Are the days of conservative defensive play-calling finally over in Jax?  

Starting to see more and more confirmation that may be the case:

https://jaguarswire.usatoday.com/2021/06...020s-unit/

https://twitter.com/1010XL/status/140308...37513?s=20

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About damn time. Attack the offense and make plays and turnovers. Get their offense off the field. Get your offense on the field.

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About damn time. Attack the offense and make plays and turnovers. Get their offense off the field. Get your offense on the field.

They need to be aggressive and play with controlled abandon. This team has a long way to go so why not come out punching.

What did bend don't break stuff get us? We still looked up to two score deficits.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

Are the days of conservative defensive play-calling finally over in Jax?  

Starting to see more and more confirmation that may be the case:

I think it was Schobert that said there has been approximately 50% blitzes in their playcalling thus far. Which is on par with how Baltimore ran things, and significantly higher than the rest of the league. Should be super fun to watch. It does make me sad that we didn't prioritize another pass rusher this offseason though. Someone like Lawson in FA or Oweh (who the Ravens took to no ones surprise) in the draft could have taken these blitz packages to another level.

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Are the days of conservative defensive play-calling finally over in Jax?  

Starting to see more and more confirmation that may be the case:

I think it was Schobert that said there has been approximately 50% blitzes in their playcalling thus far. Which is on par with how Baltimore ran things, and significantly higher than the rest of the league. Should be super fun to watch. It does make me sad that we didn't prioritize another pass rusher this offseason though. Someone like Lawson in FA or Oweh (who the Ravens took to no ones surprise) in the draft could have taken these blitz packages to another level.

It was Schobert.  The article linked in my thread-bump post above has some good info on Cullen's anticipated blitz tendency including Schobert's quotes on the subject.


[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.72)]In last year’s scheme, the key was to get pressure with the front four linemen, but Cullen has already shown signs that the Jags will blitz way more in 2021 based on what Schobert and company have worked on in OTAs.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.72)]“I’d say like 50 percent of the plays in spring we’ve been running blitzes, so I think there’s going to be a lot of pressure,” said the veteran linebacker “[Defensive Coordinator] Coach Cullen’s not afraid to get after it and put some guys in man coverage, get pressure on the quarterback, try to force him to make mistakes, so it’s going to be fun to see what he has dialed up in games actually in the fall.”[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.72)]Schobert’s statements don’t come as a surprise when looking at the Ravens’ statistics. While Cullen was just the defensive line coach, he was a part of a unit that blitzed at a rate of 54.9% in 2019, then 44.1% in 2020. If OTAs are a true sign of what the Jags are trying to install, fans should expect to see Cullen bring some major heat this season and possibly register a rate near 50%.[/color]

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To be fair though, a 3-4 uses 3 linemen and any non-lineman rushing is considered a blitz. If you are getting home with just your front 3, then you are going to have a very, very good season. Rushing 4 is the norm and so "blitzing" from a 3-4 is the norm.

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To be fair though, a 3-4 uses 3 linemen and any non-lineman rushing is considered a blitz. If you are getting home with just your front 3, then you are going to have a very, very good season. Rushing 4 is the norm and so "blitzing" from a 3-4 is the norm.

Right, but you have to look at these percentages. 

There are 14 to 16 teams each year running a 3-4 defense, and Baltimore was pretty far out  ahead of all of them blitzing as much as they did. They blitzed 11% more than the nearest blitzing defense in 2019. 

Jags could be among the top 3 teams in blitz percentage after being 16th in 2020 and that’s pretty significant despite the OLB blitzing more often in this scheme.

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More nuggets from Cullen on the defense in this article and podcast w/ Oehser.

https://www.jaguars.com/news/o-zone-podcast-joe-cullen

"It's going to be an attacking defense from all three levels. We're going to blitz; there's no hiding that. We're going to blitz and we're going to blitz a lot of different people. We're going to rush with four. To me, you're going to see a fast, physical and attacking defense."

...

