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Defense

P

PotatoCreekPete

Well-known member
The change in offenses can do nothing but have a positive impact on performance of the defense.

I don't care what anyone says, when you have an offense that stays on the field as short a time as Wyoming's offense did this last season it can do nothing but put a whole lot of pressure on the defense, especially late in the games. Christensen was famous for saying that the time of possession that was so lopsided last season at Wyoming was something that wasn't that important, this I think is bunk, pure and simple. I have noticed that Bohl's offenses were rarely 3 and out and typically were on the field much longer than Wyoming's offense. I really do feel that we have some good athletes on the defensive side of the ball, but no matter how good the athlete is they will eventually get worn down, and this is what happened with Wyoming's defense.

Not saying that Wyoming can't stand improvement on the defensive side of the ball, they certainly can, but Wyoming's defense played well at certain stretches during this last season, but it was typically in the 2nd halfs where they got beat up and the games got out of hand. I do not see this happening with Bohl's defenses. I also am excited seeing what a coach can do that actually makes adjustments at half time.

On the defensive line we have a number of guys: (as close as I could come to guys on scholarship at each position)

DT position: Uso Olive, So. (6-1, 293), Troy Boyland, RJr. (6-2, 302), James Diamanti, RFr. (6-4, 296), Dalton Fields, Rfr. (6-3, 265), Chase Appleby, So. (6-0, 289)

DE position: Sonny Puletasi, Sr. (6-3, 251), Eddie Yarbrough, Jr. (6-3, 257), Siaosi Hala'api'api, Jr. (6-2, 248), Riley Lange, Sr. (6-3, 250)

LB position: Zack Berg, Jr. (6-2, 230), Alex Borgs, Sr. (6-2, 232), Nehemie Kankolongo, Sr. (5-11, 212), Jeff Lark, RSo. (6-2, 213), Devin McKenna, RSo. (6-2, 225), Malkaam Muhammad, Jr. (6-0, 226), Mark Nzeocha, Sr. (6-3, 235), Jordan Stanton, Sr. (6-0, 246), Lucas Wacha, So. (6-1, 214)

CB position: Blair Burns, Sr. (5-10, 186), Tyran Finley, RJr. (5-9, 177), Cortland Fort, So. (6-0, 185), Tim Hayes, So. (5-9, 185),

Safety position: B.J. Hendrix, Jr., Jr. (5-11, 188), DeAndre Jones, Sr. (6-0, 186), Tim Kamana, So. (5-11, 190), Xavier Lewis, So. (6-0, 190), Jesse Sampson, Sr. (6-1, 196), Darrenn White, Sr. (6-0, 192)

Frankly, after looking at this I feel that we have a fair amount of talent, it just needs to be developed. The main area that I see where we need depth is at DE. I really like Puletasi and Yarbrough but feel that Hala'api'api is better suited to a LB position but who knows. We also need real help at the CB position in my opinion, and some guys that might be able to come in and compete right off, but with better coaching up, I am sure we will see marked improvement in the players. I like the guys and depth that we have at LB and at Safety, but I would add a little competition at the safety position through recruiting. We have only one upper classman at the DT position so we got to get better in a hurry, hopefully Boyland can make an impact now and along with Olive can make for a really solid DT position, and Diamanti, Fields and Appleby can give solid depth here. We also could use some competition next year at the DT position. I really feel that what we need more than anything is a better offense to help out the defense, bring in a few guys at key positions, get really coached up and we will be ok on the defensive side especially if a few of the younger guys step up.
 
I'm sure they will probably bring in some JC transfers to help build up some of the weaknesses. I bet we are going to see a defense with much more play recognition than we have in the past.
 
KansasPoke said:
Btw our defensive will be a attacking 4-3 Tampa 2.

Good breakdown.
Click to expand...

That is good to know about what type of defense they play. What exactly does the "2" entail at the end? Did NDSU blitz a lot? I saw that they had an impressive advantage in take-aways and you get this from aggressive defenses more.

I am a little curious, I am sure that Coach Bohl believes in the red shirt program, but I got the impression, right or wrong, somewhat to Christensen's credit that he was willing to red shirt for the future even if it meant that this season would go down the tubes. But does Coach Bohl feel the same way, or is he willing to play younger players and is he a little more ready to pull red shirts than Christensen?

An additional thought about the defense...I do feel with Nzeocha, Stanton and Wacha at LB we have a really strong starting LB trio for next season and one of the better ones in the conference. But what did Coach Bohl say, that to have a really good team you need to have a great QB (thank Heavens we have that!), but you also need be strong at DT and CB. Those are two areas that we can stand to improve in a whole lot I feel.
 
I'm not sure what the 2 means in tampa 2, but what I do know goes something like this:

Its a 4-3 defense. They expect the line to be able to get to the quarterback quickly because they don't blitz alot.
The defense isn't expected to be large, but they are expected to be very fast and swarm to the ball.
The middle linebacker is supposed to be very fast. He 'reads' the quarterback and drops into pass coverage or goes after the runningback. Its like cover 2 defense on run plays and cover 3 on pass plays.

I think anyways,.
 
