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Multiple choice: Why are we playing more aggressive football

Pennmed Canefan said:
It's several things. The players are better and they're more comfortable with what they are doing. Their success has given the coaches the faith and freedom to stay on the attack. This is not a new playbook, and it's not about who is calling the plays. They didn't change the entire defense in a week. It's the same plays being executed better and called with more freedom. The fundamentals (tackling and coverage) have been very good with few bad mental errors.

It's important to remember that GT can be thrown out entirely and Nebraska can be thrown out a bit as well. Those (especially GT) are one game gameplans. What you do against Tech has nothing to do with anyone else. You throw that game out and the style has been the same for most games since the season started. I'm still not sure that we have any idea of what to do with a read option style of team like Nebraska because we looked baffled that game.

Every game is different, but I think we've proven that we're capable of executing against most styles of offense, and there's no reason for the coaches to do anything other than what they've been doing until we face a drastic style change or perhaps superior talent.
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Interesting perspective but we won against triple option with the same scheme last two years. Hard to tell what changed and you're right hard to change the plays in a week. but I did notice the linebackers were right up there on third and short and moving a lot disguising g their play. Didn't see that against Gt and Neb. Would love to see someone with high football IQ break it down a bit.
 
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Man you guys need to get off foldens jock!! The players didn't just SEE THE LIGHT overnight lol. We ALL (including all these sec coaches and recruiters) knew these boys could rock. You can obviously see that they are letting these cats do what they came to the U for. We are playing lots of press man coverage and letting our DBs make plays. Our dline isn't just standing around playing patty cales with the oline anymore. I was shocked that we put 8 in the box in goalline situations. We used to have 4 on the line and 7 in the insane lol. you can still see us come out in the 3Rd quarters and play bend don't break and them score two-three times smh. Our second half defense now was our base all DBs bail presnap. I know y'all saw that long pass the backup wb made down the mid and Bush was thirty yards Downfield back pedaling instead of attacking. We did that BS for three years lol. Can't say it's the players.
 
I find it hard to believe that after 3 and a half seasons of not knowing how to tackle or cover a WR, the light suddenly came on for the players at exactly the same time when Golden's seat was starting to get warm. They are doing something different schematically whether Golden wants to publicly admit it or not. Similarly, it's clear that Coley has gone away from the pass first/WR bubble screen game and is making a concerted effort to get the ball to Duke and Walford.
 
The Franchise said:
Folden absolutely felt the heat. Anyone who questions that that ultra sensitive dude didn't feel the walls closing in on him is a moron who would be exterminated like a dopey ****roach if he was born in North Korea.

Folden felt heat, and he's had the benefit of playing some awful teams. Combine those factors, and you have your answer to the "what has changed?" question.
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Lock.ThRed.
 
JimmyJohnsonsHair said:
I find it hard to believe that after 3 and a half seasons of not knowing how to tackle or cover a WR, the light suddenly came on for the players at exactly the same time when Golden's seat was starting to get warm. They are doing something different schematically whether Golden wants to publicly admit it or not. Similarly, it's clear that Coley has gone away from the pass first/WR bubble screen game and is making a concerted effort to get the ball to Duke and Walford.
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I agree and good point about the changes on the offensive side of the ball. That combined with the changes on the d have resulted in us winning time of possession the last two games 35 min to 25 min. This is notable because in 4 years under Golden we have never won t.o.p. by that margin. Even against the savannah states and florida a&ms of the world.

People who point to improved tackling our out of their minds. These guys didn't all of a suddenly learn how to tackle in one week in the middle of the season. They know how to tackle, it's just that in the past they were put in a position to fail. We let Abdulluh run down hill on us where he wasn't touched until he was 1 on 1 with a defender 7 yards downfield. We miss the tackle and people complain about tackling.

All of the stuff that people have complained about has been different the last couple weeks. LBs playing closer to the line and filling gaps. More defenders in the box. More defenders in the box on short yardage downs. More nickel and less hulking lbs and de's playing wrs. DBs not 37 yards off the line. Notice how on crossing routes and quick wr screens our dbs are coming up and sticking guys. These guys didn't just learn how to shed a blocks, they're now in a position to make the play.
 
terdferguson said:
JimmyJohnsonsHair said:
I find it hard to believe that after 3 and a half seasons of not knowing how to tackle or cover a WR, the light suddenly came on for the players at exactly the same time when Golden's seat was starting to get warm. They are doing something different schematically whether Golden wants to publicly admit it or not. Similarly, it's clear that Coley has gone away from the pass first/WR bubble screen game and is making a concerted effort to get the ball to Duke and Walford.
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I agree and good point about the changes on the offensive side of the ball. That combined with the changes on the d have resulted in us winning time of possession the last two games 35 min to 25 min. This is notable because in 4 years under Golden we have never won t.o.p. by that margin. Even against the savannah states and florida a&ms of the world.

