Westgate's Redemption

That’s the biggest problem with LBs against the run, mistakes are out there in the open and the best plays usually don’t even get replayed.

There is a play on this video http://www.wsucougars.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/100911aaa.html
at the 4:12 mark.
It is a perfect fit by Westgate, who comes up and blows up the hole by stuffing a guard. But Holmes loses contain and the RB gets to the edge. And it ends up being a 10 yard game.

His mistakes just come from getting blocked by guards usually. He gets to the right fit on the play, just is physically limited.

Seemed like he never lived up to his freakish ability.

It’s just stuff that gets missed when you watch the play develop by following the ball, which is the way football is designed to be watched on TV.

I’d check out this link:

The play I described is at the 9:37 mark.

It’s WSU’s highlights. Mostly offensive stuff. Try watching the LB’s. I watched it after I wrote this up, and it reaffirmed most of my thoughts.
Larimore is probably the least effective LB. And I don’t think Zumalt and Kendricks should be on the field alone at the same time. The nickel really suffers.

It’s a tough thing to explain without watching the play in a fast forward-rewind fashion.

I’ll give you the link I found too: http://www.wsucougars.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/100911aaa.html

You can look for yourself. Play I describe is at 9:37 point. But I recommend the whole thing.
I like watching the other team’s successes instead of UCLA highlights for stuff like this.

The nickel package works best with Kendricks and Westgate, IMO. Zumalt looks lost in zone.

If I had to break it down I would rank the LBs that play the most like this.
Against the run: 1. Kendricks 2. Larimore (though he played poorly in this game, IMO) 3. Westgate/Zumalt
Against the pass: 1. Westgate 2. Larimore (though Kendricks outplayed him here on Saturday) 3. Kendricks 4. Zumalt

Westgate is the smartest LB, I think. He makes the best reads and is usually in the right place. When he isn’t in the right place, it is usually because he can’t get there because of his limitations. Either overpowered or not fast enough.
If I were the DC, I’d get Westgate to coach up JZ and EK as much as possible. They will both be better the more reps they get.
Hopefully, by the end of the year EK and JZ can progress enough to be splitting time 50/50 and the DC could play the hot hand at LB.
I like the nickel with Kendricks and Westgate.

Regarding #1: I think that if Westgate’s head was put in Zumalt’s body, that player would be on the level of Burficit at ASU. I don’t think Love has ever been comfortable at LB, and we could probably have used him this year at DB with all the injuries had he not put on weight.
Kendricks and Zumallt are improving every game, I’d be shocked if both weren’t starting (or at least splitting time 50/50) by the end of the year.
#2: In a perfect world, Westgate would be a situational player. He is rock-solid in the nickel, from what I’ve seen. I doubt that he would start on more than 4 other Pac-12 teams; but I haven’t seen every other team. I think he is probably the 3rd best LB on this team, right now.

And I also noticed them putting him in the middle, but I thought that was because of Larimore’s play. And I completely agree that the lack of development is the biggest issue beyond any individual player.

With the CBs giving 8+ yard corners, both safeties 12+ yards deep and the LBs all off the LOS, it makes protection and play-calling all too easy for the opposing offense. It’s simple pitch-and-catch in the passing game; and it also makes for very simple run blocking assignments without the threat of a safety coming down against the rush. I know we’ve disappointed with the front 4, but this defensive scheme has put them in a really difficult position to make much of an impact when the O-line doesn’t have the threat of any additional rushers.

I get that with Kendrick and Zumwalt’s inexperience, Tresey might be trying to protect them w/ these schemes. But personally, if I was worried about the LBs being in the wrong position in the passing game, I’d rather send them in on a blitz where they can use their aggressiveness and raw ability to their advantage.

As it is, with our bend but don’t break defense, even if we succeed in “only” giving up FGs, we’re leaving our defense on the field for a very, very long time.

I don’t think he was making a claim that SW should be the starter over EK, merely putting forth a reasonable rationale for him starting.

IE—Great post, always good to have someone expound on the nuances of the game the rest of us might not see.

I’m just giving the reasoning why Westgate is (and possibly should be) on the field so much.
I recommend watching the highlight link I posted. There are around 5 plays that are right at Kendricks because he isn’t covering his zone.
The plays aren’t ridiculous bad coverages, but consistent completions because of the spacing. At least two on 3rd down. By the end of the year, Kendricks probably covers up the zone and makes the QB look elsewhere. But right now, Westgate is better. I personally think Kendricks should be starting at one of the 3 spots.

