Given Ryan?s track record, and the addition of Doug Plank to the CS, I have to believe the Jets are interested in running the 46 D at least situationally. For those not yet aware, the 46 D got its name from Plank?s uniform number 46, while coached by Buddy Ryan on the 80?s Bear teams. The defense is very contingent upon the positioning of the SS, which Plank played. My question is can Abraham Elam potentially fill that role at SS? The 46 base usually calls for the SS to line up as the 8th man in the box on the weak side. From this formation, the SS is involved in run support, blitz packages, or dropping back into coverage depending on the call and offensive formation. We know Elam can hit, blitz well, and has a nose for causing turnovers. I think this D fits his aggressive style of play. His real weakness IMO is recognizing the offense and getting beat when they are in Cover 2. Can these coaches make him a viable option for SS? I?m not against signing Leonard either, if the price was relatively cheap. Would much rather focus on drafting a CB high, or going after Nnamdi though, when it comes to improving the secondary. The CB position much weaker, and there might just be potential in Elam with this system and coaching. What do you think?
I would be shocked if we didn't run the 4-6, don't really know enough about it to say who would work in it though.
I'm not worried about Elam in the 46... I'm more worried about the CB opposite Revis since it will be primarily man coverage. We pick up a solid CB and I think this will work very well.
I'm tending to agree. Nnamdi would be my dream FA if Favre retires and the cap clears a bit. CB's are soooo important in any agressive style D.
i guess Miami and Tenn missed that memo. lol, seriously though, Baltimore has been running variations of this since Ryan took over at D coordinator. The antidote for the orginal Buddy Ryan 46 was Bill Walsh and the West coast offense. Rex plays it slightly differently to account for the quick pass, and to protect the deep middle.
That's what I said in the "the Jets will draft _____" thread. We need two strong corners to make the 46 work and right now we only have Revis. If we picked a CB early we'd have all of the guys to run it. Rhodes would be great as the center fielder. As to who the SS would be, I agree that Elam could be the guy. His strong run support suggests he'd be good in that role. But I'd also like to see how well Brandon Renkart did from the practice squad. He's a 235 lb LB from Rutgers with one year of pro experience. He looked great in coverage last preseason. That's not surprising since he also played a year of SS in college. And Renkart has the size to provide solid run support. If these guys didn't work out, maybe we'd go to the second round in the draft with Oklahoma's Sean Smith, Missouri's William Moore or Nic Harris from Oklahoma. All are oversized 210+ lb DB who could play that role.
coupla things.... the 4-6 was hugely succesful for the bears in the mid 80's cause most teams had a generic 2 receiver set for most plays and would go to a 3 receiver set for the proverbial 3rd down passing down. so the classic 4-6 alignment was OK and you could just tee off at the line of scrimmage and settle for the occasional passing play if you didn't get to the QB. these days teams use the 3-4 WR sets religiously so any team would have a hard time running a pure 4-6. the free safety would have his hands full with the 3rd or 4th WR provided the QB has enough time to throw. the SS that is usually 5-7 yds behind the LOS in the 4-6 functions as a hybrid LB/S. elam would likely fit the size mold for that spot. like the ravens, the jets will show 3-5-3, 3-4-4, 5-3-3, 4-6-1, 4-5-2 and any other combo you can think of. its all about matchups and who you are playing, what QB they have, and what kind of passing game they have. i do not think the jets have the pass rush personnel to hang their hats on getting to the QB most of the time like the bears did and even the modern day ravens to a degree. jil
46 does not stand for an alignment, it merely means a fifth guy up on the line. And Elam is aggressive and a hitter. COULD be a winner.
I posted this in another thread but it seems more appropriate here: ************************ The 46 is a gambling, high-pressure defense. In its basic formation, the defense crowds the line of scrimmage with six players: a nose tackle, two defensive ends, two linebackers and a rush end. Another linebacker and a safety play right behind them. That leaves the cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage with the free safety roaming as a "center fielder." The goal is to put constant pressure on the quarterback and to make running the football difficult, if not impossible.
demise of the 46 defense: After the 1985 season, opposing offenses began mimicking the short passing game of Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense. It revolved around a vertical, quick-strike passing attack that did not allow opposing defenses time to reach the quarterback. With eight men constantly in the box, offenses soon learned that the short passing game could have great success against the 46. Spreading receivers all over the field forced most 46 units to move to a more conventional package.
The beauty of it all is that we will run whatever fits our strengths, and we will attack another team's weakness. For that reason we will have no clue what formation we will see on Sunday, or who is lining up where. That is what has me excited for the upcoming season. I just hope we get Bart Scott and Chris McAlister [maybe move him to free safety], i just have this feeling that with their experience and position familiarity we will be able to dominate.
Just wanted to place the following info here (I originally posted this in 2006). The Ram at the top of the photo is the new Jets WRs coach Henry Ellard. To run that you need cornerbacks who can really cover wide receivers. The key to the 46 defense is time. The defense wants to rush the QB and ruin his chance to throw a good pass. The 46 alignment is a 4-4-3. The 46 defense got its name from Bears free safety Doug Plank. He wore #46. Plank moved up to play middle linebacker in the original 46, which had a 5-1-5 alignment. The 46 in a nutshell- Three defensive linemen across from the center and guards. (These were the best pass rushers.) The weakside end lined up outside the offensive tackle. The strongside linebacker lined up across from the tight end. The weakside linebacker moved to the strongside in a blitzing lane outside the tight end. The two inside linebackers were off the line and opposite the offensive tackles. There's the eight-man front. Five to eight players would blitz.
