| FTBL UTAH: Early impression...we can run, A LOT.

[TerryP]

Granted, this is early on in the Michigan game but I've seen this set a few times.

Their NT is playing the 2 technique...which means he's lined up nose-to-nose to the offensive guard. In this case, it would be Mike Johnson.

IF you recall, we had a similar line up going against Arkansas on more than one occasion...shouldn't take much thought for you to recall some of the success we had in that game...from Coffee all the way down to Upchurch.

In this particular occasion,

That's just one look, and I'm sure they have more...I've seen them put their SAM and WILL on the line much like we do out JACK at times.

But, if this is going to be their basic scheme...

Two things you can add to this...instead of the RG taking that LDE we pull and use him to close out the linebacker closest to you in the picture...of course, the way we use our TE's is going to have an effect as well...

JMO...early impressions...

 

[imported_Porter]

They also appear very light up front.

 

[TerryP]

They also appear very light up front.

I noticed that. Their NT is a converted DE, their DT is a converted ILB.

The one thing that struck me about their NT is his squat was just under 400 coming out of HS...he's a frosh.

I've seen mention of their DT and they are talking about speed and technique. As a recruit, he was running a 4.7-40 which translates to a pretty good shuttle time. Still, that half of a second is all about that first step and Johnson and Davis are very good there.

 

[JacobGibson05]

Yes. Very light on the ends.


LE 41 Koa Misi 6-3, 263, Jr.
56 Greg Newman 6-4, 260, Sr.

DT 43 Lei Talamaivao 6-2, 290, So.
98 Aaron Tonga 6-2, 305, Sr.

NT 97 Isley Filiaga 6-0, 305, So
92 Kenape Eliapo 6-0, 303, Jr.

RE 11 Paul Kruger 6-5, 255, So.

 

[Weber Ute]

Excellent Discussion

Love reading this...sure beats the fan bases swapping polygamist and hillbilly jokes. We don't get enough of the Xs and Os on our board.

You are absolutely right...our DL is undersized. It is by far the smallest DL we have had at the U since I have followed the team. We generally have had a lot of large Polynesian defensive lineman and have sent several to the NFL the past several years (including 3 from the 2004 team - none of those NFL guys are big names so I will spare you).

The past couple of years we have had a lot of attrition on the DL through injuries and a couple of suspensions. The depth chart you referenced is incorrect. Lei Talamaivao was injured early in the year and is out for the year. Aaron Tonga is no longer in the rotation due to ineffectivenss. Isley Filiaga battled chronic injuries and left the team. Kenape Eliapo missed most of the year with a broken foot but is back. He will rotate at the tackles with two converted ends - Greg Newman and Derrick Shelby. Basically we have relied on technique and speed - and we stunt a ton (I am not even going to pretend to know as much as y'all about line techniques).

Statistically, we have been very good against the run . Although byu had their way with us on the ground last game. Your OL will be a whole new challenge and Coach Whittingham has already said he believes you have the most physical team in the country.

 

[TidePride50]

That looks like a 4-2-5 nickel package. That will probably not be the front we get with two TE look.

 

[CarolinaUte]

I couldn't agree more. I eat this stuff up.

Kudos's to TerryP, you're pretty hard core.

WeberUte, good info my friend.

Go Utes...

 

[SkinyUte]

That looks like a 4-2-5 nickel package. That will probably not be the front we get with two TE look.

My thoughts as well, since I don't forsee you guys running a ton of 4 wide sets. I'm sure we'll be stacking 8 in the box to stop the run, so the outside man-to-man matchups are going to be huge. Thankfully, we've been a pretty straight-up man-to-man team all year, so it won't be that much of a switch. I'm awfully intrigued by the Sean Smith vs. Julio Jones battle.

It's also worth noting that our D coordinator left last week to take a head coaching job. He's still coaching the bowl game, but will have a more limited role in preparation. I don't think it will make a huge difference (after all, Coach Whitt was the D-Coordinator for years before he became HC), but it may mean that we see some defensive looks that aren't on film anywhere for this year.

