What can our secondary do to improve?
- Thread starter Bonaire41
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Tundeballer
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They need help from the pass rush. Our safety play hasn’t been good, but qb’s have way too much time.
Oldgoldandwhite
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Every preseason for the past decade or more, “ our secondary is the strength of our team”.
SecretAgentBuzz
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Overall, I think we have some talent in the defensive backfield, but it is clear to all that 1) our pass rush is below average, giving the QB time to find his man, and 2) our safeties are more run-stoppers and struggle in coverage.
The combination of those two seems to leave our CBs on an island, and none of them can cover one-on-one for 6 seconds (only the best of the best could).
So, we need to either 1)take more chances with CB or S blitzes, or 2) play more guys at S to see if any of them really have ballhawk/covering skills.
I’m no football coach, but that’s my armchair perspective today.
The combination of those two seems to leave our CBs on an island, and none of them can cover one-on-one for 6 seconds (only the best of the best could).
So, we need to either 1)take more chances with CB or S blitzes, or 2) play more guys at S to see if any of them really have ballhawk/covering skills.
I’m no football coach, but that’s my armchair perspective today.
stech81
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I don't think it's the worst part of our defense but with no pass rush and no pressure on the QB, no secondary would look good. If a QB has time to eat and drink a snack before he has to throw the ball that is the problem.
684Bee
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Dumb
tmhunter52
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Most college WRs can get open, given enough time, and most college QBs can hit an open WR, given enough time. Getting pressure on the QB is a key ingredient to improving the play of DBs.
SteamWhistle
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Well it’s usually pretty common for your best coverage player to have the worst stats in terms of PBU and INT because the QB doesn’t throw their way.
ybeenormal
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UNC game showed us how good this secondary could be with adequate pressure. Something has to be tweaked in that 3 3 5 because they sure haven't came close to duplicating that win.
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Duh! (Not at you @SteamWhistle )
smokey_wasp
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Georgia Tech Football: Advanced Stats Review - GT vs. Duke
There was plenty to critique, but Georgia Tech made explosive plays on both sides of the ball to win a game it had to have
www.fromtherumbleseat.com
Pretty interesting look at the advanced stats. The author here suggests that it's time to pass the baton to the young guys in the secondary, like Brooks, King, Huff.
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I appreciate the link. One of the best and informative reads I have seen in a long, long time. Can anyone share any more info on that site?Georgia Tech Football: Advanced Stats Review - GT vs. Duke
There was plenty to critique, but Georgia Tech made explosive plays on both sides of the ball to win a game it had to have
Pretty interesting look at the advanced stats. The author here suggests that it's time to pass the baton to the young guys in the secondary, like Brooks, King, Huff.
smokey_wasp
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I generally don't like their coverage, but the weekly look at advanced stats is always a good read.
Jmonty71
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I think the lack of pressure from the front 3, opens the back of our D up to be picked apart. Personally, I don't think we have the right personnel to run a 3-4 properly. We don't have a hog mollie that can work the 2 gaps as the Nose Guard... We also don't have the speedy LBs to perform the blitzes needed. So, I cannot fully lay blame on the guys in the secondary. I would like to see stunts and some better blitz packages come from Thacker. Added to that... Why can't we switch from 4-3 to 3-4 during the game? I think that alone would throw the other team off... But, that's me....
Jerry the Jacket
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After the UNC game, I thought we had figured out how to pressure the QB and then we would begin to evolve into a pretty damn good defense. Then came the Pittsburgh game and it looked like we were hapless and forgot everything we had displayed in the previous game. I know there is always a difference in the variable of the strength of the opponent but I don't think that can account for such a wide variance.
