NextQuestion wrote:Leber was on Barriero's show the other day talking about the Wayne TD. As weird as it sounds, I guess Erin was supposed to cover him on that assignment and then have safety help over the top. Raymond was out of position for sure. Then again...It was Ben Leber talking...the definition of average LB
This is one of the reasons that the Tampa 2 defense has worked so badly for the Vikings. The MLB is supposed to cover that guy down the middle in the Tampa 2. Like Leber said, with help from the safeties. They haven't had a linebacker capable of pass coverage in a very long time, and their safeties have been awful.
The Vikings were burned for half a dozen big plays drawn up almost exactly like this one last year, except that last year it was E.J. who was incapable of covering the middle.
Eli wrote:
This is one of the reasons that the Tampa 2 defense has worked so badly for the Vikings. The MLB is supposed to cover that guy down the middle in the Tampa 2. Like Leber said, with help from the safeties. They haven't had a linebacker capable of pass coverage in a very long time, and their safeties have been awful.
The Vikings were burned for half a dozen big plays drawn up almost exactly like this one last year, except that last year it was E.J. who was incapable of covering the middle.
What I've heard said by players is that the MLB doesn't actually "cover" anybody on the deep middle, but he has to get deep enough to cut off angles for the QB. It's what Urlacher was so good at in his prime. Henderson wasn't even close to being deep enough on the Reggie Wayne TD.
J. Kapp 11 wrote:What I've heard said by players is that the MLB doesn't actually "cover" anybody on the deep middle, but he has to get deep enough to cut off angles for the QB. It's what Urlacher was so good at in his prime. Henderson wasn't even close to being deep enough on the Reggie Wayne TD.
Mark Craig wrote a column about this the other day. I started a thread about it:
Henderson was 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage and dropping when the Wayne touchdown play began. Wayne was the near receiver in a tight two-bunch set to the right. Cornerback Antoine Winfield was in press coverage and shadowed Wayne 10 yards downfield before releasing him inside to Henderson.
Henderson was doing everything right in his deep drop until he reached the 9-yard line. That's when he hesitated and sneaked a peak toward quarterback Andrew Luck. That's a no-no, especially when the guy running full speed at you is the 15th-leading receiver in NFL history.
"I got nosy," said Henderson, "and he kept running."
Nosy, not nosy... same outcome. Henderson could have been five yards closer to the receiver and it would have made absolutely no difference without safety help. It would have been one of those plays where he has his back to the QB, the ball whizzes past his ear into the hands of the receiver and you see him raise his hands to defend the pass at just about the same time the extra point team is taking the field.
The theories about defender angles are mostly meaningless on a post pattern down the middle of the field. That ball can be thrown on a rope when the LB has his back to the play, which is the usual case when the receiver runs past him like he's standing still.
