The Basics We Should Expect to See From the 3-4 Defensive Alignment

[tampahog]

The scheme last year was part of the reason for an inefficiency in terms of execution.

i want to see dramatically improved open field tackling more than anything.  hopefully an improved scheme will improve our containment and angles.   

[MuskogeeHogFan]

i want to see dramatically improved open field tackling more than anything.  hopefully an improved scheme will improve our containment and angles.   

The scheme last year allowed opposing OC's to move our people around like chess pieces. The A&M game was the worst example that I can think of in that regard.

At times it also presented mismatches in coverage and there were times that we were misaligned and other times that we might have had people properly aligned but they had so many pre-snap reads to go through, that they either played slow or might have been confused about what they were supposed to do.

It made it more difficult for them to play fast and hard. At least, this is what I have been told from someone that I trust. None of those are good things.

The 3-4 scheme is supposed to present them with 1 or 2 pre-snap reads instead of 3 or 4. That's simplification and should mean that we will play faster at the snap which hopefully will mean that we will be out of position less often and be in a better position to make a play and secure the tackle.

We will see in a little over 60 days.

[HF#1]

You hope, which is pretty sad.

It's my belief, not my hope.

[Mike_e]

y'all fail to realize , this defense uses 2 actual LB's and 2 small tweener DE's as LB's .something that is everywhere . I was told by a former coach that this defense is a full 1/2 second faster at reacting to a play . Doesn't sound like much till you realize that it is about 3 steps and allows the D-line to engage faster before the O-line can really get set. He basically compared it to the old run and shoot offense in the old days , The defense creates so many options that the offense has more to think about and often over thinks things . Especially when they don't see it every week and thete are many variations based on personal groups .change 1 or 2 players and it can be a 4-4-3 , 5-2-4, 4-3-4 or even a hybrid 2-5-4. all from a base 3-4

Hmm, a half second is the difference between a 4.8 and a 4.3 40.  Maybe we will play a little faster next year.



I'm all for playing quicker so long as there is tackling. To. The Ground.

The only times we have played really good defense is when we've played with a bad attitude (meant in a good way) and you don't play that way if you act like you're playing flag football.

I wondered what Robb thought when CPR was hired and whether or not he was looking over his shoulder.  He sure called a lot of games like he was trying to out think himself.

[tophawg19]

one of the reasons we were bad on defenses is that the sidelines was slow reading offenses and calling a play . they were late in switching players in and out . it hurt the players because they were confused and still trying to get into position at the snap

[Mike_e]

one of the reasons we were bad on defenses is that the sidelines was slow reading offenses and calling a play . they were late in switching players in and out . it hurt the players because they were confused and still trying to get into position at the snap

There's that half second again. 

Reading the offense or simply trying to decide what to do- either get's you a late start and then domino's fall.

Most all of the things we have been griping about this summer are correctable.  If they are we may not have a championship caliber defense but we can be very good.


Why didn't we do it last year?

Maybe looking behind is not conducive to looking ahead.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

There's that half second again. 

Reading the offense or simply trying to decide what to do- either get's you a late start and then domino's fall.

Most all of the things we have been griping about this summer are correctable.  If they are we may not have a championship caliber defense but we can be very good.


Why didn't we do it last year?

Maybe looking behind is not conducive to looking ahead.

Though they time various drills to determine pursuit and reaction times of players, those are generic in nature, in the absence of player traffic, the heat of battle and reaction to calls and ensuing reads that have to take place prior to the snap. I know that when I was certain about a call made at the LOS, when it was "automatic" in terms of recognition of the call and the change in responsibilities, I always moved more quickly and with greater resolve about executing my assignment through the techniques that I had practiced ad nauseam.

But as a young player, as a Freshman when I was still getting accustomed to the speed of the game compared to high school (even though I played in the highest level of HS competition prior to college at the time), it created at least a slight uncertainty and therefore, a slightly slower pace. It does no good to go full speed and wind up in the wrong place. It just gets you to the wrong place more quickly, which doesn't serve anyone well.

Yes, all of these things are correctable and players always play faster when they are confident in their assignments as they relate to the call and their reads and then when you reduce the number of reads as well, this also speeds up comprehension time and tends to not stand a chance of creating greater confusion in players, which also leads to playing faster.

So I will be very happy to take the gains in half-seconds or full seconds that can result from this kind of simplification for the benefit of the players. It does nothing more than improve the odds that we will be in right places at the right time and have greater odds of making a great play.

[tophawg19]

when the players can make the reads on the field instead of waiting on sideline input , it's going to allow the to be faster and more sure . When the D/C is making the read and then communicating it to the players, it's to easy to miss the calls from each position group

[MuskogeeHogFan]

when the players can make the reads on the field instead of waiting on sideline input , it's going to allow the to be faster and more sure . When the D/C is making the read and then communicating it to the players, it's to easy to miss the calls from each position group

There will always be sideline input because offenses on the field often come to the LOS, stand up, look to the sideline and get their call and then the defense has to react quickly and get a call on the field to their players as to how to react. Think going from the time required to make 3-4 reads to 1-2 reads is better? Without a doubt.

