Dear Old U.Va.

2010 Football Preview - The Defense

Thursday, August 19 2010 by Tim

On Tuesday, we talked about the Offense for the 2010 edition of the Cavaliers and what it will mean to the potential success of this season. One could probably sum up that preview with a bunch of question marks, because there is little certainty about how any of the offensive units will perform. What about the defense? Let's find out.

The (Much-Maligned) 3-4

Much has been written about the Wahoo’s change from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense. While there is certainly some merit to much of the writing, the truth is that the base scheme is significantly less important than how it is implemented. And even more important is the players on the field, and their abilities. Keep in mind that despite the hand wringing over Al Groh’s 3-4 defense, we boasted some of the best defenses in the nation during his tenure. The chart below shows our national rank in total defense over the past 5 years.

(stats courtesy ncaa.org)

That averages out to the 38^th best defense in the nation. It will come as no surprise to anybody reading this article that for the most part, defense has not been the problem for the Hoos. The 38^th best defense in the country should be good enough to win 7 games per year.

It seemed like, over the past couple of seasons, we saw the Hoos running more and more of their “nickel” package, which usually showed 4 down lineman. This was largely to get more playmakers on the field. In the base 3-4, we simply did not have the personnel on the DL to consistently make plays. The nickel package allowed the DLs to play a simplified role. You’ll hear terms like two-gap and one-gap used to describe the difference. Simply put, a two-gap DL has to face 2 offensive linemen on almost every play, whereas a one-gap DL usually only has to face one.

The 3-4 defense was most successful when we had supremely talented defenders, such as Chris Long, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Ahmad Brooks and Darryl Blackstock. I am about to make an obvious statement, and yet one that almost seems groundbreaking.

“You need good defenders to have a good defense.”                       

Wow.  What a concept. Feel free to quote me on that. Listening to people go on and on about the 3-4 versus the 4-3, you’d think that one or the other were magical defensive schemes that would work no matter who was playing.

(It should be noted that the media often attributes the same magical properties to certain offensive schemes. The spread offense is a magical way of scoring lots of points in college. The wildcat offense is a magical way of scoring points in the NFL. Mike Martz made his entire career around the “Greatest Show on Turf”. Never mind that he had a Hall Of Fame QB playing at a very high level, a HOF RB playing a very high level, and 2 great WRs also playing at a very high level.)

More important than the change in scheme, is the overall emphasis on speed. I’ve discussed this before, but there were numerous cases of players being slotted in the old defense in a manner than can only be described as “wrong”. My favorite (or least favorite, as the case may be) was Jamaal Jackson. Jackson had a ton of potential as a fast outside linebacker, who would have above average cover skills for the position. He played safety, where he had below average cover skills, and often seemed lost.

One of the most interesting parts of the regime change has been the re-slotting of some defenders into a position closer to the line of scrimmage. A slightly undersized LB, with great speed, will usually have more impact than an oversized, slow LB. This is especially true in college, where the offensive playmakers are often undersized. The leading returning rusher in the nation is Dion Lewis, from Pitt. He is listed at 5’8” and 195 lbs. Which of the following two LBs do you think has a better chance of chasing him down?

(In case anybody is interested, LB #1 is Antonio Appleby, a 3 year starter for the Hoos. LB#2 is LaRoy Reynolds, who moved from safety to LB during this past offseason and has received some praise from Coach London during camp for what he's shown so far in his new position. This is not meant as a knock on Appleby, who played very well in the middle, racking up 227 tackles and 21.5 TFL during his tenure.)

So with that little diatribe behind us, let’s take a look at the 2010 Wahoo defense. Considering I just spent 1000 words talking about moving more speed closer to the line of scrimmage, it seems like the linemen is a good place to start.

The Four

There will now be 4 linemen in our base defensive package, and all four will be familiar to Wahoo fans. On the inside, we have two returning starters in juniors Nick Jenkins and Matt Conrath. Wait, you ask yourself, how can we have two returning starters at DT, when we had only one DT last year? Well, you respond to yourself, Conrath is moving inside after two years playing DE. You should probably stop talking to yourself.

Jenkins is the more prototypical DT, at 6’3” and 275 pounds. He spent the past 2 years playing NT on the 3 man line, so he’s a little bit more adept at using leverage to push around interior lineman. Conrath, on the other hand, is 6’7”, which is very tall for a DT. He is going to have more trouble getting leverage, but he makes up for it with superior quickness.  Jenkins and Conrath combined for 86 tackles and 3 sacks, playing in a defense that was not really designed for them to make plays.  Look for each of them to put up much bigger numbers this year.

