Manny Diaz

[Rellyrell]

he doesnt have the depth. mannys problem is he lacks the horses to do what he wants. it didnt work in texas or miss state as well because its a south florida attacking style. you guys hated Coach D now you got an aggressive guy and you complain. i mean he's not the greatest but he's far from the worst.

I love the attacking def; the problem is there’s no creativity in his scheme which even G5 teams r now dissecting at the LOS. That’s the issue. Also he seems to put faith in Mike Smith and Knowles a lot who r both liabilities. Furthermore, I now see the new triangle reacting more v. just playing w instincts.

 

[LuCane]

I trust your opinion as someone who watches film and such. So given the talent and depth what direction do you think we should be goin on Defense

As stupid as this may sound, I think we just don’t need to do as much. I’m not sure if it’s really Diaz trying to be ‘so smart’ as it is the guy seems to truly believe in zone blitz. I do and have, too, but there is a time and a place.

I love watching all the complex schemes NFL defenses churn out against NFL QBs who process at light speed and NFL offensive staffs who adjust insanely quickly. College may not be the place for such zone blitz schemes to be such a core piece of your ****nal? I really don’t have an answer, but I know we can all watch some of these fail or be telegraphed. We’re already pretty wild up front going upfield. We don’t need the late Safety blitzes (as an example) if there’s evidence they’re not getting there.

Here’s the thing: I see top defenses, even the Alabamas, start True Frosh. Yet, we force some veterans out there because our young guys haven’t grasped our apparent complexity? Something doesn’t add up there, but that’s only one example.

This year, we’re backward: our yards/play are up higher than they should be and our 3rd down defense has been solid so far. We haven’t put it together yet. I’m sure Diaz, his staff and the players are all well-aware and working on it.

 

[supacane]

THIS

i'd love to see what diaz's D can do if we get out 17 points in front of someone early

We were up 21-0 in this game, wtf? Thats some dorito shhh bro

 

[supacane]

he doesnt have the depth. mannys problem is he lacks the horses to do what he wants. it didnt work in texas or miss state as well because its a south florida attacking style. you guys hated Coach D now you got an aggressive guy and you complain. i mean he's not the greatest but he's far from the worst.

Dont agree with this, i think he's putting in players like knowles and Dean and still want to run complex *** plays. When Knowles and Dean are in the game it should by 2 man Under or 1 man under with someone patrolling the middle of the field as a spy or robber.

 

[nycane]

Dont agree with this, i think he's putting in players like knowles and Dean and still want to run complex *** plays. When Knowles and Dean are in the game it should by 2 man Under or 1 man under with someone patrolling the middle of the field as a spy or robber.

i'd rather let talented freshman learn on the job than gives these kids who will make just as many mistakes w/o the upside playing time.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Maybe we don't need to be as aggressive as we are, but don't forget that the aggressiveness is what makes the magic happen. Look at all those INTs last year, very few were great DB plays, they were mostly bad passes caused by the pass rush.

Bottom line, everybody want's Diaz's foot on the gas when it's working. And god help the guy if he eases back and we get picked apart. Are you seriously sure that Toledo's QB couldn't pick apart our secondary if he didn't have a rush in his face?

I respectfully disagree and here is why.......

I think you are confusing unnecessary and gratuitous blitzing with aggression. The post you quoted was referring to our over the top blitzing and I agree with him. It's not that I don't want to be aggressive. I want us to run an aggressive defense but you can be aggressive without blitzing. When you watch us play there are numerous plays in which blitzing isn't necessarily called for yet Diaz does it anyway. The result is a huge hole in the middle of our defense that is easily exploited for 1st downs. Diaz must begin to realize that our talent level on defense is good enough that we can allow the players the opportunity to win one on one matchups. I think Diaz is so accustomed to playing with lesser talent that he thinks the only way to get pressure is to continuously blitz. We should be able to get sufficient pressure with our front 4 thus freeing up the LBs to cover underneath. I love aggressive defense and I love to blitz but those things lose their effectiveness when they are not built on a rock solid foundation of fundamentals such as leverage and gap integrity. Diaz doesn't seem to share my view and we have seen the results. Yes Diaz is aggressive but his defenses are reckless and fundamentally unsound and that always costs him against quality offenses.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Knowles is the human version of the blue pill, but instead of erectile deficiency, he helps offense deficiency.

Right when he enters the game the offense gets an instant erection, and goes right at him.

