He's still running the 3-4, correct? I mean, I know it's a 3-4 but it doesn't look like a 3-4 most of the time when he's got LB's lined up with their hands in the dirt and all that.
Is the NT and DE's the problem here, or is it the LB's?
the rush LB doesn't play with a hand in the dirt.
"problem" is maybe not the term I'd use, but for this particular ailment, it's the entire front 4. They're great at run stuffing, and they're great two-gappers, when Aranda lets the LBs work to that end behind them. The issue is Aranda keeps prefers to use his LBs in other ways most of the time, the rush LB basically has one move and doesn't often beat a tackle, let alone demand a double team, and the 3 down linemen just aren't the type to shed blocks and penetrate the backfield. They're much more of the occupy blockers ilk. This just isn't a front 4 that's going to cause a lot of disruption by themselves, which is what we've been seeing the last 2+ years.
The NT did push the pocket back very well most of last night. Aranda kept taking him out of the game on 3rd and long. It was infuriating. He'd be a driving force between two good defensive plays, then he'd come out, Florida would convert.
The unit looks best to me when Aranda blitzes a LB or a safety from tricky angles or uses well designed stunts. The front 4 eats so much space that those other guys have a lot of room to work. It's just not something we do much. Me personally, if a team like Florida is going to eat us up in man coverage anyway, I'd rather go straight man, let our great DBs earn their schollys, and let the front 7 attack more. In a game like last night's, it really couldn't go any worse. Our coverage was good and we made tackles, so if they're gonna hit completions anyway and we limit the damage, I'd rather take more chances on getting negative plays since the risk of attacking more is something we were pretty much experiencing anyway. Indeed, when Aranda finally took some chances, we got a few key stops.