IU playing Man vs Zone coverage

[4IUSox2]

Raiola’s Passer rating vs Zone coverage, which IU plays most of the time, is 90%. Against Man to Man, only 44.5%. That’s obviously a drastic difference. How does IU not let him get into a good rhythm back there?

Coaches or others in the know here, do you see IU switching this up on Saturday to play more press/man coverage to take advantage of this stat? If so, how much can a predominantly zone team, like IU, change up in just a 2 week window to prep?

 

[vesuvius13]

Raiola’s Passer rating vs Zone coverage, which IU plays most of the time, is 90%. Against Man to Man, only 44.5%. That’s obviously a drastic difference. How does IU not let him get into a good rhythm back there?

Coaches or others in the know here, do you see IU switching this up on Saturday to play more press/man coverage to take advantage of this stat? If so, how much can a predominantly zone team, like IU, change up in just a 2 week window to prep?

A lot depends on the zone you play. I used a zone with man principles once the routes were declared because I didn't want to start with man due to needing run support. I question IU's zone defense because how much space they give up to receivers. A true zone defense is hard to switch DBs to play man coverage.

 

[Mas-sa-suta]

A lot depends on the zone you play. I used a zone with man principles once the routes were declared because I didn't want to start with man due to needing run support. I question IU's zone defense because how much space they give up to receivers. A true zone defense is hard to switch DBs to play man coverage.

The lack of speed in the LB's and DB'S may limit the amount of man IU can effectively play.
I'm not a coach, but the really quick players seem to give IU fits so far. Just my fan opinion

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

So many people now play read coverages as V was talking about. I would assume that IU does too. I see where our two corners were among the nations leaders in pass break ups. So even if we are playing a lot of zone we are reacting pretty well to the passes. I don't see it as being a big issue.

 

[td75]

Simple answer: put heat on his ass with a heavy rush.

 

[Victorbmyboy]

Walker will be back. That should help.

 

[IUNorth]

Our back end defense seems pretty good. Our run defense is fairly stout. Its the intermediate plays, quick plays out to the edges, the shorter passes, the 10-15 yard passes in the gaps of our zone, etc... where we struggle.

If we can put a decent amount of pressure on Raiola, that'll help take away some of the shorter/medium passing. I actually think its one of the bigger keys for us on Saturday...effective pressure. I say "effective" because Raiola is pretty decent playing out of the pocket, so we can't just flush him from the pocket...we need to pressure him and keep him in the pocket as much as possible. Force him to fit the ball in to tighter windows, on shorter schedules. He'll give us the ball a few times if we can do that, I'd bet.

 

[HoosierinNebraska]

Nebraska has speed and talent at TE and WR. They also have guys like Barney who can house it with the smallest bit of daylight. Think Jaylin Lucas 2.0. If Kamara can live in the backfield and be disruptive, that will play a huge part. Raiola can make every throw and the key is to not give him time to make the plays he is capable of making. Their Oline doesnt seem to open up many holes for their RBs.

 

[IUNCAAChamps2012]

Do whatever IU did against Felton

 

[Mark Milton]

Raiola’s Passer rating vs Zone coverage, which IU plays most of the time, is 90%. Against Man to Man, only 44.5%. That’s obviously a drastic difference. How does IU not let him get into a good rhythm back there?

Coaches or others in the know here, do you see IU switching this up on Saturday to play more press/man coverage to take advantage of this stat? If so, how much can a predominantly zone team, like IU, change up in just a 2 week window to prep?

I think IU does a lot more than dropping to spots--they do a fair amount of pattern matching, which is man principles upon the declaration of the route. Everybody wants to play man, but your guys have to be better than the other guys.

You tend to see far more zone when you have a QB that can run a bit. We've had a few of those guys, in particular the last couple of games.

Raoila is a true freshman, who is about as composed as any freshman QB I have ever seen. But, coming off a bye, he's going to see a lot of stuff that wasn't on film. Should be a great game.

 

[vesuvius13]

It always helps DBs if there is intense pressure on the QB. Do whatever it takes to pressure the freshman QB and it will pay dividends.

