Interesting Interviews w/ Sapp & Sunquist

[nfoligno]

Couple interesting interviews. The first was Mully & Hanley interviewing Warren Sapp. Now, people can say what they want about Sapp, but he knows Lovie (played for him) and knows the system. Further, the following comments, according to Sapp, stem not just from watching the game, but from watching film of the game.

 

Sapp starts out talking about the type of protection Tenn is using, and goes on to basically rip the bears for the way the rushed the passer. He flat out said it was like Chicago never watched tape, and didn't game plan to attack the type of blocking scheme Tenn uses. I think he even took it another step, saying you really couldn't see much of a game plan of any sort w/ regard to the pass rush scheme. This may have been among the most damning stuff of the interview.

 

Also hits our DEs, saying they did very little. Said they seem to basically wait for Harris to do something. Several times in the interview, he went back to this and hits on the DEs lack of play. He did have positive things to say about Harris, but said Harris can't rush the passer alone. Said Dusty gets a nice push, but that's about it. Now maybe this is an old DT taking up for a DT, and thus attacking others on the DL, but I didn't get that feeling.

 

Moved on to the LBs, and how we fake blitz Urlacher. I loved his comments. He even used the term I have been using. "No man's land." Sapp said he hates that play/look. Talked a bit about how Urlacher is the shoot out of a cannon player, and making him run up and then run backward eliminates what makes him great. He actually said that even if the opponents believes Urlacher is going to blitz, its not a good thing as he pulls extra protection into the middle, so when Urlacher doesn't blitz, that just leaves an extra blocker to hit our DTs.

 

Asked if he see's a difference in Urlacher, and he said its all the DL. Said the DL is playing so weak, offenses are finding it easy to block Urlacher and take him out of plays. Kind of hit Dusty, our nose tackle, on this point. Also went on to say we should play Marcus Harrison more. Said he likes Dusty's motor, but the results just are not there. Likes what he has seen from Harrison, and thinks he should play more.

 

Sort of touched on the point our DL has made about quick passes. Said if the QB "pumps", its on the DL, but quick passes are on the LBs and coverage. We basically knew that, but I think he does touch on how you can't blame the DL for the for the quick passes, which to me, implies we need to do a better job of short coverage.

 

Also, listening to Mike Murphy, and he was playing clips from a Ted Sunquiest interview. Ted was asked about players talking out after the game. Ted said that when there is not a good line of communication to the coaches, then players are left w/ little alternative but to air it out in the media. Now, he does not know for a fact that Lovie/Babich or whoever do not provide an open line for communication, but after the latest press conference when Lovie got VERY defensive about his scheme, and went further to state that no player on his team has a problem w/ the scheme, well, I think you can very easily see why players may not feel they can speak w/ Lovie if they do not agree w/ the playcalling or scheme.

[Connorbear]

Nice summary - thanks. I heard only part of the interview.

 

Here is the reality. Lovie will be here for at least another yr. The McCaskey's are not going to pay him 18 million to walk plus the cost of a new coach. Let's hope he figures this out before it all falls apart around him.

 

Peace

[madlithuanian]

Wow...if he's seeing that. What the heck are the coaches doing with this game film they keep telling they are looking at?

 

Wow...

 

Thanks for the post.

 

Couple interesting interviews. The first was Mully & Hanley interviewing Warren Sapp. Now, people can say what they want about Sapp, but he knows Lovie (played for him) and knows the system. Further, the following comments, according to Sapp, stem not just from watching the game, but from watching film of the game.

 

Sapp starts out talking about the type of protection Tenn is using, and goes on to basically rip the bears for the way the rushed the passer. He flat out said it was like Chicago never watched tape, and didn't game plan to attack the type of blocking scheme Tenn uses. I think he even took it another step, saying you really couldn't see much of a game plan of any sort w/ regard to the pass rush scheme. This may have been among the most damning stuff of the interview.

 

Also hits our DEs, saying they did very little. Said they seem to basically wait for Harris to do something. Several times in the interview, he went back to this and hits on the DEs lack of play. He did have positive things to say about Harris, but said Harris can't rush the passer alone. Said Dusty gets a nice push, but that's about it. Now maybe this is an old DT taking up for a DT, and thus attacking others on the DL, but I didn't get that feeling.

