Who will face the Colts in this year's Super Bowl? Join me in the live blog below to find out!
Showing posts with label Minnesota Vikings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota Vikings. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Pigskin Predictions: Conference Championship Games
I'll be live-blogging today's games shortly, but first I thought I'd put up some predictions. Both these games could go either way, like anything in the playoffs, so these are just idle thoughts, not guarantees. If you want something with a better chance of success, check out Peter Pattakos' picks over at Cleveland Frowns; he's 8-0 so far these playoffs! With that out the way, let's get to the games.
AFC: New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts:
The Colts were a dominant team during the regular season. They went 14-2, and weren't particularly trying in the games they lost (one against the Jets). Meanwhile, Jets' head coach Rex Ryan thought they were eliminated at one point, and they only snuck into the playoffs on the last day. The Colts also beat their curse of resting starters with last weekend's win over the Ravens, so there's lots of logical reasons to pick them. However, I'm not going to. For one thing, small athletic teams like the Colts often have trouble dealing with smashmout teams like the Jets. Peyton Manning is obviously a better quarterback than Mark Sanchez, but can he handle Rex Ryan's innovative blitzes and shutdown corner supreme Darrelle Revis? The Colts can't run the ball, and I'm not sure how well they'll do throwing it all day against the Jets' great pass defence. They also have trouble stopping the run, and the Jets have a tremendous ground game, with a terrific offensive line opening holes for Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. History's also on the Jets' side; this game's highly reminiscent of the famous Super Bowl III, where Joe Namath led the underdog Jets to victory over the Baltimore Colts. It also has overtones of the Pittsburgh Steelers' run from wild-card berth to Super Bowl in 2005-06; like this team, that one had a young quarterback and won with a punishing ground game and a strong defence. The Jets have momentum on their side, and I think they'll take the Colts' juggernaut down today.
Pick: Jets
NFC: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
The Vikings have been very impressive this year. They've got a great running game with Adrian Peterson, and Brett Favre has put up possibly the best season of his career. They also have arguably the best defensive line in the NFL. Despite all that, I'm going with the Saints. I love their balanced attack and their ability to constantly throw different looks at you. They have so many talented offensive players; Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, just to name a few. Their ball-hawking secondary might also cause a few problems for Favre, who never met a difficult throw he didn't like. Plus, with the combination of Prince's appalling theme song and "Pants On The Ground" guy on the sidelines, there are even more reasons to root against the Vikings than normal. I'm taking the Saints in this one.
Pick: Saints
Join me here for the AFC live blog at 3 p.m. Eastern and the NFC live blog at 6:40 p.m. Eastern!
AFC: New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts:
The Colts were a dominant team during the regular season. They went 14-2, and weren't particularly trying in the games they lost (one against the Jets). Meanwhile, Jets' head coach Rex Ryan thought they were eliminated at one point, and they only snuck into the playoffs on the last day. The Colts also beat their curse of resting starters with last weekend's win over the Ravens, so there's lots of logical reasons to pick them. However, I'm not going to. For one thing, small athletic teams like the Colts often have trouble dealing with smashmout teams like the Jets. Peyton Manning is obviously a better quarterback than Mark Sanchez, but can he handle Rex Ryan's innovative blitzes and shutdown corner supreme Darrelle Revis? The Colts can't run the ball, and I'm not sure how well they'll do throwing it all day against the Jets' great pass defence. They also have trouble stopping the run, and the Jets have a tremendous ground game, with a terrific offensive line opening holes for Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. History's also on the Jets' side; this game's highly reminiscent of the famous Super Bowl III, where Joe Namath led the underdog Jets to victory over the Baltimore Colts. It also has overtones of the Pittsburgh Steelers' run from wild-card berth to Super Bowl in 2005-06; like this team, that one had a young quarterback and won with a punishing ground game and a strong defence. The Jets have momentum on their side, and I think they'll take the Colts' juggernaut down today.
Pick: Jets
NFC: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
The Vikings have been very impressive this year. They've got a great running game with Adrian Peterson, and Brett Favre has put up possibly the best season of his career. They also have arguably the best defensive line in the NFL. Despite all that, I'm going with the Saints. I love their balanced attack and their ability to constantly throw different looks at you. They have so many talented offensive players; Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, just to name a few. Their ball-hawking secondary might also cause a few problems for Favre, who never met a difficult throw he didn't like. Plus, with the combination of Prince's appalling theme song and "Pants On The Ground" guy on the sidelines, there are even more reasons to root against the Vikings than normal. I'm taking the Saints in this one.
