Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS - 9/15 - Wade Phillips' Defense and The Problems it Creates For The Colts

Episode Date: September 15, 2016

A scheme specific look at Wade Phillips' defense, the problems it creates for the #Colts and what should be expected from the #Broncos offense. Who was a full participant, and who was a no-go at practice Wednesday as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Fearless is full of surprises. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program. Learn more about our healthy benefits and sign up at fepblue.org slash choose blue by December 11th. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Welcome back to the Locked On Colts Podcast for Thursday, September 15th. I'm your host, Matt Dainley. I hope you guys enjoyed yesterday's show. I think we all needed that day of rest, so to speak, trying to relieve our stress levels from the week we're on the loss. Look, we're going to see more of that, though, throughout the year.

So we may as well understand that now and convince ourselves to relax and live with it a bit when it does come down because we're going to have more weeks like this. This is week one. And if we think this is the worst week of the season, we probably have another thing coming. I told you guys yesterday that we were going to kind of go through Wade Phillips' defense a little bit and kind of break down what his defense is all about, where that leaves the Colts' offense, how they can go about combating that, and some other

things we're going to get into. As usual, I'm going to give you guys the availability for this week at the moment. Trent Cole, Vontae Davis, Clayton Gethers, TJ Green, Mathis, Reitz, and Robinson were all out today, while Anderson, Butler, Cromartie, Harrison, Kerr, and Lankford were all limited. I'm not sure if they've given the explanation for why Mathis was out today, but the good thing is we got Anderson coming back, it looks like. They said that Butler will be back this weekend, I believe. Camardi nursing some little nicks and bruises and such. But we need all those guys. Those guys are all important, especially when we have so many key players that have been down recently.

So let's kind of jump right into it. Let's break down Wade Phillips' scheme, his defensive scheme there in Denver. It's a 3-4-1 gap defense, first of all. So if you don't understand that, I'm going to break that down for you a little bit and kind of give you the skinny on that. The base part of the defense is the 3-4. You should be fairly familiar with that. The Colts run a base 3-4, so to speak, and it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a three defensive linemen and four linebackers. In today's NFL, most base defenses

are almost all sub packages anymore, if we're being realistic, such as nickel and any variation of the two. A one gap front, though, is actually typically in a 4-3 base defense, and you'll understand why shortly. But the one gap is when the defensive linemen are lined up with one of them in the A gap, which is on either side of the center, one in the B gap, which is between the guard and the tackle, and either two defensive ends, which would be in a 4-3, or one defensive end and an outside linebacker, which would be in a 3-4, lined up outside of the tackles. This makes those defenders responsible for those specific gaps, hence the name one gap. Their job is to fill those gaps. They often take on double teams due to trying to split linemen, anchoring to take up those linemen and to either make the tackle or force the ball carrier to get lateral at the line of scrimmage, which opens up the opportunity for another

defender to make a play. Or if there's no running back, then that's his path to the quarterback. So these defenders are typically smaller in size, very quick. I mean, the Colts had a similar kind of defense like that there for a while in the old regime where they were quick, speedy, very good pass rushers. That was something the Colts could have run a little more probably with that type of a unit. But they're very strong suited in rushing the passer, shedding blocks, good hand technique and stuff. They have to use that because their size isn't quite there. These are what you would call like a one, three, four, six, and seven technique

defensive linemen, okay? And to tell you a little bit about what that is, a one technique is on the inside shoulder of the guards towards the center, okay? A three tech is on the inside shoulder of the guards towards the center. Okay. A three tech is on the outside shoulder of the guards. A four tech's on the inside of the tackles. A six tech is on the outside of the tackles and a seven's on the inside of the, uh, the tight end. So that tells you that's, that's where they line up. Okay. So that's called technique.

And some of that differs a little bit. Some of it's one, three, five odd, you know, 1-3-5 odd, similar to holes in youth football almost. But either way, that's another way to look at it as well. Thus, in Phillip's scheme, he needs the right mixture of players in order for that to work effectively, such as most of them do, similar to Seattle's defense, whereas they run that cover three a lot. And that's a lot of passing off to other defenders in the secondary. And it calls for a lot of communication.

And this does, too, just in different respects. Often within the system, a thumper at safety who can also double as a very good coverage guy is needed, especially for their sub packages in order to maintain the physicality in the box and against different wide receiver sets or to take on a tight end who is a threat in the passing game. At least one elite pass rusher, preferably two on the edges obviously, are needed as well. And we already know that they've got that with Ware and Miller. This example of a front is heavy on blitzes. It's intended to confuse linemen and owns the strength in the pass rush situations. And the

one gap scheme's better at pressuring the passer more often than not. And they're deep at the position as well. They have, like I said, they have Miller, Ware, Shaq Barrett, Shane Ray. This accentuates the need for very good run-stopping linebackers in the middle of the field, as well as linemen who have the ability to play two gap scheme where they choose, they line up over the defender or over the lineman, excuse they almost just read the the play and choose a gap to fill at that point which is a little more costly especially if you choose wrong so these guys in one gap allows them a little more flexibility to where they're either just taking up blockers or they're getting in the backfield but they choose those in a two gap

they choose those in order to be effective against the run. And real quick, if you're looking to get stories and insight on the entire NFL in one show, be sure to check out the Locked On NFL podcast with Matt Williamson. Also check out Locked On NFL Draft with Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino. Those guys do a really good job. It's real interesting. You're going to hear a lot of names that you don't know anything about yet. Also, for you fantasy diehards, Vinny Iyer, he's going to give you everything you need

