Eric Mangini, the new 49ers defensive coordinator, is apparently putting his own style into San Francisco's 3-4 defense.
The hallmark? Total confusion.
"All D-coordinators have their style," 49ers safety Antoine Bethea said, via peCSN Bay Area. "Coach Mangini, his thing is we're going to cause confusion. The opposing offense isn't going to know what we're going to be able to do each down. It could be bringing the pressure. It could be dropping eight into coverage. But it's just keeping the offense on their heels. However, you want to look at it, I think it's going to be a good deal for our defense."
My first reaction to reading this quote is that I really hope confusion is not the main element here.
As much as people described Vic Fangio's defense as a line-up-and-play scheme, there was always an element of confusion there. In every defense today, there absolutely needs to be an element of confusion.
If quarterbacks are lining up with the ability to instantly locate the middle linebacker and deep safety, he can rip you apart. Even at the high school level, confusion is a principal element in every scheme.
Perhaps Mangini is doing something else that remains to be seen. If not, he still has a few months before kickoff.
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