LBs and DEs

[BigRedBuster]

I have posted about this before. But, I rewatched the first half last night. I usually do this just to see if there was something I missed on plays because when I watch it live I'm all worked up and just paying attention to the result. I know...I'm a football junky that way.

Anyway, this has been bothering me for a long time. I absolutely don't like a scheme where we only have one or two LBs on the field. Two isn't bad but when we have only one LB on the field, the other team just runs all over us.

What happens is we end up having Compton literally being the only one running all over the field trying to make plays. One of the first long plays UCLA had, was a pass to the RB in the flats. Compton was supposed to follow him but he got picked off by the receiver (something that is against the rules but hardly ever called). The next long play showed the exact same thing but Compton made sure he was out there to cover the RB and then a TE just simply ran in the middle and caught a pass because there wasn't any other LBs there to cover him.

As far as the DE goes, I still don't get what they are teaching them to do. On most plays, the first move the DE makes is down the line towards the middle of the line. It is like he is trying to compress the line and then look to see if the ball is coming his way. By that time, anyone running his direction is around him. With only one LB on the field, he is either beat to the edge or simply blocked.

Now, I usually think the first move a DE should make is up field to contain. BUT, if they are going to have the DE crush down on the line, then there needs to be an LB behind him covering the edge.

I know we go into this one LB set because Bo thinks we need more DBs to cover sets with 4 WRs. But, if we played more man coverage on the edge, it would allow for more LBs for run support and pressuring the QB.

This is basically what McBride did and I remember it working GREAT against teams that had multiple WR sets.

Thoughts? Sorry for the long post but this is very frustrating to me. This is obviously not working.

 

[BigRedBuster]

And, for the record, I understand that putting DBs on an island in man coverage can allow big plays. BUT, at this point, I would rather have more people up front pressuring the QB and in run support. If the WR and QB make a great play, then at least it's because they made a great play instead of just being able to run around for 20 yards.

 

[Bowfin]

I agree with BigRedBuster.

Putting pressure on the quarterback is essential, even if it means a compromise somewhere else on the field.

Great Decent quarterbacks aren't going to be panicked because they have too much time. They will just sit back and smoke a cigarette and read the paper until someone eventually comes open.

Danny Wuerffel and Peyton Manning were both victims of great Nebraska pass rushes.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Bowfin......

I agree. Here we had a RS Freshman QB. The absolute best thing you could do to him is get in his face and fluster him. Hit him over and over and over again. Make sure that every time he goes back for a pass he realizes two things.

a) He is going to get hit and hit fast.

b) If he tries to scramble, there isn't any place to run.

THAT is a winning defense.

 

[knapplc]

We do need to put pressure on the QB, but how do you do it with this kind of defense?

I thought this was shopped at first. Why the heck are they three yards off the ball? What kind of defense is this? How can it possibly succeed?

EDIT - This is shopped. Look at zoogies' video below at :34 seconds in.

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

We do need to put pressure on the QB, but how do you do it with this kind of defense?

I thought this was shopped at first. Why the heck are they three yards off the ball? What kind of defense is this? How can it possibly succeed?

holy sh#t, I never knew it was that bad. We are giving them an easy 4 yards.

 

[zoogs]

Hahaha, what. That has to be shopped. Granted, it is an empty backfield. Ish.

If not, then I guess it's the 0-8 defense. 0-8 to match our conference record

 

[BigRedBuster]

That is definitely photoshopped.

BUT, instead of looking at the false space between the lines, look at the line up.

Now, the RB is oging in motion and I'll guarantee you that Compton followed the RB to cover him in the flats. Probably 5 of the other 6 DBs will cover the 4 WRs. That leaves only 4-5 players rushing the QB and in run defense. Last a few seconds in the pocket for WRs to get down field and the running on the edge is wide open for a QB scramble of 10-20 yards.

NOW....Let's say we have 4 down linemen, 3 LBs and 4 DBs. The 4 DBs cover the WRs. The down linemen plug up the middle for a run. One LB covers the RB out of in the flat and we have two LBS coming around the edges containing the QB and rushing him into a bad decision.

 

[zoogs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOXEvSj_Yyc

0:30

Compton shifted, but the LB (or DB? I can't tell) on that side of the field covered the flats, and Compton got somebody else. That option was taken away this play and well covered.

NOW....Let's say we have 4 down linemen, 3 LBs and 4 DBs. The 4 DBs cover the WRs. The down linemen plug up the middle for a run. One LB covers the RB out of in the flat and we have two LBS coming around the edges containing the QB and rushing him into a bad decision.

You're proposing 0-deep man-on-man coverage against a 4-wide shotgun set? Where they ultimately threw deep? Not sure I see the logic in that, at all

 

[knapplc]

OK, you can see at :34 on zoogies' video that this is shopped. Thank God. I was about to have kittens.

