DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Gary Kubiak understands defensive line positioning

May 30, 2007 Amobi Okoye is 19, Football 101, Gary Kubiak, Jason Babin, Preview, Sam Adams, Super Mario

For the second time this month, I find myself linking to a Seahawks Huddle post regarding the Texas. Odd. Really, though, the only reason I’m linking to it is for this line regarding Manchild.

All indications are that he will start next to Mario Williams on the right side.

Um… what? The Texans depth chart on NFL.com currently shows Amobi at the Under Tackle position, alongside Anthony Weaver, with Maddox playing the Nose. The Texans’ own website says the same thing. If such early charts indicate anything, it’s that Okoye is likely NOT going to be playing beside Super Mario.

Do you know why these two depth charts have Okoye at the under position? Because Victor Petersen’s alignment is stupid. And even the Texans try to avoid do stupid things on purpose.¹

[Author's Note: The following discussion of defensive tackle positioning and technique is going to be simultaneously tedious and--for many of you--common friggin' sense. Still, to make my larger point here, I feel like I need to lay out exactly why the Amobi-by-Mario alignment would be wrong.]

Okoye is a prototypical under tackle. He’s a fast (for his size), penetrating, one-gap player. Such players almost always line up off of the center. Wait… let’s start with a visual aid.

(clicky to embiggen)

OK… back to Okoye. Players of his size and skill set are best suited to line up away from the center, usually a half-step past the guard (toward the respective tackle). This is the 3-technique and makes him a one gap player. The 3-technique tackle’s job is to shoot that gap, create penetration, and either disrupt the running play or sack the QB. In Okoye’s case, he will almost certainly play the under tackle in the 3-technique position over the offense’s right guard.

Anthony Maddox, on the other hand, has a completely different skill set as a defensive tackle.² He is a traditional 0- or 1-technique DT, meaning he will line up over the center, one half-step toward the left-guard. In this position, a tackle will see frequent double-teams from the center and left guard, with the left guard engaging first and the center picking up. [Author's note: Technically, this off-set alignment is a 4-3 Over and not a straight 4-3.]

[/End of tedious football 101 recap]

So, this configuration, with Maddox next to Mario makes sense now, doesn’t it? The goal in drafting Okoye was not to have him take blockers off of Williams; the goal was to have him take pressure off of Williams, by forcing the opposing offenses to account for two quality pass rushers. Now, Weaver (or Babin) might benefit from getting more one-on-one matchups with TEs if teams try to double Okoye. That would benefit Mario, too, as he would be solo on the offense’s RT without TE interference. If that’s how teams want to play the front four, then I suppose Okoye has technically taken a blocker off of Williams, but not in the manner suggested by the above quote.

For argument’s sake, what would happen if Petersen’s lineup were used? Okoye’s primary skill–interior penetration–would be negated as he would be trying to draw a second blocker on every play. Maddox’s primary skill–playing the 0-technique as a run-stuffing two gap player would also be negated, as he would be lined up to plow through the B gap without reacting to the actual route taken by the running back. While Weaver is a good run defender from the 6-7 position, there is only so much he could do in this configuration. Moreover, teams could basically run through the right-side A gap at will, as Maddox lacks the mobility to read-and-react from the 3 position consistently.

In the end, it’s hard to fathom an argument for putting Okoye alongside Williams. Either Petersen knows something NO ONE else does, or he’s just talking for the sake of talking. One thing is for certain, though… the only “account” that suggests this alignment is Petersen’s. Thankfully.

UPDATE: You might wonder how this discussion relates to my “Babin at LE” post.³ Well, here’s the deal: Despite the fact that Weavs is more or less entrenched in Kubes’ mind as an end, the truth is Weaver is a ‘tweener. He is a little too be to be a 4-3 end and he’s a little too small to play nose tackle. He’s a good run defender from the end, but a better pass rusher from tackle. The team knows this to an extent–Weaver did play some tackle in passing downs last season. In my Babin-centric theory, Weaver would be relegated to playing some under tackle when Amobi needed a break as well as playing backup to Babin. In effect, he would be playing the same two positions he played last season, but in a reserve capacity. In theory, he could also play a few snaps at nose, if the team wanted to go small or play a pure 4-3 stack (all linemen playing one-gap). Bottom line: I stand by the Babin post, dammit.

¹ I choose to believe that this is true.
² Sam Adams would also play this role. Please come to Houston, Sam. Please?
³ I choose to believe that this is true, too.