Our defensive coordinators--name one

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Doc1001

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Can anyone remember a recent defensive coordinator that has had the defensive backs play up tight on the receivers and not give them 10 or 15 yards of space? How about showing the guts to go man on man---yes I know. You are more prone to the bomb BUT----enough of they 8 yard slant crap. I am just sick of this year after year after year after year. Closer coverage would also lead to many more interceptions.
 

Doc1001 said:
Can anyone remember a recent defensive coordinator that has had the defensive backs play up tight on the receivers and not give them 10 or 15 yards of space? How about showing the guts to go man on man---yes I know. You are more prone to the bomb BUT----enough of they 8 yard slant crap. I am just sick of this year after year after year after year. Closer coverage would also lead to many more interceptions.
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Maybe the d coaches don't think the players have the talent to play that close. But what do they know.
 

When your secondary can't keep up with the other team's receivers, playing up on the line is instant death.
I hear what you're saying, and it frustrates me too, but until the talent is there in the secondary, I'm afraid the coordinators have to make due. (That said, with all the young 'athletes' and defensive recruits on this team, including Carter, you'd hope they'd have the talent sometime soon to play a little tighter.)
 


RedPoo said:
When your secondary can't keep up with the other team's receivers, playing up on the line is instant death.
I hear what you're saying, and it frustrates me too, but until the talent is there in the secondary, I'm afraid the coordinators have to make due.
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Ding Ding Ding!!! Tell him what he's won, Johnny!

The other part of it is the Defensive Line. If you can rush 4 on almost any down and don't need to blitz to control the run (see: Iowa, Ohio State) or to get pressure - then you can play a base cover 2 Defense and your corners can play press coverage with safeties over the top since they don't have to worry about moving safeties up all the time to cover slot receivers and backs out of the backfield when the linebackers blitz to stop the run or pass.

Rushing only 4 and still getting pressure/controlling the run is the key to the defensive success of Iowa & Ohio State.
 


Re: David Gibbs

I can still picture Wisconsin running quarterback draws for 30 yards while our D-backs are chasing WR down field.
 

I would take Ted Roof back in a heartbeat...

That said, I don't remember how much we pressed at the line with our DB's under him.
 

The slant is actually pretty effective against press coverage as well.

Additionally, it is usually much worse against the run or it requires great safeties. If you are pressing at the line, you are either in man (which means the DB's can't peak in and help on the run) or you are playing like a real shallow cover 2, which essentially cuts the field in 1/2 for the two safeties (so there are less men in the box and our safeties would be pressed more).
 

You can't play tight if you can't pass rush. It's not that cos is predisposed to playing off the reicevers it's that he doesn't have the QB pressure to support it. He's talked about this himself.
 



I'm tired of everyone always blaming cornerbacks for everything. How do you stop a slant? How about a LB get into a passing lane once in a while. Our LB did our corners no help.
Also, how about our D lime getting a hand up once a game as well. Their 5'-0" QB threw like a giant.
 

Schnoodler said:
You can't play tight if you can't pass rush. It's not that cos is predisposed to playing off the reicevers it's that he doesn't have the QB pressure to support it. He's talked about this himself.
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Wrong, he did the same thing at Nebraska even though he had multiple players that are now playing on Sunday. He does not coach aggressively, it is all read and react because he is so afraid of giving up an occassional big play.
 

someone needs to offer Ted Roof a bunch of money to be HC and give him a portable warming tent along the sideline, maybe one of those Roman style sedan chairs with some big third string OL carrying it.
 

Doc1001 said:
Can anyone remember a recent defensive coordinator that has had the defensive backs play up tight on the receivers and not give them 10 or 15 yards of space? How about showing the guts to go man on man---yes I know. You are more prone to the bomb BUT----enough of they 8 yard slant crap. I am just sick of this year after year after year after year. Closer coverage would also lead to many more interceptions.
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Withers tried to blitz and play man. We had the worst defense in the country and the worst defense in the history of the program. If you don't have the athletes in the secondary, you have to avoid playing man. It is that simple. People who complain about this don't understand defensive schemes at all.
 



wels0081 said:
I would take Ted Roof back in a heartbeat...

That said, I don't remember how much we pressed at the line with our DB's under him.
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Almost never. Only when we played man free or cover 0. Which was rare if ever.

Withers is the only DC who tried to play an aggressive style with this team, and he was terrible for us. If you don't have the talent to blitz and play man free or cover 0, then you shouldn't run it. When we tried to play press man, we ended up giving up 446 points in 12 games (37.2). The only way to play press coverage without playing man is to play cover two. Playing cover 2 with bad and/or inexperienced safties would have been even worse than what happened.
 