Kudos's to TerryP, you're pretty hard core

No kidding, that's some fine work. ;tr

 

[imported_porkchop]

That looks like a 4-2-5 nickel package. That will probably not be the front we get with two TE look.

My thoughts as well, since I don't forsee you guys running a ton of 4 wide sets. I'm sure we'll be stacking 8 in the box to stop the run, so the outside man-to-man matchups are going to be huge. Thankfully, we've been a pretty straight-up man-to-man team all year, so it won't be that much of a switch. I'm awfully intrigued by the Sean Smith vs. Julio Jones battle.

It's also worth noting that our D coordinator left last week to take a head coaching job. He's still coaching the bowl game, but will have a more limited role in preparation. I don't think it will make a huge difference (after all, Coach Whitt was the D-Coordinator for years before he became HC), but it may mean that we see some defensive looks that aren't on film anywhere for this year.

Kudos's to TerryP, you're pretty hard core

No kidding, that's some fine work. ;tr

I think stacking 8 in the box is probably the conventional wisdom when playing a power running team like Alabama, but BAMA does throw it well enough to make that a risky proposition. Of course, what do you do? Take your chances with BAMA throwing or take your chances with BAMA running? Probably throwing, and I understand that and agree with it.

Having said that, BAMA causes opposing teams problems when they stack the box simply because of a guy named Julio Jones. Jones has had his way (especially when locked up on the edges in single coverage) with opposing defenses that put 8 in the box. He's got the sheer size, and has proven to have the athletic ability to get seperation from all of the DBs that have tried to cover him this season.

I can understand the philosophy of putting 8 in the box against a team like BAMA who runs a ton and has a QB that is considered a "manager of games" but again, we do have weapons that can make that a tricky proposition. Not to take away anything from Utah, but BAMA's done it all year long in the SEC against many of the best defenses in college football.

 

[Crimson Hawk]

I don't know a lot about the X's & O's, but from what's been posted so far, it looks to be a favorable match-up for us & our style of ball.

Though I'm a relative newbie myself, I'd like to say welcome to some very level headed sounding Utah fans & look forward to some great discussion.

 

[89ute]

We also do a ton of stemming on the D line

 

[mcan]

Utah's Defense

Utah runs a base 4-3 defense, playing a lot of man/free coverage. Most likely, I would expect that Utah will cover Jones with 6'3" CB Sean Smith. Smith projects as an NFL safety, rather than CB, but he'll need to learn to tackle more aggressively at the next level. He is solid in coverage and he and Bryce McCain we're the MWC All-Conference 1st team CBs. McCain is allegedly the fastest player on the team though he is 5'9" on his best day.

This year, Utah has used a lot of DT/NT stemming late in the count with the tackles ending up anywhere from a center-shade all the way out to a 3 tech.

SS Joe Dale is in the top 3-4 on the team in tackles and is aggressive in run defense. FS Robert Johnson typically holds down the over-the-top coverage.

Due to Utah playing so many Spread teams this year, we have been seeing mostly 4-2-5 alignments with NB R.J. Stanford coming in for one of the OLBs.

Against traditional running teams and alignments, Utah runs a more typical 4-3.

 

[Guest]

Hey Terry,

That is actually what I was looking at when I posted that we might break 300 yards rushing against them. They are undersized and we have eaten small defensive lines alive.

If they do stack the box, they will probably try to cover Julio with Smith or Johnson...my guess is Smith. He is a converted RB who stands 6'3" tall and weighs around 215, he is a solid player with good size, but athletically is a poor match-up for Jones. Smith had two picks against Oregon State in 2007, but OSU had 21 passes intercepted in 2007. Their safety is only 5'11". Corner Terrell Cole is a walk-on JUCO who earned a scholarship this season. Honestly, I don't know what bodes worse for them, playing honest or stacking the box.

Utah's pass defense is ranked 40th, which means we have played 8 teams with higher ranked passing defenses them them. The closest team to them in pass defense that we have played, is Georgia (ranked 33rd), and UGA's main defensive weakness has been their secondary. We hit UGA for over 200 yards and Julio had a 94 yard outing.