Pick: Saints
Join me here for the AFC live blog at 3 p.m. Eastern and the NFC live blog at 6:40 p.m. Eastern!
On The Ground: Breaking down the Vikings with Dan Zinski
To get some material for the Vikings section of this preview of today's NFC championship game, I spoke with Dan Zinski. Dan does a great job of covering the team for Fansided's The Viking Age. My questions and his responses are below.
Andrew Bucholtz: At the start of the year, did you think the Vikings would be in the NFC championship game? How about at the start of the playoffs?
Dan Zinski: I'm not embarrassed to admit I thought the Favre experiment would be a flop. I figured he'd stink or his arm would drop off and we'd limp to the finish with Tarvaris Jackson as our quarterback, and not even make the playoffs. Once we made the playoffs, however, I thought we had a good shot to beat whoever we faced in the divisional round, just because we've been so dominant at home. I was surprised we crushed Dallas as bad as we did but I wasn't surprised that we beat them.
A.B.: Adrian Peterson seems to be getting less attention these days, as much of it's focused on Brett Favre. Do you think Peterson is being overlooked, or is he really a complementary player to Favre now instead of the focus of the offence?
D.Z.: There's no doubt that the Vikings have gone away from having Peterson as the centerpiece of the offense, but it's out of necessity, because for whatever reason he just isn't the same runner he was in past years. I think the fumbling has gotten in his head and I think, frankly, our run blocking hasn't been as strong as in past years thanks to turnover in personnel and Steve Hutchinson fighting a back injury (a fact that seldom gets brought up by the national media folks). And, frankly, the way Favre and the receivers have played most of the year, it just makes sense to throw the ball more, so Peterson ends up being a guy you pound in there to keep them honest, and use when you get close to the goalline. Actually, I think Chester Taylor is probably a better back for the way this team plays now; he's a better receiver and a better blocker. The advantage Peterson gives you is, teams still commit the extra guy to stop the run which leaves tons of one-on-one coverage. Sidney Rice almost never sees double-coverage, which is a big reason why he's having a huge year. Plus, seems to me tacklers have been making an extra effort to go low on Peterson and tackle him around the ankles. He needs to make some adjustments in the off-season I believe.
A.B.: Both Favre and Drew Brees have had very solid years. Which one would you rather have on Sunday?
D.Z.: Favre, cause he has that old #4 magic. Yes, I've drunk the Kool Aid. Plus Brees is a Purdue guy and I hate all non-Badger Big 10 players. And that thing on his face annoys me.
A.B.: Are there any matchups the Vikings can take advantage of against the Saints? Are there any matchups Minnesota should be worried about?
D.Z.: The matchup I like right now is Sidney Rice against whoever is covering him, because I don't think anyone can cover him. I think he is a nightmare for DBs because he can jump, and because he has that great Randy Moss-like talent for keeping his hands down so the corner/safety doesn't even know the ball is coming. The only Moss attribute he lacks is flat-out speed, but it doesn't seem to matter, because even when the DB is all over him, he makes the catch. His great advantage over Moss is that he tries on every play even if he doesn't get the ball thrown to him. The matchup that worries me is Will Smith vs. Bryant McKinnie because Smith is a good pass rusher and good pass rushers tend to become great pass rushers when they go up against the most undeserving Pro Bowler in the history of football.
A.B.: Finally, who do you think will win this weekend? Why?
D.Z.: Much as it pains me to say, I think the Saints will win. Our pass rush will not be as fearsome as it was last week, and Drew Brees will have time to make monkeys of our mediocre defensive backs. The crowd noise will mess up our offense same as it did to the Cardinals last week and Favre will get sacked a bunch and probably picked off by his old buddy Darren Sharper at least once. The Saints will win it going away, Favre will tearfully retire about a week from now, and then, in a couple of months, force the Vikings to cut him so he can sign with the Cowboys and become quarterback/head coach.
Thanks to Dan for taking the time to talk to me! Be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his work at The Viking Age
Andrew Bucholtz: At the start of the year, did you think the Vikings would be in the NFC championship game? How about at the start of the playoffs?
Dan Zinski: I'm not embarrassed to admit I thought the Favre experiment would be a flop. I figured he'd stink or his arm would drop off and we'd limp to the finish with Tarvaris Jackson as our quarterback, and not even make the playoffs. Once we made the playoffs, however, I thought we had a good shot to beat whoever we faced in the divisional round, just because we've been so dominant at home. I was surprised we crushed Dallas as bad as we did but I wasn't surprised that we beat them.
