Daily Short #33, July 28th, 2017: Friday Free For All
1) This Week in The Daily Short:
I was asked to by a poster yesterday to provide moving forward a list on Fridays of the previous week's editions of the Daily Short for those who may have missed a day, as the columns only stay pinned for 24 hours during the week:
MONDAY: Writing off Tristan Nickelson
TUESDAY: Good News, Bad News for Brennan Eagles and Dez Bryant
WEDNESDAY: Urquidez, Anderson, Cuney, Hudson and Okafor; Woolly Mammoth Revival
THURSDAY: Live From DKR
2) I was asked yesterday in the Live from DKR chat about how the move to a 3-4 defense affected Malcolm Roach. When I wasn't able to answer before the chat ended this very persistent poster (@Carp888) emailed me with his questions:
Roach is going to be a lineman/end correct? He's more of an up the field rush guy. Is the "end" on the other side less of a rush guy and more of a big body to hold down the middle? Do they switch around to the strong or weak side or are they always on the left or the right?
- Yes, Roach will play a defensive end in the new system which will have him in a three-point stance most of the time and aligned at either a 4 technique (head-up on the tackle) or a 5-technique (aligned on the tackle's outside eye). However, I would not worry about his ability to impact the game as a rusher. He will be put in position to make the plays the staff knows he'll be able to make. This could mean him standing up at times off the edge and looking more like a linebacker. There are no hard and fast rules about how he'll need to be utilized simply because of his designation as a 3-4 DE. We aren't talking about a player who's going to be asked to two-gap (maintain responsibility for both the B-Gap inside and the C-Gap outside of the tackle) while the LBs run wild. While Roach will have to take on this responsibility at times, he also had to take on that responsibility last season when Strong went to what he called his "odd" front -- a sub-package that increased in frequency when Strong took over play-calling duties from Vance Bedford.
- It's correct that the end on the other side will be a bigger, more traditional "DT" type like Chris Nelson and D'Andre Christmas. The nose guard (a player like Poona Ford or Gerald Wilbon) will be aligned head up on the center, or at the one-shade on the center's outside eye. Depending on the offense's run strength or other cues that the team will practice identifying during the week of practice, the ends are likely to switch sides from snap to snap, but it's also not out of the question that they each simply hold down one side through a series. These shifts will be opponent and situation-dependent.
Is there an outside linebacker who lines up more like a rush guy on the opposite side of the line from Roach? So is there more of a "rush" outside linebacker (Possibly Malik) than the other Outside Linebacker. Does those guys move back and forth based on strength of the offense?
- Yes, that outside linebacker is called a "B-Backer" in Todd Orlando's system. That position is currently occupied by Naashon Hughes and Jeffrey McCulloch. It will be situation-dependent whether this player lines up on the same side as Roach or on the side opposite him. Technically, there can be two of these players, but the team would have to come out of nickel (five DBs) to get the second OLB on the field. The second OLB is called the "F" or "field"-backer and is less of a rush-backer and more of a coverage LB. From the way things are shaping up, it looks like Breckyn Hager may be thought of as a guy who could come in when the team goes to a true 3-4 (four linebacker, no nickel) to handle the B-Backer position while Hughes or McCulloch could bump out to the F.
- Malik Jefferson is currently playing the weak inside linebacker position called the WILL or ROVER in Orlando's 3-4 nickel base. This is a position that is a wild-card in the defense that Orlando says is put in position to make the big splash plays, and one who is freed up to run from sideline to sideline -- a good fit for Jefferson who's biggest struggle as a college player has been taking on contact at the second-level and shedding blocks. The ROVER will line up behind the LOS at a linebacker's depth most of the time, but situationally, can also spin down to the edge.
3) Book Review - A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite
At times when reading this book, I felt a little bit like a housewife reading a romance novel, but I must admit, it held my attention enough to where I finished the book and actually ended up kind of liking it. It's a true story of a young woman in New York who falls in love with her co-worker who, through the course of the book, is revealed to be a psychopath intent on ruining her life. All things she wishes she would have found out before marrying and having a child with him. I'm never big on the "a woman scorned"-type of books, but I can see why this one got the good reviews it did that led me to purchasing it. Through the book, you learn a lot about the nature of the psychopath and their extremely predictable behaviors and patterns. It made me realize that you don't have to be a mass murderer, or locked up in a psych ward somewhere to be a psychopath. They exist all around us. I give it 2.5 stars.
