DJ Durkin's Defensive Scheme Part 1
This is my first diary, I am sorry if the up to par. I'll attempt to get better with each one I make explaining things in better detail, or simplifying things if need be. Or futhering explinations on others.
Since JH was hired, I have spent time watching Florida game film seeing what type of defense Durkin might run. While everything you've read on him online says he runs a 4-3 scheme, from the tape I've watched I've come to the conclusion this is a 3-4 Under scheme almost akin to what the 49ers ran. I heavily broke down Florida's games against Alabama, Missouri, Florida State, and East Carolina to see how they've handled the four main offensive systems in football. A smash mouth run game, a spread passing attack, a pro style route tree, and a no huddle offense. I'll start this by showing his tape against Alabama.
What I've noticed is he doesn't deviate from 4 basic coverages. Quarters, Cover 3 Press, Cover 1, and his favorite blitz is the Fire Blitz from the QB's blind side. He hardly ever runs Man Under, Tampa 2, or Cover 0. He values speed and isn't against running a 3-4 with 3-3-5 personnel. After the first touchdown by Alabama, I found him running 3-3-5 personnel, on around 75% of the snaps, occasionally using a 4-2-5. While they'll never call it that, I expect the 3-3-5 to be Michigan's most used personnel grouping in 2015. I hope that doesn't scare anyone because this was one of the most fundementally sound defenses I've seen. I seen few blitzes out of him, he sent 3 on more snaps than he sent 5 on. He makes that up by changing which 4 he sends and by rotating out his players a lot. It's not
On Alabama's first snap of the game they broke with 11 personnel, which is 3 WR's, 1 TE, and 1 RB. They created a twist by showing a Empty look, and then motioned the TE to the opposite side and the Mike followed him in man coverge and was out of place immediately post snap. They were in a Cover 1 with the Sam & RCB playing Press, and the LCB and FS playing off. Alabama runs a screen to the right with the TE and RB with the opposite side doing what the defense presumes to be a Shallow Cross. The Mike who was assigned to spy Sims dropping back to take away the first read, and the screen being well covered, Kenyan Drake ran a well timed double move route beating the cheating LCB and SS deep for an 87 yard touch down. The SS being out of position stemmed from the motion pre-snap, he looked there immediately post snap becoming flat footed and out of position deep.
On Alabama's third drive of the game they faced a 2nd and 3. As usual with Alabama they rolled out a 6th OL and a TE in the pistol. Florida responded with their usual 3-4 Under look, but with a unique twist they subsituted a LB for a safety in the box. They also only had 10 men on the field for this snap. That doesn't matter as much because this play is a schametic marvel. Alabama is running a Run, Option, Hitch play. Where Sims can hand it off, keep it for an option, or throw a quick out/hitch to either WR. They crash of all their LB's into the gaps and left the WR's on man to man coverage. Instead of press, they back up the CB's almsot forcing Sims to throw the quick out which is the correct read based on the defensive look he was seeing at the time. But, to his surprise the subbed FS immediately pull up, and the CB crashes causing what should be an automatic first down just a 2 yard gain.
Later in the game facing 2 WR - 2 TE - 1 RB, Florida comes out in the 3-4 Under look again, once again with an FS subbed in as a LB. Once again the LB's play sound gap technique forcing only a 2 yard run on an inside zone. Alabama calls a no huddle, and runs a play action off ot the inside zone which the FS immediately sniffs out playing perfect contain on Sims getting 5 yards of penetration as soon as the fake was done. This forced blake to nervously throw the ball away which was tipped and intercepted by Florida's defense. Subbing in the speed of a FS to play contain absolutely amazing adjustment against a team that was running Inside Zone and showing Empty looks out of the same 11 personnel.
Finally,in a tied game on a 1st and 10 Alabama ran no huddle after a 3rd and 1 pickup with 6 Offensive Linemen, a TE, 2 WR's, and a RB. Florida responded by bringing 9 in the box, arguably 10. Once again the FS is playing as a LB in his 3-4 under alignment. Blake audibles out of the run into a play action. I find this play interesting because not one player became flat footed and fell for the play fake. The Ends pinned their ears back and rushed down field, and the LB's immediately went into coverage. As Sims is finishing his 7 step drop back, the end meets him 10 yards in the backfield on his blind side. He ends up sacking Sims while the rest of the defense plays a Quarter with inside releases forcing the entire play to develop inside of the hash marks keeping sims relatively simple, but also garuanteeing he stays within the pocket.
January 7th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^
Get some speed on the defense and this unit could be awesome.