People who point to improved tackling our out of their minds. These guys didn't all of a suddenly learn how to tackle in one week in the middle of the season. They know how to tackle, it's just that in the past they were put in a position to fail. We let Abdulluh run down hill on us where he wasn't touched until he was 1 on 1 with a defender 7 yards downfield. We miss the tackle and people complain about tackling.

All of the stuff that people have complained about has been different the last couple weeks. LBs playing closer to the line and filling gaps. More defenders in the box. More defenders in the box on short yardage downs. More nickel and less hulking lbs and de's playing wrs. DBs not 37 yards off the line. Notice how on crossing routes and quick wr screens our dbs are coming up and sticking guys. These guys didn't just learn how to shed a blocks, they're now in a position to make the play.
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No, Alice told us that it's all the players fault. That only NOW do they know how to play foosball. Forget everything you saw early in the season, scheme wise, and place blame SQUARELY on the shoulders of the players. The way their coach does. Then you'll be a real fan.
 
It's changed out of necessity. Previously, anyone with the gift of sight could identify the passive, lifeless, soulless, uninspired, confusing WTF are they doing defense. These defensive concepts and philosophies haven't been seen since Tom Olivadotti.

Freelancing, players aren't doing their job, multiple and assignment football have seemingly replaced dominate, 4-3, speed and aggressiveness. How often have we even heard the word Dominate from Golden? Perhaps a couple in regards to Duke, but certainly not when it pertained to the defensive side.

You can only be embarrassed on national TV and criticized so long before it spills into sESPN graphs, SFL HS coaches/recruiting, local talk radio, even poorer attendance and banners circling your stadium. That, and lord knows how those defense/position group meetings were like.

I pray to the Football Gods that this is not an illusion. Yes, Cinci, VT and UNC are poor teams, but there's no denying we've all seen a shift in what UM is doing on defense.

I've embellished the point, but at the very least, it's necessity for Golden and D'onofrio, as CFB coaches with any ambition to continue being so. Particularly with the Tri-County area of SFL, one of the richest CFB resources on the planet. Hopefully this starts a trend of exploiting and using them wisely.
 
canedoit said:
It's changed out of necessity. Previously, anyone with the gift of sight could identify the passive, lifeless, soulless, uninspired, confusing WTF are they doing defense. These defensive concepts and philosophies haven't been seen since Tom Olivadotti.

Freelancing, players aren't doing their job, multiple and assignment football have seemingly replaced dominate, 4-3, speed and aggressiveness. How often have we even heard the word Dominate from Golden? Perhaps a couple in regards to Duke, but certainly not when it pertained to the defensive side.

You can only be embarrassed on national TV and criticized so long before it spills into sESPN graphs, SFL HS coaches/recruiting, local talk radio, even poorer attendance and banners circling your stadium. That, and lord knows how those defense/position group meetings were like.

I pray to the Football Gods that this is not an illusion. Yes, Cinci, VT and UNC are poor teams, but there's no denying we've all seen a shift in what UM is doing on defense.

I've embellished the point, but at the very least, it's necessity for Golden and D'onofrio, as CFB coaches with any ambition to continue being so. Particularly with the Tri-County area of SFL, one of the richest CFB resources on the planet. Hopefully this starts a trend of exploiting and using them wisely.
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Not according to Alice. She says it was all the players fault and only now do those 4-5* recruits know how to play foosball.

Remember, this is also the coach who said, in defense of her bff, that our defense never played with the lead against GaTech.
 
jaxtheknife said:
Golden and Dorito have MAJOR trust issues, MAJOR.

They projected their issues on to the team, and players were playing scared.

Largely due to "the noise" imo, Al has changed up his approach i'm guessing, confessed to his players I suspect, and they have his back now, hope it continues...
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I'm going to roll with this.
 
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ggleft said:
Multiple choice question: why are we playing more aggressive football?

1. The banners and critics made the coaches realize they had to change the scheme

2. The players are finally listening to the coaches but the scheme is the same

3. They aren't. Its an illusion. It's just the teams we've played lately are not as good as the others.

4. The awesome Hucks family influence inspired the team - 3 for 3 after AH (after Hucks)

5. Other (elaborate, please)
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The staff doesn't need a banner to feel the heat. The banners are irrelevant. An empty stadium and being barely bowl eligible and then losing all our bowl games is heat.. The competition sucks, simple enough. Have you noticed a change in scheme? Not really, a little more aggressive but not much. The D is full of seniors so you'd expect improvement simply due to experience. But UNC, VT and Cinci are horrible. The GT game should have told anyone everything they need to do about this D and the coaching staff.
 
canedoit said:
It's changed out of necessity. Previously, anyone with the gift of sight could identify the passive, lifeless, soulless, uninspired, confusing WTF are they doing defense. These defensive concepts and philosophies haven't been seen since Tom Olivadotti.

