Eight Levels of Domination – Where Does Your Team Rank?

By MikeBullock | Tuesday, September 01, 2009 | ( 0 )

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It’s always exciting to watch a team you like load up with super stars in the offseason. Each year, most fans want to see their team grab the best free agents on the market, draft the best rookies available and sit back to watch them march off to the Lombardi Trophy presentation. However, if a team grabs the star power but isn’t able to plug them in to the right spots, it’s simply an exercise in futility. For proof of this, look no further than Daniel Snyder’s first years as the owner of the Redskins.

When you get right down to it, a team can win it all with one key player in six of the eight levels of domination. As long as everyone else on the team plays sound football, the coaches are good at what they do and Lady Luck tosses a blessing or two their way, any team can win, any year.

Here are the eight levels: Passing Game, Running Game, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebackers, Defensive Backfield, Special Team Kicking, Special Team Returns. Many people instantly glom on to the quarterback position, simply because the QB is the center of media attention, but that job holds three roles, which fall into the above offensive categories.

Many teams have proven time and again one great wide receiver can make all the difference in the world for an offense. Guys like Tim Brown, Randy Moss, Art Monk, Chris Carter, Jerry Rice and others have done far more for their respective offenses than simply catching passes and scoring touchdowns. A great receiver forces a defense to focus on the passing game at all times, which makes life easy for the next level: the running game.

I recently read a stat that said, from Pop Warner to the NFL, when a team rushes for over one hundred yards and prevents their opponent from doing the same, they win over eighty percent of the time. Take a guy like Gail Sayers, Marcus Allen, Jerome Bettis or Adrian Peterson and you can count on gaining the hundred rushing yards week in and week out as long as the next level holds up.

The Offensive Line. While most overlook this role as completely unimportant, it’s actually the opposite. Without a solid line, even Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith couldn’t team up to work a backfield into a winning performance. Most experts will agree the center and left guard are the two most important players on the team. Without them, no one else can accomplish anything on that side of the ball.

The reason you need such a great o-line is due to the next level, the defensive line. Look no further than last season’s Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings to see what a great defensive line does, and what a not so great one doesn’t. The Raiders were in the bottom for yards given up, turnovers produced and sacks. The Vikings were in the top of all three categories. The linebackers and defensive backs can’t do anything without pressure up front and an offensive line can easily have its way with an underachieving d-line.

Speaking of linebackers, some of the greatest defenses in NFL history have garnered that legacy due to outstanding play from this level. Teams anchored by Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Ray Lewis and Jack Lambert have been hailed as the best ever. Not only is a great linebacker a fearsome presence that makes offenses think about him before the snap, they deliver some of the most jarring hits in the game, assuring the recipient will think about them after the play as well.

From there, we move to the defensive backfield. A good cornerback makes a defensive lineman’s job easy. If the quarterback is afraid to throw at Champ Bailey, Nnamdi Asomugha, or Asante Samuel, he’ll have to check down, which is often all the time a defensive end needs to get the sack. And, how many games have you seen turned on their ear after a pick-six? Safeties are of equal importance, playing a solid dual role. Do they hit the box to stop the run or fall into coverage hoping for an interception of their own? Most quarterbacks simply don’t know until the play is underway.

That leaves us the two facets of special teams to make the list. Kicking and returns. A solid kicker improves his team’s field position, by worsening the same for the opponent. Not to mention, a guy like Adam Vinateiri, John Kasay or Jason Elam are money in the bag when it comes to field goals and PATs.

The return game is also often overlooked for its importance. That is until recent years when guys like Desmond Howard and Devon Hester arrived to show they could score anytime the ball came their way. A solid returner can give his team great field position if he doesn’t score and those who cover returns must know that every time they take the field.

So, instead of wishing for the five best free agents and rookies next year, think of the best for your team’s needs at these levels.

Another interesting wrinkle to the levels is how they add depth to the fan experience. While some people only want to see big plays, touchdowns and sensations, those same viewers are missing out on the games within the games. Take a look at your team, define the stars at each level and watch them Kick-Off Sunday. If you’re not already doing this, a whole new world of football will open up for you.

If you are doing this, I’d love to see you list those players in the comments section below this article. Which players are your team’s domination stars? Which levels need a player like that? Take a look and let us know.

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