Ask Mud Dog Anything on This Snow Day: Chris Schisler

Ask Mud Dog Anything on This Snow Day: Chris Schisler

Question 1 is submitted by Ramis Adnan (@AdnanRamis): What should the Cowboys have done with Tony Romo? Is Matt Ryan elite?

The Dallas Cowboys made Tony Romo their franchise quarterback of the present and future by making him one of the highest paid players in the NFL. Jerry Jones gave Romo the contract and they are kind of stuck with him. Dallas will never admit that Romo will not take them over the hump but he will not. I would have not given Tony Romo that kind of money. If it were up for me he would be making his actual market value. Last time I checked quarterbacks with virtually no playoff success who choke in the fourth quarter don’t get paid like a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning.

I would look to the draft to find a quarterback that Dallas could develop and mold into a starter. The Cowboys have a decent starter in Romo and a lot of holes in their roster therefore they will not put themselves in the 1^st round quarterback mix. I would look at a guy like Aaron Murray from Georgia in the 4^th round. Murray is a guy I think that is undervalued. I think that he improved each year at Georgia which is a sign that he is coachable. I think there is no question he has the talent. Murray could eventually be the franchise quarterback, if I am right about him.

Matt Ryan is a quarterback who can get you to the playoffs when given the tools to work with. He is not the guy who is going to win in the big moment in the playoffs. If he was then the Ravens would have played Atlanta in Super Bowl 47. Ryan is good but he is far closer to the Andy Dalton, Phillip Rivers category than that of the Elite.

@RealBobManning asks: What should the Patriots do with Aqib Talib?

Talib brings legitimacy to the New England Patriots secondary. Losing Talib to free agency would mean losing the only guy who can match up against the opponent’s best receiver. Sometimes Talib gets beat and it gets into his head (See Steve Smith in Panthers game). That said he is too good of a player to lose. I would put the exclusive franchise tag on him if I were the Patriots. He is the one guy they can’t lose who they could easily lose to the highest bidder. If the Patriots are to lose him to the highest bidder they can at least get a 1^st round draft pick for it. I don’t know what the plan is but something tells me that Bill Bellicheck will get it right.

@Tracy_Cole65 asks: What is the Ravens top priority in the offseason? Will they use the rookies they got last year?

Tracy, the top priority is to resign the players we cannot lose. That means Eugene Monroe, Dennis Pitta and Darryl Smith. I think the second job for the Ravens brass is to restructure Terrell Suggs contract (basically give an extension that in effect lowers our cap hit this season). Once we restructure the deal with Suggs and maybe a couple other contracts we can use the cap space to go after a weapon for Joe. Eric Decker and Hakeem Nicks would be at the top of that list. What we do in the draft will depend on free agency. If we get a receiver via free agency then we will maybe draft a tight end like Eric Ebron or a free safety in the 1^st round. I think the Ravens will look to free agency to get better on the offensive line. Eric Winston would be an ideal fit at right tackle. I think the Ravens still have high hopes for Ricky Wagner but don’t think he is ready. Marlon Brown will play a role in the offense for sure. Arthur Brown should work his way into the starting lineup next to Smith in the middle of our defense.

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Virtual Chalkboard: Blitz # 3

Virtual Chalkboard: Blitz # 3 | Chris Schisler | June 28, 2013

 
Like most of my favorite blitzes I have drawn this blitz is out of a 3-4 front with a cover 3 shell. The coverage covers the deep and intermediate pass with 5 zones using one fire zone. At the last second the strong safety creeps into the box just over the linebackers. When the ball is snapped he flies through the B gap. The Defensive end on the strong side (the blitz side) will engage the tackle, and drop into a fire zone, getting whatever depth he can. Ideally he gets into an intermediate zone or can tip an intermediate pass in his direction. Realistically the he just covers the flat. The outside linebacker loops in to fly through the A gap. The interior linebacker on cheating to lineup over the end playing a 5 technique comes around the edge. This blitz overloads the strong side. The goal is to make the tackle useless to the offense.

