pretty cool to look back on it from time to time. h_k@vJbR Our DL has way more play making responsibility in the run game than a traditional 4-3 where at least 2 of the linemen are expected to eat double blocks and free up the linebackers. Meanwhile, the defensive linemen must be quick enough and flexible enough to slant heavily (sometimes 2 gaps) each way, which lends itself to short, stocky defensive tackles whocan get to a spot then hold their gap responsibility. The players also aligned differently. Several things are known at the end of the first play game situation, down and distance and ball position. I don't have the time to cover them all, but this is a pressure-based defense. "I think one of the biggest reasons actually was Steeles defense. They recruit nimble, short tackles, which you don't see in the NFL. The defensive call in combination with the personnel group establishes the specific pass coverage responsibilities for the defense. It was difficult for offenses to determine how many were blitzing and how many were dropping into coverage. Otherwise (because the linebackers don't immediately scrape and pursue to the ball) there will be large holes and tremendous pressure on safeties to make the tackle. How will VT defend against teams like Stanford and other NFL caliber offenses? A student manager signals the personnel group (12 in this example) via the sign board. If you have any questions, I will be sure to answer to answer them in the comments. '+,,-/4443.4444444444 By keeping the tight ends and running backs in to block, offenses could buy additional time to go to their wide receivers running down the field against single, man-to-man coverage. *:JZjz ? I would argue we had bad match-ups of speed vs. speed. Every defensive player in the front seven has a "gap" responsibility in every defense that is called. Note that with no receivers split to the boundary, the Rover will rotate up to the line of scrimmage and align as a linebacker on the boundary side. What is a zone blitz? The idea is the front 6 align based on front alignment rules. As for NFL caliber lineman. Did Jim Harbaugh out scheme us, did we execute poorly, or were we outmanned? The opinions of the author(s) on this site are independent and no way reflect the opinions of the Virginia Tech administrators, coaches, staff, or athletes. Check Fantastic furniture Catalogue and Freedom furniture Catalogue. I think the weakness that was exposed by Clemson is that if a team can set up play action by running the ball effectively, the whip and the safeties have to cover their gap fill responsibility before reacting to a pass route. View All Discussions French on the Bench , "David doesn't even fart. A recipient of . From all of us at The Key Play, get off the bench and in the game. The stud end is outside eye of the tackle strong side, and the end is outside eye of the tackle on the weakside. With deep safety help, Hosley stopped his back pedal and planted on the snap, and he stepped in front of the quick curl and picked off the pass to seal the game. Darryl Tapp has been a career backup. This column was more about the run defense, so I can work on drawing up some plays and video that shows how Clemson neutralized the Hokies in a future piece. It really is an outlier as far as defenses, as much as Paul Johnson's wishbone is on offense. Los Angeles is launching a guaranteed income pilot program, set to be the biggest in the US so far. What VT plays most against pro-style teams is Inverted Cover 2 Robber, but the deep cover guys are the Cornerbacks, not the safeties. "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily. I'd like to see those guys like McCray playing more than thatespecially down the stretch with Clemson, fsu, and Miamifresh legs all round are a gOod thing.. McCray played more against UVA and Michigan than I thought he did, and he had some good pass rush (but he was usually second in the race behind another defender.). The offensive personnel or personnel group is the makeup of offensive skill positions for any given play. Also, in goal line and short yardage, the backer and blitz the gap to try to blow the play in the backfield playside. In terms of base sets, the Hokies transitioned from being a heavy 8-man front defense to a 4-3-4 base set characterized by two deep safeties. Behind the defense, the Hokies secondary plays a basic robber coverage on this play. The DB's align based on secondary alignment rules. The free safety fills play-side to clean up if the running back breaks through the play-side gaps. Backers and Mikes must be adept at timing blitzes and taking on blocks. The Hokies showed a blitz up front, and Jayron showed a cover 3 look by bailing out and back pedaling before the snap. The transition from James Anderson to Brenden Hill without skipping a beat showed two things (1) the coaches know how to put different type players in a position to succeed and (2) while better defined to defend against todays offensive systems, the Whip still is a hybrid position. That's probably the reason we lost Korren Kirven. The running back will see that the Stud has contain, and will not look to pull a "David Wilson" and make a break for the 8 gap. The Gap Defense is grounded in a simple concept. This morning, I actually stumbled across a presentation that Bud Foster made to the AFCA back in 1999. Charley Wiles communicates the front call to the defensive line (stunt calls, etc). The middle backers have very little pass coverage responsibility, and spend significant time taking on blocks on the interior of a play. He had to make the Rover less a run-defender and more of