As mentioned earlier, that led to man-to-man match-ups of a linebacker or Rover against that third and fourth wide receiver. So, they would use multiple tight ends to the strong side, then motion one of those tight ends back to the whip side. The Mike will likely be unblocked, but the running back should flow directly to him, so the Mike essentially has responsibility for the 1 gap. I'd have to double check but I'm fairly certain Wiles even said he is the starter going into August camp because his players don't lose their starting jobs due to injury. Meanwhile, Dwayne Allen would come BEHIND the line against the grain of the play and pop out the weak side. How do those pieces fit together and how do they work collectively to form one of college footballs best defenses? The consistent 3 stripes on white was a good look. While the nose sometimes gets unblocked and can get upfield, more often than not he will make contact with the guard and tackle. I heard very little about McCray in the spring. 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. Billy Hite. Often, in interviews with Bud Foster and other defensive coaches, you hear the term "gap fit" thrown around. This allows the players to react instinctively and play with more confidence. Really excited about the front seven this year. He can have a SS build and sometimes aligns deeper, like the FS. However, in the Ravens 2 gap 4-3 that they ran in their Super Bowl season, Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams only job was to keep the interior line off Ray Lewis. Also, in goal line and short yardage, the backer and blitz the gap to try to blow the play in the backfield playside. Back to our play example. Access Exclusive Content and Financially Support The Key Play. a !1AQa"q2B#$Rb34rC%Scs5&DTdEt6UeuF'Vfv7GWgw(8HXhx )9IYiy Backer and Rover would take the strongside back and pass him off inside or out depending on his route. The Tigers complete their season sweep of the Wolfpack. The changes were not major in terms of philosophy and were primarily related to base sets, player alignment and the responsibilities of the Whip and Rover positions. Rover always goes to the side of the passing strength (not necessarily the TE side) or the Field side, and WHIP always aligns opposite the Rover. Registering for an account is free and easy. And you can quote me on that shit!" BLACKSBURG, Va. Even in retirement, Bud Foster casts a long shadow over the Virginia Tech football program. Thanks. That's how good of a kid he is." Ive said it before but Im super serious this timethis is a must win game for Clemsons NCAA tournament resume. The DEs aligned much like they do today with the Stud always to the wide side and the End always to the boundary. A terrific example (which of course I cannot find a good video of) is the 2010 interception of Stephen Morris by Jayron Hosley against Miami. Coles scored on that long TD. . Ideally he can maintain leverage without being driven downfield. Foster's approach is more than just an alignment, as the long-time play-caller in Blacksburg has implemented his scheme across his entire unit, not just up front. I would go so far as to say Miami was the worst defense the Hokies played all year. Hop, Bruce, and JGW) and as possibly causing fatigue later in the year if the guys aren't in shape? Hell Charley Wiles even stated that one thing he was challenging Antoine Hopkins on last August was making plays out of his alignment, i.e. If he comes inside, Backer takes him. Its a bit like a Tampa 2 defense, where the MLB drops back deeper in zone over the middle with 2 safeties behind, except that here youre dropping the FS down instead of backing up the MLB. pdf yrs ago. The Backer disguises, looking like he is scraping play-side, but in reality, he is filling the interior of the 6 gap. The other two LBs, MIKE and "Backer" play zones over the middle like any other Cover 2 zone. The middle backers have very little pass coverage responsibility, and spend significant time taking on blocks on the interior of a play. Los Angeles is launching a guaranteed income pilot program, set to be the biggest in the US so far. (Dave Knachel/Virginia Tech athletics) Article It's a season of transition. Again, the tackle will rarely be in position to make the tackle, but must minimally plug up the gap, causing the back to look to cut back to the 1 gap. He had to make the Rover less a run-defender and more of a full-time DB, a SS in laymans terms. Here's the INT described at the end of the article. Ball position refers to the position of the ball relative to the hash marks. I'm sure our coaches cite James Anderson who transitioned from Whip to NFL LB, and Jason Worilds who played DE at Tech and was drafted as an OLB for the Steelers. Foster used a simple solution. Charley Wiles communicates the front call to the defensive line (stunt calls, etc). I would argue we had bad match-ups of speed vs. speed. His number was 46. 