The Tampa 2? Great. That's what Nebraska tries to run (keyword, TRIES). Basically, its about a lot of individual assignment, little to no blitzing, and a lot depends on the d-line. It seemed to have worked at NDSU, but its been exposed badly at the FBS level. Case in point, we put up over 600 yards of offense against Nebraska's Tampa 2 defense.
 
fromolwyoming said:
The Tampa 2? Great. That's what Nebraska tries to run (keyword, TRIES). Basically, its about a lot of individual assignment, little to no blitzing, and a lot depends on the d-line. It seemed to have worked at NDSU, but its been exposed badly at the FBS level. Case in point, we put up over 600 yards of offense against Nebraska's Tampa 2 defense.
Click to expand...
Yeah it relies too heavily on the idea that the front four can get past the o-line to get to the qb. I don't know that it's necessarily the best base for us. But it is incredibly simple which may help.
 
The "Two" refers to the type of base coverage....cover two. Which means there will be two safeties over the top of a combination of man and zone c overages. It is often called a two high look.
 
Slow Hand said:
The "Two" refers to the type of base coverage....cover two. Which means there will be two safeties over the top of a combination of man and zone c overages. It is often called a two high look.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that explains it simply. No wonder Coach Bohl says that you need dynamic defensive linemen. Air Force has played with undersized linemen for years and years and have put up some great defenses. If you are well coached and play smart and determined then as a defensive lineman you can thrive in this defense. It also appears to put a lot of pressure on the middle LB, which we are fortunate to have an excellent one.
 
HR_Poke said:
fromolwyoming said:
The Tampa 2? Great. That's what Nebraska tries to run (keyword, TRIES). Basically, its about a lot of individual assignment, little to no blitzing, and a lot depends on the d-line. It seemed to have worked at NDSU, but its been exposed badly at the FBS level. Case in point, we put up over 600 yards of offense against Nebraska's Tampa 2 defense.
Click to expand...
Yeah it relies too heavily on the idea that the front four can get past the o-line to get to the qb. I don't know that it's necessarily the best base for us. But it is incredibly simple which may help.
Click to expand...

I have rarely seen DT's that were big sack candidates, even in the pros. The DT's are usually guys that can jam up the middle and the run and if anyone starts to get loose they can get them. Most of the sack guys are DE's and I do feel that we have two excellent guys (Puletasi and Yarbrough) that can learn to put more pressure on the QB if the guys in the middle are doing their jobs. We do definitely need to develop some depth at the DE position.
 
PotatoCreekPete said:
HR_Poke said:
fromolwyoming said:
The Tampa 2? Great. That's what Nebraska tries to run (keyword, TRIES). Basically, its about a lot of individual assignment, little to no blitzing, and a lot depends on the d-line. It seemed to have worked at NDSU, but its been exposed badly at the FBS level. Case in point, we put up over 600 yards of offense against Nebraska's Tampa 2 defense.
Click to expand...
Yeah it relies too heavily on the idea that the front four can get past the o-line to get to the qb. I don't know that it's necessarily the best base for us. But it is incredibly simple which may help.
Click to expand...

I have rarely seen DT's that were big sack candidates, even in the pros. The DT's are usually guys that can jam up the middle and the run and if anyone starts to get loose they can get them. Most of the sack guys are DE's and I do feel that we have two excellent guys (Puletasi and Yarbrough) that can learn to put more pressure on the QB if the guys in the middle are doing their jobs. We do definitely need to develop some depth at the DE position.
Click to expand...
Our entire line had trouble getting off their blocks to get pressure on the QB. Olive is about the only one with an excuse since he was double teamed on ever play.
 
HR_Poke said:
PotatoCreekPete said:
HR_Poke said:
fromolwyoming said:
The Tampa 2? Great. That's what Nebraska tries to run (keyword, TRIES). Basically, its about a lot of individual assignment, little to no blitzing, and a lot depends on the d-line. It seemed to have worked at NDSU, but its been exposed badly at the FBS level. Case in point, we put up over 600 yards of offense against Nebraska's Tampa 2 defense.
Click to expand...
Yeah it relies too heavily on the idea that the front four can get past the o-line to get to the qb. I don't know that it's necessarily the best base for us. But it is incredibly simple which may help.
Click to expand...

I have rarely seen DT's that were big sack candidates, even in the pros. The DT's are usually guys that can jam up the middle and the run and if anyone starts to get loose they can get them. Most of the sack guys are DE's and I do feel that we have two excellent guys (Puletasi and Yarbrough) that can learn to put more pressure on the QB if the guys in the middle are doing their jobs. We do definitely need to develop some depth at the DE position.
Click to expand...
Our entire line had trouble getting off their blocks to get pressure on the QB. Olive is about the only one with an excuse since he was double teamed on ever play.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I saw all year (as well as last year). Once one of our DL (and other positions too) was blocked, he was completely out of the play. This is where I see a lot of room for improvement.
 
From what I was reading, we can count on Bohl shoring up the DT and CB positions first then building on that.
 
roozy said:
From what I was reading, we can count on Bohl shoring up the DT and CB positions first then building on that.
Click to expand...


Bohl will focus around the LB's. He'll use the DT's to control the LOS, and the Linebachers will make almost all the plays. There are currently 2 Bohl LB'ers in the NFL right now from NDSU and right now they have the best set of LB'ers in FCS. They are currently playing without their team captian MLB Grant Olson (single game record 28 tackles last year in the semifinal) who tore his ACL earlier this year, and still dominate from the LB position.

Yes, CB's will be very important too.

You will see a very aggressive, disciplined, assignment oriented defense under Bohl who will almost always have 3 or 4 guys around the football.
 
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