Where were you when

[businesslawyer]

What I'm saying, is that upon further review, I've come to the conclusion that our pass defense is sucking ass regardless of whether we're blitzing or not. In other words, our pass defense is just as bad when we're not blitzing, as it is when we are.

So explain USF?

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

So explain USF?

They, too, are bad at football, and they, too, suck even worse than normal when playing away games. Especially so in East Hartford.

 

[Carl Spackler]

So explain USF?

Humidity. Slippery ball.

Just kidding. I do remember at least 3, probably four tipped balls on passes, and we did a better job of actually getting to the QB with pressure in that game and with open field tackling, and a hell of a lot better at recognizing what the offense was up to and reacting to it.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Humidity. Slippery ball.

Just kidding. I do remember at least 3, probably four tipped balls on passes, and we did a better job of actually getting to the QB with pressure in that game and with open field tackling, and a hell of a lot better at recognizing what the offense was up to and reacting to it.

And, you think not blitzing every other down had nothing to do with that?

 

[businesslawyer]

Humidity. Slippery ball.

Just kidding. I do remember at least 3, probably four tipped balls on passes, and we did a better job of actually getting to the QB with pressure in that game and with open field tackling, and a hell of a lot better at recognizing what the offense was up to and reacting to it.

We didn't blitz as much. We shut them down. The logical connection to Wednesday night really shouldn't be that hard to see. But I've made the point and will now stop.

 

[HomeKing93]

Just to add to the USF home/away discussion. In three away games, B.J. Daniels averaged about 170 yards in the air and has thrown for one TD. Yet he threw for over 400 yards last week against Cincy at home.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Does anybody have a count of how many times we actually blitzed on Wednesday? do ya? I do. There's a huge difference between looking like your blitzing before the snap, and actually blitzing.

We are not bringing 5 or more players on every down. We're bringing all kinds of looks on defense, and shifting all over the place, and when we do bring a 5th or more, they can come from anywhere.

To say it's happening on every down, or that were doing more in one game than in another? Going to need more evidence for you to make me change my tune.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Now a zone defense vs. a man coverage defense? That's somethign we've been switching in and out of, and that's where I think these players are having the hardest adjustments. We switched from a man scheme to a zone scheme in the middle of the game against Pitt. It's not the blitz packages that are screwing up this defense IMO, it's that switching from zone to man week to week, or in the middle of games, they're having a hard enough time getting coverages down week to week, let alone in games. Under Edsall, we were zone defense. Period. Always.

A man scheme, is what would have been best against a Ray Graham centered PItt offense. When that went out the window, Pitt went to different offense, and we needed to make the switch to a zone, and we played terrible in both man and zone.

 

[Carl Spackler]

This is what I was wondering about from teh coach regarding problems he's seeing with schemes.

I didn't see anything wrong with the man coverage schemes, based on te team we were seeing, but they changed when their #1 rusher and #1 player in pass receptions left the field, nor did I see a problem with going to a zone scheme later in the game.

The fact that we can't recognize pass route runners, and break up their routes, and run with them and make tackles is totally independant of our ability to blitz or drop 7 back.

That's personnel, not scheme. And you need to get them trained better if you're a coach.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Looked to me like they blitzes on damn near every play. And no I wasn't drunk. They didn't sell beer in the stadium.

Doesn't seem like you were drunk. I think you are correct - they were blitzing a lot. My point - "Don't drop it from the arsenal, get better at it". Same on offense (saying this for years), don't just run, run, run and avoid the forward pass JUST BECAUSE the pass isn't effective when you are forced into using it. GET BETTER AT IT.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Get better at it. I like that. I've said my piece on blitzing, but I'm never done. The impression that we're blitzing on almost every down to most of the people here tells me that Don Brown's system is working. What we need to get better at is the ability to recognize and defend a passing game in both zone and man coverage schemes.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

So, how much did we blitz against USF & Pitt? If you have those numbers, I'd be curious. Because to the naked eye, it sure as hell seemed like we blitzed a lot more against Pitt. But admittedly I don't have those numbers.

 

[whaler11]

To the original question. I was sick to my stomach when I first heard the news of the hire. I allowed a few good posters here to give me some optimism.

I was out during the second half of the Vanderbilt game.

They are 3-5. Which is pathetic against this schedule. If McEntee didn't have some magical ability to cause defenders to drop interceptions it would be even worse. That game Wednesday could have been 49-10 or worse.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Or get better at it. Why reduce the clubs in your bag to a Three Iron, Wedge and Putter? Learn to play all shots since that seems to be the approach that the better golfers take. We're UConn . . . we don't pass and now we don't blitz.

Just because you have a Big Bertha in your bag doesn't mean it makes any sense to use it on every shot. The best golfers I know can attribute nearly 90% of their shots to a wood, a long iron, a short iron and a putter. Two thirds of what they carry in their bag they hope to never need to use.

 

[ZooCougar]

The Western Michigan game.

 

[ZooCougar]

The P regime still has a very GRobish feel to me. The defense was supposed to be the strong point of the team. Why would you ruin that for the sake of a new system? Good grief.

Anyone ever heard the saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

The only indicator I need on whether this is working or not is the record. This record is piss poor and we didn't face a murderer's row. We've won games against a very bad I-AA team, a very close game against a bad MAC team and a bizarre Edsallesque win against USF.

 

[BigEastCT]

i realized after the courant article yesterday whee PP said he is staying with Mac.....we all make mistakes in life, dont be afraid to omit when you are wrong.

 

[Husky68]

I've been thinking (could be dangerous) about some of the comments here about % blitz vs. fake blitz and dropping back. Haven't looked back at games, but seem to remember thinking on several occassions thought we were going to blitz and we didn't, but the non blitzing players were so out of position that they weren't blitzing but also weren't in coverage or really doing anything but standing there. Seems like blitzs aren't getting pressure on QB enough and fake blitzes are getting players confused as to where to go in coverage and assignments.

 

[DieHardHusky]

I'd like to say it was the moment he was hired, but I was just doubting him. Over the offseason, I looked at how he was recruiting and such, and that didn't seem too bad. According to the players that I've talked with they were all really looking forward to everything and loved the system, etc. However, I'd like to say also that it was the ISU game, but it's more or less spread out through every single game this season. The calls that are on the field just drive me insane.

 

[Sean]

Get better at it. I like that. I've said my piece on blitzing, but I'm never done. The impression that we're blitzing on almost every down to most of the people here tells me that Don Brown's system is working.

I am pretty sure the point of a defensive scheme is to keep points off the scoreboard, not to trick message board posters.