Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

Coach Stewart has impressed me already in his brief time on campus.

(07-14-2017 12:00 PM)BSWBRice Wrote:  I was at the Austin stop. Good crowd, Andrew Sendejo and Taylor McHargue were in the building.

Bailiff mostly talked about graduating players and turning them into fine, upstanding men. The coordinators were cool, and despite my better judgment, they kinda got me pumped for the upcoming season.

Coach Lynch said the offense will rely on a lot of pre-snap "smoke and mirrors" to keep the opposition off-balance. Regarding the QB situation, Lynch said it'll sort itself out in two-a-days and that the QB will mostly be a game manager anyway. Ball protection was stressed.

Pretty jazzed about the shift to 3-4. Coach Stewart mentioned our depth on DL and in the secondary, though admitted we're thin at LB. Said there wouldn't be any explosive (25+ yard) plays given up over/through the middle.

(07-14-2017 01:14 PM)McHargue Wrote:  Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

Thanks for the reports.

(07-14-2017 01:14 PM)McHargue Wrote:  Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

That's positive, but I can't understand why Bailiff / past D-coordinators ever thought man free was a viable coverage approach. Isn't the 4-2-5 typically base quarters?

(07-14-2017 03:59 PM)talon owl Wrote:  

(07-14-2017 01:14 PM)McHargue Wrote:  Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

That's positive, but I can't understand why Bailiff / past D-coordinators ever thought man free was a viable coverage approach. Isn't the 4-2-5 typically base quarters?

I don't know the intricacies and strengths of the 4-2-5 compared to the 3-4, but it has been apparent for basically a decade that the 4-2-5, as implemented by Rice, only works when we had 2 NFL-quality CB's on the roster. Even with Gaines and Callahan, the safeties were still getting beat deep and Rice didn't do a good job making sure our elite CB's were matched up against the opponents' best WR.

(07-14-2017 01:14 PM)McHargue Wrote:  Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

Thanks for the perspective and welcome to the board.

Hope you have time to keep posting as we head on into football season

(07-14-2017 05:27 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(07-14-2017 03:59 PM)talon owl Wrote:  

(07-14-2017 01:14 PM)McHargue Wrote:  Event was well attended, Jay Lamy did a great job putting this together.

Best part of last night for me was coach Stewart explaining the defensive shift away from a primarily man free defense that we have had for the last decade to a blend of 1/4's and cover 3. Benefit being that we should drastically cut down the big plays over the top and down the middle of the field because our corners will no longer be on an island for the majority of the game.

QB situation will be addressed throughout the course of camp so don't expect any news on that position until game week.

That's positive, but I can't understand why Bailiff / past D-coordinators ever thought man free was a viable coverage approach. Isn't the 4-2-5 typically base quarters?

I don't know the intricacies and strengths of the 4-2-5 compared to the 3-4, but it has been apparent for basically a decade that the 4-2-5, as implemented by Rice, only works when we had 2 NFL-quality CB's on the roster. Even with Gaines and Callahan, the safeties were still getting beat deep and Rice didn't do a good job making sure our elite CB's were matched up against the opponents' best WR.

Ain't that the truth! Most of the time, football comes down to the basics, things you even learn playing pick up, like match ups. Never figured how this staff over the years missed these things. And not due to deception by the opposing offense. Just bad assignment football....

A few questions:
1. Didn't we switch to man free when Thurmond came aboard? I thought we played a mix of Cover 3/Cover 4 before then especially under Driesbach?
2. Was there any mention of shifting recruiting priorities? For instance, are we still looking to recruit corner/safety hybrids (corners that can play safety and safeties that can become OLB)? Or are we going all in on linebacker types typically seen in traditional 3-4 defenses (Stanford)? On offense, are we going away from dual threat QBs?
3. If the QB is expected to be a game manager, are we looking to run the ball even more? I have watched some Pitt footage and most of their offense came from running the ball to set up play action.

1. Our 1/4's under Driesbach was more of a "catch man". We never played a true 1/4's that tried to keep everything in front (see UH 2011).
2. No idea about defensive recruiting, but we are absolutely not getting away from the dual threat QB. Every one of our scholarship QB's including Miklo was recruited as a dual threat.
3. Can't predict the run/pass split until we know who is under center. But thank god we are no longer running a "Spread offense" that tries to lead the nation in time of possession. Biggest oxymoron in the history of football.

(07-19-2017 09:44 AM)McHargue Wrote:  3. Can't predict the run/pass split until we know who is under center. But thank god we are no longer running a "Spread offense" that tries to lead the nation in time of possession. Biggest oxymoron in the history of football.

Made me LOL.

(07-19-2017 09:44 AM)McHargue Wrote:  But thank god we are no longer running a "Spread offense" that tries to lead the nation in time of possession. Biggest oxymoron in the history of football.

I'd like to see a two-back set. It keeps the defense honest. We need to run the ball behind this OL, and use it to set up the pass.