The first DT off the bench is John-Kevin Dolce. Dolce moved to DT near the end of 2008, after the staff spent 2 years trying to find a position for him. His role over the past 2 seasons was only in the nickel package, as he is way undersized for a 3-4 NT. In the 4-3, Dolce is still undersized. He is listed at 245 pounds, although I would estimate he’s at least 15-20 pounds heavier than that. He makes up for his lack of size with tremendous strength to go along with good quickness. Keep in mind Dolce was originally placed at LB. This is one of those cases of moving speed closer to the LOS. As he has developed more pass rushing moves, his became more and more disruptive in the backfield. The trade-off was that teams started running up the middle when Dolce was in the game. He isn’t big enough to hold his ground against drive blocking OLs, and he was so hell-bent on getting to the QB, that he would often run right past ball carriers.

Neither starting DE started there last year, and yet both saw extensive playing time at the position in the nickel package. On one side, the starter will be Cam Johnson, who moves down from his OLB spot. This is another case of moving more speed up closer to the LOS. Johnson is one of those players who could play in any scheme and be valuable. At 6’4” and 265 pounds, he’s quick enough to beat OTs into the backfield, fast enough to chase down RBs, and athletic enough that he could play for our basketball team. And he’d probably start. Especially this year. (Begin shameless plug.) I’ll leave that discussion for Ben, in a couple of months. (End shameless plug.)

On the other side is Zane Parr, who played opposite Johnson on last year’s 4 man line, while starting DE Nate Collins moved inside in the nickel. Parr was second on the team in sacks, despite playing almost exclusively in the nickel package. Parr is 6’6” 275 pounds, but still has outstanding quickness off the edge. Not as much quickness as Johnson, but he’s bigger.

Behind Parr and Johnson are a bunch of underclassmen. Sophomore Jake Snyder (younger brother of junior WR Matt Snyder) and redshirt freshmen Will Hill, Jeremiah Mathis, and Bill Schautz are the leading candidates.  Hill could play inside as well.  Mathis and Schautz are moving down from LB.  To put it mildly, we don’t want to see any of them getting extended snaps. In fact, if there is an injury to a DE, it is possible that Conrath will move back outside, and Dolce will take his place on the interior.

The 4 starters on the DL are pretty much set in stone. All 4 down linemen have significant promise. Jenkins was successful as a 3-4 NT, despite being somewhat undersized. Conrath had 2 solid years on the outside, and now looks to build on that. Johnson may be the most athletic player on the team, and Parr, as mentioned, was exceptionally productive in limited playing time. If all 4 are successful, and the defense is good, everybody will rave about Mike London and how moving to the 4-3 saved our defense. Or some other such nonsense.

The Three

At LB, the picture becomes much more muddled. As I write this, all 3 LB spots are up for grabs, at least to some degree. Steve Greer was named to several all-freshman teams a year ago (as well as an honorable mention All-ACC performer), so it seems likely he will win the MLB, or Mike, job. However, with the new (renewed?) emphasis on speed, Greer might not be the perfect fit. Greer is currently listed on the depth chart as an OR with junior Aaron Taliaferro. Aaron has moved around a lot, “playing” some OLB and some nickel DE. I use the quotes, because Aaron has seen a grand total of 8 plays in his career. Greer missed the spring with an injury, and that opened the door for Taliaferro. Aaron walked through that door, and may have slammed it back in Greer’s face.

Regardless of who starts, I think it is likely that both will see playing time. For one thing, Greer struggles in pass coverage, and will probably remain a 2 down LB. Taliaferro is a bit more athletic than Greer, which would help in pass coverage. However, 8 plays is entirely too small of a sample size to accurately assess his abilities.

The OLB positions are really no different from the MLB, in that there is nothing set in stone. At the Will, or weakside LB, there are two candidates, Jared Detrick and Ausar Walcott. Detrick is a 5^th year senior who has been a special teams standout for 3 years. Detrick has probably earned the right to get his shot as a starter. However, at the Will, you want more speed. Walcott, a sophomore, is moving down from safety. This is another case of moving more speed closer to the line of scrimmage. (Maybe I should create an autotext entry in MS Word for that sentence.) Simply put, Walcott has more pure speed than Detrick. That is not to say that Detrick is slow; he is not. But there is a reason Walcott was slotted at safety, despite it probably being the wrong decision. Detrick is bigger, stronger, and has a lot more experience. As in the middle, it is likely that both players will see significant playing time.

