This is a more traditional 4-3 defensive set that allows the Hokies to get to all of their fronts, pressures and coverages from the same single base set. 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. Inverted Cover 2 Robber is a 2-deep, 5-underneath zone coverage that uses the FS as the Robber. The adjustment from one set to the other depends on the alignment of the Rover. )jlOkD0 Nzlk}nGr(eancz#pC)vg`gd>fX&qb' h3L88ihTy%B|1ebUX9T ";*KM 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. A similar thing happened with the game against Miami, where LM just gashed us in the second half. Bare minimum is the stalemate. The helmets they're wearing are still my favorite VT helmets. And this. Because its Even, the Center is totally uncovered. Stanford presents the most unique formula. The defensive front called "Bear" is part of the 46 defense, but they are separable things. At the snap, the nose has the daunting task of stunting two gaps, crossing the face of both the guard and the tackle to get outside shoulder gap fit on the 4 gap. The Whip responsibilities seem to change as much as the skillsets of the players in the position. Aaron Rodgers, Kellen Moore, Andrew Luck all have great skills under pressure. Seems to me it would be a waste of time unless they are going to use him at DE. The whistle blows, the players un-pile and the cycle starts again. So, it's not surprising that the man's personality matches his philosophy when it comes to dual reads in offensive football. We will look at the Hokies pass defense in more detail in a later post. BLACKSBURG, Va. Even in retirement, Bud Foster casts a long shadow over the Virginia Tech football program. The Chargers' defense ranked last in third-down conversion percentage (49.54%), 30th in rushing yards allowed per game (138.9), 30th in points allowed per game (27.0) and 23rd in yards allowed . This allows the players to react instinctively and play with more confidence. Defensive Alignment in the Four-Four In the 90's, Bud Foster used two alignments with the 4-4 defense. In addition to these types of coverage adjustments, there may be front and pressure adjustments made by the defense as well. 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. If you compare how offensive schemes don't really hurt a recruits ability to make it to the NFL, why should a defensive scheme hurt us too? Flowers, Hall, and Green have been starters. The pre-snap look is quite often Cover 4 because of this. 2) This defense also seems to point out a weakness for a athletic, good hands tight end (ex. 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. 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. That gets us to the pre-snap look for second down. Alas, so was Jonathan Allen, and it looks like he will be playing out of position in Alabama. This is very important information that is communicated by the coaches in the booth to the coaches on the sideline. 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. He doesn't believe in double-talking players, or as he continually referred to as "fork tonguing" them. VT shifts their G front to the Field side as well into a 4-3, whether its weak or strong, which gives them 3 fronts in the base package. Virginia Tech's defense is in good hands with Bud Foster at the controls Skip to main . Yeah Hosley getting knocked out screwed the rest of the defense off. 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. Thekeyplay.com is not affiliated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Where and how they play, and personnel types preferred, are highly scheme dependent. The DB's align based on secondary alignment rules. How many Hokies have become elite corners in the NFL? The nose tackle is a 1 technique, the tackle is a 3 technique. When Frank Beamer coached under Bobby Ross, they ran the Wide Tackle 6, and he took that with him to VT. What about that sign board with numbers like 21 or 11? Mr. Hokie Cody Grimm was moved to the secondary (which is funny given that pass coverage was his greatest weakness as a Hokie.) The Hokie Gap defense rose from the ashes of the famed "Hokie Attack" 8 man front of the 1990's. 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. 2) In a one gap 4-3, the DL wants to get up field and make plays. Most would call that 6 years. . It is actually a base 4-4 front. 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. Bud Foster is the former longtime Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator where he spent 33 seasons coaching. Damn that's a turning point in both Clemson and VTs program recently. I heard very little about McCray in the spring. And then they all have to stay on the same page through a series of on-going adjustments just before the ball is snapped. Going into last season, there was legitimate concern about Brenden Hill playing a position that had become more defined as a linebacker, but he proved that a player of his physical abilities could be productive as a Whip as well if he handled his assignments correctly. Its heavy on blitzes from those two hybrid players. (Dave Knachel/Virginia Tech