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Film Study - Manny Diaz & The Art of The Turnover

CaliLION79

Well-Known Member
Sep 27, 2020
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DIAZ TURNOVER FILM STUDY

Link Above. Sort of a hybrid of the first 2 Diaz Film Studies that really hammers home how his complex pass rush packages and ability to disguise coverages leads to takeaways -- a hallmark of Diaz's defenses when he's been solely a DC and not had to deal with head coach responsibilities. Video also illustrates the big philosophical difference between Pry and Diaz...Pry's defenses were designed to increase the chances that the offense would screw up by taking away big plays and making drives last 10, 12, 15 plays. Diaz's defenses are more proactive...designed to CAUSE the offense to screw up. The down side is that aggressiveness leaves Diaz's defenses vulnerable to giving up big plays. So it's definitely a give and take.

Can't quite pinpoint which philosophy would be better suited to this 2022 defense since it's so young.
 
The two biggest tells will come in week one at Purdue. Will a bona fide three technique emerge providing the interior pass rush that has been missing since Kevin Givens left the program? If one doesn't emerge, we are not going to get consistent pressure against most teams and they will know it early. The second tell will be what Diaz does to counter. Nothing else else really matters in year one because he is going to have to blitz to generate pressure and we have new linebackers and a new safety.
 
That's great but I hope he saves something up his sleeve for Ohio State and Michigan because their oline will be allowed egregious holds. If you don't land on blitzes, you can get burnt.
 
Really good point, Wallace. Beamon will need to consistently show the brief flashes he showed in 2020 and Zurant and JVDB will have to grow up quickly.
 
Really good point, Wallace. Beamon will need to consistently show the brief flashes he showed in 2020 and Zurant and JVDB will have to grow up quickly.
Given the offenses we play (other than Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin), if we can't get pressure up the middle, the ball is almost always gone before the ends can get there unless they beat their man like a drum off the snap. When they can't, our corners have to hold up in the middle and deep third and linebackers and safeties (3 new starters) have to hold up the short third, and when it comes to Joey Porter Jr., that tends to mean penalties. The free safety also ends up having to cover too much ground.
 
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The down side is that aggressiveness leaves Diaz's defenses vulnerable to giving up big plays.
It will be interesting to see if Franklin lets Diaz implement with such a risk because he puts so much emphasis on winning the explosive play battle because that's what the number crunching has said is one of the critical factors in who wins a game.
 
It will be interesting to see if Franklin lets Diaz implement with such a risk because he puts so much emphasis on winning the explosive play battle because that's what the number crunching has said is one of the critical factors in who wins a game.
I am highly suspect of the accuracy of the explosive play battle as being critical factor. In the SEC? Maybe. Big Ten football is different.
 
DIAZ TURNOVER FILM STUDY

Link Above. Sort of a hybrid of the first 2 Diaz Film Studies that really hammers home how his complex pass rush packages and ability to disguise coverages leads to takeaways -- a hallmark of Diaz's defenses when he's been solely a DC and not had to deal with head coach responsibilities. Video also illustrates the big philosophical difference between Pry and Diaz...Pry's defenses were designed to increase the chances that the offense would screw up by taking away big plays and making drives last 10, 12, 15 plays. Diaz's defenses are more proactive...designed to CAUSE the offense to screw up. The down side is that aggressiveness leaves Diaz's defenses vulnerable to giving up big plays. So it's definitely a give and take.

Can't quite pinpoint which philosophy would be better suited to this 2022 defense since it's so young.
Well I for one certainly won't miss Pry's insistence on calling poorly disguised blitzes on 3rd and long which almost always led to first downs or worse.
 
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