Wonk-ish football question re: triple option

[rich59]

When the Pony Express was at it's height, SMU was in a "3-4" I put it in quotes because it is really an offshoot of the 5-4 Oklahoma, SMU played a lot of option teams and was really successful in shutting them down. Having said that, I believe that personnel is more important than scheme in stopping an offense. If we win the battle at the line of scrimmage, we will win the game.

[GeorgiaMustang]

whatever we run, we better adjust better than last year. It seemed like we would stack the middle and get them into 3rd and long and then, inexplicably, pull back as though we were expecting them to actually attempt a pass. I really wish I could be in Dallas for this one. It looks like the only home game I will be able to make it to will be the UTEP game. At least I did get to go to Birmingham and watch us beat UAB.

[rich59]

It looks to me like this game is crucial from the standpoint that we might have an edge in personnel where we don't in the next two. Losing three straight will make it difficult to regain any momentum and confidence.

[Mustangsabu]

Coming from someone who never played football and only have the most rudimentary understanding of its niceties, I think we should just put Margus on the line and tell him to consider it the Estonian border.

[expony18]

Coming from someone who never played football and only have the most rudimentary understanding of its niceties, I think we should just put Margus on the line and tell him to consider it the Estonian border.

the problem with that is you have to be EXTREMElY disciplined against the option. tough to throw someone in there who doesnt have a full grasp of the game

[smupony]

Coming from someone who never played football and only have the most rudimentary understanding of its niceties, I think we should just put Margus on the line and tell him to consider it the Estonian border.

the problem with that is you have to be EXTREMElY disciplined against the option. tough to throw someone in there who doesnt have a full grasp of the game

Agreed. I don't see Margus getting as many plays on defense this week like he did against ECU.

[PK]

Coming from someone who never played football and only have the most rudimentary understanding of its niceties, I think we should just put Margus on the line and tell him to consider it the Estonian border.

[EastStang]

Just have Margus stuff the center back into the QB.

[Stallion]

Under Ron Meyer SMU ran a 5-2 at least in the Holiday Bowl and the following year when we won SWC Championship (ineligible for Cotton Bowl)

DE Byron Hunt 6-5, 250
DT Harvey Armstrong 6-2, 285
NG Michael Carter 6-2, 290
DT Richard Neely 6-5, 260
DE Eric Ferguson 6-3, 245
LB Gary Moten 6-1, 215
Several including JUCOs

this changed a little depending on year but we definitely were in a 5-2. We never employed a 5-4 although I'm sure we had packages to use against running teams but we always employed 4 DBs. Now under Bobby Collins we went after smaller DEs like Anthony Beverley, Russ Washington, Cornelius Dozier etc who were more hybrid LB type DEs. Could have been some 4-3 alignments with Collins but I still think it was a basic 5-2 but the DEs had more speed and less height.

[Canadian Mustang]

June Jones said they spent the defensive practices during the bye week working on defending Navy

I like the sounds of this. If we can clamp down on the run early we might have a shot...

[White Helmet]

I would like to see Banjo spy the QB and pop him
every play regardless of which option he chose.

[rich59]

To me, the 3-4 is just an NFL name for the college defense called the 5-2 which was derived from the 5-4 Oklahoma defense. The difference being that the defensive ends, which the pros call LBs are in the stand up position. The people who the pros call defensive ends are really tackles in my mind. In the SMU scheme, in other words, Frazier and Taylor are tackles, in my mind. In the 5-4 Oklahoma, most of the time played in the one platoon era, the defensive ends had their hands on the ground and were the offensive ends, the tackles on defense were the offensive tackles, the middle guard was an offensive guard, the two inside lbs were the center and one guard on offense, the outside lbs or corners were the fullback and one halfback on offense and the two safetys were the QB and one halfback on offense. The straight Oklahoma defense had the two inside lbs lined up over the nose of the offensive tackles but on an obvious passing down the lbs went out over the nose of the offensive ends to chuck them as the came off the line. This was called the Western Oklahoma. As people began to use split ends and slot receivers and did more passing, the defensive ends in the 5-2 began to go to the standup position and to be dropped off in pass defense. The Denver Broncos have gone to the 3-4 but one of their outside lbs, who last year was a defensive end and is only 5'11" and 250 pounds is limited in pass coverage and mostly used against the running game and in the pass rush. All this is splitting hairs and mainly a case of semantics.

[Dooby]

I say we run a 4-4-5 until the refs notice

From today's DMN College blog:

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com ... ctice.html

"We're going to play 13 guys on defense and that should do it right there," Jones said.

June listens to Dooby. So should you.

[Ponyx2]

I say we run a 4-4-5 until the refs notice

From today's DMN College blog:

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com ... ctice.html

"We're going to play 13 guys on defense and that should do it right there," Jones said.

June listens to Dooby. So should you.

“It’s tough to score on our 6-6 defense”

- Kansas Coach Pepper Rodgers, after Penn State scored a 2 point conversion on their second try to win the 1969 Orange Bowl 15-14. The first attempt failed but Kansas was penalized for too many men on the field.

[San Antonio Mustang]

I read somewhere that we are going to use a 4-3 defense. If that is correct who will be starters in each position?