Film Study - GT Defense vs BC Offense

Boomergump

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Film study sounds so much more impressive doesn't it? I wish I had real film though, so I could see what was happening away from the ball. Now that we all have huge screens and high def, I wish producers would make a commitment to go to a wider view of typical play coverage.

I just watched three fourths of our defensive series. Today, I didn't get caught up in formations, strategy, and tendencies etc. I just simply watched position groups and individuals to see how they were playing. My overall goal was to see if we had made gains and to get a general picture of where we are personnel-wise.

While I don't think BC gave a look into what pressure other teams may be able to put us under by spreading us out, they were generally very physical along the line and had a good RB. I'll bet their QB will give them a boost this year compared to recent years. With that said, I don't think there was a ton of playmaking ability all over the field. Most of their skill guys are serviceable, if I were to describe them with a single word.

For whatever reason, our defense was slipping and sliding out there a lot more than theirs seemed to. I don't know what to make of that. Either we are just a little more clumsy, or there is something to this nagging equipment choice issue while playing on sloppy tracks. Are we trying to cut costs by going with cleat choices that meet the bulk of our needs, but not all? I have no idea, but we were slipping more. You decide what you think is going on.

I don't want to sound like we played a bad game. We didn't. After all, we held them to 7 points, on a single run out, into the fourth Q, on a day where we had 6 first downs up until that point. That can only be so bad. Based on the point total, you may feel as though our defense was "dictating" out there and dominating the action. I really don't think that is a fair characterization at all. In fact, I would say they were more physical than we were. I was kind of hoping we had made major gains along the LOS on this side of the ball during the offseason. Based on this viewing, my impression is that this was not the case. In fact, I would say we look pretty much the same, not bad, but not a swarming mass of pressure either. I watched every DL player and LB individually and then rewound before moving on. The DBs were out of the screen, so sorry, not much news for this bunch.

DL is still not the strength of our defense. Here are some general impressions: Keshun had no lateral capabilities to speak of. He could run straight ahead fine, but if you asked him to turn, it wasn't going to happen. IMHO, he possibly shouldn't have been playing. He wasn't himself out there playing on one leg. So any judgement of his progress is a waste of time currently. Gamble looks solid to me, but not dominating, pretty much the same as last year. Kallon? What to say? He looks so good chasing a play with all that speed to go with his size, but he just doesn't break down and come under control insinctively and he can't use his weight when engaged. Getting off blocks continues to be an issue. He did move the pocket some during the pass rush, even if he didn't make a play. At least he is tall and can get his hands up. KCH looks good at times. I found it interesting how many double teams he faced. I like him better against the run, but Kallon better against the pass. Chungong played well at times, but he isn't electric either. To me, he is the kind of player that power programs would love to have on second string. Simmons did some things. Currently, he is the only DL we have that can beat you with speed. He affected the play more often than anybody else and got there a few times too. If there was a play behind the line, he made it. Of all the players I mentioned on the DL, he is the only one that looks like a noticeably better player this season.

At LB I don't see a huge change either. Lewis #52 plays with energy. I like that. He is coming along. Mitchell ended up starting and playing more than Alford after all. Go figure. There some things to like about his game. I think he does a good job of getting his drops and anticipating throws. His instincts are good in this area. Still, though, he fits in the wrong place (apparently) in run support a little too much. I will ask 'Ballin to chime in, but that is the way it looks to me. Both he and PJ took themselves out of plays at times. To be fair, playing behind our DL is not the easiest. Run fits are not as obvious when your DLs are getting pushed around.

It is hard to judge the backfield, so I will just comment on what it looks like when they actually come into the picture. Corey sometimes has the wrong angle during the chase. Gray always seems to take the right one. The Austin's aren't quite fast enough or big enough, but they tackle so well. I really like when Gray comes up to support the run. He has a LB feel to him.

So in summation: it is early, but the returns from this film are not wildly optimistic. I think we have a defense that can slow some teams down possibly, but to expect that we can win games like this one consistently may be a bit too hopeful. Once again, we will need to move and possess the football on offense to have a solid year.
Let's see how the season develops.
 

