Tag: LSU

MQ Pressure Tape: LSU vs Texas (’19)

Though Todd Orlando’s (DC, USC) time at Texas came to a screeching halt after the 2019 regular season, one thing is clear, the man can create pressure. As I wrote in early 2019 after Texas defeated Georgia, Orlando’s defense uses hybrid players and different alignments to put pressure on offenses. In that game, the Longhorns consistently confused a seasoned and well-coached offensive line, garnering two sacks and seven tackles for loss (TFLs).

In the concluding 2019 Pressure Tape review, MQ will breakdown three Longhorn pressures against the now-famous LSU offenses (one of the best in history). Texas didn’t do much to stop the onslaught late in the game (no one did), but there are some definite takeaways. The Longhorns created four total sacks (averaged 2.33 a game).

Related Content: LSU vs Auburn ‘19

Orlando now resides in Los Angeles with the USC Trojans and it will be interesting to see how the PAC 12 chooses to attack the Orlando system. The Longhorns seemed to never really find a “home base” on defense. Their “camp D” was a 3-4, but once the season hit, the packages started to proliferate. Orlando has always been multiple, but it seemed like in the end there was just too much going on which was evident by Head Coach Tom Hermans decision to go with Chris Ash as the DC who is known for a simpler style reflecting Ohio State (with more of a Quarters base).

To finish this article, subscribe below:

 

 

Lone Star Clinic 2020 – Dave Aranda, Baylor HC

Thoughts on Base Defense

  • 11 pers. = Is the TE in the core or out?
  • Don’t like Mint vs 3×1 Y-off (especially 4×1) – Check “Eagle” (Nose to Shade)

01 Eagle Front

  • LBs are in 30s – Key the “Y”
  • Read the depth of the “Y”
    • Highway = Tight to the OT (think Zone Load)
    • Relay = Deep alignment (think Split Zone, Counter, Insert)
  • Ni is 5×1 inside of #2 (“pat” feet, read mesh/”feel” #2)
  • Coverages:
    • Hammer Coverage = Quarters
    • Nail = 2-Read
  • Backside Safety reads the “Y” (Poach away/Vert to “Fox the Post” if to)
    • Poach = If vertical take it
    • TE blocks = Work through the Post (help double the Slot) – “Fox”
  • RPO’s away from the RB are “gifts” & based on alignment (leverage read)
  • Try to gauge the depth of the TE and RB
  • Develop a plan according to what side of the ball the offense is attacking?
    • Same-Side (Gap schemes)
    • Away (Zone schemes)
  • 3-4 run fits are similar to vision coverage (see the ball – get the ball)
  • 5 tech = FIST (Heavy tech.) – rub to “B” with a base block
  • “Cinco” call tells the DE to become a “heavy” 5 tech.
    • Keeps Tite look, but gain a 5 tech. versus gap schemes
    • Good versus diagonal looks (TE and RB on different sides)

02 Slide Front

Continue reading “Lone Star Clinic 2020 – Dave Aranda, Baylor HC”

Keying the H-back Versus Y-off or “I” Formations

One simple coverage tweak can add numbers into the box and free up your LBs versus Y-off offenses.

I learned about using a “key” read on an offset TE (H-back) in 2017 when I heard Don Brown speak at the Lone Star Clinic in College Station. In his words, he stated, that without City Check (Cover 1 with keying safeties), he didn’t know where he’d be as a coach. Those are powerful words from one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. Sometimes you need an extra fitter on the H-back, especially as more Spread teams base out of 11/20 personnel sets (Y-off), and this was exactly what I was looking for.

Don Brown’s City Check or “Key/Fox,” as Dave Aranda (LSU)/Todd Orlando (Texas) refer to it, is a Cover 1 adjustment to any two-back formation, and can also be used if the H-back turns into a traditional TE on the line of scrimmage. Both safeties are aligned 8-10 yards deep at the edge of the box and are keying the FB or offset TE depending on personnel grouping. This is a great way to give a two-high look pre-snap (Quarters), then add numbers post-snap (gapped-out single-high). Below is a diagram of Michigan running the scheme versus a 21p “I” Twin formations.

01 Key vs 21p

Both safeties are slightly tilted in and focusing their eyes on the FB. Whichever way the FB inserts or moves, the safety to that side will trigger down to “cap” the box fit. Most defensive coaches want plus numbers in the box. The term cap refers to the third man responsible in the fit. There should be an inside and outside shoulder player on the ball carrier. The “capper,” or third fitter, caps or tops the fit.

Inside the box, the LBs are focused on the RB, and if the back were to go out for a pass (more likely versus a Shotgun offense), the LB to the RB’s side would take him. The rest of the secondary is locked on their man. In terms of pass coverage, the safety away from the inserting FB will work “through the Post,” creating a Cover 1 look. Below is a clip of the play illustrated above, a simple Iso from 21 pers. I Twin.

The motion by the Badgers’ FB triggers the safety to the nub-TE’s side to start working down. Wisconsin is used to seeing City Check from Michigan and understands how to manipulate the trigger. The open “A” gap is actually away from the motion, and the FB works back to it on the snap of the ball. Inside the box, the LBs must understand the leverage of the secondary and how the FB’s movement will trigger one of them. In the clip above, the ILB hits the FB away from the dropping safety (referred to as “boxing” the block), essentially forcing the ball carrier to the safety. The overall result is a short gain. Continue reading “Keying the H-back Versus Y-off or “I” Formations”

%d bloggers like this: