Dominique Easley's Unprecedented Move From Defensive Tackle to Outside Linebacker

LOOKING BACK
By John Turney

As far as we can find it has never happened—an NFL defensive tackle moving to outside linebacker. Now there is a caveat, in 2014 the Patriots Dominique Easley was listed as a defensive end. However, it is a question as to much time he spent on the edge as a rusher.

That matters because players moving from defensive end to outside linebacker and vice versa is commonplace. Scores of players have made that move, in fact, most played both at the same time being 3-4 outside linebackers in base defense and defensive end in nickel and dime (sub defenses).

Here are some stills from 2014 and we can see he was, at times, a de facto outside linebacker/edge rusher—On the first couple of stills he's in a two-point stance on the inside shoulder of the tight end (7-technique):

Here he's at 5-technique on the left side:

Easley, here, is head up on the center:

Easley here is inside eye of the guard (2i) technique:

Here he is at 3-technique, on the outside shoulder of the guard:

He even played several techniques at once:

Starts off and a 2i, then 3, then 4i, then back to 3, to 2i to 3 back to 2 then finally to 3i

In 2015 Easley may have played some outside but in the film, we watched he was inside most (if not all) of the time—usually at three-technique.

With the Rams in 2016 he was used as a defensive tackle in the sub defenses and to spell Aaron Donald at three-technique and he performed well in those roles.

This preseason Easley played some on the edge in nickel but the Rams played so few starters for so few plays it is impossible to get a gage on what they were going to do in sub defenses when the regular season starts.

So, the question is has anyone who was a defensive tackle ever moved to outside linebacker? Well, again, we cannot find it. Randy White, the Cowboys #1 pick in 1975 was a linebacker in training but when he saw the field it was as a defensive tackle in sub defenses or sometimes as a defensive end in those nickel or dime situations. In 1977 the linebacker experiment was finally called off and he moved to defensive tackle permanently.

Aaron Kampman played some defensive tackle for the Packers, often in sub defenses and in 2009 he was moved to outside linebacker in the base and played his usual defensive end in nickel/dime. So there is that which really doesn't fit the criteria.

In all fairness, we have not done exhaustive research on this topic, we are going by memory and as little as we can summon from our minds we are willing to be corrected, but Easley, even though he did play a little as a linebacker and defensive end as a rookie, is the first to make the jump from inside rusher to base outside linebacker. When he does play he will likely play end/edge in nickel and dime with Donald and Suh inside. But we will have to wait and see since the Rams didn't tip much in preseason.

Seventeen Straight: Buffalo's Outstanding Defense of the Mid-1960s

LOOKING BACK

By Jeffrey Miller

The Buffalo Bills of the 1960s possessed one of the greatest defenses in the entire history of the American Football League, if not all of pro football. The Bills’ defense, which drove the team to three consecutive appearances in the AFL championship game (1964-66) and two league championships (1964-65), was a mishmash of young players, veterans and reclamation projects that worked its magic under the direction of a young genius named Joel Collier.  Aside from its impressive record, the Buffalo defense’s greatest bragging point is the incredible streak of 17 straight games it went without giving up an enemy score on the ground.  This article will discuss Buffalo’s great AFL defense and that streak.

The coach in charge of the defensive side of the ball for the Bills during this era was Joel D. Collier, a soft-spoken, bespectacled sort who looked more the part of a lab assistant than a pro football coach.  Collier, who played offensive end at Northwestern University, was a student of the game, beginning his coaching career in 1957 when he joined Lou Saban’s staff at Western Illinois University.  “That was his first job coaching football,” Saban observed.  “He worked day and night.  He was on that film almost all of the time.  That’s where he learned football.”  Collier spent three seasons as an assistant with the Leathernecks before moving with Saban to the Boston Patriots of the newly-formed American Football League in 1960, assuming the role of defensive backs coach.  When Saban became head coach of the Bills in 1962, he brought much of his staff, including Collier, with him to Buffalo. 