 

Moved on to the LBs, and how we fake blitz Urlacher. I loved his comments. He even used the term I have been using. "No man's land." Sapp said he hates that play/look. Talked a bit about how Urlacher is the shoot out of a cannon player, and making him run up and then run backward eliminates what makes him great. He actually said that even if the opponents believes Urlacher is going to blitz, its not a good thing as he pulls extra protection into the middle, so when Urlacher doesn't blitz, that just leaves an extra blocker to hit our DTs.

 

Asked if he see's a difference in Urlacher, and he said its all the DL. Said the DL is playing so weak, offenses are finding it easy to block Urlacher and take him out of plays. Kind of hit Dusty, our nose tackle, on this point. Also went on to say we should play Marcus Harrison more. Said he likes Dusty's motor, but the results just are not there. Likes what he has seen from Harrison, and thinks he should play more.

 

Sort of touched on the point our DL has made about quick passes. Said if the QB "pumps", its on the DL, but quick passes are on the LBs and coverage. We basically knew that, but I think he does touch on how you can't blame the DL for the for the quick passes, which to me, implies we need to do a better job of short coverage.

 

Also, listening to Mike Murphy, and he was playing clips from a Ted Sunquiest interview. Ted was asked about players talking out after the game. Ted said that when there is not a good line of communication to the coaches, then players are left w/ little alternative but to air it out in the media. Now, he does not know for a fact that Lovie/Babich or whoever do not provide an open line for communication, but after the latest press conference when Lovie got VERY defensive about his scheme, and went further to state that no player on his team has a problem w/ the scheme, well, I think you can very easily see why players may not feel they can speak w/ Lovie if they do not agree w/ the playcalling or scheme.

[nfoligno]

Nice summary - thanks. I heard only part of the interview.

 

Here is the reality. Lovie will be here for at least another yr. The McCaskey's are not going to pay him 18 million to walk plus the cost of a new coach. Let's hope he figures this out before it all falls apart around him.

 

Few owners would send a coach packing w/ that much coin still owed.

 

But here is an angle I am not sure too many have talked about here. Many assume Angelo's fate is tied to Lovies. Whether true or not, I would be surprised if Angelo didn't see that as a very real possibility. So, if Angelo's fate is tied to Lovie's, and Angelo believes Lovie is sinking both of their ships, he may step in.

 

Babich is Lovie's boy, but that may not be enough of Angelo see's Babich on a similar plane as Shoop. Further, Angelo may tell Lovie who to hire as a DC. For example, despite who Lovie wanted originally, he was told to hire Rivera. Angelo may force Lovie to hire a DC that is not just a cover two guy.

 

Point here is, while Lovie may be the HC of this team for now and for a while due to his contract, if Angelo feels Lovie is threatening his career too, he may step in and direct Lovie to make moves he would not otherwise make.

[Connorbear]

Few owners would send a coach packing w/ that much coin still owed.

 

But here is an angle I am not sure too many have talked about here. Many assume Angelo's fate is tied to Lovies. Whether true or not, I would be surprised if Angelo didn't see that as a very real possibility. So, if Angelo's fate is tied to Lovie's, and Angelo believes Lovie is sinking both of their ships, he may step in.

 

Babich is Lovie's boy, but that may not be enough of Angelo see's Babich on a similar plane as Shoop. Further, Angelo may tell Lovie who to hire as a DC. For example, despite who Lovie wanted originally, he was told to hire Rivera. Angelo may force Lovie to hire a DC that is not just a cover two guy.

 

Point here is, while Lovie may be the HC of this team for now and for a while due to his contract, if Angelo feels Lovie is threatening his career too, he may step in and direct Lovie to make moves he would not otherwise make.

I could definately see this happening. But if Babich goes, I bet love pushes for Marinelli if he is available (which leads us back to the cover 2).

 

Peace

[azbearsfan]

Sapp touches on a good point about the DE's. We have Philip Daniels Jr and the III playing over there. We dont have the top level pass rush DE, which I guess is one reason we seem to take one every draft.

 

 

Hey nfo, not trying to "call you out" but why when I post a link on info I get ripped, but then you post on stuff you heard in interviews its good info.

[madlithuanian]

Interesting take...

 

Hadn't thought of that...

 

Few owners would send a coach packing w/ that much coin still owed.

 

But here is an angle I am not sure too many have talked about here. Many assume Angelo's fate is tied to Lovies. Whether true or not, I would be surprised if Angelo didn't see that as a very real possibility. So, if Angelo's fate is tied to Lovie's, and Angelo believes Lovie is sinking both of their ships, he may step in.

