Defending Tech
The first thing I would gameplan is to take the WR Pearl Harbor screens away from them with an identified spy that bluffed rush and peeled down the line with any pulls. On third downs I would use one to both sides of the formation.
The second must would be to have multiple options on eliminating the short crossing routes from the slot and RB. Tech does an outstanding job of utilizing the umpire to rub off any defender playing man and they hook up between defenders in any zone. Norton, Kindle, and Muck would all be the type big hitters that could discourage the dinks and dunks—the key is to not follow any receiver but instead pass him on to the next zone defender with verbal communication.
I think the secret in any zone is to give up underneath help on WR curls and outs but instead coach the two hashmark LB’s to hunt the crosses and screens with nasty on their minds and start blasting any vertical routes in the vicinity. Tech thrives on zones that drop LB’s deep because they can dink and dunk them to death with crosses and screens.
I think deciding how many defenders I am willing to risk on any max blitz should come next and if two different looks is enough. I would find Tech’s most obvious route/receiver against max blitzes from the scouting report and find a way to station a “free robber” in a position to make a play on that route while the rest are playing man. Kindle would be my main blitzer off the edge and Norton would be my main stunter inside. Sending any of the starting LB’s on any blitz is a losing proposition.
CU and Show Me were able to stop the run with five-six in the box and they both did a good job of belting the receivers after the catch–this paid off because footsteps were heard in the neighborhood in the second half. The front four provided steady pressure that at least made Harrell throw on time and they didn’t allow him to escape the pocket on scrambles by staying in their lanes. Tech’s OLine might not be the same quality of standard that we are accustomed to seeing when we play them. We should find out by beer thirty Saturday.
November 7, 2007 at 11:39 am
I completely disagree. I’ll send Derry, Bobino & Killebrew to blitz Harrell at will. I’ll have either Okam or Lokey peel down for any screens (which we don’t expect many). We’ll let Crabtree run free and play a box and one. You won’t see how effective this is on your TV screen unless you’re watching it on Hi-Def, where you can see 4 defenders surrounding Crabtree-each 10 yards apart.
Oh, we’ll also stay in our base 4-3. Derry is extremely effective on slot receivers.
November 7, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Awesome. Thanks coach. So would you suggest being base 4-3 or nickel on anything but obvious passing downs? I think Orakpo’s athleticism coupled with Kindle’s rush capabilities gives us some flexibility in our front 7 that we haven’t had in the past. I’d also like to see Aaron Lewis drop inside some to exploit their wide splits on the interior. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Okam attack their center freeing up some stunting LB’s, preferably Norton or Muck, on the inside.
November 7, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Fantastic work Coach. Thank you.
Things should work out as long as Tech doesn’t do anything different that would catch our brain trust ‘off-guard’.
Pirates are creatures of habit, aren’t they?
November 7, 2007 at 12:48 pm
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
November 7, 2007 at 12:55 pm
FACE RAPE ALL DAY.
November 7, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Super Bad article.
I wish our coaches would play Madden on All Pro. You learn more about strategy and counter strategy from that game than from playing Baylor and Rice all the time.
Also, has the author ever coached or played football? Why is his defensive excellence wasted on this website?
November 7, 2007 at 1:10 pm
The author, TexasFootball, is none other than ex-UT defensive coordinator Carl Reese. He sends us his posts in longhand from a post office box in rural Missouri.
November 7, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Carl did not mention us!!
November 7, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Hahaha.. to the commenter who said “we don’t expect screens”.. You must be related to Mack.. that’s what they say EVERY week..
We didn’t expect them to blitz.
We didn’t expect them to pass that much.
We didn’t expect them to blitz.
We didn’t expect them to pass that much.
Pick your choice of excuse. Same every week. We just don’t expect anything.
November 7, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Can you blow up and enhance that little play card on Harell’s arm? Maybe they use the same one each game… huh-huh. huh.
November 7, 2007 at 1:46 pm
MOAR FACE RAPE.
November 7, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I think every down is an obvious passing down for Texas Tech.