The player at fault the most against WSU from watching their highlights is Larimore. He was out of position on at least 10 plays, run and pass.

Because that has been a big problem of mine in those situations. I tend to float and read instead of just reacting. Has cost me playing time.

I actually went over the WSU film I linked and went through every 3rd down they converted. Of the 11 plays, plus 1 fourth down conversion, only 2 were run plays. I’m going to put together a Post of the 3rd downs, once I’ve got time.

Those two plays were both because of the LB (Kendricks once and Larimore once) plugging the wrong gap and one was partially because Tepa lost contain.

I’m not really sure I can pinpoint the problem in the running game with the defense. Just from watching, it seems like there is very little chemistry with the defense as a whole. Stopping the run when there is no blitz is like putting a puzzle together. The goal of a defender isn’t to make the tackle, it is to make sure you plug your gap. Every player has to be responsible for their gap or the RB is going to get yardage. LBs have to read the blocks to know where the gap is going to open up.
That is where the balance you are talking has to happen. Reaction needs to be quick, but smart. If the LB is overaggressive, like what happened on the 3rd down plays at 4:30 and 11:53 in the video, then the offense is going to get yardage.
It’s something that only coaching and full-speed reps will fix. The running game on defense is what gets hurt the most by practicing without live tackling.

I would never claim to be or assume that I am an expert in regards to LB play or football in general; I think I just have a different perception of the same thing everyone else sees.

I am personally resistant to the soft-coverage and lack of creativity defensively. Not so much the idea of it, but the frequency of it. It just seems to be a very restrictive to developing players to their full potential.
It is a lot safer, and that is why it makes sense to do it from the coaching staff’s perspective because they don’t want to get fired. Giving up big plays attracts a lot more negative attention than getting picked apart over 4 quarters. I don’t think it is the right thing to do, but it makes sense looking at it from their perspective.

The best defenses I’ve been a part of have been scary aggressive defenses with enough smart, experienced guys (on the field or sideline) to harness the aggressiveness. Biggest thing is chemistry though. And there is no way to build chemistry against the run aside from live, full-speed reps. Chemistry in zone coverage is just experience playing together in a secondary.

No one at any point states that Westgate is better than Ayers. Or even that anyone likes Westgate at all. The whole article and discussion is an insight into why Westgate is preferable to the younger players in the present defensive scheme.

Saying that he doesn’t get the job done is easy to say while looking at a stat sheet. But the stat sheet is one of the last things a coach should look at to judge a player’s performance on defense. Westgate makes the fewest mistakes of the LBs currently. He is definitely not a LB that would start in a normal defensive scheme. But UCLA does not run a normal defensive scheme.

If the coaches were to publicly release the individual assignment grades for each game, I would guarantee that Westgate is one of the top scorers every game. He is physically limited, athletically limited, but MOST important things on a defense that plays as safe as UCLA’s is an understanding of zone coverage underneath as a LB and limiting mistakes in plugging gaps in the run game. Both things that Westgate excels at more than any other LB on the roster.

No one would build up a defensive scheme like the one being put out by UCLA week-after-week. But, in the present scheme, Westgate is the best fit and did a good job against WSU.

This is a request. IE Angel has demonstrated graphically what has happened on various plays. You have made some statements about “dancing,” for example, and I don’t know what you mean. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying that I don’t know what you mean because i spend so much of my time watching the QB or some other player, and rarely on a linebacker. Can you show what you mean? IE has about a 15 minute video in another thread. Go through that and give us the times and what we should look at to illustrate your point(s).

When I read IE’s analysis, it makes sense. When I read yours, I think it would make sense if I could see what you’re talking about.

My analysis – we need to get faster. If we’re going to be a running team, I would like to see someone faster than Prince taking the snaps.

The guys with the most knowledge are ostensbly the coaches, but t’s unlikely that CTSS will go in himself as QB. How about getting the guys with the best ability and having them play. When they miss something, pull them out, explain what they did wrong, and send them back in. I know it’s a revolutionary concept, but having your best players on the field seems, at least to me, to enhance your likelihood of winning.