How do you like the 3-3-5?

5150

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I have always liked the defense but so many wanted to go away from the system. What is everyone's opinion now?
 

TIREPUNK

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same......gimmicky defense to hide weakness. Let's not get to caught up in a victory over a very bad team.

There is a reason only a team or two runs this defense. We run it now because Gibby knows it better than 3-4 or 4-3.
 

Airport

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The better the athletes the better the D becomes. Time will tell when we play more balanced opponents in the future.
 

steeleer

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Time and time again. Experienced players on this defense...it works well.

Less experience....torn to pieces.

That is regardless of who is coaching. Its unique which makes it hard to learn and to prepare for. With our inability to recruit on DL, we are going to need this defense and our recruiting is finally in a place where we won't be rebuilding it anymore.

In short...this defense with depth and experience for the foreseeable future will be no one's pushover...even in the B12.
 

MountaineerWV

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same......gimmicky defense to hide weakness. Let's not get to caught up in a victory over a very bad team.

There is a reason only a team or two runs this defense. We run it now because Gibby knows it better than 3-4 or 4-3.

Show me teams that truly run a 4-3 or 3-4 these days? They don't because of all the spread offenses. You have to get that extra DB in there these days. So, you are either doing a 4-2-5 or a 3-3-5. A team may run out 4 DL, 3 LB, and 4 DB for the first play of the game, but I would imagine that for better than 50% of the snaps the defense is playing a nickel or dime look.

Call it "gimmicky", but I call it smart.
 
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Okeyd57

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same......gimmicky defense to hide weakness. Let's not get to caught up in a victory over a very bad team.

There is a reason only a team or two runs this defense. We run it now because Gibby knows it better than 3-4 or 4-3.


Are you serious ? At one time that might have been true, but we came back to the 3-3-5 because it's set-up is perfect against spread offenses. We run is as a strength by having more team speed on the field against passing based offenses. We could be running a version of the 3-4, but why ? I'd rather we run a defense that's hard to figure out for opposing teams. Our pressure can come from anywhere. You can't do that with a normal 3-4.
 

AirForceer_rivals

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same......gimmicky defense to hide weakness. Let's not get to caught up in a victory over a very bad team.

There is a reason only a team or two runs this defense. We run it now because Gibby knows it better than 3-4 or 4-3.


For sure GSU is not Alabama, but I wouldn't call them a very bad team! As for the question, I think it works for us because Gibby understands how to coach it and other schools don't see it often. Also, I would think knowing your weakness and coaching mitigate said weakness is a smart coaching move. JMO.
 

TIREPUNK

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3 teams out of 68 in P5:

TCU
Arizona
WVU

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I mean all teams, at some point and to some degree, play "spread" offenses and they don't run a 3-3-5.

Gibby runs it because he learned it from RR and it is the only one he is comfortable with.

Georgia Southern WAS a good team the last few years but it is apparent that without their QB they were a average G5 team at best.
 

WarezEER

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Sports fans don't give a sheet about the 3-3-5 or the 4-4-3 or the 3-4-4 or anything of the sort. They only want the Win and lots of them. Think......11-0 or 12-0 or the 13-0. Besides..............the 3-3-5 is just an alignment. A team comes out of the original alignment moments after ball is snapped. Know what I mean? Warez
 

TIREPUNK

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Sports fans don't give a sheet about the 3-3-5 or the 4-4-3 or the 3-4-4 or anything of the sort. They only want the Win and lots of them. Think......11-0 or 12-0 or the 13-0. Besides..............the 3-3-5 is just an alignment. A team comes out of the original alignment moments after ball is snapped. Know what I mean? Warez
Yet here we are discussing it. Weird.
 

torontoeers

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I have always been a fan of the system, and I see Gibby throwing a good number of wrinkles in there too , in order to keep the opposition guessing and play to our strengths....
Key imo will be a healthy Rose along with Brown and Nwachukwu, our secondary will do it's job I have no doubt...lots of pressure up the middle on our BIGS vs some of these B12 teams ....stay healthy through the meat of this sched....
 

pressvirginia

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3 teams out of 68 in P5:

TCU
Arizona
WVU

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Well to be fair, last year finished as 3 TCU (12-1) & 19 Ariz (10-4). So they found some success with it.

Each of TCU, Ariz & WVU are each 1-0 thus far. WV of course dialed it up quite well last night. G South or not.

Similarly, GT seems to have their odd ball triple option run game rolling. Last year finished 8th, won 11 games and beat SEC West's Miss State by 15 in Orange Bowl. Week 1 they rushed for more than 450 yards & 9 rush TDs. Cupcake or not, I'm impressed.

Few and far between who run full-court press D in basketball all season long. We found something there too.

Yes, it is staggering how few teams use certain systems, but I do think there's something to being a unusual, difficult match-up. it's often a very entertaining brand of ball to watch too.
 
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MikeRafone

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The 3-3-5 seems to have a lot in common with the old 6-2 in it's concepts. The assignments are similar. If the kids know their roles and execute, both are triple option killers.
 
