What I Saw From the TCU 3-3-5

[uofmman1122]

Georgia gets several 18-19 year-old guys every year that could just skip school and go straight into the NFL and be fine from a physical standpoint. We have not and will never get those types of kids. Those Georgia freshmen could come here and immediately be some of the biggest, fastest and very best players in the entire FCS.

That’s not to say we never get kids that can play right away, Eli Gillman is a great example. He probably could’ve played all year last year and been pretty good, but the vast majority of our true freshman players are not physically ready to play, and this is true for pretty much every FCS team. That’s just not the case for Georgia (and Alabama/Ohio State/etc.), it’s a different world.

Several each year that could physically be ready to play in the NFL?

Uh…no. Again, whole different level. There’s maybe one or two of those guys every generation. Maybe. AP is one who maybe could have. Maybe.

Bear Alexander and Malaki Starks could go play in the NFL right now and be fine physically, and that's just from this year. Not saying they'd be any good, but their size/speed would be fine. There's almost always 1-2 Fr 5-star DL or DE every year that are just insane that only programs like Georgia get. Their other better, but not NFL-ready Fr players could win Big Sky DPOY if they played here. The talent gap is that immense.

 

[PhxGriz]

Several each year that could physically be ready to play in the NFL?

Uh…no. Again, whole different level. There’s maybe one or two of those guys every generation. Maybe. AP is one who maybe could have. Maybe.

Bear Alexander and Malaki Starks could go play in the NFL right now and be fine physically, and that's just from this year. Not saying they'd be any good, but their size/speed would be fine. There's almost always 1-2 Fr 5-star DL or DE every year that are just insane that only programs like Georgia get. Their other better, but not NFL-ready Fr players could win Big Sky DPOY if they played here. The talent gap is that immense.

That point was brought home with Tuttle. Would have been a starter here, but gets to be coach in transition 3rd stringer for Michigan.

 

[RoseyMustGo]

Not sure any defense was stopping that Georgia offense last night...

Yeah, they were dialed-in for sure. But 65 points was way more than they averaged during their season. And being that TCU was theoretically one of the best teams they played, I have gotta deduce that playing against the 3-3-5 had something to do when them scoring 65 points.

 

[RoseyMustGo]

TCU's defensive line weights by starers are 275, 320, 285 and the backups are 295, 315, 290.

Montana's defensive line weights went: 265, 285, 265 and backups are 245, 290, 245.

That stood out to me, TCU's D-line was effectively bigger across the board. All three had good size, mobility, and skill there. Montana would have needed to close Gub and Alford twice to match that type of D-line and still wouldn't have a 300+ pound nose. Not that I expect UM to amass that much size on the D-line, but it did stand out to me that TCU's DL was pretty big as a whole unit, not just in the middle.

3 of TCU"s safety / NB crew were over 6-2 and 200 pounds - so they had another guy that added a combination of size/speed in the slot.

#57, their O'Connell equivalent (I think) had incredible range and about 10-15 more pounds that Patty was reported at.

TCU, being who they are, can recruit and build their defense differently with bigger/faster guys and thus it makes the defense work a little better. I went back and pulled their stats in the B12 and it was really middle of the road overall - neither their total/rush/passing defensive stats stood out, ranked 5th or 6th best. But what they were tops in defensively were sacks, interceptions, and defensive TDs. It appears that (when working) their defense is designed more to be disruptive than overall dominant.

Your last sentence was spot-on. And the TCU philosophy to disrupt applies to our version of the 3-3-5 defense. Compared to TCU, we blitzed way more than they did, trying to disrupt the opposing offense. But as you know, any blitz is a very high risk play, which can either be disruptive, or lead to a big play by the offense. I think we used the blitz much too often last season, and it resulted in some huge gains and long pass plays.

 

[PTGrizzly]

Several each year that could physically be ready to play in the NFL?

Uh…no. Again, whole different level. There’s maybe one or two of those guys every generation. Maybe. AP is one who maybe could have. Maybe.

Bear Alexander and Malaki Starks could go play in the NFL right now and be fine physically, and that's just from this year. Not saying they'd be any good, but their size/speed would be fine. There's almost always 1-2 Fr 5-star DL or DE every year that are just insane that only programs like Georgia get. Their other better, but not NFL-ready Fr players could win Big Sky DPOY if they played here. The talent gap is that immense.

I think you’re underestimating how much strength difference there is between a 300 pounder at 19 and a 300 pounder at 26. Alexander isn’t even starting for Georgia. He would get bullied on the line in the NFL. It’s a different game.

 

[uofmman1122]

Bear Alexander and Malaki Starks could go play in the NFL right now and be fine physically, and that's just from this year. Not saying they'd be any good, but their size/speed would be fine. There's almost always 1-2 Fr 5-star DL or DE every year that are just insane that only programs like Georgia get. Their other better, but not NFL-ready Fr players could win Big Sky DPOY if they played here. The talent gap is that immense.

I think you’re underestimating how much strength difference there is between a 300 pounder at 19 and a 300 pounder at 26. Alexander isn’t even starting for Georgia. He would get bullied on the line in the NFL. It’s a different game.

Maybe, but the point about the difference between Big Sky freshmen and Georgia freshmen is the same. We (and most other FCS teams) don't play our freshmen because the majority of them can't play at this level yet. Those big programs can play a lot of their freshmen every year without any problems.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

I think you’re underestimating how much strength difference there is between a 300 pounder at 19 and a 300 pounder at 26. Alexander isn’t even starting for Georgia. He would get bullied on the line in the NFL. It’s a different game.