A.B.: Adrian Peterson seems to be getting less attention these days, as much of it's focused on Brett Favre. Do you think Peterson is being overlooked, or is he really a complementary player to Favre now instead of the focus of the offence?
D.Z.: There's no doubt that the Vikings have gone away from having Peterson as the centerpiece of the offense, but it's out of necessity, because for whatever reason he just isn't the same runner he was in past years. I think the fumbling has gotten in his head and I think, frankly, our run blocking hasn't been as strong as in past years thanks to turnover in personnel and Steve Hutchinson fighting a back injury (a fact that seldom gets brought up by the national media folks). And, frankly, the way Favre and the receivers have played most of the year, it just makes sense to throw the ball more, so Peterson ends up being a guy you pound in there to keep them honest, and use when you get close to the goalline. Actually, I think Chester Taylor is probably a better back for the way this team plays now; he's a better receiver and a better blocker. The advantage Peterson gives you is, teams still commit the extra guy to stop the run which leaves tons of one-on-one coverage. Sidney Rice almost never sees double-coverage, which is a big reason why he's having a huge year. Plus, seems to me tacklers have been making an extra effort to go low on Peterson and tackle him around the ankles. He needs to make some adjustments in the off-season I believe.
A.B.: Both Favre and Drew Brees have had very solid years. Which one would you rather have on Sunday?
D.Z.: Favre, cause he has that old #4 magic. Yes, I've drunk the Kool Aid. Plus Brees is a Purdue guy and I hate all non-Badger Big 10 players. And that thing on his face annoys me.
A.B.: Are there any matchups the Vikings can take advantage of against the Saints? Are there any matchups Minnesota should be worried about?
D.Z.: The matchup I like right now is Sidney Rice against whoever is covering him, because I don't think anyone can cover him. I think he is a nightmare for DBs because he can jump, and because he has that great Randy Moss-like talent for keeping his hands down so the corner/safety doesn't even know the ball is coming. The only Moss attribute he lacks is flat-out speed, but it doesn't seem to matter, because even when the DB is all over him, he makes the catch. His great advantage over Moss is that he tries on every play even if he doesn't get the ball thrown to him. The matchup that worries me is Will Smith vs. Bryant McKinnie because Smith is a good pass rusher and good pass rushers tend to become great pass rushers when they go up against the most undeserving Pro Bowler in the history of football.
A.B.: Finally, who do you think will win this weekend? Why?
D.Z.: Much as it pains me to say, I think the Saints will win. Our pass rush will not be as fearsome as it was last week, and Drew Brees will have time to make monkeys of our mediocre defensive backs. The crowd noise will mess up our offense same as it did to the Cardinals last week and Favre will get sacked a bunch and probably picked off by his old buddy Darren Sharper at least once. The Saints will win it going away, Favre will tearfully retire about a week from now, and then, in a couple of months, force the Vikings to cut him so he can sign with the Cowboys and become quarterback/head coach.
Thanks to Dan for taking the time to talk to me! Be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his work at The Viking Age
On The Ground: Breaking down the Saints with Mark Hooper
As part of this preview of today's NFC championship game, I spoke to my Fanball colleague Mark Hooper of Who Dat Blog to get his thoughts on the Saints. My questions and his responses are below.
Andrew Bucholtz: The Saints didn't finish the regular season particularly convincingly, but they turned in a very impressive win over the Cardinals last weekend. Were you expecting more rust from them, or did you see that kind of dominant performance coming?
Mark Hooper: To be honest, I didn't see that coming. I expected more of a track meet, and I thought that first play from scrimmage set the tone. I really was thinking the Saints would do their normal slow start then finish strong, but they were cranking on all cylinders from play one. Drew Brees had arguably the best game of his season balancing the running and passing game, keeping the Cardinals on their heels all day. The Saints could do anything they wanted at any time.
A.B.: Both the Saints and the Vikings have gotten great performances from their quarterbacks this season. Who do you think will play better on Sunday, Drew Brees or Brett Favre?
M.H.: Brees. Favre had a remarkable game against the Cowboys, tossing long pinpoint passes to talented WRs and escaping the pressure. I think that game was also his finest performance of the year, and that's saying a lot. I just don't see him being able to duplicate that against the Saints defense. The Saints have had issues in their secondary this season, but their opportunistic defense and better safeties will make Favre work harder for his scores. Brees just has too much talent and at home will put together a solid game.
