The offensive personnel or personnel group is the makeup of offensive skill positions for any given play. #Scales4Heisman. This is a more traditional 4-3 defensive set that allows the Hokies to get to all of their fronts, pressures and coverages from the same single base set. HWC? We will look at the Hokies pass defense in more detail in a later post. Id call both of them pseudo-Cover 3. What's considered non-radical? Bud, a divorcee, married Jessie in February on Super Bowl Sunday, about four months after the hospital scare and around the time discussion began about him retiring. Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. Los Angeles is launching a guaranteed income pilot program, set to be the biggest in the US so far. Instead of taking on offensive linemen as a run stuffing linebacker, he was used more to play containment or run blitz off the edge. It offers some terrific insight into the Hokie mindset at that time. 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. Instead he will look to plant and dive straight ahead for the inside of the 6 gap or the 4 gap, or he will plant and cut back to the center gap. Former Coaching Staff: Where are they now? Such a menacing look. Adobe d C But I don't think we put enough pressure on them either due to match ups on the front line and some weaknesses in coverage, both due to injuries. They do not run blitz as much with him in the lineup, however he is used just as much on mike dog pass blitzes (at points he was their most dangerous pass rusher as a blitzer last year.). but as mentioned, the type of dt's vt uses are small, quick guys so some guys that might be more nfl types wouldn't fit what bud is asking his guys to do. Drawing on the scheme's nickel roots gives 4-2-5 teams the ability to run a divorced front concept. It was difficult for offenses to determine how many were blitzing and how many were dropping into coverage. His upside is higher than Collins, but Collins is a much more instinctual player at this point. TechSideline.com (a.k.a. That gets us to the pre-snap look for second down. He had a concussion and it hurt our secondary. The WHIP LB is a weakside LB, analogous to a JACK LB in a 3-4, who often blitzes off the edge in pressure situations, but who has to be able to cover backs well. Backers and Mikes must be adept at timing blitzes and taking on blocks. 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. Virginia Tech uses both their base look (which features each lineman and linebacker having gap responsibility for the gap in front of them) or a more radical stunting approach based on the talent Foster has available. Oh, and lets not forget the secret weapon. Watching film of South Carolina against Clemson, South Carolina absolutely manhandled the Clemson OL, the same OL that manhandled the Hokies in the 2nd half of the ACC CG. Remember getting gashed repeatedly by just about everybody we played? 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. http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. In addition to these types of coverage adjustments, there may be front and pressure adjustments made by the defense as well. 20102023, Orange and Maroon Media, LLC. He does not have to be a big guy, but he does have to have a very high motor. There are two inside linebackers in the 4-4 scheme sometimes known as the Mike and Buck linebackers. Dog Inside Blitz, a common blitz you see from Tech. It will be a 4-3. http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br. One thing that the Hokies will have to do is be able to beat their press coverage on our receivers like what happened when D.J. It depends on which version of the 4-3. I think I understand why our defense is used against us in recruiting. It turns into a 1/4-1/4-1/2 scheme, C3, or you have to split the coverage so that the single receiver backside is getting man coverage. They made popular the "G" front and took the 1985 Bears 46 defensive front as a compliment, which Tech would call the "Tuff" package. I saw that and knew we were in trouble. Mike: The Mike backer (Jack Tyler) lines up directly over the center, and blitzes against the flow of the play to fly through the 1-3 gap. . He must maintain gap control on the 6 gap and not allow the running back to get outside his outside shoulder. 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. 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. Excellent Hokies like Xavier Adibi, Chris Ellis, and Jonathan Lewis have barely had a look. If our defense is designed to "funnel" the ball carrier to certain positions I could see some recruits not liking that. This 4-3, 2-high safety base set gets the defense in a much better pre-snap position to defend offenses that like to use a lot of spread or 3-4 wide formations. What is a zone blitz? 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. First of all, they had a GREAT offensive line that was able to block at angles which cut off the stunts from Virginia Tech linebackers. 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. 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. From all of us at The Key Play, get off the bench and in the game. 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." The Backer and Rover were strong side players, so they would usually align to the strong side of the formation. Antone Exum is moving forward at the snap, and both Exum and Hosley end up making the tackle along with Luther Maddy. French on the Bench is a new series of posts that will take a closer look at the theory, fundamentals, and scheme of Tech's offense and defense. He's had only two top-10 defenses this decade, but the Hokies are never weak on his side of the ball . The diagram below uses numbers to identify each gap. They have to get depth immediately to play deep-half coverage. Nose Tackle: The Nose (Luther Maddy): The nose will line up as a 1 technique, on the inside eye of the play-side guard. The Chargers' defense ranked last in third-down conversion percentage (49.54%), 30th in rushing yards allowed per game (138.9), 30th in points allowed per game (27.0) and 23rd in yards allowed . It is generally made with a 2i-technique on the weakside (Wide 6) and a 3-technique strongside (Split 6), so its quite close to the Over front (1 tech weak, 3-tech strong). 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. There are a ton of details that are critical for the defense to execute properly. Frenchgreat new addition to TKP! Flowers, Hall, and Green have been starters. In fact, since he arrived in Blacksburg in 1995, the Hokies have led all FBS programs in sacks (894) and sack yardage (-6,110). Is this true and if so, how do we strengthen this weakness with out losing run control? In terms of base sets, the Hokies transitioned from being a heavy 8-man front defense to a 4-3-4 base set characterized by two deep safeties. Bud Foster keeps Virginia Tech opponents guessing with ability to adjust on defense After Virginia Tech upset No. "#()%$%%! Bare minimum is the stalemate. They recruit nimble, short tackles, which you don't see in the NFL. *:JZjz ? "#()%$%%! 