Run defense?

"Noble said he is slated to be the starting nose tackle alongside newly signed Cornelius Griffin. Joe Salave'a is working behind Noble, and Jermaine Haley trails Griffin at the "three-technique" spot, where the defender lines up on the outside edge of the guard and is expected to get more backfield penetration."

Noble's job is primarily to tie up two blockers, something he excelled at in Dallas. I'm guessing it's more of a one gap system, which makes sense considering all the talk I've heard about Williams freeing up the lineman to get penetration and make plays. I think it's a one back system because it's a more attacking style of defense that Williams is bringing, while two gap systems seem to be more about containment. I think Marvin Lewis ran a two gap system here, which would then explain why he constantly harped on Arrington to be more disciplined.

Sorry guys, I guess it can be a bit confusing. My post indeed referred to the "techniques" defensive linemen play in terms of "gaps". While you can use the term "gap" to refer to the "1" and "3" holes (or "A" and "B" gaps!) that DLs can attack, it's more appropriate to refer to these as "techiques" when describing the positioning of the DLs in relation to the offensive linemen. The intent of that post was to describe the differences between the positioning of different kinds of defensive tackles, so I should have stuck to "techniques" to avoid confusion between the desciption of positioning and the "gap" descriptions given to different kinds of defensive philosophies.

Backrow, Defensewins and Memphisskins are all absolutely right in their takes on the terms "1-gap" and "2-gap".

The term "1-gap", when referring to defensive strategies or philosophies, describes an aggressive, attacking style of defense wherein the defensive linemen and linebackers (and occasionally safeties) are instructed to attack and penetrate a particular hole, or "gap", between the offensive linemen. Each player is responsible for a different gap, and the "techniques" that I described in my previous post would be used to explain to each player how he should line up in order to attack his assigned gap.

The same "technique" assignments would be used in a 2-gap defense, but in this case, the philosophy or strategy is more about containment, or "read-and-react". The defensive linemen and/or linebackers are assigned responsibility for the two gaps on either side of their opposing blocker, and they must "read-and-fill", depending on where the ball goes. For instance, a defensive tackle playing a two-gap, "0"-technique would be responsible for the "1" hole (or "A" gap!) on either side of the center. A tackle playing a two-gap, "2" technique would be responsible for the "1" and "3" holes (or "A" and "B" gaps!) on either side of the guard in front of him.

Different coaches use varying degrees of 1-gap and 2-gap approaches, and therefore are labeled as such. I would agree with memphisskin in his assessment that Williams will probably use more of a 1-gap approach, in that he intends to bring a very aggressive and attacking philosophy of defense, utilizing a lot of blitzes. However, coaches will use both approaches throughout the course of a game, in order to respond to different things that the offense is doing, and to exploit particular matchups. Williams' defensive philosophy-- much like Gibbs' offensive philosophy-- is very versatile, and he will adapt his gameplan depending on the opponent and the situation.