Personally, I feel like our coaching has failed to put our players in the best position to play aggressive defense. I think they generally try to keep everything in front of our players and minimize the big play and as a result, our players tend to play off and give their opponents the room they need to be successful most of the time. At this point, I think we should know our limitations and be finding schemes and strategies to offset those and maximize our strengths. We seem to have enough players of similar ability on the defensive line to support keeping those guys fresh and ready to exert maximum effort for a full game. We have seen them get pressure on occasion but lack consistency. The 3 man rush is a non-starter and should be scrapped. We need to have 4 at all times and move our best guy, Domineck, around and use him as our primary pass rush weapon. From there, I would recommend using blitzes more frequently. From the linebacker corp., it appears Charlie Thomas has the skill set to get home and I would consider using him a lot more in the pressure package. We should also bring the corner blitz on occasion.
The bottom line is we do not have the talent to play passive, bend don't break defense. We have to dial up more pressure somehow. If we allow these QB's the time we have allowed the Pittsburgh and Duke quarterbacks, we will see several games down the stretch turn out with similar results to the Pittsburgh outcome. The Virginia quarterback threw the ball 60 times against Louisville last week so you know it is coming and you better plan for it.
My thought would be to have Coach Collins take more direct control over coordinating our defense. He should find a way to offload some of his head coaching duties to other coaches and get things fixed on Defense that is his true area of expertise. Thacker should focus on the linebackers. Game management could be delegated to one of the other assistants. At this point, I would also consider changing the Offensive Coordinator and play-calling duties from Patenaude to another Coach, perhaps Tashard Choice and let Coach P focus on QB development and work directly with Key on Run game coordination with the offensive line.
To me, it is obvious that we are not getting the most out of what we have. We are not a good football team but we are better than we are showing and it is a disservice to the team to not put them in the best position to be as successful as possible. These are my thoughts. I know none of this will happen but I think it is time for the staff to take a critical look at themselves and make some changes that could promote improved results.
Go Jackets!
Personally, I feel like our coaching has failed to put our players in the best position to play aggressive defense. I think they generally try to keep everything in front of our players and minimize the big play and as a result, our players tend to play off and give their opponents the room they need to be successful most of the time. At this point, I think we should know our limitations and be finding schemes and strategies to offset those and maximize our strengths. We seem to have enough players of similar ability on the defensive line to support keeping those guys fresh and ready to exert maximum effort for a full game. We have seen them get pressure on occasion but lack consistency. The 3 man rush is a non-starter and should be scrapped. We need to have 4 at all times and move our best guy, Domineck, around and use him as our primary pass rush weapon. From there, I would recommend using blitzes more frequently. From the linebacker corp., it appears Charlie Thomas has the skill set to get home and I would consider using him a lot more in the pressure package. We should also bring the corner blitz on occasion.
The bottom line is we do not have the talent to play passive, bend don't break defense. We have to dial up more pressure somehow. If we allow these QB's the time we have allowed the Pittsburgh and Duke quarterbacks, we will see several games down the stretch turn out with similar results to the Pittsburgh outcome. The Virginia quarterback threw the ball 60 times against Louisville last week so you know it is coming and you better plan for it.
My thought would be to have Coach Collins take more direct control over coordinating our defense. He should find a way to offload some of his head coaching duties to other coaches and get things fixed on Defense that is his true area of expertise. Thacker should focus on the linebackers. Game management could be delegated to one of the other assistants. At this point, I would also consider changing the Offensive Coordinator and play-calling duties from Patenaude to another Coach, perhaps Tashard Choice and let Coach P focus on QB development and work directly with Key on Run game coordination with the offensive line.
To me, it is obvious that we are not getting the most out of what we have. We are not a good football team but we are better than we are showing and it is a disservice to the team to not put them in the best position to be as successful as possible. These are my thoughts. I know none of this will happen but I think it is time for the staff to take a critical look at themselves and make some changes that could promote improved results.
Go Jackets!
forensicbuzz
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Starts with upfront pressure. Even a world-class secondary would get picked apart without pressure on the ball.
Ibeeballin
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Buy new hips would be a start
forensicbuzz
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I'd say our safety coverage hasn't been great, but run support has been pretty damn good. Juanyeh has missed some big open-field tackles that are memorable, but he's also done a great job sticking his nose in there and stuffing runs.