November 7, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Hopefully this week we at least won’t hear the “didn’t expect them to pass that much” line…hopefully…
November 7, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Kelson being out limits our use of the dime package unless they go back with Jackson who had coverage problems before being replaced. The three corners will probably pair with Marcus and Ishie to form our nickel group. It will be extremely difficult for those five DB’s to play every play against Tech. Akina either plays new blood in the nickel or counts on LB’s to make plays in the 4-3. Thankee.
I’m not sold on staying in a 4-3 against any spread attack but unless Akina uses the two Brown’s we may have to play a full set of backers more than we want to. I think Melton and Kindle could see several snaps at DE and Lewis should see action at DT and DE.
November 7, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Just tell them Tomey and Robinson are back.
November 7, 2007 at 8:22 pm
there are some good points made on this thread. i betting akina will go with a basic 4-3, have derry sit on babinos shoulders then blitz headlong into the tech line on every down. he will then send killebrew in on a delayed blitz to hit harrell late after he throws the ball.
once crabtree has secured the reception on every play i would have griffin follow him from behind 2-3 steps back and chase him towards a streaking jackson and foster who are trying to make up ground after both running into the back judge.
after three quarters of this crabtree will be too tired to continue and thus full filling akinas promise of taking crabtree out of the game on saturday.
November 8, 2007 at 6:51 am
It’s sad to see our hard-working staff disparaged in this fashion.
November 8, 2007 at 7:01 am
As a Raider, I have watched Leach’s offense for several years now through both wins and losses. Playing a soft zone the whole time (a la Aggie) results in a slow death. Playing in an all out blitz can result in a quick death, but is probably better than the slow death approach.
The teams that have the most success use a 4-2-5/nickel alignment the whole game. Since Leach’s run game is based off of numbers in the box, Harrell won’t check into a run if you keep 2 LBers in the box. This eliminates one facet of the game you have to defend and your LBers can focus on screens and getting in the passing lanes. Teams that have had success stopping us also tend to mix up their coverages between zone and man. Typically zone on 1st and 2nd down and long with the LBers jumping the underneath routes and defending the screen game. If your front 4 can get pressure without assistance, you’ll obviously be even better off.
On 3rd and 4th down and short, play press coverage/man underneath with the safety cheating to the Crabtree/Amendola side of the field. Blitz one LBer with the other playing screen/hot read. Mix up the blitzes, but make Harrell get rid of the ball quickly. Try to dictate the read pre-snap and then be prepared to jump the route. It seems that the pattern has been for Harrell’s initial blitz read to be the slot receiver on the right. Usually Amendola and sometimes Crabtree. You have to take your chances somewhere and hope you have athletes good enough to man up on Eric Morris and Edward Britton. I’m guessing UT is a program that has these.
Harrell has improved since the Mizzou game of distributing the ball to these guys, but both have questionable hands at times. The LBer blitz is not so much to get a sack, but to force Harrell to get rid of the ball on time and create one on one matchups with your DTs and DEs. The right side of the line is a huge weakness for us with Carter and Winn. Carter is big and slow, and susceptible to swim moves, while Winn is smaller and quicker but susceptible to bull rushes. They often fail to communicate on stunts, so test them. You have to get to Harrell and make him force a throw to Amendola/Crabtree for the opportunity to make a play on the ball. Or, get to him before he can progress through his reads and find Morris or Britton. Britton is the fastest guy on Tech’s team and can get by you deep (see Mizzou). However, you have to execute your blitz before this route develops.
That’s about all I can tell you.
November 8, 2007 at 7:11 am
It’s sad to see the best players on the bench (not that it matters anymore with all the injuries) and us run a 4-3 defense against spread offenses.
November 8, 2007 at 9:06 am
Good stuff, dedfischer.
November 8, 2007 at 9:09 am
Second that motion Henry
November 8, 2007 at 9:10 am
i want to see some motherfuckin’ tipped passes.
November 8, 2007 at 9:21 am
Thanks….I guess you understand the misery of being an armchair QB and knowing how to defend your team although having no real credentials outside of playing high school football. It’s brutal to watch it unfold in a predictable manner.
November 8, 2007 at 10:13 am
Dedi - welcome to our world.
November 8, 2007 at 11:34 am
defischer:
Outstanding contribution.