January 7th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
Awesome. Thanks for the breakdown. Where'd you pick up your football knowledge?
January 7th, 2015 at 1:58 PM ^
From gambling. I gamble a lot and study the teams I gamble on, and speak with a lot of my friends who've gone on to play college football.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:08 PM ^
If you go this far in depth, you probably are doing well!
January 7th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
Was in not tayloring his Offense to fit the players on his roster, he forced square pegs in round holes, and the results showed up on the field resoundingly.Whatever Defense Durkin runs will hopefully not make this same mistake, but will, at least for the first year or two, be run in conjunction with the talent on the roster.
Right now, I don't know if we can run an anything, anything, five, because there are not five defensive backs on the roster that I would trust to do their jobs without screwing up, I.M.H.O. we have three or four guys (including Peppers) that I would trust, which is why Marshall and Lewis are so important to this recruiting class.
We also lack the speed Florida has on Defense to effectively run these schemes.
January 7th, 2015 at 4:24 PM ^
This is why I disagree. You have your normal SS/FS/CB/CB combo, and you sub in a robber FS of sorts for the 3-4. Something Peppers could do if he gained 15 pounds. The thing about speed is, it's partly scheme. San Fransico defense is scary slow, but because the scheme was so well taught they looked fast. Seattle's defense is another slow defense that "appears" to be fast because they're always around the ball. A fast player that isn't in position will look like he's slow to the ball, a slower player that follows his assignment correctly will look like he had the speed to keep up. Michigan has in all honesty, been about even defensely with State since Mattison arrived. While State defenses always appeared more aggressive and faster, because their defenses was based on Press Coverages and Double A-Gaps. Michigan has always involved more trickery and zones allowing more room for players to seem out of place/
January 7th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
super!!!
January 7th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^
What is the difference between a 3-4 Under and a 4-3 Under? Is it just that the WDE (who I suppose would be deemed a LB in a 3-4) lines up in 2-point stance, or is there more to it than that?
January 7th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
The alignment is the same, the DE is subbed for a standing pass rusher, and it goes from a 1 Gap (4-3), to a 2 Gap (3-4). Durkin's is special because like Carroll he mixes 1-Gap and 2-Gap technicues. The 2013-14 Ravens used this as well.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^
"Under" literally means shifted under the strength, which means the DTs are shifted to the weakside. "Over means they are shifted over strength, or to the strong side. In most terms, what you are calling a "3-4 Under" is actually a "3-4 Over". Realistically, however, it's simply a "4-3 Under" with a stand-up Rush End (FWIW, this isn't exclusive, some coaches, including Saban, stick to 4-3 Convention, and will have a 3-4 Under as the same alignment as a 4-3 Under; it's a matter of convention).
I'd also note that a 3-4 doesn't necessarily mean the defense is a 2-gap scheme. Many college 3-4 defenses are one-gap schemes. Wisconsin, for instance, was almost completely a one-gap scheme. Boston College is another one-gap 3-4 defense. Georgia runs a one-gap 3-4 scheme. In 2013, Wisconsin ran mostly one-gap but sometimes 2-gapped the NT.
In contrast, Pelini was historically a two-gap 4-3 coach until his DTs started struggling a few years back. He went back to a two-gap scheme for much of this year however (from both a 4-3 Under and a 4-3 Over). So just be careful with some of the assumptions being made here.
Carroll runs a 4-3 Under and utilizes a lot of 2-gap schemes. He also stands up the Rush End a lot. But it is, at heart, still a 4-3 defense. Mattison, on the other hand, thought it was very difficult to find the horses to run a 2-gap scheme consistently, and preferred mostly a one-gap scheme (though not exclusively).
January 7th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
Here's why I feel the Under/Over terminolgy used that way is antiqued. There's almost always motion pre-snap in modern offenses shifting the weak side to the strong side to overcome what most defenses try to gain schematically. Over/Under has changed mondernly to designate if the defense is shifted to the RT or LT. Carroll on majority of his snaps have only 2 players playing a 2-Gap, while the rest are 1. Georgia doesn't run a 1-Gap, under Jeremy Pruitt ran a 2-gap 4-3 the majority of the year, only utilizing the 3-4 against Georgia Tech.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^
I meant to say Georgia ran a One-Gap 3-4 under Todd Grantham (currently DC at Louisville).
The over under terminology, typically, depends on what your base is. Many teams these days don't even align to strength, instead preferring to align field and boundary.
