GT's Option and the GAP Blitz

[Techster]

CPJ has an answer for gap blitzes...it's not like last year was the first time opponents have been doing it. Last year we were just attrocious at dealing with it...particularly against VT. VT just had REALLY good players who beat our not as good players. Pretty much all our coaches and players said they knew exactly what VT was going to do (gap blitzing), they just didn't execute.

They were doing some of it in 2010 to throw off our blocking keys:



UVA did some gap blitzing in 2012, but we burned them a few times (see Tevin's last TD run):



I think we're making a waay bigger deal than it needs to be. Like Boomer said, had we punished them a few times while they were gap blitzing, we probably don't see it again. It just worked, and it caused our OL to false start left and right, so a great DC like VT's is going to keep doing it.

 

[33jacket]

Gap blitzing is the same vs every offense. It can hit or miss but the offenses always have an assignment for it. So its not a big deal but executing is like with any offense.

We should employ more snap count voodoo than we do imo

And i expect to see paul zone a tad more this year which is slightly more accomodating to cross blitzes and stunts. I am not concerned in run blocking. Pass blocking for me is always the issue. Scheme wise i mean.

 

[Lexjacket]

At the scrimmage I attended a few weeks ago They were working on short passes to Smelter over the middle, could this be one of the ways to mitigate it?

 

[Declinometer]

Gap blitzing is the same vs every offense. It can hit or miss but the offenses always have an assignment for it. So its not a big deal but executing is like with any offense.

We should employ more snap count voodoo than we do imo

And i expect to see paul zone a tad more this year which is slightly more accomodating to cross blitzes and stunts. I am not concerned in run blocking. Pass blocking for me is always the issue. Scheme wise i mean.

Agreed. We need to work on it in these early games so we can use it without mistakes (VT).

 

[33jacket]

At the scrimmage I attended a few weeks ago They were working on short passes to Smelter over the middle, could this be one of the ways to mitigate it?

U always throw at the blitz. There is a hole that a timed play can exploit. So yes if that route hits that void. But u need another player to occupy the safety. Either the ab on a seam route and smelter comes underneath. Or smelter takes the post and the ab sits in the void on a small hitch.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

We will at times start and then stop the aback motion. One of several ways to handle Ds jumping the snap off of aback motion.

 

[Techster]

We employed a varied snap count last year against VT, and that was one of the reasons why we false started so much. Maybe we should play guys who know how to count? (I kid...but I'm serious too...)

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

And that was just the spring. They worked on it all camp, too. We'll definitely be better prepared, but I'm sure it'll still get us a little bit. The good news is, if you do defeat it, there's a good chance for a big play.

You must have faith in Mike Sewak. He will have us ready. And, yes, blitzing defenses have to be perfect, or else, they become immediately vulnerable. Justin needs to recognize it, get us into the right play and be able to hit receivers that are enjoying single man-on-man coverage.

 

[orientalnc]

When Tenuta was here we learned the good and the bad of blitzing. And, you can be sure, a well prepared offense can make blitzing teams pay a dear price. I think all of us remember Matt Ryan's dissection of our defense in 2007. That was ugly.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

When Tenuta was here we learned the good and the bad of blitzing. And, you can be sure, a well prepared offense can make blitzing teams pay a dear price. I think all of us remember Matt Ryan's dissection of our defense in 2007. That was ugly.

Exactly. I was never a fan of Tenuta. It always felt like with his defense you enjoyed winning the down but losing the game. Sure, it was great to see sacks and losses, sometimes even a couple of these in a row, but at critical times in the game it always felt like we would roll the dice one too many times and the other team we get the critical morale snapping touchdown.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

When Tenuta was here we learned the good and the bad of blitzing. And, you can be sure, a well prepared offense can make blitzing teams pay a dear price. I think all of us remember Matt Ryan's dissection of our defense in 2007. That was ugly.

Very ugly.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Exactly. I was never a fan of Tenuta. It always felt like with his defense you enjoyed winning the down but losing the game. Sure, it was great to see sacks and losses, sometimes even a couple of these in a row, but at critical times in the game it always felt like we would roll the dice one too many times and the other team we get the critical morale snapping touchdown.

It's so lonely in the state of Maine

 

[ATL1]

Idk Tenuta built a pretty consistent Top 30 defense.
If we had a bonified O to compliment his D we would have won more games. I actually liked Tenuta's hyper aggressive defense, it gave Tech some identity.

 

[GTrob21]

Idk Tenuta built a pretty consistent Top 30 defense.
If we had a bonified O to compliment his D we would have won more games. I actually liked Tenuta's hyper aggressive defense, it gave Tech some identity.

He sure did, but I went to many games during his tenure and saw that the teams that were well trained on how to handle our blitz scheme would eat us alive.

One of the most disheartening games was the Matt Ryan game. I sat in the North end zone and watched as he ate us alive with short passes. They knew our blitz, picked them up and destroyed us.

I too think that if an opposing coach is looking at our film from last year, he is going to blitz. We lost more than we won, in my opinion. I think the difference is that a quicker Q.B. (JT) will have an easier time either side or back stepping away from the gap blitz and the potential resulting big play would at least cause some defense coordinators pause.

That is what i'm hoping for

 

[ATL1]

Matt was in a Zone that game he was dropping 30 yard endzone corner touchdown passes. Yeah we lost some with the blitzing but we won alot more than lost.

 

[Techster]

When Tenuta was here we learned the good and the bad of blitzing. And, you can be sure, a well prepared offense can make blitzing teams pay a dear price. I think all of us remember Matt Ryan's dissection of our defense in 2007. That was ugly.

Dude was throwing to 2 guys all game and we couldn't stop it. It was a loooong game....

 

[gtg936g]

Tenuta was not the problem. The problem was O in those days, and with Calvin and Tashard, it should not have been the problem.

 

[Techster]

Tenuta was not the problem. The problem was O in those days, and with Calvin and Tashard, it should not have been the problem.

Well, Gailey did recruit and offensive arsenal in 2007...he just didn't get to coach them. Also had a "franchise" type QB coming in with Sean Renfree.

Gailey didn't do enough to get the opportunity to coach those guys. Such is big boy football.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Well, Gailey did recruit and offensive arsenal in 2007...he just didn't get to coach them. Also had a "franchise" type QB coming in with Sean Renfree.

Gailey didn't do enough to get the opportunity to coach those guys. Such is big boy football.

Matt was in a Zone that game he was dropping 30 yard endzone corner touchdown passes. Yeah we lost some with the blitzing but we won alot more than lost.

If that were the case, why isn't Gailey still here? The excessive blitzing was camoflage for our underlying problem of not having the defensive line personnel needed to play big time defensive football. The reasons behind that have been discussed for twenty-five years and they still exist.

 

[Techster]

If that were the case, why isn't Gailey still here? The excessive blitzing was camoflage for our underlying problem of not having the defensive line personnel needed to play big time defensive football. The reasons behind that have been discussed for twenty-five years and they still exist.

Not to get off topic, but that 2008 DL with Michael Johnson, Darryl Roberts, Vance Walker, and Derrick Morgan was pretty stout. All 4 of those guys were drafted, and 3 are still in the League. CPJ inherited a pretty loaded team and made good use of them.