Boomergump

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One of the things I look for is: how does the player go down? If you notice, they had quite a few more tackles where our guys went straight down. All too often, we engage in a tackle and the runner wiggles forward for 2 or 3 yards on his way to the ground. That is a sign of physicality or the lack thereof. We need to improve in this area. BC was a more physical team in my estimation. Now, much of our offense stretches defenses towards the sidelines and beats them with speed, where others are north and south with more of a power focus. That affects things greatly. It is way easier to put a guy down going east and west if you can catch him.
 

jacket fan in dairyland

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I don't post on here too often, but I really enjoyed your analysis. I have thought for a long time that we have good, solid,
players who are true SAs and represent the school well. I am proud that they represent my school. They work hard and give it their all. BUT, we have a severe lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense. To get us " over the top" we need a guy on defense to make that play - you know the one - an incredible pass rush for a sack, an unbelievable interception, or a forced fumble. DJ White did this a few times in 2014. I feel most of our players play up to their potential, many being coached up. But look at two examples of our linemen : Devine and Kallon. Both great guys, apparently work hard and give good effort all around. But are they playing up to their potential ? Or was that potential a misjudgment ? At this point in their Tech football career, I would have to say they have underperformed. Not as people, or in their studies, but just on the field. Unfortunately, we at Tech seem to see this situation more often than those who overachieve. Serviceable also would be an apt description of most of our play res, despite the hype we get caught up in every spring and summer. We somehow expect another year of playing experience to magically transform players. Very, very, rarely is that the case. At least at Tech. Love my Jackets always, but it is what it is .....
 

stech81

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Film study sounds so much more impressive doesn't it? I wish I had real film though, so I could see what was happening away from the ball. Now that we all have huge screens and high def, I wish producers would make a commitment to go to a wider view of typical play coverage.

I just watched three fourths of our defensive series. Today, I didn't get caught up in formations, strategy, and tendencies etc. I just simply watched position groups and individuals to see how they were playing. My overall goal was to see if we had made gains and to get a general picture of where we are personnel-wise.

While I don't think BC gave a look into what pressure other teams may be able to put us under by spreading us out, they were generally very physical along the line and had a good RB. I'll bet their QB will give them a boost this year compared to recent years. With that said, I don't think there was a ton of playmaking ability all over the field. Most of their skill guys are serviceable, if I were to describe them with a single word.

For whatever reason, our defense was slipping and sliding out there a lot more than theirs seemed to. I don't know what to make of that. Either we are just a little more clumsy, or there is something to this nagging equipment choice issue while playing on sloppy tracks. Are we trying to cut costs by going with cleat choices that meet the bulk of our needs, but not all? I have no idea, but we were slipping more. You decide what you think is going on.

I don't want to sound like we played a bad game. We didn't. After all, we held them to 7 points, on a single run out, into the fourth Q, on a day where we had 6 first downs up until that point. That can only be so bad. Based on the point total, you may feel as though our defense was "dictating" out there and dominating the action. I really don't think that is a fair characterization at all. In fact, I would say they were more physical than we were. I was kind of hoping we had made major gains along the LOS on this side of the ball during the offseason. Based on this viewing, my impression is that this was not the case. In fact, I would say we look pretty much the same, not bad, but not a swarming mass of pressure either. I watched every DL player and LB individually and then rewound before moving on. The DBs were out of the screen, so sorry, not much news for this bunch.

DL is still not the strength of our defense. Here are some general impressions: Keshun had no lateral capabilities to speak of. He could run straight ahead fine, but if you asked him to turn, it wasn't going to happen. IMHO, he possibly shouldn't have been playing. He wasn't himself out there playing on one leg. So any judgement of his progress is a waste of time currently. Gamble looks solid to me, but not dominating, pretty much the same as last year. Kallon? What to say? He looks so good chasing a play with all that speed to go with his size, but he just doesn't break down and come under control insinctively and he can't use his weight when engaged. Getting off blocks continues to be an issue. He did move the pocket some during the pass rush, even if he didn't make a play. At least he is tall and can get his hands up. KCH looks good at times. I found it interesting how many double teams he faced. I like him better against the run, but Kallon better against the pass. Chungong played well at times, but he isn't electric either. To me, he is the kind of player that power programs would love to have on second string. Simmons did some things. Currently, he is the only DL we have that can beat you with speed. He affected the play more often than anybody else and got there a few times too. If there was a play behind the line, he made it. Of all the players I mentioned on the DL, he is the only one that looks like a noticeably better player this season.

