Defending the HUNH

[AgentAntiOrange]

The best way I have noticed to defend HUNH is to do one of 2 things on defense - 1) create a negative yardage play on first down or 2) force incomplete passes. Either one of the 2 disrupts the timing of the offense and forces more huddles. A lot of HUNH is a series of script play calling that must be disrupted.

Here is the most complete description of exactly what is happening in a HUNH offense.

It is an interesting but puturbing read. HUNH offenses exploit every rule in the book that shows you just how much the offense is favored in the game. Sickening really. The writer openly suggests the tempo could be dangerous to defensive players who are not used to playing against it. In reading, I dont see one effective tool the defense can employ to stop when run properly because it is a rule book offense not player on player.

After reading this I cant see why we havent seen more vocal requests for rule changes by defensive minded teams or the NFL. Seriously you cant run this offense long term in the NFL with only a 54 man roster.

Like I have said before if you to see football turn into lacrosse there ought to be some rule changes to balance the inequity because this strategy is hijacking football.

I actually agree with the man that this philosophy does work and I agree with what he says about why it works. Sometimes I think we get caught up in thinking that the argument/issue is between HUNH vs no HUNH and is it "right" or "wrong" to use it. It's not. HUNH exists, it is legal, and teams employ it. Period. If they regulate it, fine. But until then, the sole question is how do you stop it.

First off, you need a plan. Probably a 8-10 man rotation of DBs with a system for rotating the "friendly-side" corner and nickel so they alternate positions to avoid being run to death as the author describes. You need to really disguise your man/zone looks as well as disguise zone blitzes/man blitzes. Jamming the inside WRs is an absolute must.

I also adamantly believe that you must attack aggressiveness with aggressiveness. You cannot sit back in coverage and allow plays to develop. This offense runs too much misdirection and too many drag/crossing routes. You'll give up 1st downs and you'll lose. I think you need to blitz the daylights out of them and hope you get more stops than you give up big plays. Then your offense needs to be exactly what we have--the ability to pound you into submission and beat you over the top. It's a difficult task and it tests a defense's ability to properly plan and execute for 60 minutes and you'll have to just live with some level of success by the offense but if you win the battle early then the offensive scheme starts to turn in on itself.

 

[Clubfitter]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324809004578636300350207808.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet

The NFL, they say, has a long-standing pace at which they do things between plays and the referees "aren't going to change just to accommodate someone's offense," said Mike Pereira, a former NFL vice president of officiating who is now an analyst for Fox Sports.
"We have to make sure teams understand that they don't control the tempo, our officials do," said NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino. "We're going through our normal ball mechanics, we aren't going to rush [unless] it's in the two minute drill."
Blandino said he has talked to every NFL team coaching staff during the off-season to emphasize that there's no forcing the issue—the offense will not be able to snap the ball until the referees signals they're ready.
Kelly declined to comment. An Eagles spokesman also declined to comment.

 

[Nolan]

Our offense NOT going three and out the first several possessions will be just as important as playing good defense come week 3.

 

[Con]

Our offense NOT going three and out the first several possessions will be just as important as playing good defense come week 3.

Totally agree with this. If the offense puts together longer drives than the first few against A&M last year, they don't get momentum and the defense gets more time to make some adjustments. Once our guys adapt to the speed of the game they put those teams on lock down.

 

[teamplayer]

Our offense NOT going three and out the first several possessions will be just as important as playing good defense come week 3.

You are exactly right. Many people like to lay all of the blame of falling behind 20-0 on the defense, but the offense didn't do anything, and I mean anything at all, until we were down 20-0. It is a team game. Unfortunately, neither the offense nor the defense got their tails in gear until we were down by 20.

 

[graydogg85]

It seems like this thread basically devolved into "how to defend Texas A&M"....while that's a valid discussion, the HUNH is a tempo rather than its own exclusive offensive scheme. There are a number of teams at the college and NFL level that spend at least a portion of their offense in an uptempo, no-huddle mode and you don't necessarily have to be a "spread" team to do it. Look at teams like Oklahoma, or the Patriots. Alabama has used it numerous times over the last few seasons. I don't think it's going away anytime soon, although its shelf-life as an every-series tempo for spread-type teams (a la aTm, Oregon, etc.) may be limited. I think you'll continue to see a diverse array of offenses use this tempo at least occasionally as it gives the defense one more thing to prepare for and can be easily installed.

 

[Bryant Ave]

Wanted to bring this back to the top since the Coach Saban hyperbole is over and he is of course staying.

Coach Saban has been here 7 years, but I believe he will view the Auburn game at a more personal level in the future. We will hear less 3rd person speak about how much the game means.......as this game probably stung like no other. And like us, he lives in Alabama. With that said, I see him and the coaching staff making it a priority this offense to devise ways of neutralizing this offense. Number of packages will be reduced so players can get into position more quickly, and from there they will have a more simplified philosophy of getting to the quarterback from multiple angles in an attempt to thwart his options. He will fight fire with fire. It will be an onslaught with defenders in a 5-2 with a constant surprise blitz. But the the goal will be to reach the quarterback as quickly as possible as that is where all the options originate. If the QB is not a great passer then we will just about always have a safety doing something up front.

 

[JustJim]

When Art Briles first installed his offense at Baylor, the Aggies would fake injuries to slow the pace.

I've seen Auburn do it - ironic.

 

[JIB]

You are exactly right. Many people like to lay all of the blame of falling behind 20-0 on the defense, but the offense didn't do anything, and I mean anything at all, until we were down 20-0. It is a team game. Unfortunately, neither the offense nor the defense got their tails in gear until we were down by 20.