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eers1foru_rivals

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The defense works when we have kids versed in it so they can make plays instead of think. Example Karl Joseph, over the last couple seasons our d-backs aren't even in position to make an interception. This season they are in position and attacking the ball instead of having to make up ground once the ball is in the air.
 

bamaEER

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Show me teams that truly run a 4-3 or 3-4 these days? They don't because of all the spread offenses. You have to get that extra DB in there these days. So, you are either doing a 4-2-5 or a 3-3-5. A team may run out 4 DL, 3 LB, and 4 DB for the first play of the game, but I would imagine that for better than 50% of the snaps the defense is playing a nickel or dime look.

Call it "gimmicky", but I call it smart.
Exactly. Their base may be 3-4 or 4-3, but put 3 or 4 wrs on the field and they go right into 3-3-5 or 4-2-5. With all the spread offenses out there now, there are very few teams that truly run 4-3 or 3-4.
 

bamaEER

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I have always liked the defense but so many wanted to go away from the system. What is everyone's opinion now?
I've liked it all along. It's strength over 4-3/3-4 is it matches better with various spread approaches. But like I've been saying since we first used it....you have to have the right players to make it work...namely bandit and spur. Addai and Lorello fit the mold perfectly back in the day. Need to be big hitters with speed and able to fill gaps normally covered by LBs in 3-4.
 

WarezEER

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To tell you the truth..............I don't know a 3-3-5 from a 4-3-4 or a 6/2/3. I like for a team to Win. That's all I care about. I feel sooooo alone in this world.
 
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MikeRafone

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To tell you the truth..............I don't know a 3-3-5 from a 4-3-4 or a 6/2/3. I like for a team to Win. That's all I care about. I feel sooooo alone in this world.

It's all those pickled eggs you eat.

Dana having you sit behind the Georgia Southern bench may have been his best move of the night. Those kids eyes were watering over due to the emissions coming from you.
 

BobbyBoucheer

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If you notice, The 3-3-5 is played a lot like the 3-4 Because Dillon is essentially like a linebacker most of the time. The strength of it comes from having the hybrid safety/linebacker ( dillon ) to be able to wear many hats.

Like any defense if you can play it cover 1 or cover 0 because you have really good corners, the better the defense will be and the more chances you can take. We have really good corners so Gibby's stack should be fantastic this year.

44-0 over the team that lead the FBS in rushing last year and almost beat Ga Tech and NC state points to predictions about this defense being spot on.
 

CE4WVU

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Let's see... 2012 and if I recall even 2013, we were running a different scheme and the results... Horrid! So what did we do? We get Gibby to return with what he knew of the 3-3-5 and a much improved defense. Although the 3-3-5 to some is crap, it is a work of art when experience and the pieces are in place to make it run properly. Despite playing the first two opponents, the real measuring stick test is when we get to Maryland and OU. Oh and pay attention to Ga Southern throughout the season to see how they do and decide for yourselves if the 3-3-5 is junk or not. Just basing this opinion off of their previous history against other FBS opponents in years past.

The Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI) considers each of the nearly 20,000 possessions every season in major college football. All drives are filtered to eliminate first-half clock-kills and end-of-game garbage drives and scores. A scoring rate analysis of the remaining possessions then determines the baseline possession efficiency expectations against which each team is measured. A team is rewarded for playing well against good teams, win or lose, and is punished more severely for playing poorly against bad teams than it is rewarded for playing well against bad teams.

  • DFEI: Defensive FEI, the opponent-adjusted efficiency of the given team's defense.
  • DE: Defensive Efficiency, the raw unadjusted efficiency of the given team's defense, a measure of the actual drive success of its opponents against expected drive success based on field position.
  • FD: First Down rate, the percentage of opponent offensive drives that result in at least one first down or touchdown.
  • AY: Available Yards, yards earned by the opponent offense divided by the total number of yards available based on starting field position.
  • Ex: Explosive Drives, the percentage of each opponent offense's drives that average at least 10 yards per play.
  • Me: Methodical Drives, the percentage of each opponent offense's drives that run 10 or more plays.
  • Va: Value Drives, the percentage of each opponent offense's drives beginning on their own side of the field that reach at least the team's 30-yard line.
  • DSOS: Defensive Strength of Schedule, the likelihood that an elite defense (two standard deviations better than average) would have an above-average DE rating against each of the offenses faced.
The format to post percentages and other numbers was absolute crap... Just click on the links below.

Reference starting with 2012 under DeFo, 2013 under Patterson and 2014 with Gibby:

FEI COLLEGE FOOTBALL RATINGS, DEFENSE
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feidef2012

NCAA S&P+ RATINGS, DEFENSE
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaadef2012
 

CE4WVU

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I've liked it all along. It's strength over 4-3/3-4 is it matches better with various spread approaches. But like I've been saying since we first used it....you have to have the right players to make it work...namely bandit and spur. Addai and Lorello fit the mold perfectly back in the day. Need to be big hitters with speed and able to fill gaps normally covered by LBs in 3-4.

