Interesting piece on Foster's defense against OSU

[Northeast Stinger]

Is it just me, or was this article much ado about nothing. Like we haven't seen plus numbers in the box, with shallow safeties having run support responsibilities on the edge. You would think the guy invented a time machine from the article. I think Foster is a good coach and he obviously had a good scheme for the OSU game. I don't want to take that away from him. BUT, for GT, that kind of stuff is nothing new. If I give Foster credit for anything it is that he will do his scheme work in the off-season, so he has plenty of time to get it implemented and his kids can execute it. Many teams we face just have a couple of days in the middle of the week to totally restructure their attack. We have seen first hand how that hasn't always worked for them.

Thought the same thing. In real time it just looked like the defensive backs had to be able to cover for just a short period of time because VPI was gambling everything on the pressure making the quarterback have to throw fairly quickly. On the one hand it was a high stakes gamble, on the other hand VPI had determined that any other approach would give Ohio State too many options on offense. This approach said we are going to give you one way to beat us and you are going to have to be perfect at it to win. They were not perfect.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Just for future reference, what would "being argumentative" look like?

LOL. Now that is funny, I don't care who you are.

 

[Skeptic]

LOL. Now that is funny, I don't care who you are.

You think he's funny? How? How is he funny? Funny like ...Joe Pesci just doesn't work in second person, does it?

 

[AE 87]

LOL. Now that is funny, I don't care who you are.

What? Like I'm a clown to you? Like I'm here to amuse you?

 

[iceeater1969]

Thought the same thing. In real time it just looked like the defensive backs had to be able to cover for just a short period of time because VPI was gambling everything on the pressure making the quarterback have to throw fairly quickly. On the one hand it was a high stakes gamble, on the other hand VPI had determined that any other approach would give Ohio State too many options on offense. This approach said we are going to give you one way to beat us and you are going to have to be perfect at it to win. They were not perfect.

I would expect in 2015 we will experience more full pressure defense. Agree?

 

[augustabuzz]

I would expect in 2015 we will experience more full pressure defense. Agree?

Yes, until we hit the AB on a vertical route!

 

[Skeptic]

I would expect in 2015 we will experience more full pressure defense. Agree?

It was cold and wet today so I watched the 2014 VT game. Their defense was all over us from the get-go, and Thomas was on his horse from the snap. Even with that pressure he kept it together before finally making them pay for blitzing the corner on Smelter's 32-yard TD reception to tie the game late. So I am guessing you are right. Even with its dangers maybe it is the only way to contain this offense. (And that 4th-and-15 first down to Smelter just before the TD might have saved the Tech season. A great play under great pressure.)

 

[Northeast Stinger]

(And that 4th-and-15 first down to Smelter just before the TD might have saved the Tech season. A great play under great pressure.)

The kind of play Ohio State was incapable of making virtually the entire game against VPI.

 

[iceeater1969]

Thanks for reply. After uga , ACC champ, orange bowl - and i saw that the very top programs with young DC cannot out scheme our offense once it is clicking.
My son who coaches in east Texas has had to utilize innovative defenses when playing against bigger road grader offenses. Actually having his smaller guys all stand , 8-9 on line , all mill around confusing blocking , then sends various pressure combinations 0 to 9. His players all rally to the ball to prevent big gains. He takes the long pass risk for hit on qb. He is hoping for a loss that gives them a punt reception. It works if skill guys on offense are slow and fails miserably if the are FAST.

Unless we have fast guys that can score on big running plays I fear our qb will be getting lots of contact.
That said I trust coach to teach the ol to hold better and JT to slice and dice. Can't wait for 2015

 

[UgaBlows]

No worries, We have some damned fast guys

 

[danny daniel]

Personal note: I am hoping for a better mix of JT5 and TB during the season, especially early so that JT5 is full strength and at peak performance for UGA, ACC championship, and the Bowl Game. I also feel TB has earned some PT and should be part of all our games.

