Indiana University Athletics
As Defense Progresses, Allen Wants More Takeaways
10/25/2016 8:11:00 PM | Football
By: Nick Reith
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tom Allen's mantra is unwavering. His defense has three core components on the field: tackle well, give maximum effort and force takeaways.
That's what made Saturday's game against Northwestern so frustrating for Allen. The defense did well to adjust before the second half, in which the Hoosiers allowed only 37 yards, but they came up short of a takeaway.
"As a group, we tackled pretty well, but we had three dropped interceptions," Allen said. "Those are opportunities you don't get back, and they can change everything about the game. We lost 10 points as a direct result of not getting those, and you never know what it's going to do for us with the field position, momentum and psyche that it creates."
The Wildcats didn't do anything that the Hoosiers weren't prepared to face, Allen said, but the little mistakes and mental lapses turned into big plays. On Northwestern's first third down of the game, they had the play read, but two defenders ran into one another in coverage, and one was supposed to rush the passer.
Correcting those little mistakes is at the forefront of Allen's mind this week. With IU entering the final five games of the regular season, the importance of each game grows as the season continues.
"We're only given so many opportunities as coaches and players each year, and right now we have to make the most of our five remaining games," said Allen. "The sense of urgency is high, no doubt, and it should be that way. We've worked extremely hard every single week, and that doesn't change, but we have to challenge our guys with picking one thing that they're going to focus on to elevate their game this week."
One of the steps forward for this Hoosiers defense is to see an increase in play from their second unit, the "twos" as Allen calls them. He saw some bright moments from the twos against Northwestern, like Mike Barwick Jr.'s third down sack and Dameon Willis' backfield tackle.
The guy who drew Allen's attention the most was Nile Sykes, who lines up in the same spot as starting defensive end Greg Gooch. Sykes recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss in a breakout performance, but that's no surprise to Allen. And now that he's seen it, Allen expects that effort from Sykes on every snap he plays.
"I was very proud of him for that, but on the heels of that, he put on film what I believed he had in him all along. So now we have to practice at a higher level to bring that consistently. That's what the great teams and defenses do, and we can count on him when we know we can get that from him consistently."
Allen's eyes turn to next weekend's home game against the Maryland Terrapins (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten East). A positive result could prove to be crucial for Indiana, but they'll have to earn it against a wildly diverse spread attack that emphasizes horizontal movement and a lot of carries for their runners.
"They've had some games where they put up ridiculous rushing numbers, so they've done a great job establishing the run game," Allen said. "Both of their quarterbacks are athletic enough to run the football, and they do a great job of stretching you horizontally to beat you vertically. Schematically, they will isolate you and force you to tackle in space, which is today's game. We are built with that in mind, but getting those guys on the ground is a different story. They make a lot of good defenders miss on film, run extremely hard, and we'll have to be at our best."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tom Allen's mantra is unwavering. His defense has three core components on the field: tackle well, give maximum effort and force takeaways.
That's what made Saturday's game against Northwestern so frustrating for Allen. The defense did well to adjust before the second half, in which the Hoosiers allowed only 37 yards, but they came up short of a takeaway.
"As a group, we tackled pretty well, but we had three dropped interceptions," Allen said. "Those are opportunities you don't get back, and they can change everything about the game. We lost 10 points as a direct result of not getting those, and you never know what it's going to do for us with the field position, momentum and psyche that it creates."
The Wildcats didn't do anything that the Hoosiers weren't prepared to face, Allen said, but the little mistakes and mental lapses turned into big plays. On Northwestern's first third down of the game, they had the play read, but two defenders ran into one another in coverage, and one was supposed to rush the passer.
Correcting those little mistakes is at the forefront of Allen's mind this week. With IU entering the final five games of the regular season, the importance of each game grows as the season continues.
"We're only given so many opportunities as coaches and players each year, and right now we have to make the most of our five remaining games," said Allen. "The sense of urgency is high, no doubt, and it should be that way. We've worked extremely hard every single week, and that doesn't change, but we have to challenge our guys with picking one thing that they're going to focus on to elevate their game this week."
One of the steps forward for this Hoosiers defense is to see an increase in play from their second unit, the "twos" as Allen calls them. He saw some bright moments from the twos against Northwestern, like Mike Barwick Jr.'s third down sack and Dameon Willis' backfield tackle.
The guy who drew Allen's attention the most was Nile Sykes, who lines up in the same spot as starting defensive end Greg Gooch. Sykes recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss in a breakout performance, but that's no surprise to Allen. And now that he's seen it, Allen expects that effort from Sykes on every snap he plays.
"I was very proud of him for that, but on the heels of that, he put on film what I believed he had in him all along. So now we have to practice at a higher level to bring that consistently. That's what the great teams and defenses do, and we can count on him when we know we can get that from him consistently."
Allen's eyes turn to next weekend's home game against the Maryland Terrapins (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten East). A positive result could prove to be crucial for Indiana, but they'll have to earn it against a wildly diverse spread attack that emphasizes horizontal movement and a lot of carries for their runners.
"They've had some games where they put up ridiculous rushing numbers, so they've done a great job establishing the run game," Allen said. "Both of their quarterbacks are athletic enough to run the football, and they do a great job of stretching you horizontally to beat you vertically. Schematically, they will isolate you and force you to tackle in space, which is today's game. We are built with that in mind, but getting those guys on the ground is a different story. They make a lot of good defenders miss on film, run extremely hard, and we'll have to be at our best."
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