Joe Collier

Collier was a mastermind who loved to tinker with formations, blitzes and stunts. The Bills’ defense blossomed under Collier’s watch, and in 1963 it led the team to its first-ever post-season appearance.  By 1964, they were the best in the league. Calling the plays in the defensive huddle was middle linebacker Harry Jacobs, who acted as a coach on the field, or, as he preferred to be called, “the quarterback of the defense.”  Jacobs was a full member of the defensive game-planning team, often studying film alongside Collier and devising schemes that were to be used against upcoming opponents. 

Joe Collier confers with Middle Linebacker

Harry Jacobs prior to the 1965 AFL Title Game.

 “Joe broke films down,” Jacobs recalled. “He was the first person to my knowledge that really worked at breaking down each of the plays so I could see how first, second, third, every down and position, what they use, and then make a choice in that situation on the field.  In order to do that, I had to know what everybody else did.” This allowed Harry full autonomy in the huddle to make all of the defensive calls without need of consultation with the defensive coordinator prior to every play.  If the Bills' defensive record between 1964 and 1966 is any indication, Jacobs was right a heck of a lot more often than he wasn’t. 

“No one ever agrees with the signal caller,” said linebacker Mike Stratton, “and the signal caller was Harry Jacobs.  He called all of the defenses. He very rarely had any input from the sidelines—he called them all from his own perspective. He did an outstanding job at calling the defenses even though the lineman and defensive backs maybe did not agree with the calls because it put some pressure on them.”

The Bills' basic defensive alignment was the 4-3, with Ron McDole and Tom Day on the ends, Jim Dunaway and Tom Sestak at tackle, Mike Stratton at right linebacker, John Tracey at left linebacker, Harry Jacobs in the middle, Butch Byrd and either Charley Warner or Booker Edgerson at the corners, Gene Sykes or Hagood Clark at left (strong) safety, and George Saimes at right (free) safety. On the field, the formation was called "41 Red," which meant 4 man front with man-to-man coverage.

The Bills aligned in their standard 4-3 defense. 

Versus New York Jets at War Memorial Stadium,

October 24, 1964.

 On occasion, the defense would shift into a 3-4 alignment, which they referred to as the “Oklahoma” formation. The Bills were not the only team to use the 3-4, but they tended to go to it more often than other teams of the era (San Diego, for example).  In the Bills’ 3-4, one of the defensive linemen, usually Tom Day but sometimes Ron McDole, would stand up as the fourth linebacker (inside) while Jim Dunaway would move over center.  

Buffalo defense aligned in the 3-4, or "Oklahoma"

defense.  Tom Day (88) has moved to Right Inside

Linebacker, and Jim Dunaway has moved over

Center.  Versus Boston Patriots at War Memorial

Stadium, November 15, 1964.

The Bills in a variation of the 3-4, called

"Oklahoma Inside Up," which featured all

members of the front 7 standing upright at the snap.

Ron McDole (cut off at top) is in at Left

Inside Linebacker.  Versus Miami Dolphins at

War Memorial Stadium, November 10, 1968.

On some occasions, one of the linemen would come out of the game and be replaced by a backup linebacker, usually Paul Maguire, and later Marty Schottenheimer.    

The Bills aligned in the 3-4 defense with Paul

Maguire (55) in at Left Inside Linebacker.  Versus

New York Jets at War Memorial Stadium,

 October 24, 1964.

The Bills in the 3-4 alignment with Marty

Schottenheimer (57) in at Right Inside

Linebacker.  Versus Miami Dolphins at War

Memorial Stadium, November 10, 1968

There were variations, such as splitting a linebacker out to provide double coverage on a wide receiver to knock him off his route. “We had two defenses that Collier had called for,” Jacobs remembered of preparing for the 1965 Title Game rematch with San Diego. “I put two of those defenses together, and Joe said, ‘Go ahead and do that, practice that.’  What we did is we took the two outside linebackers and put them out on the two wide receivers, and that freed the inside up.  And that’s how we shut down Bambi [Lance Alworth].  [The linebackers] didn’t cover him.  They were up there to stop him in his footsteps, so the defensive cornerbacks could cover him real well.  I called that on most third down situations.  And it wasn’t something we’d had before.”

Weak Side Linebacker Mike Stratton split out to

assist with covering enemy Wide Receiver

(Howard Twilley).  Versus Miami Dolphins,

September 18, 1966.

