Those linebackers have the advantage filling around the outside lanes against the run. I have seen more and more teams using the 4-2-5 style coverage package both with and without 4-2-5 personnel. In these ranks stands Kirby Smart, a coach from the most decorated tree in college football. Full stands, very large vats of mayo, the largest collection of four and five stars that North Carolina will see until basketball season, and the weight of the entire life support plug to the relevancy of the ACC as a conference as a whole. The Wolverines' offensive line was awarded the Joe Moore Award for being the best offensive line in the nation. Always and forever, above all else- those Damn Good Dawgs. They are not really that much of a mismatch when it comes to on-field talent. Kelee Ringo (CB - Georgia) - 105th. On the play above, Georgia still only has three down lineman, but it gives a look like its going to bring six pass rushers. So, as I settled in with my own pure Duke Mayo induced glee- it occurred to me that this defense was going to be one that would probably be talked about extensively and nationally. Youre not gonna cover Alvin Kamara with a 250 pound linebacker.. Year-over-year in SEC play, Georgia improved its TD Rate, 3-and-Out Rate, Explosive Play Rate, and overall Success Rate. He was on the field in 2011 as Alabama's defensive coordinator when LSU beat Alabama 9-6 in overtime. Its intelligent football, and the rushers and coverage guys can be anywhere on any play. The Jack can rush the passer, play the run, or get out and cover the running back on screens and pass routes. All things covered, at all times, in all situations. It is a level of defense that is extraordinarily demanding. Nice book. Top recruitin' Clemson. It is one of the best. Void in ONT. Smaller linebackers play better in space. Tanner McKee (QB - Stanford) - 188th. He filled in for Christopher Smith when he was injured in the Auburn game and led the team in tackles. And then in part two Ill explain which specific defensive schemes and positions require higher execution of fundamentals to do more with less. (Okay yes you saw through me, its gonna be about our defensive line and how those magic SOBs stop every single run Imodium-style even though Kirby stingily gives em one less guy in the box to help defend it. Defensive Playbook - . "We didn't throw things out. Do more with less. We get seven sacks and countless pressures on a Clemson quarterback but refuse to give more than three guys to the rush. "We know what we're looking for in a player, at every position," Smart said. "That's what makes it so hard. The 3-4 Defense is great for youth football because it can easily adjust to spread formations while still staying strong against run heavy formations. Its hard to find people to move those kind of guys.. The key was this: lessen the level of what the players were half-way retaining, and also significantly streamline how defense is taught and telegraphed. which my good friend and DawgSports guru DawgoutWest wrote up. Also, this. Know where a lot of those big holes were? On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & resort (KS). The Only 4-2-5 Defense Built on the Coach Simple, Play Fast, Win Philosophy to Shut Down Any Offensive Attack. We need guys that can line up, play fast, be active, and run in space.. Strangestbrew's College Football Schedulizer. It is devastatingly stingy. His name is Dan Mullen. With spread offenses in general and the RPO, in particular, investments in sending five defenders can be expensive. Or as Mike Golic Jr. so beautifully stated, pure dementors. (yes I know the offense played too, but this is my post, people, I dont have to focus on the things I dont want to). It was downright wonderful. "There's no such thing as perfect, but that's our standard -- perfection," said junior linebacker Nakobe Dean, one of three Georgia defenders ranked by ESPN's Todd McShay among the top 30 prospects for the 2022 NFL draft. It doesn't matter," Dean said. 3. Like his mentor, Smart knew changing course offensively was vital in the never ending arms race that is college football. They adjust. We ranked college football's top 37 spring transfers: Who tops the list? We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. "We still have the hard calls, but we added easy calls and we've been in the easy calls more than the hard calls," Smart said. Masking safety rotation to throw some changeups in coverage behind these pressures is a great way to trap the quarterback into regrettable downfield throws. "But there was a non-schematic piece added with the way the coaches put this defense together. Smart has seen the game evolve greatly in the past decade. northwestern college defensive plays. Smart credits his defensive staff for tweaking the scheme to help avoid some of the confusion that hurt Georgia a year ago. At first glance, that may sound like the Dawgs are just making it easier on offensive coordinators. Unlike Saban, Kirbys defense was made, molded, and forged in the era of spread offenses. A major emphasis for any defense is 3rd down, and thats no different for Smart. In 2014, Smarts unit ranked 12th in total defense. This Proven Defensive System Gets Faster, More Aggressive Players in Just 5 Practices for Less Than the Cost of a Coaching Clinic. If one of those rushers didnt get to the quarterback quickly it would result in massive plays for the offense. In short, when running correctly, this defense is not set up to allow for