Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards put the telestrator on UNC's games against Notre Dame and Syracuse. The pattern was the same in both. Find the defender who can't cover. Throw at him. Repeat until the defense makes you stop.
"They're going to find who's your bad guy on defense," AR said, "and they're going to throw at him more times than not."
Here's some highlights of his breakdown from earlier:
That's what AR wants to see on Saturday night. Our DBs need to play in phase and attack the football. "How many times have we seen this all year?" he asked, referring to true pass breakups. "Not that much."
Once he releases, it's usually the same route: a 10- to 12-yard dig behind the linebackers. Edwards loves that throw. Notre Dame's Adon Shuler, a safety who could tackle but couldn't cover, became the target all game. One dig went for 20 yards in the two-minute drill before half. Another came off Cover 4, which turns into man coverage against that route combination.
"He knows your tendencies and he's just going to call the plays based off that," AR said of Petrino. "It's not rocket science."
AR's rule from his safety days is that a tight end on the ball in that spot is almost always running a slot fade, a corner or another out-breaking route. The free safety has to cheat toward that hash. He didn't, and Thurman scored on a corner-out.
As a defensive coordinator, AR would have called a two-invert. The corner, here Leonard Moore, becomes the deep-half player. The safety rotates down, and a linebacker drops into the hook. The quarterback reads man coverage before the snap and finds a different coverage after it. Worst case, he dumps a five-yard hitch, we tackle it and they settle for a field goal.
AR pointed to the Pitt game, where Xavier Lucas rotated into the deep half and nearly came down with an interception. Usually it comes out of a mug look with JJ Dunnigan dropping from the backside and Damari Brown rotating from the boundary. The Jasen Lopez seam route in the Florida State game came against a two-invert, but FSU saw it before the snap.
AR thinks the disguise is part of why our red zone defense is so good. In tight space we play stickier coverage. Out in the field we sometimes play so far off that we hand out free yards.
His message to the coverage units was blunt: the backups and rotational guys have to stay in their lanes, and if that isn't working, kick it out of the back of the end zone. Giving up a return in a prime-time road game is unacceptable.
The one thing that has to happen is the nickel setting the edge. AR broke down a Syracuse toss sweep where UNC's nickel was the force player and should have turned the back inside to 10 teammates. Instead he ducked underneath the block, and the back had a free 25 yards up the sideline. Whoever plays nickel for us, whether Bryce Fitzgerald, Omar Thornton, Dunnigan or Zechariah Poyser, has to force it back inside. Swarm and tackle.
On one Syracuse snap, AR showed how Cover 2 gave itself away before the snap, with both corners staring inside at the ball. Edwards knew it was Cover 2. He knew the corner would jump the speed out, so he stared at that side, dragged the linebackers with him, and hit Thurman on the 10-yard in-breaker behind them in the middle of the field.
"It's not that he's the best quarterback since Peyton Manning or Tom Brady," AR said. "It's that as a vet with a lot of experience, he can hurt you and be annoying with those little plays."
The rest of the reel was the same story. Play-action pulled the hook defender down for a deep over in Cover 3. A third-and-3 rollout put Shipp on a rub route.
The one call he respected came against Syracuse. It was a six-man zero pressure, and Belichick dropped the defensive end Syracuse expected to rush. Their tackle ended up blocking nobody, a looping linebacker came through the A-gap untouched, and the backside DB sat on the slant he'd seen on film. The quarterback held the ball one beat too long, and Syracuse ended up behind the chains.
"It feels like we're not playing hard enough at the catch phase," AR said.
Cooper Barkate's drop last week came because the DB kept fighting through his hands after the ball arrived. AR wants our DBs doing the same thing. The pass defense numbers are inflated because opponents throw a ton when they're down big. The cushion is still real, and so is the habit of watching receivers catch it.
The full film session is on the CanesInsight YouTube channel, every clip with AR on the telestrator. Watch it down below:
"They're going to find who's your bad guy on defense," AR said, "and they're going to throw at him more times than not."
Here's some highlights of his breakdown from earlier:
The corner who got it right
AR started with a play UNC lost, because it's the play he wants our secondary to copy. It was third and seven, three receivers to one side, with Jordan Shipp alone backside. Notre Dame's Leonard Moore sat in Cover 1 and read the down, the distance and the inside release. He knew a slant was coming and undercut it, nearly ending up in front of the receiver.That's what AR wants to see on Saturday night. Our DBs need to play in phase and attack the football. "How many times have we seen this all year?" he asked, referring to true pass breakups. "Not that much."
