@ said:
Great work with the analysis. It would seem that there simply isn't enough talk going on between them. There needs to be a leader in the outside defensive line to tell these guys what to do. Easy for us to say, I guess, but how in the world did these guys reach this level with these kinds of defensive defficiencies?
I don't know, sometimes if you are close to the field you can hear talk but it's often fullbacks, I never get an accurate read on the backline talking. They should be yelling at each other constantly, I know its tiring but when teams are constantly putting second men into the line, you need to change who you are taking.
The first try is the perfect example, the outside 3 stay on Souths front outside 3, nobody picks up GI even though they must have had instructions to watch him, GI is the biggest threat on the park.
I have no idea what they do at training but I wonder if they just ran touch footy drills about talking and marking up, practice more to put themselves in the right position. I would want to see the wingers yelling at their inside men, they should have code words for a change in defensive pattern, and if the inside guy has been beaten on the outer he should call it whether he'll make the play or not. Come in if he calls you in, stay out if he does not.
Because IMO the hardest thing for a FB to do is cover the winger, you speed across field and wingers know how to step in or take the tackle. Far easier to come forward and help a backrower who is just being skirted, and so much easier for the inside cover to come across 1-2 spaces, than the FB to cover 4 spaces to reach the open winger.