Run Defense: Ninkovich and Collins Lose Their Edge (Part 4 of 4)

[nazz45]

 
We began our research by looking at the basics of run defense – including a successful demonstration by New England – before moving on to examples of failed execution in filling gaps and flowing to the play side. As we wrap up this series, we’ll see that proper interior filling and responsive flow aren’t always enough to get the job done – players must choose correctly among possible assignments, and failure to do so can lead to a running back breaking free.

 
In short: KEEP. RUN. CONTAIN. But please click and read, too.

 

[Matt Young's Control]

Good series, which highlighted a number of mistakes made by the run D. That makes me wonder - does this mean the problems we saw with the run D are mental/correctable, as opposed to pure talent mismatches? Perhaps a bit of both?

 

[nazz45]

Good series, which highlighted a number of mistakes made by the run D. That makes me wonder - does this mean the problems we saw with the run D are mental/correctable, as opposed to pure talent mismatches? Perhaps a bit of both?

This was touched on a little bit in one of the other threads, but I think these are correctable. For the most part, these weren't runs right up the gut where the offensive line just drove back the interior  defensive front. A lot were spilled runs bounced outside where contain was either lost and/or the linebackers / run support from the secondary were caught out of position, perhaps too aggressive in some cases, perhaps too tentative in other cases.
 
I don't put it all on the linebackers either. If you are using a one-gap or hybrid scheme, which the Patriots use, you'd like to see more plays made by the defensive line at and even behind the LOS. Based off linemen techniques being used, you'd like to see more penetration from the defensive ends (Wilfork, Chris Jones, etc) in particular. That may be more of a talent issue, though.