The Dungy 'D' can be done dirt cheap
This is the way rabbits take over a neighborhood. First you see one, then you see five. Next thing you know they are everywhere and you can't protect your vegetables.
Three of the most effective defensive teams in the NFL this season -- the Bears, Colts and Bucs -- used "Dungy Defenses." Three more teams -- the Vikings, Lions and Bills -- will employ Dungy's principles next season.
The Vikings might not be running the scheme if not for the success the Bears had with it. New Minnesota coach Brad Childress says he believes running the Dungy Defense will be particularly beneficial in the NFC North, where the Bears are kings. "What better way to prepare for it than practice against it every day?" Childress says.
And Childress believes running the Dungy Defense should be as problematic for opposing offenses as it will be beneficial for the Vikings' offense. Childress is accustomed to game-planning against the Dungy "D," having faced a version of the scheme 11 times in the past six seasons. "It does give you some problems," he says. "It's disruptive on the outside routes with all the two-deep (coverage) they play."
The Dungy Defense is being duplicated mostly because the teams that have used it have had success with it. It helps that the scheme is easy to learn. Rookies can acclimate faster (see Bears safety Chris Harris). Veterans can step in quickly (see Colts defensive tackle Corey Simon). "It's simple," Lions president Matt Millen says. "If it's done right, you clean up all the gray area. You get everything defined so there are fewer questions for guys to answer. They know where they fit. They know what their responsibilities are."
The Bears play eight-man fronts on running downs. They drop into cover 2 on passing downs. They run only five coverages from their base defense: cover 2 and cover 3, which they play about 70 percent of the time, zone blitz and two forms of man (cover 1 and all-out blitz). In the nickel, they use four coverages.
Chicago runs three blitzes from its standard package and three from its nickel package. The Bears blitzed in passing situations only about 14 percent of the time this season, though they also run blitzed about 14 percent of the time. The key for Chicago's defense isn't the volume of blitzes, it's the timing. Coordinator Ron Rivera makes them count.
The streamlined approach has resulted in rapid growth in the two years coach Lovie Smith has been in charge of the Bears. "Our inventory as a defensive unit is small enough to where we are able to practice our base stuff every week," linebackers coach Bob Babich says. "And every week, no matter who we're playing, we're able to get better at those things." The more comfortable the Bears are with their responsibilities, the faster they play.
Players warm to the scheme because it allows them to cut it loose with a minimal amount of deliberation. "You get enthusiasm, you get people flying to the ball, those kinds of things," Colts president Bill Polian says.
And that, in Millen's mind, is the key. "It's not what you're doing; it's how you're doing it," he says. "What Tampa has created success with is not the coverage. It's not the concept. It's that they get everybody busting their (butts) to get where they have to go. That's the thing."
Finding players to fit a Dungy Defense can be easy, but the Vikings, Lions and Bills likely will be in a transition phase next season. They'll probably need to weed out -- or slim down -- some of their overstuffed linemen and find faster linebackers.
Corners for man-to-man schemes can be impossible to find, but corners for this scheme are as easy to come by as junk mail. They don't have to have imposing size, top speed or outstanding man-to-man coverage skills. All they need are instinct, discipline and toughness. The Bears' Nathan Vasher is a perfect example of a corner who might not fare well in some schemes, but he made the Pro Bowl playing for Smith.
The Dungy Defense isn't for everybody. But if it's run correctly, it sure can be hard on opponents' vegetables.
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Originally Posted by ACfromtheD
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