46 does not stand for 4 DL and 6 LBs, the name is derived from the player Buddy Ryan used to play one of the attacking LB positions. In-Depth Analysis of the Hokies' Bear Defense. MIKE is the same type of player as MIKE in a 4-3 defense, but Backer is more like a SAM LB in a 4-3, and often gets the RB or TE to the passing strength. 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. The players also aligned differently. I love it anyway! Great stuff as always French. Offensive schemes do the same. If you have any questions, I will be sure to answer to answer them in the comments. 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. The Whip was a weak side outside linebacker in the base 8-man front and he was a weak side safety in the 2-deep safety set (base used regularly in passing situations). Hopefully Logan will have improved his accuracy to be able to make them pay for it. Boise and Stanford both targeted the safeties. Thanks for reading! 2) In a one gap 4-3, the DL wants to get up field and make plays. Based on what you guys are saying those type of players wouldn't fit into BF's scheme unless he's going to go to a more traditional 4-3. I will touch on this more when I write my column on the secondary play, but I think because Hokies safeties have been victimized in man coverage so much, that Foster is looking at his safeties having less run support responsibility and being better at coverage, hence the change of putting converted corners at safety. Meanwhile, passing downs allow the Hokies to easily switch the whip for a nickel back. k_~k=: .qNgR\T0A$wcfXoMe#:!v2W}\;Kfva%VSc~s{A?dtpq) g~u+c\8h{ ]KKCz/H-\XH/c&4]#T{*]k0:}M &i$kj? [=?_. I am not sure where Antoine fits, but I find it hard to believe he will beat out Maddy with Maddy's excellent spring. 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). In the seasons that he had great talent, they didn't blitz and stunt as much (the 06 and 07 Hokie defensive highlight films feature much more base defense against the run.). The defensive calls will be different on 2nd and three versus 3rd and nine. While he misses the tackle, he allows enough time for the other players to secure their gap and then pursue to tackle the UVA tailback for a marginal gain. h_k@vJbR Its a different approach from VKs 4-2-5, which dropped one SS into the box, but essentially a 4-2-5 plays like a 4-4 front against any pro-style 2-TE/1-2 back offense. The DEs aligned much like they do today with the Stud always to the wide side and the End always to the boundary. Without the post-2003 adjustments, there would have been many plays where Rouse would have been isolated in man coverage against the slot receiver. As covered in Part 1, the Tech defense aligns based on ball position relative to the hash marks. 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. 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. The primary adjustments were to go to a base 2-high safety set (as discussed earlier), with the Whip up as a linebacker full time and the Rover back as a safety in most alignments. Instead of slanting as much (because his DL had a tendency to lose gap control and his backer couldn't figure out how to be in the correct place), Bud reverted back to shooting gaps. The doubles on the interior also give the ends more flexibility to get upfield and rush the passer. Everything I've read has Antoine starting next to his brother this fall. Wiley, Brown, Russell, Drakeford, Gray, Banks, Prioleau, Charleton, Midget, Bird, McCadam, Pile, Hall, Green, Fuller, Williams, Hamilton, Rouse, Flowers, Harris, Chancellor, Carmichael, Hosley, Fuller, Exum, Jarrett. Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in bad humor. pretty cool to look back on it from time to time. Some teams run a 2 gap scheme (which is much more difficult to get players for.) As for NFL caliber lineman. *:JZjz ? What VT wants to do to you is show the 8 man front, and force you to go into max-protect blocking, and then peel those extra 2 guys back into Cover 4. Well, Bud had to change his defense a little to handle that. The Backer disguises, looking like he is scraping play-side, but in reality, he is filling the interior of the 6 gap. And then there was all the blitzing. I think they were 6'2 or so and 270-280 lbs. The free safety is responsible for coverage adjustments and making sure that everyone is lined up properly. The movement ideally allows three Hokies to be unblocked, versus depending on the physical ability of the defensive line to beat each of their blocks at the point of attack. Thekeyplay.com is not affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. If the ball is on the hashmark, Rover goes Field side, WHIP to the boundary. VT couldn't stop the run against Stanford. 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. So that got me thinking: how does Bud and Co defend GT differently than a more pro style set? 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. This book features Bud Foster, Defensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech; Chris Ash, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Ohio State; Mickey Matthews, former Head Coach at James . Why are we sometimes successful (last year 2nd half) and sometimes not so successful (09 second half)? Our DL has way more play making responsibility in the run game than a traditional 4-3 where at least 2 of the linemen are expected to eat double blocks and free up the linebackers. 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. '+,,-/4443.4444444444 The "G" front is the base front, but here I have not adjusted to the formation. I love the white helmet with the stripe and white facemask. This is absolutely an attacking defense where every player is expected to #1 maintain leverage/control their gap responsibility and #2 attack attack attack the ball carrier. Bud Foster received national recognition for the way his Bear defense surprised and shut down Urban Meyer's vaunted spread rushing attack in 2014. It wasn't a great "instinctual play" by Hosley, but a calculated play call and design by Foster. 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. Normally, it will be one of the linebackers that will communicate any adjustments to the defensive front call or blitz call. - TheFifthFuller. Seems to me it would be a waste of time unless they are going to use him at DE. 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. The helmets they're wearing are still my favorite VT helmets. See Tim Tebow (or Pat White at WVU.) So, they would use multiple tight ends to the strong side, then motion one of those tight ends back to the whip side. That gives up some of the flat zone coverage, so watch for more WR screens this week if they show us C4. The defensive front called "Bear" is part of the 46 defense, but they are separable things. OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. A similar thing happened with the game against Miami, where LM just gashed us in the second half. Rover adjusts to the better receivers or Field side. 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