The new Cowboys DC has a defense with his Tampa brand, but it's roots are in George Perles' Steelers lines and Tony Dungy's and John Teerlinck's Vikings units.
This is part 1 in a multi-part series looking at Dallas' new "Tampa-2" scheme.
The Cowboys are back to running a 4-3. After running the front for over 40 years, in various incarnations, it is back this fall. New defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will be using his version of the much-hyped "Tampa-2." How does it differ from the schemes Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson ran? In the former's case, quite a bit. In the latter's case, not as much, though some basic details differ. Today, we'll look at Kiffin's base under-front, with it's slant nose tackle.
Slanting Towards Destruction
The 4-3 evolved in the '50s, with New York Giants assistant Tom Landry, who brought the scheme to his expansion Cowboys in 1960. By the '60s, the 4-3 had become the standard NFL defense. Some, like the Bears and Rams George Allen, utilized pressure packages while others, like the Packers Vince Lombardi, played a very simple version of the defense, which emphasized execution and consistency. In Dallas, Landry tinkered with the depths of his four down linemen, making the strong-side tackle and the weak-side end "flex" or line up a yard off the line of scrimmage. This allowed them better lateral mobility and make Landry's flex defense a terror against Lombardi's much feared sweep, the signature offensive play of that decade.
In all cases, the fronts moved between "even" and "odd" lineups. Here's a still from the interior of an even look the Minnesota Vikings are throwing at the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 8. Both Vikings DTs are lined head-up against the guards and the middle linebacker is sitting three yards off the line of scrimmage and is also head up against the center.
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Even 4-3 front
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A change up look was an odd-front, or a stack 4-3. In this variant a defensive tackle would slide inside and line up eyes-to-eyes with the center. The middle linebacker would line up directly behind him. The D-line would then have an odd number of linemen deployed on one side of the offense. In an over front, three linemen would cover the center and the guard and tackle to the tight end's side. In an under front, the center and weak-side O- linemen would get the attention.
This next still, from Super Bowl 3, shows the Colts in an over, stacked front against the Jets. DT Fred Miller (76) has parked himself across from Jets center John Schmitt. This gives MLB Dennis Gaubatz some protection on running plays, especially those to the tight end side.The center cannot reach Gaubatz in space and the MLB can move unfettered after the ball carrier.
The stack front could also give a pass rush an edge. Centers were generally the smallest members of the line, since their job was often to engage middle linebackers. Teams with big defensive tackles could rush through the center's line more easily than through a guard's. The Chiefs exploited this tactic in Super Bowl 4, when they used the stack effectively against Vikings center Mick Tinglehoff. Kansas City had two large Hall of Fame DTs in Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp. Each outweighed the 225 lb. Tinglehoff by close to 50 pounds. Their dominance of the center killed the Vikings interior run game and collapsed QB Joe Kapp's passing pocket.
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Odd,or stack 4-3
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The next tweak in 4-3 play came in Pittsburgh, where defensive line coach George Perles made an adjustment to the stacked front. Rather than putting his linemen head-up against a guard or center, Perles took his best lineman, perennial All Pro Joe Greene, and lined him up in an A-gap,at a 45 degree angle towards the center's earhole. Here's a still from the opening series of the 1974 AFC Championship Game between Greene's Steelers and the Oakland Raiders showing Greene angled towards center Jim Otto:
At this time, Greene was the quickest, most powerful DT in the game,and the slant stance let him penetrate the offensive line from a point closest to the quarterback. It forced teams to use two interior blockers in attempts to contain Greene, allowing the other DT, Ernie Holmes, to thrive as a pass rusher. It also kept the Steelers middle backer, Jack Lambert, clean much of the time.
Greene took a beating absorbing the double teams, but he also meted out punishment. The slant was an in-season innovation and its effectiveness shows up in the numbers. The Raiders, the 3rd ranked rushing team that year, had ripped Pittsburgh for 177 rushing yards in an October win. In the rematch, the Steelers held the Raiders attack to just 29 yards on the ground. In the Super Bowl, Greene and Holmes took their turns abusing the Vikings' Tinglehoff. Minnesota rushed for just 17 yards in the Steelers' 16-6 win
The slant could blow up inside runs and pass pockets. Here's a stunt between the two DTs, which resulted in a sack. The game is to have the slant DT attack to the A-gap to his side, while the 3-technique on the opposite side loops behind him and attacks the same A gap:.
In still two from the sequence you can see that Greene has instant penetration off the ball. Greene has his helmet past the center Otto's shoulders but he's initially contained by the right guard George Buehler (64).
When Holmes loops into Buehler's lane, the guard has to release Greene to block Holmes:
Greene is already past Otto and has the center off-balance. When Buehler leaves him, Greene roars on to sack QB Kenny Stabler.
In 1976, Tony Dungy joined the Steelers as a defensive back and learned the slant 4-3 schemes. When he began his coaching career, Dungy took this idea from Perles and made it a standard feature of his defenses. Look at Monte Kiffin's defenses for Dungy and Jon Gruden in Tampa, and Dungy's Indy Colts units and they all feature a slant nose, also called a 1-technique.
There's been much speculation in Cowboys land about the roles the incumbent interior linemen will play. It's assumed that DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer will play the ends and that Jay Ratliff and Jason Hatcher will man the tackle spots. The question is where?
In post-Steel Curtain incarnations of the slant 4-3 ,the 3-technique has become the marquee tackle position. In Minnesota, John Randle thrived in that role. At Tampa, Warren Sapp played the 3. Early speculation has Hatcher playing the 3 and Ratliff, a long-time nose tackle in Wade Phillips and Rob Ryan's 3-4s, playing the slant role. That's possible. Being large is not a requirement for an effective Tampa-2 nose. In Minnesota, Henry Thomas played the 1 at well under 300 lbs. In Tampa, Brad Culpepper, a 275-lb. fire ant, clogged the middle, letting Sapp run free.
Looking at the Steelers play, it's not clear that Dallas needs to pidgeonhole one lineman into the 1-technique spot and the other into the 3-technique spot. Here's another play from the Steelers' next defensive series, which shows Holmes playing the 1-technique.
Greene played most of the snaps as the slant nose but he didn't play the role exclusively. The Steelers would move their linemen, depending on the formations the opposition gave them. Tape from Rob Ryan's two Cowboys defenses showed him using Hatcher and Ratliff in similar ways, a topic I'll address on Wednesday.
Next: John Teerlinck teaches Dungy's linemen learn how to "Jet".
