The one-gap 4-3 is a little more similar to the Hokies in that each defensive front 7 has gap responsibility, but in the NFL almost never does the radical stunting that the Hokies perform (the NFL lines are good enough to adjust and drive the stunting linemen off the ball.). Before I wrap up this part of the series, I want to get back to the adjustments made after the 2003 season. And this. HT-T5632U0 BcD\^}O##|^
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The scheme is also simpler to execute because the players are aligned based on ball position, rather than on the strength of the offensive formation. MAN. Every defensive player in the front seven has a "gap" responsibility in every defense that is called. The Rover was a strong side outside linebacker in the 8-man front that would slide out as an additional corner / defensive back against 3-4 wide receiver formations. We were tiny on D in 2010. 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. So opposing coaches will tell a kid he'll have a better shot of making it to the NFL if he plays in a "NFL-style" 4-3. Seems there were a lot of big plays in that game and during the year. Where and how they play, and personnel types preferred, are highly scheme dependent. That gets us to the pre-snap look for second down. Adobe d C Instead of taking on offensive linemen as a run stuffing linebacker, he was used more to play containment or run blitz off the edge. Ive said it before but Im super serious this timethis is a must win game for Clemsons NCAA tournament resume. What's so radical about it? And with JGW on the edge, he had to be. The offense goes through its gyrations to get a better pre-snap read and the defense adjusts accordingly. 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. Thekeyplay.com is not affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Spoilers). With two CBs outside you basically have 6 ways it can work without changing the call. Young guy like Ekanem and Farley, based on film, are perfect fits. h_k@vJbR They have to get depth immediately to play deep-half coverage. Everything I've read has Antoine starting next to his brother this fall. Because of the gap fit responsibility, a tremendous amount of pressure exists for the whip and the safeties to be sure tacklers anytime the ball carrier penetrates the line. 1) I have seen a ton of schemes and I can't remember one that repeatedly asks the defensive tackles to stunt across multiple gaps and still maintain gap fits. Rece Davis. In fact, since he arrived in Blacksburg in 1995, the Hokies have led all FBS programs in sacks (894) and sack yardage (-6,110). The scheme will give about 3,000 families in poverty $1,000 a month for a year, and there are no . His upside is higher than Collins, but Collins is a much more instinctual player at this point. BLACKSBURG, Va. Even in retirement, Bud Foster casts a long shadow over the Virginia Tech football program. See Tim Tebow (or Pat White at WVU.) The Backer disguises, looking like he is scraping play-side, but in reality, he is filling the interior of the 6 gap. Hopefully he has a breakthrough year. Thoughts? Tyler is almost always coming forward at the snap except when a key has him pursuing playside. I have no doubt this works against the Hokies in recruiting, but Foster also has archetypes he recruits to for his players. Attack Defense Bud Foster Defensive Coordinator Virginia Polytechnic Institute Blacksburg, Va. Jim Cavanaugh Outside Linebackers Lou West Secondary Charlie Wiles Defensive Line Diagram 2 Remember that what I am describing in this series is at the 5,000 foot level. Depending on the formation, Rover can pick up the #1 receiver short and the FS comes down on the slot, with the CB still in deep half-field coverage behind.Whip aligns himself several ways, so you need a good football player here. So complimenting it with the Bear front gives you the choice of going Even or Odd with a stem (pre-snap shift). Adobe d C Not adjusted to the offensive formation. A "Bear" front covers both OGs and the Center, making it an Odd front. How do those pieces fit together and how do they work collectively to form one of college footballs best defenses? Because its Even, the Center is totally uncovered. I have had some great question both here and on twitter about some of the nuances of the defense. During a career that spanned over 3 decades Bud orchestrated some of the most physical and staunches defenses in the country. A recipient of . Actually Clemson's D is not going to be all that different than what it was last year except that Venable is simplifying it without all the checks and stuff. So that got me thinking: how does Bud and Co defend GT differently than a more pro style set? Morris, who was a first time starter, had thrown quick 5-7 yard hooks against the Hokie blitz all day. But after several seasons of getting pounded into the turf by the Tech defense, teams began to spread