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

Simple answer: put heat on his ass with a heavy rush.

I agree. We played against a team earlier this year that had 3 legit receivers. I was asked by a friend how we were going to shut them down. My response was we were going to get after their quarterback. It worked totally shut them down.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. Make the freshman nervous early and keep him that way until he starts seeing ghosts.

 

[red hornet]

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. Make the freshman nervous early and keep him that way until he starts seeing ghosts.

Agree, QB pressure will be key.

 

[Kelly_32]

Raoila completes 44% of his passes when he's blitzed.

Get after his ass.

 

[Victorbmyboy]

Raoila completes 44% of his passes when he's blitzed.

Get after his ass.

Yes. Relentless heat. Get up in his face. If he sits back he will pick you apart.

 

[Victorbmyboy]

We have gotten some coverage sacks. Wonder if we get more aggressive instead of 4 man. Will be interesting what we change or just run what we run.

 

[IUgradman]

Our offense needs to dominate to put pressure on Nebraska’s.

 

[Crossblock]

To Me, there are two keys on Defense. Raiola is very good, but He is a freshman with limited experience. If You are confident that You can disguise Your coverages by giving Him false reads and changing as the play clock runs down You may confuse Him into making mistakes. Maybe You do something different that teams haven't seen all year, like dropping a defensive End or Lineman into coverage. I've noticed something about Defenses in recent weeks. In situations where the offense is substituting and the officials are allowing the Defense last substitution, some defenses are having their players coming off the field very casually in order to have the play Clock run down and force the offense to hurry a play or call timeout. Might try that a few times.

While We need to get pressure on the rush, we need to maintain our rush lanes and keep Him in the pocket. That should make Him uncomfortable and force Him to do things He doesn't want to do,

 

[fieldjock]

I've seen ponds play one on one frequently

 

[Hoosier Clarion]

This throws another element of 'if' into the D. Instead of base 4-2-5, make the 5th guy occasionally a true nickel. Maybe change out 1 starting S for 1 a little stouter in run support. A twist they've not studied IU doing before. Like most of you give them something new to solve. Agreed still got to execute pressure many different ways. Also damn sure Haines will have the game plan covered.

 

[Jssanto]

So many people now play read coverages as V was talking about. I would assume that IU does too. I see where our two corners were among the nations leaders in pass break ups. So even if we are playing a lot of zone we are reacting pretty well to the passes. I don't see it as being a big issue.

What is read coverage?

 

[Mark Milton]

What is read coverage?

A couple of things, but it stems from a defense having a couple of calls and making an adjustment based upon formation. The easiest explainer is the popular 2 read coverage. Some people call it palms. others call it something else, but it involves split receivers to one side. Everyone runs it a bit different, but as general explainer, assuming the split two wide receiver to a side. The safety is reading the number 2 receiver and looking for a vertical route. If it happens, the safety will take. The corner is also looking at 2-1 receivers and will jump the short route (if any) from 2 or 1. Two verticals and it is basically man.

It looks like cover 2 until it isn't, because the routes will morph the coverage.

Simplistic answer to what I think your question is. Apologies if that is not what you are looking for.

 

[Hoosier Clarion]

...everyone loves sacking the QB...I profess for this game TFL's more important...slow down their moving the chains to stymie their offense...sacks will follow...

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

A couple of things, but it stems from a defense having a couple of calls and making an adjustment based upon formation. The easiest explainer is the popular 2 red coverage. Some people call it palms. others call it something else, but it involves split receivers to one side. Everyone runs it a bit different, but as general explainer, assuming the split two wide receiver to a side. The safety is reading the number 2 receiver and looking for a vertical route. If it happens, the safety will take. The corner is also looking at 2-1 receivers and will jump the short route (if any) from 2 or 1. Two verticals and it is basically man.

It looks like cover 2 until it isn't, because the routes will morph the coverage.

Simplistic answer to what I think your question is. Apologies if that is not what you are looking for.

Great explanation

 

[Mark Milton]

Great explanation

Thank you sir. Now if only rivals let you draw plays--that would be the best explainer.

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

Thank you sir. Now if only rivals let you draw plays--that would be the best explainer.