A.B.: On a similar note, who would you rather have, Adrian Peterson or the Saints' deep backfield?
M.H.: I see Peterson having a bigger impact that he did against the Cowboys, and I think he may be a big factor in keeping drives alive and third-down situations manageable. Reggie Bush could be a game-changer, but that's a tossup right now.
A.B.: Are there any matchups against the Vikings that bode well for the Saints? Are there any that are concerning?
M.H.: Vikes' wideouts vs. Saints' corners. That's the biggest concern, and the Saints will need to get pressure from their front-four to alleviate the pressure on their corners. If they have to resort top blitzes to slow down Favre, it could be a long day for Saints fans.
A.B.: What do you think the final score will be? Why?
M.H.: 34-31 Saints. I don't think you can overlook the Saints confidence coming off a blow-out win vs. the Cardinals (and another aging yet productive QB), and more importantly, the home-field advantage.
Thanks to Mark for taking the time to talk to me! Check out his work here.
Andrew Bucholtz: The Saints didn't finish the regular season particularly convincingly, but they turned in a very impressive win over the Cardinals last weekend. Were you expecting more rust from them, or did you see that kind of dominant performance coming?
Mark Hooper: To be honest, I didn't see that coming. I expected more of a track meet, and I thought that first play from scrimmage set the tone. I really was thinking the Saints would do their normal slow start then finish strong, but they were cranking on all cylinders from play one. Drew Brees had arguably the best game of his season balancing the running and passing game, keeping the Cardinals on their heels all day. The Saints could do anything they wanted at any time.
A.B.: Both the Saints and the Vikings have gotten great performances from their quarterbacks this season. Who do you think will play better on Sunday, Drew Brees or Brett Favre?
M.H.: Brees. Favre had a remarkable game against the Cowboys, tossing long pinpoint passes to talented WRs and escaping the pressure. I think that game was also his finest performance of the year, and that's saying a lot. I just don't see him being able to duplicate that against the Saints defense. The Saints have had issues in their secondary this season, but their opportunistic defense and better safeties will make Favre work harder for his scores. Brees just has too much talent and at home will put together a solid game.
A.B.: On a similar note, who would you rather have, Adrian Peterson or the Saints' deep backfield?
M.H.: I see Peterson having a bigger impact that he did against the Cowboys, and I think he may be a big factor in keeping drives alive and third-down situations manageable. Reggie Bush could be a game-changer, but that's a tossup right now.
A.B.: Are there any matchups against the Vikings that bode well for the Saints? Are there any that are concerning?
M.H.: Vikes' wideouts vs. Saints' corners. That's the biggest concern, and the Saints will need to get pressure from their front-four to alleviate the pressure on their corners. If they have to resort top blitzes to slow down Favre, it could be a long day for Saints fans.
A.B.: What do you think the final score will be? Why?
M.H.: 34-31 Saints. I don't think you can overlook the Saints confidence coming off a blow-out win vs. the Cardinals (and another aging yet productive QB), and more importantly, the home-field advantage.
Thanks to Mark for taking the time to talk to me! Check out his work here.
Conference Championship Madness
Today will feature the NFL's conference championship games, and I'll have plenty of coverage of them here. For starters, I wrote a pair of pieces for The Good Point talking to notable football bloggers about some elements of this weekend's matchups. You can check out the preview of the AFC contest between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets (3:00 p.m. Eastern, CBS) here and the preview of the NFC clash between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings (6:40 p.m. Eastern, FOX) here. To go along with those pieces, I'll be posting the complete interviews I conducted with each of the bloggers here. The AFC ones will be up shortly, with the NFC ones to follow in the morning. I'll also have my breakdown of each game with predictions up in the morning. Finally, I'll be live-blogging both games right here. Feel free to stop on by and join in the fun!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
On The Ground: Frank Mineo on Dick LeBeau and the Steelers
I'm finally back from this weekend's softball tournament in Golden, B.C. It was a lot of fun, and our team won our division, placing fifth overall out of 16 teams in the process. Anyway, I should hopefully have some fresh content up tonight. Until then, here's the final part of my interview series for my unconventional thinking piece at The Good Point. Today's instalment features my full interview with Frank Mineo (drinkyourmilkshake) of the great Steelers' website, Behind The Steel Curtain. You can also check out my full interview with Minnesota Vikings blogger Brandon Peterson over at his excellent site, Vikings' Throne. Read on for Frank's thoughts on the Steelers, Dick LeBeau's defensive innovations, the zone blitz and the 3-4.
