Film Study - Defense vs VT

[wingsrlevel]

I have never impressed IJ or Golden on defense and yet guys on here kept saying how our back 7 was the strength of the D. Still smh. Demond is improved from last year, but he had a lot of room for that.

Golden was a QB in high school. Maybe this explains his poor tackling.

 

[prifle2]

I know our dline isn't great and VT oline isn't great but they were good enough to hold off the vaunted Ohio State Defensive linemen in buckeye stadium with crown noise and all that good enough to put together 4 drives. The easy thing is to say that our line is suspect and can't hold up but defense is a team activity and our Dline just played the VT oline better than the Ohio State. The scheme in the first half made the defense look worse than it was by playing with such a large cushion. I have heard the rationale behind it and I still don't think you have to play 10 -12 yards off to avoid giving up the deep pass.

but here's some other points I would point out in agreement with Boomergump about what would say about the defense from watching film:

The Paul Davis interception was a horrible throw by brewer on a called TE middle screen but if you look at the play what happened was 1) Green broke through the line and got pressure on brewer even quicker than expected and 2) Gotsis read the play perfectly and was covering the TE so brewer couldn't make a good pass to the TE, but both of our D tackles were all over that play and the result was an over throw that led to Davis taking the ball to the house for a lead changing score...

For the game the defense gave up 424 yards of total offense but in the second half once we made a few defensive adjustments, specifically moving the dbs closer to the line taking away the quick pitch and catch. The defense held VT to 139 yards on 32 plays. VT had 7 second half possessions. The GT defense held them to less than 20 yards per possession in the second half.

In 7 second half possessions against the VT offense, the GT Defense Forced 3 punts, Intercepted 2 Passes, Blocked a field goal and forced a fumble that they should have recovered that bounced in the VT's qbs hands and he ran it in for a touchdown.

The primary reason VT allowed brewer to throw that pick at the end of the game... GT had held the VT offense to 51 yards rushing in the second half (72 if you count Brewers lucky bounce 21 yard TD fumble run)

I think barring injury, our guys can match up with any line out there this side of Clemson. Clemson is just going to flat out have to be on the offense to outscore those tigers but I think this version of defense can match up well with every other offense we play until we face FSU. We still have to grow and our short coming are definitely valid but they have to be kept in context of how they played and where they played. A loud crowd come October 4 can help our defense against Miami..

 

[Dustman]

Golden was a QB in high school. Maybe this explains his poor tackling.

Wasn't Demond a QB too?

 

[wingsrlevel]

Wasn't Demond a QB too?

you know...I think he might have been at Monroe High School. I believe he was a teammate of Truitt.

 

[GaTech4ever]

Wasn't Demond a QB too?

So was Chris Milton. 3 guys in our secondary

 

[orientalnc]

I know our dline isn't great and VT oline isn't great but they were good enough to hold off the vaunted Ohio State Defensive linemen in buckeye stadium with crown noise and all that good enough to put together 4 drives. The easy thing is to say that our line is suspect and can't hold up but defense is a team activity and our Dline just played the VT oline better than the Ohio State. The scheme in the first half made the defense look worse than it was by playing with such a large cushion. I have heard the rationale behind it and I still don't think you have to play 10 -12 yards off to avoid giving up the deep pass.

but here's some other points I would point out in agreement with Boomergump about what would say about the defense from watching film:

The Paul Davis interception was a horrible throw by brewer on a called TE middle screen but if you look at the play what happened was 1) Green broke through the line and got pressure on brewer even quicker than expected and 2) Gotsis read the play perfectly and was covering the TE so brewer couldn't make a good pass to the TE, but both of our D tackles were all over that play and the result was an over throw that led to Davis taking the ball to the house for a lead changing score...

For the game the defense gave up 424 yards of total offense but in the second half once we made a few defensive adjustments, specifically moving the dbs closer to the line taking away the quick pitch and catch. The defense held VT to 139 yards on 32 plays. VT had 7 second half possessions. The GT defense held them to less than 20 yards per possession in the second half.

