Inside Linebackers:
Coach Hopson was cut down to around fifteen minutes. Coach Gibson was completely eliminated for second year in a row! With all the linebacker talk on the boards and blogs thought we would give the little they gave us.
First thing to remember, we are talking inside linebackers, not weak side linebackers, or spinners / hybrid defensive end / outside linebackers.
Coach Hopson went over basics of playing inside linebacker, stance and skills and than showed us some film of what to expect. Really helped when watching practice.
Stance and Skills
1) Positive Chin Angles - Chin over toes.
2) Strong through the middle - take on blockers and defeat them.
3) Two shuffle steps, this was enlightening, Michigan is not playing a downhill attack the blocker style, they are playing the shuffle, stay out of garbage style.
Coach Hop said this is because of defending so much zone blocking. If you come downhill too fast you cannot adjust and get caught in all the garbage when running back changes track. More on this afterwards.
4) Leverage on the gap, keep outside arm / shoulder free. This is extremely important and something Michigan has had problems with in the past.
5) Stay Low, Coach Hopson preaches and you will hear him say it hundreds of times per practice. STAY LOW, Am adding this to my coaching vocabulary.
6) Get and keep pad levels down - To this say Amen!
7) Hot Feet - Same as quick feet / need to always be moving.
With regards to #3, this is becoming one of the great debates in college football. Do you still read the guard and fill when they block down or base.
Or do you do as Michigan does and start with two shuffles. As usual there is no right or wrong way, just different. Talked to five different linebacker coaches this year and got five different answers, no surprise.
Thing to remember here is teams that use fullback lead / sprint draw offense could provide Michigan with a challenge, where spread zone teams might be easier to defend.
Think of problems Michigan has stopping Beanie Wells and his cut backs, or Javon Ringer with his 200 or so yards rushing. Not getting downhill and hitting fullback at line of scrimmage in theory could present problems.
But again against zone teams, Wisconsin and Northwestern, etc... Michigan should be better. Teams to watch this for are Notre Dame, Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan State in particular in our opinion.
Tomorrow we will talk about inside linebackers themselves.
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Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine
4 comments:
I don't understand why they don't change the linebacker's aggressiveness and technique depending on the type of team they are facing. But then again, maybe the answer is just that it's difficult to change something you've been doing all year, because then the linebackers will be thinking too much instead of just playing. Is that right?
well...the problem michigan has had in recent years, well before RR is getting sucked up in the LOS and allowing the back, ala Beanie etc. to break a single line of contain, juke a bad safety who is taking a bad angle...and be gone..
so in that respect,, tis better that our ILBs take 2 shuffles before getting sucked up, at least to be able to read the play better and give up less big ones.
I think Anonymous has it exactly right.
How many times have we seen a Michigan linebacker step up, engage the lead blocker, then disengage to chase the ballcarrier down the field. Depending on the relative speeds of the individuals involved, there was either a tackle made or not.
One of the things that made David Harris just a beast wasn't that he got rid of blocks easily, but that he didn't get blocked in the first place. He had superior skills at selecting an angle that avoided the block, but gave him a route to the ball. His speed and strength then got him there to make the hit, many time within the the line of scrimmage +/- 2 yards zone.
This "new" technique recognizes that the guards/tackles/lead backs/H backs can either defeat or stalemate most linebackers. In blocking, tie goes to the offense. In addition, zone blocking is designed to get the defender going sideways and free up downfield blocking. As Coach Hop says, the shuffle helps linebackers from getting caught in the sideways wash.
So, I'd expect the shuffle not to be a disadvantage against lead-and-drive blocking based offenses. Michigan did well against Wisconsin last year not because of the linebackers, but because TT, Martin, Brandon and the others on the D-line beat the Wisconsin O-line like a rented mule.
Most schemes against Michigan the rest of the year were designed to stalemate the D-line, knowing that the linebackers would engage and stick, leaving safeties to chase big, fast backs on their way to the endzone. Jonas and Michael Williams did better here, not getting caught in the wash, but Obi was part of the wash consistently, as was whomever played over the tight end. Tight end doubles down or comes out, and the SAM steps obligingly into the block. Over. And over. And over. This turns out to be the defensive equivalent of the "Lookout Block" -- the LB gets hung up, then yells "Look out!" to the safeties as the back dashes by.
It is the fullback lead offenses that worry me. If you do not take on lead back at LOS you open seams and such. So as with most things football when you take something away, you give something else up. I can live with stalemate at LOS, it is when lead back gets to 2nd level that opnes up huge seam that makes it difficult for scrap Lbers to make plays.
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