 |
Colts RB
Edgerrin James
|
For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.
That’s never been more true than on NFL fields, where innovative coaches create
impossible situations for their opponents, only to have those opponents strike back with
their own impossible quandaries.
We often hear about the rapid development of the computer industry. The system you
purchased yesterday is often rendered obsolete in six months.
But what about the NFL, where a coach’s great idea today is passé in a matter of
weeks? There’s no such thing as having one good concept. A coach who hopes to win has
to have a new idea every week, every month, every season.
For years, offensive strategy in the NFL revolved around a bruising ground game. Then
came the so-called West Coast offense with all its formations, movement and short passing
routes. Then came the run-and-shoot. Now, the best NFL offenses are an amalgam of all
those attacks.
On defense, coverages have become more complex. Players are disguising, adjusting and
changing on the fly. Blitzes come from everywhere. And the players just keep getting
better and better.
During the Monday-night shootout between the defending Super Bowl champion Rams and the
Broncos, ABC sideline reporter Eric Dickerson said something that was both obvious and
profound at the same time. He called the Rams’ Marshall Faulk and the Colts’
Edgerrin James the prototype running backs of the 21st century.
That’s precisely what they are and precisely why they’re dominating the game
at the moment. Faulk and James are the latest incarnations of what running backs are
becoming.
It wasn’t that long ago when a great running back merely needed to be able to take
a handoff or a pitch and make defenders miss. When they didn’t have the ball, running
backs were expected to be good blockers. They were also expected to run good routes and
catch passes.
Faulk and James are at the top of the food chain in the evolution of running backs.
They can run the ball from scrimmage with great strength and quickness. They can pick
up blitzing linebackers. They can line up in the slot or outside the numbers and run deep
routes with precision. They can get open against linebackers and safeties. They can catch
short passes and turn them into touchdowns.
They’re a nightmare for defenses.
Last year Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards and had 1,048 receiving yards. James had 1,553
yards on the ground, 586 in the air. If you’re a defensive coordinator, it’s
tough to find players who can match up to that type of production.
It used to be that linebackers were expected to line up five yards off the ball, read
run or pass, fight off blockers and make tackles. Strength, aggression and lateral speed
were important. But coverage skills were not a premium requirement.
The modern linebacker must be fast enough to run with a back out of the backfield. He
has to have cover skills to stick with tight ends and backs who run routes like receivers.
Yet, these fast, nimble linebackers must still be big enough and strong enough to take on
offensive linemen in the running game. They have to be aggressive enough to read runs and
catch up to a fullback a yard behind the line of scrimmage.
Linebackers have come a long way in the past few decades. They’ve got bulky,
muscular bodies, low body fat, great speed and great stamina. But they’re still not
good enough to handle threats like Faulk and James.
Here’s a typical dilemma involving the Rams:
A spotter in the press box has binoculars, and he’s whispering into the ear of the
defensive coordinator. He sees two backs, a tight end and two receivers coming onto the
field.
"Base personnel," he says to the coordinator. "Base personnel."
The coordinator responds by sending his base unit on the field. It’s 2nd-and-long.
He’s expecting a pass. He’s got a blitz called with man coverage behind it.
The offense breaks the huddle and lines up in an "offset I weak with a weak-side
slot." Suddenly, Faulk goes in motion to the strong side. Someone has to go with him.
It might be a linebacker. It might be a safety. In either case, the defensive player has
been taken out of his comfort zone. Everyone else has been forced to the weak side by the
formation, and this defender is isolated like a cornerback against a guy who’s better
at running routes in man coverage than he is at covering them.
What’s a defense to do? It has to blitz.
That’s when the Rams have you. You can’t sit back and play normal defense
against them because QB Kurt Warner will pick you apart. You have to take some chances,
mix up your coverages and bring the heat. You go from strong-side LB blitzes to CB blitzes
to safety blitzes to bluffed blitzes to zone blitzes.
But Warner’s ready for everything. He’s in a three-step drop, getting rid of
the ball before the blitz can reach him, hitting his hot receiver, gashing you for 15
yards.
So now you’re doubly scared. If you play it straight up, you get burned. If you
blitz, you get burned worse. So you’re on your heels, and they’re marching down
the field, putting the ball in the endzone. After you fall behind, you get more desperate,
taking more chances and suffering more pain.
So for now, the Rams and the Colts have an edge on the field. How long will it take for
defenses in the league to catch up and find a solution for backs like Faulk and James?
Maybe not this year, but the pressure is on NFL coaches to find an answer.
They always do.
Reggie Rivers played for the Denver Broncos from 1991 to ’96. His Web site is
located at http://www.reggierivers.com |