 

Babich is Lovie's boy, but that may not be enough of Angelo see's Babich on a similar plane as Shoop. Further, Angelo may tell Lovie who to hire as a DC. For example, despite who Lovie wanted originally, he was told to hire Rivera. Angelo may force Lovie to hire a DC that is not just a cover two guy.

 

Point here is, while Lovie may be the HC of this team for now and for a while due to his contract, if Angelo feels Lovie is threatening his career too, he may step in and direct Lovie to make moves he would not otherwise make.

[nfoligno]

Hey nfo, not trying to "call you out" but why when I post a link on info I get ripped, but then you post on stuff you heard in interviews its good info.

 

Fair question, but here is how I would answer that.

 

One. Before I even get to point one, let me just say I am sorry. I didn't mean to rip you. Maybe I was just in a bad mood. W/ that said, to be honest, I would have considered "your" opinion at a greater level than those of some blogger, which I think is all that guy is. Someone regurgitating stuff he has heard. More than ripping you, I was trying to make the point that ESPN's inside blogger info is actually nothing new to those on this board. My intent was not to rip you so much but to laugh a bit at ESPN.

 

On the other hand, the interviews I threw out there were from NFL people. I even qualified it some, at least w/ Sapp. Sapp is a player who played for Lovie, and was a very integral part of his cover two system. Sunquist was a personnel guy I think. Point is, both offer experience. I don't post just anything I hear, but when football people give info like this, I think it is worthwhile. And that goes back to the original point. I would have considered "your" analysis as a coach of much greater value than something a blogger threw out there.

 

Two. While some of what was said in the interviews has been discussed, there was also some new info. Your ESPN blogger may as well have been getting his inside info by reading our message boards.

 

Anyway, you asked:) Seriously, I did not intend to rip you, though I guess I did. I'm sorry about that.

 

On a sep point, if you go to the Score's website, you can listen to the Sapp interview. I would love to get your opinion, particularly on the beginning part when he talks about how Tenn was blocking us, and how we seemed to have no clue how they were going to block, as though we hadn't watched film. Frankly, some of what he said went over my head (blocking assignments and scheme names) but I would love to hear what your thoughts on it are.

[nfoligno]

Sapp touches on a good point about the DE's. We have Philip Daniels Jr and the III playing over there. We dont have the top level pass rush DE, which I guess is one reason we seem to take one every draft.

 

He also shredded Anderson, though he couldn't think of the name and just said, "#97". Said on one play, Harris made a great rip move to beat his block, but Anderson tried some off-balanced spin move, and actually went down to the ground and took Harris down w/ him.

 

He shreds our DEs, but I am not sure he believes we simply do not have the talent. He starts out blasting our coaching, actually saying it looked like we didn't even watch film. He said Tenn has a certain blocking scheme, and he saw nothing in the game that he would expect to see to try and beat that scheme. Felt we did the same ol same ol, w/o game planning to attack their blocking scheme in a particular manner.

 

He went on to really rip our DEs, but while he attacked them individually, also seemed to again, attack the coaching and or scheming/game planning. Basically said our DEs just run at the OTs, and do little to nothing (in terms of moves) to get past their man.

[nfoligno]

I could definately see this happening. But if Babich goes, I bet love pushes for Marinelli if he is available (which leads us back to the cover 2).

 

Very possible. While Marinelli would be far from my first choice, at the same time, I think he would be an upgrade. He is not looking great as a head coach (how many do in Det) but he is a far more proven DC. He is proven in terms of game planning and in-game calling. In Babich, we have a LB coach who Lovie felt could handle the next step, but thus far, that remains much in doubt. While Marinelli may still run a system I am not a big fan of, at the same time, I think he would do a far better job of running it. Our D may never reach its potential (IMHO) w/ Lovie as our coach and running his scheme, but if we get a more proven coach like Marinelli, I think it could come much closer.

[jason]

Couple interesting interviews. The first was Mully & Hanley interviewing Warren Sapp. Now, people can say what they want about Sapp, but he knows Lovie (played for him) and knows the system. Further, the following comments, according to Sapp, stem not just from watching the game, but from watching film of the game.

 

Sapp starts out talking about the type of protection Tenn is using, and goes on to basically rip the bears for the way the rushed the passer. He flat out said it was like Chicago never watched tape, and didn't game plan to attack the type of blocking scheme Tenn uses. I think he even took it another step, saying you really couldn't see much of a game plan of any sort w/ regard to the pass rush scheme. This may have been among the most damning stuff of the interview.