a full-time DB, a SS in laymans terms. Remember that what I am describing in this series is at the 5,000 foot level. Tech often checks out of 4 into their version of straight Man, called a Cover 6 package, but it maintains the C4 look. In the Michigan game, almost every completion came against the safeties. Following Michael Cole's injury, Foster mostly used the old "46" alignment made famous by Buddy Ryan and the Chicago Bears. The singular thing that can derail their run defense is getting chewed up physically against Georgia Tech. And finally, we will take a look at how all of the calls and adjustments for each play are communicated from the coaches to the players. B) Bud resurrected many of the 8 man front concepts during the awful end of Beamer's departure. The Whip blitzes hard from the 7 gap to fly through the 5 gap space. Every defensive player in the front seven has a "gap" responsibility in every defense that is called. End: The End (J.R. Collins) will stunt to the 7 gap, maintaining contain on any reverse, bootleg, or play-action. Game situation includes things like score, wind / weather conditions and time remaining on the clock. The 6 comes from the switches called between the LBs and the backfield. This "Field G" is mostly what Virginia Tech is in nowadays. The Backer disguises, looking like he is scraping play-side, but in reality, he is filling the interior of the 6 gap. The adjustment from one set to the other depends on the alignment of the Rover. They do not run blitz as much with him in the lineup, however he is used just as much on mike dog pass blitzes (at points he was their most dangerous pass rusher as a blitzer last year.). Normally, it will be one of the linebackers that will communicate any adjustments to the defensive front call or blitz call. More and more NFL coaches are blending the 4-3 and 3-4 concepts and scheme. A student manager then uses the sign board to communicate the personnel group to the players on the field. He's as genuine as they come. Yet, unlike most stunts and blitzes where the defensive player is trying to shake loose to make a play, the Foster gap defense still requires the players who were stunting to maintain responsibility for their assigned gap. )jlOkD0 Nzlk}nGr(eancz#pC)vg`gd>fX&qb' h3L88ihTy%B|1ebUX9T ";*KM See Tim Tebow (or Pat White at WVU.) Because its Even, the Center is totally uncovered. Look at Florida under Urban Meyer. Tech makes that difficult because there is a hand off of responsibilities as the offense shifts or motions out from one passing strength to another. Have no idea how that played into Foster's defense, but he has played and started taller more slender DTs. Most teams go play side or bootleg with play action, but Clemson (in old 1930's single-wing style) would have the Tajh fake, then continue to waggle a step playside. And this. Virginia Tech football's defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, has been on the job for 18 years now, but he keeps revealing new layers of brilliance to show why he's the best defensive boss in. The Hokies switch between man and cover 3. What's considered non-radical? The Hokies play a base 4-3-4 defense, meaning that there are four defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs in the base set. Back to our play example. The Backer and Rover were strong side players, so they would usually align to the strong side of the formation. Other teams began to use a lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies. The free safety is responsible for coverage adjustments and making sure that everyone is lined up properly. Kudos to Foster and Co. for making the adjustments. Today, a look at some of the pass rush and blitz packages utilized in Bud Foster's Gap Defense As discussed in "A Look Back at the Hokie Wide Tackle Six Defense" , Virginia Tech rose to defensive dominance running an 8-man front which allowed the Hokies to blitz from multiple angles. Really excited about the front seven this year. At the time, there was a lot of discussion about the changes, both from the coaches directly and from others close to the program. - TheFifthFuller. 1. Next Up: All of those confusing pass coverages. Some of the biggies are game situation, down and distance, ball position, and offensive personnel. Everybody has to be on the same page and know their assignments within the structure of the defense. You cannot play straight M2M all the time. Sadly, the wide tackle six approach saw it's end as the Hokies were decimated by sophisticated passing attacks from the 2002 Gator Bowl through Aaron Rodgers legalized murder of the secondary in the 2004 Insight Bowl. UNC had those guys, FSU has those guys, and that is about it in the SEC. I understand explaining that might as well be another post but it would be facinating stuff. The result of these adjustments is a scheme that has proven to be more effective against the current trend of spread formation, passing-oriented offenses. Looking forward to future articles. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. The below diagram lays out a typical Hokie run blitz utilized to stop the zone run to the strong side out of an I formation. . Join the community. Jessie has three boys of her. Coles scored on that long TD. TKP, where you get the analysis and the analysis of the analysis by the original analyst, "Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." NIL and the future of the 'student athlete', Liz Kitley is back to back ACC Player Of The Year, 2023 ACC Wrestling Tournament Seedings announced, OT: TKP Winter/Spring 2023 Gamer's Lounge, OT: 700 miles from the Rock through Spain and Portugal, HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: VIRGINIA TECH (16-13, 6-12 ACC) AT LOUISVILLE (4-25, 2-16 ACC) 9PM ACCN, FSU AD floats uneven revenue share for acc & leaving acc. With a 2-high safety base set, the Hokies can play a lot of different zone coverages (while still playing man coverage when they want), preventing offenses from dictating match-ups with their personnel groups and formations. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). In the nineties, many teams tried to emulate Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster's scheme, with its premium on defenders stacking the line to either stop the run or scare the offense into abandoning it and apologizing for having considered such a silly idea. You get what you get with Bud Foster, there isn't much grey area in his persona. The Whip was a weak side outside linebacker in the base 8-man front and he was a weak side safety in the 2-deep safety set (base used regularly in passing situations). I have not watched any tape of Miami vs Georgia Tech, so I am not sure if they make any specific adjustments from their normal scheme, but they certainly have the Yellow Jackets pegged. With those 3-4 wide formations, they could isolate a quick, speedy receiver in man coverage against Techs Backer and Rover to the strong side of the formation. Bud Foster called this scheme his "attack defense" but the base alignments were 8 man front's following the model of the famed Buddy Ryan 46 defense used by the Bears and Eagles in the 80's. Hopefully Logan will have improved his accuracy to be able to make them pay for it. When they play 46 front, its mostly man/man, because its a pressure front like the Under we use. Drawing on the scheme's nickel roots gives 4-2-5 teams the ability to run a divorced front concept. Anytime you see the mike backer dropping back, it is change up defense hoping the QB throws to a spot without seeing the mike. TechSideline.com (a.k.a. Nekos was pretty average size for a Hokie DE (McCray is the biggest it seems like we have had since Chris Ellis), but neither Brown nor Graves fit the new prototype of NFL type 6'6 265 DE's and 6'4 310 3-4 DE's or 4-3 DT's that we see in the SEC. He doesn't believe in double-talking players, or as he continually referred to as "fork tonguing" them. The wide tackle six and the gap defense were used by Foster specifically because they didn't have the athletes to play SEC style, line up our best athletes against yours, and beat you football. BTW, I dont think I've ever seen a gif used as a legit educational tool and not just an lol. The design of the defense is set up to allow the Mike, Whip, or Stud DE to make the play. The dominant defenses in Tampa Bay of the late 90's early 2000's allowed Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice to get up field as the method for controlling their gaps. Hopefully he has a breakthrough year. They have to get Maddy, Marshall, and McCray in there to dominate rather than having read and react play from Wilson and Collins (at tackle.). Dog Inside Blitz, a common blitz you see from Tech. http://www.playbookexchange.net/playbooks/Defense/02060201-VirginiaTechAttack.pdf. Really great stuff. The Mike will likely be unblocked, but the running back should flow directly to him, so the Mike essentially has responsibility for the 1 gap. Odds & lines subject to change. Urban Meyer fell behind LSU and Alabama in recruiting, and magically his health is at risk and he gets out. Cover 6 goes well with the pressure fronts they like to show. First of all, they had a GREAT offensive line that was able to block at angles which cut off the stunts from Virginia Tech linebackers. Rover adjusts to the better receivers or Field side. The legendary defensive coordinator stepped away after the 2019 season, but his . At the snap, the nose has the daunting task of stunting two gaps, crossing the face of both the guard and the tackle to get outside shoulder gap fit on the 4 gap. One of Techs defensive coaches in the booth communicates the ball position, down/distance and personnel group to the coaches on the sideline. It is generally made with a 2i-technique on the weakside (Wide 6) and a 3-technique strongside (Split 6), so its quite close to the Over front (1 tech weak, 3-tech strong). Was a great move on moving the rover back in alignment based on the offenses being seen but thought the Rover always lined up on the strong side away from the Whip but your diagram indicates them lined on the same side. A lot can still happen from that base pre-snap state, including shifts, motion, and checks/audibles by the offense. There are two inside linebackers in the 4-4 scheme sometimes known as the Mike and Buck linebackers. Access Exclusive Content and Financially Support The Key Play. For #3, I think this defense actually makes the corners look better than they really are. In th defense now, the free safety and the whip are essentially interchangable. The running back is supposed to take two strides playside, plant his playside leg (in this case the right leg) and select a weak spot where the defender has overrun the play. Actually Clemson's D is not going to be all that different than what it was last year except that Venable is simplifying it without all the checks and stuff. It defintely helps to have depth regardless of the scheme, but depth and ability in the scheme only make it better. Stanford also used formation to create matchup problems. I broke the 4th wall of telestration. However, if he goes Fieldside, he'd be matched on someone else. 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