Rozelle
Moderator
The Boley player spotlight inspired this thread. While reading up on Mr. Boley, I noticed him listed as a BLB in NFL Gamebook. I thought it was strange to have him listed like that in a 4-3. Why does Atlanta list hjm as a BLB and not a SLB?
“Elephant” is another term used, the way I understand it is ... it’s basically a DE in a 4-3 and OLB in 3-4. Hearing the term “Elephant”, you immediately think of Charles Haley.
This kinda stuff is right up Jene’s alley, he’’ll be able to shed more light on this.
Here’s a brief and basic description from Wikipedia
Strongside linebacker
The strongside linebacker (SLB) is often nicknamed "Sam" for purposes of calling a blitz. Since the strong side of the offensive team is the side on which the tight end lines up, the strongside linebacker usually lines up across from the tight end. Often the strongside linebacker will be called upon to tackle the running back on a play, because the back will be following the tight end's block. He is most often the strongest linebacker, at the least he possess the ability to withstand, shed, and fight off blocks from a TE or (in passing situations) an FB blocking the backside of a pass play.
Weakside linebacker
The weakside linebacker (WLB), or "Will", must be the fastest of the three, because he is often the one called into pass coverage. He is also usually chasing the play from the backside, so the ability to maneuver through traffic is a necessity for Will. Will usually aligns off the line of scrimmage at the same depth as Mike. Due to his position on the weakside, Will does not often have to face large interior linemen one on one unless one is pulling. In coverage, Will often covers the back that attacks his side of the field first in man coverage, while covering the weak flat or hook/curl areas in zone coverage. In a 3-4 defense the "Will" Linebacker plays on the "weakside" of the two middle Linebacker positions and a 4th Linebacker comes in to play the weakside. Known as a "Rush", "Rover", and/or "Buck" Linebacker, their responsibility is more pass rush based but often is called into run stop (gap control) and pass coverage.
Middle/Inside linebacker
Typically the middle linebacker (MLB), or "Mike", is responsible for calling the defensive play and communicating with the coach. The middle linebacker's primary responsibility is to be the lead tackler and shut down the opposition's running attack. In some defenses, Mike is responsible for a specific gap, while in others he's given more freedom. Due to his position directly over the ball, Mike must be able to effectively shed blocks coming from interior linemen but must also possess the range and speed to cover backs and shut down wide runs. Intense aggressiveness is often a desirable characteristic in a middle linebacker as hesitation of any duration can be fatal at this position. In the 3-4 defense, there are 2 different inside linebackers that occupy the middle, therefore the one closer to the strong side is called the "Mike", while the weak side is called "Will" and less often "Buck" or "Jack". Also Middle and Inside linebackers are known as LILB or RILB, which stands for Left Inside Linebacker and Right Inside Linebacker. This just depends on whether or not a linebacker is put in for the Middle Linebacker position when they usually play Outside Linebacker.
Here’s is a Rover description from an experienced High School coach …
It is not usually referred to as the Rover anymore, as defenses have evolved. In past years (several decades ago) a rover was a strong safety in a 5 scheme ( 5 man line) -- which made him a hybrid linebacker/defensive back.
For example, in a 5-2 Monster Defense, the Rover was the "monster". You had a 5 man line and 2 LBs, and the rover/strong safety/monster (or "The Wolfman" as he was known in Joe Paterno's defense of the late 60's/early 70's at Penn State) might line up on the offense's strong side, or on the wide side of the field, or in a position to "key" on the offenses top performer and go wherever he went.
In an older version of the 4-3 defense, the Rover was generally a defensive back who would rotate in a zone to come up and support on runing plays and cover the flats on passing plays.
However, in the 4-3, while the Rover was a DB, the Monster was the Middle Linebacker.
You can still find a "Rover" at the high school & small-college level, but not much any longer in major colleges.
Many of us think of Brian Urlacher when we hear Rover. He played the "Lobo" position, (a LB/DB hybrid) at New Mexico, a rover who created havoc everywhere. I believe Roy Williams played a similar role at Texas.
“Elephant” is another term used, the way I understand it is ... it’s basically a DE in a 4-3 and OLB in 3-4. Hearing the term “Elephant”, you immediately think of Charles Haley.
This kinda stuff is right up Jene’s alley, he’’ll be able to shed more light on this.
