[ryanparker]

If you have your defensive line penetrate then it can open up lanes to run through leading to big plays. Alot of the times defensive lineman are taught to maintain gap contol. Stay at home and block up this area of the field. Defensive ends have outside contain. Let nothing outside, stay home and watch for reverses and counters. This is to cut down on the potential for big plays and clog those lanes so the LBs can have a free path to the ball carrier.

The other side is, if you pin your ears back and go then it can create alot of havoc in the backfield disrupting the offense of the other team. The down side is it does leave you a little more exposed to a big play. If a running back gets past that first level there is no help for the secondary. If it is a passing team you better get to the QB to make him rush his throws and make poor decisions. This is the approach most teams have taken to defending Russell.

One side is the concervative approach. The other is more aggressive.

Russell is usually pretty conservative on defense. That is why you see alot of zone coverage in the secondary and lineman are there to maintain that gap control up front.

On the other side Breathitt County plays a very agressive style of defense. Bring everyone up shoot the gaps and try to stop the play before it gets started. Its kind of a gamble but if you are not big and strong enough up front and speed is your biggest asset then your hand is forced. They took this gamble last year against Russell and it paid off. They gave up some big plays but the defensive front was very disruptive. They tried the same thing against Belfry last year and paid for it. Those quick hitters from Belfry got the running backs to the second level and that game just snowballed on them.

Thanks for the quick course in defense 101!

So let me see if I have this straight...the consensus on the board seems to be that this year's Russell team would be better off taking the aggressive approach, right? And the reasoning behind this line of thinking is that this year's defensive line is not able to consistently win their battles and keep containment. Therefore, they are allowing blockers to get to the linebackers on most plays? Is this right? If this is the case, I can see the logic behind just sending everyone of them through the gaps in the hopes of avoiding making our line have to stand up to stronger offensive lines. Isn't the strength of our defense the linebackers and secondary anyway? This seems like it would put all the pressure on them to make the tackles should one of the defensive linemen not get to the play first.

However, has Russell ever strayed from a conservative defensive approach? Is there any reason to believe that they would do this? What kind of risks do you think the coaching staff is willing to take? Or will they just keep doing the same things and hope these players somehow get stronger, faster, and more aggressive in the final weeks of the season?

I really think fixing the defense should be the main focus right now. As I said in a previous post, the offensive production is pretty similar to last year. Shoring up the defense seems like it would generate the best returns.

Here's another thought. Would frequently blitzing some combination of the linebackers and/or safeties sort of accomplish the same thing? Abrams and Rogers both seem pretty fast and aggressive. Would this have a shot of working?