Dude is Brilliant

[Tigerdog 0]

After reading this, I had a big smile!

The players love him and other teams Offensive coordinators hate him!

WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!

Complicated defense built to keep it up the middle

By Jay G. Tate

Montgomery Advertiser

AUBURN -- As far back as he can remember, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has been enamored with speed.

As a young assistant at Miami (Fla.) during the 1980s, Tuberville watched the Hurricanes change recruiting from a size-dominated party to a single-minded search for quickness and aggressiveness.

That concept has reached a nearly obsessive level at Auburn, where Tuberville and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik have built a conservative defense out of players many considered high-risk ventures.

Auburn has one of the smallest defenses around. It's also one of the best.

"We had a certain vision for this defense, me and (Chizik), and we wanted it to be so fast that people couldn't outrun it," Tuberville said. "If you have speed and you have players who can handle their responsibilities, this system is going to work. We're good because we have that."

Auburn's defense, like many of its contemporaries, is complicated. The players and coaches are guarded and secretive when asked about the inner defensive workings. It's supposed to be a mystery.

David Copperfield never would explain how he made the Statue of Liberty disappear, right?

The demystification starts here: The Tigers' defense is based on one basic principle.

The team strives to keep the ball in the middle of the field.

Tuberville's speed collection makes the Tigers faster than everyone else to the outside, which means opponents always must head for areas where tacklers gather.

There's a flowchart at work here. In its most basic form, the line's job is to clog the inside running lanes. That forces teams either to run outside where linebackers and safeties lie in wait, or pass.

This is the Southeastern Conference. Passing isn't a common choice.

"In this league, people are going to go at you with the run game. That's just how it is," reserve linebacker Derrick Graves said. "So that's pretty much our mindset. We're going to be real strong against the run at all times, and let (the opponent) figure out what to do from there. There's not a lot of good options after that."

The process starts up front, where linemen are assigned a gap to clog. It's their job to get there and stay there -- regardless of obstacles.

Noseguards Tommy Jackson and Josh Thompson have the most consistently difficult part of that job. They're trusted to sever ties to the holes nearest the center -- while often taking on two blockers at a time.

"It's not as simple as people want it to be," Jackson said. "Our No. 1 goal is to keep the gap and make sure nobody gets up to my linebackers. You know how the running backs love a 50-yard run and then knocking a safety's helmet off as they fall into the end zone? I get enjoyment out of a center and a guard trying to block me and letting a linebacker make a play. That's what makes me happy."

The linebackers and strong safety Will Herring -- who describes himself as "a linebacker 8 yards off the line of scrimmage" -- are the team's designated hitters.

This is where Auburn's defense differs from the others.

Though many teams rely heavily on linebackers to help with the passing game, the Tigers don't think that way. Chizik said he's comfortable with cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Montae Pitts in one-on-one situations -- with strong safety Junior Rosegreen often acting as a safety blanket.

That means Herring and the linebackers often anticipate run situations. So they have more freedom to roam the areas just off the line and head for the ball.

There is one caveat. Always stay outside.

"That's basically how this defense works," outside linebacker Antarrious Williams said. "We are just trying to maintain. Somebody is funneling to somebody (else)."

That funneling process -- and the consistency Auburn has shown with it -- has been the secret to the Tigers' defensive success. Teams haven't been able to slide outside for long runs and instead have been dealing with Herring and the linebackers inside.

Those matchups have been favoring the Tigers.

Only six teams in Division I-A are allowing less than Auburn's 7.2 points per game. The Tigers' rushing defense is tops in the SEC, and the team's total-defense numbers trail only Alabama among conference schools.

All this from a group that lost five of its front seven defenders during the offseason.

Jackson believes that validates his claim that Chizik, now in his third season with the Tigers, is the nation's best college defensive mind.

"Here's the thing: Gene Chizik is brilliant," Jackson said. "I don't think I've ever said that about another human being in my life. But the dude is brilliant."