In 7 second half possessions against the VT offense, the GT Defense Forced 3 punts, Intercepted 2 Passes, Blocked a field goal and forced a fumble that they should have recovered that bounced in the VT's qbs hands and he ran it in for a touchdown.

The primary reason VT allowed brewer to throw that pick at the end of the game... GT had held the VT offense to 51 yards rushing in the second half (72 if you count Brewers lucky bounce 21 yard TD fumble run)

I think barring injury, our guys can match up with any line out there this side of Clemson. Clemson is just going to flat out have to be on the offense to outscore those tigers but I think this version of defense can match up well with every other offense we play until we face FSU. We still have to grow and our short coming are definitely valid but they have to be kept in context of how they played and where they played. A loud crowd come October 4 can help our defense against Miami..

On the Davis pick, I am puzzled as to why Brewer threw the pass. It was clearly covered. Maybe Beamer grilled him to avoid the sack and he was in the tackle box. He didn't really have a good option other than the sack. But, he chose the worst one for VT.

The 3rd quarter was mostly unforced errors on both sides. We made some plays, but it was not a pretty quarter. Fortunately we revived ourselves just in time. I thought the bait & switch coverage on DJ White's interception was a thing of beauty.

 

[bcaff]

I have been pleasantly surprised with Demond Smith. I think he should start over Isaiah Johnson.

 

[Boomergump]

Boomer, I think there is a tendency to exaggerate the ability of all players who have played a while. We tend to remember the good plays that stood out and perhaps put too much emphasis on experience.

The VT interior line is a lesson in football in our era. I had hoped that our much improved defense against the run had to do with more intensity due to our playing a big name, in conference team. No one would think that a high profile team such as VT would have a weaker middle three than no names Wofford, Tulane, and Ga Southern.

It is just my opinion of their talent level at each of those positions. Personally, I don't see a lot happening for them on the interior of their OL. The kids are not athletic and do not have any explosion off the snap. In short, they are soft. That was not the case with our first three opponents. The tackles were better, and it was a good thing for them that they helped double on the interior or Gotsis and Green would have had a really good day.

 

[Boomergump]

I know our dline isn't great and VT oline isn't great but they were good enough to hold off the vaunted Ohio State Defensive linemen in buckeye stadium with crown noise and all that good enough to put together 4 drives. The easy thing is to say that our line is suspect and can't hold up but defense is a team activity and our Dline just played the VT oline better than the Ohio State. The scheme in the first half made the defense look worse than it was by playing with such a large cushion. I have heard the rationale behind it and I still don't think you have to play 10 -12 yards off to avoid giving up the deep pass.

but here's some other points I would point out in agreement with Boomergump about what would say about the defense from watching film:

The Paul Davis interception was a horrible throw by brewer on a called TE middle screen but if you look at the play what happened was 1) Green broke through the line and got pressure on brewer even quicker than expected and 2) Gotsis read the play perfectly and was covering the TE so brewer couldn't make a good pass to the TE, but both of our D tackles were all over that play and the result was an over throw that led to Davis taking the ball to the house for a lead changing score...

For the game the defense gave up 424 yards of total offense but in the second half once we made a few defensive adjustments, specifically moving the dbs closer to the line taking away the quick pitch and catch. The defense held VT to 139 yards on 32 plays. VT had 7 second half possessions. The GT defense held them to less than 20 yards per possession in the second half.

In 7 second half possessions against the VT offense, the GT Defense Forced 3 punts, Intercepted 2 Passes, Blocked a field goal and forced a fumble that they should have recovered that bounced in the VT's qbs hands and he ran it in for a touchdown.

The primary reason VT allowed brewer to throw that pick at the end of the game... GT had held the VT offense to 51 yards rushing in the second half (72 if you count Brewers lucky bounce 21 yard TD fumble run)

I think barring injury, our guys can match up with any line out there this side of Clemson. Clemson is just going to flat out have to be on the offense to outscore those tigers but I think this version of defense can match up well with every other offense we play until we face FSU. We still have to grow and our short coming are definitely valid but they have to be kept in context of how they played and where they played. A loud crowd come October 4 can help our defense against Miami..