As I said before, their rushing defensive stats are somewhat misleading. Here is a list of national ranking of the rushing offenses they have faced:

Michigan: 58 (first game of the season in new system)
UNLV: 91
Utah St: 69
USAF: 5
Webber St: 70 (FCS)
Oregon St: 46
Wyoming: 33
Colorado St: 78
New Mexico: 16
TCU: 13
San Diego St: 117
BYU: 71

Several on the list are ranked highly, Air Force, New Mexico, and TCU are top 20. Counterbalanced with the others, the average is 62. I gave Weber a 150 rating, which may be generous, but I will generously say that there may be 30 or so FCS teams who are worse at running.

They completely shut down USAF's option attack, which is not surprising given their defensive makeup - speed over power. USAF could not get the corner, and much of USAF's rushing rating has come from their option attack victimizing weak sisters for massive yardage: IE 433 yards against Southern Utah, 401 against SDSU, 284 against Colorado State, etc., so that game does not impress me that much.

The Utes held New Mexico to 119 yards - 89 below their average. Again though, the stats for New Mexico have been compiled against terrible rushing defenses...300 against New Mex. St., 419 against SDSU, etc. The New Mexico game is troubling to me. Utah slipped by New Mexico 13-10, and NM was an 8 loss team who got obliterated by Tulsa, and lost to both Washington Schools.

BYU had over 200 yards rushing against Utah, and outgained them 419-415. If not for 5 interceptions (4 in Utah territory) and a fumble, Utah would have come away from that one with a loss.

Against TCU, Utah scored a TD with 48 seconds to go, in order to come back and win 13-10. Their final drive was aided by a TCU pass interference, and they had to convert a 4th down. TCU outgained Utah 416 to 275. TCU missed 2 field goals - one of them a chip shot 30 yarder.

Wyoming ran for over 180 on Utah.

Utah is undefeated...but I don't put any more stock in that than I did Arkansas State having a juggernaut offense based on their games prior to playing us.

Here is my opnion...If we play our best game against them, and they play their best game against us, we will blow them out. If we play poorly and they play well, we win. If they play poorly and we play well, we will hang half a hundred on them.

The only way we lose this game, is if we revert to 2007 caliber play, and I don't see that happening. Our seniors will want to go out BCS Bowl winners.

 

[TerryP]

That looks like a 4-2-5 nickel package. That will probably not be the front we get with two TE look.

I thought that and that's why I mentioned where they line their outside linebackers up.

If you look at the top of the frame, the guy they have covering the slot receiver looks to be a linebacker to me. He's playing what appears to be bump coverage hoping to throw that receiver off the line.

As soon as I get some more work stuff done today...I'll look at this game some more...just watched a little last night to get a feel for their offense.

Considering it is a 2nd and 15, you'd expect a nickel package...don't think so in this situation.

 

[TerryP]

Hey Terry,

That is actually what I was looking at when I posted that we might break 300 yards rushing against them. They are undersized and we have eaten small defensive lines alive.

I saw that post and knew you had been looking at the numbers...so I didn't bother.

That's why I immediately started looking for game archives. I don't know if I'll be able to find the TCU game, looking for it, but that's one contest I want to watch. I have a lot of respect for Gary Patterson and the way he coaches a defense.

Wyoming ran for over 180 on Utah.

That game did catch my eye consider Wyoming had also played UT this season. Wyoming put up just under 170 on the Vols. BUT, while that is a round about way of comparing two teams to each other, what Wyoming did against UT can't be compared to what our game was like against UT.

The rivalry just weighs far too much into the Bama vs UT game.

That said, we were just under 180 vs UT which leads me to believe hitting the 200 yard mark is very feasible.

The only way we lose this game, is if we revert to 2007 caliber play, and I don't see that happening. Our seniors will want to go out BCS Bowl winners.