It also gets us back to having that speedy killer defense we had back about 8-10 years ago.
 

Keyser76

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same......gimmicky defense to hide weakness. Let's not get to caught up in a victory over a very bad team.

There is a reason only a team or two runs this defense. We run it now because Gibby knows it better than 3-4 or 4-3.
What weakness we hiding? Pfffft, So glad I don;'t sit by you
 

HurdyGurdyEer

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As a couple of posters have said .... Comes down to playas. If you have guys who understand the defense at the linebacker and secondary positions who are athletic players along with a decent D-Line you're going to have a very good to great defense with the Stack Defense.

Just think about a few of those tackles that were made on Saturday. If they were whiffs GA Southern probably scores a few touchdowns. I doubt they win. But it does become a different game.

Most games come down to the difference of a handful of plays going one way or the other. And the difference in those plays is the play of a player.

Did you see Braxton Miller score that touchdown last night on the spin move? One play by one player kind of broke that game open. If somebody tackles him it might be a different game. If VT's doesn't lose their QB, on one play, it might have been a different game. There's two plays on which, in my opinion, the game swung.

We have some players on defense. Should be a fun year. Hopefully the offense makes steady improvement.
 

WarezEER

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It comes down to Holgs. If he is having a 'bad hair' day you better watch out! If he ain't got a Red Bull in hand.......you better watch out! If he eating pickles that ole Warez and TorontoEERs boy provide............you can calm down. All is well.
 

HurdyGurdyEer

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It comes down to Holgs. If he is having a 'bad hair' day you better watch out! If he ain't got a Red Bull in hand.......you better watch out! If he eating pickles that ole Warez and TorontoEERs boy provide............you can calm down. All is well.

I stand corrected .... pickles it is!

But since we're talkin' pickles I have a few questions and some possible answers. Maybe Warez and Toronto can give us some better answers because I don't want to mislead anyone.

Q. How can you tell when there's 1,000 pounds of pickles under your bed?
A. Because you're closer to the ceiling!

Q: What's green and wears a mask?
A: The Lone Pickle!

Q: What do you call a pickle you buy at a great price?
A: A sweet Dill!

Q. Should you ever eat pickles on an empty stomach?

A. Yes, but it's better to eat 'em off a plate!
 

HurdyGurdyEer

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These three are especially profound.

Q: What is green and swims in the sea?
A: Moby Pickle!.

Q. When can you put pickles in the door?
A. When it's AJAR!

Q: What is green and goes through walls?
A: A pickle, But you have to throw it real hard!
 
May 29, 2001
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For sure GSU is not Alabama, but I wouldn't call them a very bad team! As for the question, I think it works for us because Gibby understands how to coach it and other schools don't see it often. Also, I would think knowing your weakness and coaching mitigate said weakness is a smart coaching move. JMO.
 
May 29, 2001
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Good point! Since the 3-3-5 isn't used often, teams can't prepare for it as they do with other defenses they see in practice every day.

Casteel made it work. Gibson is making it work.

Yes, it was "only" Georgia Southern, but this is the same team that lost to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State by a combined 5 points and beat Florida in 2013. So GaSo isn't exactly the Little Sisters of the Poor. They did win the Sun Belt Conference, which is akin to winning the Mid-American Conference.

We'll have a better idea, of course, after the Maryland game. But if WVU has given up less than 50 points before Oklahoma, I think we're on to something.
 

Chris from WV

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I like the 3-3-5. It allows for Dillon, Worley, Chestnut, Joseph, and Henry to be on the field at the same time. Also, it allows for three linebackers. The obvious absence is a defensive lineman, but I would argue having players like Kwitakowski or Dillon blitz of the edges disrupts an o-line more effectively. It comes down to personnel (which we have) and scheme (which also is working well).
 

TIREPUNK

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As a couple of posters have said .... Comes down to playas. If you have guys who understand the defense at the linebacker and secondary positions who are athletic players along with a decent D-Line you're going to have a very good to great defense with (insert any defense you want )

Just think about a few of those tackles that were made on Saturday. If they were whiffs GA Southern probably scores a few touchdowns. I doubt they win. But it does become a different game.

Most games come down to the difference of a handful of plays going one way or the other. And the difference in those plays is the play of a player.

Did you see Braxton Miller score that touchdown last night on the spin move? One play by one player kind of broke that game open. If somebody tackles him it might be a different game. If VT's doesn't lose their QB, on one play, it might have been a different game. There's two plays on which, in my opinion, the game swung.

We have some players on defense. Should be a fun year. Hopefully the offense makes steady improvement.
All I am say'n is almost everything and everybody has to be darn near perfect for this defense to work. Any weakness and it is a very long day. Not always true with other defenses.
 

WarezEER

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There ain't nuthin like a being in a bar that has a dusty velvet Elvis on the wall and a pickle in a jar! As for me, I'm just treading water at the deep end of the bar! So, pick'em up and drink'em down................this is the last and final round...................for Liberty. Many thanks to HurdyGurdyEER for speaking up for the pickle! Warez