The tight end tells you where he's going
Jelani Thurman has a tell. When he's going out for a pass, his head is straight and still at the line. When he's run blocking, he's more relaxed and looking left and right before the snap. AR wants our safeties and linebackers watching for it.Once he releases, it's usually the same route: a 10- to 12-yard dig behind the linebackers. Edwards loves that throw. Notre Dame's Adon Shuler, a safety who could tackle but couldn't cover, became the target all game. One dig went for 20 yards in the two-minute drill before half. Another came off Cover 4, which turns into man coverage against that route combination.
"He knows your tendencies and he's just going to call the plays based off that," AR said of Petrino. "It's not rocket science."
What AR would have called: the two-invert
Then came the touchdown that flipped the momentum before halftime. It was third and 10 with 25 seconds left, Shipp on one side and Thurman on the ball next to him.AR's rule from his safety days is that a tight end on the ball in that spot is almost always running a slot fade, a corner or another out-breaking route. The free safety has to cheat toward that hash. He didn't, and Thurman scored on a corner-out.
As a defensive coordinator, AR would have called a two-invert. The corner, here Leonard Moore, becomes the deep-half player. The safety rotates down, and a linebacker drops into the hook. The quarterback reads man coverage before the snap and finds a different coverage after it. Worst case, he dumps a five-yard hitch, we tackle it and they settle for a field goal.
AR pointed to the Pitt game, where Xavier Lucas rotated into the deep half and nearly came down with an interception. Usually it comes out of a mug look with JJ Dunnigan dropping from the backside and Damari Brown rotating from the boundary. The Jasen Lopez seam route in the Florida State game came against a two-invert, but FSU saw it before the snap.
AR thinks the disguise is part of why our red zone defense is so good. In tight space we play stickier coverage. Out in the field we sometimes play so far off that we hand out free yards.
Don't give up a return
Notre Dame came out of halftime flat in the rain, and UNC took the opening kickoff of the third quarter to the house. AR believes UNC's returner was leading the nation in return yards at the time.His message to the coverage units was blunt: the backups and rotational guys have to stay in their lanes, and if that isn't working, kick it out of the back of the end zone. Giving up a return in a prime-time road game is unacceptable.
The run game: set the edge
AR isn't worried about UNC running the ball. The scheme is basic with the favorite play being inside zone read with No. 84 pulling across the formation. We've handled versions of it from Pitt and Clemson. Our ends force the quarterback to hand off into Ahmad Moten Sr., Justin Scott and Mohamed Toure.The one thing that has to happen is the nickel setting the edge. AR broke down a Syracuse toss sweep where UNC's nickel was the force player and should have turned the back inside to 10 teammates. Instead he ducked underneath the block, and the back had a free 25 yards up the sideline. Whoever plays nickel for us, whether Bryce Fitzgerald, Omar Thornton, Dunnigan or Zechariah Poyser, has to force it back inside. Swarm and tackle.
Edwards beats you with his eyes
Billy Edwards Jr. won't wow anyone, but has some moments.On one Syracuse snap, AR showed how Cover 2 gave itself away before the snap, with both corners staring inside at the ball. Edwards knew it was Cover 2. He knew the corner would jump the speed out, so he stared at that side, dragged the linebackers with him, and hit Thurman on the 10-yard in-breaker behind them in the middle of the field.
"It's not that he's the best quarterback since Peyton Manning or Tom Brady," AR said. "It's that as a vet with a lot of experience, he can hurt you and be annoying with those little plays."
The rest of the reel was the same story. Play-action pulled the hook defender down for a deep over in Cover 3. A third-and-3 rollout put Shipp on a rub route.
Belichick's zero pressure
UNC's defense is mostly base. Expect plenty of Cover 3, similar to Wake Forest, with stunts showing up only a handful of times on film. AR expects more this week.The one call he respected came against Syracuse. It was a six-man zero pressure, and Belichick dropped the defensive end Syracuse expected to rush. Their tackle ended up blocking nobody, a looping linebacker came through the A-gap untouched, and the backside DB sat on the slant he'd seen on film. The quarterback held the ball one beat too long, and Syracuse ended up behind the chains.
Play through the catch
The film session ended where Mario Cristobal has been all week. He called the secondary's effort BS, and AR agreed with the diagnosis. We're in position and in phase, and then we coast through the end of the play."It feels like we're not playing hard enough at the catch phase," AR said.
Cooper Barkate's drop last week came because the DB kept fighting through his hands after the ball arrived. AR wants our DBs doing the same thing. The pass defense numbers are inflated because opponents throw a ton when they're down big. The cushion is still real, and so is the habit of watching receivers catch it.
The full film session is on the CanesInsight YouTube channel, every clip with AR on the telestrator. Watch it down below:
