Once again I am confused about newer terminology in the game I have been watching for almost 50 years. This is about Will Anderson Jr and his POSITION. I watch and he lines up on the outside of a 4 man front. I learned this position as Defensive Tackle with Defensive Guards inside of them. Later the position was called Defensive End and the Defensive Linemen between them were called Defensive Tackles whether one over center or two between C and G. Then they come up with the term Edge which appears to be more about responsibility than position and they call WAJ an Outside Linebacker. I realize things have changed from when I donned the helmets with ear muffs and played two ways at RG wearing number 13, but can't we at least TRY to retain some of the nomenclature? DBs include Safeties and Corners. There are usually 4 with a 5th being a nickle and a 6th being a dime. Base D includes DL (hands on the dirt) and LB (hands not on the dirt) and there are usually 7. How the hell do you call a guy who lines up with his hand on the dirt on the outside of the DL an OLB?
I think of it more as Defensive END. And Edge stands for edge rusher (which is his responsibility). It’s an outside linebacker when you play a 3-4 and only have 3 linemen down (2 DE and a Nose Tackle) and an OLB that becomes the 4th every once in a while but also drops in coverage as well as 2 MLBs and another OLB that is strictly coverage.. I think we play a 4-3 with 2 DT’s (collins and rankins) and 2 DE (WAJ and Greenard) along with 1 MLB and 2 OLBs that work in coverage and blitz gaps. I think.. I am in no way an expert, nor am I positive.
I also think the reason for all the changes is because players these days can do a lot more in regards to positions and responsibilities.. so they recreated titles based on what they do and to better reflect their roles.
I understand positional versatility and flexibility with roles, but I just don't like the mix and match terminology. Heck, I loved it when JJ would play TE on the Goal Line. That was positional versatility. But you wouldn't call him a TE on your roster. But thanks for responding to my overnight rant.
I honestly think it has a lot to do with free agency. When teams tag players, they get a contract that is benchmarked against the other players playing their position. The 3-4 OLBs who got sacks wanted to get paid like 4-3 DEs and not 4-3 OLBs, so the compromise was to call them edge rushers (who also have responsibility to "set the edge").
