Orange IsThe New Fast and Tampa Too

[All4SU]

I don't know that much about the relative benefits of playing one scheme over another. I only know when I see something that works.

But it occurs to me that one distinct advantage of SU playing the Tampa 2 defense now might be that the team will actually be practicing against the very type of defensive scheme that many teams will try to employ against HCXXX's high octane offense. In recent years, SU was playing a D predicated on blitz packages, high pressure and high risk. At the same time, we were running offenses where smart defenses simply tried to force us to make long drives, and wait for our mistakes. Consequently, practice time must have had to be split 1s against 2s, or emphasis on O or emphasis on D.

In my mind that certainly would simplify things at practices somewhat.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

IMO Shafer's D was not high risk. A high risk D should give up more long pass plays in conference. That didn't happen. He did a good job of limiting big plays but made things very very easy underneath. Which is why our D always had an awful opponent QB rating despite being a pressure D, and also why we were poor at pass breakups and INTs.

Pass plays over 20 yards
2010 tied for 2nd out of 8 teams in the Big East
2011 1st in the Big East
2012 6th in the Big East
2013 tied for 4th out of 14 teams in the ACC
2014 1st in the ACC
2015 tied for 11th in the ACC

QB rating
2010 3rd out of 8 teams in the Big East
2011 7th in the Big East
2012 6th in the Big East
2013 5th out of 14 teams in the ACC
2014 13th in the ACC
2015 11th in the ACC

***Edited to add passes defended

2010 6th out of 8 teams in the Big East
2011 last in the Big East
2012 tied for 6th in the Big East
2013 13th out of 14 teams in the ACC
2014 12th in the ACC
2015 tied for 8th in the ACC