Defensive Play

Undone

Undone

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Our defense looked really, really good today. The two scores they had on a short field isn't something anyone can be upset about, really. 

I could be wrong but it felt like we probably rotated about as many guys in this game on defense as we've seen in a while, and this was a good sign, because basically everyone played well. I said it during fall camp but I think Travis Fisher is one great coach and honestly I'll be surprised if he doesn't get offers to leave at the tail end of this season and I just hope we can see him.

One of the things I loved most was that with Alex Davis we can line up pretty well in what is basically a 5-2. I had a huge problem last with using Gifford as a stand-up defensive end as a fourth down lineman. I saw a little bit of that today but I saw more of the 5-2 look. That formation is going to be awesome in B1G West play against the run because you can seal the edges but still have Barry and probably Miller staying home in the middle.

Tannor is incredibly athletic. 

The edge blitzes were so refreshing. Jackson is a man on fire out there. Every single guy that saw a snap looked hungry to fly to the ball and I think Chinander deserves a lot of props for motivating that group. There is absolutely enough talent out of the 20ish guys that could see snaps out there to help us win the West this season.

 
Undone said:
Our defense looked really, really good today. The two scores they had on a short field isn't something anyone can be upset about, really. 

I could be wrong but it felt like we probably rotated about as many guys in this game on defense as we've seen in a while, and this was a good sign, because basically everyone played well. I said it during fall camp but I think Travis Fisher is one great coach and honestly I'll be surprised if he doesn't get offers to leave at the tail end of this season and I just hope we can see him.

One of the things I loved most was that with Alex Davis we can line up pretty well in what is basically a 5-2. I had a huge problem last with using Gifford as a stand-up defensive end as a fourth down lineman. I saw a little bit of that today but I saw more of the 5-2 look. That formation is going to be awesome in B1G West play against the run because you can seal the edges but still have Barry and probably Miller staying home in the middle.

Tannor is incredibly athletic. 

The edge blitzes were so refreshing. Jackson is a man on fire out there. Every single guy that saw a snap looked hungry to fly to the ball and I think Chinander deserves a lot of props for motivating that group. There is absolutely enough talent out of the 20ish guys that could see snaps out there to help us win the West this season.
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Agree.  I think we are so dissapointed with our lack of physical dominance in this game, that noone is really appreciating the positives our defense showed.  Our D Line did look a bit over hyped though, and its hard to tell how much of our defensive performance was us being good, vs USA being bad on offense.

  But either way, the defense scored as many points as they gave up, considering half of USA's points were essentially given up by our offense or special teams.

 
I'm not sold on A Davis or tannor being difference makers out there. I hope jojo can get to and stay healthy and become a starter at one of those spots. He's as big if not bigger than tannnor and makes more splash plays than both if them combined. All the blitz plays from the secondary were cool to see but if thats the only way to generate pressure the defense is going to get in trouble against a qb that has a pulse.

 
Undone said:
Our defense looked really, really good today.
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I disagree. There are some real issues out there if you look for them. A lot like Colorado last year, we covered up some deficiencies with pressure.

This was nowhere near the level of play we’ve seen this weekend from the top tier Big Ten defenses.

 
Last year we were blitzing because of futility from the d-line.    Today, we were blitzing because the d-line was holding its own and there was confidence in the secondary playing man.    Granted, not a great opponent to get a good measure from but all three levels played about as well as we could hope for.  

 
Crazyhole said:
Last year we were blitzing because of futility from the d-line.    Today, we were blitzing because the d-line was holding its own and there was confidence in the secondary playing man.    Granted, not a great opponent to get a good measure from but all three levels played about as well as we could hope for.  
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Examples?

 
brophog said:
I disagree. There are some real issues out there if you look for them. A lot like Colorado last year, we covered up some deficiencies with pressure.

This was nowhere near the level of play we’ve seen this weekend from the top tier Big Ten defenses.
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The defense was good, but not great. There were still busts in coverage, missed tackles, and costly penalties.  Most of the big mistakes were early in the game, when I thought the D was trying to do too much. 

However, they were able to get 5 turnovers, and 2 TD’s of their own. Plus, with the struggles of the offense, the punt return for TD, and muffed punt, they were forced to be on the field a long time in the 2nd half. They eventually made USA a one dimensional team, and that’s good. 

 
I liked seeing more press from both corners. Refreshing to not be 10 yards off on a 3rd and 5.

JoJo is a baller.  IMHO, get 100% healthy he can be Frosts Shaqueem Griffin.

Honas and Mo (and others) missed several tackles. Get those and the D looks much better.

Still not sold on the DL. BUT hard to do much 3 on 5.  (More scheme than actual talent)  First year they have all started together.  Take time to gel

I did like we actually rotated in bigger bodies to go big on big in certain situations.  Hated seeing safeties on the line last year in goal line situations for example.

TO's were great to see.

Lee played like a man possessed. Got his shot today and grabbed it by the horns.

Williams brings the wood, but there is a time and place for it.  Down miss a tackle trying to blow him up.

A lot of the blitz got home/pressured QB.  Some over ran them.  Need to get a lot more push/control on opposing OL moving forward though.

With all that, MUCH better play than last year........

 
The thing I was most impressed with on the D is the overall depth. While I would like the top unit to be amazing, there wasn’t much drop off from the 2nd unit players, and the 2nd and 3rd stringers made plenty of big plays. That depth will breed competition in practice and allows Chinander to keep guys fresh.

 
brophog said:
A lot like Colorado last year, we covered up some deficiencies with pressure.
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We run a 3-4; either you bring pressure or you get Diaco'd. The pressure is the scheme.

And if we're covering up deficiencies with another element of the game, then that's good coaching. Something I didn't say much about Chinander last year.

I will say that your critique of "really, really good" is fair. But when you win the game with defensive touchdowns you're definitely bucking that mark.

 
While it would be great to have more constant pressure from the d-line, part of the appeal of the 3-4 is that it allows for blitzes from a lot of different positions. Chin called a number of blitzes last year, and the blitzer didn’t get to the QB. That wasn’t the case today. 

 
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