 

Also hits our DEs, saying they did very little. Said they seem to basically wait for Harris to do something. Several times in the interview, he went back to this and hits on the DEs lack of play. He did have positive things to say about Harris, but said Harris can't rush the passer alone. Said Dusty gets a nice push, but that's about it. Now maybe this is an old DT taking up for a DT, and thus attacking others on the DL, but I didn't get that feeling.

 

Moved on to the LBs, and how we fake blitz Urlacher. I loved his comments. He even used the term I have been using. "No man's land." Sapp said he hates that play/look. Talked a bit about how Urlacher is the shoot out of a cannon player, and making him run up and then run backward eliminates what makes him great. He actually said that even if the opponents believes Urlacher is going to blitz, its not a good thing as he pulls extra protection into the middle, so when Urlacher doesn't blitz, that just leaves an extra blocker to hit our DTs.

 

Asked if he see's a difference in Urlacher, and he said its all the DL. Said the DL is playing so weak, offenses are finding it easy to block Urlacher and take him out of plays. Kind of hit Dusty, our nose tackle, on this point. Also went on to say we should play Marcus Harrison more. Said he likes Dusty's motor, but the results just are not there. Likes what he has seen from Harrison, and thinks he should play more.

 

Sort of touched on the point our DL has made about quick passes. Said if the QB "pumps", its on the DL, but quick passes are on the LBs and coverage. We basically knew that, but I think he does touch on how you can't blame the DL for the for the quick passes, which to me, implies we need to do a better job of short coverage.

 

Also, listening to Mike Murphy, and he was playing clips from a Ted Sunquiest interview. Ted was asked about players talking out after the game. Ted said that when there is not a good line of communication to the coaches, then players are left w/ little alternative but to air it out in the media. Now, he does not know for a fact that Lovie/Babich or whoever do not provide an open line for communication, but after the latest press conference when Lovie got VERY defensive about his scheme, and went further to state that no player on his team has a problem w/ the scheme, well, I think you can very easily see why players may not feel they can speak w/ Lovie if they do not agree w/ the playcalling or scheme.

 

But they're NFL coaches and they know everything, right? Right?

 

How many former players, former coaches, former scouts, former front office guys, and announcers have to rip this team before changes are made? I can see how people would ignore a "simple fan posting on a message board"...but to deny those who have "been there" is just ignorant.

 

On a side note, I obviously don't disregard the fans on message boards because I think they understand football on a basic level that coaches often ignore in favor of complicated verbage and buzzwords. I was watching the Titans game and kept saying, "Good job stuffing the run, but they'll soon begin to pass and look like the Colts in the SB." Then the Titans turned into the Colts in the SB. I then said, "We need to change something up or the Titans will just continue to do this (as several other teams have this year), and march down the field for a score." The Titans then proceeded to march down the field for a score.

 

It's not rocket science folks. When something works, you stay with it. When it doesn't, you change things up. I think our coaches have the former perfected. The latter? Not so much.

[madlithuanian]

It's the old "Keep It Simple Stupid" idea!

 

I just literally shake my head in bewilderment...

 

 

 

But they're NFL coaches and they know everything, right? Right?

 

How many former players, former coaches, former scouts, former front office guys, and announcers have to rip this team before changes are made? I can see how people would ignore a "simple fan posting on a message board"...but to deny those who have "been there" is just ignorant.

 

On a side note, I obviously don't disregard the fans on message boards because I think they understand football on a basic level that coaches often ignore in favor of complicated verbage and buzzwords. I was watching the Titans game and kept saying, "Good job stuffing the run, but they'll soon begin to pass and look like the Colts in the SB." Then the Titans turned into the Colts in the SB. I then said, "We need to change something up or the Titans will just continue to do this (as several other teams have this year), and march down the field for a score." The Titans then proceeded to march down the field for a score.

 

It's not rocket science folks. When something works, you stay with it. When it doesn't, you change things up. I think our coaches have the former perfected. The latter? Not so much.

[GrizzlyBear]

Well I think a storm is comming and its named Jerry Angelo. NFO has it right, If anyone thinks for one minute that Angelo will go down without a fight they are mistaken. Babitch will be toast and look at marrinelli or Leslie Frasier as our next D coord.