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State of the Defense (BDC)

Shldr2Shldr said:
Jim Leavitt interview from Howell.

Sort of a state of the defense piece. Gives some insight into how things are developing and some serious honesty from the new DC

http://www.buffzone.com/ci_28394867/cu-football-jim-leavitt-encouraged-by-defensive-line
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In fact, the Buffs don't even really know whether they'll spend most of their time in a 4-3 alignment or a 3-4. That will be determined by how well the players perform in fall and which positions prove to have the most game-ready players.
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Good coaches know when not to force their system on players that cannot optimize it. This is a good sign, IMO.
 
really boils down to the question, "do we have a true 2-gap nose or not?" if yes, 3-4, if not, 4-3.
 
FlaBuff said:
really boils down to the question, "do we have a true 2-gap nose or not?" if yes, 3-4, if not, 4-3.
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yup. to run the 3-4 you have to have that player. it doesn't work otherwise.

Eddy Lopez could be the guy potentially. 6-4 300 is within striking distance of NT weight/size. Up to him to solidify technique
 
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"We're not as talented as what you would like. However, when I went to Kansas State, we had the No. 1 defense in the nation and not one of those guys got drafted. There's a lot more to it. We do have guys that play hard and want to do well. I'm encouraged."

Like his office, CU's defense will eventually get organized. And, Leavitt is hoping that it doesn't take long.

"We're not going to be the best defense in the country this fall," he said, "but hopefully we stop the bleeding and hopefully we can move to a better direction where guys feel some confidence, because I don't think they've felt a lot of confidence around here. It's been a while. A long while."
 
Buffnik said:
"We're not as talented as what you would like. However, when I went to Kansas State, we had the No. 1 defense in the nation and not one of those guys got drafted. There's a lot more to it. We do have guys that play hard and want to do well. I'm encouraged."

Like his office, CU's defense will eventually get organized. And, Leavitt is hoping that it doesn't take long.

"We're not going to be the best defense in the country this fall," he said, "but hopefully we stop the bleeding and hopefully we can move to a better direction where guys feel some confidence, because I don't think they've felt a lot of confidence around here. It's been a while. A long while."
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If the D makes that step, and the O takes another step forward we will be winning more games. We were in plenty of games this year but the offense just couldn't keep up by themselves.
 
If he decides that they don't have the guy/s to play NT in a 3-4, I hope the defense is more of a 4-2-5 alignment. Really good for slowing down up-tempo offenses, gives a wide variety of coverage options and disguises and gets one spot in our weakest position (LB) off the field. TCU has had a lot of success in this system.
 
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TSchekler said:
If he decides that they don't have the guy/s to play NT in a 3-4, I hope the defense is more of a 4-2-5 alignment. Really good for slowing down up-tempo offenses, gives a wide variety of coverage options and disguises and gets one of our weakest positions (LB) off the field. TCU has had a lot of success in this system.
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Leavitt will know what alignments to use.
 
Shldr2Shldr said:
yup. to run the 3-4 you have to have that player. it doesn't work otherwise.

Eddy Lopez could be the guy potentially. 6-4 300 is within striking distance of NT weight/size. Up to him to solidify technique
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Lopez or Justin Solis. If I were Solis, I'd be in the weight room with my ass on fire right now.
 
Solis is a very capable NT. He might be better as a space eater than Tupou, holding his ground and making tackles on the interior. He hasn't been a 3-down guy who can give a pass rush, though. Tupou also gave that. Lopez has to step up to cause some of the disruption Tupou did. And Leavitt may need to find a DT who can come in at NT for long yardage and dime situations as a designated pressure guy.
 
BuffNut99 said:
Lopez or Justin Solis. If I were Solis, I'd be in the weight room with my ass on fire right now.
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It really comes down to those two. If 1 can separate from the other, then we will be primed for a 3-4 alignment, if not then we have two massive DT's for a 4-3. Not too worried about the DL really. Obviously Tupou would have been a huge asset, but we have so many DL that we should be able to stay fresh enough to be ok in most looks.
 
BuffNut99 said:
Lopez or Justin Solis. If I were Solis, I'd be in the weight room with my ass on fire right now.
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It has to be both,

Even the very best interior DL don't play every down, if you don't have a rotation then the guys are completely worn down by the fourth quarter. If one of these two guys doesn't step up then they will have to find somebody else who can play enough downs to keep the starter from wearing out.
 
FlaBuff said:
really boils down to the question, "do we have a true 2-gap nose or not?" if yes, 3-4, if not, 4-3.
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NT is normally the big key for the 3-4, but in our case doesn't the # of quality LB's also play a significant question to this formula? We are struggling to get 3 quality LB's out on the field, what the hell are we going to do when we need 4? Or is this where the converted DE who is now an LB end up in the true tweener role?
 
Buff_since76 said:
NT is normally the big key for the 3-4, but in our case doesn't the # of quality LB's also play a significant question to this formula? We are struggling to get 3 quality LB's out on the field, what the hell are we going to do when we need 4? Or is this where the converted DE who is now an LB end up in the true tweener role?
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4-2-5! 4-2-5! 4-2-5!
 
Buff_since76 said:
NT is normally the big key for the 3-4, but in our case doesn't the # of quality LB's also play a significant question to this formula? We are struggling to get 3 quality LB's out on the field, what the hell are we going to do when we need 4? Or is this where the converted DE who is now an LB end up in the true tweener role?
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The starting OLBs in the new system are last year's DEs -- Derek McCartney and Jimmie Gilbert.

So we're really only trying to find 2 ILBs to start. One is going to be Kenneth Olugbode. If healthy, the other will be Addison Gillam. Deaysean Rippy and Christian Shaver are the main depth on the inside, with Travis Talianko and Ryan Severson behind them. Wildcards are Jaleel Awini and Grant Wantanabe. We really need those guys to step up and earn PT.
 
It will be interesting to see what Olugbode can do in the new D. Mac has been high on Olugbode from the beginning and all we saw last year was him getting physically out matched, most of the time. The Dlineman holding up blockers could be huge for him to utilize his athletic ability and start making plays. I still don't see what Mac sees in KO, but that could have also meant a bigger issue with our DE's last year than KO. A start would be for him to add some size this off season.
 
the 4-2-5 was the fabled defense that vince no-clue installed under gb and that leaked like the roof of luke's trailer.

thus, it shall always cause cringes, even if it is a defensible defense in the p12.
 
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