It is even more stunning given how horridly Miami's D was against the Hokies. Thanks for reading! WHIP often creeps up because he usually gets a 1 on 1 matchup with the RB in coverage. Clear as mud right? Next week, we will examine some of the basic blitz packages that the Hokies use for passing down and distance situations. Next week will take film from the Clemson game and demonstrate exactly how the Hokies have to maintain a delicate balance between aggressive pursuit and gap responsibility in order to be effective. Likewise, by no longer asking the Rover to man up against speedy slot receivers to the wide side of the field allows linebacker / safety type athletes like Aaron Rouse to be successful at that position. Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. That left situations where Motu was one on one with a big athletic TE going down the seam. .". The Stanford tight ends (who were all NFL caliber blocking tight ends) were then matched up with the weakest member of the Hokie front seven, in this case, Jeron Gouveia-Winslow. If one DL gets blown out of the hole, it creates problems for every other defender. The Hokie Gap defense rose from the ashes of the famed "Hokie Attack" 8 man front of the 1990's. Everybody has to be on the same page and know their assignments within the structure of the defense. And that is a key aspect of playing great defense, especially when the system relies heavily on speed, quickness and pursuit. this is the best stuff and why i love TKP .. i know that teams use our schemes against us in recruiting but i love how the giants and their smaller, more athletic dline core, is being looked at by coach bud. I love the white helmet with the stripe and white facemask. This is especially true for the Whip LB, who no longer drops back as a deep safety in any situation. Instead, the coverage responsibility for that motioning receiver will be handed off to a defender already aligned on the other side of the field. Instead of taking on offensive linemen as a run stuffing linebacker, he was used more to play containment or run blitz off the edge. -Bud Foster. To the uneducated eye, the defense features two ends, two tackles, three linebackers, two safeties, and two corners just like a traditional NFL style 4-3, but Foster turns the 4-3 concept on its ear. Before I wrap up this part of the series, I want to get back to the adjustments made after the 2003 season. Gap fit means when the defensive player hits the assigned gap, he must hold that gap maintaining the proper leverage in order to get off a block and make a tackle. However, if he goes Fieldside, he'd be matched on someone else. The nose tackle is a 1 technique, the tackle is a 3 technique. One breakdown or miscommunication and the other team could be in the end zone. Youll see how they get away with that in coverage later. Meanwhile, passing downs allow the Hokies to easily switch the whip for a nickel back. Normally, it will be one of the linebackers that will communicate any adjustments to the defensive front call or blitz call. This is very important information that is communicated by the coaches in the booth to the coaches on the sideline. More to come in my next post. This book features Bud Foster, Defensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech; Chris Ash, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Ohio State; Mickey Matthews, former Head Coach at James . Instead, Collins played read and react football and was driven off the ball often, which is to be expected when he is doubled and cut block all night. So now the first question to come to mind is "How do they even handle spread teams when they can have 8 or 9 men in the box?". The tackle will cross the face of the guard and the center, and fill the 2 gap, originally vacated by the Nose. In these cases why couldn't we stop the run? Williams and Harris pretty much flamed out. I have told anyone who would listen that I didn't like having Collins moved inside, and that if they did move him inside, he needed to get upfield and disrupt the full back/QB mesh point. You cannot play straight M2M all the time. 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. Ideally he can maintain leverage without being driven downfield. Most college teams are not that good, but if the Hokies want to win a NC we will have to face that caliber of offense. In addition, they know the personnel group and the pre-snap formation. My thought is that the linebackers/DBs adjusted or started sitting back to provide passing support, this slowed pressure at the line, which allowed for easier running. 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. In that case, both Rover and WHIP will show blitzes naturally. Game situation includes things like score, wind / weather conditions and time remaining on the clock. This post gave me a good chuckle. TechSideline.Com The alignment is a disguise, as he has no pass coverage responsibility. Though the philosophy was. After all, at Pry's introductory presser he noted he cut his teeth as a graduate assistant in the mid-90s under Foster. Tech often checks out of 4 into their version of straight Man, called a Cover 6 package, but it maintains the C4 look. - TheFifthFuller. Also, against Ace and Doubles sets, the coverage basically changes into 1/4-1/4-1/2 Cover 3. . 