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. The Rover is an OLB who plays more coverage, like a SS. Winslow and the defensive end (JR. Collins) to an X stunt, with Collins going outside and JWG taking the inside (or #5) gap. Body positioning, angle of alignment, depth of alignment, how to come off the snap (use of hands, proper footwork, etc), reading each individual key, reacting properly to those keys, proper pursuit angle, tackling technique.that is just a short list of things that the players must focus on correctly as a unit for the defense to be successful on any given play. I think I understand why our defense is used against us in recruiting. Damn that's a turning point in both Clemson and VTs program recently. JWG goes to fill the gap, but the tight end takes him off his feet. Gambling problem? You get what you get with Bud Foster, there isn't much grey area in his persona. Great stuff as always French. Virginia Tech Hokies football, basketball, athletics blog and forum featuring: unique columns, breaking news, film studies, in-depth analysis, recruiting, videos and jokes. Drawing on the scheme's nickel roots gives 4-2-5 teams the ability to run a divorced front concept. Dog Inside Blitz, a common blitz you see from Tech. The diagram below uses numbers to identify each gap. 3. Backer: The Backer (Tariq Edwards) lines at the same depth as the mike but in the guard tackle gap. And this. Defensive Alignment in the Four-Four In the 90's, Bud Foster used two alignments with the 4-4 defense. See Tim Tebow (or Pat White at WVU.) Each defender essentially has the gap in front of him. The adjustment from one set to the other depends on the alignment of the Rover. Adobe d C "That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! Part 3 and the final installment of this series will be dedicated to pressure concepts and the more popular pass coverage sets used by Virginia Tech and many other teams around college and professional football. By keeping the tight ends and running backs in to block, offenses could buy additional time to go to their wide receivers running down the field against single, man-to-man coverage. 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. The architect of Tech's famed Lunch Pail Defense, Foster was the longest continually tenured FBS assistant coach at the same school at the time of his retirement in 2019. In the old 4-4, the rover was always opposite to the whip. With the quick passing game made popular through the concepts of the west coast offense, offenses could beat blitzes by going with quick passes to hot receivers and allowing them to use their athletic abilities to gain significant yardage after the catch (YAC). Clear as mud right? http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. As covered in Part 1, the Tech defense aligns based on ball position relative to the hash marks. From this base set, the Hokies can play any number of man and zone coverages while still getting to an 8-man front on any play by rotating the Rover up closer to the line of scrimmage just prior to the snap. So opposing coaches will tell a kid he'll have a better shot of making it to the NFL if he plays in a "NFL-style" 4-3. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. This often creates the illusion to the running back that there isn't backside pursuit, making the backside cutback to the 1 gap the logical place to go. Rece Davis. If you play C2R, and the opposition sends the outside WRs deep, the CB must go with him, which takes away the deep help for everyone on one side of the defense, so that it basically ends up M2M. Check Fantastic furniture Catalogue and Freedom furniture Catalogue. NIL and the future of the 'student athlete', Liz Kitley is back to back ACC Player Of The Year, 2023 ACC Wrestling Tournament Seedings announced, OT: TKP Winter/Spring 2023 Gamer's Lounge, OT: 700 miles from the Rock through Spain and Portugal, HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: VIRGINIA TECH (16-13, 6-12 ACC) AT LOUISVILLE (4-25, 2-16 ACC) 9PM ACCN, FSU AD floats uneven revenue share for acc & leaving acc, Your analysis above holding true, but with our refreshed/deep D-line being able to slow Clemon's run, Clemson's new D-coordinator implementing a less pro-oriented scheme. Great write up French! There is an extensive blitz package in VTs scheme. The strongside End, called a "Stud", aligns over the inside of the TE (7 technique) and the other DE aligns in a 5-technique. I have no doubt this works against the Hokies in recruiting, but Foster also has archetypes he recruits to for his players. Never forget Aaron Rodgers literally laughing at our defense. At the snap, Jack Tyler reads a key that sends him flying through the one gap. The Hopkins brothers, Maddy, and looking back at Barry Booker, Jonathan Lewis, and others all sort of fit that mold. I think we played less aggressive which led to Clemson eventually winning. Mr. Hokie Cody Grimm was moved to the secondary (which is funny given that pass coverage was his greatest weakness as a Hokie.) Darryl Tapp has been a career backup. A "Bear" front covers both OGs and the Center, making it an Odd front. The Gap Defense is grounded in a simple concept. Tech often checks out of 4 into their version of straight Man, called a Cover 6 package, but it maintains the C4 look. The design of the defense is set up to allow the Mike, Whip, or Stud DE to make the play. Urban Meyer fell behind LSU and Alabama in recruiting, and magically his health is at risk and he gets out. Aaron Rodgers, Kellen Moore, Andrew Luck all have great skills under pressure. I remember the first half of the Stanford OB and watching one of Stanford's 300 lb guards kick out and just flatten Eddie Whitley. So complimenting it with the Bear front gives you the choice of going Even or Odd with a stem (pre-snap shift). The doubles on the interior also give the ends more flexibility to get upfield and rush the passer. -Bud Foster. 