Defensive Alignment Next Year

[Browboski]

What type of defense will Chizik run??


Could we be successful next year, if we shift to more of a 4-3 defense? Part of the problem with the 4-2-5 this year was the size that we gave up at each position, mainly due to losses along the d-line preseason (I realize), which made everyone play up a size. Maybe it is too early to give up on it, but I never thought I would long for the prevent defense days, where our zone coverage would get picked apart late in games, until I watched our undersized front 7 fail to stop a basic run play all season long (i.e. State only threw the ball 11 times against us!?).

I am no coach, nor am I very familiar with all of our younger personnel, but with an additional off-season of weight-lifting and growth, could we expect better production with more size on the field (assuming our guys are all fast and athletic enough still at these positions)? We are still very thin, and cannot deal with any injuries, but most of these guys probably played a 4-3 in high school and are already familiar with the schemes. With a strong finish to recruiting this year, we could answer some depth questions and put something on the field like this (forgive any glaring personnel omissions or misplacement of positions):

DE: Drennon, Dinkins (Dalton)
DE: Rogers, Gnonkonde, (Dalton)
DT: Thomason, Powell
NT: Jones, Clarke, Crawford

SLB: Rashad, Bart
MLB: Schoettmer, Staub, Mastromatteo
WLB: Collins/Carney/Tomlin/Jackson

CB: Walker, Stewart
CB: Lawerence, Davis
FS: Green, Bonilla
SS Smiley, Artis, Albright
This post was edited on 1/2 11:30 AM by Browboski

 

[Raising Heel]

Yes, a post about football!

I'm regurgitating what I've read here, but Chizik runs a 4-3 defense and specifically the Tampa 2. It'll be interesting to see how he plugs in our personnel, especially the tweeners.

I like the beef on your D-line. Not sure about Rogers playing outside or if they'll try to bulk up Drennon to remain at SSDE. Will also be interesting to see how/whether the Bandits transition to playing SLB. Looks like you're trying to add more beef at the SS position as well, yes?

Maybe I'll dig into some of Chizik's defensive rosters to see how we might fit into his scheme....

 

[Browboski]

Thanks Raising!

I'm all about the DC hire love-fest as well, but in addition to getting drunk on the hype; I'd like to have a bit of substantive talk to wash it all down with, you know?

I think a bigger d-line is a must, personally. Regardless of the scheme we employ. In fact, we need to be able to free up our LBs and DBs to make tackles even moreso with a 4-2-5, and it all starts with getting a hold of the OL at the point of attack. More beef can also help us get more push to create blitz seams.

I agree with you about Drennon, though if we keep Rogers inside, then we might be a little thin at DE between Gnonkonde, Drennon, Dinkins and Dalton, though not if they keep Bart at the position. I can definitely see Rashad playing SLB, but we might have to put Schoettmer there too, if we ended up running a true Tampa 2.

I'm not sure any of the current MLBs are athletic enough to cover the deep middle, and we'd probably have to beef up some of the younger guys like Collins or Tomlin to field some guys fast enough for the job, but then you'd have a green LB quarterbacking your front 7, which is not ideal...

I wouldn't mind seeing some more size at the SS position, absolutely. I think with a 4-3 alignment and more pressure from our front 7, we could go back to having a harder-nosed SS who looks to lay the wood on some people (who also can cover some), as our CBs and FS wouldn't have to cover so much (hopefully).

I was comparing our depth chart to Oregon's, and I was just trying to match up size/speed at the respective positions to see what we could look like. I don't think we are as void of defensive talent as some people think. We just need to get the most athletic guys out on the field. Something we've had issues with in the 4-2-5, it seems...

 

[heelmanwilm]

There are 6 auburn linebackers on nfl rosters recruited by chizik. Not to mentionnick fairley and carlos rogers. Takeo spikes musta retired but he was chiziks too i think. Obviously in his 4-3 the linebackers are play makers.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Raising Heel]

Okay, I've looked up the defensive starters on Auburn's 2010 MNC team. Many of these guys started every game, although a few split time as noted due to injuries.

DE: 6'4" 256 lbs.
DT: 6'5" 298 lbs.
DT: 6'3" 296 lbs.
DE: 6'2" 258 lbs.

LB: 6'3" 229 lbs.
LB: 6'2" 235 lbs.
LB: 5'11" 203 lbs.
[Converted safety.Injured during year. Replacement went 5'11" 225 lbs. Substituted a DB as starter vs. Oregon]

CB: 5'9" 182 lbs.
SS: 6'0" 213 lbs.
FS: 5'11" 200 lbs.
[Injured during year. Replacement went 6'2" 208 lbs.]
CB: 6'2" 186 lbs.

Maybe the most interesting thing here is the size of the defensive ends. Granted, these are their listed weights, but both guys were under 260 lbs. When I think about recent, successful SSDEs at Carolina those guys all played at 270+ lbs. (E.J Wilson, Quinton Coples, Kareem Martin, etc.). Certainly gives me hope Chizik can do something with our existing roster sooner rather than later.