Defending the triple option

[Sean Miller Fan]

I am no football expert but I know the most important thing you need against the triple option is strong defensive line play. If your guys cant get off the cut blocks and arent getting penetration, you have little to no chance. And today, our DL was emasculated. Horrible horrible performance. Honestly, it may have been better to put 4 DB's on the DL in their olace as maybe they would have been able to avoid a cut block or 2 with their quickness. I am joking but thats how bad they were.

OK, so your DL is being dominated. Then, you need outstanding LB play. Our LB's were non-existent and werent good enougj to clean anything up or make important tackles in space.

Here's the reality, of our 11 offensive starters, only Whitehead and Price were legitimate P5-level players. You could have found any random MAC starter and subbed them in for any of the other 9 and there would have been no difference.

 

[OH Pete]

Agree. But also, our LBs and DBs either didn't get coached on how to defend or, as Wlat used to say, they didn't do what they were coached to do. We constantly had guys swarming to the outside only to leave the cutback lane wide open. You should never have 2 guys in 1 spot and 0 in another if you want to defend the option. Also, our defense over pursues like crazy. On the one long pass, 2 players ran like crazy to try to break the pass up, but had no chance of breaking it up. By the time they got there, the receiver already had the ball and started running while our guys ran right past him. They needed to break down and tackle him after the catch.

 

[Cap pitt]

I am no football expert but I know the most important thing you need against the triple option is strong defensive line play. If your guys cant get off the cut blocks and arent getting penetration, you have little to no chance. And today, our DL was emasculated. Horrible horrible performance. Honestly, it may have been better to put 4 DB's on the DL in their olace as maybe they would have been able to avoid a cut block or 2 with their quickness. I am joking but thats how bad they were.

OK, so your DL is being dominated. Then, you need outstanding LB play. Our LB's were non-existent and werent good enougj to clean anything up or make important tackles in space.

Here's the reality, of our 11 offensive starters, only Whitehead and Price were legitimate P5-level players. You could have found any random MAC starter and subbed them in for any of the other 9 and there would have been no difference.

Do you still think that Pitt being +3 was easy money?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Do you still think that Pitt being +3 was easy money?

I could have sworn in that thread that someone said that the real easy money was taking the over on the over/under line of 53 because it seemed obvious that a ton of points were going to be scored. I wonder who that astute fellow was?

 

[pittdan77]

Actually, team speed on defense is how you stop the triple option. That's why it doesn't work against better programs.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Do you still think that Pitt being +3 was easy money?

I grossly overestimated Narduzzi's coaching ability. Having already gone up against the triple option this year and getting 15 practices, I never could have imagined the defense would have looked like that.

 

[Cap pitt]

I grossly overestimated Narduzzi's coaching ability. Having already gone up against the triple option this year and getting 15 practices, I never could have imagined the defense would have looked like that.

Narduzzi and Pitt will be just fine in a year or two and beyond, he did pretty darn good with what little he inherited

 

[BillyWestFan]

Actually, team speed on defense is how you stop the triple option. That's why it doesn't work against better programs.

Spot on. I remember as a kid watching Oklahoma's triple option/wishbone back in the mid to late 80s. Only team that stopped them was Miami. Miami's LBs were ultra fast. I seem to remember an announcer stating that all of their LBs could run the 40 in 4.5 or less, iirc.

 

[FIVE4PITT]

Agree. But also, our LBs and DBs either didn't get coached on how to defend or, as Wlat used to say, they didn't do what they were coached to do. We constantly had guys swarming to the outside only to leave the cutback lane wide open. You should never have 2 guys in 1 spot and 0 in another if you want to defend the option. Also, our defense over pursues like crazy. On the one long pass, 2 players ran like crazy to try to break the pass up, but had no chance of breaking it up. By the time they got there, the receiver already had the ball and started running while our guys ran right past him. They needed to break down and tackle him after the catch.

I agree the defense over pursued and left cutback lanes open. It is really assignment football. the ILB and CB are given two responsibilities. if you don't have the on e look for the other. Our corners do not get off their blocks and the safety was cut blocked numerous times. The d-line did not play well. We stayed in our base defense 4-3 the whole game. Sometimes I thought we should have changed our fronts because it was not working. Navy has a very good team. they threw gadget plays at pitt s defense also well coached.

 

[paulbl99]

Do you still think that Pitt being +3 was easy money?

There's a reason billion dollar buildings are located in the middle of a desert...
Sure things and easy money!!!!