Wow VT is actually VERY GOOD

[cuse309]

I keep hearing you say that it's unproven at this level. It's been proven in HS, FCS, FBS, and the NFL. Our DC has coached at every level outside of the NFL and when he was an FCS coach he held teams in the P5 down (presumably a pretty large talent gap).

Bailey had a great breakdown of it today at Syracuse.com, here's a relevant bit (it's all good though):

"If the SU staff can achieve consistent play with suitable personnel, the hope is that this defense will be equipped to compete with the ACC's best. In Ward's fourth year at Western Illinois, the Leathernecks held then-No. 18 Wisconsin scoreless until the Badgers' final drive of the second quarter. Another FBS foe, Northwestern, managed only 24 points.

And the most prominent example of this system thriving against better collegiate competition comes from North Dakota State, where Ward reunited with former Missouri Southern State coaches Scottie Hazelton and Todd Wash in 2010. Ward replaced Wash at MSSU in 2005 and continued running the Tampa 2 with Hazelton for one season.

North Dakota State upset then-No. 13 Iowa 23-21 earlier this year, its sixth consecutive road win over an FBS school. The Bison have also won five consecutive FCS championships, including 20 straight playoff victories.

It's that NDSU defense that caught Babers eye while at Eastern Illinois from 2012-13 and led him to hire Ward.

"I was really enamored with breaking them down so if we ever got to them, we'd have a great opportunity to win," Babers said. "And they base everything off their Tampa-2 defense. So when I made a change on defense (at Bowling Green), I wanted to go with what had been successful before."

---

I'm beginning to think some here have given up on this defense too soon.

I agree. I'm just wondering why people are willing to be patient with a new offense, that outside of the first half, has looked like we are spinning our wheels in the mud, but on defense, people are panicking, and think we need to throw in the towel after 5 games. Actually, I heard people calling for a change after the second game. Granted, at least on offense we can point to success, as we've put up some impressive numbers, but let's be honest. We have more pieces of the puzzle already here on offense. We have some play makers. I feel like if we had the same amount of play makers on defense, this Tampa 2 would look a bit better at this point.
Again...Dino asked for patience for a reason.

 

[TheCusian]

I agree. I'm just wondering why people are willing to be patient with a new offense, that outside of the first half, has looked like we are spinning our wheels in the mud, but on defense, people are panicking, and think we need to throw in the towel after 5 games. Actually, I heard people calling for a change after the second game. Granted, at least on offense we can point to success, as we've put up some impressive numbers, but let's be honest. We have more pieces of the puzzle already here on offense. We have some play makers. I feel like if we had the same amount of play makers on defense, this Tampa 2 would look a bit better at this point.
Again...Dino asked for patience for a reason.

I think we've underestimated the time it takes to gel on D when you have young players. The size, speed, and talent of those players can be mitigated some by execution and being in the right spots. So far - it's been all of the above.

Will be something worth watching.

 

[690West]

Their pass defense may be the best we face all year, they are going to come after the QB all day and we can't run. It's going to be another long afternoon.

Hmmm...

 

[sufandu]

I would like to see the stats of how much less we are attacking on D vs last year.. I dont think its nearly what people are saying since we dont run nearly as much tampa 2 as people say we do. we blitzed a ton in that wake game. the bigger issue is not having the horses who are good at it.

I feel like we're blitzing more as the season goes on. I'd be curious to know if Ward is changing his play calling a bit as he becomes more familiar with his personnel.

 

[TheCusian]

I feel like we're blitzing more as the season goes on. I'd be curious to know if Ward is changing his play calling a bit as he becomes more familiar with his personnel.

I'd be shocked if he wasn't.

 

[SUATO92]

I agree, yes, love dino, but the T2 is unproven at this level. Have to have perfect, high level talent to run it.

So will you abandon this narrative now or is it the only talking point you have?

 

[Ish88888]

So will you abandon this narrative now or is it the only talking point you have?

No, actually, i have plenty of talking points. Check out what i posted minutes ago. I want to be proven wrong. Loved what the D did today.