It's easy for us to all sit here and scream "fire Van Gorder" and "this defense sucks", but Brian Kelly has made it clear that he isn't likely the kind of guy who is going to fire a DC mid year and he's also not going to take over thw defensive room and create a rift in the structure of the team.
With that said, if we're going to both, we should also offer (to each other) tangible and practical solutions to some of the defenses problems. It's obvious that this defense is not going to get to the point of being very good this year, but it the goal as coaches will be to make small improvements each week, to keep teaching, keep the kids together and reach the point of respectability. How can that be achieved?
It was good to hear Brian Kelly talk about taking measures to improve tackling this week. It shows that the staff is aware of at least one of what I believe are 3 major issues. For that reason, I'm not going to offer up any tackling suggestions. Instead I'm going to focus on two other areas that actually coincide with each other.
1). The first thing I'm doing is coming to the reality that Perse has been talking about. This team has no ready-to-play pass rushers at this point. 4 of the 5 WDE' s that ND has recruited in the last 3 cycles are no longer with the team and it's evident that Andrew Trumbetti is no more than a decent rotational player. I believe that Julian Okwara is going to be a good one, but folks, he's 230lbs right now and just not physically strong enough to beat a tackle even if he can bend the edge. Daelin Hates may also turn out to be a good pass rusher in time, because he's an exceptional athlete. However, at this point he's very raw and inexperienced as a football player. The other guy that I think there is a very good chance will grow into a WDE is young Mr. Jones, but like Okwara, he's not yet there physically... These are good football players guys, it's simply a case where they're ready as true freshman. It's very rare to find a guy like Aaron Lynch, who is a 6'5, 275lb freshman, ready to go from day one. That's why good football teams like Michigan State and Stanford, who ND's talent is more similar to than the likes of Ohio State or Alabama, don't play those young guys. They're not ready. They play as many older, experienced guys as they can. Would pass rush be as much of a problem if Kolin Hill, Jhonathan Williams, Bo Wallace, etc, etc were on the roster as the staff expected?... Probably not. So what can be done?
Not every team has great pass rushers in the form of speed rushers and at this point ND needs to realize that they fit into that group of teams. Luckily (ask Stanford) there is more than one way to skin a cat without reinventing the entirety of your scheme, or finding new players. What ND does have is capable "powers players". Guys that can push the pocket and create disruption. I'd like to see Van Gorder scrap the zone blitzes and stop putting his young secondary in tough spots. The best way to help a young secondary (on a team devoid of ready-to-go speed rushers) is to decrease their area of responsibility and give them help. Not so ironically, that coincides with a power rushing scheme. I'd like to see ND play much more 3-down in passing situations, with the likes of Isaac Rochell, Jarron Jones, Jerry Tillery, Daniel Cage, Jay Hayes and Jonathan Bonner as the down lineman, power rushing up the field. I'd play James Onwualu and Daelin Hayes in rotation as a stand up player who could be the 4th rusher or guy who was going to drop into that coverage I'd drop 7 and 8 on every passing down and make teams nickel-and-done me down the field with precision passing. Behind that front 3-4, I'd keep Nyles Morgan at Mike James Onwualu / Daelin Hayes as the other backer, Drue Tranquil as the big nickel as the flex defender on the edge of the box in place of a WILL, with a 5 man secondary of Luke, Studstill, Elliot / Sebastien Coleman / Vaughn and Love. I'd play no more than 4 coverages I passing situations. Cover 1 if I wanted to bring pressure. Cover 2 And Cover 4 as my core coverages to protect my corners and the seems of my defense. Give up the middle of the field as the easiest area to attack, with Morgan dropping into middle during in 8 man drop situations and rally to the ball. Make the opponent beat you 7-10 yards at a time, rather than ripping off big plays over your head and down the sidelines. My fourth coverage would be a single exotic look that you added no more than ONE twist too every week. Keeo it simple and let the good athletes in ND's secondary lineup with simples assignments that keeps the thinking out of it. ND is too young and lacks elite athletes at individual positions to play so much sting and cover 3. We shouldn't see freshman dropping into coverage every 3rd play, nor should we see so many buzzing linebackers, or post snap rotation on the backend... Make teams beat your athletes with theirs. Don't outhink yourself and and lead your young kids into situations they can't handle. Line up and use the skill sets you have on your roster.
