Defensive Post season thought

#1
T

They

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#1
It’s the off-season, so it’s time to reflect. 11-2 was an incredible season and honestly, the. Most fun I’ve had watching college football in a decade…. At least!!

Defensive Thought:

Volnation, I noticed a trend with our defense this season upon further review. Throughout the season the defense was definitely the most up and down. I would say great games: KY, Clemson, even bama….. with horrible games South Carolina and Florida.

The trend I think I noticed, was the amount of aggressive blitz packages in the GREAT games vs the soft “make the QB beat us” zones in the horrible games. Anthony Richardson, was not a great QB but had arguably his best game against us… looking back it appeared that Banks implemented a soft zone QB contain gameplan, and Richardson made the throws. South Carolina, same thing. Rattler was not great all season… banks appeared to implement the same, soft zone, make the QB beat us plan… and rattler diced em up.

The Clemson game in my opinion, was a significant turning point for Banks philosophy moving forward. That was the type of QB, I almost expected banks to play soft and make him beat us with throws. However, Banks blitz the bejesus out of him and had him uncomfortable all night. It was also arguably one of the defenses best nights.

I’d love to see the analytics, but the eye test tells me…. Banks when he has the gas pedal down and applies pressure, we may have a top 50 defense.

Did anyone else notice this, or am I just orange tinted glasses this thing?
 
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#2
#2
They said:
It’s the off-season, so it’s time to reflect. 11-2 was an incredible season and honestly, the. Most fun I’ve had watching college football in a decade…. At least!!

Defensive Thought:

Volnation, I noticed a trend with our defense this season upon further review. Throughout the season the defense was definitely the most up and down. I would say great games: KY, Clemson, even bama….. with horrible games South Carolina and Florida.

The trend I think I noticed, was the amount of aggressive blitz packages in the GREAT games vs the soft “make the QB beat us” zones in the horrible games. Anthony Richardson, was not a great QB but had arguably his best game against us… looking back it appeared that Banks implemented a soft zone QB contain gameplan, and Richardson made the throws. South Carolina, same thing. Rattler was not great all season… banks appeared to implement the same, soft zone, make the QB beat us plan… and rattler diced em up.

The Clemson game in my opinion, was a significant turning point for Banks philosophy moving forward. That was the type of QB, I almost expected banks to play soft and make him beat us with throws. However, Banks blitz the bejesus out of him and had him uncomfortable all night. It was also arguably one of the defenses best nights.

I’d love to see the analytics, but the eye test tells me…. Banks when he has the gas pedal down and applies pressure, we may have a top 50 defense.

Did anyone else notice this, or am I just orange tinted glasses this thing?
Click to expand...

I think you make a great point. I think not trusting his DBs was the biggest problem. When you blitz, you have to leave more guys in 1 on 1 coverage. But if you get home, it works.

I think we'll see some improved DB play next year. The DB development was highly stunted this past offseason when they were all hurt and couldn't practice. And the freshmen coming in will provide depth, competition, and perhaps start at some point.
 
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#4
#4
GregAmsler said:
I think you make a great point. I think not trusting his DBs was the biggest problem. When you blitz, you have to leave more guys in 1 on 1 coverage. But if you get home, it works.

I think we'll see some improved DB play next year. The DB development was highly stunted this past offseason when they were all hurt and couldn't practice. And the freshmen coming in will provide depth, competition, and perhaps start at some point.
Click to expand...

Yea, I think we see our defense take a big jump in improvement next season. Our DL could be special.
 
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#6
#6
GregAmsler said:
I think you make a great point. I think not trusting his DBs was the biggest problem. When you blitz, you have to leave more guys in 1 on 1 coverage. But if you get home, it works.

I think we'll see some improved DB play next year. The DB development was highly stunted this past offseason when they were all hurt and couldn't practice. And the freshmen coming in will provide depth, competition, and perhaps start at some point.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I think the blitz options in each game were contingent on the health, experience, and availability of DBs, as much as on the ability to pressure with only four.

As our recruiting is increasing our athleticism at DE, I wonder if we'll see more zone blitz stunts over the next two years?
 
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#7
#7
They said:
It’s the off-season, so it’s time to reflect. 11-2 was an incredible season and honestly, the. Most fun I’ve had watching college football in a decade…. At least!!

Defensive Thought:

Volnation, I noticed a trend with our defense this season upon further review. Throughout the season the defense was definitely the most up and down. I would say great games: KY, Clemson, even bama….. with horrible games South Carolina and Florida.

