With New Scheme Devils Expecting Better Defense

Offense, defense and special teams.

When you hear a head football coach dissect the performance of his squad after a game, all three phases will factor into the overall assessment.

With placekicker Will Snyderwine, a 2010 All-America and 2011 All-ACC preseason pick, back to anchor the kicking game, the Blue Devils are expecting their special teams unit to once again be a reliable one.

Likewise, with redshirt junior Sean Renfree back under center, the only returning signal-caller in the ACC to throw for more than 3,000 yards last year, and a stable of wide receivers and tight ends that includes 2011 preseason All-ACC wideout Connor Vernon, head coach David Cutcliffe expects his team to be able to keep the scoreboard busy, much as it did when it averaged more than 25 points per game in 2010.

The success of this year's team, then, will likely depend on the facet of Duke football that struggled most in 2010 – defense.

After finishing at or near the bottom of the conference in most defensive statistical categories last season, Cutcliffe made a change at defensive coordinator. Jim Knowles, who spent last year tutoring the safeties, will take over that spot, a position he has held under Cutcliffe before.

“The biggest difference in our entire defensive operation is Jim Knowles,” Cutcliffe told the media at the ACC football kickoff in Pinehurst, N.C. “Jim was with us at Ole Miss for one season in 2003 and in that particular year we won ten games – he was a big part of that. I'm very excited about him coordinating our defense.”

Knowles brings with him an advanced knowledge of the 4-2-5 defensive formation Duke will employ for a majority of its snaps this season.

“Last year we started in all kinds of different formations, and by the end of the season we were in a 4-2-5, but we didn't have a real good system,” said linebacker Kelby Brown, the team's third-leading tackler in 2010 despite playing in only nine games. “This year we'll get a chance to really learn it and by the time the season rolls around, we'll know it front and back – that's going to make a huge difference for us.”

The 4-2-5 scheme, which utilizes four down lineman, two linebackers, and five defensive backs, will allow the Devils to play to the strengths of their best athletes.

“The biggest part of this new defense is that it's really where we fit from a personnel standpoint,” Brown said in the weeks leading up to the start of fall camp. “It allows [linebackers] to be run stoppers primarily because the coverage is mostly handled by the defensive backs. Our coverage reads are pretty simple so it allows us to be a lot more aggressive.”

“It's going to help us spread out the pressure, especially on the defensive ends,” said Kenny Anunike, a redshirt junior defensive end entering his second season at that position after beginning his career as a tight end. “We won't see as many double-teams – now they'll have to focus come on our tackles as well.”

With the lack of returning experience at the quarterback position throughout the ACC, Duke hopes to make life difficult on the league's newcomers. If the Devils can find a way to spend more time in their opponents' backfield, it should lead to quicker and riskier decisions by QBs that for the most part have very few in-game snaps under their belts.

“We're going to be applying a lot of pressure,” said Daniels, who led the Devils in forced fumbles in 2010 with three. “With pressure come turnovers. The defense has become a lot more aggressive with its scheme, the scheme that Knowles has drawn up for us. We're ready to get after it and show the world who we are as a defense.”

“I want to see big plays,” Brown echoed. “I want to see sacks and interceptions.”

With a new-look scheme and a new man calling the shots, Duke is hoping for new life on the defensive side of the ball when the season opens on September 3^rd against Richmond.

“Coach Knowles is a mastermind when it comes to defensive schemes,” said Anunike. “Expect big things. We're going to make something happen this year in the ACC.”