Strong side linebacker, or Sam, is even more up in the air than Will. Here, there are 3 players, fighting for the starting spot. Although in this case, it looks like sophomore Laroy Reynolds has taken the lead in this fight, over classmates Tucker Windle and LoVante Battle. Generally, at the Sam, you want a bigger player, because they often have to fight off blocks from a TE or FB. In this manner, Reynolds doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. None of these candidates really do. Reynolds, at 6’2” 220 pounds, is strong for his size, while also possessing great speed for a LB. Windle, despite also being listed at 220 lbs, is thicker than Reynolds (and Battle), and is much more capable of fighting off a block from a TE, or even a pulling OL. Windle still possesses enough speed to run with most TEs and FBs, but clearly isn’t as fast as the converted safeties. Battle is much more in the mold of Reynolds, but even smaller and probably not any quicker.

Battle is likely fighting a losing…well, battle… but Windle and Reynolds will both see playing time at Sam this season. Windle would see more time on running downs, because of his ability to fight off blocks. Reynolds has more speed and could see the field more against quicker teams, and in passing situations. That said, I really don’t know what Coach Reid has in mind for the LBs.

The Defensive Backs

Now we move on to the DBs, which will see the least amount of turnover from last year. For one thing, 3 of the 4 projected starters are the same as last year, and the 4^th saw plenty of playing time. For another thing, the switch from 3 to 4 down linemen shouldn’t affect the DBs in the slightest. I still expect to see a lot of base Cover-2 from the DBs.

While it is true that the change in defensive schemes won’t have the same impact on the DBs that it has on the front 7, that is not to say that the role of the DBs isn’t going to change. Mike London has always been a big proponent of an aggressive, attacking defense. This usually starts with the DBs. For example, if you feel comfortable playing your CB 1-on-1 against an opposite WR, you open up a lot of options for the rest of the defense. Similarly, if you feel comfortable playing your CBs back in a softer zone, you can push a safety forward to attack a ground game.

As it turns out, we have a set of DBs that give Coach London and Coach Reid a TON of options with the defense. We have a diverse set of CBs who can play man-to-man, zone and everything in between. We have safeties who are capable in Cover-2 zones, as well as covering a TE in man coverage, as well as acting as an extra LB in the box against the run, as well as blitzing the QB off the edge. (Yes, I used “as well as” 3 times in one sentence. I doubt the grammar police approve.) I envy the defensive coaching staff for the possibilities that exist with this group of DBs.

Let’s begin at CB, where we have one of the best in the nation in senior Ras-I Dowling. ESPN’s ACC blogger, Heather Dinich, thinks Ras-I is the 24^th best player in the ACC, and has 2 CBs ranked ahead of him. I am certain that Ms Dinich doesn’t care about my opinion, but the feeling is mutual. Had she ranked the players by impact on the field, perhaps I would give her the benefit of the doubt. Ras-I is undoubtedly one of the top 10 overall ACC players this season.

There is nothing that you can ask of a CB that Ras-I can’t do. He’s 6’2” and 200 pounds. He can run. He can tackle. He can hit. The only thing that remains to be seen is his ability to lead a defense on the field. As a senior, a captain, and the team's best player, he will be asked to do exactly that. I’m betting he succeeds.

Opposite Ras-I is junior Chase Minnifield. Minnifield, at 6’0” 195 pounds, isn’t as big as Ras-I, but has more pure speed. He has developed over the last two seasons, and now appears ready to be a full time starter. This season, Minnifield figures to see a lot of balls thrown his way. I think he’ll make plenty of plays. Still, I have my doubts about Minnifield. The Hoos took a lot of grief for losing last year to William & Mary. And rightly so. But it didn’t need to happen. With the Hoos up 14-7 in the first half of that game, Minnifield dropped an easy interception that was almost definitely 6 points. If he takes that to the house, the outcome of the game probably changes. Oh well.

The 3^rd CB is sophomore Devin Wallace. Wallace is closer, in style, to Ras-I than to Chase. He’s 5’11” and about 205 pounds. He played a fair amount last year, often as a nickel back, and often as more of a safety. He’ll do the same this year, but he may also see some time in Minnifield’s spot, depending on the matchup. Smaller, quicker WRs are a better matchup for Chase and his speed. However, bigger receivers could see Wallace lined up against them, just due to the physical nature of his game. Wallace needs to make the most of his playing time, because he will be in line for a starting spot next year.

Another CB who could be solidly in the rotation is Mike Parker. Parker, again, is much closer in build and style to Ras-I. He’s 6’2” and 205 pounds. He’s spent some time at safety. He could see time there again. Parker, like Ras-I, is a 5^th year senior. You could argue that he’s never really had an opportunity to show his abilities on the field. If he wants to have a football career beyond this season, he’ll have to break into the rotation this year.