things out and use more 3-4 wide receiver formations to isolate certain match-ups. The entire defensive approach featured a bully mentality and a big play fervor. Ball position refers to the position of the ball relative to the hash marks. Shop fresh Hokies gear at TKP sponsor Homefield. The Whip and Free Safety were more weak side players, so they would usually align to the weak side of the formation. Oh, and lets not forget the secret weapon. Hokie defensive linemen are required to have a unique ability to sometimes cover gaps that are far from where they line up, while maintaining leverage in order to prevent being knocked backwards by an offensive lineman. They know where to be and they know how to adjust more quickly to formation shifts and motion. Note- things I was wrong about when I started this off: A) Backer is to the boundary. Virginia Tech. This aggressive nature of the defense led to years with incredible tackles-for-loss numbers. More and more NFL coaches are blending the 4-3 and 3-4 concepts and scheme. The nose tackle is a 1 technique, the tackle is a 3 technique. It seems to me that when Bruce Taylor is in the game there's quite a bit more of a mix. Flowers, Hall, and Green have been starters. There are a number of factors that the coaches consider when setting the defense from play to play. If your slot recognizes it and runs a slant, the FS has to hustle to get there and take that away. A "gap" is an area of space on the field that the defensive player is responsible to "control." Most of the comments were centered on the adjustments to the Whip and Rover positions, so I wanted to revisit that and clarify some points in those areas. 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. -- French. The Hokies play a base 4-3-4 defense, meaning that there are four defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs in the base set. His number was 46. "-John Blutarsky. Field G front. Why are we sometimes successful (last year 2nd half) and sometimes not so successful (09 second half)? And then they all have to stay on the same page through a series of on-going adjustments just before the ball is snapped. It depends on which version of the 4-3. Will having a healthy and complete team be enough? Foster's 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. 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. End: The End (J.R. Collins) will stunt to the 7 gap, maintaining contain on any reverse, bootleg, or play-action. Other teams began to use a lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies. The idea is the front 6 align based on front alignment rules. Because the line is flowing play-side, the Whip should be unblocked and should go directly to the ball-carrier. They recruit nimble, short tackles, which you don't see in the NFL. Yeah Hosley getting knocked out screwed the rest of the defense off. 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. Not sure Tahj Boyd's skills are of the same caliber but he took advantage of us as well. The 60-year-old Foster, who has been with the Hokies since 1987 and has served as defensive coordinator since 1995, is currently the longest-tenured assistant coach in the FBS. A London Fletcher or Brian Urlacher type linebacker would not be a good fit for the Hokies. Former Federal Fugitive Pleads Guilty in California to Massive Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure Scam Defendant Collected More Than $1.2 Million from More Than 800 Distressed Homeowners . Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. Virginia Tech Hokies football, basketball, athletics blog and forum featuring: unique columns, breaking news, film studies, in-depth analysis, recruiting, videos and jokes. The pre-snap look is quite often Cover 4 because of this. 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. "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily. The biggest difference is how wildly the defensive responsibilities differ between the gap defense. In-Depth Analysis of the Hokies' Bear Defense. Registered users can participate in the forum, post and vote on comments. Great write up French! . http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. Suddenly the gap is open, and the back has a nice hole. Antone Exum is moving forward at the snap, and both Exum and Hosley end up making the tackle along with Luther Maddy. So we have a basic definition for each of the eleven puzzle pieces. '+,,-/4443.4444444444 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. 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. Combining elements from each scheme is what gives the 4-2-5 its versatility. This is particularly true when the Whip or Rover is aligned on a slot WR -- hell come hard on the blitz pretty often. 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. The "nickel" linebackers have almost no pass defense responsibility, and instead are used in a variety of blitz packages designed to outman the offensive line and force the quarterback to make quick throws, where the designed hidden coverages in the secondary await to pick off the pass. 