athletics) Article It's a season of transition. "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken" - Colonel Sanders via Ricky Bobby, I wish I could give you more legs. More to come in my next post. Miami has completely destroyed GT the last few years (if i remember correctly), and they do that by blowing up the GT OL at the LOS. TechSideline.com (a.k.a. All original material and images are copyrighted by TechSideline.com and may not be reused or reprinted without permission. So that got me thinking: how does Bud and Co defend GT differently than a more pro style set? Jessie has three boys of her. http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jan/21/swinney-hired-venables-br OT: "The Mandalorian" S3 discussion thread (feat. "That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! The wide side is called the field and the short side is called the boundary. Thanks. At the time, there was a lot of discussion about the changes, both from the coaches directly and from others close to the program. 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. Instead, the coverage responsibility for that motioning receiver will be handed off to a defender already aligned on the other side of the field. On this play against UVA, the Hokies are playing a base front. I think we see the Hokies playing a ton of 4-4G man this year, with next to no pass coverage responsibility by the mike and backer. Upvoted. The Hopkins brothers, Maddy, and looking back at Barry Booker, Jonathan Lewis, and others all sort of fit that mold. Adobe d C I would go so far as to say Miami was the worst defense the Hokies played all year. Bud Foster used the Bear defense to suffocate the Buckeyes' run game in 2014. It is actually not a 4-3 base, as its introduced on your TV sets, but is a 4-4 front that has morphed into using 4-3 personnel. On the other side, teams could get favorable running game match-ups by running to the boundary. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). 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. Part 1 covered some basic concepts, including a description for each defensive position. Anytime you see the mike backer dropping back, it is change up defense hoping the QB throws to a spot without seeing the mike. Many defenses set the alignment of their players based on sides of the ball (ie, left and right) or formation strength (ie, which side the TE is on). Ellington) to take advantage of because all of our LB's are trained to be in gap control and aren't prepared to be in coverage. Charley Wiles communicates the front call to the defensive line (stunt calls, etc). Bud Foster received national recognition for the way his Bear defense surprised and shut down Urban Meyer's vaunted spread rushing attack in 2014. In the seasons that he had great talent, they didn't blitz and stunt as much (the 06 and 07 Hokie defensive highlight films feature much more base defense against the run.). 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. They have to have the frame and natural instinct. 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. Also, against Ace and Doubles sets, the coverage basically changes into 1/4-1/4-1/2 Cover 3. They made popular the "G" front and took the 1985 Bears 46 defensive front as a compliment, which Tech would call the "Tuff" package. In the above play, Jayron Hosley backpedals to his deep third at the snap. 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. 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. Prior to 2004, the Hokies were primarily an 8-man front defense and everything worked off of that. If he went out, Rover has him. I remember seeing our defensive philosophy torched about ten years ago. When Fuller took over whip, it seemed like that balance flipped, with the Whip finishing on more blitzes and the Mike not filling up the pass-rush stat column as much. They just dont have the special players they used to get at those hybrid spots and DE, which they always used to have. So, they would use multiple tight ends to the strong side, then motion one of those tight ends back to the whip side. While he misses the tackle, he allows enough time for the other players to secure their gap and then pursue to tackle the UVA tailback for a marginal gain. The Whip blitzes hard from the 7 gap to fly through the 5 gap space. It wasn't ideal. A recipient of . Backer: The Backer (Tariq Edwards) lines at the same depth as the mike but in the guard tackle gap. The results of these adjustments speak for themselves. Rover adjusts to the better receivers or Field side. When fans get their first glimpse of the Hokies this spring, they will see a huge degree of Bud Foster influence in Brent Pry's defensive scheme. Frenchgreat new addition to TKP! Am I getting overconfident that we'll be able to better compete with Clemson this year based on the following assumptions: from Clemson beat writer Greg Wallace via Andy Bitter: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/ask-another-teams-beat-writer-clemson. Cover 6 goes well with the pressure fronts they like to show. The biggest difference is how wildly the defensive responsibilities differ between the gap defense. What's considered non-radical? 