At LB I don't see a huge change either. Lewis #52 plays with energy. I like that. He is coming along. Mitchell ended up starting and playing more than Alford after all. Go figure. There some things to like about his game. I think he does a good job of getting his drops and anticipating throws. His instincts are good in this area. Still, though, he fits in the wrong place (apparently) in run support a little too much. I will ask 'Ballin to chime in, but that is the way it looks to me. Both he and PJ took themselves out of plays at times. To be fair, playing behind our DL is not the easiest. Run fits are not as obvious when your DLs are getting pushed around.

It is hard to judge the backfield, so I will just comment on what it looks like when they actually come into the picture. Corey sometimes has the wrong angle during the chase. Gray always seems to take the right one. The Austin's aren't quite fast enough or big enough, but they tackle so well. I really like when Gray comes up to support the run. He has a LB feel to him.

So in summation: it is early, but the returns from this film are not wildly optimistic. I think we have a defense that can slow some teams down possibly, but to expect that we can win games like this one consistently may be a bit too hopeful. Once again, we will need to move and possess the football on offense to have a solid year.
Let's see how the season develops.
Question for those you know more then me which is most of you. This is not the first time we have a problem with slipping and sliding and a wet field . Could it be that someone think this is better then having longer cleats that could get caught in the grass and tear up someone knee ?
 

sidewalkGTfan

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One more thing I will mention and I don't want to turn this into another Ted Roof discussion but our D lacks something that's not talent related. I'm not sure what that something is but it just feels like our D lacks a level of physicality and aggression that most of the better defenses have. I also think that plays a part in our tackling issues. JMO
 

Lawyer mark

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I think the d played a vanilla game. If the o was scoring, maybe the d would take more chances. Seems like in 2014 when the offense started clicking, the d became more aggressive and gave up big plays, but also got turnovers.
 

gtg936g

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We continue to overpursue on D, which puts us in a bad spot for tackling. Footing had a lot to do with that too. I'd say we won the day on D though. +2 in turnovers, and we blocked a kick.

The strength of our team is our offense, that's just who we are. Give CPJ a positive turnover margin and we will have a good season.
 

Yaller Jacket

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I was hoping Boomer would see something for me to hang some optimism on, but he just added to what it looked like to me. gtgs comment about over pursuing -- If we're talking about the same thing, sometimes we'd get someone in the backfield but he looked like he was so surprised to be there he didn't know what to do next. The slightest wiggle from the ball carrier and he was out of the play. Few of their backs going straight down. Initial contact after two yards but play ends up making five. Always more push from the O in short yardage. Little pressure when Simmons wasn't in.

One particularly galling thing from 2015 reappeared. We'd be playing pretty good defense and at least keeping the gains short when out of nowhere there would be a routine running play, a key tackler would either be blocked to take a bad angle, and there would be no one left to the goal line. I was just thinking that BC didn't have the firepower to get off a big play against us, when Boom! 7 points.

On the positive side, our backs must have covered pretty well. There were many times their quarterback had to change what he intended because his main target wasn't open. And Simmons did look like a real rush end. I hope he earned some more playing time.
 

alagold

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Film study sounds so much more impressive doesn't it? I wish I had real film though, so I could see what was happening away from the ball. Now that we all have huge screens and high def, I wish producers would make a commitment to go to a wider view of typical play coverage.

I just watched three fourths of our defensive series. Today, I didn't get caught up in formations, strategy, and tendencies etc. I just simply watched position groups and individuals to see how they were playing. My overall goal was to see if we had made gains and to get a general picture of where we are personnel-wise.

While I don't think BC gave a look into what pressure other teams may be able to put us under by spreading us out, they were generally very physical along the line and had a good RB. I'll bet their QB will give them a boost this year compared to recent years. With that said, I don't think there was a ton of playmaking ability all over the field. Most of their skill guys are serviceable, if I were to describe them with a single word.