concessions. The lack of ego and attachment to a system that Smart labels as his own is commendable, and also somewhat rare in the coaching profession. Several of Georgia's starters were on the field for that final drive. In a great coaches clinic in 2019, which my good friend and DawgSports guru DawgoutWest wrote up, Lanning went into this deliberate effort by Kirbys staff to trim down defense plays in response to the modern offensive era. Belichick liked to get behind the defensive lineman when they lined up to run the 40-yard dash. Why? The Zone Blitz The zone blitz that many high school teams can use. Cover 0 and rush 6 on 3rd and 20 is something you do on a video game. He wanted the biggest butts possible in the trenches. One significant way that Kirbys less is more philosophy shows up is in his much smaller defensive playbook. "I know how unbelievable Jordan Davis is, but 88 [Carter] is a freak," Briles said. 3-4 by Bobo Majors Bobo Majors presents his version of the 3-4 defense. GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE DEFENSIVE PLAYBOOK (3-5-3) DOUBLE DOG TWIST Coverage =White E N E D B M B D C C F 1/3 1/3 1/3 COVERAGES One Three COVER ONE C D B M B D C Banjo / Rat F C = #1 D = #2, no #2 Spin, No #2 I back Funnel call B = Blitz or Banjo/Rat or Funnel M = Blitz or Banjo Rat or Funnel vs. The way the staff recruited its front seven had to be changed, and the coverage concepts and the way the defense played up front needed tweaking. From 2009-2013, Smarts defenses ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense every season. A look at Georgia's 2020 playbook If you are looking for a deep dive into what Todd Monken was calling last season, look no further than this. The run game cant gash the defense up the middle. Georgia can run Cover 2, Cover 3, and anything else they want to off of these looks. In his three-man fronts, Smart needed bigger linebackers because they would have to take on the guards on every play. Execute consistently at a perfect level. Here he is as the offensive coordinator at Utah, diagraming his base run package and talking about the importance of those B gaps. There are a multitude of answers for the concepts you see from the best offenses in the sport. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. It's not just the linebackers, though. Pompey and Caesar. News Joshua L Jones. That's where the depth comes in. And I believe it is at least part of the reason we have seen the dominant Alabama defense of the past become less so. And as we will see with the way he coaches fundamentals-Kirby doesnt set his players up to fail with these demands- quite the opposite- but this defense certainly doesnt set them up to succeed by just getting by. It was a truly stunning and unbelievable championship performance from the defense. AGAIN your NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GEORGIA BULLDOGS!!! 44 Stack/Split D High School 4-4 stack/split defense. The B gap. But, for several years now, the Bulldogs have been building something special with the 2021 season a culmination of Kirby Smart and staff work thus far. In fact, this is perhaps the biggest way that Kirby has diverged from his mentor, young and up and coming coach Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). For Kirby Smart, a coach who grew up, played and coached in an era of football tailored toward stopping a two-back offensive philosophy, the spread afforded offenses answers that defensive coaches simply werent prepared for. Well, not only do you not need a fake an injury in an Oscar-worthy Notre Dame fake eye-gouge performance to slow the game down, but also- more importantly- offensive coordinators cannot game plan to confuse you the way they can with a stack of complicated defensive schemes. Between each of these names are a variety of schematic approaches from man-to-man to three-high zone safeties, even and odd fronts and disparate levels of talent. What No. I also understand that this answer seems like the unflashy coach-speak speech that most people expect from a mid-summer, canned coach presser- not a first-time post from a click thirsty over-tweeter/accidental blogger. I think there have been faster, and outright better, defensive players at Georgia prior to 2021, but what were breaking down today is a scheme much more interested in attacking the spread than defending it. However, Saturday showed that this defense may show us a season much above business as usual- even for the high standard of a Kirby-lead defense. That offense was totally different that the usual QB run based system that Mullen has been using since the days of Alex Smith, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. The solution? One of the other effects of the Mint Front is that the alignment of the defensive lineman plays on the spreads reliance on the open B gap bubble found in most defenses. "They have size. For years, Gary Patterson laid claim to the most flexible defense in the sport, Brent Venables current tenure peaked as what looked to be the Alabama antidote, Pat Narduzzis old-school Cover 4 helped build Michigan State into a contender and Bud Foster was all but guaranteed to kick dust in the eyes of an ACC championship hopeful. The Buckeyes didnt even try to test Alabama inside. Any updates, variations and new packages added to Georgias defensive scheme will make sure that those B gaps are accounted for. We spent a lot of time this offseason figuring out each other's whys and learning a lot about