Film Study - Manny Diaz 3rd Down Blitz Concepts

[CaliLION79]

DIAZ BLITZ FILM STUDY

See Link. Specifically asked Codutti to break down the popular 3rd down concept where he crammed 7 or 8 guys near the LOS and had a guy for a guy left for the opposing team's WRs, lined up like 8 or 10 yards off the ball. On TV it often looked like a pure Zero Blitz/Cover 0 look, but usually wasn't. Of all the new, aggressive things Diaz brought to the table last season, it feel like fans had a true love-hate relationship with this look....so we put it under the microscope. Personally, I love Diaz's aggressive nature, but where do you draw the line? Often felt this look was TOO MUCH...and that it would bully teams like Rutgers and Central Michigan but that good QBs and good coaches welcomed it because it was borderline reckless in situations like the 3rd and 10 vs OSU conversion to MHJ that essentially ended the game.

 

[tboyer]

DIAZ BLITZ FILM STUDY

See Link. Specifically asked Codutti to break down the popular 3rd down concept where he crammed 7 or 8 guys near the LOS and had a guy for a guy left for the opposing team's WRs, lined up like 8 or 10 yards off the ball. On TV it often looked like a pure Zero Blitz/Cover 0 look, but usually wasn't. Of all the new, aggressive things Diaz brought to the table last season, it feel like fans had a true love-hate relationship with this look....so we put it under the microscope. Personally, I love Diaz's aggressive nature, but where do you draw the line? Often felt this look was TOO MUCH...and that it would bully teams like Rutgers and Central Michigan but that good QBs and good coaches welcomed it because it was borderline reckless in situations like the 3rd and 10 vs OSU conversion to MHJ that essentially ended the game.

You make a good point -- ultra-aggressive defenses like Diaz's can make a team dominant against lesser teams but they often seem to make make things worse against really good teams. Ex-Michigan DC Dom Brown -- his defenses looked great against less talented teams, and always ranked high statistically, but in tough games they usually fell short.

On the other hand, against top teams I'm not sure your chances are all that better with a conservative D. Remember how the Paterno/Bradley D that was a very conservative zone secondary scheme (and very highly rated nationally) still got carved up in the Rose Bowl against USC. Great offenses are going to be effective no matter what the defensive scheme if the offensive talent is good enough. Iowa runs the closest thing to that Paterno/Bradley D and they can get embarrassed by teams (including PSU sometimes) if the team has more speed than the Iowa safeties and corners.

The other argument in favor of aggressive D is it helps recruiting and team morale. Players enjoy playing in aggressive schemes and that might help get you better players.

 

[Wallace Breen]

DIAZ BLITZ FILM STUDY

See Link. Specifically asked Codutti to break down the popular 3rd down concept where he crammed 7 or 8 guys near the LOS and had a guy for a guy left for the opposing team's WRs, lined up like 8 or 10 yards off the ball. On TV it often looked like a pure Zero Blitz/Cover 0 look, but usually wasn't. Of all the new, aggressive things Diaz brought to the table last season, it feel like fans had a true love-hate relationship with this look....so we put it under the microscope. Personally, I love Diaz's aggressive nature, but where do you draw the line? Often felt this look was TOO MUCH...and that it would bully teams like Rutgers and Central Michigan but that good QBs and good coaches welcomed it because it was borderline reckless in situations like the 3rd and 10 vs OSU conversion to MHJ that essentially ended the game.

I like Diaz a lot, however, he does have to blinders when it comes to scheme. Opponents, especially those with good QBs and backs that can block and break tackles have had a lot of success against him over the years. His approach is known to lead to lots of blown assignments against man and gap blocking schemes that use a lot of pulling for two reasons, and we saw them on full display against Michigan. You can also find lots of examples from his time at Miami and Texas as well. First, the pulling creates a constant situation where the gaps are reset. Again, this is a feature of the defense. It can't be solved. Second, all the pulling prevents undersized linemen from playing with the leverage they need against bigger stronger linemen. They can't do it because they are always having to change direction due to the pulling. The teams that we are most vulnerable to due to these well known limitations are Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State.

Luckily, the approach isn't nearly as risky against pure zone blocking teams like Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana and Maryland. It should hold up well to USC in the coming years. UCLA, not so much. Iowa is an interesting case study, they primarily use zone blocking for the pass but use a combination of zone and man on running plays.