Defensive Regression

BigDanT

BigDanT

J. Batt Fan
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
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I know many on this board want to talk about non faith in the coaching even more so now on the defensive effort. At first we lauded because we obviously see better form tackling and good execution from our secondaries.

One thing we may not have considered enough is other coaches (especially now that we are in the meat of our schedule) are scheming against us now knowing our looks.

It takes a lot to notice nuances in football. Anyone have any insights?
@ibeeballin , @Longestdays ?
 
What @JJacket said was dead on. Twice on Saturday, we stopped Duke on 3rd and short but they got it to 4th and 1. Both times, they just lined up and blew us off the ball to convert the first down and continue the drive.

Against North Carolina, we tried rushing 4 and blitzing...sending 5 and 6. I think the stats the guy behind me quoted when were 1/2 way through the 4th quarter was something like 44 dropbacks and we had hit him once and hurried him twice. I don't care how good your LB's and DB's are, you can't cover everyone for 7 seconds.

The good news is we have some decently highly regarded DL prospects committed and the kid who transferred from Florida is huge compared to everyone we have out there right now. We should be better there next year but it will probably take a year after that before we start to have quality depth there.
 
The defense is obviously playing better than they have in previous seasons.

But there are too many variables to zero in on what the issue is. DL issues. Other coaches figuring us out issues. Fatigue issues. Too many 3-and-outs by our offense issues. Other team better than us issues.

Take your pick.
 
BigDanT said:
Was hoping for some insight into scheme and adjustments.
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As best I can tell, Duke realized they can run the ball on us with very little effort. What I still haven't been able to figure out is why we weren't sending run blitzes like we'd done against UNC. I think, in part, it had to do with their tempo preventing is from checking into them.

That tempo allowed us to regroup between plays better in the second half when they were chewing clock.
 
Yep, I thought we played awful in the 1st half on defense. First time I thought we tackled poorly and our guys seemed tentative and afraid to stick their nose in their for the tackle. Lots of mistakes, out coached, just bad all around. I know the offense didn't help but it does not excuse the play.

The only excuse is if the players are so beat up from all the reps this year but I don't believe that. Honestly, we are probably playing too many people that aren't ready for this level of play. I hope it is part of the plan for next year.

3rd down was still a huge issue: they didn't get the 1st every time but if you give up 5 on 3rd and 6, it is just as bad.

BTW, I know that we need a better DL but I still didn't like the intensity on defense.
 
I can't prove it, but I think we may be playing too many people particularly in the secondary. I actually thought linebacker play improved in 2nd half after a player exit.
 
BigDanT said:
I know many on this board want to talk about non faith in the coaching even more so now on the defensive effort. At first we lauded because we obviously see better form tackling and good execution from our secondaries.

One thing we may not have considered enough is other coaches (especially now that we are in the meat of our schedule) are scheming against us now knowing our looks.

It takes a lot to notice nuances in football. Anyone have any insights?
@ibeeballin , @Longestdays ?
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I still think we have improved from last season. The tackling is better. The secondary is actually quite good--- you just don't realize it most of the time because we give QB's too much time to throw.
Overall, I'd say we've improved 10%-15% under the new coaching staff on defense.
 
I’m as optimistic as ever. We have a coach who loves defense and is a living breathing recruiting machine. He’s also a guy that can relate to teenagers. Over the last 20 years while I was raising kids and establishing a career, I watched two great men, Chan Gailey and Paul Johnson coach GT both with solid runs. They brought me great joy and also caused me to lose sleep. Collins is the next step in a progression. We’ve tried it with a tried and true southern gentleman coach in Gailey. We tried it with an old school in your face type coach. Now, we are going next generation with Collins. Bring in the players thru any means necessary and then we’ll worry about wins and losses. Let these other teams have their year, but quite honestly what do Duke, Virginia, UNC, etc fans have to look forward too? We have more upside than anyone outside of Clemson and FSU in the ACC. It just takes giving him time to turn the roster.
 
OptionJacket said:
I’m as optimistic as ever. We have a coach who loves defense and is a living breathing recruiting machine. He’s also a guy that can relate to teenagers. Over the last 20 years while I was raising kids and establishing a career, I watched two great men, Chan Gailey and Paul Johnson coach GT both with solid runs. They brought me great joy and also caused me to lose sleep. Collins is the next step in a progression. We’ve tried it with a tried and true southern gentleman coach in Gailey. We tried it with an old school in your face type coach. Now, we are going next generation with Collins. Bring in the players thru any means necessary and then we’ll worry about wins and losses. Let these other teams have their year, but quite honestly what do Duke, Virginia, UNC, etc fans have to look forward too? We have more upside than anyone outside of Clemson and FSU in the ACC. It just takes giving him time to turn the roster.
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Shit dude, solid post.
 
beej67 said:
Part of the issue on defense is a continuous stream of 3 and outs on offense.
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If you exclude drives that end at the half, 52% of our offensive possessions this year have either ended in a turnover or a 3 and out.
 
JTS said:
If you exclude drives that end at the half, 52% of our offensive possessions this year have either ended in a turnover or a 3 and out.
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