For whatever reason, our defense was slipping and sliding out there a lot more than theirs seemed to. I don't know what to make of that. Either we are just a little more clumsy, or there is something to this nagging equipment choice issue while playing on sloppy tracks. Are we trying to cut costs by going with cleat choices that meet the bulk of our needs, but not all? I have no idea, but we were slipping more. You decide what you think is going on.

I don't want to sound like we played a bad game. We didn't. After all, we held them to 7 points, on a single run out, into the fourth Q, on a day where we had 6 first downs up until that point. That can only be so bad. Based on the point total, you may feel as though our defense was "dictating" out there and dominating the action. I really don't think that is a fair characterization at all. In fact, I would say they were more physical than we were. I was kind of hoping we had made major gains along the LOS on this side of the ball during the offseason. Based on this viewing, my impression is that this was not the case. In fact, I would say we look pretty much the same, not bad, but not a swarming mass of pressure either. I watched every DL player and LB individually and then rewound before moving on. The DBs were out of the screen, so sorry, not much news for this bunch.

DL is still not the strength of our defense. Here are some general impressions: Keshun had no lateral capabilities to speak of. He could run straight ahead fine, but if you asked him to turn, it wasn't going to happen. IMHO, he possibly shouldn't have been playing. He wasn't himself out there playing on one leg. So any judgement of his progress is a waste of time currently. Gamble looks solid to me, but not dominating, pretty much the same as last year. Kallon? What to say? He looks so good chasing a play with all that speed to go with his size, but he just doesn't break down and come under control insinctively and he can't use his weight when engaged. Getting off blocks continues to be an issue. He did move the pocket some during the pass rush, even if he didn't make a play. At least he is tall and can get his hands up. KCH looks good at times. I found it interesting how many double teams he faced. I like him better against the run, but Kallon better against the pass. Chungong played well at times, but he isn't electric either. To me, he is the kind of player that power programs would love to have on second string. Simmons did some things. Currently, he is the only DL we have that can beat you with speed. He affected the play more often than anybody else and got there a few times too. If there was a play behind the line, he made it. Of all the players I mentioned on the DL, he is the only one that looks like a noticeably better player this season.

At LB I don't see a huge change either. Lewis #52 plays with energy. I like that. He is coming along. Mitchell ended up starting and playing more than Alford after all. Go figure. There some things to like about his game. I think he does a good job of getting his drops and anticipating throws. His instincts are good in this area. Still, though, he fits in the wrong place (apparently) in run support a little too much. I will ask 'Ballin to chime in, but that is the way it looks to me. Both he and PJ took themselves out of plays at times. To be fair, playing behind our DL is not the easiest. Run fits are not as obvious when your DLs are getting pushed around.

It is hard to judge the backfield, so I will just comment on what it looks like when they actually come into the picture. Corey sometimes has the wrong angle during the chase. Gray always seems to take the right one. The Austin's aren't quite fast enough or big enough, but they tackle so well. I really like when Gray comes up to support the run. He has a LB feel to him.

So in summation: it is early, but the returns from this film are not wildly optimistic. I think we have a defense that can slow some teams down possibly, but to expect that we can win games like this one consistently may be a bit too hopeful. Once again, we will need to move and possess the football on offense to have a solid year.
Let's see how the season develops.

BG,
I too watched the tape.It is interesting how we thought the same on a lot.I thought we looked ok mostly EXCEPT this is BC.THE WORST Off team in league last yr by far.They are better with new QB and RB but still won't score much.
The DL is still just VERY avg,NO rush except with a LB or DB coming also.We finally changed a bit the 2nd half to get pressure.Of course,we then gave up the big run when we didn't fill the gaps.
. Keshaun was close to helpless out there..I didn't realize he was still hurt.I thought StA should have played even started.As you said ,Rod C would be a good 2nd unit guy. Otoh-A. Simmons was the wonderful surprise.He looked like player of high level.The strip of ball with int may have won the game.
PJ still plays at 100%.Still the best tackler.Mitchell made only 1 play,that was on getting in lane on int.But he got run over on TD run,missed QB tackle on blitz and generally weaker than I thought.Lewis is active but really not effective.Did he make a tackle?
On DB pass def.--playing behind no rush will make you look bad. Otoh--as you said Austins are smallish and slow and with no rush which will hurt us vs UM,unc and clem. Durham played pretty well to me.He made a good cover and fine stop on screen pass.He may be the man we can depend on.Griffin needs to play better.He is just not a natural like AJ.He misses tackles,overruns plays, and loses perspective.Not good.A position where we did not recruit well.(lets get a couple of our verbals to play).
Would like to see what L Simmons could do .
As you said-we may slow down a few teams but not many good ones.
 

