StatTiger 3,188 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 If there was one area of concern on offense in 2009, it was the inability to pick up the blitz on a consistent basis. When it came to blitzes, Auburn did much better picking up the interior blitzes than the perimeter blitzes, especially involving corners and safeties. Last season, Arkansas disrupted Auburn’s offensive rhythm with zone blitzes. LSU and Alabama had success blitzing their corners and safeties off the edge. With Auburn breaking in a new starting quarterback, protecting him on blitzes will be a priority. Until Auburn proves they can burn an opposing defense on a blitz, the blitzes will come more frequently. The play… On this play, Auburn is facing a 2nd & 11 with Georgia coming with a blitz. The Bulldogs will bring 2 LB’s inside, hoping to disrupt a Chris Todd pass. Right before the snap, the MLB will inch up to the line between the DT’s. After the snap, the OLB will come on a delay as Darvin Adams runs a deep square-in route. Byron Isom will pick up the MLB and Ben Tate will pick up the OLB coming on the delay. Eric Smith slips out of the backfield on a wheel route (uncovered) but because the blitz is picked up, Todd elects to go with the deeper route to Darvin Adams. The pass is completed for an 18-yard gain and an Auburn first down, inside the Bulldog 10-yard line. Not only was the blitzed picked up, Todd had time to step into his throw to make a clean completion to Adams. Last season, Auburn QB’s were sacked 21 times but that broke down to only 2 in the first 5 games and 19 in the last 8 games of the season. Auburn’s quarterbacks were sacked at least 3 times in a game on 6 occasions last year, posting a 2-4 record in those games. Since 1999, Auburn is 21-24, when their QB’s are sacked at least 3 times, including a conference record of 10-20. In the 30 conference games, Auburn was sacked at least 3 times, the Tigers averaged just 17 points per game. Improved pass-protection in 2010 is a primary goal for the Auburn coaches as the right tackle position remains wide-open and additional emphasis being placed on pass-protection by the running backs. The offensive line should be a team strength in 2010 but even the best of lines will be challenged when called upon to block 6-7 defenders. Quicker and better recognition by the players during the pre-snap read will improve execution, when the blitz is called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guerra aguila 0 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Stat, Im hoping we can slow down the blitzes this year with a faster tempo on offense. I know that Newton doesnt know every aspect of the offense yet... but with the different formations and disguises that Malzahn likes to utilize... hopefully we can find a few mismatches on the field. If the offense can run at the full pace that they would like to, perhaps they can dictate the defense to play out of position a few times. Blitzing defenders have to be careful when defending a mobile qb... if they over-pursue... you know what can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StatTiger 3,188 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Stat, Im hoping we can slow down the blitzes this year with a faster tempo on offense. I know that Newton doesnt know every aspect of the offense yet... but with the different formations and disguises that Malzahn likes to utilize... hopefully we can find a few mismatches on the field. If the offense can run at the full pace that they would like to, perhaps they can dictate the defense to play out of position a few times. Blitzing defenders have to be careful when defending a mobile qb... if they over-pursue... you know what can happen. In fairness to Coach Malzahn, 2009 was the first year he had the opportunity to run HIS VERSION of his offense in the SEC and I'm sure there were some aspects he was able to get away with at Tulsa that he could not in the SEC. He is one that harps on the details and I have no doubt he will adjust his offense accordingly in 2010. It was one thing to have a breakdown on blitzes in terms of poor blocking but it was the ones, where we were caught off guard completely that was the concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonTiger 0 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 If they bring the heat then they better be able to contain Newton because he is going to scramble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainstalk 32 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Read an article on Michael Dyer and the coaches said they knew that he could run the ball, but was having trouble picking up blitzes. This is one thing that freshman running backs struggle with, they have not had time to adjust to the speed of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahsaaref 0 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Ladarious Phillips could be a key here, I'd work hard on getting him ready to pick up the blitz also. He can be a forcefield no one can get around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guerra aguila 0 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 If they bring the heat then they better be able to contain Newton because he is going to scramble This ^^^ in my opinion is whats going to keep teams from blitzing a lot... they have to stay modest and keep Newton in front of them... if hes gets in the secondary... its going to be a nightmare for opposing defensive backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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