2). I already talked about how I would scale the defense back to 3 basic coverages and drop 7 and 8 players on every passing down, because sending 5-6 Is a waste of coverage and potentially coverage sacks, if you don't have the players to get there. But how do you get to those passing situations without getting the ball down your throat. The same principles apply. Get Trumbetti off the field, the field and play a rotation of Rochell, Bonner, Hates, Tillery, Jones and Cage on 1st down. This is where yoy can be aggressive. I'd run blitz on nearly every play (like MSU did to us) and get Morgan, Onwualu and Coney moving and pre snap, and penetrating. Play cover 2 behind them, get passive on the back end and don't have the ball thrown over your head. If you smother their run game on 1st down, and create more predictable passing situations, it's easier to tighten down coverage, even in more passive schemes.... I'm telling you, it's hard to pass against teams that run blitz you to death and drop into Mac coveraes on middle and long distance downs. It requires a QB to play fairly mistake free and thread the needle into tight windows. It's much easier for freshman to accomplish, knowing that they have help. And swarming and rallying to the ball is a much more college friendly mindset than, BVG's pro style "everyone is by themselves and needs to operate and execute perfectly for this scheme to work" mentality. College kids like playing together and for each other. They'll rally to each other's aid and have each other's backs. Coach them into a scheme that promotes and even provokes that.
Understand who you are. Ever heard of a coverage sack. Drop 7 and 8, make the QB hold the ball an extra second or two to get a receiver open in a hole and maybe Rochell, Bonner or Hayes get home. I'm tired of watching our down hill style of linebackers probing and scraping on on obvious run downs, instead of penetrating and block destructing with predetermined downhill attack angles. I don't want to see Cole Luke forced into another decision when a team runs a simple 2-vertical concept at him and the safety is shaded so far to the other side of the field that he can't come over to help. If ND is simply in a more even coverage there, the safety picks up the slot receiver as he vacates onwualu's zone and Luke squeezes the receiver down the sidelines
Just a couple simple thoughts. Writing on ny phone, so my apologies if there are some issues with grammar or autocorrect.
Cheers!
With that said, if we're going to both, we should also offer (to each other) tangible and practical solutions to some of the defenses problems. It's obvious that this defense is not going to get to the point of being very good this year, but it the goal as coaches will be to make small improvements each week, to keep teaching, keep the kids together and reach the point of respectability. How can that be achieved?
It was good to hear Brian Kelly talk about taking measures to improve tackling this week. It shows that the staff is aware of at least one of what I believe are 3 major issues. For that reason, I'm not going to offer up any tackling suggestions. Instead I'm going to focus on two other areas that actually coincide with each other.
1). The first thing I'm doing is coming to the reality that Perse has been talking about. This team has no ready-to-play pass rushers at this point. 4 of the 5 WDE' s that ND has recruited in the last 3 cycles are no longer with the team and it's evident that Andrew Trumbetti is no more than a decent rotational player. I believe that Julian Okwara is going to be a good one, but folks, he's 230lbs right now and just not physically strong enough to beat a tackle even if he can bend the edge. Daelin Hates may also turn out to be a good pass rusher in time, because he's an exceptional athlete. However, at this point he's very raw and inexperienced as a football player. The other guy that I think there is a very good chance will grow into a WDE is young Mr. Jones, but like Okwara, he's not yet there physically... These are good football players guys, it's simply a case where they're ready as true freshman. It's very rare to find a guy like Aaron Lynch, who is a 6'5, 275lb freshman, ready to go from day one. That's why good football teams like Michigan State and Stanford, who ND's talent is more similar to than the likes of Ohio State or Alabama, don't play those young guys. They're not ready. They play as many older, experienced guys as they can. Would pass rush be as much of a problem if Kolin Hill, Jhonathan Williams, Bo Wallace, etc, etc were on the roster as the staff expected?... Probably not. So what can be done?
