The Matchups Part I Iowa's Defense Vs Georgia Tech's Offense

The Matchups Part I: Iowa’s Defense Vs. Georgia Tech’s Offense


Tuesday Iowa will face Georgia Tech’s version of the Shell Game operated by Josh Nesbitt and bankrolled by Paul Johnson. Angerer, Clayborn, and company have been schooled by Norm Parker how to defeat the sleight of hand. Punch the dealer in the face and run off with his money. This will be the side of the ball where this game will be won. Georgia Tech is so bad at tackling that they couldn’t even tackle Dwyer on an end zone celebration in the ACC Championship Game . Both teams are going to score. The Key for Iowa is to limit Tech to field goals and hope that Tech is rusty and turns the ball over.

Before I get started here are a couple of links that I think are excellent resources to understanding their offense and include youtube videos:

http://thebirddog.wordpress.com/2008/11/09/offense-offensive/

http://smartfootball.com/option/whats-wrong-with-georgia-techs-run-game-is-anything

Regarding the second link, I think that Nesbitt has Johnson’s trust now and is in total command of the offense now. He was making very good decisions at the end of the season. He looked to be in control versus Georgia and Clemson at the end of the season.

Tech runs a “spread” option out of a flexbone formation. The spread element doesn’t refer to the formation but rather to the gap between the lineman. Each lineman is at least a yard apart and possibly two. The heart and soul of this attack is the triple option, although they have several very effective running plays that are not option based. Tech is not a passing team but they are very efficient when they do pass. They lull teams to sleep by not passing for a series or two and then boom 70 yard TD to Demaryius Thomas. The trigger man for the attack is Josh Nesbitt. The most dangerous runner is Jonathan Dwyer the Bback who lines up at traditional Fullback depth.

The Yellow Jackets’ run only 4 formations but they mainly run the basic Flexbone. This formation consists of the 5 lineman with the aforementioned gaps, the QB undercenter, the Bback lined up 4 yards behind the QB, two Abacks just outside the tackles, and two Wide Outs split. Each play begins with one of the Abacks going into motion behind the Bback.

The plays they run out of this formation are the triple option to the playside (towards the motion of the Aback), a pitch to the motion of the Aback, and a devastating QB lead play where Nesbitt fakes to Dwyer, and reads his blocks by Dwyer, the line and both Abacks. This may be their most effective play. They feature two other types of options, a counter option (counter to the Aback motion) which is still triple and a speed option with the Bback. They have counters to every one of their plays. They feature multiple blocking schemes for every running play. Every play may look the same but they may block it differently even if they run it two times in a row.

When they pass out of this formation they generally are looking to strike deep down field. The most common play is both Wrs streaking with the Aback not in motion going down the seam. They also usually run one “smoke” play to Bey Bey Thomas per game. By this I mean a one step throw directly to him allowing him to try to break a tackle and make a big gain. I have seen them try to run a few screens to both Dwyer and to Abacks but none successfully.

The other formations they feature are a Flexbone Twins with the slot covered; a Flexbone with the slot uncovered and the Aback on the line of scrimmage, and a 3 wide set with the Aback to the same side as the slot receiver. The first two formations feature the same types of plays. The third formation (the 3 wide formation) would tend to be their passing formation. They also use it for their two minute offense. They feature a more varied passing offense out of this formation and still can run the triple option out of it. They also feature a very effective draw play off of a roll out passing motion. I saw Dwyer break off several big gains on that specific play.

Tech’s Offensive Line is very athletic. They are very scheme sound. They understand who they are supposed to block. They are outstanding at cutblocking. They struggle with pass blocking. They sell playaction as a unit very well. One player seems to sub in for another without the offense seeming to miss a beat.

The Matchups:

94 RE Adrian Clayborn and 91 LE Broderick Binns VS. Ts 60 Brad Sellers 6 2 257 SR, 61 Phil Smith 6 6 285 R.FR, 75 Nick Claytor 6 6 284 SO: It is my understanding that Smith broke his leg during the Acc championship game and will not be available during the bowl game. He is listed on their two deeps so I will include my report of him just in case. Smith is very athletic. He got to a corner on a smoke pass to Thomas. He can be dominated at the point of attack by physical ends. Does a nice job at the second level sealing defenders. Very good at cutting at LOS. Sellers played LT after Smith’s injury. More likely to cut than any other lineman. Undersized. Very athletic, very nice block on a draw vs. Duke, really quick for a tackle. May have been a tight end. Really excels at 2nd level. I didn’see much of Claytor. Offense didn’t seem to miss a beat when he came in vs. Clemson. Scored on every possession. He has a very big frame to grow into and very long arms. May be a better fit to match up with Binns than Sellers. Clayborn and Binns have played spectacular for Iowa. I am not sure how Parker will deploy them. Most teams had they D-ends play with a two point stance. Miami didn’t and they were the most effective versus the Jackets. If the ends are to attack I imagine they will line up in a 3 point stance. If they are playing read and contain responsibilities I figure they will be standing up.