The kid is legit terrible

But but but Banda said that Knowles is elite in practice!

 

[BrentIsACuckGBRsucks]

Manny iaz is a fückin dweeb

 

[boxtonenyc]

I think its misleading to say Diaz is aggressive.

First of all his scheme is a relic of the 90s (the fire zone blitz). The zone blitz is the defensivie equivalent of the wishbone. It doesnt fool people, and it leaves a ton of space for modern offenses to throw the ball.

Yes, he blitzes a lot, but he plays spot drop zone behind it which is as pussified a thing as you can play behind a blitz. In order of most high risk to least risk here is the coverage you can use in a blitz:

cover 0: 6 man blitz, no deep safety, pure man to man everywhere. your man beats you and its a TD.

man-free: five man blitz, a single deep safety. man coverage everywhere else.

pattern read zone blitz: 5 man blitz, players play man coverage within their zones and pass threats off to other defenders. Turns into man coverage aftr routes are run.

spot drop zone blitz: 5 man pressure; players keep everything in front of them and dont get beat deep, no tight coverage. Rally and live to see another down

So yes, he blitzes a lot, but that only tell half the story. On the back end his scheme is painfully amateur and scared, which is why there is always space to throw on 3rd down and why his defense struggles to get off the field.

 

[nobeastofburden]

Good for the chain, about it. We deserve much better at dc.

 

[Coach Macho]

I think its misleading to say Diaz is aggressive.

First of all his scheme is a relic of the 90s (the fire zone blitz). The zone blitz is the defensivie equivalent of the wishbone. It doesnt fool people, and it leaves a ton of space for modern offenses to throw the ball.

Yes, he blitzes a lot, but he plays spot drop zone behind it which is as pussified a thing as you can play behind a blitz. In order of most high risk to least risk here is the coverage you can use in a blitz:

cover 0: 6 man blitz, no deep safety, pure man to man everywhere. your man beats you and its a TD.

man-free: five man blitz, a single deep safety. man coverage everywhere else.

pattern read zone blitz: 5 man blitz, players play man coverage within their zones and pass threats off to other defenders. Turns into man coverage aftr routes are run.

spot drop zone blitz: 5 man pressure; players keep everything in front of them and dont get beat deep, no tight coverage. Rally and live to see another down

So yes, he blitzes a lot, but that only tell half the story. On the back end his scheme is painfully amateur and scared, which is why there is always space to throw on 3rd down and why his defense struggles to get off the field.

Spot-on. Best post in this thread thus far.

 

[Coach Macho]

Everybody wants exotic ****. It looks great on paper. But the best defenses in football, NFL and NCAA, are simple and sound!

We (Miami) generally don't give up big plays until we get cute. It causes us to be unsound and often allows a play to pop.

My philosophy as a DC has always been "I am not going give you anything". I want to be sound and force you to execute. You're gonna earn every play you make.
And even if I blitz, it's going to be sound and in a way that won't leave us vulnerable. Every variable needs to be accounted for, we're not gonna leave a RB uncovered so he can wheel up the sidelines wide open. (like we did versus Toledo)
The first thing I do when I draw something up for an opponent is try to shoot a hole in my own stuff.

Some DC's don't feel this way. They're okay with taking a big gamble. They call a play and then hope that so-and-so doesn't happen. Then if a play pops they'll say "well they caught us blah blah blah".

The complex/elaborate/exotic stuff is good for creating flashy stats (TFL's, sacks, etc) but it's seldom good for getting off the field on 3rd down and/or controlling a GOOD offense.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Two biggest problems I saw with the defense yesterday:

1. They have three receivers who will likely play in the NFL. We have two good cover corners. That’s fine when your All American safety is on the field, but when Robert Knowles was out there Toledo immediately began to target his side of the field deep. Jackson had good coverage, but there is no coverage that can defend a perfect pass over the shoulder of a receiver at the sideline.

2. Our DEs were getting too far up field and that left easy gaps for the QB to pull the ball and run. Couple that with the DEs being held when they tried to react and collapse the hole with man coverage on deep routes, and it’s an easy pickup.

When Rob Knowles was on the field they attacked him any where he lined up. When he was deep, they threw to his side. When he was in the box, they ran the ball right at the spot he vacated. He is too **** slow to turn his body and react to the play.

Also, we may have gotten a ton of TFLs, but we missed as many more. All three games this season I have watched guys penetrate into the backfield just to miss the tackles. Too much reaching and not enough squaring up.