"It's a passing league; everybody always says that," Cullen said. "But you've got to stop the run. At some point, you've got to be able to grab grass and be able to hunker down and stop the run. I feel like we have the ability to do what with the guys we have – not only up front, but also the linebacker level."

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More nuggets from Cullen on the defense in this article and podcast w/ Oehser.

https://www.jaguars.com/news/o-zone-podcast-joe-cullen

"It's going to be an attacking defense from all three levels. We're going to blitz; there's no hiding that. We're going to blitz and we're going to blitz a lot of different people. We're going to rush with four. To me, you're going to see a fast, physical and attacking defense."

...

"It's a passing league; everybody always says that," Cullen said. "But you've got to stop the run. At some point, you've got to be able to grab grass and be able to hunker down and stop the run. I feel like we have the ability to do what with the guys we have – not only up front, but also the linebacker level."

I dig it. I am legit excited to see our defense play this season. Last few years, not so much.

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More nuggets from Cullen on the defense in this article and podcast w/ Oehser.

https://www.jaguars.com/news/o-zone-podcast-joe-cullen

"It's going to be an attacking defense from all three levels. We're going to blitz; there's no hiding that. We're going to blitz and we're going to blitz a lot of different people. We're going to rush with four. To me, you're going to see a fast, physical and attacking defense."

...

"It's a passing league; everybody always says that," Cullen said. "But you've got to stop the run Derrick Henry. At some point, you've got to be able to grab grass and be able to hunker down and stop the run Derrick Henry. I feel like we have the ability to do what with the guys we have – not only up front, but also the linebacker level."

What we really want to read.

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A far cry from the Todd Wash soft serve defense.

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https://twitter.com/Brickwallblitz/statu...5100337158

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https://twitter.com/Brickwallblitz/statu...5100337158

Way down in hits and sacks but I've seen somewhere that they're top 5 in pressures. 

Not really sure what to take from that. Maybe they need time to gel.

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Need to send some blitzes that get home up the middle. Also the ends have to put some stress on the tackles

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https://twitter.com/Brickwallblitz/statu...5100337158

NOT LAST!  It's progress negative nancy!  Urban is building culture.

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https://jaguarswire.usatoday.com/2022/01...e=facebook

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I saw the topic on main page and thought they hired Cullen for HC

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Yes please. He did a very good job.

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To be fair though, a 3-4 uses 3 linemen and any non-lineman rushing is considered a blitz. If you are getting home with just your front 3, then you are going to have a very, very good season. Rushing 4 is the norm and so "blitzing" from a 3-4 is the norm.

Right, but you have to look at these percentages. 

There are 14 to 16 teams each year running a 3-4 defense, and Baltimore was pretty far out  ahead of all of them blitzing as much as they did. They blitzed 11% more than the nearest blitzing defense in 2019. 

Jags could be among the top 3 teams in blitz percentage after being 16th in 2020 and that’s pretty significant despite the OLB blitzing more often in this scheme.

I know I'm replying to my own comment from the preseason, but it's fun to note that the bolded speculation wound up being pretty close.

The Jags blitzed on 31.5 % of defensive snaps in 2021.  That was the 5th most in the league. 

The ravens, incidentally, came in at 31.1% showing a clear parallel between Cullen's scheme and the one he came out of most recently.

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Right, but you have to look at these percentages. 

There are 14 to 16 teams each year running a 3-4 defense, and Baltimore was pretty far out  ahead of all of them blitzing as much as they did. They blitzed 11% more than the nearest blitzing defense in 2019. 

Jags could be among the top 3 teams in blitz percentage after being 16th in 2020 and that’s pretty significant despite the OLB blitzing more often in this scheme.

I know I'm replying to my own comment from the preseason, but it's fun to note that the bolded speculation wound up being pretty close.

The Jags blitzed on 31.5 % of defensive snaps in 2021.  That was the 5th most in the league. 

The ravens, incidentally, came in at 31.1% showing a clear parallel between Cullen's scheme and the one he came out of most recently.

Many Ravens fans seem to think that Martindale is out and the Ravens plan to bring Cullen back as DC.

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