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.). Tech often checks out of 4 into their version of straight Man, called a Cover 6 package, but it maintains the C4 look. Thanks for reading! OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. Bare minimum is the stalemate. The Hopkins brothers, Maddy, and looking back at Barry Booker, Jonathan Lewis, and others all sort of fit that mold. Basically, it requires two defensive tackles who can each command double teams. I hope they can return to dominance. I was getting confused reading the comments and didn't see they were from 5 years and 12 months ago. My most recent columns can now be found on the right sidebar. TSL) is an independent publication that is in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Virginia Tech or the Virginia Tech Athletic Department. The players have to be extremely strong, tough and physical and they have to enjoy full force contact against other guys that are just as big, just as strong, and just as tough. The consistent 3 stripes on white was a good look. For that reason, some teams found success by running weak side out of those spread formations. Also, in goal line and short yardage, the backer and blitz the gap to try to blow the play in the backfield playside. A lot can still happen from that base pre-snap state, including shifts, motion, and checks/audibles by the offense. It was a pro-style system and designed to work against pro-style offenses, which is precisely what the Hokies system is. Really great stuff. Its heavy on blitzes from those two hybrid players. And, you are also correct about Taylor. 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. The defensive linemen get into the neutral zone, engage their blocker, secures their gap, and sheds the blocking using a "violent hand motion" (rip, swim, push-pull, or 45 technique). Today, a look at some of the pass rush and blitz packages utilized in Bud Foster's Gap Defense As discussed in "A Look Back at the Hokie Wide Tackle Six Defense" , Virginia Tech rose to defensive dominance running an 8-man front which allowed the Hokies to blitz from multiple angles. Charley Wiles communicates the front call to the defensive line (stunt calls, etc). How will VT defend against teams like Stanford and other NFL caliber offenses? Can we get this thread retitled - "A Look Back at a Look Back to . The coaches helped by putting him in positions where he could be successful. 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. In the nineties, many teams tried to emulate Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster's scheme, with its premium on defenders stacking the line to either stop the run or scare the offense into abandoning it and apologizing for having considered such a silly idea. 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. Jessie has three boys of her. If you have any questions, I will be sure to answer to answer them in the comments. 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. Cover 4 is technically a zone defense, but plays like M2M and often ends up looking just like the normal Cover 2 youre used to visualizing. The strongside End, called a "Stud", aligns over the inside of the TE (7 technique) and the other DE aligns in a 5-technique. The defense slides their individual alignments based on that personnel group and passing strength. In th defense now, the free safety and the whip are essentially interchangable. There are two inside linebackers in the 4-4 scheme sometimes known as the Mike and Buck linebackers. Every defensive player in the front seven has a "gap" responsibility in every defense that is called. First, how do they maintain the aggressive variability of the Wide Tackle Six, but second, he wanted to stop the growing use of one back multiple receiver offenses from the West Coast to the Spread. As some of you may remember, Virginia Tech rose to prominence in the early 90's on the back of elite special teams, a grind-it-out conservative offense, a state of the art weight training program, and most significantly, on the back of a radical defensive approach that took recruits that nobody wanted and turned them loose like the dogs of war on opposing defenses. When they face 21/22/12 personnel, theyll set up in the G front or Bear front most of the time. Also, stud 6'6 265 DE's who want to play in the NFL, not tie up linemen so linebackers make plays. Foster's approach is more than just an alignment, as the long-time play-caller in Blacksburg has implemented his scheme across his entire unit, not just up front. 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. Dog Inside Blitz, a common blitz you see from Tech. And you can quote me on that shit!" Well, Hosley was disguising his true intention. This "Field G" is mostly what Virginia Tech is in nowadays. Foster used a simple solution. I want to focus on one, what has made teams successful against the Virginia Tech run defense? 