UTF, great stuff from you as always.
I’m interested in your thoughts:
I’d be very tempted to play some 3-2-6 dime. A lot of dime actually. Beasley, Foster, Palmer, C. Brown are the four corners playing man under. Ishie and Griffin are the twin safeties deep - we can play games with their depth depending on down and distance. If Tech lines up in a balanced 4 WR set, you have 3 on 2 on both sides with help and two LBs with nasty dispositions policing the shallow crossing routes. Lokey is my nose rotating with Miller and Okam - we’ll need 25 plays worth of maniacal effort from each; Kindle/Norton/Muck form my LB platoon at the two LB spots and I play Orakpo, Lewis, Houston at DE with some Acho if we need to pick up pace. I’d have Scott Derry on Akina’s hip to smack him on the neck every time he blitzes 7 on 3rd and 14. I’d make Kindle my blitzing hero between the tackles.
I think playing a 2nd DT is a complete waste against Tech. They’re effectively bypassed by everything that Tech wants to do and we don’t have a Warren Sapp kind of guy who could give you the quick push and pressure where a 2nd DT might benefit you.
This is the worst rushing Tech team I’ve seen in a while and I’m very comfortable inviting Leach to run the ball rather than tempt his passing game. Taurean Henderson is nowhere to be found and this current crew of OL is a bit slovenly.
November 8, 2007 at 12:03 pm
It sounds great in theory, but it didn’t work for Gary Darnell. While this OL isn’t the best in the Leach Era, they have shown the ability to run the ball when given the numbers. A&M and Mizzou both used a 3-2-6 formation, except Mizzou abandoned it after Woods ripped off a couple of 10 yarders early in the game. A&M stuck with it and Woods effectively kept the chains moving. In re-watching the games via DVR, I noticed that in the 3-2 alignment the angles for down blocks (I played OL, so I didn’t have to practice on my labrador) are just too easy even for Tech’s line and Harrell will check into a run. It’s not that they pick up a ton of yards against this formation, it just creates a lot of favorable down and distance situations. More importantly, it keeps your LBers honest and prevents them from getting into the passing lanes quickly.
As an alternative, using the 4-2-5 alignment as a preventative maintenance formation has proven much more effective. Although, you sacrifice a DB for a DL, it gives you one less dimension to defend and another pass rusher. Tech typically won’t run with more than 5 in the box. On paper, it would appear to improve your pass defense, but in reality, it makes it worse. However, with the 4 DL that you use, I would only have 1 true DT and 3 pass rushing DEs in the game (1 of them playing DT).
November 8, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Thanks for your response.
I guess I was counting on the fact that our DL personnel were better than A&M and would hold up a little better against the run. I also believe A&M had Tupe and Dodge lined up about deep of off of the LOS in a futile effort to clog the middle in the passing game and that may have been the reason for their inability to play the run effectively.
A 4-2-5 with three DE does make a lot of sense and it’s definitely something we’ve done in the past. Our DE’s Lewis and Houston are both strong enough to hold up inside and provide some interior quickness.
November 8, 2007 at 12:34 pm
In the limited viewing I’ve seen this year of your personnel, I would go with Lokey at DT (he has the quickness to give our OL problems on stunts) rotating Okam and Miller to keep everyone fresh. Then, use your significant depth at DE to rotate Orakpo/Lewis/Houston/Jones at the DE spot and other DT spot. Rotate on a consistent basis to keep them from getting worn down. To create individual mismatches, I would use Lokey/Okam/Miller at DT on the right side (where Vasquez will line up). Then, use your DE (playing DT) on the left side to take advantage of the limited mobility of Carter and get pressure on Harrell. However, I think Lokey would clean Carter’s plow all day long at DT. Ziggy Hood and Lorenzo Williams did. That’s right, you may have to check a roster to see who those guys play for.
November 8, 2007 at 12:35 pm
The real key to our efficacy will be who the “2″ are in our 4-2-5 and whether Akina can resist the instinct that screams “MUST BLITZ!” every time there’s a momentum shift or quick change of possession.
Tech would be wise to open the game with nine varieties of screen.
