STrib: Gophers showing the intensity Claeys wants; talks standouts on O and D

per Joe:

The day’s first big highlight came when running back Rodney Smith broke free for a 70-yard touchdown. The redshirt sophomore from Georgia later said it was his longest run — practice or game — since arriving at Minnesota.

“It’s something that I’ve been waiting to do since I’ve gotten here,” he said. “I congratulated the line. They did a good job.”

Smith later fumbled twice and tweaked an injury but continued scrimmaging, limping between plays. He missed time last season with a sprained ankle.

“It’s not my ankle anymore,” Smith said. “I have a hip pointer and a little bit of a groin deal. I just got an MRI yesterday, and I’m working to get healthy. But as long as I can walk, I feel like I can practice. That’s just some of the things Coach Claeys is preaching about.”

Shannon Brooks and redshirt freshman James Johannesson rushed for long gains in the scrimmage, too.

Asked about spring standouts, Claeys said: “On offense, it’s mainly the wide receivers. Hunter Register has done a tremendous job, putting himself in position to play. Rashad [Still] is a lot better than what he was last fall.”

On defense, Claeys and defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel have been in the lab, experimenting. They still plan to rely on their 4-3 base defense, Claeys said, but they’re trying some four-linebacker packages on third down.

“Here’s the challenge: We’re going to get as fast as we can — and not give up a big play with the running game,” Claeys said.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-showing-the-intensity-claeys-wants/373645351/

Go Gophers!!

“Here’s the challenge: We’re going to get as fast as we can — and not give up a big play with the running game,” Claeys said.

The defense did seem very fast at practice yesterday. Could not get anything outside of them even on multiple tries. They were flying everywhere and we commented on their speed multiple times.

The D did give up several big runs though, not just Brooks long TD. It's hard to tell in practice if its because our OL blocked that well or if the D made a mistake. I'll just pretend our OL is playing that well.

I like that we will be more aggressive with trying new things with this coaching staff. That much seems clear. I do expect some growing pains and some big plays against as part of that process. We have all wanted them to gamble more than they did under Kill, but need to be ready for the downsides of that too.

I'd love to see a 3-4, personally. With the LB crew shaping up to be fairly impressive going forward and the tackle position relatively thin going forward it could give us more flexibility to account for injuries.

“It’s something that I’ve been waiting to do since I’ve gotten here,” he said. “I congratulated the line. They did a good job.”

The focus on Rodney Smith's 70 yard TD, and he gives the credit to the offensive line. This begs the question, who were those guys?

On offense or defense? Classic glass half full or half empty.

husker70 said:

“It’s something that I’ve been waiting to do since I’ve gotten here,” he said. “I congratulated the line. They did a good job.”

The focus on Rodney Smith's 70 yard TD, and he gives the credit to the offensive line. This begs the question, who were those guys?

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I just did a little checking and it was the first group. Pirsig, Calhoun, Moore, Mayes, Fanning (I think)

Pompous Elitist said:

I'd love to see a 3-4, personally.

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Me too actually. A) one less DT we have to recruit each year, which we stink at, and B) something new for teams to have to prepare for.

Also, and maybe this is just me, but I'd think you'd be able to disguise your blitzes better against what most college QBs might be capable of reading. If we always make them guess whether Huff is coming off one edge, or Caughlin off the other, or both, that might confuse lesser QBs.

I think the Gophers have the LBs to play a 3-4 defense in the future. Kamal Martin and Coughlin as OLBs and Jaylen Waters and Barber as the ILBs.

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Pompous Elitist said:

I'd love to see a 3-4, personally. With the LB crew shaping up to be fairly impressive going forward and the tackle position relatively thin going forward it could give us more flexibility to account for injuries.

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Not sure we have a DT that can truly play a 0 technique well- teams that run 3-4 defenses need a big strong horse that can't be moved and occupies 2 linemen.

DT is hard to recruit but so are 3-4 DE's that can anchor the run D as well. The 3-4 lets you be more multiple in your coverages and pressures but DL are tough to recruit in general.

We need to sign some free agents in the off season.

Oregon Gopher said:

Not sure we have a DT that can truly play a 0 technique well- teams that run 3-4 defenses need a big strong horse that can't be moved and occupies 2 linemen.

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If I recall, correct me if I'm wrong, but last season they started playing a lot of 3-3-5 personnel out of I think a typical 4-3 over. They just subbed in Huff or Campbell at the weak side. I don't expect we'll see a true 3-4 total overhaul but who knows.

Merrick Jackson might fit that bill for the nose in a true 3-4 two-gap, and Elmore, Stelter have the size and mobility to play DE. Richardson plays bigger than he is and could possibly be a 2-gapper.

I just think a total overhaul to a true 3-4 might be a bit much at this time. If the LBs pan out like we want and we can' get good 4-3 tackles maybe down the road. Then again, Claeys is known for bold moves.

Reading that Press article about the "new" defense in that other thread there is mention of Claeys having discussions with Wade Phillips. Phillips is known for the one-gap 3-4 which allows for different types of attacks. Just the talk of all this is pretty exciting as Sawvel and Claeys are really searching for the best scheme for what they have.

Straight from the horse's mouth on what we "might" see:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iupBixjjyZY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

bottlebass said:

“Here’s the challenge: We’re going to get as fast as we can — and not give up a big play with the running game,” Claeys said.

The defense did seem very fast at practice yesterday. Could not get anything outside of them even on multiple tries. They were flying everywhere and we commented on their speed multiple times.

The D did give up several big runs though, not just Brooks long TD. It's hard to tell in practice if its because our OL blocked that well or if the D made a mistake. I'll just pretend our OL is playing that well.

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Speed is great, but it's not enough. If you don't close out the play, speed only becomes something that reduces the risk of a big play. That's all it does.

I still think our D-line doesn't do it's job up front. I've always thought Claeys' scheme puts too much pressure on the DTs because the ends line up so wide.