Nice piece by Steve Milton in regards to what to expect form Chamblin’s defence, and what Marcel wanted a change in defensive philosophy.
[url=http://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/article/543068--ticat-defence-looking-to-im-press]http://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/ar ... o-im-press[/url]Marshall played a bend-don’t-break system based primarily on zone pass coverage and driving fans crazy. It was very effective most of the time, but too often at the end of tight games Cat defenders were letting short passes be caught in front of them in their zone and the game would bleed away through a thousand tiny cuts.That said, Marshall was also working with what he had. Which wasn’t enough, especially to play man-to-man defence. You’ll notice that one starting linebacker and a couple of defensive backs are no longer in the fold, because Marcel Bellefeuille and Bob O’Billovich knew what defensive strategy lay ahead.
They wanted more pressure from the defence, more aggressiveness and, yes, more risk taking. And they hired the guy who would coach it up for them.
Chamblin arrives here from his post as defensive backfield coach in Calgary. His Stamps — consider Dwight Anderson and Brandon Bower — reeked of ball-hawking aggression. They played mostly man-to-man, challenged hard and sometimes got beaten. And when you get beaten in man-to-man it usually changes the scoreboard.