Lions new defensive scheme

My on field concerns with Parsons at such a premium draft position is the lack of coverage experience and/or showing skills at it. It’s silly to think just because he’s athletic will be able to cover. We’ve seen that plenty in the nfl.

Take this kind of skill set a bit later, great. At #7 there are players with equivalent ceilings and imo less negative variance. If he lives up to the prototype we want it’s fantastic. I think it’s much more likely Parsons is average or worse in coverage than Sewell approaches his lofty projections or Smith gets injured because of size.

If we draft Parsons I think he will he primarily used as a pressure missile and hitting run gaps and occasionally dropping in coverage

At first I thought that wouldn’t fit into his skill set, but looking at his PFF data, that’s exactly up his alley

So a faster stronger, hopefully more aware jarrad Davis at #7 who we may need to take off the field in critical situations? Exactly my concern with using such a premium pick on this MLB

I’m guessing Campbell wanted Davis to play the MIKE in the scheme, but it came down to $$$

Obviously you haven’t watched him play. He had 5 pass break-ups. He’s actually decent in coverage but he just wasn’t asked to do it as much. Because he’s such an effective pass rusher that on passing downs they had him spy, read, react and pressure. He’s played DE, OLB and MLB. He can play all 3 LBer spots and be an edge rusher. He has played very well when asked to drop into coverage.

I have zero concerns about Parsons abilities he’s a complete and versatile LBer… A very rare talent who can do it all.

Yes, exactly like JD only bigger, faster and better at everything and can actually tackle :yum:

If they take Parsons at 7OA they should plan on having him be the heart and soul of the defense ala Miller or Luke and have the confidence he can perform

You may be totally right, but I think if you look at the Rams (2020 and earlier during the Phillips/Staley eras) roster, tell me what the “right” DT is. Aaron Donald? Or his backup A’Shawn Robinson? Which was the right DE? Morgan Fox? Or Michael Brockers? How about one of the backups Derek Rivers?

Well, we will field 11 guys (probably more often) just like Patricia. But Patricia was too in love with big and slow. That is how he built the front 3 or 4 and how he built out the LB core. When you are putting 250lb Christian Jones in as your OLB, when Tavai is your Nicklebacker, no, we will NOT be running the same thing Patricia did. Patricia also ran high amounts of man coverage, and we are probably headed for a LOT more zone. So I wouldn’t hear “hybrid” and cringe. It’s really a good plan. We just had probably the worst possible implementation of it under MP.

BTW the difference between 2 gap read, react and clog the right gap and 1 gap, get your body through the gap asap is going to be a whopper of a change. The new staff appears to be shedding the big and slow guys and retaining/bringing in lighter faster guys from the DL to LBers.

No I haven’t watched a full penn state game and trust certain peoples opinions who do that for a living more than myself or posters on this board. No offense to any individual here at all. I feel confident in my own ability to parse through those analyses to come to my conclusions. Just like you have your method to decision making.

5 pass break ups against college competition is just that. Experience matters in skill development. He lacks this. I don’t feel confident utilizing this specific pick based on presumptions about how something will translate that’s very important, a difficult transition for most players and requires a different perspective than what he’s been trained to specialize in.

So why come here? Seriously?

You have to first understand the concept the Rams run and what it asks of the DL and LBers.

The Rams defense uses a a lot of tite fronts. The key is to allow the LBers the freedoms to roam but they have to have the range to cover the C gaps. Tite fronts are super popular in college and are gaining popularity in the NFL. The problem is the Tite front would force a guy like ROkwara inside the OT where his speed is negated. Or to an OLB spot where your asking him to drop into coverage. Also not his strength. He’s a bad fit for a tite front. The second problem is that we really don’t have enough athletic LBers.