Are you a coach because you are obviously more than just a casual fan?

 

[Mark Milton]

Are you a coach because you are obviously more than just a casual fan?

When I was younger I was and had the energy to deal with awful parents-which drove me away even then.

Over the last 25 years or so I get asked to scout at the high school level for the local school or to take a look at how they running certain things, etc. So from an X and O's and theory standpoint, I do stay up with things. The funny thing is, there isn't a lot of new stuff there, but rather new stuff combined with old systems (example spread triple option, much of the pass game is Don Coryell and Bill Walsh stuff made to look different). Defense to me is where things have really evolved because of the speed of players on defense--much greater than ever before. The 3-3-5 defense is a good example of that with all the pressure looks; faux pressure, 1 gap/2 gap stuff. It is probably my favorite defense if you have the players for it.

 

[vesuvius13]

When I was younger I was and had the energy to deal with awful parents-which drove me away even then.

Over the last 25 years or so I get asked to scout at the high school level for the local school or to take a look at how they running certain things, etc. So from an X and O's and theory standpoint, I do stay up with things. The funny thing is, there isn't a lot of new stuff there, but rather new stuff combined with old systems (example spread triple option, much of the pass game is Don Coryell and Bill Walsh stuff made to look different). Defense to me is where things have really evolved because of the speed of players on defense--much greater than ever before. The 3-3-5 defense is a good example of that with all the pressure looks; faux pressure, 1 gap/2 gap stuff. It is probably my favorite defense if you have the players for it.

Palmbeachhoosier is right about you giving a good description of read coverage. Coverage is about position on the field, where your support is, the angle you need to take, etc.. I taught my defenders why we were doing things and they could easily adjust to formations. It also made it easy to make in game adjustments that were needed.

There really isn't anything new in football, just new ways to operate like RPOs instead of triple option.

 

[Mark Milton]

Palmbeachhoosier is right about you giving a good description of read coverage. Coverage is about position on the field, where your support is, the angle you need to take, etc.. I taught my defenders why we were doing things and they could easily adjust to formations. It also made it easy to make in game adjustments that were needed.

Yeah I didn't even get to a discussion about the depth or width of the corners/safety, the positioning of the linebacker (apex), to give the +1 to that side. So much goes into it.

 

[Crossblock]

Great explanation

So for the basketball fans out there, this would be much like watching a team play a Match Up Zone. You start outwith Zone principles of players covering areas on the Court rather than a man. However , When an Offense runs certain cuts through the Defense or overloads an area, defensive Players in those areas come out on the Offensive players like a Man to Man, and the other Players adjust the areas They are covering to compensate for the change.

 

[Victorbmyboy]

So for the basketball fans out there, this would be much like watching a team play a Match Up Zone. You start outwith Zone principles of players covering areas on the Court rather than a man. However , When an Offense runs certain cuts through the Defense or overloads an area, defensive Players in those areas come out on the Offensive players like a Man to Man, and the other Players adjust the areas They are covering to compensate for the change.

And then on the offensive side you shift to try to make a player trade…like a switch on defense(basketball). It’s all about getting a better match up or making the defense show. So fun. Will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

When I was younger I was and had the energy to deal with awful parents-which drove me away even then.

Over the last 25 years or so I get asked to scout at the high school level for the local school or to take a look at how they running certain things, etc. So from an X and O's and theory standpoint, I do stay up with things. The funny thing is, there isn't a lot of new stuff there, but rather new stuff combined with old systems (example spread triple option, much of the pass game is Don Coryell and Bill Walsh stuff made to look different). Defense to me is where things have really evolved because of the speed of players on defense--much greater than ever before. The 3-3-5 defense is a good example of that with all the pressure looks; faux pressure, 1 gap/2 gap stuff. It is probably my favorite defense if you have the players for it.

You are right there is basically nothing new in football. Just updates. Read option is just option football. In midline you read the three tech. In read option you are reading the 5. RPO s are new version of triple option qb now reads the 5 and then the alley player. Only instead of a pitch to the rb it usually hit a receiver on a slant or a snag route.