Bama's 1st three drives against TAMU in 2012:
3 and out - 2 yards of offense
4 plays - INT
3 and out - 1 yard of offense

AJ started 1 for 5 for 5 yards and an INT.

 

[CrimsonForce]

Bama's 1st three drives against TAMU in 2012:
3 and out - 2 yards of offense
4 plays - INT
3 and out - 1 yard of offense

AJ started 1 for 5 for 5 yards and an INT.

Yep. Almost all the games we have lost or close games the last few years have been mostly a result of our offense not showing up. 2011 loss to LSU our offense did nothing, 2012 loss to aTm our offense was non existence the first quarter, and this year vs *u, we should have hung at least 40 on them, but we only scored 28. Almost everybody put 35+ on *u. No reason we shouldn't have. Seems to me like our close games or games we struggle in, it's our offense not playing well, not our defense struggling. I dont see any reason to change our defensive philosophy other than try to get more pressure with the front 4.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Wanted to bring this back to the top since the Coach Saban hyperbole is over and he is of course staying.

Coach Saban has been here 7 years, but I believe he will view the Auburn game at a more personal level in the future. We will hear less 3rd person speak about how much the game means.......as this game probably stung like no other. And like us, he lives in Alabama. With that said, I see him and the coaching staff making it a priority this offense to devise ways of neutralizing this offense. Number of packages will be reduced so players can get into position more quickly, and from there they will have a more simplified philosophy of getting to the quarterback from multiple angles in an attempt to thwart his options. He will fight fire with fire. It will be an onslaught with defenders in a 5-2 with a constant surprise blitz. But the the goal will be to reach the quarterback as quickly as possible as that is where all the options originate. If the QB is not a great passer then we will just about always have a safety doing something up front.

From a defensive perspective Saban is going to have to do something this offseason. But I agree with antiorange, you cannot be in a "defend" mode against this offense. You have to be in an attack mode or you will give up first down after first down after first down.

The offense also has the responsibility of being efficient and not going three and out. This year it seemed our offense started slow in more games than I've seen in a few years. It took a butt chewing at halftime from Saban for our OL to start asserting itself during the LSU game. It's things like that we have to clean up. Against HUNH offenses you can't wait until the second half before starting to "turn it on".

 

[Bryant Ave]

From a defensive perspective Saban is going to have to do something this offseason. But I agree with antiorange, you cannot be in a "defend" mode against this offense. You have to be in an attack mode or you will give up first down after first down after first down.

The offense also has the responsibility of being efficient and not going three and out. This year it seemed our offense started slow in more games than I've seen in a few years. It took a butt chewing at halftime from Saban for our OL to start asserting itself during the LSU game. It's things like that we have to clean up. Against HUNH offenses you can't wait until the second half before starting to "turn it on".

Good comments. Stopping the HUNH is going to be an interesting aspect of next year. We basically just tweaked our normal defense and simplified, but we might see an entirely new approach. Can't wait. If anyone can stop it, Coach Saban and Smart are good candidates to devise a blueprint.

 

[braggtd]

This old thread deserves a bump. Every team should run no huddle against Bama next year. Hopefully coach can either adapt or we change our offensive philosophy to compete in Big 12 types of track meets. We need to figure out Stanford's scheme. They seam to defend the HUNH while staying true to the smash mouth running game.

 

[derek4tide]

This old thread deserves a bump. Every team should run no huddle against Bama next year. Hopefully coach can either adapt or we change our offensive philosophy to compete in Big 12 types of track meets. We need to figure out Stanford's scheme. They seam to defend the HUNH while staying true to the smash mouth running game.

Agreed. If our opponents use the HUNH next year and we don't improve/change our scheme, we will lose 4-5 games.

 

[AlistarWills]

We are going to get it from every team we play. No doubt about it. Teams have figured out that if they line up quickly and run a play we can't sit around and read keys and dissect a play. When your front line is not in their position or on their knees when the ball is snapped, this doesn't bode well for you. As I told a couple people last night, the HUNH is how less talented teams have found they can compete. First is was the sling it everywhere to the quick WR's and now lets speed it up with the zone read and short passes. If the other team can't get set they can't play.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

We are going to get it from every team we play. No doubt about it. Teams have figured out that if they line up quickly and run a play we can't sit around and read keys and dissect a play. When your front line is not in their position or on their knees when the ball is snapped, this doesn't bode well for you. As I told a couple people last night, the HUNH is how less talented teams have found they can compete. First is was the sling it everywhere to the quick WR's and now lets speed it up with the zone read and short passes. If the other team can't get set they can't play.

Yep, my dad said the same thing and it ain't going away. Matter of fact beginning next year I'd be surprised if every team we played didn't run it on us. I would because we can't stop it.

 

[Ldlane]

Glad to see you made it! :wink:

Yep, my dad said the same thing and it ain't going away. Matter of fact beginning next year I'd be surprised if every team we played didn't run it on us. I would because we can't stop it.

 

[Alabama22]

We can't stop the HUNH offense. I hope Coach Saban will study video from the LSU/TAMU games the past two years, and the LSU/AU game this year. John Chavis seems to have figured out how to stop the HUNH.

 

[BamaFlum]

We can't stop the HUNH offense. I hope Coach Saban will study video from the LSU/TAMU games the past two years, and the LSU/AU game this year. John Chavis seems to have figured out how to stop the HUNH.

Stanford does a good job also.


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[TidePride50]

Saban is the best in business, he and Smart will fix it. I think it has more to do with players than scheme.


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