Spud’s Spin: Edge Iowa- Iowa gets the nod here on pure athleticism. Tech’s unique system and discipline in blocking it somewhat nullify this advantage but Binns and especially Clayborn are superior athletes to the guys they will be facing. Tech struggled with Miami, Va Tech, and North Carolina at times when facing similarly skilled Defensive lines. This could be the key matchup for Iowa slowing down Tech’s offense.

DTs 46 Christian Ballard, 95 Karl Klug, and 93 Mike Daniels Vs. 71 LG Cord Howard 6 5 308 SR, 79 C Sean Bedford 6 1 274 JR, 70 RG Joseph Gilbert 6 4 280 SO: Howard is the best lineman on Tech’s team and may be a Sunday player. He is very good in space, he always finds someone to hit, very physical- nasty, very good on the pull. Probably the best one on one pass blocker. Slowest of the lineman by far. Bedford is really undersized and can be pushed back by a physical DT. I saw him dominated by several different players. Doesn’t explode off the ball. At his best doubling and then hitting the 2nd level. Pretty good athlete. Gilbert might have the brightest future of all of the lineman. Really gets off the LOS well. Excellent at initial double team and finding a 2nd target. Very good athlete. Great at 2nd level. Excellent cut blocker. Kind of penalty prone. Not a great pass blocker yet. Could grow into a tackle. Ballard really started coming into his own towards the end of the season. I literally had something positive written about him on every play against Minnesota. Klug quietly had a solid season and is very technically sound. Mike Daniels played very well in limited appearances and is suited very well to play against this kind of attack. Ballard needs to be very disruptive and control the line of scrimmage. If Iowa lines up one of these players over the Center they need to take away the Dive play on the Triple option by themselves. These guys need to occupy three lineman and keep Angerer clean.

Spud’s Spin: Edge Iowa- Again Iowa has the athletic advantage. Ballard and Klug need to be disruptive and make plays for Iowa to be successful against this attack. The one thing that every team has had in common that has experienced success versus this attack has been superior defensive line play. I think that Klug and Ballard can supply it.

CBs 19 Amari Spievey, 28 Shaun Prater, 10 Willie Lowe, and 18 Micah Hyde Vs 8 Demaryius (Bey Bey) Thomas 6 3 229 JR, 84 Tyler Melton 6 0 206 So, and 5 Stephen Hill 6 4 196 FR: Thomas is pretty much the only guy they throw to. He is huge. He seems to be bigger than they are listing him. He has great body control, he is incredibly physical, great after the catch, very patient- looking to break tackles not outrun defender, very good blocker can take on Des and LBs on the Crack Back. I don’t know if he is a good route runner or he is just open all of the time because of the scheme. Melton is a good route runner, he has a nice jab step creating separation on dig and out/ in patterns. He is a very good blocker. He doesn’t get the ball often. Hill looks like a star in waiting. I imagine he will be the go to guy next season after Thomas goes to the draft. He has very good speed, very good body control and is a great leaper. Very athletic. He isn’t afraid to block either. Spievey is good to go for this scheme. He is physical enough to defend the run and excels at it. Prater trying to stop the option or tackle Thomas one on one on a smoke route makes me a little nervous. I don’t think that Iowa will line up Spievey on Thomas all day, I think that it will be business as usual with Spievey on the Left corner and Prater on the right. I don’t expect a lot of Nickel or Dime out of Iowa verus this team so I don’t expect a lot of Lowe or Hyde. There are rumors that Prater is hurt so Lowe may start in his place. I thought he was playing well at the end of the season.

Spud’s Spin: Advantage Tech- The idea of Prater having to tackle Thomas just makes me too nervous. It has been since Michigan State last season that a WR has run loose against this secondary but Demaryius Thomas has 11 TDs this season of 70 yards. Seriously. Not in a career, this season. This is such a strange offense to defend it would seem impossible to lose track of a mammoth receiver like him but he sneaks past secondaries all of the time and runs free in almost every game. If Iowa doesn’t assign Spievey to him I think this is a very big advantage for Tech. This is no knock on Prater, just an acknowledgement of how good this kid is. He is a difference maker on an NFL team.

