Silver And Black Pride
The Las Vegas Raiders are shifting to a 3-4 base defense, though I doubt they will be sitting out of base defense for most of the season, and if that if they will even be in the 3-4 system all that often. Matt Holder recently published an article breaking down the plan for Rob Leonard and I highly suggest taking a look at such. Leonard has preached fundamentals on defense, but he’s also preached a few other key tones aggression, attack, pursuit, and communication.
While every defense has preached such, the biggest is execution on defense. Leonard should be aggressive defensively in terms of his stunts, twists, & blitz packages but the Raiders will also need to maintain their communication in an aggressive defense to not lose assignment, receivers, or cause big plays. Additionally, constant consistent pressure, and rallying to the ball is crucial, as is the Raiders pouncing on opportunities when they are present. An aggressive unit can be among the most successful in the NFL (Brian Flores, Bill Belichek, Steve Spagnuolo, and Mike MacDonald) but it can also have it’s concerns with Aaron Glenn, Matt Patricia, Rex Ryan, and even Spagnuolo before his Chiefs days.
Key Names: Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, Kwity Paye, Keyon Crawford (situational pin ears back pass rusher), Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu, Thomas Booker (best IDL pass rusher), Tonka Hemingway, and others
Athletes, that’s the biggest key for the Raiders. In March, I broke down what the Raiders defensive line can look like from a technique standpoint, and how each player fits into that mold. That article really does explain what to expect from an individual player standout if that’s of interest to you. Leonard stated ” I would like to play fast, even at the cost of a mental error”. It’s a bold standpoint to have, leaning into the aggression causing more havoc than they give up. He’s not build on hesitation, and he certainly wants the Raiders to attack. As a result of that, I’d highly suspect the Raiders defensive line to play in an “attack front”. An attack front is pretty consistent with man control on the defensive line. Attack and react fronts are the common types of defensive line structures, where an attack front allows the defensive line to fire off the ball and get to the backfield quickly.
The goal is to overwhelm the offensive line and pass protection unit immediately, while forcing players on the defensive line to win against their man (man control). Instead of anchoring, sitting back, and reacting to the offensive structure the goal is to maintain leverage, get upfield, and collapse the pocket or rushing lane. This system does place heavy strain on the linebackers, and also the interior defensive line where a missed assignment, or lack of control against a man can lead to a bigger rush than a react front. In theory, attack fronts are the ideal world, however they also can lead to big plays if players in the...