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. The attack from the DL is the next step, but they have to achieve their gap fit first. This aggressive nature of the defense led to years with incredible tackles-for-loss numbers. The Corners cheat deeper in this coverage at 7-9 yds, so they can rarely show Press man pre-snap when 2-Robber is the call. Next week, we will examine some of the basic blitz packages that the Hokies use for passing down and distance situations. I have a few questions: 1) With all the extra movement in the "radical stunts", do you see this as wearing down the front 7 more and possibly being the cause for some of the injuries, esp last year, (ex. End: The End (J.R. Collins) will stunt to the 7 gap, maintaining contain on any reverse, bootleg, or play-action. Also, because of the rather shorter depth of the Safeties, you can attack their run reads directly with a vertical route directly at them, like a Post or Go route up the seam. The opinions of the author(s) on this site are independent and no way reflect the opinions of the Virginia Tech administrators, coaches, staff, or athletes. 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. The running back will see that the Stud has contain, and will not look to pull a "David Wilson" and make a break for the 8 gap. Stanford also used formation to create matchup problems. 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. Free Safety: Free safety starts in a deep third lined up 12 yards off the ball directly behind the mike. Other teams began to use a lot of quick passes and/or maximum protection blocking schemes to counter Techs blitz tendencies. The 4-2-5 Defense Study (Softcover: 145 pages) . Darryl Tapp has been a career backup. It wasn't a great "instinctual play" by Hosley, but a calculated play call and design by Foster. Foster has been at Virginia Tech for 30 years and has been the coordinator for 12 seasons. Spoilers). Never forget Aaron Rodgers literally laughing at our defense. The idea is the front 6 align based on front alignment rules. Basically, it requires two defensive tackles who can each command double teams. Containment often fell onto the shoulders of the Whip LB, a hybrid player that was part linebacker and part safety. The wide tackle six and the gap defense were used by Foster specifically because they didn't have the athletes to play SEC style, line up our best athletes against yours, and beat you football. 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. http://www.playbookexchange.net/playbooks/Defense/02060201-VirginiaTechAttack.pdf. 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. Id call both of them pseudo-Cover 3. Clemson Basketball: 2014 Scholarship Roster. And then there was all the blitzing. What I do see Tech doing is forcing opponents to keep the RB/TE in there to block by blitzing the WHIP often. A student manager signals the personnel group (12 in this example) via the sign board. k_~k=: .qNgR\T0A$wcfXoMe#:!v2W}\;Kfva%VSc~s{A?dtpq) g~u+c\8h{ ]KKCz/H-\XH/c&4]#T{*]k0:}M &i$kj? [=?_. -- French. Ball position refers to the position of the ball relative to the hash marks. What is a Cover-2 and how does it differ from a Cover-3? There are a number of factors that the coaches consider when setting the defense from play to play. It depends on which version of the 4-3. When the 8th man entered the box, the passing game opened up. 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). Prior to 2004, the alignment of the linebackers and safeties was based more on the strong side / weak side of the offensive formation. Game situation includes things like score, wind / weather conditions and time remaining on the clock. Some teams run a 2 gap scheme (which is much more difficult to get players for.) It turns into a 1/4-1/4-1/2 scheme, C3, or you have to split the coverage so that the single receiver backside is getting man coverage. Bud Foster defenses know how to get after the quarterback. The alignment is a disguise, as he has no pass coverage responsibility. Some of the biggies are game situation, down and distance, ball position, and offensive personnel. Either way we'll have 3 starting quality DT. The 46 defensive front. It is a scheme that looks complicated, but yet is very simple. Join the community. Will having a healthy and complete team be enough? getting after it down the LOS once it was clear the RB was not going for his gap. I broke the 4th wall of telestration. Stud End (Tyrell Wilson): Pre-Snap, the S end lines up outside eye of the boundary side tackle. Really excited about the front seven this year. In th defense now, the free safety and the whip are essentially interchangable. 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. against Stanford in the OB? It defintely helps to have depth regardless of the scheme, but depth and ability in the scheme only make it better. What do you mean by "radical stunting"? A 46 is by definition a "Bear" front, but to use "Bear" does not necessarily mean a 46 defense.