that's so ravens

Ever since Mike Macdonald arrived, and continuing into Jesse Minter, I've been throwing around the term "Amoeba Defense" in reference to Michigan's disguised fronts and coverages. I probably should get into what that means, and how they're using it. The concept is actually a suite of ideas that are old and ubiquitous at all levels of football:

1. Hybrid defenders.
2. Zone blitzes.
3. Pre-snap motion.

This is not original. It's the thing Jerry Sandusky was most known for before the other thing. It's what Dick LeBeau made his Hall of Fame career on. It's what Michigan ran as its base defense the last time we imported a Ravens defensive assistant in 2011-'12. Bob Davie is credited with coming up with it when trying to counter the Run 'n Shoot. Even without the talent disparity, the Amoeba's origins made it particularly well-suited to combat an Air Raid run by Hal Mumme's son in Game 1, let alone a Run 'n Shoot coached by a June Jones quarterback (who until last year was coaching under Hal Mumme's son) in Game 2.

It has been my assertion that Michigan dipped its toes in Amoeba world last year, then shelved it for two reasons:

1. David Ojabo emerged as an elite old-school pass-rusher, which is still the best way to get pressure if you can find it.
2. Vincent Gray and Brad Hawkins were savvy zone defenders with speed limitations.

It's too early in 2022 to say Minter's going to run this stuff all year, but it's at least being deployed more often that Macdonald used it last year pre-Ojabo breakout. Why now? What do they need to keep using it when the talent curve turns? Let's investigate.