A variation on this variation was the “Sloop,” in which a safety moved outside to support a cornerback.

There were “mad dogs” in which the linebackers would shoot a gap in the defensive line, and “fake mad dogs” in which the linebackers lined up as if intending to shoot the gaps but backing off at the snap. 

“Exits” were line stunts in which a defensive end would loop around the nearby defensive tackle, who slanted out toward the offensive tackle to occupy his block and potentially confuse the offensive guard.  

Defensive End Ron McDole (72) about to perform

a stunt, or "exit" against the New York Jets, 1965.

(Pt 1)

McDole can be seen looping around Defensive

Tackle Jim Dunaway (78), who is slanting across

the line to occupy the Offensive Tackle. 

(Pt 2)

McDole is partially obscured by John  Tracey

(51) but he is now up against New York Right

Guard, while Dunaway is battling the

Offensive Tackle.  This stunt play resulted in a sack

of Jets Quarterback Joe Namath.  At Shea Stadium,

October 30, 1966.

(Pt 3)

One of Jacobs’ favorite calls was the safety blitz, most often performed by George Saimes. When run as planned, the safety blitz is a very disruptive tactic. 

Free Safety George Saimes blitzing New York's

Joe Namath.  At War Memorial Stadium,

November 13, 1966.

PERSONNEL

Starting at the right defensive end was Tom Day.  Originally drafted by the Bills in 1960 as a guard out of North Carolina A&T, he opted to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had selected him in the NFL draft.  He signed with the Bills as a free agent in 1961 and performed well at the right guard position until Saban moved him to the defensive side in 1964. The move certainly paid off. Tom brought quickness and athleticism to the edge and was known for making tackles on the opposite side of the field because of his speed and hustle. These traits allowed the team’s braintrust to occasionally use Day as a fourth linebacker when the Bills switched to a 3-4 alignment.

Defensive End Tom Day

 At right tackle was Tom Sestak, perhaps the defense’s best player. A 17^th-round draft pick out of McNeese in 1962, Sestak was a tight end in college. By the time he showed up for his first Bills training camp, Sestak had beefed up so much he was almost unrecognizable to the scouts who recommended him. On a hunch, head coach Lou Saban offered him to Collier, and the rest is history.  Sestak was selected an AFL All-Star in his rookie season and would be named First-team All-AFL three times, and Second-team three others.  To this day, he is still considered by many historians to be the greatest defensive tackle the team has ever had.

Jim Dunaway (Mississippi) was the left defensive tackle. Listed at 290 pounds, Dunaway was huge for his day and combined his girth with tremendous strength. Those traits were put to good use by Collier, who slid Big Jim every once in a while over to nose tackle in the Bills’ 3-4 alignment.  Dunaway earned his first of four AFL All-Star selections in 1965.

At left defensive end was the foreman of the line, 6-foot, 4-inch, 265-pound Ron McDole from the University of Nebraska. McDole was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL, where he played one season before going to the Houston Oilers of the AFL. After a single season in Houston, the Bills acquired McDole’s rights and he became a cornerstone player. A real hustler, McDole was at times used as an inside linebacker in the Bills’ 3-4 alignment and was very effective when dropping into coverage.  He is credited with 6 interceptions in his 8 seasons with the Bills, still a club record for defensive linemen.

Defensive End Ron McDole

Holding down the left (or strong) side linebacking position was another NFL castoff and former tight end, John Tracey, who set several receiving records while at Texas A&M. The defense’s elder statesman, Tracey began his pro career playing tight end with the Chicago Cardinals in 1959 but was converted to linebacker the following year. After a third NFL season with the Philadelphia in 1961, Tracey joined the Buffalo Bills. He was known for being fast, aggressive and a sure tackler.  He also led the Bills in interceptions in 1963 with 5.   

In the middle was the universally acknowledged “quarterback” of the defense, Harry Jacobs (6-foot, 1-inch, 226 pounds, Bradley University). Jacobs came to Buffalo in 1963 via a trade with the Boston Patriots, where he had played for Saban and Collier in 1960 when they were coaching the Pats.  Often referred to as the Baby-Faced Assassin for his youthful looks, Jacobs pulled a complete Jeckyl-and-Hyde routine once he put his helmet on and entered the playing field.

