Keeping the Whip closer to the line of scrimmage allows him to play more like a true linebacker, which helped an athlete like James Anderson flourish at the position. They have to get Maddy, Marshall, and McCray in there to dominate rather than having read and react play from Wilson and Collins (at tackle.). JWG goes to fill the gap, but the tight end takes him off his feet. The Backer and Rover were strong side players, so they would usually align to the strong side of the formation. And you can quote me on that shit!" Meanwhile, passing downs allow the Hokies to easily switch the whip for a nickel back. The Rover is an OLB who plays more coverage, like a SS. Well, Hosley was disguising his true intention. That would have been tough duty for a guy like Rouse, who was much better suited for the current responsibilities assigned to the Rover (1) back as a deep safety to the boundary side or (2) up at the line of scrimmage as an outside linebacker playing boundary run containment or picking up a tight end in 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 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). The transition from James Anderson to Brenden Hill without skipping a beat showed two things (1) the coaches know how to put different type players in a position to succeed and (2) while better defined to defend against todays offensive systems, the Whip still is a hybrid position. 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. Suddenly the gap is open, and the back has a nice hole. Otherwise (because the linebackers don't immediately scrape and pursue to the ball) there will be large holes and tremendous pressure on safeties to make the tackle. Maddy is going to have to really step it up to be the starter. From all of us at The Key Play, get off the bench and in the game. Was a great move on moving the rover back in alignment based on the offenses being seen but thought the Rover always lined up on the strong side away from the Whip but your diagram indicates them lined on the same side. It wasn't a great "instinctual play" by Hosley, but a calculated play call and design by Foster. That sign board on the sideline is a tool that identifies the offensive personnel group. 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. MAN. Join the community. To the uneducated eye, the defense features two ends, two tackles, three linebackers, two safeties, and two corners just like a traditional NFL style 4-3, but Foster turns the 4-3 concept on its ear. I saw that and knew we were in trouble. It was difficult for offenses to determine how many were blitzing and how many were dropping into coverage. To the uneducated eye, the defense features two ends, two tackles, three linebackers, two safeties, and two corners just like a traditional NFL style 4-3, but Foster turns the 4-3 concept on its ear. All original material and images are copyrighted by TechSideline.com and may not be reused or reprinted without permission. 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. Whether you've been running the 4-2-5 defense for years or you're looking to implement the scheme for the first time, . Registering for an account is free and easy. 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.). From the formation, they know the passing strength of the offense and based on that they will slide their respective alignments accordingly (still within the basic alignments defined by ball position). Urban Meyer fell behind LSU and Alabama in recruiting, and magically his health is at risk and he gets out. The offense uses those techniques to get a better read on what the defense may be doing. Note- things I was wrong about when I started this off: A) Backer is to the boundary. Rover adjusts to the better receivers or Field side. One of Techs defensive coaches in the booth communicates the ball position, down/distance and personnel group to the coaches on the sideline. What about that sign board with numbers like 21 or 11? 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. The strongside End, called a "Stud", aligns over the inside of the TE (7 technique) and the other DE aligns in a 5-technique. On the other side, teams could get favorable running game match-ups by running to the boundary. Bud Foster received national recognition for the way his Bear defense surprised and shut down Urban Meyer's vaunted spread rushing attack in 2014. B) Bud resurrected many of the 8 man front concepts during the awful end of Beamer's departure. Stopping the run is one of the basic tenants of the defensive scheme. pdf yrs ago. I remember seeing our defensive philosophy torched about ten years ago. The attack from the DL is the next step, but they have to achieve their gap fit first. I am ready for some football. Shop fresh Hokies gear at TKP sponsor Homefield. Thanks. It is even more stunning given how horridly Miami's D was against the Hokies. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Stud End (Tyrell Wilson): Pre-Snap, the S end lines up outside eye of the boundary side 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. 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. The Tigers complete their season sweep of the Wolfpack. With a 2-high safety base set, the Hokies can play a lot of different zone coverages (while still playing man coverage when they want), preventing offenses from dictating match-ups with their personnel groups and formations. So, what does it look like when a Hokie fails to control a gap? His upside is higher than Collins, but Collins is a much more instinctual player at this point. The wide side is called the field and the short side is called the boundary. 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. Virginia Tech football's defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, has been on the job for 18 years now, but he keeps revealing new layers of brilliance to show why he's the best defensive boss in. They tie up the center and both guards, allowing the middle linebacker to go unblocked sideline to sideline. Thekeyplay.com is not affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Antone Exum is moving forward at the snap, and both Exum and Hosley end up making the tackle along with Luther Maddy. When they face 21/22/12 personnel, theyll set up in the G front or Bear front most of the time. Looking forward to future articles. Using a series of hand signals, Bud Foster communicates the defensive call (set, blitz call, passing strength, coverage, etc) to the players on the field. They have to have the frame and natural instinct. They know on which side to align based on ball position. Free Safety: Free safety starts in a deep third lined up 12 yards off the ball directly behind the mike. The Mike is over the center. The Backer disguises, looking like he is scraping play-side, but in reality, he is filling the interior of the 6 gap. Every defensive player in the front seven has a "gap" responsibility in every defense that is called. "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily. our dline is deep this season and will be dominant. Smart Football did an excellent write up on the Hokies robber and 4-4G. Each player in the front 7 has a certain gap responsibility, but unlike other 4-3 and 3-4 base defenses, the defenders often stunt to a gap and hold their position rather than pursuit to the ball. Lets go through the sequence that takes place in the 20-30 seconds between the end of one play and the next snap. It was a very clever scheme because it could be adjusted to a pass oriented defense by slipping the two outside linebackers (the Whip and Rover) into coverage as defensive backs. Tech's attacking eight-man-front scheme, first instituted by Elmassian in 1993, has become one of college . 