Secondary Breakdowns: Why?

[SomeBeach]

Could those with more football smarts than I (most of y'all) help me understand what happens on those plays where opposing receivers are simply wide open? There was at least one against UNI (fortunately their receiver fell, but the drive still produced a TD) and at least two today against IndyState. Are these mental errors by our defense? Did someone just get toasted? These big plays are gonna really hurt us someday.

[westnodak93bison]

Yeah, some of them leave a novice spectator like myself scratching my head wondering the same thing. Hopefully we can clean up some of the mistakes.

[Wally]

Once is a mistake, Twice is a problem, 3rd time is a trend.......We have a problem and moving towards a trend. If it wasn't for the turf monster against UNI and the underthrow yesterday, those are easy TDs. I will assume it is a player making a mistake and not scheme. Everyone makes mistakes, but these mistakes stick out like a turd in punchbowl.

[WRSDBison]

Once is a mistake, Twice is a problem, 3rd time is a trend.......We have a problem and moving towards a trend. If it wasn't for the turf monster against UNI and the underthrow yesterday, those are easy TDs. I will assume it is a player making a mistake and not scheme. Everyone makes mistakes, but these mistakes stick out like a turd in punchbowl.

Yes, we do have a tendency to give up big plays early in games. But we have always found a way to adjust, which I can live with. Adjustments are BIG in this sport

[OrygunBison]

Not a superior football mind here but I wonder if some this IS scheme related as we had a running QB last week and a RB this week that we said we were not going to let beat us. When you focus on one guy, something has to give somewhere else, right?

[THEsocalledfan]

On the long pass breakdown, wonder if a safety was supposed to have the deep area came up? I'd need to rewatch.

On the TD throw, that appeared to me to be zone coverage where someone was probablya LB not deep enough. With that said, watching the replay, that was a pretty darn good throw as he had to put it over the LB and he did not have much room for error.

[bisontwice]

I wouldn't exactly call it a trend. We have around 10 DB's and 5-6 Lb's rolling thru. If 1 player blows an assignment or has a bad read due to a good fake that is all it takes to have an open receiver. It doesn't appear to be one player or he wouldn't be out there. The other team practices as well and their job is to give you a different look or scheme to put you in a bad situation. When our offense does it that is a good play.

[HerdBot]

Its not 1 player. It's bad communication between the corners and safeties usually in zone coverage. Typically when a receiver is wide open, the corner lets him go past him assuming the safety is going to cover him. TE is wide open the linebacker let him go and was expecting the safely to cover him. Its clearly miscommunications. All mental mistakes easily fixed

[EndZoneQB]

Without getting the whole view of the field, it looks like the safeties are biting on underneath routes(maybe looking for the picks?) and letting guys sneak across the field behind them. It's definitely on film now.

[THEsocalledfan]

Its not 1 player. It's bad communication between the corners and safeties usually in zone coverage. Typically when a receiver is wide open, the corner lets him go past him assuming the safety is going to cover him. TE is wide open the linebacker let him go and was expecting the safely to cover him. Its clearly miscommunications. All mental mistakes easily fixed

No offense, Gabe, but it should have been fixed long ago.

[stevdock]

I would have to watch yesterday's again, but I would tend to think the mistakes are probably being made by a DB trying to jump a play and not doing their assignment. That's exactly what happened last week. They had trips left and Littlejohn had the inside receiver, except he blitzed so then Pike has got to have that receiver. Pike took two steps in and that's all it took.

On the deep pass yesterday, the biggest problem actually was the D-line letting him get out of the pocket. If we keep him in, I don't think he has a chance to see that receiver. I remember thinking there were either two or three guys on the receiver at about 15 yards on the sideline, when I'm guessing the safety should have had that guy deep.

[Twentysix]

Could those with more football smarts than I (most of y'all) help me understand what happens on those plays where opposing receivers are simply wide open? There was at least one against UNI (fortunately their receiver fell, but the drive still produced a TD) and at least two today against IndyState. Are these mental errors by our defense? Did someone just get toasted? These big plays are gonna really hurt us someday.

Atleast 2 series every game we play complete shit pass protection.

[walknroehl]

I think part of the issue is we've had a rotating crew of safeties due to being knicked up at various times this season. These started happening when Eaves came off injury and was reinserted. Don't get me wrong our safeties and dbs are all awesome but the communications might not quite be there.

[Wally]

Yes, we do have a tendency to give up big plays early in games. But we have always found a way to adjust, which I can live with. Adjustments are BIG in this sport

I agree we have made appropriate adjustments in-game to solve any problems that are happening. It is just alarming to see that 2 weeks in a row.

[ndsubison1]

Could those with more football smarts than I (most of y'all) help me understand what happens on those plays where opposing receivers are simply wide open? There was at least one against UNI (fortunately their receiver fell, but the drive still produced a TD) and at least two today against IndyState. Are these mental errors by our defense? Did someone just get toasted? These big plays are gonna really hurt us someday.

mix of missed assignments/bad reads