each other. They have and will continue to find NFL jobs for years to come. The Bulldogs currently rank first in, For years, Gary Patterson laid claim to the most flexible defense in the sport, Brent Venables current tenure peaked as what looked to be the, Winning at the highest levels will always come down to having the, good players in place, but just rolling out 11 athletes can create issues (Im looking in the direction of Columbus, Ohio). "Because they're so good inside, you want to try to get the ball on the perimeter, but their space guys are great in space," Briles said. This is one of the best defensive playbooks we've looked at on the podcast. The high powered passing attacks across college football have created the need for more packages that deploy five and six defensive backs, but the Mint Front will still be a huge part of UGAs base defense. *cough* Bama *cough*. "That outside backer group has been here for a while," said Smart, noting that Brenton Cox (Florida) and Jermaine Johnson (Florida State) were also a part of that unit before transferring. Not yet, anyway. He plans to go back to a system more similar to that for 2021 because it fits the skill set of an athletic guy like Emory Jones. Offenses can change their cadence, and defenses can move/stem the front (something else Georgia is excellent at) and draw linemen offside. A big part of Smart's defensive design was bringing in defensive backs who were sure tacklers and could make plays in space. "There was a time when that room was scary, but the two that stayed are the two that are playing the best.". While defense will probably always be this teams backbone as long as Kirby Smart is in charge, this program has historically shown its on the outside looking in despite plenty of laudable seasons and standout players. Now he gets that matchup while only giving up four defenders to the rush. Before Lane Kiffin came by to revolutionize the way Alabama played offense, Smart worked on the stifling Crimson Tide defenses from the beginning of Nick Sabans tenure until 2015. Saban makes his defenses handle an array of every type of blitz, front, or coverage stored within the vast mental rolodex of his coaching experience. Yes surely, recruiting is a huge, required foundation of the recipe, but we see that clearly isnt the whole story. Kirby doesnt solve the question of a superior offense by throwing the schematic kitchen sink at it. However, the one thing thats almost universally held between each of these signal-callers is the ability to blitz the spread. Sorry TigerNet, but this-actually wasnt the starting offense for the Dabo Swinney Rec League for Troubled Youths- Clemson has the fourth most talent rich team in the country. When they hit you, your players remember how it feels when you get hit by Georgia.". I think a Georgia defense is more about making decisions and executing than throwing a lot of scheme at you, and they make great decisions.. Don't let anybody kid you that it's about scheme or anything else, because with offenses being able to run it, pull it or throw it all on the same play now, you better have players who can defend all areas of the grass. They lead the country having allowed only 15 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer. Dean is small compared to the Dawgs' weakside linebacker, 6-3, 235-pound junior Nolan Smith, who forced a fumble to set up Georgia's first touchdown against Florida and then intercepted a pass right before halftime to set up the Dawgs' second touchdown. I look forward to JT getting more time with his receivers to know how far to throw those passes going forward. I am known fortunately or unfortunately by my presence as the resident tweeter of the life of an exceedingly emotionally unstable, superstitious, Dawg fan. Grading big trades during the NFL draft: Who won the D'Andre Swift deal? The UGA defense in 2017 is significantly lighter, and that made it significantly faster than the units Smart ran in the early part of his Alabama tenure. Odds and lines subject to change. In Kirby Smart, they have the coach who has been closest to Nick Saban. In addition to Vertical Shots and All Verts, the Dagger concept was one of the concepts that really stood out down the stretch. Day 3: The Eagles continue in their quest to recreate the back-to-back National Champion Georgia Bulldogs defense, trading up for a straight-line athlete in a very young cornerback that showed inconsistency after a breakout 2021 season. Spread and Pro-Style offenses utilize a Tight End versus three-down defenses because the defense lacks a natural adjuster. Mullen and Smart have met 13 times since Mullen became the head coach at MSU in 2009. Thats it-thats truly the difference. The UGA defense in 2017 is significantly lighter, and that made it significantly faster than the units Smart ran in the early part of his Alabama tenure. The Maze & Blue 3-4 defensive playbook. Trust me, its not just the chicks that dig the long ball. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. The Georgia Bulldogs Playbook: Inside the Huddle for the Greatest Plays in Bulldogs History [Garbin, Patrick, Trippi, Charley] on Amazon.com. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Hes got a ton of clips to check out, breaking down the playcalling. If Luke can just teach the OL to handle stunts and corner blitz we might put up 50. Georgia's defense has been the main story for most of the college season. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only.