nfl.com
By Steve Wyche Published: Jan. 30, 2011 at 09:27 p.m.
Great article and past the click Steve Wyche has quotes from Marvin Lewis detailing the process that went into the creation of the Blitzburgh defense, one of the keys to implementing the defense, which participant in Superbowl XLV exemplifies that key, and a first hand account by Lewis about priorities that kept one of the men he worked with from coaching sooner even though he was ready to begin his career.quote:"We're friends. We're definitely friends," LeBeau said about meeting Capers in the Super Bowl. "(We're) two defensive coaches, two Ohio boys, and we like to pressure the quarterback."
"Very unique guy when you look at what he's done and what that defense has done," Capers said of LeBeau. "They've been the standard bearer really of the defense. If you look at him over the last 18, 19 years and probably put their collective stats together, I don't think anybody can compare with him."
They aren't mirror images, however. The Packers secondary -- particularly the cornerbacks -- is more productive, while the Steelers' linebackers form arguably the most fearsome unit in the NFL. Each defense has its own style, but those styles come from the minds of two men who can create from the same baseline they helped set in motion together years ago.
"Things evolved and grew as we went along," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Pittsburgh's linebackers coach with Capers and LeBeau. "The thing about it is the ability for Dom as the coordinator to recognize the impact that we could have with (the zone blitz). Dick had used various components of it in previous stops. Bill (Cowher) as the head coach, put his stamp of approval on it and allowed us to take it and run with it.
Lewis says it is Capers who designed most of the components of the 3-4 and the zone blitz, but LeBeau who helped design the coverages, which in turn led to a meeting of the minds regarding the blitz packages. So much was involved that synchronicity at all levels of the defense was paramount to make it work. continue
