Ted Roof Bend but don't Break defense

[Ggee87]

Roof has to try something different. Obviously this isnt working even a little. If someone scores on every possession... Then whats it matter if its quick or slow? 20 yard cushions when were blitzing sounds ludicrous to me. Why our safeties cant help over the top is beyond me. A squirrel recognizes which way to go faster than those guys. Im just speechless at this point.in time.

 

[33jacket]

Roof has to try something different. Obviously this isnt working even a little. If someone scores on every possession... Then whats it matter if its quick or slow? 20 yard cushions when were blitzing sounds ludicrous to me. Why our safeties cant help over the top is beyond me. A squirrel recognizes which way to go faster than those guys. Im just speechless at this point.in time.

well glad you see it right!!! you need to jam and blitz and force the hand more than we do. There is a time and place to play off zone....but last night was not it.

 

[Boomergump]

We are having problems. There is no doubt about that. However, characterizing UNC as something less than a very good offense, in order to make a point, is probably not accurate. They have really gelled and finally found their starting QB. My guess is that they will finish as one of the best units in the ACC, if not the country, when the season is over. Don't confuse having a crappy defense as not being a good offense. Having said that, we made them look even better than they are. A lot better.

Saying the solution is easy is just not being intellectually honest. This zone read scheme is just killing us. IMHO pointing the finger at our secondary is really not that accurate, especially after last night's game. When UNC (or any other team running this scheme) spreads us out with 4 wides it puts maximum focus on the front four to stop the option run with only 6 in the box against a really big elusive scrambler. They have 5 guys available to block and they are optioning off one of our 4. In this situation our front 4 is just not making any plays. Think of the pressure this is putting on our secondary. They have to cover for an eternity on every play AND be a force in run support. The only real solution to this dilemma is guys up front defeating blocks so LBs can take their assignment with the option. Well, we aren't doing that, nor are we doing anything to disrupt the passing game's timing either.

What we are facing is really a dire situation, but I do agree in a sense, in that we might be able to help ourselves with, at least, some unpredictability to our blitz scheme and a little greater frequency of use. For example, how often do we come with a CB blitz? In last night's game, as a DC, I would have felt free to use the kitchen sink because we weren't stopping them anyway. What risk was there is trying huge risk plays on defense? It is kind of a stupid sentence, but you know what I mean right? Currently when we bring numbers, we are still slow in getting there. Heck, even when we brought 7 on that 4th down play, he still had time to set his feet and make a proper throw. I like the CB blitz because it plays really well against the zone read too. It can stone plays deep in the backfield sometimes.

 

[kg01]

Yeah, what @Boomergump said. We gotta do some things to help ourselves. Our blitzes are so telegraphed it's not even funny.

Lastly, can we stop calling it 'bend/don't break'. It's 'bend and take it' defense at this point.

 

[33jacket]

our Defensive starters average is 3 star...with a couple 4 star guys and a couple 2 star guys. In fact it is far better by star ranking than Chans 2005 or 2006 defense.

Chan's 2006 D had like 5 NFL players on it or 6. Not NFL as in got a camp tryout. NFL as in 2deep. made the roster. That Defense averaged around 2.4 stars LOL

Paul Johnson's tenure has not recruited worth a spit on D Talent..DESPITE what the rankings say. Chan's tenure did a great job recruited talent to fit the D scheme. We have not done that at all. Bud Foster does a great job of this as well. Finding guys who fit your scheme. 2 deep corner or bump corner? blitzing LB skill or run stuffer that takes on the C an G? Single gap pen DL or occupier....we don't have a theory we stick to.

Paul does a great job of this on O.

Then compound that with a horribly simple, safe prevent scheme that is a joke right now to watch.

mostly frustrating is this team looks like it has never seen an inside zone. Guys are not even close to where they should be. Its on the coaches at that point. Nealy has not filled one playside gap from the pulling gaurd all year. ALL YEAR

 

[Ggee87]

our Defensive starters average is 3 star...with a couple 4 star guys and a couple 2 star guys. In fact it is far better by star ranking than Chans 2005 or 2006 defense.

Chan's 2006 D had like 5 NFL players on it or 6. Not NFL as in got a camp tryout. NFL as in 2deep. made the roster. That Defense averaged around 2.4 stars LOL

Paul Johnson's tenure has not recruited worth a spit on D Talent..DESPITE what the rankings say. Chan's tenure did a great job recruited talent to fit the D scheme. We have not done that at all. Bud Foster does a great job of this as well. Finding guys who fit your scheme. 2 deep corner or bump corner? blitzing LB skill or run stuffer that takes on the C an G? Single gap pen DL or occupier....we don't have a theory we stick to.

Paul does a great job of this on O.

