Note: This is the second installment of a three part series about Virginia Techs nationally renowned defense. Bare minimum is the stalemate. Keeping the Whip closer to the line of scrimmage allows him to play more like a true linebacker, which helped an athlete like James Anderson flourish at the position. Virginia Techs defense is a unique one in major college football in that it is very much an older style of defense descended from the Gap 8 and Wide Tackle 6. Likewise, the End, Backer, Boundary Corner, and Rover always align toward the short side of the field. #Scales4Heisman. The defense slides their individual alignments based on that personnel group and passing strength. Free Safety: Free safety starts in a deep third lined up 12 yards off the ball directly behind the mike. My most recent columns can now be found on the right sidebar. It really is an outlier as far as defenses, as much as Paul Johnson's wishbone is on offense. To counter these offensive trends, Bud Foster made some adjustments to the base defense after the 2003 season. Why are we sometimes successful (last year 2nd half) and sometimes not so successful (09 second half)? I remember seeing our defensive philosophy torched about ten years ago. Since we have such a deep and talented DL do you foresee more base defense this year? Offensive schemes do the same. BLACKSBURG Bud Foster's defenses have grown accustomed to carrying Virginia Tech's offenses over the years, so an early conversation the longtime Hokies defensive coordinator had with new . The Hokies used a base 8-man front the majority of the time. And then they all have to stay on the same page through a series of on-going adjustments just before the ball is snapped. Oh, and lets not forget the secret weapon. In the diagram, Whitley (who the coaches called "the rover" last year) is lined up to the twins side, and he motions back to the middle of the field while Exum (who was the "free safety" last year) rotates up towards the line with the motion. Access Exclusive Content and Financially Support The Key Play. He had to use less of the C2R and more Cover 4. 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. Upvoted. Not adjusted to the offensive formation. So something else broke down that lead to Clemson being able to run the ball like they did in the second half. Without the post-2003 adjustments, there would have been many plays where Rouse would have been isolated in man coverage against the slot receiver. If he comes inside, Backer takes him. The transition from James Anderson to Brenden Hill without skipping a beat showed two things (1) the coaches know how to put different type players in a position to succeed and (2) while better defined to defend against todays offensive systems, the Whip still is a hybrid position. I think we see the Hokies playing a ton of 4-4G man this year, with next to no pass coverage responsibility by the mike and backer. Drawing on the scheme's nickel roots gives 4-2-5 teams the ability to run a divorced front concept. A retired San Jose police officer was convicted Friday of committing more than $1 million in insurance fraud and $18 million in money laundering after exploiting workers at a private security . Fosters defense is always going to be well-coached, and being well-coached puts players where they need to be, but you still need some talent to beat better OLs even if the defenders are where they need to be. Based on what you said, don't the DL's all "tie" up the lines in both Bud scheme and the traditional pro-scheme? *:JZjz ? Containment often fell onto the shoulders of the Whip LB, a hybrid player that was part linebacker and part safety. 8 Ohio State with schemes used by Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster,. I have a few questions: 1) With all the extra movement in the "radical stunts", do you see this as wearing down the front 7 more and possibly being the cause for some of the injuries, esp last year, (ex. I have no expectations that Antoine will start this year coming off that injury coupled with his history of not being as hard a worker. He has held the job since 1996, and he came to . Worilds was moved to OLB and by the accounts of Steelers insiders, has struggled with the transition to a 3-4 look. TechSideline.Com
He's as genuine as they come. Bud Foster used the Bear defense to suffocate the Buckeyes' run game in 2014. - TheFifthFuller. A 46 is by definition a "Bear" front, but to use "Bear" does not necessarily mean a 46 defense. It offers some terrific insight into the Hokie mindset at that time. In fact, since he arrived in Blacksburg in 1995, the Hokies have led all FBS programs in sacks (894) and sack yardage (-6,110). Boise and Stanford both targeted the safeties. Instead of taking on offensive linemen as a run stuffing linebacker, he was used more to play containment or run blitz off the edge. Other teams began to use a lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies. Youll see how they get away with that in coverage later. Stud End (Tyrell Wilson): Pre-Snap, the S end lines up outside eye of the boundary side tackle. The entire defensive approach featured a bully mentality and a big play fervor. I think they are well coached. Unlike the old 4-4, I think Foster and Gray want the free and rover to essentially be interchangable with the only exception being that the free makes the defensive secondary calls and audibles. I have not watched any tape of Miami vs Georgia Tech, so I am not sure if they make any specific adjustments from their normal scheme, but they certainly have the Yellow Jackets pegged. If one DL gets blown out of the hole, it creates problems for every other defender. On the other side, teams could get favorable running game match-ups by running to the boundary. http://www.playbookexchange.net/playbooks/Defense/02060201-VirginiaTechAttack.pdf. The middle backers have very little pass coverage responsibility, and spend significant time taking on blocks on the interior of a play. The Rover aligns to the passing strength pre-snap, so hell adjust to the slot WRs most of the time. BLACKSBURG, Va. Even in retirement, Bud Foster casts a long shadow over the Virginia Tech football program. 5yltM;6#D"A.+|F'g"##PBG
