit. I feel pretty comfortable with him in the middle. Another veteran is starting next to him in Dyshawn Davis at the Sam. Davis will be starting for the 3rd straight year and will be counted on to constantly bring pressure to the backfield, as well as continue jamming the runs. On the opposite side is Cam Lynch at the Will. Lynch is a first-time starter, but has alot of PT in his frst 2 years at SU. He and Davis will constantly be blitzing or at least showing blitz. I am very excited about this linebacking unit and think they have a chance to match up with Hogue, Smith and Spruill from 2010.
I hope the explanation helps people understand what the hell everyone is talking about when they throw out the Mike, Sam and Will terms.
