How do you beat the Chips?
First off this isn't a juggernaut. The difference in their Purdue win and our Purdue loss, had more to do with game film and experience.
A. They had something to look at when preparing for Purdue.
B. We have gotten better every game since then. They've gotten worse.
C. The NIU win looks impressive, but basically NIU reflects being the tallest midget in weak schedule, and CMU was just taller.
D. CMU looked very pedestrian against UB, Miami, UT, Syracuse, and BSU.
Field position- Possessions need to start inside the 30. Field position was the difference in last years game. Special teams will be key.
Don't change now- CMU probably has the best receivers we will face this year. That said, let Rush or Davis beat you, but don't let them establish a consistent running game. Continue to play man coverage, and stack the line to stop the run game. It's kind of a pick your poison choice, but CMU tends to run routes that take time to develop. Stack the line, apply pressure, and don't give them time to get into a rhythm.
Pressure the weak links- Ramadan Ahmeti (I believe he's the RT) struggles at pass blocking. He's a sack machine if you consistently bring pressure off the edge. Play man coverage, stack the line, and bring pressure.
Cooper Rush has marginal pocket presence. He can move up field, but struggles moving laterally when pressured. Has trouble hanging on to the ball as well. WMU can risk playing man if it means getting bodies in the backfield. Rush's turnovers in last years game were all do to pressure.
Exploit soft coverage at the line. We've been very good at runs after the catch off from short passes and bubble screens. WRs have gotten very good at blocking down field. CMU's DBs play zone and often give ten yard cushions at the line. Take what they give you.
Use Philips and Braverman in the jet sweep and read options. Watched a lot of teams (including Miami) beat their defense to the corner.
Establish the short passing game first, establish the run off that, go to play action next, and take shots down field once they bring their defense up. Chimp DB's don't get their heads around on deep balls. They face guard, have bad hips, and use their hands a lot beyond 5 yards. They can be beat deep, and they get called for holding a lot on deep balls and in man coverage.
Avoid slant routes early- Probably the best thing they do on defense. LBers drop into coverage well, Chrirocci/Anesse make punishing hits, and Walton has long arms. Bats down a lot of throws over the middle. Most of their picks have been on short curls and slant routes. Those routes may open up if the run game is established and they can freeze the LBers with play action, but until then slants might be dangerous.
Put the pedal to the medal in the second half. Take some chances. Enos gets conservative in the second half and likes to sit on leads. He doesn't do well when taken out of his comfort zone.
Morris Watts is predictable. There's nothing fancy in his offense, and I wouldn't expect surprises. That said, Pinkham has shown a knack for bringing blitz packages at opportune times and being one step ahead of the opposing offense. Hopefully Watts's vanilla approach is predictable enough to exploit.
If weather conditions are terrible, a solid running attack and a short game pasing attack has an advantage over a team that needs to run deeper routes.
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2014 06:42 PM by Chipdip2.)
|