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Louisville
ASU
Souf Cackalacky
Mighty Ducks... also, that picture is amazing
K State
LSU

west virginia university
Arizona State University
University of Arkansas
University of Oregon
Oklahoma State
LSU

I think Fuller may be the starting whip linebacker. The responsibilities are essentially the same.

West Virginee
ASU
Arkansas
Oregon
Kansas State
Bama

1) i bet joe wishes he had that banging ass giants sweat shirt by warren zevon's guitarist
2) why couldn't withers at unc ran off on at the mouth on monday, so the notorious TOB could depants him on Tuesday and I could write about it. bastages.

Same as the whip. They will be interchangable

LSU to cover (Bama wins)
OK State
Washington to cover (I will regret that pick)
Arizona State to win
WVU to win.

Thank you Ms. UCLA cheerleader. Your wayward glance almost caused me to bet on Rick Neuheisel. Evil temptress!

the only problem with having Tweedy ghost Washington is that GT uses balanced sets. Tweedy would have to line up weak or strong side and GT can stay away from him.

In theory, this is how you would hope to defend the flexbone. Notice, the Hokie can't slant or blitz in this look.

                                 O

                       O        O        O
       O                 O O  X  O O              O
       C                 E   T   T    E              C
                     R      M       B      W

                                 FS

Assignments

DTs: Both DT's "eagle" in the guard-center gap. At the snap, get upfield a disrupt the mesh point between the QB and the fullback. (GT counter would be to attempt to trap block DTs, or get them moving laterally using the toss sweep.) The DT MUST stop inside dive by themselves. On every play, they should hit the fullback, regardless of if he has the ball.

DEs: Pressure the outside shoulder of the tackle, doing their best to squeeze a belly dive or a wide dive. Any time a back (QB, FB, or Z) comes through the guard-tackle gap, the DE should tackle him. The challenge for the DE is to squeeze wide dive, without getting blown up on a down block by each Z or wingback.

Corners: Each corner has man coverage, and must shake option stalk blocking UNLESS the safety has over the top coverage on the WR. If so, the corner has pitch.

Whip and Rover: Both play the role of 4-4 outside linebackers. Often, one will be the option man. I would anticipate that Bud Foster will play a great deal of base, and his signal will be on option, should the option man take pitch or quarterback. The Hokies generally have had the outside backers play pitch, leaving the QB to the safety. Occasionally switching that up can risk a big play, but it can also screw up the timing of the offense, resulting in turnovers. If the rover or whip sees the play moving away from him at the snap, must YELL "SCREEN, THROWBACK, COUNTER, REVERSE" and hold his ground. Yelling this allows for the play to develop and keeps him in position to cover all four counter options.

Mike and Backer: The mike and backer become almost like 3-4 middle backers. They will read keys. In my experience, the playside backer has responsbility for wide, belly, and double dive, then scraping to QB. In all roles, they are providing support and are not the primary. The backide backer has to tackle the fullback dive, every time.

Free safety. In Bud's system, he has responsibility for the QB, unless the corner has full run responsibility. If so, the safety would play over the top, similar to a cover 1 defense. Such a defense basically give GT any mid range passing completion they want.

Everyone has their assignment, and any freelancing will result in big plays againt. For the most part, Bud Foster's defense has prevented big plays by Georgia Tech. Now, the challenge is to create turnovers and let the Hokie offense dominate time of possession and the scoreboard.

So he can cover one-on-one on Stephen Hill much like how UVA utilized Chase Minnifield. UVA completely shut down the passing game this way, allowing 10 men to cover the triple option. It should be a good game, and I just hope the defensive underclassmen really strive to prepare for this offense. If they are well prepared and play with discipline, VT will be fine. If not, Logan will have to play a near perfect game to pull off the win.

Well done analysis, as always.

The 'death by a thousand cuts' metaphor is entirely appropriate. I've been to every VT-PJ Coached GT game, including in Atlanta in 2009, and the ability to constantly stay ahead of the chains becomes frustrating. We are 2-1 against PJ GT teams, but could easily be 0-3:

In 2008, Nesbitt missed a wide open WR running down the middle of the field with about 5 minutes left. If he hits his man, who had an easy 10 yards on the closest VT defender, we probably wind up losing 24-20. Thankfully, he overthrew him.

In 2009, we lost because we couldn't generate anything on offense in the first half, and scored way too quickly in the second half. The defense, while it played well in the first half, simply wore down. I think we only gave up one reception the entire game, but it was a long one to D. Thomas for like 50 yards.

Last year, Nesbitt broke his arm running down an interception. Even then, with a backup QB running the offense, the Yellow Jackets were able to tie it up at 21. David Wilson did his David Wilson magic, but the GT offense was able to drive in the final seconds before Tevin Washington was picked off by Rock in the endzone with 8 seconds left.

As stated before, be are lucky to have an extra couple of days to prepare for assignment football on the defensive side of the ball. I feel the key to whether or not we are in a position to win - cause let's be honest, GT is going to score on this injury depleted defense - is which one of our Jekyll & Hyde offenses shows up. If we come out and are able to execute with success early, like Miami, we will have a chance. If we look anything like last week, the game will be over by halftime.

Sighted in the gun last Friday.