Defensive Fixes Begin With Being Assignment Sound

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A defense is going to give up some yards somewhere along the way.

The idea is to make an opposing offense really earn them. Force the to grind out a drive through a series of plays, the concept being somewhere along the way they'll make a mistake the defense can seize upon to get off the field.

Explosive plays can blow away the theory, and Colorado State is looking to cut down what they've been allowing. To this point, the Rams have surrendered plays of 10 yards or longer 45 times. If there's good news in there, the majority of them have been 20 yards or fewer.

As Washington State jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter, the Cougars had already hit four explosive plays, finishing with nine in the game.

"It's about details. We had some alignment errors that allowed some of those big plays," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "They made a couple of good calls, but also, we didn't adjust very well. Those are things we talked about we alerted our guys to simple technique in Cover 3. The screen-and-go is a play that should not have been a play, and a couple of the big seam passes were just simple alignment errors where guys were supposed to have inside alignment, we align outside, and a guy beats him inside and really gives a lot of green grass up. Those are correctable."

For the most part, the Rams have not allowed huge scoring plays, just three on the season, the longest being a 61-yard touchdown pass to Michigan the first week. It came on a slip screen to the outside; again, another play which Norvell said should not have happened if the Rams played it correctly.

Part of it is the defense adjusting to a new system. There's a difference between knowing a system and being able to play it without thought, with muscle memory. And it's not the same player making the same mistake, it's been a collection of players taking turns at mistakes they all believe are correctable.

"I think again it's playing with details and being disciplined with our eyes," cornerback Chigozie Anusiem said. "I think a lot of times maybe we're overthinking things a little bit. The game plan was pretty simple, and they did everything we expected them to do, so I think it's just trusting what we did all week."

Norvell alluded to that about the whole team in all three phases. Somewhere along the way, the Rams have lost the path of transitioning practice execution to game day, and it has cost them in every area at certain points.

The past two weeks, the defense has gotten off to a slow start, and in all three games, the Rams have been playing from behind, allowing 41 first-quarter points. Part of that equation is on the offense's production to start.

That, linebacker Cam'Ron Carter said, has to change quickly.

"Everybody has to execute, offense and defense. Offense has their job, and we have ours, but we have to win our one-on-ones. If you win your one-on-ones, at the end of the day, you're going to win the game.

"We have to start off fast. We can't come out the second half, like, 'oh, we're playing a game.' We have to come out from the first snap, we're in this thing. We can't get used to always playing behind, start fast and start strong. This Saturday, we're trying to come out fast, come out strong. It's all around. We can feed off everything. We have to set the momentum. If we're out there first, the best thing we can do is a turnover or a three-and-out. That's the best momentum. No points on the board."

The explosive plays haven't helped. They've been part of what's led to everything else, allowing 41 points per game, operating at 38 percent on third down and 67 percent on fourth. There have been some signs of improved play in the second halves of the past two games, but even Middle Tennessee scored on its opening drive, Washington State on its final one.

At times, things are clicking. At times, the Rams are opportunistic, creating three turnovers the past two games, two of them interceptions by Jack Howell. The trick is narrowing those gaps and not giving up chunk plays.

The fix, the Rams say is simple. Learn the task, then perform it to the letter. As Carter recalled the first quarter last week, that's what he remembers.

"It came down to players executing. Sometimes we might be in a bad call and they have the right call, but we also have to get our alignment right," he said. "I feel like we're trying to get that first win, so we emphasize it in practice, do your job, do your job. If everybody on the field does their job, we'll get our returns."

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