Rams Need Disciplined Approach Defensively to Avoid Chaos

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Mountain West in a normal season will generally have some chaos, outcomes and injuries which lead to some surprising results. This year has seemed to have a bit more than usual, and the quarterback position has been a root cause.

Colorado State has not been immune, starting three different players. Utah State is on its fourth quarterback. San Diego State started a former safety. But the most shocking change of all may have hit Boise State, where nobody likely had Hank Bachmeier transferring out of the program on their bingo card.

Redshirt freshman Taylen Green had played in relief, starting with a season-opening loss, but the job was his when Bachmeier left the program. The Broncos sat at 2-2 at the time but have won three consecutive games with him starting heading into Saturday's game with Colorado State.

Green is a different style of quarterback, and his ability to run and escape pressure does have the attention of Colorado State's defense.

"He's a good runner, and he's a threat running the football. Obviously, we have to be very disciplined and contain and control that part of their game," CSU head coach Jay Norvell said. "You can't let a quarterback run wild on you because it opens up everything else. He's also made some really good throws, too, so we have to play really disciplined defense and we've been doing that."

Green has had a pair of 100-yard rushing games this year. The first was against Oregon State coming off the bench, the second a 105-yard effort in his first start against San Diego State. In the past two weeks, he's only rushed for 38 yards combined.

Still, the Rams know the threat exists. The good news is they don't feel they need to make major alterations in their scheme to rush him.

"Every week we try to come up with a plan about everybody's pocket awareness and pocket presence as a quarterback. He does give you a different dimension than we've seen; he's one of the fastest dudes we've seen," CSU defensive line coach Buddha Williams said. "We do have to be disciplined in our rush lanes and how we go about it. Our rush lanes change week to week. We will change, but we do what we do a little bit."

The Rams have not been piling up sacks as of late, just one in the past two weeks and none against Hawaii, but the Rams have been getting pressure on the pocket. Pressure without getting to the point of attack against a quarterback as mobile as Green can be problematic, especially if not being applied in tandem.

That's where Mohamed Kamara, who leads the team with 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, feels the Rams have excelled as the season has progressed. So, there's no reason to be unreasonably concerned.

"Not really, just because if you win and get there fast enough, you should get the sack. If we're not doing a good job rushing together, then those lanes pop up," he said. "If we're rushing together, those lanes are not there. We just get along. We know what we're looking for during the week and know what we're trying to get accomplished, so it's easy when it comes to the game. If practice is hard, the game is easy.

"The key is the discipline. Watching our reads, making sure we read the right thing and making sure we don't overstep and having the right footwork."

Williams calls it rushing as one, with no lone wolves exploring territory on their own. It's been the work of the defensive line which has produced nearly all the pressure, as the group has collected 11 of the team's 12 sacks.

He said Colorado State has seen what some other team have used to be effective, but the key is finding a path while keeping others from opening while working out of the base defense. It's what they've practiced all year, so when applied, it's more natural to stay in unison.

Since conference play, Colorado State's defense has performed better, which Williams feels can be attributed to progression gained through experience, especially for a defensive line playing a lot of young players.

"It's confidence in a point of during the week preparing," he said. "Normally, young guys get in there and now they know what to expect, and now they know the work is done Sunday through Friday; that's when the work is done. Now, they're, I can go out and trust my eyes, trust what I see on tape, trust my keys and now I can use my God-given ability why I'm here.

"Now they see the work is done during the week preparing."

Green had his best game throwing the ball last week, hitting 16-of-24 attempts for 224 yards, but he has thrown an interception in each of his three starts. He's hit a few big plays with his arm, and he's still picked up some chunk yardage with his legs.

The Rams just want to avoid the chaos Green can create, especially if he becomes more of a focus in the lineup with the Broncos' health questions at running back.

"I think our guys appreciate more how when everybody does their job, we can have success defensively. That will be important this week," Norvell said. "I think the biggest thing is big plays. We can't give up big plays. Guys are going to make yards on you here and there, but you don't want to give up the big pass or a big run because of a breakdown in run fits. I think our guys are understanding that and that's going to be important this week."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results