Friday, November 25, 2016

Cal Defense vs. OSU 2016


Once again, Cal's 2016 defense is historically bad and people want answers. I don't have them (if I did I'd be collecting half a million a year and saving Sonny's job), but there are a few things that can be added to the discussion that might be helpful for thinking about what we're watching week-in and week-out.

The biggest questions that people have are based around coverage. There seems to be a solid consensus that goes something like this: Art Kaufman is worried that our DB's will get burned if we play aggressive coverage schemes, and so we play off-coverage and don't put enough guys in the box, which also limits us in the pass rush. As a result, not only do we get killed in the run game, but we give up a ton of passing yards with a “Bend But Don't Break” coverage strategy. If we're going to get killed in the passing game as it is, why not play more aggressively with the DB's, load up the box, and get after the RB/QB?