Don’t get beat deep. It sounds simple. Don’t let the receiver get behind you. It sounds simple unless you are a defensive back. Then all sorts of things come into play. Proper coverage schemes. Using the proper technique against the receivers. Not letting the receivers out physical, outrun, or even out finesse you. It sounds simple. It isn’t but it has to happen with a greater degree of frequency for the Demon Deacons this Fall. Wake Forest needs to defend the deep ball better. Much better.
Improvements Needed Immediately
It has been a concern for head coach Dave Clawson for many games now. It was a frequent topic last season. Getting beat deep came up after the 34-31 loss to Duke in the regular season finale. “It’s been our Achille’s heel all year, our inability to defend the deep ball,” Clawson said in the post-game press conference. “We have struggled all year defending the deep ball.” The refrain could have been pronounced after many games last season, even some of the wins.
It’s not that there isn’t talent in the defensive secondary. Caelen Carson, Malik Mustapha, DaShawn Jones, Chelen Garnes, Nick Anderson, Evan Slocum. The mix of corners and safeties is talented and interchangeable to a point at times.
Be that as it may, the Wake Forest defense was 115th in the country last year in passing yards given up. They allowed an average of 269 yards passing per game. That includes 29 passing touchdowns which put them in the bottom 25 in the country. Obviously, not all of those yards came from getting beat over the top, but certainly, it was enough of a problem that Clawson has made it a point of emphasis for fixing both in Spring camp and now in the Fall.
Work In Progress
Cornerbacks coach Chip West told us the pressure to improve comes with the territory. “It’s a pressure-packed position,” he said last week. “But we take that challenge on.” Part of that challenge is the development of young talent. “Outside of Caelen, we’re young. They haven’t played a lot of football.” That means working on a lot of the fundamentals of the position while also needing to see some formative progress pretty quickly. West said it is a work in progress with his emphasis being on consistency. “I think from the Spring to now, I think we have done a decent job. I’m not saying it’s great because there is always work to do,” West said. He returned to talk about the basics. “It’s unforced errors nine times out of 10 that result in an explosive play.”
His partner on the staff in the defensive secondary, safeties coach James Adams, was singing from the same hymnal, in talking about the basics, the fundamentals, and consistency from day to day. “You have to drive a point home to the guys that you have to master the mundane,” Adams said. He referred to it as moving the little rocks in order to get things done.
The Messaging
If it sounds like they say a lot of the same things, it is not by accident. West, Adams, and defensive coordinator Brad Lambert meet together with frequency. He said the defensive backs hearing the same message from each of the three coaches, “Adds another layer of trust and confidence in the technique that we are teaching them.”
Adams is also preaching about the aggressiveness it takes to play in the defensive secondary. “There’s a lot of opportunities for us to punch balls, scoop balls, intercept balls, whatever it is. Finding a way to get into position to make a play on the ball is going to eliminate a lot of those big plays.”
Adams said depth is not the concern that it was last year when Anderson was lost for the season with a fracture in his foot in camp that never fully healed. He is back at full strength and has had an impressive camp to this point.
Moving the Chess Pieces
Adams said with injuries throughout the year last year, there were a lot of moving pieces in the defensive secondary. That helps answer the depth issues this year. “We have more depth because we have guys that we can plug and play and move around into different positions back there. Now it is just about trying to find enough reps for them at the various spots.”
Mustapha is going to be counted on as one of the leaders of the group regardless of who is fitting in where. He was fourth on the team in tackles last year with 58. But it wasn’t just the numbers. He also played a very physical defense with three-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles. Adams said Mustapha is one of the guys making sure the others are, “Meeting their mark and making sure everyone is meeting that standard every day.”
As if they were not already in sync on their messaging to their players, and to inquisitive reporters, both coaches also agreed that the defensive secondary should reap the benefits of having to practice every day against a receiver corps that is inarguably one of the best in the ACC.
Every day, we get to go up against the best,” Adams said. “So on Saturday when we know we are going to get somebody’s best shot, we’ve seen this. We’ve seen it in Spring. We saw it in Fall camp. On game day we should be ready to roll with anything.”
Clawson would undoubtedly like to check that off as one less thing to worry about this season.
Photo courtesy: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
