Defense Issues: Lack of Talent or Lack of Focus

[Longestday]

• There were some bad angles and some not playing assignment mixed in with some holding in the second half. The first half was more more "focused" except for the one long run.
• The second half was really a tail of 2 long passes/receptions, 1 unsportsman like penalty, and 3 missed assignments/badangles resulting in long runs.
• The DE was going for the dive, but the outside LB would also run in on the dive and let the QB free. Most plays seemed to be designed around the DE on dive, LB on QB, and safety on pitch man.

I really like the Clemson/FSU method of DE on dive, outside LB on QB, and inside LB/Safety on pitch. Keep that inside LB deep to prevent blocks. He has to be fast and know the reads of the plays (pulling guards for a counter, etc...).

The back side LB and back side safety have to pinch in to help backup on the dive and your DT have to be good to plugs up the line.

I really hope we can have the same type of long passes at VT this Saturday.

 

[alaguy]

The DEF has a dearth of talent,size,speed and experience depending on the position..We are like # 112 in country --vs 3 comparative nobodies.
Its scary when your best LB and tackler,Nealy , plays the way he did vs Woff.A Sr LB shouldn't have such a game,even though he played ok in last 2. .
Golden has wiffed on several tackles in the 3 games and gets out of position too much.(a 92 yd UNTOUCHED run vs Woff)!.IJ was too slow to even touch the dude on the 1st gsu TD run.
White,our best cover corner was burned up in gsu pass game. Gotsis had zero tackles in TUL game.
At times our 4-2-5 looks like 4-2-4, the rover is so far out of position.(coaching?) Even when we are in correct spot we miss the tackle way too much.
These things can't happen in a decent def.
Roof did see that Stargel is too slow for this league and put in freeman who will be a fine player but is a 230 lb TRUE Fr.To me, Rod Rook-C had the best tackle of the yr on the Woff QB in the open field and he is a Soph.
The DL is playing about as well as possible given the situation I believe but pass rush is still a huge problem..

I'm hoping that the young guys get smarter but it is hard to get faster, bigger or learn to tackle during the season.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I'll say this: there were times from the upper north where it looked like we were playing defense with 10 men. That usually happens when players blow assignments against the option. I haven't watched the defensive tape yet, but I can tell you there were some horrible angles taken out there. When I was at the Radio Show it was playing all over the room. On that first long TD run IJ took a HORRIBLE angle and ran himself out of the play. He was the only guy out there, so there you have it.

Is it talent or focus? In my mind it is both, but more of the latter. What happened in half 2 was a combination of crappy defense AND a lot better execution on their part. You have to give them credit. They made the throws EVERY TIME. That isn't easy to do with decent coverage (which it was most of the time). Not great coverage, but decent.

I agree on the coverage part. But what sticks in my craw is how they don't finish the play. You can run stride for stride with your man, but if you misplay the ball, it doesn't matter one lick.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I side a bit more on the focus and mental side because it seems like so many of the terrible plays and breakdowns are on 3rd downs , even especially on 3rd and longs. Also on 4th downs! This makes me sick to see since it is deja vu all over again with the worst of the Groh games.

I keep finding myself thinking, ok guys, you just made 2 excellent stops on first and 2nd down, now you have to double down the effort and concentration to get that final stop. This is when offenses respond to the pressure of the down and try to up their game. That our D routinely fails to match that and so string together 3-4 good plays in a row but screw up after 2-3 good plays straight is the frustrating part. But to me that seems more mental and about maturity. I have no problem including a complaint about coaching when you see something repetitively but that it seems to happen so much on 3rd down strikes me as more about toughness and focus.

 

[Whatllyahave]

For the last few years the best way for an opponent to get a first down is for them to be facing a 3rd and more than 10. It is infuriating.

 

[jchens_GT]

For the last few years the best way for an opponent to get a first down is for them to be facing a 3rd and more than 10. It is infuriating.

YES. I've pulled way too much hair out over this.

 

[UgaBlows]

After last week i bet every Offensive Coord we face will add in a option package for our D. And doesn't this fly in the face of the argument that our D will always be bad against traditional offenses because they always practice against the option? If they always practice against it how could they possibly be this bad at it???

 

[awbuzz]

For the last few years the best way for an opponent to get a first down is for them to be facing a 3rd and more than 10. It is infuriating.

Without looking at the real stats, it sure does seem that way.

 

[Mack]

I'll say this: there were times from the upper north where it looked like we were playing defense with 10 men. That usually happens when players blow assignments against the option. I haven't watched the defensive tape yet, but I can tell you there were some horrible angles taken out there. When I was at the Radio Show it was playing all over the room. On that first long TD run IJ took a HORRIBLE angle and ran himself out of the play. He was the only guy out there, so there you have it.

Is it talent or focus? In my mind it is both, but more of the latter. What happened in half 2 was a combination of crappy defense AND a lot better execution on their part. You have to give them credit. They made the throws EVERY TIME. That isn't easy to do with decent coverage (which it was most of the time). Not great coverage, but decent.

First time I saw the film and it was not pretty ...took wrong angles on Southern qb and cant believe we played as much man as we did even after being burned.Saw little safety help so we either blew the coveage or were not in cover 2.Best thing we had going for us was the fumble at the end of the game.We looked bad second half but okay the first half.Agree been telling folks thata Southern is not a minor football team...they come to pick up the check and to.......kick your butt.They did both but no win thank goodness!

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

TALENT....IMO.....The season will most likely show this as we play teams with better talent, but if I am wrong, I will be happy to say it.