And Carroll does 2-gap in Seattle with 1T and 5T. But that's my point, he runs a 4-3 Under base and 2-gaps. That's why it shouldn't be assumed that a 4-3 is a One-gap and a 3-4 is a two-gap.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^
I think we're arguing the same things and are actually in agreeance here lol. Because everything you said is absolutely correct, and your breakdowns are amazing as well.
January 7th, 2015 at 5:09 PM ^
And in general, I think this back-and-forth we've had speaks to some of the confusion about terminology in football. A lot of it just depends on where you pull it from, and unfortunately, a lot of the time the same terminology is used to mean different things, making it even more complicated.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
feeling much smarter for having read this.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:18 PM ^
I'm feeling quite a bit dumber ;)
January 7th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
smarter after.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^
I feel like one of those guys who know nothing about cars, with the hood up, points to something and says
"that's the.."
"uhh huhhh"
"which connects to the.."
"yep"
"hmmm"
I love this site!
January 7th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 11:35 PM ^
It became very common when Pete Carroll's coaching tree began to take root. Which through a weird way, I'd consider DJ Durkin apart of more so than of Jim Harbaughs. While never coaching under Pete, he's coached under coaches who have who brought the scheme with them. When Dan Quinn returned from Seattle to be the DC at Florida, he brought with him the Seattle's defense. While Muschamp continued using the DB Pattern system that he learned from Saban while in LSU, the front 7 took form of a Pete's defense. And then you end up with Durkin's scheme which combines Smart, and Fangio are the only 3 Level systems out there. There maybe more that I am not aware of, but in my searching I haven't came across a system that breaks the calls into DLine, LB, and DB.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:57 PM ^
any chance of getting a breakdown from you SC? Maybe from Harbaugh's Stanford offense too? I know I would appreciate an in depth breakdown of some of the "bread and butter" plays on offense and defense
January 7th, 2015 at 5:14 PM ^
It's stuff I plan on getting to eventually
January 7th, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^
These schemes are, in many ways, similar to what Mattison was running prior to this season (which is not surprising, since Durkin was a GA with Mattison at ND in 2003-2004). Durkin's genius is not just in his play calls, but in his use of personnel. He seems to keep a fast free-hitter on the field.
I'm interested to see the ECU breakdown, because the Pirates racked-up yardage against UF in the bowl game.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
ECU ran over 100 plays in that game, I think. There's not much you can do when fatigue sets in considering UF couldn't move the ball worth damn.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
Actually, the first half they were getting gained on, it's in the second half they started to play well. Durkin gambled in the ECU game by going extremely vanilla and went to a 1-Gap and Hold scheme. Something I hadn't seen him use under Muschamp. The 1-Gap and Hold just wears down Offensive Linemen They're not trying to penetrate for a sack, they'r ejust muscling them in case of a run. But, ECU passed 66 times to 17 rushes. It was a big gamble because you're not going to get many sacks, and if you get behind with their O you weren't coming back.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:27 PM ^
He uses a 3-3-5 on the majority of his snaps even against 6 Offensive Linemen. He also seperates his calls into 3 levels. Allowing a varied look, where the pass rush, the LB's and the CB's are all on different systems. Against no huddle offenses the onus has to be on the players to communicate calls without the coach. the MLB is responsible for calling the LB's responsibilities, and the Dline stunts, and the SS is responsible for calling the coverage. There's times where you'll get a stunt, with LB's playing man coverage outside release, with DB's playing quarters playing inside release. Three things made to deal with seperate attacks, and wouldn't normally coincide but works because of the sheer confusion.
On one play call I seen the DB's run a cover 1 press, LB's drop into a tampa 2 look, and DLine goes Wide Nine on a 3rd and 13 against Missouri who ran a Wheel Point(example below) which is designed to beat Cover 4, and Cover 3. The QB reads the MLB dropping back expecting a Tampa 2 blindly throws the wheel which is defended well.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:04 PM ^
Good post, i might have to find the bama v fla game on youtube now and watch a bit. Thanks!
January 7th, 2015 at 2:39 PM ^
DJ Durkin called the best game I have ever seen on defense against Missouri. I have never seen a team just thoroughly dominate and dictate another teams offense like Florida did. Missouri only had TWO drives the entire game that gained a first down. While Florida did lose 42-13, they only gave up one Offensive TD the entire game.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
How is it possible to lose 42-13 while giving up one offensive touchdown? 35 points from the defense? Or did they return some kicks for TD? That's insane.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:44 PM ^
They gave up a couple kick returns. But also, defensive touchdowns are a hallmark of all teams that face Driskel.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
96 Yd Kickoff Return
82 Yd Punt Return
21 Yd Fumble Return
46 Yd Interception Return
The only TD they gave up was on a 4 play 19 yard drive. They gave up only 119 yards, the defense had only given up 56 yards when they score become 42-0. They absolutely dominated.