The situation at safety looks very similar to the situation there last year at this time. The same two players, juniors Corey Mosley and Rodney McLeod, are just about locks to start, and their games seem to be a very good match. The only difference is that both players look completely different, because they both changed numbers. And that is very confusing. Mosley is wearing Matt Schaub/Peter Lalich’s number 7 jersey, while McLeod is wearing Vic Hall’s number 4 jersey. So, both of our safeties look like QBs. Great. While we’re on the subject, McLeod was #28 last year, and now that is Devin Wallace. Laroy Reynolds was #26 last year, now that is Ausar Walcott, who was #30. So, two safeties last year wore 26 and 28, and now those numbers are a CB and a LB. Man, this is confusing. 

Historically, defenses have two different safety positions. One is the free safety (FS) and one is the strong safety (SS). As the name suggests, the strong safety is generally a bigger guy, whereas the free safety is faster, and the more natural “center-fielder”. On paper, McLeod would fit the FS spot, while Mosley would fit the SS. However, in our defense over the past couple of years, there has been very little difference between the two safety positions, and they have switched back and forth between two roles. In the base Cover-2 scheme, there is often little difference between safeties anyway.

McLeod, at 5’10” 180 pounds, is certainly the more athletic of the two safeties. McLeod is a converted CB, and his cover skills show it. He can cover a TE, or a slot receiver, and hold his own. While he's capable of helping out in the running game, and he’s even shown a decent feel for blitzing the QB, his strength is clearly in coverage. And yet, on the depth chart, he is listed at SS.

Mosley, at 5’10” and over 200 pounds, Mosley fits the paper description of strong safety much better than McLeod. His game also seems more suited to SS. And yet, he is listed at FS on the depth chart. On the field, Mosley hits like a LB. Or maybe like an anvil. Anyway, he’s a hitter. Obviously, this is a good thing, because football is a contact sport. A WR will think twice about coming over the middle if he’s concerned about the connection between his head and torso remaining intact. That said, overly aggressive play from a safety can be a negative. Players get reputations from officials, and that can lead to flags for late hits, or horse collar tackles, or whatever else. Those penalties really kill a team, because they are always 15 yards and will often resuscitate a drive that would otherwise be dead. Mosley saw a few of those flags last year in bad situations.

I don’t think anybody wants to remove Mosley’s aggression, but he needs to be more careful about when to lay the wood, and when to simply wrap up. Against the run, Mosley is essentially an extra LB. He’s strong enough to shed blockers, and he’s as sure a tackler as we’ve got in the defensive backfield. In coverage, Mosley is merely adequate. He’s fast enough to run with most TEs and FBs, but he’s not going to cover a slot receiver one on one. In a Cover-2, he’s fast enough to cover his zone, but often struggles with his reads.

Because of his pass coverage struggles, it is likely that junior Dom Joseph will see some time at S in passing situations. Joseph is a more fluid athlete, and is also taller, which is helpful when guarding against deep passes. (Obviously, it is harder to throw the ball over a 6’2” defender than a 5’10” defender. You would think this is intuitive, but I’m pretty sure half the QBs on earth don’t get it.) Joseph hasn’t really seen much of the field, but when he’s played he’s been successful. He’s not the hitter that Mosley is, and he’s not the athlete that McLeod is, but he’s solid in both aspects. He will definitely be in the mix for playing time at S.

The final piece of the S puzzle is senior Trey Womack. Womack has excelled in a special teams role for 3 years now, but has yet to really make an impact on defense. Maybe that’s because he’s jumped from safety to cornerback to safety to cornerback to safety to…you get the picture. Womack has never stuck at a position. He’s pretty solidly set at safety right now, but he’s still not likely to see the field much on defense, barring injuries.

Conclusion

There is far more talent on the defensive side of the ball than there is on the offensive side. We also have a more experienced coaching staff on the defensive side than on offense. This includes head coach Mike London, the former defensive coordinator for the Hoos, and a former NFL defensive assistant. Keep in mind that, as I mentioned about 3000 words ago, defense was never really the problem under the old regime. If Al Groh was graded on just his defenses, he’d pass. He might not get an A, but he’d pass. His offenses, he gets an F. Actually, is there anything worse than F?

Still, there remains a fair amount of unknowns about our defense this year. It’s a new scheme, with an entirely new coaching staff (except Coach Pointdexter, who even still is taking on a different role). There may be some ramp up time while the players get comfortable in the new system, and in some cases, their new positions. There may also be a feeling out process while the coaches learn the capabilities of some of the players and their new roles.

I am far less concerned about the defense than I am about the offense. The defense will be severely tested against a potent USC offense, but the rest of the opening month of the season will be against DI-AA offenses that don't really scare anybody. This will allow the coaching staff to try a few things, and get some good film on the players. Hopefully, we’ll also see a fair amount of rotation among the players, especially early on. That will help guard against injuries, as well as help keep players fresh for the tougher games later in the season.

 

(Pictures courtesy virginiasports.com)