This is why I think we run a lot of the Rams defensive concepts but not the Rams tite style defense. A similarly concept defense to what the Rams run is a 4-2-5 style defense. This is what NO ran a lot of… I have a feeling this is the direction we’re aiming. NO had this hybrid LBer role that Anzalone played a lot. That role was similar to a role I played some in college and we called it the “Monster” … it’s a read and react role that is played by a LBer on run downs and a NB on passing downs. I think we plan to run those NO concepts, mixed in with Rams concepts and that’s why we brought in Anzalone.

Ok so who’s opinion are you reading that says he’s bad in coverage? … because he’s not.

I’ll give you a couple scouting reports that say pretty much what I said. I could give you a dozen more.

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/micah-parsons-nfl-draft-player-profile-penn-state-linebacker/

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I read it somewhere but cannot seem to find it, but Campbell and Glenn mentioned that they were going to run a rams style front with the Saints coverage schemes. Also said they would be in a lot of sub packages.

The rams style 3 man front is very similar to a 4 man front in the DT plays a strong side 1 tech, the DE plays a weakside 3 tech and the other DE plays a strong side 5 tech. This alignment when the shoot the gaps will occupy all 5 OL. The buck linebacker, weakside 5 tech in a 2 point stance, is the hybrid player. A versatile linebacker that can rush the passer, can drop and cover the flats and play strong on the OT.

This style front allows a team to transition from a 3 man front to a 4 man front seemingly in a hurry up

IF we were to draft Parsons, I think he would be a perfect fit for our defense from a skill standpoint, IMO

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I don’t know, but thinking through it all is fun…

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I think we will play 60% of the time a 4-2-5 D

Now they will adjust some forms an may play some bas 4-3 depending on game but I think we will see an lot of 4-2-5

I’m more of a fan of the 4-2-5 and we are better equipped to run that scheme than the 3-3-5.

we can switch players round example Okwara, Julian
if he stays healthy this year he can be like a rush DE or OLB
We have more talent than fans think.
He wasn’t healthy nor was Bryant, Austin who is a big DE that can move. Also we will have DT Jashon Cornell back he got hurt early last season.

I know the D sucked but not all the D players sucked an one who did are gone. The system sucked .
I think the D has improved just with one year deals an they will all be working to get longer term deals.
We have signed like 11 or 12 UFAs on one year deals. Lets say half turn out an have very good year we can sign them we will have the Cap.
You add the draft this year who will be signed minimum 3 year deals or more.
We will have coming back players who won there new deals an players we have signed already an couple like Rag who will be extended second deal.

I like direction an players we have now an hope we do well in draft. We should be solid on OL for at least 3 years an longer after this draft.

D line has depth now an we will see during camp an season what needs to be added. Its deeper than many think.

I think after draft an likely claiming few cuts this roster will not be as bad as some think. How many have taken time to check out Safety Bobby Price? Just one young player we kept on PS as UDFA an signed to contract last few weeks of 2020. Small school Safety who had year on PS an was signed late
recorded a 40 yard dash of 4.43 seconds.He has a RAS of 9.96 some like that others don’t but its another tool to see how a player rates…6’3" 215
here is like for RAS https://relativeathleticscores.com/2020/05/06/bobby-price-ras/

Like I said … I could be wrong but it sure looks like we’re missing key pieces if we plan to run what the Rams did.

The Rams really don’t have great talent at ILB either. I could see a tite front or a MINT front as they call something similar at Alabama to combat the spread. Bunch up the middle with a four man front (includine OLB) and have fast LBs scrape over the top instead of having huge LBs that can take on OGs.

I mean who is going to get an Aaron Donald to run a tite like the Rams did? We got 1/3 of their tite lineup with Brockers. Penisini can be the zero tech. Probably need another one that is more athletic. Then we find another guy who can play 4i, like Nick Williams or D. Hand most likely.

IMO, we aren’t building the defense in one offseason. Maybe two. The Lions really aren’t signing guys to long term deals, Okwara the exception, so the plan seems to build with the draft and don’t make any big moves until next year.

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Joel Heath DE 6’ 06" 303 27 years old
Jashon Cornell DT 6-03" 290 24 years old drafted last year got hurt early missed last season