 

[zoogs]

I love that highlight video, it shows a number of very key plays and I can say things about them I wouldn't have been able to off memory.

Zone Read in the end-zone

That defender, I've read, was going right for Taylor by design. Bad read by Taylor, bad call, but I've seen it said that we were screwed no matter what. That isn't the case unless the ZR was a designed QB keeper. Had the ball been handed off to Abdullah he would've had a solid gain.

UCLA's final TD

This is the one that was talked about in that OWH article. 8-man rush. Awful, awful, awful decision. Completely on Bo. Two key calls, one by Bo, one by Beck, were big parts in costing us the game at the end. Very troubling that these calls were made. Embarrassingly easy for their RB to walk in on the swing pass.

 

[BigRedBuster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOXEvSj_Yyc

0:30
Compton shifted, but the LB (or DB? I can't tell) on that side of the field covered the flats, and Compton got somebody else. That option was taken away this play and well covered.

NOW....Let's say we have 4 down linemen, 3 LBs and 4 DBs. The 4 DBs cover the WRs. The down linemen plug up the middle for a run. One LB covers the RB out of in the flat and we have two LBS coming around the edges containing the QB and rushing him into a bad decision.

You're proposing 0-deep man-on-man coverage against a 4-wide shotgun set? Where they ultimately threw deep? Not sure I see the logic in that, at all

That play was covered well on the RB and TE. I believe you will see we basically have at least 2 and maybe three people playing LB on that play. I believe the one covering the RB is Whaley. There is no excuse for one WR to beat three DBs deep on that play. Pathetic. BUT, we still only have 4 guys rushing the passer and he had all day long to find that guy deep.

 

[zoogs]

4 guys is enough to rush the passer. In this case, they got beat by the OL. Our DL just has not been consistently very good, and that is the problem. Send a man to blitz, and we're sacrificing coverage somewhere. Of course you can bltiz sometimes, but in this case the likely result would have been someone in the flats making a killing, which they did, over and over and over.

That one WR didn't really beat three guys. Mainly he was the responsibility of I think, Harvey Jackson, the deep safety on that side of the field, and Jackson let him get behind him. AG wasn't lined up man-to-man on him, so he was probably in a deep zone of his own on the bottom side of the field. SJB, the third guy, was way on the other side. I'd have to say that Jackson blew this coverage big-time.

And I remember distinctly from watching the other angle via replay on the TV, which isn't in this highlight, that it wasn't a matter of time. Jackson 'blew it' early on. Bad position.

 

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

4 guys is enough to rush the passer. In this case, they got beat by the OL. Our DL just has not been consistently very good, and that is the problem. Send a man to blitz, and we're sacrificing coverage somewhere. Of course you can bltiz sometimes, but in this case the likely result would have been someone in the flats making a killing, which they did, over and over and over.

That one WR didn't really beat three guys. Mainly he was the responsibility of I think, Harvey Jackson, the deep safety on that side of the field, and Jackson let him get behind him. AG wasn't lined up man-to-man on him, so he was probably in a deep zone of his own on the bottom side of the field. SJB, the third guy, was way on the other side. I'd have to say that Jackson blew this coverage big-time.

And I remember distinctly from watching the other angle via replay on the TV, which isn't in this highlight, that it wasn't a matter of time. Jackson 'blew it' early on. Bad position.

Some old saying about if you're gonna blitz, you better get there! It seems like I can call out who is coming on the blitz and where and with way too much time on the play clock! And too often the blitzed is getting easily picked up. And essentially short handing the back end and apparently confusing everyone!

 

[The Dude]

4 guys is enough to rush the passer. In this case, they got beat by the OL. Our DL just has not been consistently very good, and that is the problem. Send a man to blitz, and we're sacrificing coverage somewhere. Of course you can bltiz sometimes, but in this case the likely result would have been someone in the flats making a killing, which they did, over and over and over.

That one WR didn't really beat three guys. Mainly he was the responsibility of I think, Harvey Jackson, the deep safety on that side of the field, and Jackson let him get behind him. AG wasn't lined up man-to-man on him, so he was probably in a deep zone of his own on the bottom side of the field. SJB, the third guy, was way on the other side. I'd have to say that Jackson blew this coverage big-time.

And I remember distinctly from watching the other angle via replay on the TV, which isn't in this highlight, that it wasn't a matter of time. Jackson 'blew it' early on. Bad position.

Some old saying about if you're gonna blitz, you better get there!

Oh, we get there. We just breeze by them as if we're trying to give the quarterback a high 5.

We do need to put pressure on the QB, but how do you do it with this kind of defense?

I thought this was shopped at first. Why the heck are they three yards off the ball? What kind of defense is this? How can it possibly succeed?

EDIT - This is shopped. Look at zoogies' video below at :34 seconds in.