Then compound that with a horribly simple, safe prevent scheme that is a joke right now to watch.

mostly frustrating is this team looks like it has never seen an inside zone. Guys are not even close to where they should be. Its on the coaches at that point. Nealy has not filled one playside gap from the pulling gaurd all year. ALL YEAR

This is what my Dad has been saying for a few years. Then I tell him were recruiting the same type star rating kids. He rebuttles with well... I can see we have no NFLers on our team, when we used to have several every year. Now im not sure if its that we arent.coaching them up very well once they arrive, or if the diamonds in the rough we used to get... are being dug up by other teams and were left with table scraps. CPJ needs to realize that as long as he has a decent OL and a good QB, his sode of the ball will be just fine. The D on the other hand... should get every other either or players. Like Qua and Klock etc. We are inept on that side.of the ball and have been for a while now. No other way to put it.

 

[jason]

I'm not saying bring pressure is better but if you dbs are not great at covering then play 5
yards off and bring different blitz packages and force the ball out quicker rhen they are not trying to cover someone for 5 to 6 seconds

 

[jason]

I really would like to have an aggressive defense. Maybe it could hide some of our flaws and I really think the recruits would be more likely to choose us than the way we play now. Why would a good rush end want to come to Tech when we never run any kind of stunts to try and get pressure

 

[Js-showman]

I am soooooooooo tired of this bend but don;'t break defense, A good high school offense could score 30 points on this defense and this stupid stradegey, We can't be this bad

'Bend but don't break' is also called 'Pre-vent'.
And the only thing it prevents, is us from winning.

 

[jeffgt14]

Our cover scheme made the 14 straight possible. Should make QBs like him beat us deep IMO. Get more physical with some tighter coverage...force receivers off their intended routes. I know you have to have speed to do this. Think we should put our guys with best chance of success and give it a whirl

I agree. Offenses are too talented now to try and defend without being physical at the line and disrupting the timing of the routes. We're just letting the offense pick up 7 yards every throw and hoping the QB will eventually throw a pick. The only time our defense stops anyone is when a WR drops a pass.

 

[gtg936g]

We just do not have the talent in the front 4 to get any pressure.

I will throw this out there, which isn't an ideal solution, but could be a decent pressure package in limited use for the spread types such as duke and UNC.

Go to a 3-3-5 alignment with Freeman as the nose, Gotsis and Simmons as the ends, and allow Nealy or Davis to shoot the gaps to get pressure. Simmons and a LB could be a difficult combo to block because of their speed. We aren't going to magically win the physical battles overnight, but we might be able to get better results with speed than we are with our front 4 now. I honestly do not think we would be losing much by sitting one of our current DEs.

 

[bat_082994]

We just do not have the talent in the front 4 to get any pressure.

I will throw this out there, which isn't an ideal solution, but could be a decent pressure package in limited use for the spread types such as duke and UNC.

Go to a 3-3-5 alignment with Freeman as the nose, Gotsis and Simmons as the ends, and allow Nealy or Davis to shoot the gaps to get pressure. Simmons and a LB could be a difficult combo to block because of their speed. We aren't going to magically win the physical battles overnight, but we might be able to get better results with speed than we are with our front 4 now. I honestly do not think we would be losing much by sitting one of our current DEs.

Why Freeman at the Nose?

 

[iceeater1969]

I really would like to have an aggressive defense. Maybe it could hide some of our flaws and I really think the recruits would be more likely to choose us than the way we play now. Why would a good rush end want to come to Tech when we never run any kind of stunts to try and get pressure

Hey very good high school defensive recruit - choose one -
A. You see we will redshirt you and then you can play in the most passive defense in a few years. Since NFL won't see your ability we will try to get u a chance to go to their camp.
Or
B. You see the guy on the field you would replace if you came. We are playing aggressive so his performance is obvious to nfl and all. If guy is great he will be gone soon. On defense we are not big on fifth year seniors. We will help you get better and WEWill play you as SOON as possible.
I suggest we try b till it hurts.

 

[Em_Jae20]

Can someone more knowledgeable than I please comment on the job that Coach Joe Speed is doing as our DBs coach. When Roof came in and he was switched to coaching the DBs I wasn't sure how he'd fit and help develop this group. I'm not saying he is or isn't part of the problem, I would just like for someone with better football acumen than me to give me to things I could look for on gameday to tell if he's doing a good job or not.

 

[Declinometer]

I don't know why so many of you guys think a better scheme would make much difference. How many of our starting D would start for UNC, Duke, Miami, VT? None would start for FSU. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken ****.

Miami is a good example of not adjusting to an offense, ours. They never did anything different and we exploited it the entire game..

 

[4shotB]

CPJ needs to realize that as long as he has a decent OL and a good QB, his sode of the ball will be just fine. The D on the other hand... should get every other either or players. Like Qua and Klock etc. We are inept on that side.of the ball and have been for a while now. No other way to put it.

Maybe semantics here...but for CPJ ,"his" side of the ball is both sides. he isn't the offensive coordinator. he is the head coach.