Middle Linebacker Harry Jacobs

The weak-side linebacker was perennial All-League selection Mike Stratton, a rangy 6-foot, 3-inch, 224-pound former tight end out of Tennessee.  Stratton was a consistent performer on the field who possessed great speed and versatility, being equally adept playing against the run or the pass.  He is perhaps best remembered for applying the “Hit Heard ‘Round the World” on Keith Lincoln in the 1964 AFL Title Game.  He played in his first of 6 AFL All-Star games in 1963.

 Linebacker Mike Stratton

At right corner was rookie George “Butch” Byrd, a bruising 6-foot, 211-pounder out of Boston University.  Byrd was known for his aggressiveness not only while going after enemy aerials (he led the team in interceptions 3 times and still holds the team record for career interceptions with 40), but also going after enemy receivers.  Byrd was one of the most physical corners in pro football back in the day, enjoying the freedom defensive players were given at the time to slam opposing pass catchers as they came off the line of scrimmage.

The left corner position was shared between Charley Warner and Booker Edgerson.  Warner came to the Bills late in 1964 and filled in well when Edgerson was knocked out of action, including picking off a pass in the 1964 championship game against San Diego.  Lightning fast, Warner’s greatest contribution might have been as the team’s first truly great kick returner.  Edgerson resumed his starting role in 1965.  Originally signed as a free agent when Lou Saban took over as coach in 1962, Booker was well known to Saban and Collier since he had played for them at Western Illinois.  Blessed with speed and smarts, Edgerson is acknowledged by most teammates as having been the best man cover cornerback on the team.

Cornerback Booker Edgerson

The strong-side safety position was essentially split between Gene Sykes (1964) and Hagood Clark (1965). Sykes was a 19^th-round pick out Louisiana State in 1963. He picked off 2 passes during the Bills’ first championship season.  In 1965, second-year man Clarke (6-foot, 205 pounds, University of Florida) emerged as the starter, and swiped a team-leading 7 passes during the Bills’ successful defense of the AFL crown.

Strong Safety Hagood Clarke

George Saimes, a 5-foot, 11-inch, 186-pound former halfback out of Michigan State, was the team’s free safety.  After starting the first couple of games of his rookie season (1963) at halfback, Saimes was permanently converted to safety, where he blossomed into one of the best defensive backs in the league by his second year.  He was a fine open-field tackler and always a threat for a safety blitz, inspiring favorable comparisons to St. Louis Cardinals All-World safety Larry Wilson.  After intercepting 6 enemy aerials in ’64, Saimes was named to his first of 5 AFL All-Star games.

Free Safety George Saimes

THE GAMES

When Mack Lee Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs ripped off a 53-yard scoring run against Buffalo on October 18, 1964, it was indeed a significant moment, since it was destined to be the last rushing TD the Bills surrendered for over a year.  The Bills would not be scored against on the ground for the next 17 consecutive games—16 regular season and 1 postseason.

Game 1 – October 24, 1964, versus New York Jets. Bills win 34-24, allowing the Jets’ leading rusher, Bill Mathis just 34 yards on 12 carries.

Game 2 – November 1, 1964, versus Houston Oilers. Bills win 24-10. The Oilers leading rusher was Charley Tolar, who gained a paltry 32 yards on 13 carries. 

Game 3 – November 8, 1964, at New York Jets.  Bills win, 20-7. The defense is nearly impenetrable in holding Bill Mathis to 16 yards on 7 carries and Matt Snell to 15 yards on 6 carries!  The Jets as a team managed to gain 31 total rushing yards in this contest, the lowest amount given up during the streak.

Game 4 – November 15, 1964, versus Boston Patriots. Bills lose, 36-28, but no one could blame the defense!  Boston rusher were stymied at every turn, with Larry Garron pacing the Pats with 21 yards on 10 rushes.  Despite giving up 240 yards and five touchdowns through the air, the Bills picked off quarterback Babe Parilli 3 times. 

Game 5 – November 26, 1964, at San Diego Chargers.  Bills win 27-24. The Chargers’ top runner was Keith Lincoln with 34 yards on 8 carries.

