Are our CB's coached properly?
I know it's a bit late to ask KSU game related questions, but I didn't have the energy after watching that to look at the site much for a while. During the game a few times, Spielman called out our corners for not altering Lockett and other KSU WR's routes off of the LOS. He said a couple of times that we should be jamming them at the line and were not, and on another occasion that we were giving far too much room off of the line, and were making it "easy" for them. This is not the first time that this has been brought up during games, and I recall a press conference during the season with Mattison where he agreed that we were giving too much room to opposing receivers.
So, I don't know enough about what our CB's are coached to do to have a definitive opinion, but I respect Speilman and during the game it sure appeared he was right. Is it possible our CB's are coached to jam and simply did not, or are they not coached that way? And is jamming a constant that all CB's do and should do? Or do you think they would have torched us anyway? Space Coyote from space?
January 2nd, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
jamming the recievers is something that goes with the defensive play call. its not an all or nothing thing it can vary from snap to snap. from what i can tell usually a jam is done to disrupt quick routes when the defense is blitzing so the qb cant throw quickly and the blitz has time to hit. we havent done much press coverage this year so the corners might not be great at it, most of our corners are on the smaller side and it might not have helped even if spielman is calling for it during the game.
January 2nd, 2014 at 3:59 PM ^
I remember that Mattison presser where he addressed the lack of press coverage by the CBs and the impression I got was that they were either not good enough at it to do consistently, or they were not reading the situations properly. I can't imagine our coaches would just be the only coaches ever to say press coverage is inherently bad and are telling them not to. This is just one of many confusing things about our play his year.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^
"I can't imagine our coaches would just be the only coaches ever to say press coverage is inherently bad and are telling them not to."
Dinosaur Punting.
But seriously, you're probably right about the corners. Need more talent and or ability to read an offense.
Edit: and don't forget, we can't get pressure with 4 down lineman, so the CB's jobs are even harder.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
I honestly can't remember the last time we had a CB actually jam somebody at the line consantly. We are 8-10 yards off every single play, except on 3rd and long when we play 12-15 yards off.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
I think that the cushions are more of a schematic issue. Where in their prep for the game the scouting report and package install dictate suggested cushions. Usually the defensive call does as well. For example in Cover 3 one safety drops to the middle and corners usually bail out to a deep third while the LBs buzz underneath. But what I noticed when that happened is KSU ran a route combo that forced the LB to take the slot reciever and the comeback to the outside was left wide open.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
I'm not sure there's ever a right answer as to whether CBs should be jamming receivers or not. I think Speilman saying that is akin saying, "Team X should utilize pulling guards in its running game." The statement that Michigan should jam KSU could be true in some sense, but I don't believe that you're ever flatly wrong not to jam receivers.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^
Michigan finished 7-6 and ranked 66th nationally in passing yards allowed, including 7 yards per attempt and 12+ yards per completion.
The answer is "no", not right now.
Michigan's secondary is currently coached by Curt Mallory, for all of those who want to break out the torches and pitchforks.
Michigan showed a lot of improvement in pass defense in 2011 and 2012 seasons though.
Give him a chance, maybe?
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:15 PM ^
Mattison didn't appear to trust the safeties as much this year as much as the last 2 years (Kovacs?). That and we couldn't generate hardly any organic pass rush, so playing off reduces the odds you're beat over the top in the secondary,which we all know he's all about eliminating big plays... unfortunatley we gave up a ton any way. Long story short I think the DB's weren't as much the issue and would've looked better with better DL play.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
I believe this is the right answer. Jamming disrupts quick routes, but opens you up over the top if A) the line can't get to the QB or B) the safeties don't come over and help. Seeing as we aren't very good at A) or B). I think the coaches elected to play a bend don't break philosophy overall. Bend don't break will keep you in a lot of games, but it's like Homer Simpson's boxing career, eventually you go up against a Drederick Tatum that's not going to just wear themselves out. Drederick Tatum in our case was Tyler Lockett.
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:28 PM ^
Who played the part of the hobos? Sure as hell wasn't Akron or UConn.
Edit: Thank you for the Simpsons reference. Those old episodes are gold I tells ya, gold!
January 2nd, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^
him over Homer!
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:40 PM ^
The improvement was an illusion.. We didn't play 1 team last year that could throw the ball accurately.. Thus the reason why it was easy for us to defend crappy teams
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:16 PM ^
They were also not particularly good at getting pressure on QBs. Passing defense, like all parts of football, rely on everyone on the field performing well, and failures at multiple positions are holistic.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
I didn't have a problem with this joke the first 300 threads in a row where it was made.
January 2nd, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
If you can't generate consistent pass rush, pressing on the outside can be more dangerous. Rather than "catching" the receiver and seeing the routes develop, you are forced to try to knock the timing off immediately at the LOS. But if the play has time to develop, then you're essentially just playing trail coverage and allowing the receiver to dictate everything once they get their release.