20102023, Orange and Maroon Media, LLC. Hopefully Logan will have improved his accuracy to be able to make them pay for it. The amount of zone and safe coverages they play really is determined by the ability of the line, mike, and backer to stop the run. Coles scored on that long TD. They tie up the center and both guards, allowing the middle linebacker to go unblocked sideline to sideline. There are a ton of details that are critical for the defense to execute properly. Whip: The Whip (Kyle Fuller) lines up wide, but well to the inside of the slot. Most would call that 6 years. A lot can still happen from that base pre-snap state, including shifts, motion, and checks/audibles by the offense. Hosley was excellent enough to execute the design up there with the very best ball hawk the Hokies have had. The entire defensive approach featured a bully mentality and a big play fervor. Even more bedeviling to teams that use pro-style running games, Foster uses a huge variety of stunts, hard slants, and linebacker blitzes to "funnel" the ball carrier right into an unblocked defensive player. I broke the 4th wall of telestration. 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. It depends on which version of the 4-3. . I still worry about the whip (watching film of the Stanford game will do that to a guy) and Maddy and Marshall have to take the next step. As mentioned earlier in this article, the coaches decided to make these adjustments because offenses had schemed some things to specifically attack Techs 8-man front base defense with more 3-4 wide receiver sets and more spread formations. I foresee a TON of blitzes on 3rd and long. The talent of their front just is not what it once was. End: The End (J.R. Collins) will stunt to the 7 gap, maintaining contain on any reverse, bootleg, or play-action. The DB's align based on secondary alignment rules. They've only had a few with an NFL frame, and none of them worked out. http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. While they are both still hybrid type players, their responsibilities are more confined. At the time, there was a lot of discussion about the changes, both from the coaches directly and from others close to the program. In-Depth Analysis of the Hokies' Bear Defense. From the coaches in the booth, to the coaches on the sideline, to the players on the field, to the pre-snap adjustments; that is a lot of communication and it is pretty much non-stop in those 20-30 seconds between each play. Oh well. 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. Virginia Tech Hokies football, basketball, athletics blog and forum featuring: unique columns, breaking news, film studies, in-depth analysis, recruiting, videos and jokes. The Tigers first-half offensive struggles were too much to overcome in a 64-57 loss. Attack Defense Bud Foster Defensive Coordinator Virginia Polytechnic Institute Blacksburg, Va. Jim Cavanaugh Outside Linebackers Lou West Secondary Charlie Wiles Defensive Line Diagram 2 Other teams began to use a lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies. What may not be as obvious is that football is equally challenging mentally. Each defender essentially has the gap in front of him. While the 8 man front may be gone, the blitz pressures and coverages remain imbedded in today's Hokie D. The "Field Strong" basically is a 4 man defensive line, two middle linebackers, and the whip linebacker playing outside as a hybrid linebacker/safety almost exclusively to the boundary side of the field. In other words, without changing the base personnel, it was a scheme that could adjust play to play from a run stopping 8-in-the-box set to a strong pass stopping set with five defensive backs (Whip, Rover, Field Corner, Boundary Corner, Free Safety). Note: This is the second installment of a three part series about Virginia Techs nationally renowned defense. Smart Football did an excellent write up on the Hokies robber and 4-4G. He does not have to be a big guy, but he does have to have a very high motor. Join the community. He was on a roll at the start of last season and his recovery is going really well. Stanford also used formation to create matchup problems. The Backer and Rover were strong side players, so they would usually align to the strong side of the formation. Presented by, Click here to access all three parts of the Hokie Defense series by Raleigh Hokie. From what I've heard, a lot of the negative recruiting emphasizes that in Tech's defense a DE or OLB (Whip), for example, isn't a traditional NFL DE or OLB. "#()%$%%! Virginia Tech's defense is in good hands with Bud Foster at the controls Skip to main . The Corners cheat deeper in this coverage at 7-9 yds, so they can rarely show Press man pre-snap when 2-Robber is the call. If the running back looks to go straight ahead, he will see the guard and tackle jammed up and look to cutback. Remember that what I am describing in this series is at the 5,000 foot level. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Never forget Aaron Rodgers literally laughing at our defense. Engleberger wasn't a bust. They are not supposed to be playmakers (except in the pass rush) but they have to be adept at maintaining leverage while stunting. These coverages have the goal of taking away the crossing routes over the middle and the post route that is used to attack C2 defenses, but also keep a guy relatively close to the LOS to help with the run, or running QBs. Jessie has three boys of her. If healthy, this year's defense is going to be quite different. WHIP might align himself like a FS, but hell come down over the middle into a hook zone instead of dropping for deep half-field coverage. Whether you've been running the 4-2-5 defense for years or you're looking to implement the scheme for the first time, . In a robber coverage, the safeties actually come forward at the snap while the corners bail out to a deep third. Boise and Stanford both targeted the safeties. 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." 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