Freelancing, players aren't doing their job, multiple and assignment football have seemingly replaced dominate, 4-3, speed and aggressiveness. How often have we even heard the word Dominate from Golden? Perhaps a couple in regards to Duke, but certainly not when it pertained to the defensive side.

You can only be embarrassed on national TV and criticized so long before it spills into sESPN graphs, SFL HS coaches/recruiting, local talk radio, even poorer attendance and banners circling your stadium. That, and lord knows how those defense/position group meetings were like.

I pray to the Football Gods that this is not an illusion. Yes, Cinci, VT and UNC are poor teams, but there's no denying we've all seen a shift in what UM is doing on defense.

I've embellished the point, but at the very least, it's necessity for Golden and D'onofrio, as CFB coaches with any ambition to continue being so. Particularly with the Tri-County area of SFL, one of the richest CFB resources on the planet. Hopefully this starts a trend of exploiting and using them wisely.
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They suck but in the past sucky teams have demolished this defense. Everybody has. Plus UNC isn't a good team but they are a good offense. Holding them the way we did was notable and an eyebrow raiser for me.
 
terdferguson said:
canedoit said:
It's changed out of necessity. Previously, anyone with the gift of sight could identify the passive, lifeless, soulless, uninspired, confusing WTF are they doing defense. These defensive concepts and philosophies haven't been seen since Tom Olivadotti.

Freelancing, players aren't doing their job, multiple and assignment football have seemingly replaced dominate, 4-3, speed and aggressiveness. How often have we even heard the word Dominate from Golden? Perhaps a couple in regards to Duke, but certainly not when it pertained to the defensive side.

You can only be embarrassed on national TV and criticized so long before it spills into sESPN graphs, SFL HS coaches/recruiting, local talk radio, even poorer attendance and banners circling your stadium. That, and lord knows how those defense/position group meetings were like.

I pray to the Football Gods that this is not an illusion. Yes, Cinci, VT and UNC are poor teams, but there's no denying we've all seen a shift in what UM is doing on defense.

I've embellished the point, but at the very least, it's necessity for Golden and D'onofrio, as CFB coaches with any ambition to continue being so. Particularly with the Tri-County area of SFL, one of the richest CFB resources on the planet. Hopefully this starts a trend of exploiting and using them wisely.
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They suck but in the past sucky teams have demolished this defense. Everybody has. Plus UNC isn't a good team but they are a good offense. Holding them the way we did was notable and an eyebrow raiser for me.
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Case in point, even though won the game, a pretty bad Pitt team still managed to put up 500+ total yards against our D last year. I'm not quite ready to believe that we have "turned the corner" but the last few games have definitely felt different. It isn't just that we are beating bad teams, but we are finally starting to dominate them and are no longer bleeding yards on D. Now whether that success will translate over when we face a good team remains to be seen.
 
I think the coaches, especially on the defense side of the ball, felt the heat and decided they would go for broke and let the guys do what they do best.
Others and I have seen the following change against Duke as well as Cincy, VT and UNC.

1. D linemen actually in a proper DL stance (not frog stance) and getting up field.
2. LB's within 5 yards from the LOS.
3. Bump and run coverage
4. Cover 1 defenses
5. More creative blitzes
6. Blitzing on 1st and 2nd.
7. Tackling seems to be better now vs. first half of the year (then again when you don't have an O-linemen blocking you 7 yards down field, it's easier to make a tackle)
 
Occam's razor:
22-44 players suddenly got a light to turn on and understand their assignments and how to tackle in open space
Or
1 head coach and 2 coordinators decided to do something differently
 
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obcanes said:
Occam's razor:
22-44 players suddenly got a light to turn on and understand their assignments and how to tackle in open space
Or
1 head coach and 2 coordinators decided to do something differently
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Get that logic out of here.
 
The people who are saying nothing has changed so you are saying all of a sudden the players stopped free lancing and became so much more talented in mid season. I was told that we still don't have enough talent and that our players can't make plays on the ball. All this miraculously happened in midseason but not because they decided to be more aggressive.
 
LVCanesfan said:
I think the coaches, especially on the defense side of the ball, felt the heat and decided they would go for broke and let the guys do what they do best.
Others and I have seen the following change against Duke as well as Cincy, VT and UNC.

1. D linemen actually in a proper DL stance (not frog stance) and getting up field.
2. LB's within 5 yards from the LOS.
3. Bump and run coverage
4. Cover 1 defenses
5. More creative blitzes
6. Blitzing on 1st and 2nd.
7. Tackling seems to be better now vs. first half of the year (then again when you don't have an O-linemen blocking you 7 yards down field, it's easier to make a tackle)
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Good breakdown. I did see a lot of delayed blitzes and defense audibles. Wonder if the players are taking charge more and doing their thing within the scheme.

Very interested what team comes out on November 15th.
 
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