New DC at Western

[PaladinDad]

Looks like DB coach and recruiting coordinator Tripp Weaver from James Madison is headed to Western as new DC. He is a heck of a coach and probably even a better recruiter so that's a big get for them in my opinion. He had my wife convinced JMU was the place for our son Lol!

[FUBeAR]

Looks like DB coach and recruiting coordinator Tripp Weaver from James Madison is headed to Western as new DC. He is a heck of a coach and probably even a better recruiter so that's a big get for them in my opinion. He had my wife convinced JMU was the place for our son Lol!

Passing Game DC & DB Coach. John Wiley is still their (overall) DC

[PaladinDad]

Wow if that's the case I'm surprised he left. Not knocking Western at all, but i would assume JMU would be a much better situation. Either way a good get for Western.

[FUBeAR]

Wow if that's the case I'm surprised he left. Not knocking Western at all, but i would assume JMU would be a much better situation. Either way a good get for Western.

Originally from Asheville, NC, as is his HS Sweetheart, wife. Been married for almost 2 years. My guess is nino/nina numero uno is on the way and the location of the maternal family (in this case, both families) can be a powerful relocation magnet when such a blessed event is nigh. A lot easier to get Nana to help with a colicky baby when she's 50 miles (or less) away vs. 400 miles.

He's also worked with WCU's DC before (at ECU) and did add another version of "Coordinator" to his title/resume. Probably a great move for him for personal reasons and a good one for professional ones. Also, probably a GREAT hire for WCU...dangit!!!

[cavedweller2]

It doesnt matter if Western makes great hires because we are going stomp a mudhole in their ass anyway.

[The Jackal]

It doesnt matter if Western makes great hires because we are going stomp a mudhole in their ass anyway.

Their defense made a huge stride last season after what was a laughable effort in 2016. Still, it is difficult for a coordinator to game plan against a team that can physically push you around, and that’s what Furman did to WCU last fall.

Just an example. Check out where out LT ends up with the RDE. Not sure how you coordinate around your defensive linemen getting pushed into your safeties.

[FUBeAR]

It doesnt matter if Western makes great hires because we are going stomp a mudhole in their ass anyway.

Their defense made a huge stride last season after what was a laughable effort in 2016. Still, it is difficult for a coordinator to game plan against a team that can physically push you around, and that’s what Furman did to WCU last fall.

Just an example. Check out where out LT ends up with the RDE. Not sure how you coordinate around your defensive linemen getting pushed into your safeties.

You're right about the excellent block on the DE, but in terms of Coordinatin', I believe the Mike (#4) is the real problem here. Looks as if the DL was stemming to the weakside, which means the Mike had C-gap responsibility on this play. He filled A-Gap. No bueno...needed to scrape over the top of that DE. Instead he filled almost the same gap as, what I think is, a Safety/could be CB on the weak side as FU had no WR and no TE on that side. Also appears they had the other Safety blitzing from the outside/strongside and lined up on the LOS. Essentially, they ran a 9 man front, so once the OL, particularly the OT & H-Back did their jobs, the strongside/outside WR ran off the CB, and the strongside/inside WR screened the 1-high Safety, that MLB was the only man they had to make the tackle between FU's 45 YL and their GL. An excellent cut by the RB and the MLB's mental error eliminated that possibility. So, while it was excellent execution by the 'Dins, if the MLB was "Coordinated" properly, he "COULDA" (IF he had been able to work over the DE 'on roller skates') made the tackle for a 2 yard gain.

I don't know the Score/Point-in-the-game/down/distance situation was...but running a sell-out 9-man front and Man coverage like this against a good running Team...with what appears (to me) to be an undersized D-Front (DL & LB's) is a good way to get beat...quickly.

[The Jackal]

It is sort of a unique set up as Furman has no receiver to the right side of the formation. I presume that probably caused some confusion.

To my eye, the MLB went where Dirks was heading, but Dirks cut back. I agree the MLB should be scraping to get there, but hard to do when your DE is blocked into the second level. Even if the MLB read Dirks run and moved to meet him, it's hard to do much defensively when the linemen are driving your front line into the defensive backfield.

[FUBeAR]

It is sort of a unique set up as Furman has no receiver to the right side of the formation. I presume that probably caused some confusion.

To my eye, the MLB went where Dirks was heading, but Dirks cut back. I agree the MLB should be scraping to get there, but hard to do when your DE is blocked into the second level. Even if the MLB read Dirks run and moved to meet him, it's hard to do much defensively when the linemen are driving your front line into the defensive backfield.

Right...but, in most D's, he can't just read the RB. He has certain Gap responsibility. With the DL stemming weak, he needs to scrape/replace where the DE stemmed from. While the 'roller skating' DE may have cut off his scrape over the top and the play result would have been the same, he didn't even try...so we'll never know.

Bottom Line(s) - VERY well executed play by FU. Poor job by the DE - (excellent block - yes - I love it, but the DE needed to stop, drop, and roll when he felt himself getting burned like that), poor job of squeezing the H-back block by the OLB, BIG mental error by the MLB, and a questionable Defensive Alignment call. 2 of those D problems, IMO, are heavily due to Coaching - Defensive Alignment/Call & Mental Error.

[The Jackal]

Also makes one appreciate how big and fast Kealand Dirks is. Quick cut and then outruns most of the WCU secondary. Not particularly a fair fight for a guy that is 240+

A motivated and focused #21 could well be the "actual" OPTY in the SoCon. I say actual because Devin Hodges is just going to put up video game numbers and never come out of a contest.