Was VT able to run against OSU? I don't remember. I don't care anyway. What I saw on film was not very impressive at all with the guys on the interior. We won't see those kind of weak players up front every week. Our success against their run was two-fold: their weak interior line play, and no option concepts. We have to get better in the trench on defense. We may not get better. If we don't, we will need to add resources in the form of a blitz.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Our defense is very weak, but have you looked around the landscape. LSU, USCe, Florida, etc. Do coaches teach how to cover anymore or has it gotten so complicated that the players don't know what to do? Watch CFB highlights and players are wide open all game long. The announcer said that VT's corner was the best in CFB and Smelter ate his lunch all day. What gives?

 

[redmule]

A month or two back I posted that before we got too panicked about our DL, we might want to consider how much match ups affect college football. All our DL has to be is better than (or maybe even just as good as) the guys in front of them. If our DL is not as good as theirs, then that means our LB's have to be better than their RB's relatively speaking to make up for the DL deficiency. For a team to line up and run it down our throat, they have to have relative advantages at more than just DL. Their QB and WR's have to be good enough to make us pay when our Safeties and Cornerbacks cheat up to support the run.

Green and Gotsis appear to be good enough to hold their own, especially with a little relief from time to time. Their backups do seem to give good effort as Boomergump indicated. We might develop some depth before the end of the season as they get a little experience. Right now, the LB's appear to me to be where we might be the most vulnerable. Nealy, Davis, and Macordes have been up and down, but I think more often up than down. We need them to be consistently good. Both Safeties are still trying to shake off rust from sitting for a year. Let's hope they find some WD-40 during the open week. White is playing well, and Milton just seems to need a big play or two to convince himself that he can be a good corner. The substitute DB's have been better than I expected, much better.

My impression is that this is a team, I mean both offense and defense together, that is trying to get it's feet under itself. They are still learning to play together, and yet they are 4-0. It would not surprise me to see in the next two or three games for either the offense or defense to have a truly complete game. Hit their stride and totally dominate their opponent. More likely the offense I grant you, but the defense could given the right match ups. If the injury situation continues to be good, maybe in November both are operating at a much higher efficiency just when we need them to the most. When we were 6-0 in 2011, it seemed that we hit our peak very very early, and that the competition was gaining on us every week. We weren't getting better as the season progressed. This year feels different.

Now if Butker could just make a kick inside 40 yards!

 

[GaTech4ever]

We weren't getting better as the season progressed. This year feels different.

I think a huge reason for this is how the schedule has set up. Each game so far has been against tougher competition than the previous game, and the games themselves have reflected that. The subsequent bye week is a great breather and almost seems like a reward for being 4-0. Miami will obviously be a challenge for us, but there's no reason we shouldn't be ready. Undefeated, night game under the lights, primetime tv, white out, etc.

 

[Eric]

A month or two back I posted that before we got too panicked about our DL, we might want to consider how much match ups affect college football. All our DL has to be is better than (or maybe even just as good as) the guys in front of them. If our DL is not as good as theirs, then that means our LB's have to be better than their RB's relatively speaking to make up for the DL deficiency. For a team to line up and run it down our throat, they have to have relative advantages at more than just DL. Their QB and WR's have to be good enough to make us pay when our Safeties and Cornerbacks cheat up to support the run.

Green and Gotsis appear to be good enough to hold their own, especially with a little relief from time to time. Their backups do seem to give good effort as Boomergump indicated. We might develop some depth before the end of the season as they get a little experience. Right now, the LB's appear to me to be where we might be the most vulnerable. Nealy, Davis, and Macordes have been up and down, but I think more often up than down. We need them to be consistently good. Both Safeties are still trying to shake off rust from sitting for a year. Let's hope they find some WD-40 during the open week. White is playing well, and Milton just seems to need a big play or two to convince himself that he can be a good corner. The substitute DB's have been better than I expected, much better.