49 Leo A.J. Edds and 42 WLB Jeremiha Hunter Vs. Abacks 18 Anthony Allen 6 0 231 JR, 20 Roddy Jones 5 9 195 So, 24 Embry Peeples 5 10 172 SO, and 3 Marcus Wright 5 8 173 SO: Allen is the best player of the Abacks. He may be the next Bback if Dwyer leaves for the Draft after this season. He is a very patient runner. He has good speed. He reads his blocks well, has good feet, and is a very good cut blocker. Jones, Peeples and Wright are basically the same player- shifty and very fast. They all are very good after the pitch and do a nice job cutting leading the way on the option. Peeples and Wright are slightly fumble prone or at least have some issues sometimes with handling the pitch. Jones is very smooth in the option game. Peeples is a pretty good receiver. He is sometimes motioned out to the slot. Edds and Hunter will be busy. They should be the players most often accountable for the pitchman and will have to shed the playside Aback. They are much bigger than most of the Abacks and should be able to handle them physically. They need to be able to keep their feet and avoid being cut. Hunter could have a very big day as they seem to favor running the option to the short side of the field. This could be a very nice showcase for Edds as he doesn’t often get to play this close to the line of scrimmage.

Spud’s Spin: Advantage Iowa- Hunter and Edds are bigger and just as athletic as these Abacks. While most people in the South can’t possibly believe that, Iowa fans have watched Edds run with receivers for 4 seasons and Hunter is the best pure run defending Linebacker since Hodge. Hunter must be salivating at facing a scheme like this. He will be able to attack downhill and flow to the ball. He is probably the best LB at sifting through traffic. Edds is the best Athlete Iowa has had at LB since Greenway and may be as good. He certainly will be Iowa’s highest Senior draft pick in next year’s draft.

43 MLB Pat Angerer Vs. 21 Bback Jonathan Dwyer 6 0 235 JR: Dwyer will be the most gifted runner Iowa has faced this season. He is better than Clay and compares most closely to Shonn Greene although I think he is faster than Greene. I can’t say enough good things about this guy. Great vision, initial burst, pad level, and ball security. He has a very good 2nd gear and is very patient and reads his blocks well. He runs through tackles. He is a willing blocker, and finds the right guy to block almost every time. He has pretty good hands. Angerer has been incredible for Iowa this season. He has been much better against the run than I expected. He has done a nice job of getting through traffic and finding the ball carrier. I figure he will be assigned the Dive guy so he will be responsible for Dwyer all day. This should be a delight to watch.

Spud’s Spin: Advantage Tech- As good as Angerer has been all season this guy is too good to contain all day. He also has help from Nesbitt and can be lined up in the Aback slot. They are creative in getting him the ball. He does more than just run a FB dive. I don’t think he will get loose on that type of play but he may on a counter or a speed option.

9 SS Tyler Sash and 30 FS Brett Greenwood Vs. 9 QB Josh Nesbitt 6 1 214 JR: Nesbitt is a very good fit for this offense. He is a very gritty player and seems to be a very respected player. He seems to have total command of the offense and is very good in the option game. He is a very shifty runner, he reads blocks well, is a great decision maker in the option game, very good with the ball handling in the option game. He has great feet. He isn’t really fast but he is quick. He doesn’t have great arm strength. He isn’t really accurate. When he is throwing to a receiver the receiver is usually wide open. He throws a pretty good deep ball- gives the receiver a chance to make a play. He makes solid decisions in the passing game. Sash and Greenwood have played well all season for Iowa. Sash played at possibly All American level and has already drawn the notice of NFL evaluators. I think they read the run/pass keys as well as any safeties in the nation and close on the ball well. The key for them in this game is to tackle soundly. They must not let anyone get behind them and if they get their hands on a ball they must catch it. Any chance Iowa has to force a turnover must be taken.

Spud’s Spin: Advantage Tech- Nesbitt is a star in this offense. I am not sure he is a good enough passer to be a starter in another type of offense. He is a gritty and tough player. He is a very solid decision maker. He rarely makes mistakes. If he does in this game than I have this area wrong. Sash and Greenwood have done a very good job all season of playing the pass first and then supporting the run. They are fast enough to hesitate and make sure they aren’t going to be burned by playaction. They must not let Thomas get behind them. If they get a chance to put a killshot on Nesbitt or Dwyer they need to punish them. They are capable of playing physical and they must play that way for Iowa to be successful in this game.

I am not going to do a prediction in this paragraph as this is the first part of two. Iowa can stop this offense but it will be difficult to constantly stop it all day. Tech will score some points. What Iowa needs to do is play typical Iowa football. Let them move the ball and stiffen up in the red zone- no TDS. If they are successful and can force a turnover or two than they should be in good position to win the game.