It's a gut check time for our team. This one is going to have a bit of a hang-over with it (lose to UF) but I certainly expect the team to have today and possibly tomorrow off before getting back to the game.

On a small note somewhat related to the Utah game...we won't begin game prep until after Christmas...at least, that would fit with what we did last year when we started with film around Christmas day and started working on their approach the week before the game.

IF you recall...in an article earlier this year I mentioned how one game led to another in terms of prep work.

Arkansas, as example, was a good game going into Georgia with Stafford passing the ball. Clemson a good game working on defending a kid like Moreno.

It's ironic that the team we'll face in the Sugar Bowl is a lot like the team we faced in the SECCG.

 

[SkinyUte]

A couple thoughts on these games, from a Utah perspective:

They completely shut down USAF's option attack, which is not surprising given their defensive makeup - speed over power. USAF could not get the corner, and much of USAF's rushing rating has come from their option attack victimizing weak sisters for massive yardage: IE 433 yards against Southern Utah, 401 against SDSU, 284 against Colorado State, etc., so that game does not impress me that much.

I agree, it's tough to take anything away from that game. Playing a team that is that one-dimensional will always lead to some wonky stats.

The Utes held New Mexico to 119 yards - 89 below their average. Again though, the stats for New Mexico have been compiled against terrible rushing defenses...300 against New Mex. St., 419 against SDSU, etc. The New Mexico game is troubling to me. Utah slipped by New Mexico 13-10, and NM was an 8 loss team who got obliterated by Tulsa, and lost to both Washington Schools.

For whatever reason, UNM has been the biggest thorn in our side over the last decade. No matter how good we are or how bad they are, they always seem to give us trouble. Some of it has to do with their screwy 3-3-5 defense, but I really think some of that is mental as well. That was a game that had all Utah fans gripping, even though we were obviously the better team.

BYU had over 200 yards rushing against Utah, and outgained them 419-415. If not for 5 interceptions (4 in Utah territory) and a fumble, Utah would have come away from that one with a loss.

The total yardage in the BYU game is misleading for 2 reasons. One, they kept giving us the ball in their half of the field, so we didn't need to go terribly far to score. We were moving the ball pretty much at will, so it would have been very lopsided had we needed to go 80 yards instead of 30. Two, the gameplanning for BYU was done almost entirely to shut down the pass (they have the top yardage receiver in the country in Austin Collie), with the running game really being an afterthought. I'm still baffled as to why they didn't attack us more on the ground, but my guess is that we would have adjusted just fine if they had gone that route.

Against TCU, Utah scored a TD with 48 seconds to go, in order to come back and win 13-10. Their final drive was aided by a TCU pass interference, and they had to convert a 4th down. TCU outgained Utah 416 to 275. TCU missed 2 field goals - one of them a chip shot 30 yarder.

What's the saying, "Better to be lucky than good?". Yes, we probably should have lost that game. But outside of TCU's first two drives, we played them almost completely even. The one thing it did prove (along with the OSU game) is that Brian Johnson is clutch when the game is on the line.

Here is my opinion...If we play our best game against them, and they play their best game against us, we will blow them out. If we play poorly and they play well, we win. If they play poorly and we play well, we will hang half a hundred on them.

I'd somewhat agree with #1, although I'd put it in the range of a 10-14 point Alabama win (whether that qualifies as a "blowout" is up for consideration). Really disagree with #2 though. If we get the same Utah team that played against BYU and the same Alabama team that played against, say, Tulane shows up, then things get very interesting. I totally agree with #3. If we play poorly, it's going to real ugly real quick.

One other thing to keep in mind. This is the most important game in Utah football history. And probably the biggest strength of this coaching staff is getting this team fired up for big games. My guess is that we'll be plenty ready to play.

EDIT: Apparently I can't spell worth a crap today.

 

[TidePride50]

If they run a conventional 4-3, I'm sure they with be aligned in an eagle (under) front against our typical two TE look. It will look like a 5-2, but it will be a LB walked up over the strong side TE. The line slides weak, backers slide strong.