My impression is that this is a team, I mean both offense and defense together, that is trying to get it's feet under itself. They are still learning to play together, and yet they are 4-0. It would not surprise me to see in the next two or three games for either the offense or defense to have a truly complete game. Hit their stride and totally dominate their opponent. More likely the offense I grant you, but the defense could given the right match ups. If the injury situation continues to be good, maybe in November both are operating at a much higher efficiency just when we need them to the most. When we were 6-0 in 2011, it seemed that we hit our peak very very early, and that the competition was gaining on us every week. We weren't getting better as the season progressed. This year feels different.

Now if Butker could just make a kick inside 40 yards!

You must have missed the field goal at the end of the VT game

 

[GTech63]

I think a huge reason for this is how the schedule has set up. Each game so far has been against tougher competition than the previous game, and the games themselves have reflected that. The subsequent bye week is a great breather and almost seems like a reward for being 4-0. Miami will obviously be a challenge for us, but there's no reason we shouldn't be ready. Undefeated, night game under the lights, primetime tv, white out, etc.

And before the night is over we will be 5 and 0 and aiming for Duke, the Pretender.

 

[alaguy]

Yep. watching us play Def this yr is gut-wrenching.Talk about swiss cheese. But somehow once in a while we make a play-- Nealy coming up fast on sweep, gotsis pressuring QB on int(and almost getting penalty), DJ getting pick, Milton getting block).The problem is they are few and far between. we have WAY to much-- being out of position or just too small or slow to stop a play.
Boom, I too liked Travis' effort.That's what a fresh guy should bring to the table-at least. (I still can't get over the half-*** effort by some abacks when they aren't tired.)
I really wish Harrell gets more oppty ,he is our best chance for real LB improvement this yr.
Milton looks to have speed and strength(weight-lift record), but he sure gets eaten up on some plays.I remember in Tul game a back blocked him flat on his back.I wonder where Lynn griffin is these days?
Looking at Searcy at DB.He looks much more a "natural" there than IJ or golden. ( somebody made a true comment about IJ getting worse in last 3 yrs--yep).
Green is playing like a r-Sr.Like the Sr guys last yr.We could use more like him--fully grown and experienced. Gotsis is finding out ,as was predicted,what double-teams feel like--a lot.
demond Smith is another "forgotten' man.A rover should be everywhere--,at times,it is like he not on the field it seems..
Many folks didn't appreciate what our Def did last yr at times esp the DL(look at Pitt game, MINUS run ydage).Losing JAtt was bad but losing SIX Srs overall is telling this yr..
.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Searcy might be the next great CB.....but I find it a bit premature to say he looks more natural than guys who have been getting pt there. Hope it works out but it is a bit late in the season to count on him learning the position and performing in games.

 

[Eric]

Can say what you want about the D...but time after time they showed up in the second half. They were the only reason we had a chance to win the game late....Our offense had several possesions where they didn't do anything and our D kept bailing them out.

Offense also put us in a tough spot in with the TO near the endzone.

Defense also had a pick 6 that gave us the lead in the 4th.

Hell of a effort by them and I am damn proud of that preformance.

 

[Longestday]

The D and the O are coming through to win the game. We lose a game close and everyone says only the L or W counts. Win a game close, and everyone says it is how you win that counts.

Can't win for losing.....

 

[wingsrlevel]

GT fans like to complain about losing and complain about winning. Never should we make excuses about winning! Let's enjoy the ride while it lasts. This year could be a special year.

 

[Boomergump]

I have no idea how Searcy is going to pan out on defense. I am hesitant to put him at Safety for the simple fact that we are already small enough as a defense in the 4-2-5. I think the kid is a phenomenal athlete, just watching him run around. He can make the field smaller with his speed and range, but he is a slightly built kid too. We can't afford to get much smaller because we will be needing our back group in run support a good bit this year.