Here’s a brief and basic description from Wikipedia
Strongside linebacker
The strongside linebacker (SLB) is often nicknamed "Sam" for purposes of calling a blitz. Since the strong side of the offensive team is the side on which the tight end lines up, the strongside linebacker usually lines up across from the tight end. Often the strongside linebacker will be called upon to tackle the running back on a play, because the back will be following the tight end's block. He is most often the strongest linebacker, at the least he possess the ability to withstand, shed, and fight off blocks from a TE or (in passing situations) an FB blocking the backside of a pass play.
Weakside linebacker
The weakside linebacker (WLB), or "Will", must be the fastest of the three, because he is often the one called into pass coverage. He is also usually chasing the play from the backside, so the ability to maneuver through traffic is a necessity for Will. Will usually aligns off the line of scrimmage at the same depth as Mike. Due to his position on the weakside, Will does not often have to face large interior linemen one on one unless one is pulling. In coverage, Will often covers the back that attacks his side of the field first in man coverage, while covering the weak flat or hook/curl areas in zone coverage. In a 3-4 defense the "Will" Linebacker plays on the "weakside" of the two middle Linebacker positions and a 4th Linebacker comes in to play the weakside. Known as a "Rush", "Rover", and/or "Buck" Linebacker, their responsibility is more pass rush based but often is called into run stop (gap control) and pass coverage.
Middle/Inside linebacker
Typically the middle linebacker (MLB), or "Mike", is responsible for calling the defensive play and communicating with the coach. The middle linebacker's primary responsibility is to be the lead tackler and shut down the opposition's running attack. In some defenses, Mike is responsible for a specific gap, while in others he's given more freedom. Due to his position directly over the ball, Mike must be able to effectively shed blocks coming from interior linemen but must also possess the range and speed to cover backs and shut down wide runs. Intense aggressiveness is often a desirable characteristic in a middle linebacker as hesitation of any duration can be fatal at this position. In the 3-4 defense, there are 2 different inside linebackers that occupy the middle, therefore the one closer to the strong side is called the "Mike", while the weak side is called "Will" and less often "Buck" or "Jack". Also Middle and Inside linebackers are known as LILB or RILB, which stands for Left Inside Linebacker and Right Inside Linebacker. This just depends on whether or not a linebacker is put in for the Middle Linebacker position when they usually play Outside Linebacker.
Here’s is a Rover description from an experienced High School coach …
It is not usually referred to as the Rover anymore, as defenses have evolved. In past years (several decades ago) a rover was a strong safety in a 5 scheme ( 5 man line) -- which made him a hybrid linebacker/defensive back.
For example, in a 5-2 Monster Defense, the Rover was the "monster". You had a 5 man line and 2 LBs, and the rover/strong safety/monster (or "The Wolfman" as he was known in Joe Paterno's defense of the late 60's/early 70's at Penn State) might line up on the offense's strong side, or on the wide side of the field, or in a position to "key" on the offenses top performer and go wherever he went.
In an older version of the 4-3 defense, the Rover was generally a defensive back who would rotate in a zone to come up and support on runing plays and cover the flats on passing plays.
However, in the 4-3, while the Rover was a DB, the Monster was the Middle Linebacker.
You can still find a "Rover" at the high school & small-college level, but not much any longer in major colleges.
Many of us think of Brian Urlacher when we hear Rover. He played the "Lobo" position, (a LB/DB hybrid) at New Mexico, a rover who created havoc everywhere. I believe Roy Williams played a similar role at Texas.
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It can be a confusing mess, for the most part. With a few exceptions (i.e. Rush, Rover, etc), the designations don't have much to do with the responsibility of the player. From what I've been able to piece together over time, most of the names don't have any great story behind them. There are some interesting stories that get fit to the names after the fact, but the names are just shorter terms to make the playbook and on-field teaching easier. And, depending on the playbook, one name can mean more than one positional responsibility.
. Anyway, Boley got a lot of snaps away from the TE last year -- at least he did in the MNF game I saw the Falcons play, the only extended look I got at them last year. They may have been a ROLB-LOLB team last year. Zimmer didn't do that with Nguyen and Coakley as I recall, though, and the local Cincinnati media seem to think Rivers and Jeanty are dedicated weak-strong starters, so I don't know how to speculate about what happened all year long in Atlanta last year. I think Boley's all-around ability helped him when he played on the strong side, but I'll bet that he got a lot of snaps as the WLB based on what I saw on MNF and that carried his stats as much as anything.