The trend I think I noticed, was the amount of aggressive blitz packages in the GREAT games vs the soft “make the QB beat us” zones in the horrible games. Anthony Richardson, was not a great QB but had arguably his best game against us… looking back it appeared that Banks implemented a soft zone QB contain gameplan, and Richardson made the throws. South Carolina, same thing. Rattler was not great all season… banks appeared to implement the same, soft zone, make the QB beat us plan… and rattler diced em up.

The Clemson game in my opinion, was a significant turning point for Banks philosophy moving forward. That was the type of QB, I almost expected banks to play soft and make him beat us with throws. However, Banks blitz the bejesus out of him and had him uncomfortable all night. It was also arguably one of the defenses best nights.

I’d love to see the analytics, but the eye test tells me…. Banks when he has the gas pedal down and applies pressure, we may have a top 50 defense.

Did anyone else notice this, or am I just orange tinted glasses this thing?
Click to expand...
I think the gameplan vs Florida was that way to prevent AR from beating us with his legs. We had also been up 17 at one point in that game so it was nearly another great game just have to close in the 4th qtr. SC we had Banks and a couple DBs out and I think they caught us looking ahead more than anything thinking we could just show up and win. If our DBs take a step I think we're even better than a top 50 D next year
 
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#8
#8
They said:
It’s the off-season, so it’s time to reflect. 11-2 was an incredible season and honestly, the. Most fun I’ve had watching college football in a decade…. At least!!

Defensive Thought:

Volnation, I noticed a trend with our defense this season upon further review. Throughout the season the defense was definitely the most up and down. I would say great games: KY, Clemson, even bama….. with horrible games South Carolina and Florida.

The trend I think I noticed, was the amount of aggressive blitz packages in the GREAT games vs the soft “make the QB beat us” zones in the horrible games. Anthony Richardson, was not a great QB but had arguably his best game against us… looking back it appeared that Banks implemented a soft zone QB contain gameplan, and Richardson made the throws. South Carolina, same thing. Rattler was not great all season… banks appeared to implement the same, soft zone, make the QB beat us plan… and rattler diced em up.

The Clemson game in my opinion, was a significant turning point for Banks philosophy moving forward. That was the type of QB, I almost expected banks to play soft and make him beat us with throws. However, Banks blitz the bejesus out of him and had him uncomfortable all night. It was also arguably one of the defenses best nights.

I’d love to see the analytics, but the eye test tells me…. Banks when he has the gas pedal down and applies pressure, we may have a top 50 defense.

Did anyone else notice this, or am I just orange tinted glasses this thing?
Click to expand...

agree with your observation.
 
#9
#9
Whatever locker drama occurred to the side, we weren't stopping Spencer Rattler on that particular night. We did blitz him, we did mix up our coverages, we did run a ton of creepers and sims; that dude was locating the ball better than any player in college football that night and the following week. That game exploited our weakness at corner, something that can't be fixed with coaching, but only through recruiting.

As far as Florida and AR go, Florida used 7 and 6 man protections all afternoon- that is extremely difficult to pressure and against that personnel grouping, same deal with Georgia; they create other gaps that must be accounted for against the run and extend the edge, which makes blitzing/pressure extremely difficult.
 
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#11
#11
They said:
It’s the off-season, so it’s time to reflect. 11-2 was an incredible season and honestly, the. Most fun I’ve had watching college football in a decade…. At least!!

Defensive Thought:

Volnation, I noticed a trend with our defense this season upon further review. Throughout the season the defense was definitely the most up and down. I would say great games: KY, Clemson, even bama….. with horrible games South Carolina and Florida.

The trend I think I noticed, was the amount of aggressive blitz packages in the GREAT games vs the soft “make the QB beat us” zones in the horrible games. Anthony Richardson, was not a great QB but had arguably his best game against us… looking back it appeared that Banks implemented a soft zone QB contain gameplan, and Richardson made the throws. South Carolina, same thing. Rattler was not great all season… banks appeared to implement the same, soft zone, make the QB beat us plan… and rattler diced em up.

The Clemson game in my opinion, was a significant turning point for Banks philosophy moving forward. That was the type of QB, I almost expected banks to play soft and make him beat us with throws. However, Banks blitz the bejesus out of him and had him uncomfortable all night. It was also arguably one of the defenses best nights.

I’d love to see the analytics, but the eye test tells me…. Banks when he has the gas pedal down and applies pressure, we may have a top 50 defense.

Did anyone else notice this, or am I just orange tinted glasses this thing?
Click to expand...
Part of the bad games also had a lot to do with depth and health of our players. Banks was always going to pressure the freshman in the Orange Bowl.
 
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#12
#12
TNVOLFN said:
Whatever locker drama occurred to the side, we weren't stopping Spencer Rattler on that particular night. We did blitz him, we did mix up our coverages, we did run a ton of creepers and sims; that dude was locating the ball better than any player in college football that night and the following week. That game exploited our weakness at corner, something that can't be fixed with coaching, but only through recruiting.

