DEfense 2010

[disciplineandpunish]

Well, a defensive performance against a QB without injury issues, and moreover, against an offense that was red-hot coming off last week's shellacking of Winnipeg.

About time.

Take away Parker's gaffe on the Bruce TD and Emry's general poor performance at MLB and I think we have to be happy with where the defense is at. The pass rush is getting more traction, we're playing aggressively on the ball, and even though penalties are still an issue, the team is really tightening up in the red zone.

Any game in which we can hold a team to field-goal tries for 3.5 quarters is a game I feel confident we can win, considering the weapons we have on offense.

[LeStaf]

La défensive a joué tout un match! Et à mesure que la partie avançait, le nombre de punitions diminuait. À la fin, nos gars étaient partout et les Tiger Cats avaient mal. Le vrai test dans 2 semaines.

[disciplineandpunish]

I am expecting better pass coverage and fewer PI calls now that we're home and actually have (gasp!) a full week to prepare for the next game.

On the other hand, I really hope the coaches work with Emry, because he's a complete liability right now at MLB, particularly on 2nd and long, when he doesn't seem to know what to do. We can't have our MLB vacating the middle and/or losing track of his coverage assignment (the RB) resulting in the opposition picking up 10-15 yards on second down game after game.

[hassall]

I thought that Emery played well last night. In one past game I do remember him alone in the middle looking for something to do while the play was at the left end of the field. I believe a MLB should always be somewhere near the action and moving toward this at least, on every occasion.

[disciplineandpunish]

I thought that Emery played well last night. In one past game I do remember him alone in the middle looking for something to do while the play was at the left end of the field. I believe a MLB should always be somewhere near the action and moving toward this at least, on every occasion.

Have to disagree, he was brutal last night. At times, he got so close to the line that he was dead easy to pick / rub out of the play on a swing pass or screen. At other times, he just chased a covered receiver on a crossing route (not his responsibility) instead of staying with the running back (who is his responsibility and who was then wide open on the check release). I expect Burke to work with Emry over the next week because right now his decision-making in the trenches is horrible and in part leading to teams converting on downs on which they have no right to convert (2nd and 15, for example).

I understand Shea's desire to make big plays, but you can't make big plays all the time. I think the reason he's so shallow in his drops on passing downs is because he wants to scrape to the hole at the line and deliver that big stick, but it's costing us badly at times. On 2nd and 15, be disciplined in your drop, keep your angles wide, and flow to the ball once the play has developed; you don't need to be a hero all the time, just the guy who helps bring down the receiver well short of the first down.

[HfxTC]

I doubt Shea has that much freedom in picking assignments on the field... I'll ask him on his blog.

[disciplineandpunish]

I doubt Shea has that much freedom in picking assignments on the field... I'll ask him on his blog.

I'm not saying he's picking his assignments. That would imply that Burke is giving him freedom in these situations. I'm saying that he's blowing his coverages, basically making mistakes. Same as if a DB doesn't switch off properly with another DB in receiver coverage.

It's not a huge issue and IMO is correctable. Shea is a great athlete and too smart a player to remain in this funk for long. But he is young and only in his second year as a starter. These kinds of hiccups are to be expected.

[BC-]

Have to disagree, he was brutal last night. At times, he got so close to the line that he was dead easy to pick / rub out of the play on a swing pass or screen. At other times, he just chased a covered receiver on a crossing route (not his responsibility) instead of staying with the running back (who is his responsibility and who was then wide open on the check release). I expect Burke to work with Emry over the next week because right now his decision-making in the trenches is horrible and in part leading to teams converting on downs on which they have no right to convert (2nd and 15, for example).

I don't have any insight into the specific plays of the Als, but it is often a tough play for the MLB covering the hook zone when there is a crossing route through his zone later followed by a release of the back into the hook zone. The MLB may have to cover the crossing route first and then leave this assignment to go after the check-release, as shown on pattern 3 of the following example.

http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2010/5/11/1456569/defensive-back-techniques-cover-2#storyjump

Maybe Shea had responsibility for both, in which case credit could be given to the offense for the success of the play.

[disciplineandpunish]

I don't have any insight into the specific plays of the Als, but it is often a tough play for the MLB covering the hook zone when there is a crossing route through his zone later followed by a release of the back into the hook zone. The MLB may have to cover the crossing route first and then leave this assignment to go after the check-release, as shown on pattern 3 of the following example.

http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2010/5/11/1456569/defensive-back-techniques-cover-2#storyjump

Maybe Shea had responsibility for both, in which case credit could be given to the offense for the success of the play.

Nice post, and I appreciate the insight. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on Shea. On the plays I saw, the crossing route already had WILL coverage, so Shea needed to take away the hook zone. That being said, it does seem like a difficult assignment for the mike backer, even if the examples you cite apply to four-down football with a smaller field and one less defender.

[disciplineandpunish]

Bounce-back game for Emry last night, he was much stronger reading the play and it was his aggressive backside pursuit that generated the Owens fumble, which IMO was the back-breaker for Toronto.

However, the D-line is still having a lot of trouble generating pressure with a four-man rush. On several plays, Lemon had all day to sit back and find a receiver. If it had been a top QB like Durant or Burris, he would have picked us apart. The defense is also letting teams convert on 2nd and long way too frequently. Burke has to change the coverage and disguise our zone drops, because it is inexcusable to let a team convert a 2nd and 20 with a 20-yard pass completion.

[disciplineandpunish]

Total warrior effort by the D last night. Despite being on the field for a mind-boggling 21 minutes in the second half, they still came up with key stops when needed.

If the offense had managed to put together any kind of sustained momentum, this game wouldn't have been as close as it was.

[HfxTC]

The defense and special teams won us that game last night. People have to understand the two games the Als gave up plays were against a team that is a hair from being as good as the Als and growing. The other 3 games they gave up 12 points a game on average. Doug Berry has always done really well against the Als, he knows Calvillo very well also.

[disciplineandpunish]

The defense and special teams won us that game last night. People have to understand the two games the Als gave up plays were against a team that is a hair from being as good as the Als and growing. The other 3 games they gave up 12 points a game on average. Doug Berry has always done really well against the Als, he knows Calvillo very well also.

Don't see how Doug Berry's knowledge of Calvillo really helps the Riders' D, which is run by Etcheverry. The Riders are a great team -- I'd actually picked them to win Friday's game -- but there is zero excuse for the offense going 2 and out six consecutive times in the second half and basically doing everything possible to let Sask back in the game. Trestman and Milanovich are crapping the bed in terms of halftime adjustments against Sask and that has to change if we meet them again in the playoffs.

To me, the main concern on defense is shoring up our pass coverage on second and long. It is getting silly now how frequently we give up first downs when we have teams in 2nd and 10 or longer. Pierre Vercheval did a great job of breaking down the Als' predictability in 2nd and long during Friday's game. Burke has to show a little more imagination.

[HfxTC]

You don't see how Berry could be helping Etcheverry out whith his game planning ? Whatever

[disciplineandpunish]

You don't see how Berry could be helping Etcheverry out whith his game planning ? Whatever

LOL, I see it, but I doubt Berry's knowledge of how Anthony ran Berry's offense five years makes much of a difference to how Etcheverry schemes to stop Anthony in a Trestman/Milanovich offense today. I mean, by that logic, we should have no trouble dealing with Henry Burris because Tim Burke used to work in Calgary.

Today's team bears little resemblance to the team Berry left in 2005. Different coaches, schemes, receivers, and systems.

Also, Berry's knowledge apparently doesn't stop us from putting up 24 points in the first half of games against Sask this year. Maybe he only talks to Gary at halftime.