Defensive Play

He should be leading the conference in tackles.

He felt snubbed by not being named to an all conference team last season, so I was hopefully he'd rise to an elite level this season.


Had 12 tackles against Wiscy.  Just like every single player on this defense he's had some issues but he's still our leading tackler regardless.  I still think our scheme alone has a lot to do with the ineffectiveness of our defense this year.



 
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Had 12 tackles against Wiscy.  Just like every single player on this defense he's had some issues but he's still our leading tackler regardless.  I still think our scheme alone has a lot to do with the ineffectiveness of our defense this year.
I think scheme is definitely part of it, but missing tackles and footwork like the clip aren't scheme. Missing gaps could be depending on how complicated/difficult the scheme makes things, but that's more likely players as well. There are definitely plays where the opposing offense knows exactly what we're doing and how to beat it, but there's a lot of plays where our guys just don't get it done too.

 
I think scheme is definitely part of it, but missing tackles and footwork like the clip aren't scheme. Missing gaps could be depending on how complicated/difficult the scheme makes things, but that's more likely players as well. There are definitely plays where the opposing offense knows exactly what we're doing and how to beat it, but there's a lot of plays where our guys just don't get it done too.


Flat out wiffing on a guy is definitely on the player.  Chinander's scheme defensively is not and is something that I'm not terribly confident in. 

I just keep wondering about next season.

 
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Flat out wiffing on a guy is definitely on the player.  Chinander's scheme defensively is not and is something that I'm not terribly confident in. 

I just keep wondering about next season.


I saw more of the first problem than the second on Saturday. I'm not sold on Chinander and I have some scheme-specific complaints, but I don't think scheme is our biggest problem on D.

 
Had 12 tackles against Wiscy.  Just like every single player on this defense he's had some issues but he's still our leading tackler regardless.  I still think our scheme alone has a lot to do with the ineffectiveness of our defense this year.
I've listened to what some former Blackshirts have had to say and I'd agree with their general takes that our issue right now is primarily personnel.

What I like about the 3-4 is more things can be disguised than with the 4-3.

And again, I realize Barry is the leading tackler on the team, but we need to start seeing some all conference performers on both sides of the ball.

 
I've listened to what some former Blackshirts have had to say and I'd agree with their general takes that our issue right now is primarily personnel.

What I like about the 3-4 is more things can be disguised than with the 4-3.

And again, I realize Barry is the leading tackler on the team, but we need to start seeing some all conference performers on both sides of the ball.




Well we're not disguising anything from what I can see with Chinander's 3-4 and yes both sides of the ball need 'more bullets' as Frost put it a few days ago.

 
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We're not disguising much of anything right now because we don't have the personnel.


Well blitz's for example aren't that hard to 'disguise' and even when they aren't there still effective.  Being 10th in the league in sacks says a lot imo.  It's almost like Chinander's attitude is why even try.  That's bothered me more than anything this year. 

Giving that QB all kinds of time.

 
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Well blitz's for example aren't that hard to 'disguise' and even when they aren't there still effective.  Being 10th in the league in sacks says a lot imo.  It's almost like Chinander's attitude is why even try.  That's bothered me more than anything this year. 

Giving that QB all kinds of time.
We've blitzed more than Chinander sometimes gets credit for.

.....but the blitzing has been mostly ineffective.  One of our more glaring personnel issues.

 


Braxton Clark has seemed really good when he's been in. Teams tend to go after new corners and he seems to hold his own. I don't know how to evaluate these guys in any real way other than he doesn't seem to get burned and has made some good plays. Seems important with Lamar gone next year.

 
Flat out wiffing on a guy is definitely on the player.  Chinander's scheme defensively is not and is something that I'm not terribly confident in. 

I just keep wondering about next season.


I've probably made this comment several times so maybe it's getting old. But when I watched Northwestern play Wisconsin (and they play in a 4-3 but even still), what I noticed was a set of extremely well-coached linebackers where the game plan was for them to stay in kind of their own two yard radius and watch where the running plays developed to.

They stuffed Taylor play after play with this strategy. I'm not claiming I know what our LBs are/aren't being coached to do...maybe they're being coached to be aggressive downhill towards the ball carrier. If that's the case, that's fine.

But what we're doing isn't working well against the run. Like you said, when a player wiffs on a tackle that's on the player. Over the course of this season though what I feel like I see is a team that hasn't been coached well to play in this league.

 
Another play for some defensive X's & O's stuff, just for fun:

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I seem to remember Minnesota torching us on plays like this. Four receivers wide. One of your best tacklers (Domann) is coached to play pass support. I get it - he's the Nickel. But this scheme/alignment means there's no LBs on the strong side. 

Feels like a safer bet to have our edge LB on the strong side. But Nelson's on the weak side. Turns out to be a running play that goes strong side. Bootle is called to blitz the weak side, too. No help on the strong side, and that's exactly where they run towards.

Couldn't create a moving GIF of the play but here's a YouTube video that begins at the start of the play:
 






Minnesota hurt us pretty bad with this same play. We basically sell out to defend the pass and don't have run fit in mind at all. I expect Maryland to run this same play a lot on Saturday.

 
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