Question of the Week 6/11/12

[superhornet]

We recently had a QOW addressing the offense. The other facets of the game have been neglected. Let's address one of them now.

Name the likely starting defense to start the season.

Name the likely starting defense to start the Big Sky Conference Season.

 

[bigsacstatehornetfan]

Defense:

Defensive End
94 Trent Eskew (6-3, 235, Jr.)

Nose Tackle
62 Matt Lawrence (5-10, 265, Sr.)

Defensive Tackle
97 Nathan Castro (6-0, 325, So.)

Defensive End
90 Ben Cowger (6-5, 240, So.)

Will Linebacker
91 Todd Davis (6-1, 230, Jr.)

Middle Linebacker
11 Jeff Badger (5-11, 230, Sr.)

Cornerback
5 Christopher Lopes (5-11, 185, Jr.)

Cornerback
1 Osagie Odiase (6-1, 175, Jr.)

Strong Safety
6 Ryan McMahon (6-0, 190, Sr.)

Free Safety
3 Dijon Washington (6-1, 190, Jr.)

Nickelback
31 Markell Williams (5-8, 180, Jr.)

The strength of this defense will be the DB's with McMahon, Odiase, Lopes, Washington, and Williams. We have the best defensive backfield in the Big Sky Conference.

Overall, we have the best defense in the Big Sky Conference. Now we just need the offense to pick it up. Hopefully, Garret Safron, Morris Norrise, Ezekiel Graham, DeAndre Carter, A.J. Ellis, De'jon Coleman, and T.J. Knowles will boost this offense to score at least 35 points per game.

 

[SDHornet]

bigsac, you have Trent Askew listed twice. Bloomfield at DE and Eskew at DT? I'd like to see Castro and his 325 lb body step up and fill one of those DT spots.

I like how some transfers were brought in to shore up the secondary. The concern on defense will be the DL, specifically the interior. The DL will need to do a better job at stopping the run. Some players were moved over from OL to add depth here so hopefully that can be the answer. I’ll have to post my lineup later but it probably won’t be much different than this one.

 

[SDHornet]

Here is my defensive lineup, really not much different than bigsac’s:

DL:

• • DE: T. Eskew
  • NT: D. Castro
  • DT: M. Lawrence
  • DE: B. Cowger

LB:

• • MLB: J. Badger
  • WLB: T. Davis

DB:

• • CB1: O. Odiase
  • CB2: C. Lopes
  • SS: R. McMahon
  • FS: D. Washington
  • NB: M. Williams

Our defense kept us in a lot of games last year. If the DL can be effective on a consistent basis (we lost a lot here), the defense should be in the top quadrant of the BSC.

 

[superhornet]

So, do you guys like running a 4-2 base when operating in nickel? Would a 3-3 work better to get the short routes? Do you even like using a nickel as a base defense? How does one react in a nickel if the offense comes out in a surprise double tight and/or wishbone set (I know, not likely in conference play), especially when there are only two LBers?

Just some things to consider. The nickel package was originally designed to deal with single-back and empty sets. Nowadays, though, some teams are using it as a base due to the simple fact that they don't have the speed to keep up with modern receivers. Of course, that has no bearing on the Hornets....

 

[bigsacstatehornetfan]

Sorry I fixed it,

I like running the 4-2-5 defense because it helps us defend the passing offenses we face. We will be much more disciplined defensively this year.

The D Line will need to get better but the LB's and DB's will help them out a lot.

 

[superhornet]

Sorry I fixed it,

I like running the 4-2-5 defense because it helps us defend the passing offenses we face. We will be much more disciplined defensively this year.

The D Line will need to get better but the LB's and DB's will help them out a lot.

You're making a HUGE implication there, bigsac. You're implying that the improvement in discipline stems from the switch to the 4-2-5 alignment. Discipline has NOTHING to do with alignment. It has EVERYTHING to do with a philosophy of discipline that the coaches are careful to convey to the players. That is key because you can take whatever alignment you like, and it will NOT work if key players don't stay home.

That said, I know that you are trying to make two separate statements to that effect; that is, we ran the 4-2-5 last year with, in your opinion, undisciplined personnel, and that the coaches are doing their best to breed that out. That is good.

The pinch point in this alignment, of course, will be the LBers, because they will have MUCH more territory to cover than in the 4-3, particularly in the area of run support. The defensive halfbacks will probably take a short outside zone, so all four short zones will be covered. The problem there will be that if there's any man coverage at all, the halfbacks will provide it, so that the LBers will likely be stuck with run contain inside AND outside. Of course, that situation changes a bit if the offense comes out with an unbalanced formation such that a defensive halfback has nobody to cover (unless the defense calls for the halfback to shift over). The three safeties will likely take deep thirds as in any 8-man front, so that will not change much. As far as the line goes, given the position terminology, it seems like in most cases the line will be shifted to one side or the other; I like that because it can create a mismatch before the snap even happens.

It will be quite interesting to see how all this plays out.

 

[bigsacstatehornetfan]

I trust Anthony Parker. I trust his defensive schemes, the only reason the defense will be better this year is because we have better players with experience.

 

[SDHornet]

I agree with bigsac and I think the 4-2-5 is fine so long as the players on the roster are talented and disciplined enough to make it work. I agree that with the majority of teams in the BSC running pass heavy offenses that it helps having that extra DB on the field. Considering this is the 3rd season under Parker’s scheme, I think the younger players who have been around it will be more acclimated to the demands of the system.

This set can/will be exposed against run heavy offenses that run between the tackles. We had depth issues in the interior DL spots that were exposed last season. The coaches moved some OL to the other side of the ball to mitigate this issue and we’ll have to see how it plays out.

SH, one thing to keep in mind is the SS typically hovers around the line of scrimmage and lines up in the box quite a bit. This adds a body for run support and doesn’t create a mismatch if the SS has to pick up a RB or TE coming out for a pass. A sure-tackling and versatile player is needed to fill this role and fortunately Parker has had one since he implemented the 4-2-5 (Schrader and now McMahon).

 

[superhornet]

OK, SD. They're running a robber technique. Good enough. That's my favorite form of Cover 3 anyway. The invert technique on one side works great for that. I've never been a fan of ANY form of Cover 2 because it's way too easy for the deep safeties to get split, but that alignment is NOT likely in a base nickel set. Everything you're saying, I'm liking quite a bit.

Thanks, SD!