A detailed look at what Grantham’s 3-4 scheme entails, along with some strategies to attack it, is posted over at Rocky Top Talk.
There’s some good stuff in there, although I’d quibble with his “natural response” solutions towards the article’s end, simply because Grantham hasn’t stayed in a 3-4 when faced with three and four-receiver sets this season. As he said to Fletcher Page,
… I would say it’s probably been about 60-40 in favor of 3-4. Some of that’s based upon situation of the game, personnel, types of plays they’re running, things like that. So we’re always going to be multiple in what we do. We’ll work to put the players in the position to be successful.
I’m not sure how much of Georgia’s problems on defense are purely scheme-related right now, anyway. I’d put a lot more of it on this:
… Georgia has some mitigating factors here. The first is simply personnel turnover (which we ought to understand better than most right now), but it’s likely equally to do with a shift from the 4 lineman-base Martinez used to the 3-4 Grantham prefers. However, even as a 3-4 it does some things differently. This is a new defense that we’re seeing, but fortunately this is still a new defense for Georgia, too.
Get The Picture 
I’m convinced that the vast majority of our players on defense don’t understand what the scheme is trying to accomplish. I apologize if any of you have been sitting near me at games this year, I’m the guy who is standing up and yelling “GET LINED UP!!” whenever the defense is breaking the huddle. When an opposing offense gets set at the LOS, our defense just stands there in a bunch in the box. And then they start looking at each other. Then at the offense. Then the secondary players will start to wander around, in the general direction of covering a receiver, but not really. Then they’ll look at each other again. By this time, the slot receivers may be covered, but the man on the edge is still uncovered. “Hey, do you want to cover that guy? Or am I supposed to?” In most situations so far this year, we’ve managed to get a man on a man by the time the ball’s been snapped. For the life of me, I can’t comprehend why more teams aren’t quick-snapping us and just going yard with the uncovered man. I don’t buy that it’s Georgia trying to disguise our blitz package or coverage or any of that, either. Whether a corner is standing in front of a wideout or not doesn’t usually tip off a team if the blitz is coming or not. I truly don’t think guys know where they need to be, and all you really have to do is watch Bacarri Rambo or our other safeties to see that. We’re five (painful) games in at this point. If the defenders haven’t grasped the concept at this point, it’s time to dumb it way down and at least get a plan that our guys can follow.
Then again, I don’t understand this defense, either, so I could be completely wrong.
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We have pups out there on the line and at DB.
The other teams know this and we have to mix it up to disrupt what they are doing.
The good news is we have lots of pups. The ones who learn how we mix it up will get to play and the ones who don’t learn it will have to figure it out from the sideline.
Russ.
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Pups on the line? Dobbs, Wood and Tripp are seniors. Bean and Tyson are Juniors. A. Jones is a sophmore, but played extensively last year. I don’t see how youth is an excuse.
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Watched Florida, base is a 5-2, against Bama last evening on replay TV. Thought Florida on D set too soon.
Basic explanation of the gaps and techniques and the personnel an offensive needs to attack the 3-4 by rushing the ball.
Tennessee got a lesson last week about getting their D personnel in place once the O shows their personnel and set. They had about 5 seconds and with 13 players it did not help.
See, not only can you throw out the oft over used phrase 8 in the box you can substitue 13 if you like to use “in the box”. See how the gaps get spread across the field, D & E, and you can increase your numbers vs the D numbers…this is where quickness, recognition, and personnel come into the play. You may want to wait until the last possible moment to get into position so the D can even up and not let the O check out.
The spread is all about extending the gaps. The 3-4 allows better coverage in those gaps as long as you have the right player.
Do you remember the last year we beat Florida. The key player that day was not Stafford and the “rush on the field of the entire O”, it was a guy name Curren. Watch his lateral pursuit. At the beginning of the game he makes a great play on Florida’s speed back. That play told me we could win that day.
Grantham’s D train is on track, but not all the cars are in place. Geathers is a first year guy NT with the size, but what they want is a few Eric Berry type guys around him. Those are more important to UGA than an RB named Crowell.
And UGA’s O, well look back at all the 5 games and write down the number of times our O line has been penetrated. Is all that from a D scheme, or just simply poor ass blocking and technique?
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Totally agree with you about Curran. I remember thinking the same thing when he chased down Harvin for a short gain. At that moment I remember thinking that we’ve got this.
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The 3-4 is a more assignment oriented D I think. The Guys are just still not sure of their assignments or they chose not to perform their assigned duties. Rambo is a great example. On the couple of times he has been burned deep he just took a fake he should have been playing the guy all the way but he was so worried (not without cause ) that the front 7 were being sreaded that he looked back to check for the run. That was all it took for the TE to separate. This D is an attacking D but it is not a freelance attacking D. It is precise. They showed some of Bama’s blitzes against the UF experienced Oline, they were all inside blitzes but the secret was that the center got fooled on each one. He did what he was suppose to do and blocked the nose. The Nose would not attack the center but he would go for the A gap thus pulling the Center out of the middle. The DB/LB would then exploit the gap left by the center and come clean up the middle to the QB. Even if UF had a draw call the RB would have been hit straight on by the blitzer. It’s a great D we just don’t have the horses to run it yet.
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I am not a fan of constantly whining about how much better Bama is than us right now, but I was watching Sportscenter last night as they were doing that Bama defense piece. At one point, a Bama defender (Hightower I think) looped around the left side and literally blasted an O tackle 3 yards backwards. I got chill bumps. Man, those guys are PHYSICAL. And for a moment, I was green with envy.
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That right there is what is wrong with the UGA defense. I remember when after the game the other team’s offense was glad that it was over. Can you spell Stanfill? Scheme only goes so far.
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Ironically, I think it was a Bama player who said in 2002 we were more physical than the defending national champion Oklahoma team they had just played. Not sure if I could find a link to that one but pretty sure I remember reading it at the time and smiling from ear to ear. Same game Dye said we weren’t man enough to beat Bama.
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