 

[UgaBlows]

maybe CPJ needs to keep his hand out of the defensive side, could that be the problem over the years?

 

[texasjacket]

Paul Johnson's tenure has not recruited worth a spit on D Talent..DESPITE what the rankings say. Chan's tenure did a great job recruited talent to fit the D scheme. We have not done that at all. Bud Foster does a great job of this as well. Finding guys who fit your scheme. 2 deep corner or bump corner? blitzing LB skill or run stuffer that takes on the C an G? Single gap pen DL or occupier....we don't have a theory we stick to.

Isn't this because there has been so many changes at the DC position? Each coach believes in a different scheme so wouldn't they value different players for their respective schemes? I don't think we will have the luxury of getting choose between two 4 stars, by selecting the one who fits the current defensive scheme best.

 

[33jacket]

Isn't this because there has been so many changes at the DC position? Each coach believes in a different scheme so wouldn't they value different players for their respective schemes? I don't think we will have the luxury of getting choose between two 4 stars, by selecting the one who fits the current defensive scheme best.

I really don't know. If I look at who we have on this team, they do not play cover 2 good at all. The CBs do not force inside leverage good allowing the S to pick up coverage, the S are late coming over the top and neither are good tacklers in space. The MLB doesn't get his drop deep enough either. The fact is though, that both Groh and Roof run about the same backend scheme...so they are zone's, alot of cover 2, quarters....which means if they recruited the right guys they should be ok in this scheme....but yet hey really struggle in zone. We always are gashed in zone. Maybe they are not taught well....maybe they are the worst talent in Power5 FBS like the ranking suggests, hard to believe. I think simply the zone drops are too exaggerated...we are dropping in 20 yard zones, vs what other teams drop in 12.

In fact, we are so deep you can't even see the S's in the TV picture. Very rare. I watch tons of college football and have purposely decided to watch other D to really calibrate how off we are. In 5 games i watched saturday the AVG D alignment was ~9-10 players within 10 yards of the LOS. GT's average, is 7. Of those other defenses, 8 players were within 8 yards of the LOS. GT has typically 6. Its staggering. Of the other defenses, one S is out of the screen...GT is often 2 alot. So that is average...that doesn't mean every down, it just means a good portion of the downs. There may be 6 downs, and 4-5 downs 10 are within 10 yards, maybe the 6th they are deeper or maybe the 6th they are within 5 yards. This means in alignment; 7 near the box, the corners all around a 5-9 yard cushion S high and the final S covering the slot right at the 10 yard mark.

GT will have a CB ~7 yard cushion, 6 in the box, S high 15 yards back, S in the slot 12-15 off, field side corner 12 off. Sound familiar? We are in that alignment the majority of the snaps. We have 3 over 12 yards from LOS at snap, then they drop even more at snap...which is even odder to me. Normally when you align that far off at snap, you catch and ride...you allow the WR to come to you, swivel your hips and run back. If the WR plants, you come up in covg and make the tackle or attack the ball. You determine your drop or approach based on the WR plant foot. We backpedal on top of a huge cushion; normally you backpedal with a 5-7 yard cushion. Its like prevent. The 4th player is right at 10 yards.

The front 4 is defenitely not a 2 gap front 4, which is good because we 1 gap. The problem with our front 4 theory is 4 need to beat 5 or 6. That means 1-2 have to get doubled consistently. Not good enough up front to demand that. So here is a clear, the talent doesn't match the scheme issue. Now...my point is, you can force single matchups you might win with a tad more aggressive blitz scheme. Not tenuta aggressive...but maybe more like what charles kelly has been running at FSU (fun to watch his blitz packages). FYI there is no doubt in my mind, we should have kept charles. I know FSU's talent...I am basing this JUST ON the scheme, what they play and Charles's theory of D. Yes that can tweak a bit with personnel capability, but your D theory is your D theory...Just like Pauls O theory is his O theory, he may tweak it....but it is what it is.

The LBs are really playing bad. Not good in coverage, not winning blitzes and not defending the run well. IMO this is a combination of poor coaching and asking too much for who they are. Paul Davis is not going to be good in pass covg. Just isn't tall or fast enough to defend TE or RB. We seen that a ton. Nealy is ok in drops, he is really good anticipating between the hashes, but deeper drops or wide covg he gets into trouble. But he has really struggled in the run game and that is an No No for a MLB. Talent? maybe. DL not doing its job? probably some. Alot of a little adding up to horrendous results. Yup.

Rush 5 or 6 60% of the time...we will get burned...We already do; but we will also force more sacks, TFL and punts. If you assign Nealy a gap and tell him to blitz that aggressively....he will do fine. Same with with the DL,...tell them to stick and force a spill and have the LBs cover the edges..

Long post...lots of issues...

 

[UgaBlows]

Could Nealy play DE?