 

[alagator]

I think stacking 8 in the box is probably the conventional wisdom when playing a power running team like Alabama, but BAMA does throw it well enough to make that a risky proposition. Of course, what do you do? Take your chances with BAMA throwing or take your chances with BAMA running? Probably throwing, and I understand that and agree with it.

Having said that, BAMA causes opposing teams problems when they stack the box simply because of a guy named Julio Jones. Jones has had his way (especially when locked up on the edges in single coverage) with opposing defenses that put 8 in the box. He's got the sheer size, and has proven to have the athletic ability to get seperation from all of the DBs that have tried to cover him this season.

I can understand the philosophy of putting 8 in the box against a team like BAMA who runs a ton and has a QB that is considered a "manager of games" but again, we do have weapons that can make that a tricky proposition. Not to take away anything from Utah, but BAMA's done it all year long in the SEC against many of the best defenses in college football.

All that is sound theory, but the fact of the matter is we do NOT throw the ball well enough to make teams truly pay for overstuffing the box.

Yes, we occasionally - far too infrequently given the opportunities that should be present off play action, hit a big pass play, but outside Julio we have ZERO threats at the receiving position. None. And our 'managing' QB is VERY limited talent wise. For a team that runs the ball and faces filled boxes we are average at best at the play-action passing game. Look, we have a three-year starting QB who through less than 10 TD passes in 13 games. If we truly had threats on the edges and a QB who could take advantage of a secondary committed to the run game we would have seen much better numbers - both rushing and passing.

Look, our boys were what they were, I am not knocking their play or effort - only noting that we are severely limited offensively. We did wonders winning twelve games this year with 'eight win talent.' But let's not overvalue our offensive talent and ability.

 

[Guest]

I think stacking 8 in the box is probably the conventional wisdom when playing a power running team like Alabama, but BAMA does throw it well enough to make that a risky proposition. Of course, what do you do? Take your chances with BAMA throwing or take your chances with BAMA running? Probably throwing, and I understand that and agree with it.

Having said that, BAMA causes opposing teams problems when they stack the box simply because of a guy named Julio Jones. Jones has had his way (especially when locked up on the edges in single coverage) with opposing defenses that put 8 in the box. He's got the sheer size, and has proven to have the athletic ability to get seperation from all of the DBs that have tried to cover him this season.

I can understand the philosophy of putting 8 in the box against a team like BAMA who runs a ton and has a QB that is considered a "manager of games" but again, we do have weapons that can make that a tricky proposition. Not to take away anything from Utah, but BAMA's done it all year long in the SEC against many of the best defenses in college football.

All that is sound theory, but the fact of the matter is we do NOT throw the ball well enough to make teams truly pay for overstuffing the box.

Yes, we occasionally - far too infrequently given the opportunities that should be present off play action, hit a big pass play, but outside Julio we have ZERO threats at the receiving position. None. And our 'managing' QB is VERY limited talent wise. For a team that runs the ball and faces filled boxes we are average at best at the play-action passing game. Look, we have a three-year starting QB who through less than 10 TD passes in 13 games. If we truly had threats on the edges and a QB who could take advantage of a secondary committed to the run game we would have seen much better numbers - both rushing and passing.

Look, our boys were what they were, I am not knocking their play or effort - only noting that we are severely limited offensively. We did wonders winning twelve games this year with 'eight win talent.' But let's not overvalue our offensive talent and ability.

You are underestimating out passing game. JPW is more than capable of thowing for over 300 yards against an 8 man front. It would have been more difficult early in the season due to our young receiving corp, but they are not young anymore.

JPW threw for over 200 yards against UGA and LSU this season...and don't forget his 363 yard performance against Tennessee last year, and I would say our receiving corp is better now than it was then. With a couple of guys back healthy, and the emergence of Hanks and Smelley, we have plenty of weapons.

You just don't throw it a lot when you can run for over 200 yards.

 

[TerryP]

Changing the conversation ever so slightly...

That dig route with JP to Julio in the 1st quarter was probably in the top 5 of "All time JP throws."

On a rope.