I will say there was one play where I thought the call was perfect. Toledo was in the red zone. We knew the quick slant was coming. We baited the throw by having the corner bail and Shaq undercut the throw. Only problem was that Quarterman didn’t come down with the pick, and instead deflected it right to the receiver. It’s football and shlt happens, but we really have to get that interception if we’re going to call that play. It’s all or nothing. Shaq has 90 yards of nothing but grass ahead of him if he catches that ball.

 

[Miami Nights]

Diaz needs to get his *** in the booth so he can See the game

 

[Texxcane]

How much you want to bet that he fields another top 30 Defense and leaves for a Head coaching job or he’s back next year?

With the talent he has, and the schedule he has, he better be in the top 30. And NO WAY does he leave to be a head coach unless he drops way down to a bottom feeder. If he don't wise up and stop all crazy blitzes he will be fired just like he was at Texas. Dude needs to go take some lessons on how to run a D that has talent and speed. No need for all the craziness, get penetration with your front and let your lb's run to the football. The scrap he runs makes em have to think too much, which slows them down. That's just plain D101

 

[boxtonenyc]

We have people in here touting a top 30 defense.

Donofrio and Lovett had top 30 defenses too.

Im fascinated how some fans are so dug in they would rather be mediocre than fire the coaches whom they have personal affections for. its weird.

 

[JgDaCane]

I think he puts up good enough numbers that he may get poached. Lets hope.

 

[Sigma_Cane_7]

All we needed to do is spy the QB and the game is 49-7. Maybe more for us. Crazy how he has blind faith. Shaq was getting schooled with the RB out the backfield and instead of protecting him and just make him spy the QB it kept happening. That’s how passes got complete because of the QBs feet.

 

[The Sphinx]

Everybody wants exotic ****. It looks great on paper. But the best defenses in football, NFL and NCAA, are simple and sound!

We (Miami) generally don't give up big plays until we get cute. It causes us to be unsound and often allows a play to pop.

My philosophy as a DC has always been "I am not going give you anything". I want to be sound and force you to execute. You're gonna earn every play you make.
And even if I blitz, it's going to be sound and in a way that won't leave us vulnerable. Every variable needs to be accounted for, we're not gonna leave a RB uncovered so he can wheel up the sidelines wide open. (like we did versus Toledo)
The first thing I do when I draw something up for an opponent is try to shoot a hole in my own stuff.

Some DC's don't feel this way. They're okay with taking a big gamble. They call a play and then hope that so-and-so doesn't happen. Then if a play pops they'll say "well they caught us blah blah blah".

The complex/elaborate/exotic stuff is good for creating flashy stats (TFL's, sacks, etc) but it's seldom good for getting off the field on 3rd down and/or controlling a GOOD offense.

THIS!

 

[kryptonite]

I respectfully disagree and here is why.......

I think you are confusing unnecessary and gratuitous blitzing with aggression. The post you quoted was referring to our over the top blitzing and I agree with him. It's not that I don't want to be aggressive. I want us to run an aggressive defense but you can be aggressive without blitzing. When you watch us play there are numerous plays in which blitzing isn't necessarily called for yet Diaz does it anyway. The result is a huge hole in the middle of our defense that is easily exploited for 1st downs. Diaz must begin to realize that our talent level on defense is good enough that we can allow the players the opportunity to win one on one matchups. I think Diaz is so accustomed to playing with lesser talent that he thinks the only way to get pressure is to continuously blitz. We should be able to get sufficient pressure with our front 4 thus freeing up the LBs to cover underneath. I love aggressive defense and I love to blitz but those things lose their effectiveness when they are not built on a rock solid foundation of fundamentals such as leverage and gap integrity. Diaz doesn't seem to share my view and we have seen the results. Yes Diaz is aggressive but his defenses are reckless and fundamentally unsound and that always costs him against quality offenses.

Yeah, I can't really find anything objectionable in that. I guess it starts to sound overly whiny when people get on here right after a win and start to call for the guy to be fired because the D was good, but not great. Or great most of the time, then not so much for a quarter.

I agree that Diaz could stand to pick his moments instead of blitz all the time no matter what. I kept waiting for Toledo to catch on to what the announcers were saying; Miami was rushing everybody on 1st down and getting a TFL. All they had to do was throw over that rush and there was lots of open space. Luckily they never got that and kept running on 1st.