Pressure is essential to jamming on the outside, otherwise your CBs will just get stuck chasing receivers all over the field.
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:25 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^
I don't know how many times we discussed the 10 yard cushion on a 3rd and 5. You are conceding the first down. I don't care how bad they are, it just didn't make sense.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
I never had a major question about how our DBs were being coached until the MSU game this season. Time after time, corners would tackle a wide receiver after a downfield catch without ever turning their head once. This was also an issue on the long Braxton Miller TD run when our whole secondary never looked back to see he had taken off.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
IDK, check the UFR. Should be done middle of next week.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:28 PM ^
But you are right about your hips already being open.
For those unfamiliar: the most common CB technique is a back peddle, which utilize a back peddling DB mirror a WR. This allows the CB to back peddle and move with a receiver the better mirror his release to be in a better position to break on underneath stuff (his eyes stay on the receiver) or to have his body in position on the receiver when he does go to flip his hips.
There is normal press technique, which is a press and release with the WR to put it simply.
Then there is bump and shuffle, which basically has the CB mirror the receiver initially but with his body more square to the field rather than the receiver. It's a method to keep the CB's eyes on the QB throughout the play and to start with hips open so they can flip later in coverage. So you bump the receiver off his route while shuffling to gain depth on the route.
The other issue is you need to get guys that are extremely skilled, even if that skill doesn't include pure athletic speed. The reason skill is important is because you'll tend to lose the receiver after the release. So you have to be able to lose contact and find him again. That should open up the kind of back shoulder fade and come back routes if you aren't technically sound.
The other thing it requires is superior understanding of route concepts. This is one of the better things that Saban and Co teach, they are very good teachers at getting their DBs to recognize how plays are developing. This is important because where your eyes are going and understading how to react once your receiver gets his release. Again, you lose contact and you lose a bit of position with the shuffle because you can't exactly mirror or stick with the man, so you have to have an understanding of how to rotate without your man to get back into position.
Now, reasons it's good is because your eyes allow you to read the QB (this can be bad or good, depending on if your players are disciplined enough). It does have your hips already open so you can jam and recover faster if you know where to go. It also gives you a view point to scan the whole field similar to a safety, but on the sideline. This allows for better route recognition in combination with press coverage, which is usually the weakness of press.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
And different teams use it differently. One thing I've noticed with Spielman, is that he gets his talking points and he really rails them home. Whether he got that talking point from the Michigan coaches ("we need to do better at jamming at the LOS") or the KSU coaches ("we feel we can take advantage of free releases") or past experience (he likes jamming receivers), I don't know, but it's something that I've noticed from him. I still think he's one of the better color guys in the game, FWIW.
Now, Spielman was also talking about safety help, which at least a couple times Michigan didn't have for the CBs. It was tough, because Michigan wasn't really stopping the run either, the DL was getting pushed so the LBs had to play quicker and the safeties needed to help in run support. A lot of teams that don't press consistently won't press when they know they don't have safety help. Michigan hasn't pressed much this year. The way Michigan has typically played their coverage this year in those sitiations (cover 1 or cover 0) has been to catch the receiver and use their body at that point. The goal is basically to get a better feel for the pattern read and then catch and disrupt with the body after the initial release rather than trying to disrupt at the LOS and then play recover defense.
But it all depends. They did stuggle a few times at least getting hands on receivers or with body position. There are ways you play that jam (or chuck) when you're off the line, depending on where support is, route tendancies, etc, and they struggled with that.
Now, as far as being coached properly, I'll try to answer your question in multiple ways. Are the CBs being taught the correct techniques for the coverage? I'm almost sure of it. Are they being tasked with doing too many different things at different times relative to their skill level? That's hard to say, but it seems like they aren't really comfortable with any one thing. It's seemed like Michigan hasnstruggled in route concept recognition this year in their zones and have been picked on to some degree. Jamming does not help pick up these route concepts, in fact it makes it harder, because you can't see the plays develop. They have been better in man IMO, but they've struggled a bit with eyes and body position, which happens when CBs get aggressive to a fault.
The way KSU moved the ball, I really don't think it was a schematic problem with the TDs. They were moving the ball on the ground, they were hitting the slot/TE/FB over the LBs who had to commit to the run, and that forced Mattison to try to RPS his way to success. That's not a good means to be successful. You double Lockett and then other things open up. Lockett is a good player too, that back shoulder fade and the quick out were both tough routes to keep up on.
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:13 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:18 PM ^
Its part scheme, part lack of athleticism by the corners. If they cant handle press coverage, they probably wont roll them up. IMO if they cant handle press coverage, they need to be benched and get someone else in there who can.