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lockedoncoltspod at gmail.com and we'll get that thing rolling. Now let's get back to Wade Phillips here and his scheme. His scheme is a bit of a rarity in a league anymore. Most pass rushing defenses really struggle against the run in the in the one gap but the broncos front are so good at squeezing through to the backfield yet they're stout enough at the point of attack to read react and stop the opposition's running game so it's a little bit of a i mean you're going to get both with this team you've seen the game you saw the way they are last year i mean there's a little bit of different personnel there, but they're basically the same.

I mean, it's certain guys, and it's that way with anything, with an offense, with a defense. You have different personnel. Sometimes you're going to have to use it in a little bit of a different manner. But all in all, it's the same thing. It's the same defense, different personnel, and they've got plenty of talent in all areas of their defense. And one of Phillip's best attributes as the defensive coordinator is his uncanny ability

to dial up the right blitz, especially on early downs when it's not necessarily a passing down. I was watching the game from last year a little bit, he did that several times he'd send Miller to the middle on a stunt and it was on first down first and ten and Luck has to get rid of the ball bad throw or tip ball at the line of scrimmage or something like that he's really good at dialing those up when you wouldn't think that they'd be sending five guys six guys uh to rush he he's really good at uh almost like he's in the offensive coordinator's mind. It forces a lot of teams into third and long situations that they really can't afford to be in against a defense of that caliber. Also against the Colts last season, the Denver front seven was constantly twisting between D linemen, not just Miller, but a lot of them. He was, like I

said, bringing them through the middle, bringing one of their safeties into the box late in the cadence. Sometimes that safety will blitz, and sometimes he'll take the flat coverage, which is mainly keying the running back in the end. That's his job if he's not going to blitz or if he's just going to stand down and be in run support. Among this, they have a linebacker spy on luck a good percentage of the time as well and that's something that you really wouldn't think a defense with this many keys and assignments would be able to have an extra guy who can chase down luck and spy him from the middle of the field but they did i don't remember how many plays it was but it was at least more than five in a standard run formation out of a two tight end package in a single back backfield against the linebacker corpse it'll be especially imperative

for denzel good muhort too but not quite as much that back side there is going to be miller's side so that he's he's got to get to the second level effectively with consistent results. And for the backside tight end as well, which will probably be Doyle, he's going to have to effectively decide between seeking out the weak side of the outside linebacker or safety who will come down into the box often in those situations. Also in non-blitzing situations, the O-line has to win every time, and those extra linemen tight ends have to be very good at occupying linebackers. I mean, essentially, this is the idea against

all defenses. But the specifics about Phillip's play calling and ability to slide the linemen or show off how unpredictable he can be with who he sends as their fifth rusher and sometimes their sixth or whatever, and the flexibility he has with that personnel I mean that's a lot of versatility at his disposal so it's a it's going to be a full it's going to be a full week of figuring out his defense for the Colts coaching staff so don't be too upset if they have some success against us additionally in order to not have to use two offensive linemen on one defender, the Colts will want to slide the pocket slightly at times as well. Not necessarily move it like on a complete rollout, because I think those are ridiculous. And a lot of times they do those to the boundary side of the field. I don't understand that at all. I mean, I understand

you want to go towards Luck's right, which is his strength in the throw. You don't want to go against his body if at all possible. But then you don't call the play if you're going to be running into the boundary. That doesn't make any sense to me. It never has. But some may have other viewpoints on that. And that's a good thing to say. If you disagree with what I say or you agree, I don't care.

Email me. Get me on Twitter. Something. Email the show. Let's get some correspondence here between you guys and myself and the show. Love to set up like a weekly mailbag or something like that. Like to get you guys, uh, responding to some, uh, some stuff for the show. Uh, possibly I'll be doing some giveaways here pretty soon. I've been thinking about that. So I'd like to get you guys all involved with the show. I mean, this is our team, right? Not just mine. I mean, I'm just the

guy here behind the microphone. So it's all of us. I'd like to get you guys all involved. So hit me up on Twitter. Hit me up on the Facebook page for the show. Email me, lockedoncoltspod at gmail.com. I don't care how you do it. Do it. Let's get everybody involved as much as possible. Make this season as absolutely fun as possible. And then you guys can listen to be head up on them a little bit as possible or leverage them away from the quarterback, which would somewhat neutralize those open gaps against the defender's speed. They have and absolutely will line up with nine defenders within five to seven yards of the line of scrimmage,