Game 6 – December 6, 1964, at Oakland Raiders. Raiders win 16-13.  The Bills gave up 56 yards on 13 carries to Clem Daniels, but still did not allow a rusher to reach the end zone.

Game 7 – December 13, 1964, at Denver Broncos. Bills win 30-19. A total domination as the Bills allow Denver fullback a lousy 18 yards on 7 carries. 

Game 8 – December 20, 1964, at Boston Patriots.  Bills win24-14. Boston’s leading rusher was Larry Garron, who managed just 26 yards on 8 attempts.

Game 9 – December 26, 1964, AFL Title Game versus San Diego Chargers. Buffalo wins, 20-7. Bills hold the Chargers to 134 total rushing yards, undeniably attributable to Mike Stratton knocking San Diego's star fullback Keith Lincoln out in the first quarter with the tackle known to history as the “Hit Heard ‘Round the World.”

Mike Stratton takes out San Diego's Keith

Lincoln with the "Hit Heard 'Round the World."

AFL Title Game, War Memorial Stadium,

December 26, 1964.

Game 10 – September 11, 1965, season opener versus Boston Patriots. Buffalo wins 24-7. Boston’s top rusher this day was quarterback Babe Parilli, who managed 71 yards on 7 carries while running for his life.  Jim Nance, the Patriots’ main running threat, picked up just 17 yards on 9 carries! The Bills defense also picked off Parilli 5 times.

Game 11 – September 19, 1965, at Denver Broncos.  Bills win, 30-15.  The tough Buffalo defenders were on a mission, holding former Bills running back Cookie Gilchrist to just 26 yards on 12 carries.  The Broncos were held to a total of 69 yards rushing on the day.

Game 12 – September 26, 1965, versus New York Jets.  Bills win 33-21. The Bills held the Jets to 44 yards on the ground, with Matt Snell leading the Jets charge with 31.

Game 13 – October 3, 1965, versus Oakland Raiders.  Bills win, 17-12. Clem Daniels ekes out 55 yards on 16 carries, but it didn’t matter. In fact, the Raiders managed a meager 159 yards of total offense in this laugher.

Game 14 – October 10, 1965, at San Diego Chargers.  Chargers win 34-3. The Bills were crushed in the rematch of the previous year’s championship game, giving up 369 yards and 3 TDs via the pass.  But the ground defense held firm, a holding the Chargers rushing leaders, Paul Lowe, to just 37 yards on19 carries.

Game 15 – October 17, 1965, at Kansas City Chiefs.  Bills win 23-0. Mack Lee Hill gained just 36 yards on 8 carries while Curtis McClinton gained 28 yards on 10 lugs.

Game 16 – October 24, 1965, versus Denver Broncos.  Bills win 31-13. Cookie Gilchrist made his return to War Memorial Stadium and picked up 87 yards on 21 rushes, but he didn’t find the end zone!

Buffalo's defense extends its unbelievable string

to 16 games at War Memorial Stadium, versus

Denver Broncos, October 24, 1965.  Former Bill

Cookie Gilchrist (2) carries as Buffalo's John

Tracey (51), Hagood Clarke (45) and Ron

McDole (72) close in.

Game 17 – October 31, 1965, versus Houston Oilers.  Oilers win, 19-17.  The Oilers churned out 124 yards on the ground—the highest regular-season total the Bills allowed during the streak—but the goal line remained undisturbed. 

The streak came to an end against the Boston Patriots on November 7, 1965, when J.D. Garrett scored from I yard out. The Bills went 13-4 during that span, scored 398 points (23.4 per game) and allowed 285 (16.8 per game). The funny thing is that the team did even better in those two championship seasons in the 13 games before and after the streak. Combined, Buffalo recorded an 11-1-1 mark in the 13 non streak games, averaging 30.2 points per game and giving up just 14.6.

The run of 17 straight games without giving up a rushing touchdown is a record (going back to 1940) that still stands. The streak was threatened by the Chicago Bears great defense of 1986-87, but they only managed to get to 16 games.  Long live the Streak!

Bears Give Up Most Draft Capital Ever for a Defensive Player?