I say

you dont have to pay up tight man to man but at least dont give them 10 yards or so. Just tighten it up a little. And if we dont have the athletes to do it then Brewster may as well admit he has failed to upgrade the defense with speed and talent. Its the same as it was with Mason. We should have the athletes now with the number 17 recruiting class in the country to play tight.
 

Doc1001 said:
you dont have to pay up tight man to man but at least dont give them 10 yards or so. Just tighten it up a little. And if we dont have the athletes to do it then Brewster may as well admit he has failed to upgrade the defense with speed and talent. Its the same as it was with Mason. We should have the athletes now with the number 17 recruiting class in the country to play tight.
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If your athletes are such that you have to play a 10 yard cushion, then you have to play a ten yard cushion. I will agree with you that Brewster has been nothing short of a disaster at recruiting DB's. When theret (who is average), Collado (who is terrible in any role more significant that nickel back), and Carter (who is average at best, at least for now) are the the best three guys you have recruited in a 4 year period, you have got problems. I suppose you can count getting Royston to transfer as a recruiting victory. Even so, DB recruiting has been abysmal. The 4 starters are serviceable to terrible, and the team lacks depth.

But I will continue to say, they are playing the scheme that is best for their people, you can't just decide to be a press coverage team if you don't have the people. The biggest coachhing mistake in the scheme last week was not the scheme, but that they did not have the players prepared to impliment the scheme. The DBs were blowing coverages because they could not line up correctly.
 

Rosemountian said:
Withers tried to blitz and play man. We had the worst defense in the country and the worst defense in the history of the program. If you don't have the athletes in the secondary, you have to avoid playing man. It is that simple. People who complain about this don't understand defensive schemes at all.
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If you really understand defensive schemes you also know that all formulaic strategies are beatable because of their predictablility. Talent or no talent there must be variety in looks and coverages, blitz packages etc or the offense will take advantage. Like throwing slants when db / receiver gaps are consistently wide and lbs do not step into passing lanes. Easy call when yards are needed at critical times.

Even teams suffering a talent deficiency must change it up occasionally.
 

maxwellsmart said:
If you really understand defensive schemes you also know that all formulaic strategies are beatable because of their predictablility. Talent or no talent there must be variety in looks and coverages, blitz packages etc or the offense will take advantage. Like throwing slants when db / receiver gaps are consistently wide and lbs do not step into passing lanes. Easy call when yards are needed at critical times.

Even teams suffering a talent deficiency must change it up occasionally.
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Yea, you have to change it up occasionally. And they did. They blitz, they stunt, they mix up coverages by rolling safeties or playing inverted zones. One thing they don't do a whole lot of is play cover zero or one, because if they were ever caught in zero or one it would be off to the races. Carter might be able to man up a guy, Royston could man up a back or TE but not a WR, Theret and Collado wouldn't be able to man up anyone in the Big Ten. When you don't have DB talent or depth of talent, you will be hard pressed to find a coach that will put them in zero or one ever. Because if the blitz doesn't get there it is over. \

The Gophers can't mix it up with this for a couple of reasons.
1) They only have 1 or 2 guys who can actually cover someone one on one.
2) The linebackers are not very good blitzers yet, so the blitz shows but doesn't get there in time to disrupt. A lot of USDs passing success against MN was due to the blitzer not timing it correctly. They would adjust their routes to the coverage and the gophers couldn't cover it.

To play press coverage you either have to have stud man cover guys or you have to be confident your blitz will get there every time. The gophers currently have 0/2. Hence, you will rarely, if ever, see them play press man. They are not a cover two team (a press coverage) and press cover three is a coverage you hardly see from anyone any more.
 

Rosemountian said:
If your athletes are such that you have to play a 10 yard cushion, then you have to play a ten yard cushion. I will agree with you that Brewster has been nothing short of a disaster at recruiting DB's. When theret (who is average), Collado (who is terrible in any role more significant that nickel back), and Carter (who is average at best, at least for now) are the the best three guys you have recruited in a 4 year period, you have got problems. I suppose you can count getting Royston to transfer as a recruiting victory. Even so, DB recruiting has been abysmal. The 4 starters are serviceable to terrible, and the team lacks depth.

But I will continue to say, they are playing the scheme that is best for their people, you can't just decide to be a press coverage team if you don't have the people. The biggest coachhing mistake in the scheme last week was not the scheme, but that they did not have the players prepared to impliment the scheme. The DBs were blowing coverages because they could not line up correctly.
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I completely agree. Year four, and no depth. It's a real problem. Granted elevated by Theret and Royston not playing, but still. If you want to think deeper, BPT was a Juco and hogged alot of reps. Thus the problem with juco's. No team is without weaknesses, but hopefully not this severe.
 

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