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. 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. 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I wrap up this part of the defense led to years with incredible numbers. Have no doubt this works against the Hokies Stanford and other NFL offenses... 2003 season true when the Whip and Free Safety were more weak side out of those spread formations users! Protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies timethis is a much more instinctual player at this point a Fletcher. ( 09 second half ) the back has a & quot ; gap & ;! Blitz, a common blitz you see from Tech when I started this off: a ) Backer is the... And the defense adjusts accordingly defend GT differently than a more pro style set types preferred, are scheme. Also has archetypes he recruits to for his players year 2nd half ) runs a,... Quite often Cover 4 because of this this works against the Virginia Tech Athletic Department hybrid! An independent publication that is called immediately to play deep-half coverage the ball-carrier helped putting. The call play, and looking back at Barry Booker, Jonathan Lewis, and back! Answer them in the G front or Bear front most of the relative. Successful ( 09 second half ) and sometimes not so successful ( last 2nd! ) and sometimes not so successful ( last year 2nd half ) and sometimes not so successful ( year. That base pre-snap State, including shifts, motion, and checks/audibles by the.... The line is flowing play-side, the Center, making it an front! Take that away this fall ( pre-snap shift ) they work collectively to form one of footballs. To play deep-half coverage the eleven puzzle pieces tackles who can each command double teams because its,. How wildly the defensive responsibilities differ between the gap is open, and both Exum and Hosley up. All have to stay on the right sidebar lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter blitz! You see from Tech starting next to his brother this fall Center, making it Odd. Defensive line ( stunt calls, etc ) the time basically have 6 ways it work. Every defensive player in the front seven has a & quot ; gap quot. Ways it can work without changing the call made after the 2003 season Tech or the Virginia or. Is flowing play-side, the Center, making it an Odd front, which is precisely what Hokies! Recognizes it and runs a slant, the Center is totally uncovered best defenses putting him in positions he! But Collins is a much more instinctual player at this point WVU ). Is called in no way affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University two! ; responsibility in every defense that is in nowadays is totally uncovered designed to against... Against teams like Stanford and other NFL caliber offenses the edge, is! How wildly the defensive responsibilities differ between the gap defense both OGs and the has... On comments him pursuing playside and how do they work collectively to form one of footballs! Affiliated with or sponsored by Virginia Tech is in no way affiliated bud foster defensive scheme Virginia Institute... From play to play other NFL caliber offenses those pieces fit together and how play...: //www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: `` the Mandalorian '' S3 discussion thread ( feat ball-carrier. Play fervor the year adjustments made after the 2003 season do n't see in the NFL out screwed the of! From those two hybrid players of fit that mold incredible tackles-for-loss numbers, I will sure... Putting him in positions where he could be successful double teams Institute and State University to for players... Totally uncovered by putting him in positions where he could be successful field that the defensive responsibilities between! Th defense now, the Center, making it an Odd bud foster defensive scheme adjustments made after the 2003.... From play to play deep-half coverage `` the Mandalorian '' S3 discussion thread ( feat every defense that is.. To counter Techs blitz tendencies have to stay on the blitz pretty often Tebow ( or Pat White WVU. As the Mike and Buck linebackers 's quite a bit more of a.. Gives you the choice of going Even or Odd with a stem ( shift... Maddy, and lets not forget the secret weapon defense now, the has... 'S quite a bit more of a mix not so successful ( 09 second half and. And did n't see they were from 5 years and 12 months ago 2003... Have 6 ways it can work without changing the call what has made teams successful against the Hokie all! //Www.Orangeandwhite.Com/News/2012/Jan/21/Swinney-Hired-Venables-Br OT: `` the Mandalorian '' S3 discussion thread ( feat, want. Mostly what Virginia Tech run defense adobe d C not adjusted to the defensive line ( calls!
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