[tophawg19]

easily so. now they can make a read and attack . They don't have to over think every play

[factchecker]

http://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2017/jun/30/jackson-likes-fit-better-new-scheme/

In the previous scheme, interior linemen were asked to play gap control. New Arkansas defensive line coach John Scott Jr. asks his line to play differently. Instead of holding up their blocker to allow someone else to close in on a ball carrier, the linemen are now asked to beat their man one-on-one and get into the backfield.

"What we had been doing was all gap control," Jackson said. "You held that gap. You couldn't attack. Now, it's attack, aggressive and fast. Now, we are not worried about getting (blocked). That was always the worry in the front we were playing. Now, you can go after the ball carrier. You can attack. It doesn't matter if they try to (block). This is so much fun to play against when it's a zone blocking scheme.

"It's a lot more freedom. You don't have to hold your man up. Now it's about coming out and playing ball.

If true:

[ChitownHawg]

There will always be sideline input because offenses on the field often come to the LOS, stand up, look to the sideline and get their call and then the defense has to react quickly and get a call on the field to their players as to how to react. Think going from the time required to make 3-4 reads to 1-2 reads is better? Without a doubt.

You mean an offense that looks like this? 

[MuskogeeHogFan]

http://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2017/jun/30/jackson-likes-fit-better-new-scheme/

If true:

OK, just read that article and while I am happy to hear about emphasis being more on attacking and being more aggressive, I have to wonder if they are really getting away from players having any gap responsibilities. Most of the 3-4 defenses that I have read about and watched on film since I heard we were going that direction have been defenses where the front 7 continued to have those gap responsibilities so that everything was sealed up for run plays.

A NT for instance, still aggressively pursued the ball, but in doing so he used the body of the guy trying to block him to help seal his onside gap. So I'm not sure if gap control/responsibilities are really out or if there is just a change in terminology? Canceling gaps seems to be an appropriate way to approach this as it leaves the RB and the QB, nowhere to go if everyone carries out their assignments while they are pursuing the ball.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I think it will be long-term more difficult to find Vince Wilfork types than LB humans.

There are fewer of those massive, big bodied, very athletic, quick-of-foot and great with their hands kind of guys to be found, so of course there are going to be more LB's to choose from.

Now that said, I like the #1 and #2 guys that we have at this position. Jackson is motivated to make this his best year yet and improve his stock for the draft while Capps is said to be one of the strongest players on the team who at 6-4 and just 309, could probably stand to put on another 20 or so pounds of "good weight". Still waiting to see what Marshall the #3 at this position, at 6-4, 299 is going to produce.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Great stuff. I just believe the position is foundational to the 3-4.

Well of course it is a key position in the front 7, but by far not the only key position. But without a doubt, the NT is a key position for success in the 3-4. As I said, I like the #1 and #2 guys at that position.

[PorkRinds]

Well of course it is a key position in the front 7, but by far not the only key position. But without a doubt, the NT is a key position for success in the 3-4. As I said, I like the #1 and #2 guys at that position.

And now we've also got the NG transfer coming in as well.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

And now we've also got the NG transfer coming in as well.

2018

[FANONTHEHILL]

Yes.  Emmit Gooden won't be here until Spring of 2018. 

[tophawg19]

the good thing is our state produces a lot of good tweener LB/DE types

[PorkRinds]

2018

Right. I just meant we are building quality depth there.

[GoHogs1091]

Without an elite Nose Guard and without an elite Middle Linebacker, a 3-4 Defense has the substantial risk of being mauled at the point of attack on the line-of-scrimmage by good Offensive Lines.

It is a numbers game.  If the Nose Guard is not elite, then it is 5 Offensive Linemen basically against just 2 Defensive Linemen, and the 2 Defensive Linemen (DEs) are already at a disadvantage if the run play is on the inside.

Without an elite Nose Guard, 5 Offensive Linemen basically against just 2 Defensive Linemen is not good odds for a Defense on the line-of-scrimmage.  Also, when considering without an elite Middle Linebacker, a 3-4 Defense is just ripe to get gashed.

[Al Boarland]

the good thing is our state produces a lot of good tweener LB/DE types

By tweener you must mean a could play DB or LB.

[zebradynasty]

I'm going to have to play the wait and see game on the switch. Arkansas has never been able to consistently sign good LB's now we are gonna need more good ones...I dunno if this works maybe more will come. We have been able to sign a lot of tweener's over the years so maybe that will even things out. My other concern is that a lot of our defensive problems were due to poor angles, miss alignment, poor techniques and missed tackles. We seemed very slow or least slower than what's on paper. Maybe the kids were thinking too much? Changing defenses won't solve all that. Maybe the excitement of something new will bring about some enthusiasm. 

[MuskogeeHogFan]

The scheme last year allowed opposing OC's to move our people around like chess pieces. The A&M game was the worst example that I can think of in that regard.

At times it also presented mismatches in coverage and there were times that we were misaligned and other times that we might have had people properly aligned but they had so many pre-snap reads to go through, that they either played slow or might have been confused about what they were supposed to do.

