I would play a very conservative D and just try to keep the offense in front of me. Hopefully luck out and give up some FGs instead of TDs.
And so, your take is we are playing defense all wrong, or that we are damned if we do but damned if we don't? Methinks if it were as simple as what you are proposing, every team would do this. Maybe you are a football savant?
Agree and I would add onside kicks as well. May as well take a shot at keeping them from even getting the ball.
It is what LSU did to get us off the field on 3rd down. They also blitzed on the Hail Mary play and messed it up. Sitting 10 yards off the ball hasn’t worked very well and the very few times we get a 3rd down stop is when we pressure.
We have not tried everything on defense. We play soft zone with 15 yard cushions. We don’t blitz with the secondary, only LBs. We don’t change our alignment. We don’t sit the players that make the same mistakes time and time again. Toney needs to use the bye week to try something different, because all he’s tried is the same old crap.
I posted on another thread that if we are easy to predict/read, then that has to change. Things should with the bye week.
I hope you are right, but I don’t see it. I am not sure Toney is an aggressive DC by nature, and when people are put under stress they revert back to their comfort zone. Even when he blitzes he likes to drop potential rushers back into coverage. Toney’s comfort zone is to play zone coverage which is all well and good if you have the horses who understand how to play it, but some/all of our secondary have issues with playing zone properly. How we perform against UGA on defense will either cool Toney’s seat or make it volcanic.
I know this is sort of Zen, but the trust isn't in Toney, it is in Napier. He IS the one running the ship. Toney either does what he is asked or he isn't going to stick around after this season. This isn't Grantham with Dumbo anymore. Patience for righting a ship is kind of hard for a few of us.
Play man-to-man until we can get the future recruits rolling in and coached up. The DBs we have don't seem to be able to learn zone. Let more young players jump the two-deep. The season is half-over, so, there must be someone who has learned something in practice by now. Teach tackling like it was the first day of camp (except you already know the coaches names, where your locker is, and how to put your jock on). I saw one big play by LSU's offense Saturday with no less than four complete whiffs on open field tackling by our guys. On one play. That's bush league.
Stop the man defense for DB'S and go to a zone where the DB's can watch the QB"s eyes. Simplify the defensive plan as much as possible.
I think the worst part of Grantham doing this was they were at the dumbest possible times and/or done as delays or from 15 yards deep. Guy just isn't a great schemer.
