Five Linebacker Defensive Formation vs. Bears

[pec0sb0b]

After the Texans drafted Whitney Mercilus in the first round Wade Phillips mentioned he might field five linebackers at some point this season. When I read the quote by Phillips after the draft, I wondered how this formation might work and it was discussed a couple of times in the following months on this board.
Wade Phillips did just that on Sunday night against the Bears. Micheal Wilbon mentioned it in his column on ESPN. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story...eady-nfl-elite

Houston's defense was so unconcerned with the Bears running game the Texans took a defensive back off the field and replaced him with a linebacker to crowd the line and stone Forte. Those who expected Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to crush Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice were right on the money. Tice has never seemed more in over his head. Those waiting for Tice's adjustment to the adjustment were, well, waiting.

I'm going to assume he meant to write that the Texans' defense was so unconcerned with the Bears' passing game...

I've not heard of a defense that uses five linebackers except the 3-4 Eagle, but that formation substitutes a linebacker for the nose tackle, not a defensive back. I believe I saw five linebackers on the field on the fourth down and one in the first quarter when Quin forced Bush to fumble, but it's hard to pick out all the player numbers because of the camera angles. Perhaps we may see an all-22 breakdown later this week.

[dsorc]

Originally Posted by pec0sb0b

After the Texans drafted Whitney Mercilus in the first round Wade Phillips mentioned he might field five linebackers at some point this season. When I read the quote by Phillips after the draft, I wondered how this formation might work and it was discussed a couple of times in the following months on this board.
Wade Phillips did just that on Sunday night against the Bears. Micheal Wilbon mentioned it in his column on ESPN. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story...eady-nfl-elite



I'm going to assume he meant to write that the Texans' defense was so unconcerned with the Bears' passing game...

I've not heard of a defense that uses five linebackers except the 3-4 Eagle, but that formation substitutes a linebacker for the nose tackle, not a defensive back. I believe I saw five linebackers on the field on the fourth down and one in the first quarter when Quin forced Bush to fumble, but it's hard to pick out all the player numbers because of the camera angles. Perhaps we may see an all-22 breakdown later this week.

They used this formation often, namely whenever the Bears used a 2TE-2Back set. From what I saw, they took Kareem out placed Joseph on Marshall and Quin on the opposite side. For the LBers, Mercilus came in outside of Reed and usually at the LOS while Reed stayed on that side but in a more traditional 4-3 LB spot.

[bo orlando]

seeing barwin frequently dropping back into coverage, including covering down the field on the decisive defensive play in the 4th, was a trip. wade is certainly a rare coach.

[76Texan]

Rex Ryan uses a lot of LBs.
Against the Texans a few years ago, I had noted in one of the game break down threads that there were times that he only had one D-lineman on the field.

[Double Barrel]

Rex uses a version of his dad's 46 defense, which leans very heavy on the blitz. Instead of dropping the safety, Rex & his brother mix it up with another LB instead. The 46 likes to put outside LBs on the same side, usually the strong side.

[ThaShark316]

I saw this a ton last year, as well.