When you jam a WR, you take him Inside...every time...always release him inside and never allow an outside release. This is why its so effective in short yardage and goal line. The only issue in those situations is playing the quick slant...however with a quick slant, the QB is in a 3 step drop so the CB needs to PLAY the slant first and take the receiver inside. If the DL is any good, they will pressure the QB where he gets 1 read on the 3 step drop (slant...or throw it elsewhere).
If you are in press you can play the slant, or play the fade or anything by manning up on the guy and not allowing a free release.
All year long, the CBs were lining up 5 yards deep cushion...inside our own 10 yard line. That simply will not work vs. a reasonable passing offense (and it didnt).
Nebraska yesterday, for example...was playing agressive press coverage during the final drive deep in their own end...and it worked, they shut Georgia down.
If Michigan cant get athletes that can press, it will be a long year in 14.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
I'd assume Mattison would be more willing to jam receivers and use press coverage if our defensive line could get any semblance of pressure on the opponent's QB. When you can't, the receivers are out doing whatever they like and the DBs are chasing them around.
I am certainly a preacher when it comes to the underratedness of both lines in football. Our o-line was a dumpster fire most of the year and we paid for it dearly, particularly in the run game. Our defensive line was serviceable, but nothing special (my opinion). If the defensive line can generate pressure on 3 and 4 man rushes, that opens up a lot more that the DBs can do.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:31 PM ^
Also, I believe the coaches had very little confidence in the safeties.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^
I don't care if the Dline generates the pressure or if you disguise different blitzes. Either way you cannot allow the QB to sit in the pocket and wait for targets to get open.
In a perfect world the Dline creates the pressure, but either way you have to pressure the QB.
January 2nd, 2014 at 10:52 PM ^
Difficult for the DL to pressure anyone when the corners are basically handing the O a 5-yard hitch, which is thrown immediately and means the DL has barely engaged by time the pass is thrown.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:30 PM ^
I've never heard anyone complain "we blitz too much". I'm not sure I've ever heard "we blitz the right amount." No fan is ever satisfied with how much their team blitzes, but sometimes there are reasons you don't blitz, and more often than not it's the right move.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:33 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
1. D-Line could not generate sufficient pressure alone. Or any pressure, really.
2. Secondary isn't good enough to sustain coverage downfield while a QB has 8-10 seconds to throw. This helped lead to big plays and guys getting lost in the secondary. Not just ragging on our secondary, even really good secondaries have a hard time maintaining coverage when QB's have all day to throw.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
They also have CBs that can single cover a guy if the blitz doesn't get home right away. We don't.
That said, we weren't stopping them with "inside and in front" anyway so maybe we should have tried something else to create something, but it's a high risk proposition.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:45 PM ^
For whatever reason, that's a common misconception for them. Their LBs play fast and react to first read, similar to ND. But they really don't blitz that much. They blitzed way more against Michigan than any other team this year (because they could smell blood, aka a weak interior OL) and they didn't reach 60% in the Michigan game either.
And the way their LBs play is a function of their scheme. Different scheme, different way of playing. From Mattison's scheme, it takes more athletic secondary players to justify sending a lot more complex blitzes. Michigan isn't there yet.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:57 PM ^
I have enjoyed reading your posts, which seem pretty detailed. I am assuming you are a coach or were one. The Xs and Os tell us what they are trying to do, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is how the players are developed for the system they are trying to run and wins and losses. In your opinion what is a reasonable amount of time for this staff before you start looking at replacing them? This is a serious question because I value your perspective.
January 2nd, 2014 at 7:22 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
After this season I'm questioning if the entire defense is coached properly.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:38 PM ^
A widespread problem that's not just limited to our secondary is the ability of the DB to turn their head around and locate the ball.When I watch the better defensive teams I notice that they locate the ball more often than not.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^
You have to be step for step with your guy to turn and look for the ball. If you're a step behind, knowing where the ball is doesn't do you any good if you just watch it fall into the receiver's arms. The best bet in that scenario is to run as hard as you can to the guy and put your arms up and hope it hits you. We seem to be in the latter situation a lot more often, especially against the elite receivers.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^
People need to understand this better and how it works. You don't turn and look for the ball when you're out of phase. If your hip isn't on the receiver's hip and your shoulder isn't in front of the receiver's shoulder and you can't control the receiver with your body, then you can't turn and look for the ball, you are not in-phase. Looking for the ball when not in-phase (when you can't control and feel the receiver with your body) will only cause you to slow down and lose the receiver and leave more wide open receivers and blown coverages.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:45 PM ^
It's tough to play coverage, period, when you don't get much of a pass rush. It doesn't matter if you play on or off. Michigan has to do a better job up front (on both sides of the ball).
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:21 PM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:52 PM ^
I think I have had this exact same question for just about every position on our team at one point in time this season.