 

[Skeptic]

The kind of play Ohio State was incapable of making virtually the entire game against VPI.

Since it is off season and there's nothing better to do -- well, maybe make a living or some such -- I do wonder sometimes how much time Mad Max is spending on the 19th hole, sketching out new plays to get Thomas loose or burn the blitz or both, or if there are still plays in the offense he has not installed. And maybe in an odd sort of way our wideouts are going to be helped even as Thomas is running for his life since the D has to let go somewhere, and even more than before.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Since it is off season and there's nothing better to do -- well, maybe make a living or some such -- I do wonder sometimes how much time Mad Max is spending on the 19th hole, sketching out new plays to get Thomas loose or burn the blitz or both, or if there are still plays in the offense he has not installed. And maybe in an odd sort of way our wideouts are going to be helped even as Thomas is running for his life since the D has to let go somewhere, and even more than before.

Here is the way I really think it works with CPJ. He has a pretty full arsenal on file in his brain. He teaches it to the offense in stages as they master each part of the system. The more committed they are to learning the system, and the faster they learn, the more "new" wrinkles and variations he shares with them. I truly believe CPJ has played out in his mind every single situation and defense imaginable. The question, as he has alluded to before when people were asking about shotguns and diamond formations mixed in with flex bone and options, is how much can an offense learn and master at the same time? In his head he has almost infinite variations he can run with his offense. But more realistically he watches game film of an upcoming opponent and makes an educated guess about the particular things he needs to be prepared to do with the offense.

 

[JorgeJonas]

Here is the way I really think it works with CPJ. He has a pretty full arsenal on file in his brain. He teaches it to the offense in stages as they master each part of the system. The more committed they are to learning the system, and the faster they learn, the more "new" wrinkles and variations he shares with them. I truly believe CPJ has played out in his mind every single situation and defense imaginable. The question, as he has alluded to before when people were asking about shotguns and diamond formations mixed in with flex bone and options, is how much can an offense learn and master at the same time? In his head he has almost infinite variations he can run with his offense. But more realistically he watches game film of an upcoming opponent and makes an educated guess about the particular things he needs to be prepared to do with the offense.

I think this is pretty accurate, but I also wonder whether Johnson even thinks the additional stuff is necessary. A year ago people were freaking out because he was doubling down on his offense. Then last year happened, and we saw his offense brought to bear against our opponents, and they were left shaking their collective heads. My guess is that he won't deviate from that unless absolutely necessary, and that won't happen with Thomas and our boss offensive line intact.

 

[UgaBlows]

It seems like Bud is the one coach who tries to predict CPJ's next chess move and adjust in advance, or maybe he just randomly changes it up and hopes for the best?

 

[Enuratique]

Here is the way I really think it works with CPJ. He has a pretty full arsenal on file in his brain. He teaches it to the offense in stages as they master each part of the system. The more committed they are to learning the system, and the faster they learn, the more "new" wrinkles and variations he shares with them. I truly believe CPJ has played out in his mind every single situation and defense imaginable. The question, as he has alluded to before when people were asking about shotguns and diamond formations mixed in with flex bone and options, is how much can an offense learn and master at the same time? In his head he has almost infinite variations he can run with his offense. But more realistically he watches game film of an upcoming opponent and makes an educated guess about the particular things he needs to be prepared to do with the offense.

Watched a few replays of the 2014 season yesterday and noticed a play I hadn't see in a long time (or at all, even?) in the CPJ era: the A-Back "flea flicker" to Byerly (Duke game), who then ran it up field for 15 yards or so... I would love to see more of these trick plays worked in. Or hell, just the simple B-Back wheel route would be nice to see.

 

[Skeptic]

Watched a few replays of the 2014 season yesterday and noticed a play I hadn't see in a long time (or at all, even?) in the CPJ era: the A-Back "flea flicker" to Byerly (Duke game), who then ran it up field for 15 yards or so... I would love to see more of these trick plays worked in. Or hell, just the simple B-Back wheel route would be nice to see.