Alex's 2017 Reading List So Far
T1) The Undoing Project (5 stars)
T1) The 4-Hour Work Week (5 stars)
T1) The Accidental Superpower (5 stars)
4) Dueling With Kings (4.5 stars)
T5) The North Water (4 stars)
T5) The Summer That Melted Everything (4 stars)
T5) Woolly (4 stars)
8) A Beautiful, Terrible Thing (2.5 stars)
T9) American Gods (2 stars)
T9) The Graveyard Book (2 stars)
11) Stay Interesting (1 star)
5) Finally, an important note about the Daily Short and the Deep Dig
First: I'll be free to answer any questions and/or concerns you may have about this topic.
After discussions with Ketchum about the direction of my content on Orangebloods moving forward, the column I've been writing for the last four years, "The Deep Dig," will cease to exist in its previous form moving forward. I will instead continue writing this daily column, "The Daily Short," from Tuesday to Saturday in-season.
An important thing to note is that I'll be doing all the same work on breaking down the game film and charting all the plays. I'll still be doing the deep dig, I just won't be writing the "The Deep Dig." The column was called the Deep Dig simply because that is what I called the process of collecting the data. Player participation, OL grades, disruption data, market share, snap counts, all of it. Not much will change except that the content will be delivered in this more abbreviated-type of daily column and not through the basement-dwelling voice of the Deep Dig -- which I must admit, I'll miss just a small bit ... even as bothersome as it was to some. (@CS)
This in-season content will be delivered daily, in more digestible pieces, as opposed to over the course of two long-form columns, one of which would generally not be out until late Thursday afternoon previously (after the last week's news cycle had already mostly passed).
This change allows me to bring more content to the board in a form that is currently being read at a 4-5x greater readership clip than the Deep Dig columns have historically been (combined).
The Deep Dig always lived in constant anticipation of a future Texas monster. Now, it's beginning to feel like their collective anticipation may finally be coming to fruition. Before we slam the basement door shut for good and move on to the next chapter ...
"We thank you, once again, for reading."
1) This Week in The Daily Short:
I was asked to by a poster yesterday to provide moving forward a list on Fridays of the previous week's editions of the Daily Short for those who may have missed a day, as the columns only stay pinned for 24 hours during the week:
MONDAY: Writing off Tristan Nickelson
TUESDAY: Good News, Bad News for Brennan Eagles and Dez Bryant
WEDNESDAY: Urquidez, Anderson, Cuney, Hudson and Okafor; Woolly Mammoth Revival
THURSDAY: Live From DKR
2) I was asked yesterday in the Live from DKR chat about how the move to a 3-4 defense affected Malcolm Roach. When I wasn't able to answer before the chat ended this very persistent poster (@Carp888) emailed me with his questions:
Roach is going to be a lineman/end correct? He's more of an up the field rush guy. Is the "end" on the other side less of a rush guy and more of a big body to hold down the middle? Do they switch around to the strong or weak side or are they always on the left or the right?
- Yes, Roach will play a defensive end in the new system which will have him in a three-point stance most of the time and aligned at either a 4 technique (head-up on the tackle) or a 5-technique (aligned on the tackle's outside eye). However, I would not worry about his ability to impact the game as a rusher. He will be put in position to make the plays the staff knows he'll be able to make. This could mean him standing up at times off the edge and looking more like a linebacker. There are no hard and fast rules about how he'll need to be utilized simply because of his designation as a 3-4 DE. We aren't talking about a player who's going to be asked to two-gap (maintain responsibility for both the B-Gap inside and the C-Gap outside of the tackle) while the LBs run wild. While Roach will have to take on this responsibility at times, he also had to take on that responsibility last season when Strong went to what he called his "odd" front -- a sub-package that increased in frequency when Strong took over play-calling duties from Vance Bedford.
- It's correct that the end on the other side will be a bigger, more traditional "DT" type like Chris Nelson and D'Andre Christmas. The nose guard (a player like Poona Ford or Gerald Wilbon) will be aligned head up on the center, or at the one-shade on the center's outside eye. Depending on the offense's run strength or other cues that the team will practice identifying during the week of practice, the ends are likely to switch sides from snap to snap, but it's also not out of the question that they each simply hold down one side through a series. These shifts will be opponent and situation-dependent.
