Saturday, February 18, 2012

Coaching staff rundown: defensive line coach Mike Waufle


Mike Waufle is expected to be named the Rams' defensive line coach when Jeff Fisher announces all of the coaching staff hires in the coming days. Odd fact about Waufle: he's never worked with Jeff Fisher up until now, and isn't related to Fisher or anyone else in the Rams organization. Then again, I didn't review marriage records.

Waufle has been the Raiders' defensive line coach the last two years. He got his pro start in Oakland, coaching d-line there from 1998-2003. The Raiders had 39 sacks last season, which tied the, yes, Rams for 15th in the league. Tommy Kelly led the team with 7.5. The Raiders ran a 4-3, but oddly, most of their sacks came from players listed as DTs, including Kelly and Richard Seymour, though I'd bet they got moved around a lot. Seymour returned to the Pro Bowl both seasons under Waufle, after a three-year absence. Even so, the Raiders were terrible against the run. They rated 27th with 136 yards per game, but their 5.1 average per carry was the worst in the league. Only Tampa allowed more than Oakland's 24 rushes of 20 yards or more. Buffalo was a distant 3rd with 18. The Rams allowed the most 40-yard-or-more rushes with 7; Oakland was right there for 3rd place with 5.

The Raiders were just as bad against the run in 2010. They allowed the most rushes over 40 yards (7) and the third-most over 20 (17). They finished 29th in rushing defense with 133.6 ypg. Things went a lot better in the sack department – the Raiders finished 2nd in the league with 47, improving by 10 sacks in Waufle's first year. Kamerion Wimbley led with 9; Kelly had 7. A couple of nobodies at end, Matt Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston, combined for 12 sacks. They're also the source of the team's big dropoff last year, combining for only 2. Shaughnessy missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury.

Facts and figures from Waufle's first run with the Raiders:
1998: Sacks: 12th (41). Only 31 sacks the year before Waufle arrived. 11 by Lance Johnstone, 10 by Darrell Russell. Russell went to the Pro Bowl. 15th against the run (104.6).
1999: Sacks: 9th (44). 10 by Johnstone, 9.5 and another Pro Bowl for Russell. 12th against the run (97.4).
2000: Sacks: 11th (43). Big fat Grady Jackson led with 8. Russell dropped way off (3), taking Johnstone (3.5) with him. 5th against the run (96.9).
2001: Sacks: 13th (41). 15 different Raiders had at least half a sack. Regan Upshaw 7, Roderick Coleman 6, Tony Bryant 5. Russell was suspended 4 games and eventually was banned from the league for failing multiple drug tests. 22nd against the run (124.2).
2002: Sacks: 6th (43). Raiders went to the Super Bowl. 13 had at least a half-sack, including Coleman with 11. Otherwise, Waufle again got a lot of sacks out of a bunch of JAGs (just a “guy”). 3rd against the run (90.8).
2003: Sacks: 28th (25). Oof. Coleman still led the team, but dropped all the way down to 5.5 sacks. He and Trace Armstrong struggled with injuries as Raiders. And Oakland continued to get nothing out of highly-drafted DEs Tyler Brayton and DeLawrence Grant. DEAD LAST against the run, a terrible 156.9 ypg. All that happening at once will tend to get coaches fired.

And the whole Raider coaching staff got canned after the 2003 season, but it's safe to say Waufle landed on his feet, going to the Giants and developing one of the most dominating lines in the game from 2004-09.
2004: Sacks: 9th (40). Giants were 2nd in the league the year before with 45. 2nd-year DE Osi Umenyiora had 7 sacks, Fred Robbins 5. Michael Strahan missed half the season due to a torn pectoral. Giants were only 28th against the run, 134.8 ypg.
2005: Sacks: 9th (41). 14.5 sacks for Umenyiora, 11.5 for Strahan. Giants also improved to 12th against the run (103.5).
2006: Sacks: just 23rd (32). 6.5 for Umenyiora, 5.5 for Robbins. 35-year-old Strahan battled foot injuries most of the season and had just 3. 14th against the run (114.4).
2007: Giants win the Super Bowl and lead the league in sacks with 53. 13 for Umenyiora, 10 for Justin Tuck in his 2nd season, 9 for Strahan, 5.5 more for Robbins. Back up to 8th against the run (97.7).
2008: Sacks: 6th (42). Not bad at all considering Strahan had retired and Umenyiora missed the season after blowing his knee. Tuck had 12 sacks, and Mathias Kiwanuka stepped up with 8 in his 3rd season. And another 5.5 sacks from Robbins. 9th against the run (95.8).
2009: Sacks: dropped to 18th (32). 18 different Giants had sacks, but Umenyiora led the team with just 7, followed by Tuck with 6. 14th against the run (110.8). The line, including Tuck, again had a lot of injuries. Umenyiora began clashing with management. And, as you'll remember from the year, the Giants lost defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to the Rams. Still, most felt that Waufle was scapegoated in New York and shouldn't have been let go.

Umenyiora went to two Pro Bowls with Waufle as his line coach. Tuck went in 2008, Strahan in 2005.

Waufle had nearly 20 years of college coaching experience before coming to the NFL, most of it coaching d-line for West Coast schools, including Cal, UCLA and Fresno State. He and the Rams' new QB coach, Frank Cignetti, worked together on the Cal staff for a couple of years. Waufle coached Regan Upshaw while he was at Cal; also former Tampa pass rusher and one-time Ram Chidi Ahanotu.

If the Rams do get Mike Waufle as their defensive line coach as anticipated, it will be a coup for the team. His defensive lines have frequently been top ten in sacks. His ability to turn young DEs into Pro Bowlers has me thinking I should hoard some Robert Quinn rookie cards. And that Chris Long is not too far from that trip to Hawaii he deserved this year. Waufle has also proven successful at getting pass rush from the tackles and from unexpected sources. He flatout knows how to get to quarterbacks in this league. The Rams need all of that they can get. The main concern is that some of Waufle's lines have gotten gouged by the running game, especially the last two seasons. But he's also coached on top-10 run defenses, and most years his lines have underperformed, you can usually point to a significant injury. Waufle's a proven developer of defensive line talent who's gotten proven results. I think it's fair to ask if the Rams picked the right guy off the Giants' staff in 2009 when they hired Spagnuolo. Another solid coaching pickup by Jeff Fisher. A-minus

-$-

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