Not every team has great pass rushers in the form of speed rushers and at this point ND needs to realize that they fit into that group of teams. Luckily (ask Stanford) there is more than one way to skin a cat without reinventing the entirety of your scheme, or finding new players. What ND does have is capable "powers players". Guys that can push the pocket and create disruption. I'd like to see Van Gorder scrap the zone blitzes and stop putting his young secondary in tough spots. The best way to help a young secondary (on a team devoid of ready-to-go speed rushers) is to decrease their area of responsibility and give them help. Not so ironically, that coincides with a power rushing scheme. I'd like to see ND play much more 3-down in passing situations, with the likes of Isaac Rochell, Jarron Jones, Jerry Tillery, Daniel Cage, Jay Hayes and Jonathan Bonner as the down lineman, power rushing up the field. I'd play James Onwualu and Daelin Hayes in rotation as a stand up player who could be the 4th rusher or guy who was going to drop into that coverage I'd drop 7 and 8 on every passing down and make teams nickel-and-done me down the field with precision passing. Behind that front 3-4, I'd keep Nyles Morgan at Mike James Onwualu / Daelin Hayes as the other backer, Drue Tranquil as the big nickel as the flex defender on the edge of the box in place of a WILL, with a 5 man secondary of Luke, Studstill, Elliot / Sebastien Coleman / Vaughn and Love. I'd play no more than 4 coverages I passing situations. Cover 1 if I wanted to bring pressure. Cover 2 And Cover 4 as my core coverages to protect my corners and the seems of my defense. Give up the middle of the field as the easiest area to attack, with Morgan dropping into middle during in 8 man drop situations and rally to the ball. Make the opponent beat you 7-10 yards at a time, rather than ripping off big plays over your head and down the sidelines. My fourth coverage would be a single exotic look that you added no more than ONE twist too every week. Keeo it simple and let the good athletes in ND's secondary lineup with simples assignments that keeps the thinking out of it. ND is too young and lacks elite athletes at individual positions to play so much sting and cover 3. We shouldn't see freshman dropping into coverage every 3rd play, nor should we see so many buzzing linebackers, or post snap rotation on the backend... Make teams beat your athletes with theirs. Don't outhink yourself and and lead your young kids into situations they can't handle. Line up and use the skill sets you have on your roster.
2). I already talked about how I would scale the defense back to 3 basic coverages and drop 7 and 8 players on every passing down, because sending 5-6 Is a waste of coverage and potentially coverage sacks, if you don't have the players to get there. But how do you get to those passing situations without getting the ball down your throat. The same principles apply. Get Trumbetti off the field, the field and play a rotation of Rochell, Bonner, Hates, Tillery, Jones and Cage on 1st down. This is where yoy can be aggressive. I'd run blitz on nearly every play (like MSU did to us) and get Morgan, Onwualu and Coney moving and pre snap, and penetrating. Play cover 2 behind them, get passive on the back end and don't have the ball thrown over your head. If you smother their run game on 1st down, and create more predictable passing situations, it's easier to tighten down coverage, even in more passive schemes.... I'm telling you, it's hard to pass against teams that run blitz you to death and drop into Mac coveraes on middle and long distance downs. It requires a QB to play fairly mistake free and thread the needle into tight windows. It's much easier for freshman to accomplish, knowing that they have help. And swarming and rallying to the ball is a much more college friendly mindset than, BVG's pro style "everyone is by themselves and needs to operate and execute perfectly for this scheme to work" mentality. College kids like playing together and for each other. They'll rally to each other's aid and have each other's backs. Coach them into a scheme that promotes and even provokes that.
Understand who you are. Ever heard of a coverage sack. Drop 7 and 8, make the QB hold the ball an extra second or two to get a receiver open in a hole and maybe Rochell, Bonner or Hayes get home. I'm tired of watching our down hill style of linebackers probing and scraping on on obvious run downs, instead of penetrating and block destructing with predetermined downhill attack angles. I don't want to see Cole Luke forced into another decision when a team runs a simple 2-vertical concept at him and the safety is shaded so far to the other side of the field that he can't come over to help. If ND is simply in a more even coverage there, the safety picks up the slot receiver as he vacates onwualu's zone and Luke squeezes the receiver down the sidelines
Just a couple simple thoughts. Writing on ny phone, so my apologies if there are some issues with grammar or autocorrect.
Cheers!