Chris Schisler’s Virtual Chalkboard: Blitz #2

Chris Schisler’s Virtual Chalkboard: Blitz #2 | Chris Schisler | June 28, 2013

This blitz features a coverage that is used less and less in the NFL, Tampa 2. Tampa 2 is used mostly with the 4-3 defense but this is run out of a 3-4 front. First I should stress the purpose of Tampa 2. Cover 2 has two weak points in the coverage the deep sidelines and in between the two deep zones. By dropping the middle linebacker into the deep middle, we have effectively filled one of the natural windows in the coverage. Many linebackers cannot get back far enough, it takes an athletic interior linebacker.
The nose lines up on a strong shade of the center and stunts into the weak side B-gap. The end playing over the tackle on the weak side stunts out wide. The end must engage the tackle a little bit to pull him out wide with him. The rush backer then comes off the edge under the tackle. The guard is hopefully battling the nose. If the outside linebacker times it right he should have a clear alley to the football. To ensure the effectiveness of the nose guards stunt the other interior linebacker flies through the weak side A-gap. On the strong side the outside linebacker comes off the edge.
This blitz is susceptible to the short pass across the middle. It is critically important that this blitz be used in the right situations. Like most good blitzes this is an option to rush the passer responsibly. If the team likes to go down field on first downs this is an ideal blitz to use. I see this blitz as a 3rd and long drive killer. The deep pass is taken away, and the corners have responsibilities underneath.

Scouting Report: Everything Matt Ryan

Scouting Report: Everything Matt Ryan | Chris Schisler | June 22, 2013
Matt Ryan has been crowned as one of the best quarterbacks in football despite his lack of playoff success. Ryan is a good quarterback but he gets more respect and credit than he probably deserves. The media loves the Falcons quarterback who is heading into his sixth season. Many people see Ryan as elite. I have a hard time with this classification. An elite quarterback must give his team a chance to win a championship. While Matt Ryan has a good stat line in the regular season he is far from perfect in the post season. On a team filled with talent and a tremendous coaching staff, Matt Ryan needs to lift the Falcons higher than he has. This is a quarterback whose nickname contradicts reality. He may be “Matty Ice” but he plays his worst in the big moments. Matt Ryan is a good quarterback if just getting to the playoffs is good enough for you; but in the playoffs I do not trust the man to come up big.
Matt Ryan does a lot of things well. He has developed a great chemistry with his receivers, he has a high football IQ, and when he is feeling it, he is hard to stop. Ryan has good footwork, and a good arm. At times he is very accurate passer. He is great at the play fake. Matt Ryan was drafted so highly for a reason. He is fundamentally sound and is a solid quarterback. This is important to note because when I write about his flaws this may be forgotten. I personally cannot stand Matt Ryan. It has more to do with the attention he gets as a “superstar” than it does with Matt Ryan himself. We have to remember how unaccomplished he is in the big moment.
John Langley and I discussed how to beat Matt Ryan on our podcast in great length. John has a theory which I think accurately explains Matt Ryan’s weakness. John argues that Matt Ryan is bailed out by great receiver play and that the weapons hide Ryan’s faults most of the time. Adding to this argument John says that Ryan gets rattled easily and that he is not very confident in his deep throws, he hesitates to throw against any deep coverage. To add to this concept John lays out for us, I think Ryan leads defenders to the football with his eyes. This behavior would support the idea that he struggles to be confident in his arm. This lack of confidence leads to a lot of bad often late throws off his back foot. Matt Ryan’s mechanical flaws only show when he is rattled. When given time and his receivers win matchups Ryan is a machine. That is not good enough in the NFL in order to be great. If the key to beating Ryan is to pressure him and get him shaky, you must blitz with the fury of the universe.
The construction of the Falcons offense is genius. It is like a nuclear power plant. There are tons of redundant alarms or safe checks to avoid the quarterback’s disastrous meltdowns. The Falcons know that defenses want to pressure Matt Ryan into making imprudent mistakes. They also understand that Matt Ryan has a good deep ball but hesitates to use it. The Falcons have surrounded Matt Ryan with wide receivers that will go up in the air and snatch to make the big play. Ryan is surrounded by a usually solid run game and a great screen game. Repetitive screens to the receivers not only slows the pass rush down it sets up the open deep ball Ryan so desperately needs. Covering Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzales in man coverage is tough for any team. It forces zone coverage and this deters some defensive coaches’ ways to blitz like a mad doctor. In short the offense dictates coverage, Protects Ryan from pressure, and builds the quarterback’s confidence.
The way to beat Ryan and his Falcons is to blitz with responsible deep coverage. I would never play Cover 2 against this team it’s exactly what they want. In cover 2 White and Jones win deep on the sidelines and Tony Gonzales splits the two deep zones with relative ease. There should always be 3 or 4 men splitting the deep portions of the field. I want to pressure Matt Ryan to his wits end with a 4 man rush if I can, but will bring 5 if necessary. The key is to force the Falcons to dink and dunk and to sustain long drives to score. Matt Ryan will make mistakes if forced to live without the big play. If you make them settle for field goals, you better win the game. That’s what it’s all about against the Falcons. You must make the offense work for it.
Matt Ryan is not a bad quarterback, but he is much less perfect than the media would portray. The man is talked about as a living legend in some circles…I’m sorry what has he accomplished? You can babble on about his statistics, no stat will change my mind. Well one thing will: Playoff success.