It made it more difficult for them to play fast and hard. At least, this is what I have been told from someone that I trust. None of those are good things.

The 3-4 scheme is supposed to present them with 1 or 2 pre-snap reads instead of 3 or 4. That's simplification and should mean that we will play faster at the snap which hopefully will mean that we will be out of position less often and be in a better position to make a play and secure the tackle.

We will see in a little over 60 days.

I'm going to have to play the wait and see game on the switch. Arkansas has never been able to consistently sign good LB's now we are gonna need more good ones...I dunno if this works maybe more will come. We have been able to sign a lot of tweener's over the years so maybe that will even things out. My other concern is that a lot of our defensive problems were due to poor angles, miss alignment, poor techniques and missed tackles. We seemed very slow or least slower than what's on paper. Maybe the kids were thinking too much? Changing defenses won't solve all that. Maybe the excitement of something new will bring about some enthusiasm. 

They say this is easier to grasp and execute than the 4-3 and the attacking nature is supposed to work in our favor, whereas the scheme last year didn't, according to Rhoads and some of the players.

[FANONTHEHILL]

There's likely another player on the roster that's also going to be in the mix at NG.  He's working with DL group this summer.  That's all I can say at this point.

[zebradynasty]

They say this is easier to grasp and execute than the 4-3 and the attacking nature is supposed to work in our favor, whereas the scheme last year didn't, according to Rhoads and some of the players.

I hope so! I never played in a 3-4 so I'll defer to the experts but I've was told it was more complicated but most of the people telling me that were armchair defensive coordinators like me.  If it will at least speed us up then it might be worth it. Still gotta tackle!

[Al Boarland]

I'm going to have to play the wait and see game on the switch. Arkansas has never been able to consistently sign good LB's now we are gonna need more good ones...I dunno if this works maybe more will come. We have been able to sign a lot of tweener's over the years so maybe that will even things out. My other concern is that a lot of our defensive problems were due to poor angles, miss alignment, poor techniques and missed tackles. We seemed very slow or least slower than what's on paper. Maybe the kids were thinking too much? Changing defenses won't solve all that. Maybe the excitement of something new will bring about some enthusiasm.

Here's the deal, IMO. We aren't bringing anything new to the table. Just about every defense uses 3-4 and 4-3 concepts. The teams that are good on D have good players.

I know everyone has all their hopes and dreams in the 3-4 basket and there may be some improvement. I just caution you that offenses are positioned to be more explosive this season, so you may not see it in the stats.

[Al Boarland]

There's likely another player on the roster that's also going to be in the mix at NG.  He's working with DL group this summer.  That's all I can say at this point.

Please tell me he didn't come from the offensive side of the ball.

[870hogfan]

Please tell me he didn't come from the offensive side of the ball.

Why?

[azhog10]

There's likely another player on the roster that's also going to be in the mix at NG.  He's working with DL group this summer.  That's all I can say at this point.

So Frank is gonna play both sides?

[wildhogman]

So Frank is gonna play both sides?

I was thinking Froholtz, but wasn't going to say it.  It will be interesting to see who FOTH is talking about.

[GuvHog]

I was thinking Froholtz, but wasn't going to say it.  It will be interesting to see who FOTH is talking about.

My guess is FOTH is talking about his son. I'm sure he'll let us know who it is very soon.

[FANONTHEHILL]

My guess is FOTH is talking about his son. I'm sure he'll let us know who it is very soon.

Not my son.  Not Hjalte.  Probably shouldn't  have brought it up, but it's a guy who played both ways in HS.  Not someone who contributed last year.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Not my son.  Not Hjalte.  Probably shouldn't  have brought it up, but it's a guy who played both ways in HS.  Not someone who contributed last year.

I think I know who it is and I hope that he puts on the weight and strength to be a significant contributor.

[factchecker]

Hmmm.....

[RebelW]

Size wise, maybe Henrich? Malone? Merrick?.. Freshmen Kirby Adcock crossed my mind as well. Can't wait to find out

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

There are fewer of those massive, big bodied, very athletic, quick-of-foot and great with their hands kind of guys to be found, so of course there are going to be more LB's to choose from.

Now that said, I like the #1 and #2 guys that we have at this position. Jackson is motivated to make this his best year yet and improve his stock for the draft while Capps is said to be one of the strongest players on the team who at 6-4 and just 309, could probably stand to put on another 20 or so pounds of "good weight". Still waiting to see what Marshall the #3 at this position, at 6-4, 299 is going to produce.

Capps is strong, I'll give him that, but Bijhon is just as strong if not stronger. Remember that video of him lifting 700+ pounds last year? yeah he's strong. I think (and hope) 2017 will be his best season on the hill. Theres just something about senior year, knowing that its now or never, that makes some of these guys play through their ceiling

[tophawg19]

By tweener you must mean a could play DB or LB.

No , to big to fit at traditional LB but not big enough to be a Typical DE in a 4-3 . usually in the 255 to 275 lb range . this state seems to have a ton of them