[FUBeAR]

Also makes one appreciate how big and fast Kealand Dirks is. Quick cut and then outruns most of the WCU secondary. Not particularly a fair fight for a guy that is 240+

A motivated and focused #21 could well be the "actual" OPTY in the SoCon. I say actual because Devin Hodges is just going to put up video game numbers and never come out of a contest.

Except there was no secondary...2 of the 4 were, essentially, on the LOS. Of the other 2, 1 was ‘covering’ FU’s 9-route-running outside WR with his back to the ball & the other was blocked/screened by the inside WR. Not to take anything away from Mr. Dirks. I’ve been a big fan of his play all along. I’m glad he & Coach Hendrix+Staff were able to have a meeting of the minds & get him on the field much more than in prior years.

[The Jackal]

Also makes one appreciate how big and fast Kealand Dirks is. Quick cut and then outruns most of the WCU secondary. Not particularly a fair fight for a guy that is 240+

A motivated and focused #21 could well be the "actual" OPTY in the SoCon. I say actual because Devin Hodges is just going to put up video game numbers and never come out of a contest.

Except there was no secondary...2 of the 4 were, essentially, on the LOS. Of the other 2, 1 was ‘covering’ FU’s 9-route-running outside WR with his back to the ball & the other was blocked/screened by the inside WR. Not to take anything away from Mr. Dirks. I’ve been a big fan of his play all along. I’m glad he & Coach Hendrix+Staff were able to have a meeting of the minds & get him on the field much more than in prior years.

I did wonder about this. The formation is a little unique in that the RT is uncovered. At the snap, you can see that our inside WR (looks like Gordon) is behind the WR to his left (the "middle" WR). That is, Gordon is in the backfield.

I believe that means both receivers to Gordon's left have to be on the line of scrimmage, otherwise it is an illegal formation. As I understand the rule the "middle" WR in that formation has to be ineligible.

WCU brings a corner blitz (not disguising it well), but it doesn't seem like the ROLB realizes that the middle receiver can't catch a pass. Gordon goes straight for the safety, the "middle' receiver hooks the dropping linebacker, and the outside receiver just runs off the man coverage.

I could be misinterpreting the play, because it seems strange to have three receivers to one side and not have one be eligible. Seems pretty clear that WCU thought we were going to be passing, so either we caught them in a horrific play call or our coaching staff seemed to anticipate that we'd catch them in a bad defensive call.

[FUBeAR]

Also makes one appreciate how big and fast Kealand Dirks is. Quick cut and then outruns most of the WCU secondary. Not particularly a fair fight for a guy that is 240+

A motivated and focused #21 could well be the "actual" OPTY in the SoCon. I say actual because Devin Hodges is just going to put up video game numbers and never come out of a contest.

Except there was no secondary...2 of the 4 were, essentially, on the LOS. Of the other 2, 1 was ‘covering’ FU’s 9-route-running outside WR with his back to the ball & the other was blocked/screened by the inside WR. Not to take anything away from Mr. Dirks. I’ve been a big fan of his play all along. I’m glad he & Coach Hendrix+Staff were able to have a meeting of the minds & get him on the field much more than in prior years.

I did wonder about this. The formation is a little unique in that the RT is uncovered. At the snap, you can see that our inside WR (looks like Gordon) is behind the WR to his left (the "middle" WR). That is, Gordon is in the backfield.

I believe that means both receivers to Gordon's left have to be on the line of scrimmage, otherwise it is an illegal formation. As I understand the rule the "middle" WR in that formation has to be ineligible.

WCU brings a corner blitz (not disguising it well), but it doesn't seem like the ROLB realizes that the middle receiver can't catch a pass. Gordon goes straight for the safety, the "middle' receiver hooks the dropping linebacker, and the outside receiver just runs off the man coverage.

I could be misinterpreting the play, because it seems strange to have three receivers to one side and not have one be eligible. Seems pretty clear that WCU thought we were going to be passing, so either we caught them in a horrific play call or our coaching staff seemed to anticipate that we'd catch them in a bad defensive call.

Exactly - I missed that OLB coming up and 'attacking' the ineligible WR taking himself out of the play...but he was then well-blocked by the WR. So, really 2 BAD Mental Errors by LB's and an FU'd alignment (vs. FU). So...to my point, lots of better 'Cordinatin' coulda helped the Cantamounts on that play.

FU beat 'em on alignment and beat 'em on execution. That's a beautiful thing...

It's truly about the Jimmy's/Joe's AND the X's/O's in FCS way more than it is in FBS (P5). If an FCS Coach ever says otherwise, they are just making excuses for their own lack of performance, IMO. Of course the Coaching Compensation levels are completely the opposite of that - Coaching matters (way) more in FCS, but FBS (P5) Coaches get paid like Kardashians, with whom many of them share similar talent levels.

[The Jackal]

I recall Coach Speir commenting in the leadup to the game that Furman had used dozens (I forget the exact number, but a bunch) of different formations to that point in the season. I got the impression all season long that Furman had a base set of plays that they ran out of a multitude of different looks. Defenses struggled to keep up.

That play is just another example. In real time, with Furman moving at a decent clip, it has to be difficult for a defense to recognize what Furman is doing offensively. In slow mo, you can see Furman has overloaded one side of the field to run in what looks like a passing formation. Hard to pick that up in game speed, I imagine.

[cavedweller2]

More than likely we had been lining up in a similar formation where 1 or both of the receivers on that side were eligible. I dont know, just guessing. Give a D those multiple/similar looks and it all blends together as the game wears on if they are not paying attention.