Wi+5~ljx3!_YJ8a7p;[Bx$60FF8x\f@-. 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. At the time, the Whip and Rover were described as hybrid players that had combination linebacker/defensive back responsibilities. What is a zone blitz? The doubles on the interior also give the ends more flexibility to get upfield and rush the passer. The one-gap 4-3 is a little more similar to the Hokies in that each defensive front 7 has gap responsibility, but in the NFL almost never does the radical stunting that the Hokies perform (the NFL lines are good enough to adjust and drive the stunting linemen off the ball.). Watkins is usually Fieldside. Playing more of the defense it ran under former coordinator Bud Foster, the unit turned in a markedly better performance against the high-powered Hurricanes in Saturday's 25-24 loss. couple that with (hopefully) some VERY strong dline recruits panning out, and landing dhand and/or brown next year, and it seems as if our defense is only going to get better and better, French-- in your opinion what position in the front 7 is the most important for a successful tech D. Also fwiw if tyler plays every play like those 2 video plays above its going to be hard to keep him off the field especially against gt. This column was more about the run defense, so I can work on drawing up some plays and video that shows how Clemson neutralized the Hokies in a future piece. Does this really hurt us? -- French. While the Hokies were able to win, Collins was a shell of himself until the bowl game after Georgia Tech, and I am convinced that was because he was so beat up. The defensive front called "Bear" is part of the 46 defense, but they are separable things. Hopefully he has a breakthrough year. Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. He's had only two top-10 defenses this decade, but the Hokies are never weak on his side of the ball . The defensive calls will be different on 2nd and three versus 3rd and nine. That sign board on the sideline is a tool that identifies the offensive personnel group. On this play against UVA, the Hokies are playing a base front.
"#()%$%%! For this example, here is a pre-snap diagram of a likely defensive set against a 12 personnel group (one RB, two TEs, two WRs). Can we get this thread retitled - "A Look Back at a Look Back to . The consistent 3 stripes on white was a good look. HWC? H332U(W5RR-T56 )onl ${* Everything I've read has Antoine starting next to his brother this fall. A student manager then uses the sign board to communicate the personnel group to the players on the field. Shop fresh Hokies gear at TKP sponsor Homefield. Coles scored on that long TD. A "gap" is an area of space on the field that the defensive player is responsible to "control." When Foster developed the concept for the Gap Defense, he looked to solve two problems. And that is a key aspect of playing great defense, especially when the system relies heavily on speed, quickness and pursuit. The wide tackle six and the gap defense were used by Foster specifically because they didn't have the athletes to play SEC style, line up our best athletes against yours, and beat you football. One breakdown or miscommunication and the other team could be in the end zone. Maddy is going to have to really step it up to be the starter. They have to have the frame and natural instinct. The Backer and Rover were strong side players, so they would usually align to the strong side of the formation. At that point, the players on the field know the down/distance and the front, pressure, and coverage calls. I don't have the time to cover them all, but this is a pressure-based defense. The defensive linemen get into the neutral zone, engage their blocker, secures their gap, and sheds the blocking using a "violent hand motion" (rip, swim, push-pull, or 45 technique). He had to make the Rover less a run-defender and more of a full-time DB, a SS in laymans terms. I saw that and knew we were in trouble. Also BF has talked about wanting to change the "DNA" of our DL referencing Ala. and LSU's D-lines. Prior to 2004, the alignment of the linebackers and safeties was based more on the strong side / weak side of the offensive formation. We will review the scheme adjustments that were made following the 2003 season and the impact they have had. Finally, the ball is snapped and the play runs to completion, most likely in five seconds or less. And this. I understand explaining that might as well be another post but it would be facinating stuff. Often, in interviews with Bud Foster and other defensive coaches, you hear the term "gap fit" thrown around. Following Michael Cole's injury, Foster mostly used the old "46" alignment made famous by Buddy Ryan and the Chicago Bears. 1) I have seen a ton of schemes and I can't remember one that repeatedly asks the defensive tackles to stunt across multiple gaps and still maintain gap fits. This is particularly true when the Whip or Rover is aligned on a slot WR -- hell come hard on the blitz pretty often. Bud Foster is the former longtime Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator where he spent 33 seasons coaching. A similar thing happened with the game against Miami, where LM just gashed us in the second half. 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." Next Up: All of those confusing pass coverages. For example, a 21 personnel group is two running backs, one tight end, and two wide receivers. The "Nose" and "Tackle" are the two defensive tackles in Bud Foster's defense and are generally interchangeable, meaning that on any given play, either defensive tackle can be the "Nose" or the "Tackle". They are looking at the QB and reading his actions without letting the #1 outside WR get past. Really great stuff. d88$FQ &~g?Waj }4;{S=Gg``YoF2a2XCTH#?:]=e1sp=$3_ S??oB/r~u6n?o'tm{ iu e*g[3mcXX_
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