Trick plays too often are the last resort of a desperate, in this case, team, and certainly the Duke game was desperate. That crazy pass play to Thomas against Clemson in '09 was interesting even if it was later determined to be illegal. The occasional fake punt, which I don't consider to really be a trick play, I kinda get. (That fake FG by Georgia was a trick for sure and really well done, but even after that they came out of it with three points.) I'm glad we have them, I just know what it means when we use them. Now, that wheel route is something else, the highlight reel being the '11(?) throw to Tony Zenon who lined up at Bback on the game's first play and before Middle Tennessee could spot it, Zenon was manned up on the middle linebacker out and to the sideline. Really a cool play. Not sure if it would be considered a trick play or not, though it tricked MTSU. Not sure when that play should be used against what defense so I am an agnostic. The basic option is tricky enough for me.

 

[Skeptic]

Here is the way I really think it works with CPJ. He has a pretty full arsenal on file in his brain. He teaches it to the offense in stages as they master each part of the system. The more committed they are to learning the system, and the faster they learn, the more "new" wrinkles and variations he shares with them. I truly believe CPJ has played out in his mind every single situation and defense imaginable. The question, as he has alluded to before when people were asking about shotguns and diamond formations mixed in with flex bone and options, is how much can an offense learn and master at the same time? In his head he has almost infinite variations he can run with his offense. But more realistically he watches game film of an upcoming opponent and makes an educated guess about the particular things he needs to be prepared to do with the offense.

Does that kind of get to the predictable "They ran only six plays" complaint? That to me always got to the old plumber's joke of the challenged big bill for tapping on the line: the tapping is cheap. It's knowing where to tap that costs. Knowing when to run one of those plays that we run so well is the deal.

 

[TechPhi97]

I would expect in 2015 we will experience more full pressure defense. Agree?

I disagree. I think Boomer had it right early last season when he said that JT's speed makes it much harder to sell out on us. When Tevin was QB we saw jailbreak blitz because he didn't have the speed to get around it or evade to the outside. JT made some guys miss badly last year, and you have to be in more of a contain mode than an attack mode with that kind of speed at the QB position. The killer last year was that teams spent a bunch of time trying to contain the outside due to his speed, and what they got was our All-America guard coming full steam down the middle of the field right at their best defender. Our O-Line's execution as the year went on very hard to choose to contain on the outside, so we just got opened up to all of the things the offense can do. Mix in that new counter play where GT was led by two OL on what was effectively a semi-naked bootleg, and we were cooking.

All that relates to the original question - you can't jailbreak us due to the speed of JT. You can try, but we'll be up 21 points before you know it.

 

[Skeptic]

I disagree. I think Boomer had it right early last season when he said that JT's speed makes it much harder to sell out on us. When Tevin was QB we saw jailbreak blitz because he didn't have the speed to get around it or evade to the outside. JT made some guys miss badly last year, and you have to be in more of a contain mode than an attack mode with that kind of speed at the QB position. The killer last year was that teams spent a bunch of time trying to contain the outside due to his speed, and what they got was our All-America guard coming full steam down the middle of the field right at their best defender. Our O-Line's execution as the year went on very hard to choose to contain on the outside, so we just got opened up to all of the things the offense can do. Mix in that new counter play where GT was led by two OL on what was effectively a semi-naked bootleg, and we were cooking.

All that relates to the original question - you can't jailbreak us due to the speed of JT. You can try, but we'll be up 21 points before you know it.

VT certainly did last season, and it took a great play -- passing, not running -- to get us in a position to tie and then win. Thomas had a lot of yards on the ground that game, as I remember, and we still really struggled. I know, I know. Thomas and the O line were untested. But seems to me the jailbreak mode is about as good as you can defend this option. Hit us before we hit you kind of thing.