Linebacker Play is Key to Defensive Improvements

One of the most exciting parts of what we have seen in BYU football over the past few weeks has been the improvement in linebacker play. I spent a little time going back through some games on the DVR looking at crucial moments and the way the linebackers have increased their profile lately. I think this improvement was very evident in the Wyoming game where linebackers led the team in tackles and made critical plays when the defense needed them the most. As I was watching replays, I was focusing on the linebackers and probably missed some really good plays by the defensive secondary and defensive line. By talking about the linebackers I am not saying that there has not been some great plays made at other parts of the defense. I have just been interested by the way the linebacker corps has developed, given how much uncertainty has surrounded that position.

In the opening defensive series of the season the linebackers looked pretty good. Pendleton was on the field and they did a decent job of containing Jake Locker. They did see some trouble taking on lead blockers and the pass coverage was not fantastic. The first defensive series resulted in a Washington touchdown when Pendleton got beat in man coverage and gave up a 20 yard pass for 6. Even with that, Pendleton and the rest of the crew looked pretty good against Washington. They played a decent game. The defense has missed Pendleton since his injury.

The Air Force game was where things came apart. Air Force’s offense presents a special set of problems and BYU fielded some linebackers with little game experience. The thing that killed linebacker play against Air Force was a lack of assignment play. Instead of staying with their assignment, the linebackers (and most of the defense) would follow the original flow of the play. You can’t do that against the option. The instinct to follow flow is why the option works at the college level. Missed tackles also really hurt the defense in that loss.

Things seemed to get worse after that. The defense saw similar problems against Florida State, Nevada and Utah State. Missed tackles and blown assignments became a recurring problem. One thing I noticed watching the first few games of the year is that the linebackers appear to be moving slower earlier in the year. Even against Washington where they put in a pretty good performance they did not appear as fast and athletic as they played against Wyoming. This may be due to continued conditioning as the season has progressed. It may be a result of Bronco running the D. For example, Shane Hunter had some trouble running down Washington ball carriers on the edges. Against Wyoming he was covering wide receivers thirty yards downfield. Regardless of the difference in athletes at UW versus Wyoming, he looked faster and more agile last week.

The TCU game is a little bit different. Overall, I think the defense did okay. There were some obvious differences in attitude and physicality. I’ll just leave the TCU game at that.

Last weekend against Wyoming they linebackers really seemed to take charge of the defense. Brandon Ogletree was named MWC Defensive Player of the Week. This shows a big step forward for a part of the defense that has suffered an identity crisis this season. In the Wyoming game, I felt that there were two drives that really illustrate the improvements at linebacker. One of those drives came in the first half after Quezada’s very untimely fumble. On the series before that, the Wyoming defense had returned an interception for a TD. Within seconds on the game clock they had the ball back again off of another turnover. They were really threatening to take the momentum. On Wyoming’s first play they were called for an illegal shift. On the second play of that drive, Shane Hunter made a tackle in the backfield for no gain. On the third play of the drive Wyoming tried to sweep a receiver from the short side of the field. The ball carrier had blockers pulling from the O line, blockers from the backfield and receivers from the wide side of the field. Frazier stayed in position, ate up the blocking receiver and forced the ball carrier to stay inside. The ball carrier slipped trying to avoid Shane Hunter. Had Hunter not been there to make the play or had slipped, Ogletree was also in position to stuff the play for no gain. When watching the play I was impressed with the way the linebackers seemed to be sniffing out the play, trying to stay home and not overpursue. Frazier was clearly forcing the runner into Hunter’s open arms instead of trying to make the play himself.  Frazier, Hunter and Ogletree stayed in position and made the play as a unit. This is how a linebacker unit should function. In games like Air Force, this type of linebacker unit play was just not there. On this particular drive Wyoming had to settle for a long field goal.

On the final drive of the game the linebacker corps really stepped up their game. Wyoming had every chance in the world to take the win away from Provo. On the second play of that final drive, Carta-Samuels was forced to scramble when linebackers had covered all of his checkdown options short range. I can only assume (no good replay angle to look at the secondary) that this means he had nothing down field either. He ran for a short gain and Ogletree was called for a lame late hit penalty. The good news is that Ogletree chased ACS down and prevented him from breaking a big play. After an incomplete pass, ACS was forced to scramble again two plays later. Again Ogletree was in position to force ACS out of bounds, but he pulled up at the last minute (doesn’t want to draw the penalty) and ACS made a pretty good gain out of a broken play. Not to be outdone for long, Ogletree got those yards back on the next play when he made a tackle in the backfield. Then Van Noy tackled Wyoming RB Herron after a short pass near the line of scrimmage. Wyoming got new life when they converted on 4th down by completing a pass to a man in one on one coverage against Ogletree. All the same, I loved that Ogletree was all over the field at this point. A few plays later, I saw some improved speed and athleticism that really caught my eye. Shane Hunter broke up a pass thirty yards down field. He was covering a wide receiver inside the five yard line. Don’t get me wrong, Shane Hunter is a talented athlete and has been all year. But I don’t think he would have made that play in early September. He was really hauling. It was a beautiful play and was arguably the game saver. On the game’s final play, Van Noy batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage and the ball was turned over on downs. It looked like a fumble and fumble recovery by Ogletree but the official stats tell a different story.

In big moments the linebackers made big plays. Their names were repeatedly called for tackles and they also covered receivers well. They looked faster and sharper in Wyoming than they had all year.They repeatedly chased down Carta-Samuels and prevented him from running his way out of broken plays. Jadon Wagner got in on the action with a sack early in the 4th quarter. While Ogletree was awarded the Defensive Player of the Week, the whole linebacker corps played very well. By playing as a unit different players were available to make the big play when it came their way. It was a great example of team defense.

This type of play at linebacker allows the other parts of the defense to do things they weren’t able to do earlier in the season. Andrew Rich has more room to roam and it opens up opportunities for the defensive line. The entire defensive unit gets more chances to make plays when linebackers are playing well. I see that they still have a way to go, but the difference between the Air Force game and the Wyoming game were really incredible. I credit Bronco Mendenhall for working these guys hard and putting them in better positions to make plays. I also credit these players for stepping up when their team needed them and getting the job done when it mattered the most. I am also impressed with the amount of trust they have developed for each other in the last few weeks. With this kind of play from the linebackers and defense, the rest of BYU’s season looks brighter.

Go Cougs!

-Matt

(A couple of disclaimers: I see similar but less dramatic improvement all over the defense. I have liked the defensive secondary all year and the defensive line has overcome some real challenges from injury. It was also fun to see some flashes of great talent from Jake Heaps as I skimmed the games on my DVR. Hopefully he is able to develop and build off of that.)