Maybe, but the point about the difference between Big Sky freshmen and Georgia freshmen is the same. We (and most other FCS teams) don't play our freshmen because the majority of them can't play at this level yet. Those big programs can play a lot of their freshmen every year without any problems.

Honestly makes me wonder how much P5 CFB (or even high-level HS FB) some people here watch. The talent levels are not on the same planet.

 

[uofmman1122]

Maybe, but the point about the difference between Big Sky freshmen and Georgia freshmen is the same. We (and most other FCS teams) don't play our freshmen because the majority of them can't play at this level yet. Those big programs can play a lot of their freshmen every year without any problems.

Honestly makes me wonder how much P5 CFB (or even high-level HS FB) some people here watch. The talent levels are not on the same planet.

Yeah, those 5-star kids for the most part are rolling onto campus as true freshmen already at a higher level than probably half the roster in the majority of cases, and in some cases are already some of the best players on the team.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Maybe, but the point about the difference between Big Sky freshmen and Georgia freshmen is the same. We (and most other FCS teams) don't play our freshmen because the majority of them can't play at this level yet. Those big programs can play a lot of their freshmen every year without any problems.

Honestly makes me wonder how much P5 CFB (or even high-level HS FB) some people here watch. The talent levels are not on the same planet.

:lol: :lol: After watching 6-7 years of Texas Tech football, I swear some of those guys look 30. The maturity is off the charts.

 

[Hawkeyebowhunter]

Georgia can run whatever system they want, because they have multiple NFL caliber players on defense + they are rarely out of position.

Equal talent vs equal talent- the 3/3/5 will ALWAYS be under gunned

 

[RoseyMustGo]

Georgia can run whatever system they want, because they have multiple NFL caliber players on defense + they are rarely out of position.

Equal talent vs equal talent- the 3/3/5 will ALWAYS be under gunned

Yep. Sooooooo, why does a team aspiring to compete with the top teams in FCS still run the 3-3-5??? Inquiring minds want to know

 

[mthoopsfan]

Georgia can run whatever system they want, because they have multiple NFL caliber players on defense + they are rarely out of position.

Equal talent vs equal talent- the 3/3/5 will ALWAYS be under gunned

Yep. Sooooooo, why does a team aspiring to compete with the top teams in FCS still run the 3-3-5??? Inquiring minds want to know

The 3-3-5 is a good defense. As others have said, there is no one/best defensive scheme. It's your personnel, and how you run and coach the defense are much more important than the scheme. I played defense in college. How about you? I assume you didn't even play in high school.

 

[uptopgriz]

Yep. Sooooooo, why does a team aspiring to compete with the top teams in FCS still run the 3-3-5??? Inquiring minds want to know

The 3-3-5 is a good defense. As others have said, there is no one/best defensive scheme. It's your personnel, and how you run and coach the defense are much more important than the scheme. I played defense in college. How about you? I assume you didn't even play in high school.

Other coaches and players said it best when they mentioned the Griz player's lack of discipline.

 

[mthoopsfan]

The 3-3-5 is a good defense. As others have said, there is no one/best defensive scheme. It's your personnel, and how you run and coach the defense are much more important than the scheme. I played defense in college. How about you? I assume you didn't even play in high school.

Other coaches and players said it best when they mentioned the Griz player's lack of discipline.

No one said lack of discipline.

 

[uptopgriz]

Other coaches and players said it best when they mentioned the Griz player's lack of discipline.

No one said lack of discipline.

code language from MSU and NSDU players and coaches post game press conferences=poor coaching

 

[mthoopsfan]

No one said lack of discipline.

code language from MSU and NSDU players and coaches post game press conferences=poor coaching

Not true. Give us the quotes. Why would they use code words.

 

[uptopgriz]

code language from MSU and NSDU players and coaches post game press conferences=poor coaching

Not true. Give us the quotes. Why would they use code words.

Mellott "We knew they weren't gap sound" Vigen "We could see on film we would be able to run on them" Entz "we knew they didn't cover gaps."

 

[mthoopsfan]

Not true. Give us the quotes. Why would they use code words.

Mellott "We knew they weren't gap sound" Vigen "We could see on film we would be able to run on them" Entz "we knew they didn't cover gaps."

That isn't necessary discipline related. UM rushes and blitzes some guys in the same gap in order to get through. That's intentional not lack of discipline. Doing what the defensive scheme and coaches call for is not lack of discipline.

 

[uptopgriz]

Mellott "We knew they weren't gap sound" Vigen "We could see on film we would be able to run on them" Entz "we knew they didn't cover gaps."

That isn't necessary discipline related. UM rushes and blitzes some guys in the same gap in order to get through. That's intentional not lack of discipline. Doing what the defensive scheme and coaches call for is not lack of discipline.

So you you're saying 3-3-5 isn't a sound defense then. It's either poor scheme or poor preparation. Which one is it?

 

[mthoopsfan]

That isn't necessary discipline related. UM rushes and blitzes some guys in the same gap in order to get through. That's intentional not lack of discipline. Doing what the defensive scheme and coaches call for is not lack of discipline.

So you you're saying 3-3-5 isn't a sound defense then. It's either poor scheme or poor preparation. Which one is it?

It's not just scheme or performance. It's also personnel and how each teams plays in a particular game. It's also subject to injuries.