three four

App State was running a 1 gap scheme. Don't get hung on the idea that 3-4 is always 2 gap.
 
The Falcons center said yesterday that football is basic and requires everyone doing their job at the same time. This is exactly what I saw the App St D do in the bowl game while shutting out a scoring machine in Toledo. The last two recruiting classes on D will do just fine imo with the level of assignment discipline I saw in that game. Woody's long term record suggest the bowl game was no fluke.
 
I tried to break down the defense and see where everyone would fit if we played 3-4.

There is certainly a hole on the defensive line, especially DE. Maybe Connor Hansen could switch to NT.

DE: Brentavious Glanton, Antwan Owens, Austin Smith, Djimon Brooks
NT: Brandon Adams, Kyle Cerge-Henderson, T.K. Chimedza, Chris Martin
DE: Desmond Branch, Antwan Owens, Luke Johns, Nick Williams
OLB: Anree Saint-Amour, Cortez Alston, Justice Dingle, Josh White
ILB: Bruce Jordan-Swilling, T.D. Roof, Tyler Cooksey, David Curry, Quez Jackson, Joseph Macrina
ILB: Victor Alexander, Tre' Jackson, Jaquan Henderson, Jakob Brashear, Chris Dandaneau, Antonio Mallard
OLB: Brant Mitchell, Tyler Merriweather, Kelton Dawson, Tyler Vernon, Josh Tukes
CB: Lamont Simmons, Tariq Carpenter, Tre Swilling, Jarett Cole, Juanyeh Thomas, Devin Smith
SS: A.J. Gray, Kaleb Oliver, Gentry Bonds, Charlie Thomas
FS: Jalen Johnson, Christian Campbell, Avery Showell
CB: Ajani Kerr, Jaytlin Askew, Dameon Williams, Jaylon King, Zamari Walton, Bryce Vickers
 
CornerBlitz said:
As we know, the next DC is an extremely important hire for CPJ. I believe Nate Woody is a 3-4 guy. Our defense under Groh was a major disappointment. I’m not personally a fan of the 3-4, as it has some fundamental weaknesses...particularly against the run. These become glaring deficiencies without a NT commanding a double team.

That said, I’m trying to remain open minded. On paper, our personnel seems to better fit a 3-4 than the 4-3 or 4-2-5 or 4 whatever. We could conceivably get more production from the tweeners we have at DE and the alignment allows us to put more speed on the field. Many pro teams run versions of the 3-4, which should provide some type of recruiting boost. There are also some intricate blitz packages....which were noticeably absent under CTR.

Like anything else, our defensive success likely depends on the DC’s ability to simply communicate his scheme in a manner allowing the kids to play fast, aggressive and instinctive football. Under Groh, I recall our guys struggling with their reads, often appearing confused and out of place.

That said, what do y’all think of moving to the 3-4? or does it matter? What are the positives/negatives....or should we bring back Vad Lee?
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Has someone mentioned Logan Walls giving 4.5 yds on every play pass or run?
Because that's all i remember about the 3-4 defense.
 
BOS said:
DE: Brentavious Glanton, Antwan Owens, Austin Smith, Djimon Brooks
NT: Brandon Adams, Kyle Cerge-Henderson, T.K. Chimedza, Chris Martin
DE: Desmond Branch, Antwan Owens, Luke Johns, Nick Williams
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I would put several guys ahead of Brandon Adams at NT. He's big but I saw him get dominated several times this year. No push, it was like he wasn't even trying. Maybe he was gassed.
 
Blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz blitz
 
GTWannaBee said:
If that is the criteria to what we run as a defense, we're screwed. We've tried them all and none of them worked.
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Fair point...I beleive there are many schemes you can be successful in. As I am getting older, I think the ability to communicate and coach the players you have is more important than a rigid scheme commitment.

That said, i don’t see any scenario that GT is successful running a 2-gap 3-4. Very few college teams can run that scheme successfully.
 
gtzulu said:
I would put several guys ahead of Brandon Adams at NT. He's big but I saw him get dominated several times this year. No push, it was like he wasn't even trying. Maybe he was gassed.
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Who do you like at NT if not Adams? Agree he does not get much penetration, but I recall he at least holds his ground.
 
GoldZ said:
The Falcons center said yesterday that football is basic and requires everyone doing their job at the same time. This is exactly what I saw the App St D do in the bowl game while shutting out a scoring machine in Toledo. The last two recruiting classes on D will do just fine imo with the level of assignment discipline I saw in that game. Woody's long term record suggest the bowl game was no fluke.
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Good point....sounds like Woody communicates well so that everyone understands their assignment.
 
QuadF said:
From what I remember of the research I did when groh was here, groh was the only guy in FBS to run a 2 gap 3-4. Grantham at uga ran a 1 gap, and Kelly ran a kind of 3-4 over 1 gap when he took over for groh. Even in the NFL it seemed to be used situationally, setting up individual linemen to run 2gap if they were good enough to control both.
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Most teams that run a 3-4 have 3 big linemen, 2 big ILBs, and 2 smaller (and faster) OLBs. Usually 1 or 2 of the ILBs are on the line of scrimmage on run plays, and 1 may drop back in coverage on pass plays. One or both of the OLBs may blitz on obvious pass plays. There is almost always 4 men on the LOS on every play, and every team that runs a 3-4 will line up in a 4-3 or a 4-2-5 about half the time.
 
App St was running a 1 gap 3-4 and they rushed either 3 or 5 on passing downs, never 4, and never tipped their hand where the rushers are coming from. I've always liked that concept.

Their NT was small, but always played with leverage.

I think we could possibly make that work here.
 
Y'all should start getting familiar with the term "50 defense"...

I will say I'm a little surprised the announcement wasn't made after their bowl game. Hopefully it's just some vetting formalities. As good of a hire as this could be, I hope we get some assistant turnover to go along with it otherwise the lack of player development will likely still be an issue.
 
beej67 said:
App St was running a 1 gap 3-4 and they rushed either 3 or 5 on passing downs, never 4, and never tipped their hand where the rushers are coming from. I've always liked that concept.

Their NT was small, but always played with leverage.

I think we could possibly make that work here.
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I think their nose was 275 and everyone else was 250 or less. I glanced at their depth chart the other day quickly so I could be wrong about that, but I know they don’t have any big nasties. One guy might’ve been 6-10 tho.
 
While what alignment you run is important, the most important factor is being able to get ballcarriers to the ground and
then creating turnovers.
 
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Appy States 3-4 is more of a 1 gap scheme. I like the way they play a mixture of blitz and coverage defense. This would be a great hire.:bigthumbup:
 
If you look at App. States recruiting over the past 4-5 years they have probably 95% 2-star players. They held ugay and Wake to fewer points (playing away too) than GT did with way less talent.
 
QuadF said:
...groh was the only guy in FBS to run a 2 gap 3-4.
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He really ran a 2-gap 3-4? We don't recruit the big/strong guys needed to run that scheme, not to mention that it's complicated and prone to players making mistakes. His tenure now makes sense to me.
 
I am for Wood, let's go already. Hire him. We gots 'crootin to do! 4ish slots left he needs to fill with quick fast D-line persons.
 
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