Double-edged sword
Newberry has been pleased with the high number of sacks and pressures the Mids have mustered this season and estimates that 90% have been the result of blitz packages. However, there have been too many times when Navy committed four or five defenders to rushing the quarterback and failed to get home, leaving the pass coverage vulnerable.
During the first half against Notre Dame, Newberry often rushed three and dropped eight. Quarterback Drew Pyne had all day to sit in the pocket and wound up picking apart the Mids.
Therein lies the big difference between this season and Newberry’s first. In 2019, Navy ranked a respectable 52nd nationally in pass defense, allowing 215 yards per game. So far in 2022, the Mids stand 116th out of 131 Football Bowl Subdivision schools averaging 274 passing yards given up.
“Sacks are great, but it’s been kind of a wash because of all the big plays we have given up,” Newberry acknowledged. “We have to take chances and pressure the quarterback, but we have to be able to cover whenever we do that.”
Saturday provided a stark example of the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Navy defense. The Midshipmen played soft zone pass coverage and got torched by Pyne, who completed 14 of 16 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns as the Fighting Irish built a commanding 35-13 lead.
Under duress the entire second half, Pyne only completed 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards with one attempt getting deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Marshall.
Newberry said this week the Midshipmen need to improve their situational awareness. Most of the big pass plays this past Saturday were the result of mental mistakes, he said.
“On third-and-15, you don’t want to jump a 3-yard drag route and we did that twice, which opened a window behind,” Newberry said. “We need to do a better job of understanding what teams want to do and where they need to get to pick up a first down. We need to let people throw to the checkdown [receivers] then rally to the ball and make the tackle.”
Navy’s defense will be presented with the dilemma of whether to bring pressure or sit back in coverage again Saturday against No. 20 Central Florida. The Knights are led by dual-threat quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who has passed for 2,015 yards and rushed for 708 yards. He has accounted for 21 touchdowns (12 passing, nine rushing).
Newberry said the Midshipmen must be careful when putting pressure on Plumlee, who is very adept at escaping the pocket and rambling for big yardage. UCF also has numerous designed runs for Plumlee, who will keep the ball and head out the backdoor off a fake jet sweep or shoot up the middle of a delayed draw. He is very dangerous off run-pass-option concepts and can also execute power reads behind zone blocking, Newberry said.
“You have to account for the quarterback at all times. When you do bring pressure, you have to make sure you have containment. We can’t allow him to get out of the pocket; If we have a chance to tackle him, we need to get him on the ground.”