Thacker out at DC, now Safeties coach

Randy Carson

Randy Carson

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Was Miami looking ahead? Or did our change at DC really make a difference?

Could someone break down the scheming changes that were put in place this week?
 
leatherneckjacket

leatherneckjacket

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Randy Carson said:
Was Miami looking ahead? Or did our change at DC really make a difference?

Could someone break down the scheming changes that were put in place this week?
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Based on what i saw with my drunk eyes, DBs seemed closer to the line of scrimmage, less backing up and on our heels, slightly different personnel and more aggressive swarming to the ball and sure tackling.
 

CEB

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Randy Carson said:
Was Miami looking ahead? Or did our change at DC really make a difference?

Could someone break down the scheming changes that were put in place this week?
Click to expand...
Schematic? Someone else may be able to tell you that. I saw us rush 4 and contain Van Dyke all night. We got ZERO pressure on him except for one very well timed blitz from Moala. We played coverage and Miami kept the ball in Van Dykes hands. I think they could’ve run it more and maybe caused us to make some adjustments but they didn’t.

The biggest thing I think we changed is that last week was a “quicksand” game. That game where everything is just “off” and there is no good reason why. You’re a step slow, a moment too late, an inch short… things happen that never happened before and won’t likely happen again. Probably deep in your mental make up, it is a lack of concentration, mindset, prep, etc but I promise the players don’t feel like they did anything but their best to prep. It’s just playing in quicksand…. I don’t expect to see the team we fielded against BGSU again.
 
slugboy

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Randy Carson said:
Was Miami looking ahead? Or did our change at DC really make a difference?

Could someone break down the scheming changes that were put in place this week?
Click to expand...
We still played a 4-2-5. We still did mostly the same kinds of stunts and slants and shifts by our DL. We didn’t seem to “simplify” anything.****

What I saw was
  • Wrapping up.
    • Literally, wrapping your arms around the guy with the ball and not letting go
  • Gang tackling (get three or more other guys to the ball)
  • Closer coverage (“break but not bend” defense is unfair)
  • Everybody playing a lot harder
  • Fighting off blocks (though I still saw our CBs taken out of the play by Miami WRs a few times)
  • DEs mostly setting the edge (they came inside sometimes, but I didn’t see as much of four DL completely blocked by the other OL)
I don’t know how, 5+ weeks into the season, you start playing team defense and tackling hard when you had an entire offseason to burn that into your brain.

That was, by FAR the best effort by the defensive players this year. It might be a better team defensive game than any last season (would have to check).

**** If someone wants to take clips and show me where there were differences in defensive scheme, I’ll change my mind. Just watching, I didn’t notice major differences in the defensive playbook.
 
Jacket05

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The biggest difference I noticed was that it seemed they were told that rather than trying to go for the ball on every tackle attempt, the first person should just secure the table then once the tackle is secured the next players to the player can go for the strip.
 
ThatGuy

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slugboy said:
We still played a 4-2-5. We still did mostly the same kinds of stunts and slants and shifts by our DL. We didn’t seem to “simplify” anything.****

What I saw was
  • Wrapping up.
    • Literally, wrapping your arms around the guy with the ball and not letting go
  • Gang tackling (get three or more other guys to the ball)
  • Closer coverage (“break but not bend” defense is unfair)
  • Everybody playing a lot harder
  • Fighting off blocks (though I still saw our CBs taken out of the play by Miami WRs a few times)
  • DEs mostly setting the edge (they came inside sometimes, but I didn’t see as much of four DL completely blocked by the other OL)
I don’t know how, 5+ weeks into the season, you start playing team defense and tackling hard when you had an entire offseason to burn that into your brain.

That was, by FAR the best effort by the defensive players this year. It might be a better team defensive game than any last season (would have to check).

**** If someone wants to take clips and show me where there were differences in defensive scheme, I’ll change my mind. Just watching, I didn’t notice major differences in the defensive playbook.
Click to expand...
I also can’t speak to schematic changes (thanks for that), but agree wholeheartedly that a key difference-maker here seemed to be level of effort. Bear with me while I process some of my swirling thoughts below:

Every win (or loss) is a chain of events. You break one link in the chain, and often the whole result falls apart. In this game, the sum of events on the chain was net positive, and when you put it together, it put us in a place to win. The same (opposite) thing could be said of Miami’s loss. Only reason I bring it up: in multiple games this year, we’ve put together a chain of events that hurt us rather than helped us.

This time, nearly every time something went wrong defensively (and it did), we ultimately found a way to create at least one event that righted the ship and got us back into contention. The interceptions. The forced fumbles. The (called-back) blocked extra point. The shoelace tackle that saved a touchdown. Even if some of those things were ultimately overturned, they paint the picture of a team that’s going out, meeting its setbacks, and clawing their way back into the game.

I think when Miami looks back at us (when they’re done pouting about 1-2 ref calls), that’s what they’ll remember. They may have had more talent as a team. But we just wouldn’t go away. And that was a damn fine thing to see from our defense, after a half season of looking for answers. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. And our defense in this game (and our offense, sure, but we’re talking about defense here) was playing hungry, and to make the most of those opportunities. They just wouldn’t go away.

That’s what Key keeps preaching he wants to build. When other teams play us, I hope they continue to pencil us in as a question mark. As a “man, this is going to be tough.” Particularly defensively, based on this performance and every one from here on out.
 
BCJacket

BCJacket

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Good for Thack. Probably controversial on here. But I think he can be a good DC, someday. He'll have the opportunity to learn from some really good coaches over there. (Hate to say.)

He showed flashes here at times. His defense showed up and won us a few games (but then lost us many others.) I think he wasn't ready when he started here and was hamstrung by TFG for a few years. It says a lot that Key retained him going into last year. But I think the team really needed a new voice. Always seemed like a good guy and coach. Best of luck to him.
 
TooTall

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What does it say about our program when the most successful team in the last 4 years hires one of our guys? Kirby "I wanna go fast" Smart is trying to get inside information on us.
 
slugboy

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TooTall said:
What does it say about our program when the most successful team in the last 4 years hires one of our guys? Kirby "I wanna go fast" Smart is trying to get inside information on us.
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It wouldn’t be scheme—we flipped the defensive staff.

There’s a lot to like about Thacker. He wasn’t ready for the DC spot yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not talented. I’m surprised he didn’t find a good landing spot last year—this should give him time to find a new home
 
Vespidae

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slugboy said:
It wouldn’t be scheme—we flipped the defensive staff.

There’s a lot to like about Thacker. He wasn’t ready for the DC spot yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not talented. I’m surprised he didn’t find a good landing spot last year—this should give him time to find a new home
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It's hard to say. "Kirby Smart has made an addition to his stable of off-field analysts, as former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker is now working as an analyst.

Coaches who get parked into "analyst" jobs are almost always represented by the same agent ... Jimmy Sexton. It has been a practice since Saban started it, but take a coach who is making $500K a year, gets fired, takes a $30K "analyst" job (and still bank the $470K from the former team) and .... after 3 years, when you're market value returns to say, $1M ... re-enter the market. The coach who parks him gets a cut of that. Sexton usually represents both sides which is why it works.

Saban, for example, is probably happy as hell that Sarkisian went to Texas. He probably got a percentage for rehabilitating a coach who had a reputation for excess and needed a makeover.

It's allowed because it doesn't cost the school a thing. But it isn't as innocent as everyone thinks either.
 
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