Four Linebackers

Catdad39 · Post by **Catdad39** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 6:41 am

Did anyone notice how much the cats use the four linebacker set on Saturday in Great Falls? I liked the look of it because it puts the most experieced part of the defense on the field. The first unit is Cooper at Sam, Marudas at Wil, Mollohan at Mike and Mollock is the 4th linebacker (Rover). Eggart is the backup at Will and Mike while Curley backs up on the outside. I love the flexibility that four linebackers gives the D coordinator. Pressure can come from a variety of angles--it is based on the Baltimore Ravens scheme which is certainly solid! What did you guys think?

Cat Pride · Post by **Cat Pride** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:32 am

I'd love to see the Cats run more 3-4 sets. Not only does it put our best and fastest athletes on the defensive side of the ball on the field, it also adds some bulk to the DL. We can now have Clive at rush end, Sebastian at the other end, and Clark at NT plugging the middle. This also gives our DL a better rotation and I think a better run stuffing DL/LB combo than we would have with a 4-3 set. Can you imagine Sabastian at DE? He'd be one of the biggest DEs in the conference, and I think he is athletic enough to play there.

BelgradeBobcat · Post by **BelgradeBobcat** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:40 am

That's a lot of speed up front! But the trade-off is we'll be awful light. Clive Lowe is probably closer to linebacker size than D-line and Clark and Sebastyen aren't the biggest linemen in the world either. The speed will be good against scrambling quarterbacks like the guy from Eastern, but the size could be a problem against huge o-lines and running backs like the griz.

It will be interesting to see how effective the defense will be if the offense can hold on to the ball a little longer. I'm very excited to hear that the offense is playing well this early in the spring-we're really not used to that!

canyoncat · Post by **canyoncat** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:48 am

I really like the possiblities this formation brings. We are so deep at LB that it can work. Brings alot of speed to an already fast defense. The QB won't know where the next guy is coming from.

However, like Belgrade said it will make us awful light up front. It could make us vulnerable to power running teams. Still with all that speed it could just overwhelm everyone. Should be fun to watch as a change of pace defense.

GO CATS!!

Cat Pride · Post by **Cat Pride** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:54 am

Good point BelgradeBob. I would love nothing more than to see the Cats line up a big 285lb Dt run stuffer so that our LBs were free to roam and make more plays. But I think Sebastian on the end would help our size issues. I cant wait to see that incoming freshman Sauceado next year - I think he's a Samoan, listed at near 300 poounds and something like 6-5, 6-6. Lets hope he has some feet beneath him.

What about that Texas A&M kid? Anyone know if the Cats signed him? That would add some beef to the DL. Although, if he played LB at A&M and is that big (250?), why not plug him into the Mike spot as a run stopper against bigger OLs and RBs and leave Mollahan at Will?

Anyone know what Clive Lowe is actually listed at for weight? The 2-deep seems like it is these kids playing wieghts last fall, not this spring. Same with Mac. Is he big enough to play Mike?

With my last post, I see that I now have 2 Cat Heads under my name - that is pretty cool. It might also deter some of our Grizzled friends from posting here. The more posts you get, the more Cat Heads you get. I like this board more every day!

HelenaCat95 · Post by **HelenaCat95** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:01 am

Saw in the Trib this morning that Figueroa is back practicing, and so is Morris Milton......good news.

Post by **rtb** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:15 am

The more you post the more excited you will get with your "Cat Head" rating. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you though.

CARDIAC_CATS · Post by **CARDIAC_CATS** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:15 am

As far as running the 3-4 I'm not totally set on yet, but they might do that. I would prefer more of a 4-3/3-4 flex type defense that keeps the offense guessing and makes other teams audible more from what they see up at the line .. then BAM .. we change our scheme right before the snap .... Flex defense can definately cause problems and might just be the type of defense for us if we can get some corners that can cover man to man on outside!

hokeyfine · Post by **hokeyfine** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:24 am

sometimes i saw the cat's in a 5-2. maybe it was a blitzing situation. they had 3 down lineman and 2 "ends". i didn't pay attention to who the ends were.

Cat Pride · Post by **Cat Pride** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:32 am

We are really splitting hairs here, and actually starting to sound like know-it-all, spoiled Griz fans. Cats have had the #1 defense in the conference 3 years running, and one of the better ones in the country, and we are trying to over-analyze and improve on things?

Dont get me wrong, as much as I love our defense and the job Kwiatkowski has done with it, I'd still like to see even more movement and disguised blitz schemes - much like Cal Poly runs. Speed at all positions helps make that happen, and that is exactly what we have. Making the opposing offense react to the defense, not vise-versa, like Cardiac said, is one of the keys to a great defense.

IMO, the success of next years defense rests in the arms of the secondary. If these young Cats, along with Corkey Lindsey and Eddie Smith gel together and hold their own (obviously cant compare to the last 3 seasons back there) then I believe we wont see much, if any, drop off in our top ranked defense.

Bleedinbluengold · Post by **Bleedinbluengold** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:58 am

Can't say as I would fix anything on D.

I'd like a little better run D, but speed kills, and at this level, speed trumps size. If you get the benefit of both, then great, but those kids are usually I-A.

The biggest obstacle for the D this year is to get to a point where all 11 play as one unit, which is what has worked the last 3 years. I've no doubts that they'll get there, given who our coaches are.

Probably one of the best improvements that could be made on D, is to have an improved O, which keeps the ball for long periods and then scores.

goGriz · Post by **goGriz** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 1:49 pm

What a surprise another post that starts talking about the cats and quickly ends up about the griz. See if you guys can start one thread without talking about the grizzlies and I will be very impressed.

wbtfg · Post by **wbtfg** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 1:54 pm

What a surprise another post that starts talking about the cats and quickly ends up about the griz. See if you guys can start one thread without talking about the grizzlies and I will be very impressed.

Quote please??

Post by **SonomaCat** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:10 pm

Actually, the discussion went to Eastern Washington first, also a significant conference opponent of the Bobcats. You know where the smack board is, don't muck up this board with posts that have nothing to do with the topic and are not intended to advance the prevailing conversation.

BleedsBlue&Gold · Post by **BleedsBlue&Gold** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:59 pm

An interesting post from last spring on the 3-4.

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 6:47 pm

They played a lot of 3-4 last year..especially whenthye had injuries at the D-line