and they'll just dare luck to take the time to get through his progressions without getting popped. This naturally leaves them vulnerable to the deep ball when stopped, but this front seven is as good as any in the league. He's going to have to get to his second or third maybe progression in order to hit that deep ball over the top, but it's there and it will be there. They're primed for big plays when they do stuff like that,

but they just absolutely trust themselves and they're as cocky as they get. And I don't mean in a showboaty way. I just mean they just believe they're a really good defense, and they are. So if the Colts line can get them blocked for up to three seconds, we spoke about how long it takes luck to get rid of the ball, typically 2.66. So if they can give him three seconds to throw that that's going to lead to good things most definitely for the Colts their corners work similarly to what we see from the Colts corners they're heavy man-to-man secondary they'll press one side of the field no real trend like on boundary side or field side have a respectable cushion on the opposite side and when I say respectable I mean about five to six yards, maybe seven.

No, not like 10 like they used to do with Toller and whoever was opposite Vontae. Also, essentially, the Colts used the tight end, which was often Doyle last year in this case, up the seam in order to open up some routes for Hilton. That's a good idea because it absolutely is there. They will follow Doyle, especially with him becoming a target, at least in week one. Don't get me wrong. They know Hilton is the big dog, but it does work, and it did work several times last year. Naturally, they won't try to repeat every concept they played last year,

but they'll have an idea of how to take some of the defenders a little deeper when all they want to do is get maybe a seven- or eight-yard reception on first down. And now as far as the offense goes, I think we all know what Denver's offense is. Their line's very good in the running game. C.J. Anderson does well in their zone running scheme. And they have Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas,

and just countless others. I mean, Simeon was pretty good all in all last week. Went, I believe, 18 for 26, about 180 yards. Touchdown and two interceptions. Now their only receiving touchdown came from Anderson, and they're really not going downfield too much. I mean, Emmanuel Sanders was their leading receiver with five catches for 49 yards. So they're not airing it out by any means. was their leading receiver with five catches for 49 yards.

So they're not airing it out by any means. But they were chewing up chunks of field and using a lot of clock on those drives as well. A lot of clock, a lot of plays, wearing down a defense. That's something we don't need. So it's a big game Sunday. As I mentioned to you the other day, the Colts are 7-2 against AFC West in Lux tenure. 3-1 against Denver specifically, but they're 1-1 in Denver.

They lost the regular season game, and then they won the playoff game against them. So this is a different team. They're not any worse than they were with Manning last year. Manning was pretty bad. Simeon's young, smart, very collected guy. So the Colts definitely still have an offense in Denver that they're going to have to deal with. But the Colts offense has to be great and the Colts defense has to be phenomenal. I'm really excited to see Rashawn Melvin, to be quite honest with you. After watching a little bit of his tape, he was every bit as good as his pff score that we went over uh yesterday uh it

suggested he was good he did a lot of good job he was physical he was right in the hip pocket a lot of times the receivers he got lost a couple times i think that's natural you would assume that's going to happen the guy just got here but he did a good job i was real impressed with karmarty as well and i was still impressed with robinson even though he didn't have a great grade. So I'm not real sure what they were basing a lot of that off of. He did get beat a couple times. So, you know, however they grade, they grade. But I was really actually overall was pretty impressed with the Colts secondary from Sunday. So they have their work cut out for them. The offense, those receivers have their work cut out for them big time. They're going up against a really solid secondary.

And Denver's got it. In the back end, they've got all front. Their front seven is phenomenal. The Colts really have a true test coming up. We're going to see what they're made of. We're going to see what they can do. We'll put it that way. We all know that the Colts are up and down often in seasons.

But we're going to see what they're capable of at least uh we've had they've had spouts like this they beat Denver or uh excuse me they beat uh San Francisco a couple years in week three I think in San Francisco they beat Seattle at home uh a few years ago you know in a great game I was there actually it was a great game. I was there, actually. It was a phenomenal game. They beat Denver a couple times since. They beat Green Bay four years ago. So they've had some really good games. A lot of them are at home. A lot of their big wins are. But like I said, they beat San Francisco,

and they've beaten Denver in Denver in a playoff game. So we've got a lot to look forward to. We've still got at least one more show this week to get to, and we'll try to get you guys completely ready for the game on Sunday. Look forward to seeing them come out at 425 in Denver. As always, I hope you enjoy the show. Please get back with me. Any feedback is great. Any reviews or ratings on iTunes is good. Just drop a comment somewhere. Let me know what's going on, what you think about the show, anything you guys would like to see on the show, specific segments or anything like that, maybe a specific guest or something. We've got some lined up. We've got some real good

ones lined up. I just don't want to rush them all through in our first few weeks. So we've got some good things in the future. I'm hoping that the Colts are going to be better than the 9-7 that I predicted them at previous to the season, but they've got a long road ahead of them. So that's going to wrap it up for today. I will talk to you tomorrow. Always get back with us on Twitter at LockedOnColts. Get with us on the Facebook page, and I will talk to you tomorrow, Colts Nation. We'll see you next time.