Is there an outside linebacker who lines up more like a rush guy on the opposite side of the line from Roach? So is there more of a "rush" outside linebacker (Possibly Malik) than the other Outside Linebacker. Does those guys move back and forth based on strength of the offense?
- Yes, that outside linebacker is called a "B-Backer" in Todd Orlando's system. That position is currently occupied by Naashon Hughes and Jeffrey McCulloch. It will be situation-dependent whether this player lines up on the same side as Roach or on the side opposite him. Technically, there can be two of these players, but the team would have to come out of nickel (five DBs) to get the second OLB on the field. The second OLB is called the "F" or "field"-backer and is less of a rush-backer and more of a coverage LB. From the way things are shaping up, it looks like Breckyn Hager may be thought of as a guy who could come in when the team goes to a true 3-4 (four linebacker, no nickel) to handle the B-Backer position while Hughes or McCulloch could bump out to the F.
- Malik Jefferson is currently playing the weak inside linebacker position called the WILL or ROVER in Orlando's 3-4 nickel base. This is a position that is a wild-card in the defense that Orlando says is put in position to make the big splash plays, and one who is freed up to run from sideline to sideline -- a good fit for Jefferson who's biggest struggle as a college player has been taking on contact at the second-level and shedding blocks. The ROVER will line up behind the LOS at a linebacker's depth most of the time, but situationally, can also spin down to the edge.
3) Book Review - A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite
At times when reading this book, I felt a little bit like a housewife reading a romance novel, but I must admit, it held my attention enough to where I finished the book and actually ended up kind of liking it. It's a true story of a young woman in New York who falls in love with her co-worker who, through the course of the book, is revealed to be a psychopath intent on ruining her life. All things she wishes she would have found out before marrying and having a child with him. I'm never big on the "a woman scorned"-type of books, but I can see why this one got the good reviews it did that led me to purchasing it. Through the book, you learn a lot about the nature of the psychopath and their extremely predictable behaviors and patterns. It made me realize that you don't have to be a mass murderer, or locked up in a psych ward somewhere to be a psychopath. They exist all around us. I give it 2.5 stars.
Alex's 2017 Reading List So Far
T1) The Undoing Project (5 stars)
T1) The 4-Hour Work Week (5 stars)
T1) The Accidental Superpower (5 stars)
4) Dueling With Kings (4.5 stars)
T5) The North Water (4 stars)
T5) The Summer That Melted Everything (4 stars)
T5) Woolly (4 stars)
8) A Beautiful, Terrible Thing (2.5 stars)
T9) American Gods (2 stars)
T9) The Graveyard Book (2 stars)
11) Stay Interesting (1 star)
5) Finally, an important note about the Daily Short and the Deep Dig
First: I'll be free to answer any questions and/or concerns you may have about this topic.
After discussions with Ketchum about the direction of my content on Orangebloods moving forward, the column I've been writing for the last four years, "The Deep Dig," will cease to exist in its previous form moving forward. I will instead continue writing this daily column, "The Daily Short," from Tuesday to Saturday in-season.
An important thing to note is that I'll be doing all the same work on breaking down the game film and charting all the plays. I'll still be doing the deep dig, I just won't be writing the "The Deep Dig." The column was called the Deep Dig simply because that is what I called the process of collecting the data. Player participation, OL grades, disruption data, market share, snap counts, all of it. Not much will change except that the content will be delivered in this more abbreviated-type of daily column and not through the basement-dwelling voice of the Deep Dig -- which I must admit, I'll miss just a small bit ... even as bothersome as it was to some. (@CS)
This in-season content will be delivered daily, in more digestible pieces, as opposed to over the course of two long-form columns, one of which would generally not be out until late Thursday afternoon previously (after the last week's news cycle had already mostly passed).
This change allows me to bring more content to the board in a form that is currently being read at a 4-5x greater readership clip than the Deep Dig columns have historically been (combined).
The Deep Dig always lived in constant anticipation of a future Texas monster. Now, it's beginning to feel like their collective anticipation may finally be coming to fruition. Before we slam the basement door shut for good and move on to the next chapter ...
"We thank you, once again, for reading."
