I’m not
@ilovetheoption , but I saw a few things yesterday
I’m not sure how big a deal the defensive scheme was yesterday, but fundamentals were huge. Most of what I saw was in the secondary.
UVA’s backs covered really well. When they had zone, they knew who to cover and where to go, and 3/4ths of the time they were in as good or better position than the receiver. They were good with their hands and they had a good view on the ball. Their pass rush didn’t seem better than ours, but their coverage was much better.
More important was shedding blocks and tackling. I saw them come in square with good angles and execute clean rugby tackles throughout the game. Usually, the first tackler took down his man, especially if the ball carrier was in front of him. They were efficient and focused on getting their guy down. That made the difference between 4th and 4 and 1st and 10 several times during the game.
We got a few good outside runs, but fairly often I’d see two or three defenders get past their blocks outside. When I did see how it happened, they charged decisively, picked a shoulder to go through, and beat their blocks. Our runners would try to stretch plays to where defenders already were instead of taking a quick two yards off tackle. When they did, we got nothing or less.
On the DL, I saw us cut block a few linemen, and they sprung back up to make the tackle. Part of that was practice, and a lot was effort and “just want it”. Those guys played a tough. Sometimes they just 1:1 beat the guy in front of them, like 4th and 1 with Oliver.
Their linebackers were quick and decisive and good tacklers. I didn’t see a lot of missed UVA tackles. I saw a good juke now and then, and it stood out for rarity.
On our side, as much as I like Woody’s scheme, I’d be happy to see us go deep into fundamentals this spring. It’s hard to recruit kids who are fast and tackle well. We can tech tackling and cover skills, if it’s something we can take the time for.
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