LOOKING BACK
By John Turney

Here is what is being reported on the Khalil Mack trade: The Bears gave up two 1st round draft picks (in 2019 and 2020), a 3rd round pick in 2020 and a 6th round pick in 2019. In return, the Bears also received s a 2nd round pick in 2020 and a conditional 5th round pick in 2020.

The Bears also rewarded Mack by making him the highest-paid defensive in NFL history with a six-year, $141 million deal with $90 million guaranteed (an average of $23.5 million) which eclipsed what the Rams paid Aaron Donald the day before.

So, the net result is just about two 1st round picks. The other picks, in essence, amount to making the deal more palatable for the Bears. We won't know the final draft chart count until the draft orders are known, but we see it as simply two 1sts.

Rich Cimini Tweeted that these are the players traded for two 1st rounders:

 Adam Schefter Tweeted this:

We have to give Shefty the benefit of the doubt, (he may be speaking only of the salary cap era). We do that because there are some examples of when teams gave up more for a defensive player, although not all were direct trades.

In 1975 the Redskins gave two 1st rounders and a 2nd rounder as compensation for Dave Butz who signed with the Redskins (leaving the Cardinals) as a free agent in the mini-free agent era of the 1970s. 

In 1987 the Colts traded away the rights to holdout rookie Cornelius Bennett (a #1 draft choice) to Buffalo for Greg Bell and the Bills' first-round draft picks in 1988 and 1989 and their 2nd pick in 1989. 

The Colts then sent all those picks and Bell together with their own 1st round draft pick in 1988, their 2nd rounders in 1988 and 1989  Owen Gill, to the Los Angeles Rams, who sent  Eric Dickerson off to Indianapolis.

Likely because of its complexity this trade is never remembered as the Bills giving up two #1s and a #2 and Greg Bell for Cornelius Bennett. It's always remembered more as three #1s and three #2s plus a fullback and a running back for Dickerson.

In 1988 the Colts shipped a pair of 1st rounders to Seattle for Pro Bowl linebacker Fredd Young, as Cimini correctly mentioned.

Going way back in 1974 the Eagles shipped a pair of 1st rounders and a 2nd rounder for Bill Bergey and that worked out well for both teams.

And in the same category as Dave Butz, the Raiders, in 1975, signed Ted Hendricks and the compensation sent to the Packers was two 1st rounders. So, again, not technically a trade but for all intents and purposes it was a trade—Al Davis valued Hendricks as being worth two #1 picks.

Another trade often overlooked is the two #1s sent from the Panthers to the Redskins for compensation for Sean Gilbert.  Gilbert was given the "franchise" tag by the Redskins but didn't want to sign for that designated amount so essentially a deal was worked out, the Panthers signed him and the compensation was the two high draft picks. Again, not a trade, but a deal for a player deemed to have two 1st round pick value.

In 1988 the Redskins signed restricted free agent Wilber Marshall from Bears to a 5-year, $6 million contract and the Bears received two #1s as compensation. Again, not really a trade, but when there is compensation it's the same as a trade it's just the player gets to decide where to go and the compensation is set by the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA but there is no doubt that Marshall was valued as being worth two 1st round selections.

So, the Mack trade is definitely rare but under different iterations of the CBA and loose definition of free-agent signings that were de facto trades, it wasn't unprecedented.

But it is interesting in that the Raiders moved to a purer 4-3 defense this year and the Bears run something more similar to what the Raiders have been using in the last few years. Would it make sense to play Mack as a linebacker in a 4-3? Or as a defensive end in the Tampa/Vikings style 4-3? With the Bears, he fits perfectly as a linebacker in the 30 and as a nickel end in the 40 sub defenses.

Sure, Mack could fit in the 4-3 great players can get it done, but would he still be great? Sure Lawrence Taylor or Andre Tippett or Von Miller could play either a 40 linebacker or 40 end, but does it suit their skills? Wouldn't it be better to use them and their "joker" skills (ironically a Jon Gruden term) in a defensive like the Bears? (Also, yes Miller was a 40 linebacker in base and a 40 DE in nickel with the Broncos before they switched to a 3-4, Miller one of the few ever to do that). 

Anyway, we will see if perhaps scheme fit was part of the equations for the Raiders, along with money and the compensation.