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. Damn shame if you ask me. The defensive calls will be different on 2nd and three versus 3rd and nine. Bud Foster defenses know how to get after the quarterback. Each defender essentially has the gap in front of him. They are looking at the QB and reading his actions without letting the #1 outside WR get past. If our defense is designed to "funnel" the ball carrier to certain positions I could see some recruits not liking that. The tackle will cross the face of the guard and the center, and fill the 2 gap, originally vacated by the Nose. It is definitely not a finesse sport. The offensive personnel or personnel group is the makeup of offensive skill positions for any given play. Sometimes shifts and motion will force the defense to tip its hand. Oh, and lets not forget the secret weapon. And then they all have to stay on the same page through a series of on-going adjustments just before the ball is snapped. They've only had a few with an NFL frame, and none of them worked out. HWC? Coles scored on that long TD. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/ask-another-teams-beat-writer-clemson. "-John Blutarsky, Small, and generally stout defensive tackles certainly seem to be the Bud Foster model. The "G" front is a 4-man Even front that covers both OGs with DTs, and is heavy on stunting. 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. In the big games where we got burnt it was the opposing QB's abilities that made the difference. All of those adjustments are made in real time by the players on the field. Graves certainly was an outlier as far as his girth, along with Jim Davis, but the vast majority of VT tackles are shaped like trashcans. The defense was predicated on putting 8 men in the box, and bringing a wide variety of unique blitzes to confuse and outman the offensive line, while in the secondary attempting to hide coverages and trick the defense into throwing into their quick blitz read, where a Hokie defensive back sat waiting to take the ball the other way. Your thoughts please. In a traditional one gap 4-3 defense, each player in the front seven has the gap in front of them with few exceptions, with examples being a variety of stunts and run blitzes that are run in small proportion to the base calls. In addition, they know the personnel group and the pre-snap formation. Engleberger wasn't a bust. 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 reason why they can adapt to spread offenses reasonably well is because of the player they put at the hybrid position. It seems to me that when Bruce Taylor is in the game there's quite a bit more of a mix. When the TE switches sides, usually the Backer flips spots with MIKE to cover him. H332U(W5RR-T56 )onl ${* Note that with no receivers split to the boundary, the Rover will rotate up to the line of scrimmage and align as a linebacker on the boundary side. They recruit nimble, short tackles, which you don't see in the NFL. Often, a zone play to the right (which on a Madden diagram looks like it would go to the 6 gap) will actually cut back almost over the center. While it's currently a knock that VT hasn't developed NFL linemen, it's more of an inability to recruit them onto campus than anything else. The singular thing that can derail their run defense is getting chewed up physically against Georgia Tech. 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). Clemson and Duke are really the only teams I can remember that have attacked Hokie corners and been successful. Is this true and if so, how do we strengthen this weakness with out losing run control? A "Bear" front covers both OGs and the Center, making it an Odd front. 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. Registering for an account is free and easy. http://www.playbookexchange.net/playbooks/Defense/02060201-VirginiaTechAttack.pdf. A retired San Jose police officer was convicted Friday of committing more than $1 million in insurance fraud and $18 million in money laundering after exploiting workers at a private security . Virginia Techs defense is a unique one in major college football in that it is very much an older style of defense descended from the Gap 8 and Wide Tackle 6. a !1AQa"q2B#$Rb34rC%Scs5&DTdEt6UeuF'Vfv7GWgw(8HXhx )9IYiy View All Discussions French on the Bench , "David doesn't even fart. Does the defensive scheme lend itself to this or did we have weaknesses in key positions? I think they use the same DE rotation as last year, with Wilson and McCray playing every 4th series and Marshall getting some snaps at tackle and end. I think I understand why our defense is used against us in recruiting. Virginia Tech's defense is in good hands with Bud Foster at the controls Skip to main . The Rover aligns to the passing strength pre-snap, so hell adjust to the slot WRs most of the time. Will having a healthy and complete team be enough? pretty cool to look back on it from time to time. The Hokie Gap defense rose from the ashes of the famed "Hokie Attack" 8 man front of the 1990's. In a robber coverage, the safeties actually come forward at the snap while the corners bail out to a deep third. Likewise, by no longer asking the Rover to man up against speedy slot receivers to the wide side of the field allows linebacker / safety type athletes like Aaron Rouse to be successful at that position. f endstream endobj 9 0 obj 55 endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Name /I1 /Filter /DCTDecode /Width 32 /Height 27 /BitsPerComponent 8 /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /Length 7 0 R >> stream Back to our play example. 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?". Since we have such a deep and talented DL do you foresee more base defense this year? In this installment of the series, we will cover the general concepts of Bud Fosters defensive scheme, including how offensive personnel and formation impact defensive alignments and responsibilities. Odds & lines subject to change. 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