Andrew Bucholtz: Many have attributed much of Pittsburgh's success over the last couple of decades to Dick LeBeau's zone blitz scheme. How important do you think it has been to the Steelers?
Frank Mineo: Dick LeBeau's first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers was in 1992 which was also the year that Bill Cowher took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Mike Tomlin's decision to keep Dick LeBeau on staff, it has certainly kept a sense of continuity for the Steelers throughout the years. LeBeau’s knowledge and propensity for innovation took the Steelers defense within a few short years turned them into a dominant force and has kept the defense relevant and exceptional.
Even when LeBeau left the Steelers to become head coach of the Bengals, his schemes remained along with his coaching disciples and allowed the Steelers defense to remain one of the top units in the league. LeBeau is referred to as “Coach Dad” by his players and it’s clear that the respect they have for him is immense.
A.B.: Most innovations in the NFL seem to have a relatively short shelf life, but the zone blitz has remained effective for decades now. Why do you think this is?
F.M.: I think part of the reason why it has been able to sustain its relevance is because the zone blitz was less of an innovation and more of an improvement on the 3-4 defensive scheme that has been effective for many years. LeBeau designed the scheme to cut down on risks by disguising defenders to increase the efficiency of his blitzes without committing additional men and therefore creating pressure without exposing weaknesses. He has basically perfected the 3-4 defense, and perfection rarely goes out of style.
A.B.: There's been some discussion about the Steelers possibly utilizing a Wildcat formation at times this year with backup QB Dennis Dixon. What do you think of this idea? Can the Wildcat still work now that other teams are used to it, and do the Steelers have the personnel necessary for the scheme to succeed?.
F.M.: The Steelers started using something similar to the Wildcat around 1995 with Kordell Stewart, and they actually used a Wildcat formation in the Super Bowl (albeit with little success). I have no doubt that if Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians think the package will be effective, they will use the Wildcat or a similar variation.
Regarding Dennis Dixon, he will have to show he is capable of being the first backup to Ben Roethlisberger to gain a roster spot and be able to see the field on game days. In order to do so, he will have to have a very strong training camp and preseason to have any chance at winning the backup quarterback spot over veteran Charlie Batch. If Dixon does wind up as the second-string QB, I think the Steelers would be foolish to not develop a few packages to take advantage of Dixon’s athleticism.
I’m not sure if the Wildcat was a one year wonder or not, but Miami was really the only team in the NFL to use it consistently rather than just an occasional trick play. Some teams were able to expose weaknesses in the Wildcat offense near the end of the season, but with the Dolphins adding Pat White to the mix and brining back Ronnie Brown and the rest of the core group, I expect them to try and advance and improve on their success from last year. Only time will tell if the Wildcat and its spawns are here to stick around.
A.B.: The Steelers have also been famed for their 3-4 defence, which started as more of an unconventional idea. However, more and more teams seem to be switching to the 3-4 all the time. Will the Steelers' 3-4 still be effective when they have to compete with more teams for players that fit the system? Also, will opponents be able to handle the Steelers' 3-4 better from the experience of regularly playing other teams using a 3-4?
F.M.: I don’t think anyone can answer the first part of the question with any real certainty. The teams like the Ravens, Steelers, and Patriots have had their pick of the litter when it comes to finding the right players to fit their mold, partially because there were so few teams running the 3-4 scheme in the past. As more teams start to use the system, it is only natural to assume that teams will have a harder time finding the right players to continue their defensive dominance, but I do think there are a few caveats to that. Each team who use the 3-4 runs it with a little bit of a different style, and the personnel that each system requires is different from team to team. You also have to consider that the NFL is a copycat-type league and after a while a new system will come along and steal the buzz and excitement for the 3-4.
A.B.: How important do you think it is for NFL teams to try unconventional strategies, whether in player acquisition or in play design and selection?
F.M.: I don’t think teams need to rely on trick plays and cheap gimmicks to be successful, but it is extremely important to take risks and think outside the box. The Steelers are clearly a team who do that, and I think it would be foolish to ignore that as part of the reason for their sustained success over the years. As I brought up earlier, the Steelers used Wildcat type formations long before it was popular, go against the grain in terms of spending lots of money on high-priced free agents, and also trust their coaches like no other franchise over the past few decades. The teams who are successful run their teams how they want and stay away from following the trends of other teams.