2) In a one gap 4-3, the DL wants to get up field and make plays. I hope they can return to dominance. TechSideline.Com 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). The defensive call in combination with the personnel group establishes the specific pass coverage responsibilities for the defense. Bud Foster received national recognition for the way his Bear defense surprised and shut down Urban Meyer's vaunted spread rushing attack in 2014. Antone Exum is moving forward at the snap, and both Exum and Hosley end up making the tackle along with Luther Maddy. It is mostly combined with Man coverage and is pretty heavy on stunts and exchanges between the DL and LBs. Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. More to come in my next post. Based on the film that I have watched, either Bud Foster calls more middle linebacker run blitzes than any coach in the country, or the mike backer has almost zero pass responsibility. The most common is a walked out position on weakside slots, but he can also align deeper at 3x5 or almost as deep as the FS. . Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. Either way we'll have 3 starting quality DT. If those guys don't need much safety help, then the corners can take chances, bait QB's and mix in robber coverages to get turnovers. Seems there were a lot of big plays in that game and during the year. OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. What VT plays most against pro-style teams is Inverted Cover 2 Robber, but the deep cover guys are the Cornerbacks, not the safeties. It wasn't ideal. When the TE switches sides, usually the Backer flips spots with MIKE to cover him. The defensive front called "Bear" is part of the 46 defense, but they are separable things. From a fans perspective, it is easy to see that football is very challenging physically its arguably the most physical of any sport in the world. The Hokies switch between man and cover 3. I had to go back and read about the defense given how I did not understand all the roles. So, every player has to know exactly where to be, exactly what to do, and exactly where to go before running with reckless abandon into a full speed collision. Combining elements from each scheme is what gives the 4-2-5 its versatility. Odds & lines subject to change. For more details about the site, including a list of TechSideline.com staff, see our About page. As for NFL caliber lineman. h_k@vJbR Clemson started to rise after that game, and we started to fall. I played in the pre-2004 VT defense in HS at Westfield which was also a popular defense with Oakton/Robinson and I guess now South County which has Bendorf. Not every coach could do that. I think we have had these super talented CB's the past few years but what happens when somebody gets hurt and we have to go to the bench like when Hosley got hurt last year? Steeles downfall came against spread-it-out, fast-paced systems like West Virginias. Well, Bud had to change his defense a little to handle that. Because he lines up so close to the LOS, he has to be really good with his backpedal fundamentals to be successful, but in 2-Robber he has the flat zone strong. Hopefully Logan will have improved his accuracy to be able to make them pay for it. TSL) is an independent publication that is in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Virginia Tech or the Virginia Tech Athletic Department. The 4-2-5 Defense Study (Softcover: 145 pages) . Though the philosophy was. We play three different packages: G, T u f f and FD/ST-G. Our G package is our base defense. Guys like Acree don't fit, and I do not think for a second that the "four defensive end" alignment that we heard about in the spring will be used at any time other than on passing down and distance plays.Guys like Zach McCray and JR Collins, while big enough to play DT in a pinch, are too long to really be effective on those interior stunts (that is one of the reasons that Nick Acree was never a favorite of Charley Wiles.). I think I understand the step 45 because I believe I saw an example of that when Urban Meyer was analyzing our DL a few years back. The Whip and Free Safety were more weak side players, so they would usually align to the weak side of the formation. Ok. Can we get this thread retitled - "A Look Back at a Look Back to . *:JZjz ? Playing in a college system that emphasizes skillset diversity is actually a good thing. Also, against Ace and Doubles sets, the coverage basically changes into 1/4-1/4-1/2 Cover 3. Based on what you said, don't the DL's all "tie" up the lines in both Bud scheme and the traditional pro-scheme? One of Techs defensive coaches in the booth communicates the ball position, down/distance and personnel group to the coaches on the sideline. Exactly like Clemson this year. Hopefully he has a breakthrough year. Frenchgreat new addition to TKP! 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?". Nekos was pretty average size for a Hokie DE (McCray is the biggest it seems like we have had since Chris Ellis), but neither Brown nor Graves fit the new prototype of NFL type 6'6 265 DE's and 6'4 310 3-4 DE's or 4-3 DT's that we see in the SEC. 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