January 8th, 2015 at 8:42 AM ^
That is crazy.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^
I am in awe of people who can break down the game like this.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^
I reccommend these reads if you're interested in the probable defense.
http://www.fieldgulls.com/2012/3/12/2862318/the-seahawks-mario-williams…
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9992021/carolina-panthers-stellar-def…
http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/1/19/3890928/gus-bradley-defense-leo-…
http://waterlandblog.com/2015/01/03/the-elephant-in-the-locker-room-why…
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-p…
http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2013/9/13/4727200/the-4-3-under-defining-the…
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/what-is-the--elephant…
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/6/30/5818160/tcu-football…
http://coachhoover.blogspot.com/2011/12/4-2-5.html
http://footballislifeblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/two-gapone-gap-vs-one-ba…
http://brophyfootball.blogspot.com/2009/07/tcus-42-nickel-coverage-fron…
January 7th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^
Almost too much info for a layman. But I'll take it. You are giving me even more hope about next year!!!!
Damn you.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^
Thanks for the breakdown, ive been waiting for some breakdowns of Durkin's defense and Harbaugh's Stanford offense since the hire. Hopefully we will be hearing many things like "scematic marvel" many times this coming year. Looking forward to your next entry!
January 7th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
Hopefully Durkin calls it something else if that's what he's going to run. I'm sure I'm not the only Michigan fan with PTSD related to that scheme.
January 7th, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
I'm sure he'll call it a 4-3. But make no mistake this isn't the Rich Rod's 3-3-5. This is the steak & potato fed, gap sound, and fundementally sound brother of it. The FS that subs for a LB in the 3-4, is very different from the NB that Casteel subs for a LB. The FS has to be quick, strong, while also being intelligent. This is the response to the Spread offense, you can't keep contain on a these 4.5 40 running QB's with a prototypical 250lb B1G Line Backer or DE.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
Seems like a role Dymonte Thomas could excel in.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:38 PM ^
I believe he's better suited to play FS than battle OLinemen.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 7th, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
Hey WMUKirk and Space Coyote, i'm sure much of your knowledge is from first hand teaching but where/what would you recommend reading for people that have decent knowledge of schemes, formations, terminology, ect. but really want to get some in depth knowledge about schematic tweaks, game planning, in game adjustments, positional techniques and things of that nature? Are there websites, books or videos you could suggest?
January 7th, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
Just above I posted links that explain in further detail: http://mgoblog.com/diaries/dj-durkins-defensive-scheme-part-1#comment-2…
It's a lot of redundancy in the links but they explain some things that others different. There's articles on TCU's 4-2-5, Pete's 4-3 Under, Pruitt's 4-3 Under, and Ravens 3-4/4-3 Hybrid. Defenses Durkin have drawn from. And actually I have never coached football haha, I'm quite young and still am in college.
January 7th, 2015 at 5:27 PM ^
Breakdown Sports (shamelessly, I'm trying to get more into the things you talk about)
Coach Huey is a forum that you can sign up for that's nice.
Books are a bit harder to come-by, you can get into some position type books (OL for example), Scheme (3-3-5 or Eagle or West Coast Offense) or just strategical basics (offensive basics). The issue with books, is that they quickly become dated, and they tend to focus on some different and sometimes redundant details. Some e-books are coming out more recently to make up for that, but you run into some of the same issues. And they become expensive.
Point being that you can find the stuff out there, but there isn't really good single sources for all of it, because there is just so much. And many of the people that write these blogs also have other jobs, and a lot of the finer details tend to take time to sort out when you don't have the inside knowledge of what was done.
January 7th, 2015 at 4:07 PM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
Joe Lee Dunn: Father of the 3-3-5!
January 7th, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
WMUKirk - do some UFRs during the season and lets compare to Brian. Maybe we'll replace Brian in UFR role ;) SC can do them too.
It's a NEW ERA of competition people. And that includes this blog!
January 7th, 2015 at 6:13 PM ^
Haha, I'll do them for the defense. I'm never played or really studied offense. I would be doing a disservice trying to do an offensive one lol.
January 7th, 2015 at 6:49 PM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 5:44 PM ^
A++ to you sir.
January 7th, 2015 at 6:58 PM ^
I thought about creating another account so I could upvote your work twice.
Comments