Andrew Bucholtz: Many have attributed much of Pittsburgh's success over the last couple of decades to Dick LeBeau's zone blitz scheme. How important do you think it has been to the Steelers?
Frank Mineo: Dick LeBeau's first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers was in 1992 which was also the year that Bill Cowher took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Mike Tomlin's decision to keep Dick LeBeau on staff, it has certainly kept a sense of continuity for the Steelers throughout the years. LeBeau’s knowledge and propensity for innovation took the Steelers defense within a few short years turned them into a dominant force and has kept the defense relevant and exceptional.
Even when LeBeau left the Steelers to become head coach of the Bengals, his schemes remained along with his coaching disciples and allowed the Steelers defense to remain one of the top units in the league. LeBeau is referred to as “Coach Dad” by his players and it’s clear that the respect they have for him is immense.
A.B.: Most innovations in the NFL seem to have a relatively short shelf life, but the zone blitz has remained effective for decades now. Why do you think this is?
F.M.: I think part of the reason why it has been able to sustain its relevance is because the zone blitz was less of an innovation and more of an improvement on the 3-4 defensive scheme that has been effective for many years. LeBeau designed the scheme to cut down on risks by disguising defenders to increase the efficiency of his blitzes without committing additional men and therefore creating pressure without exposing weaknesses. He has basically perfected the 3-4 defense, and perfection rarely goes out of style.
A.B.: There's been some discussion about the Steelers possibly utilizing a Wildcat formation at times this year with backup QB Dennis Dixon. What do you think of this idea? Can the Wildcat still work now that other teams are used to it, and do the Steelers have the personnel necessary for the scheme to succeed?.
F.M.: The Steelers started using something similar to the Wildcat around 1995 with Kordell Stewart, and they actually used a Wildcat formation in the Super Bowl (albeit with little success). I have no doubt that if Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians think the package will be effective, they will use the Wildcat or a similar variation.
Regarding Dennis Dixon, he will have to show he is capable of being the first backup to Ben Roethlisberger to gain a roster spot and be able to see the field on game days. In order to do so, he will have to have a very strong training camp and preseason to have any chance at winning the backup quarterback spot over veteran Charlie Batch. If Dixon does wind up as the second-string QB, I think the Steelers would be foolish to not develop a few packages to take advantage of Dixon’s athleticism.
I’m not sure if the Wildcat was a one year wonder or not, but Miami was really the only team in the NFL to use it consistently rather than just an occasional trick play. Some teams were able to expose weaknesses in the Wildcat offense near the end of the season, but with the Dolphins adding Pat White to the mix and brining back Ronnie Brown and the rest of the core group, I expect them to try and advance and improve on their success from last year. Only time will tell if the Wildcat and its spawns are here to stick around.
A.B.: The Steelers have also been famed for their 3-4 defence, which started as more of an unconventional idea. However, more and more teams seem to be switching to the 3-4 all the time. Will the Steelers' 3-4 still be effective when they have to compete with more teams for players that fit the system? Also, will opponents be able to handle the Steelers' 3-4 better from the experience of regularly playing other teams using a 3-4?
F.M.: I don’t think anyone can answer the first part of the question with any real certainty. The teams like the Ravens, Steelers, and Patriots have had their pick of the litter when it comes to finding the right players to fit their mold, partially because there were so few teams running the 3-4 scheme in the past. As more teams start to use the system, it is only natural to assume that teams will have a harder time finding the right players to continue their defensive dominance, but I do think there are a few caveats to that. Each team who use the 3-4 runs it with a little bit of a different style, and the personnel that each system requires is different from team to team. You also have to consider that the NFL is a copycat-type league and after a while a new system will come along and steal the buzz and excitement for the 3-4.
A.B.: How important do you think it is for NFL teams to try unconventional strategies, whether in player acquisition or in play design and selection?
F.M.: I don’t think teams need to rely on trick plays and cheap gimmicks to be successful, but it is extremely important to take risks and think outside the box. The Steelers are clearly a team who do that, and I think it would be foolish to ignore that as part of the reason for their sustained success over the years. As I brought up earlier, the Steelers used Wildcat type formations long before it was popular, go against the grain in terms of spending lots of money on high-priced free agents, and also trust their coaches like no other franchise over the past few decades. The teams who are successful run their teams how they want and stay away from following the trends of other teams.
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