10 - 12 Yard Cushions!!!!

VS Kansas City

33 Defensive Snaps in the 1st half

Reviewing all outside CB snaps

CB1 Lined Up:
~1-2 yards off: 15 times
~3-5 yards off: 3 times
~6-8 yards off: 9 times
~9-12 yards off: 6 times (more than 10 yards off only once)
Average depth ~ 5 yards

CB2 Lined Up:
~1-2 yards off: 9 times
~3-5 yards off: 3 times
~6-8 yards off: 12 times
~9-12 yards off: 7 times
Average depth ~6 yards

Which myth should we debunk next?

 

Andy Reid runs a West Coast Offense that perfectly suits Alex Smith. His release time is among the lowest in the NFL year after year.

They absolutely had to tighten up their CB/WR coverage. Down and distance also effects this as well.

I think with them playing tighter press coverage this game gave their CB valuable experience.

Cajun

 

It looked good to me ,I didn't see the constant huge cushions they seemed to be playing before...It would be nice to see the breakdown from the Eagles game ? It seemed they got closer as the game went on...

 

That's just your mind playing tricks on you. When the Steelers play well, you see tight coverage. When they get whooped by Philly you see cushions. When in fact the distribution between those two games was nearly identical.

 

That's an odd comment... it's commonly understood that the Lebeau fire zone blitz was designed to combat the west coast offense.

Ross Cockrell has been gaining valuable experience since last year. This is not some new phenomenon (man coverage), it started a while ago. Fans are just slow to catch up, because the only thing they notice is the 6 times there's a 10 yard cushion.

 

There's plenty of truth in what you wrote. There's a lot of myths that go around without any fact checking. When facts are brought to the table well.....

 

I agree it's over exaggerated by fans. I think what aggravates fans is when it's 3rd and 5 and the CB is playing 10 yards off.
Even if it works most times fans just don't like that style of play.

Personally I don't care what they do as long as it works and we win.

 

The cushion ranting is stupid because it never takes in to consideration core components of the play (formation, coverage call, opponents tendencies, strengths, etc), but still it implies that the observer is smarter than the coaches.

"Oh my god the opponent got a first down! Tomlin is such a bad coach. Because Cushions."

 

I agree 100%.

 

The real question is, what are the stats on 3rd down? Furthermore if you are 5 yards back and it's 3rd and 3 it's still crazy.

 

Indeed. The whole "cushion" narrative is generally overblown.


Getting a first has a lot more to do with what is happening pre play and during the play than anything else.

 

No it's not, but thanks for making my point clear.

 

oh no

 

THats exactly what I was gonna say. 3rd and 5 with 6 yd+ cushion, or 3rd and 2 with the same amount of cushion... Generally applying to all 6 times its aligned that way lol. Crazy I tell ya

 

Yes it is stupid the majority of the time, but situationally, it is mind numbing for a DB to play a few yds off on a 3rd and short. I get the OLB is supposedly supposed to drop to cut off a slant route etc... But it doesn't usually work out that way for us especially when the dinkin dunk nuts are throwing those passes.

 

Against kc, the coverage was tighter, I agree. But against philly it was completely stupid! The eagles had a great game plan for us...Quick hitters, and quick outs, on way too soft of coverage. They didn't have wentz hold the ball to go deep at all, that I remember. That's what was bothering me in that game. You see them ripping off quick throws with ease, and nothing was done to counter it.

 

Well I guess we've all been crazy this whole time. I guess all the other games where an enormous cushion has been blatantly clear are now wiped from the pages of history by this one game. I stand corrected. LOL! I guess Ben Franklin was right when he said "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see". I never realized that the defensive gameplan we used against KC was the same exact defensive gameplan that we used against every other team. Especially teams that pounded us in to oblivion. Weird how it worked against KC but failed miserably against Philly. Although since the cushion has never actually existed I guess I never had anything to complain about. All of you people that believe in the cushion are complete idiots and this one game proves that it has never existed. Also that one time that Mendy was in the backfield on 3rd and short means that we never went empty backfield on third and short. Also that one game that Deuce Staley played in proves that it's a myth that he was often injured. There are so many things that one game can prove. I guess I just never thought of it.

 

tendencies play a big role. formations play a big role. slot receivers or not. pick potential or not. does a team run a lot of short slants and picks ( NE) all this gives the appearence of guys playing off at times but it's used a lot to give our DB's clearance to operate and not get rubbed or picked off.

 

Actually the KC game proves that we never have allowed a lot of space for wideouts. That one game totally debunks the myth. It's also a myth that our passing defense was ranked almost dead last last year and has been slipping for the past few. Oh. Wait. No, it's not. Buuuuuuut anyway. Hopefully we can get a thread going soon explaining how that it's actually a myth that our passing defense has went down in the rankings. That one game against KC totally proves that we've always played tight coverage. That one game. Ya know? That...one...game... Ya...know?

 

Actually it's never used. That one game against KC proves that we've never used a cushion. Never. Didn't you watch that one game mac?

 

Actually Tomlin is a really awesome coach and this one game against KC totally proves it. I've literally never criticized him because I don't feel I'm qualified to do so. I'm not a pro coach and never have been. Although, ironically, I'm TOTALLY qualified to say that he's the greatest coach of all time and is beyond reproach.

 

Im here for the cushions