Scheme - Many people think the Irish are blitzing ourselves out of plays. That's partially true. The talent of the blitzers is one thing - but one issue is the lack of surprise with the blitzing. The opposition knows the Irish will blitz roughly 75% of the time, and their passing offenses thus far have been perfectly designed around 3 step drops by the QB, using slants, drags, and short hitch routes. These short routes are very difficult for cornerbacks to defend - particularly with as much cushion (sometimes 10 yards) as Irish CBs are giving to opposing WRs. The blitz and cornerback cushion limit big plays at the cost of the shorter routes. The coverage just doesn't match the short routes teams are using to counter the expected Irish blitz. Hopefully the coaches will get the coverage and blitzing more "in sync". Just once I would love to see all our linebackers on the line of scrimmage - clearly blitzing - only to drop back into zone coverage looking for a slant route. Young QBs are so worried about getting rid of the ball against the Irish, maybe we pick one off.
Tackling - Great post here by the guys at Blue Gray Sky. Defensive Tackle Ian Williams, and Middle linebacker Toryan Smith have typically been on the ground or just out of position on most plays. Gaping holes in the middle = easy rushing yards. You can scheme and coach all you want, but when players over pursue (Toryan) or lose their balance (Ian), they must be held accountable. Maybe the players should be more well coached - but there comes a point where players must execute by winning the 1 on 1 battles.
Talent - We will give out midseason grades to compare with the preseason positional previews here at Vatican Smoke. So far, the defensive line has majorly disappointed, the linebackers have slightly disappointed, and the cornerbacks have been disappointing. I have a feeling talent is not the issue in the secondary - but rather the lack of pressure combined with our soft coverage not quite ready for the shorter routes teams are using. But clearly we are undermanned on the defensive line. The linebackers are young and talented enough to play much better. The recruiting misses of 2005 thru 2007 on the defensive line are coming home to roost just like the offensive line misses in 2003-2005 came to fruition in 2007.
1st Down - Tenuta emphasizes "winning on 1st down" as much as all defensive coaches do. I'd say that first down is even more important in Tenuta's scheme, because blitzing works much more effectively in 2nd and 3rd and long than shorts. The Irish are a putrid 95th in the country in first down defense. The Irish defensive improvement, if its happens, will highly correlate with 1st down performance. Fixing those gaping holes in the middle will go a long way in this department.
Red Zone - Amazingly, the Irish defense ranks 5th in the country in red zone defense. A fumble by Nevada, an interception by MSU last weekend, and a missed FG by Michigan all have aided this stat. I have a feeling that this statistic is an anomaly - but maybe not. Red Zone Defense is critical, clearly, and the Irish have performed darn well so far. Lets see if this ranking holds up after a few more games.
A great play call that should have ended the MSU game 2 plays earlier - You can read my post on Irish message board ND nation by clicking here - including video and more detail. I describe a play that could have won the game, and was clearly a solid playcall by the defensive coaches. The play I am describing is a 3rd down and 6 on Michigan St's final drive, at the Irish 26 yard line. Ray Herring, playing nickelback (cornerback on the slot receiver, essentially), defends/tips pass up in the air, only to be caught anyway by the Michigan St WR near the ND sideline, falling out of bounds, for the first down. Herring faked the blitz, then dropped back into apparent man to man coverage on the slot receiver. In fact he was in zone coverage at the first down marker/flat area - and he broke at the perfect time on the outside 10 yard hitch route route run by the WR, who appeared to be wide open. Bottom line - Herring did not execute via an easy pass deflection out of bounds or interception. The tip out of bounds forces a game tying 42 yard field goal, giving the Irish the ball back with 1:10 in a tie game, at worst. An interception ends the game. Two plays later the Spartans miss a wide open receiver in the end zone that would never have happened. Blame some playcalls by the defensive staff, but players must make plays.
The Purdue game preview should be up on Friday. Purdue should be excited and ready to play - its a home night game, nationally televised on ESPN, and they have planned a "black out" with glow in the dark Purdue tshirts. What a bunch of full fledged a$$holes. The Irish offense should have little problem moving the ball and scoring. However, the offensive is banged up with Armando Allen and Jimmy Clausen nursing some injuries this week - and it would certainly be nice if the defense made some plays, avoiding another shootout. Winning on the road in a hostile environment is never easy - and this will be a decent test for the Irish before tougher road games at Pittsburgh and Stanford later in the season. Again, I am anxious to see how the Irish respond.
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