kg01

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One more thing I will mention and I don't want to turn this into another Ted Roof discussion but our D lacks something that's not talent related. I'm not sure what that something is but it just feels like our D lacks a level of physicality and aggression that most of the better defenses have. I also think that plays a part in our tackling issues. JMO

Man, I don't know what it is either but I agree. It predates Roof tho so I won't necessarily pin it on him.

Taking bad angles, tackling woes, ill-timed blitzing (telegraphing blitzers, blitzing from too far then simply getting caught in the wash, you name it), on and on and on.

The last D we had that didn't do these things was Tenuta's and no I'm advocating for his return.

Look at TCU, MichSt and the like and their supposed talent doesn't appear to be significantly greater than ours but their defenses are markedly better. Why?
 

iceeater1969

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After ND we waited for players to exit at north endzone. The ND PLAYERS also came out. Except for a couple of our players size diference was clearly favoring ND . In general their dl and ol had us by 3" in height & 10% in weight.
Until the last two recruiting classes (imo) we have tried to grow players with talent verses train players w size. Hoping we prove me wrong and we find that most ol are weaker than bc . I am close to giving up on ever seeing an aggressive defense.

Also we have the most bland dl technique. Stand in front of your man and engage, then look to see where player is going. With the "its ok to hold until the defender is getting past you" rule our smallish dl is fully wrapped up AND THE THEN MUCH BIGGER OL TAKES THEM WHERE THEY WANT. I wish we had the size to play heads up, but we seem to be playing into yhe opponents strength.
On one empty backfield pass they did that engage then peak and got zero penetration and only the controlled push the ol allowed.

As to the lb needing to fo a better job we need to remember that the hole or lane they are trying to file is often VERY LARGE.

I hope we can generate some more pressure against some of the upcoming power 5. Let's hope they are not proud of holding bc.
 

alagold

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Man, I don't know what it is either but I agree. It predates Roof tho so I won't necessarily pin it on him.

Taking bad angles, tackling woes, ill-timed blitzing (telegraphing blitzers, blitzing from too far then simply getting caught in the wash, you name it), on and on and on.

The last D we had that didn't do these things was Tenuta's and no I'm advocating for his return.

Look at TCU, MichSt and the like and their supposed talent doesn't appear to be significantly greater than ours but their defenses are markedly better. Why?

How about BC? how is it that BC who has had some (also) of the worst recruiting in the conf has a near top DEF in the league? When they tackled we went down usually.They didn't miss many tackles.Except for Qua recep in 1st half they covered ok.They were organized and-- tough.In 2nd half Mills had a running start to block Milano and almost bounced off him on hit. wow Do they really have better talent than us? or is it coaching?
 

Boomergump

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When you watch the FSU - OleMiss game, the talent gap at DL is palpable between either of them and us. When you look at the foot quickness, agility, power, and coordination of the hand skills with foot skills, we don't have that going on with our DL. We look pretty pedestrian in comparison. Our skill guys are a lot closer in terms of athletic ability.

When we talk about BC and their "talent level" we need to forget about their recruiting rankings. That info is 3 years old and unimportant in today's context. BC is physical, fast, athletic, and well coached on defense. Take that to the bank. I could care less how they were rated coming out of HS. If you were a coach and scheming for this week's game, would you go back and look at how a kid ranked coming out of HS? Heck no you wouldn't. You would look at what they were doing today.
 

DvilleJacket

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How about BC? how is it that BC who has had some (also) of the worst recruiting in the conf has a near top DEF in the league? When they tackled we went down usually.They didn't miss many tackles.Except for Qua recep in 1st half they covered ok.They were organized and-- tough.In 2nd half Mills had a running start to block Milano and almost bounced off him on hit. wow Do they really have better talent than us? or is it coaching?
I totally agree with this. BC doesn't recruit any better than us, maybe worse. They must have some amazing defensive coaches!
 
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