November 8, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I’ve read your concerns throughout the season and caught 3 or 4 UT games on TV. I am hoping to see a ton of snaps from Bobino and Killebrew as your “2″.
One thing that Harrell suffered from in the Mizzou and Colorado games was the Crabtree effect. As I watched all season leading up to these games, Harrell was getting away with throws to Crabtree that good DBs not named Hunter and possessing a 1500 on their SAT typically make plays on. Evidenced by brothers named Pig and Tyrone being named Big 12 defensive players of the week after playing us.
He also has a tendency to press the ball downfield into coverage instead of being patient and dumping off to the RB. That seemed to be addressed in the film room after the RB only got 4 total touches against Colorado. The true freshman Crawford ended up with 19 touches for 126 yards against Baylor. FYI, Woods will not be traveling for the game due to a mutiny. Crawford will be the guy and I haven’t seen enough of him yet to know whether he is a difference maker. He was the Tennessee High School Player of the Year as a senior, but that could be similar to Javier Rodriguez from Clovis being the New Mexico Player of the Year. I’m not sure how good of high school football they play in Tennessee.
November 8, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I’d take the New Hampshire High School Player of the Year in the flat against our starting linebackers.
November 8, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Scipio, dedfischer, and Coach. Great, great stuff.
In watching Tech this year, it does seem like Harrell gets a little enamored with Crabtree at times. It also seems like, especially in games vs. Colorado and Mizzu, that defenses have been getting more “quick” interior pressure than they have in the past.
November 8, 2007 at 1:20 pm
They have, and it’s all been coming from the right side. Either a quick spin move on Carter or a stunt confusing Carter and the youngster Winn. The left side is as good as we’ve ever had in Reed and Vasquez. Byrnes has been solid at center when healthy.
November 8, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Excellent writeup, TF.
Short and readable for our average ADD user.
Clubhouse
November 8, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Scip—I used a 3-2 dime against F. M. Marcus but it was probably much different than what you are thinking. I felt exactly the same way about a second DT but I wasn’t comfortable with exactly what dedfischer relates to about the leverage angles their Oline had against the fifty look.
I used the reduced look on both sides (two three tecniques) with big Mike at the nose to guarantee a single block on him (or at best help from the RB). The two LB’s were aligned in the eagle look and one LB or the other was the designated fourth rusher almost every down.
The rush LB either shifted very late (when QB raises leg final time–scouting report)outside the OT and came from a loose five technique or jumped into the A gap late with the nose swimming away from the blitzing LB. The remaining LB always bumped (slid) late to a favorable alignment on the RB.
We played standard man some and we gave a two deep look where we dropped one safety down late to a robber depth—went with a robber look that turned into cover 2 by squirming technique. We also gave a quarters look that could stay quarters, squirm to cover 2 late, or play cover 3 robber with just one safety immediately back pedaling.
The key is making the QB pull the ball back down and refocus so that the rush has the opportunity to make him uncomfortable. Defenders moving differently than anticipated from their pre-snap alignment is the best way to cause confusion in the QB’s read–all you need is change his rhythm to get the pressure in his head.
By the way, which C. Brown were you referring to as an underneath corner—Curtis or Chykie?
November 8, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Both, actually. I’m not sure which is more ahead of the other at his juncture. Akina can make that call.
November 8, 2007 at 9:59 pm
“’d take the New Hampshire High School Player of the Year in the flat against our starting linebackers.”
is that because you know he would be white?
November 9, 2007 at 3:35 pm
What did we run against tech when Tomey was on board? It seemed that we did a ‘bend don’t break’ D that made every WR who caught over the middle get popped. As mentioned in the article, by the 2nd half, they were dropping balls just thinking of DJ rattling loose their fillings…
November 11, 2007 at 9:22 am
I think we can all agree that Akina’s 4-3 base was a travesty.
Killebrew and Bobino manned in the slot is just tragic football.
The guy is just completely out of his depth and for all of the negative GD sentiment it’s pretty clear where our weakest links reside on this staff.
November 12, 2007 at 7:34 am
Over the course of the Leach Era, the 4-2-5 is the alignment that has stopped the Tech O the most consistently.