As far as Florida and AR go, Florida used 7 and 6 man protections all afternoon- that is extremely difficult to pressure and against that personnel grouping, same deal with Georgia; they create other gaps that must be accounted for against the run and extend the edge, which makes blitzing/pressure extremely difficult.
Click to expand...
Rattler isn’t close to as good as we made him look. Anyone can “locate” the ball when you have guys running wide open. Guys like that build confidence and get in a “zone” if you don’t do anything to stop it. A few stops, a few hits and a game can completely change from that point forward.
 
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#13
#13
I still believe our defense is one edge guy and one shut down corner from being really good. We dont have the secondary to blitz every play but we cant get pressure with 4 guys up front.

If we could eliminate one side of the field or their best receiver, that allows more guys to stop the run and hit the QB.

The Lenard Little type guy on the edge changes offensive game plans. He wasnt a generational type talent, but was really good at breaking plays down from the edge.
 
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#14
#14
DaddyChad said:
Rattler isn’t close to as good as we made him look. Anyone can “locate” the ball when you have guys running wide open. Guys like that build confidence and get in a “zone” if you don’t do anything to stop it. A few stops, a few hits and a game can completely change from that point forward.
Click to expand...
Time will certainly tell if Rattler's a good QB, he certainly has the pedigree; the back shoulder throws he repeatedly made were indefensible... That night was a bad storm, SCe was absolutely trashed by the national media and insulted by their own fanbase the week leading up to that game, those boys strapped up carrying every ounce of pride they had to that field; also, William-Brice is a very under rated place to play, especially at night.
 
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#15
#15
TNVOLFN said:
Time will certainly tell if Rattler's a good QB, he certainly has the pedigree; the back shoulder throws he repeatedly made were indefensible... That night was a bad storm, SCe was absolutely trashed by the national media and insulted by their own fanbase the week leading up to that game, those boys strapped up carrying every ounce of pride they had to that field; also, William-Brice is a very under rated place to play, especially at night.
Click to expand...
I don’t think most Vol fans underrate that place. Possibly the media but it can be a pain to play at if the crowd gets going.
 
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#16
#16
DaddyChad said:
I don’t think most Vol fans underrate that place. Possibly the media but it can be a pain to play at if the crowd gets going.
Click to expand...
Count me as one who thought we were going to roll in there and beat them as bad, if not worse, than we did in 2021... In hindsight, that was not smart.
 
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#17
#17
Hit the nail on the head OP.
When the defense was blitzing and pressuring every play, the defense looked top shelf.
When the fell back into that zone it looked very soft and looked bottom shelf.

As you pointed out the problem we had last season with playing pressure with man to man in the back was personnel and lack thereof.
Banks missing the USCe game was more than a psychological hit, it manifested in the fact there wasn't anyone to support bringing that pressure on every play so the LBs were left falling back and trying to help cover in a zone where they were obviously uncomfortable.

With the development at DB this year and the incoming guys 2023 should be a very marked improvement.
I would wager we blitz much. much more than we play zone.
 
#18
#18
MiramarVol said:
Banks didn't play against SCe. There definite wasn't any aggressive blitzing done either. Think of how we blitzed LSU and Clemson. The OP is right in that we were up and down. I think SCe was an over sight by the players that they could show up and SCe would just give them the game.
Click to expand...
Think he is referring to Coach banks, not Jeremy banks, unless I'm misunderstanding your intent on first sentence
 
#22
#22
TNVOLFN said:
Whatever locker drama occurred to the side, we weren't stopping Spencer Rattler on that particular night. We did blitz him, we did mix up our coverages, we did run a ton of creepers and sims; that dude was locating the ball better than any player in college football that night and the following week. That game exploited our weakness at corner, something that can't be fixed with coaching, but only through recruiting.

As far as Florida and AR go, Florida used 7 and 6 man protections all afternoon- that is extremely difficult to pressure and against that personnel grouping, same deal with Georgia; they create other gaps that must be accounted for against the run and extend the edge, which makes blitzing/pressure extremely difficult.
Click to expand...

Disagree about Rattler. While it’s easy to sit back and say that, we yet again made a mediocre QB look like a Heisman winner. Any TN could see something was VASTLY wrong with the whole team. Go back and watch Heupels post game press conference. He was completely different than at any point since arriving in Knoxville. The entire team was distracted. That was the worst game played by a Heupel coached team at TN by FAR.

We never got the full story about it hat happened before the SC game. But I think there was more that went on than we will ever know. That game determined whether or not we went to the playoffs. There is no way anyone will get me to believe that SC was just that much better than we were. Something more serious than any of us will ever know took place imo.
 
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