Gerald McCoy Moves To 3-Technique Position
by Sander on Jun 29, 2011 8:03 PM EDT
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When Gerald McCoy was drafted with the 3rd overall pick of the 2010 draft, he was supposed to be the anchor of defensive. He was going to play the 3-technique position - the undertackle position - and wreak havoc in backfields. In the best case scenario, he was going to be for this defense what Warren Sapp was for the old Bucs' defense.
And then the season started, and Gerald McCoy didn't play the 3-technique but was moved all over the line. He played defensive end in a 4-3, defensive end in a 3-4, 3-technique in a 4-3, nose tackle in a 3-4 and nose tackle in a 4-3. He played all over the line, and that limited his development as he got off to a slow start. Instead of letting him run loose, the Bucs overburdened the rookie with assignments. He couldn't play fast, and he couldn't just let loose and do what he does best: get into the backfield.
But it seems that's about to chance. Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated notes that the Bucs will use Gerald McCoy primarily as a 3-technique defensive tackle next season. That's likely the influence of new defensive-line coaches Grady Stretz and Keith Millard, as the Bucs are likely leaving some of the experimentation of last season behind and moving back to a classic, penetrating 4-3 defensive line. With McCoy's move back to the 3-technique position he will have a chance to learn to own that one position, and he will have more opportunities to rush the passer one-on-one, as the 3-technique is less likely to be double teamed than the nose tackle.
This is just one more reason to think that Gerald McCoy will break out in 2011. He's been working hard this offseason, has fully recovered from his biceps injury and seems to be fully dedicated to football. He has also re-shaped his body, adding upper body strength and size while losing weight to improve his quickness. He looks like a different player. Combine all that with the fact that Gerald McCoy was making a real on-field impact right before his injury. I'm excited to see him get on the field next season. He should be much improved.
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GMC
does look like a beast though. I know you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that it is obviously easier to throw weights and cables around than it is centers and guards. But GMC does look like a different player, he actually looks like a stud third overall draft selection.
GMC's is jacked up...
He actually looks more like a DE…I’m glad to hear that he’ll get the chance to focus primarily on 3 tech…moving him around last year really didn’t help his development but I can understand Morris attempting to get to pass-rush going anyway he could…
by ctd1977 on Jun 29, 2011 9:32 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
One of the recent “round up” articles had stated that he is heavily working his upper body. I hope he’s working his quads and doing squats. I think there is a link to “thunder thighs” and being able to drive oline man back.
((b-town))
Now that we know DT Brian Price won't be available right away...
why not pursue a good player like SFs Aubrayo Franklin to play the DT position?
What, the 3-4 nose tackle?
Completely different style of play that doesn’t fit this scheme. Besides, the Bucs are undoubtedly going to hope Brian Price makes it back midseason or earlier, which would mean another DT would just stand in the way of Price’s development.
Also, I think they’re pretty happy with Roy Miller and Gerald McCoy, and Al Woods and Frank Okam didn’t look bad last season.
I don’t see them adding anyone.
Yeah... that one that plays the 3-4 NT
You say it like he could never play in a 4-3. Very little difference an NT. At 6-1", 317 he would be an immovable object exactly where you want one. As I have said before, I hope that we simply find the best 53 players at their respective positions and go with them – who cares about pet projects, potential, etc.
He plays in a 3-4 because SF drafted him – and they play a 3-4.
The style of play is very different from the type of 3-4 the 49ers run and the type of 4-3 we run
The job of the nose tackle in the 4-3 the way we play it is not to soak up blockers (though he often does get double teams, simply because that’s how schemes work). He’s still to supposed to disrupt plays, attack and get in the backfield.
But Franklin (drafted by the Ravens, by the way) was never asked to do that. What he’s asked to is hold up two blockers to clear rushing lanes for linebackers – no more, no less. He isn’t asked to shoot gaps or anything like that. You can see that in his stats, too: in 6 seasons of actually playing (and two more seasons of being in the league) he has all of 4 sacks. Franklin is a good player, but he’s just not a scheme fit for the Bucs. It’d be like signing Brandon Spikes to play MLB in the Tampa 2 – good player, but not for what the Bucs would be asking him to do.
All that doesn’t mean he can’t do it, by the way, but signing a 31-year-old who has played his entire career in a completely different something to ask him to do something he’s never done is silly.
Besides all that, a good NT will be highly coveted by 3-4 teams. He’d cost a ton to sign.
When we throw up 3-3-5, isn’t it essentially a 3-4 (front three) kind of setup? I don’t understand how 4-3 Dline can be asked to do 3-4 kind of work.
((b-town))
It's a 3-4 set up in that there are 3 down linemen, but the philosophy is very different
In a traditional 2-gapping 3-4, the style popularized by Parcells and run today by the Pats, Dolphins, Steelers, 49ers and others the job of the players is to soak up blockers to let the LBs make plays.
But what the Bucs ask their players to do with 3 down linemen isn’t any different from what they’re asking them to do when there are 4 down linemen: shoot gaps, penetrate and cause disruption. It’s just that there are 3 of them instead of 4.
And there are 3-4s that ask their linemen to do the same thing. The Packers, for instance, and the Cowboys under Wade Phillips, and presumably the Texans under him too. Those defenses aren’t that different from a traditional 4-3, and I wrote a post about the possibility of the Bucs moving to that kind of defense a few months back: http://www.bucsnation.com/2011/2/19/1996704/could-the-bucs-move-to-a-3-4
Though I should note that I don’t think that’s going to happen now that they’ve drafted two bulky 4-3 DEs.
The key point to take away is that not every 3-4 and 4-3 is the same, but that the key difference lies in whether they play 2-gaps (meaning they soak up blockers) or are asked to penetrate one gap.
True that..
I just don’t wanna see it used on running downs, ever!
((b-town))
by Titankillah on Jun 30, 2011 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh yeah, it's definitely a pass set only
They’d get even more killed than usual against the run if they ran it at any other time.
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