UVA’s Snowden: Big plays are killing us

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Explosive plays can kill a defensive gameplan, and Virginia has been a victim of that statistic during its three-game losing streak.

One of the Cavaliers’ defensive captains, senior outside linebacker Charles Snowden, believes UVA is playing similar defense to last year when it was one of the best in the ACC — with one exception.

“There’s just one difference and that’s in our big plays,” Snowden said this week. “We’re giving up way too many big plays. If you look at the numbers, we’re playing kind of the exact same as we have in years past, but it’s just big plays are just killing us, and that’s kind of overshadowing the rest of the picture.”

Snowden isn’t the only one who has noticed that shortcoming. So has Miami coach Manny Diaz, whose Hurricanes host Virginia for the second straight year come Saturday night.

UVA gave up six explosive plays at Wake Forest in a 40-23 loss that got out of hand for the Cavaliers after they were tied 23-all early in the fourth quarter.

“Bronco [Mendenhall] knows that too, and he’s referenced that,” Diaz said in his weekly press conference. “I’m sure that’ll be a big point of emphasis in their practice this week. I know we’ve played them the last two years and I don’t think anybody has gotten to 20 points. I’m not sure anybody has gotten to 17 points in this game the last two years.

“They’ve got a lot of pride in what they do. They’ve got a lot of experienced players. Wake Forest is a team that has got an explosive offense. What Wake Forest does puts a lot of pressure on your secondary, the way they kind of run the slow, inside zone. They make it straight man [coverage] everywhere pretty much no matter what you’re in. I think sometimes we do have to give the other team credit. I know that staff at Virginia, and have seen those guys work for too long to know that won’t be a major point of emphasis this week, and try to limit our ability to create explosive plays, because that’s obviously something we have done well through the first half of the season.”

Virginia didn’t help its own cause at Wake, committing two critical turnovers after tying the game. The Deacons capitalized on those mistakes, turning both into scores, accompanying a 75-yard touchdown run, one of the six explosive plays against the Cavalier defense.

Snowden said the defense has to reduce those big plays this week against the Hurricanes, which has made a living off big plays this season en route to a 4-1 record (3-1 in league play).

“Big plays are always either assignment mistakes, a missed tackle, or someone’s just not making a play,” Snowden said. “And so in order for a big play to happen, it’s easy to look at the defensive back and say, ‘Cover your man, knock that ball down.’

“But in order for the receiver to run down the field 30 yards, we have to get more pressure on the quarterback. We have to get more guys in his face and cause more havoc.”

That has been a problem, too. Virginia returned practically its entire defense from a year ago when the Cavaliers crushed the school record for quarterback sacks (46). Since the Duke opener, when UVA posted five sacks, they’ve hardly laid a mitt on opposing QBs.

In addition, the secondary has been exploited several times, including on Wake’s two opening drives last week when the Deacs’ slot receiver got behind two of Virginia’s most experienced defensive backs for a quick 14-0 lead.

Mendenhall has said that the secondary positions control the points, and so far that has surprisingly been a UVA weakness in what was expected to be a strength.

Still, Mendenhall said he is not disappointed in his defense at this juncture of the season.

“Not necessarily,” the coach said. “I really like our run front, the front seven. It’s 3.6 yards per play, currently. We did have a ball that went out the gate (the 75-yarder) with a missed fit in the Wake game that really hurt us.

“You can’t ever take that away, but if you did or if we could, that’s 40-something attempts and about 100 yards total. So our run defense has been stellar at this point. Our inconsistency right now is in our secondary and that’s our topic of focus right now. So not disappointed, but more clear on where and if the opponent moves the ball, where it’s happening.”

Heading to Florida as a 10-point underdog, Mendenhall said he and his staff are not reaching for the panic button. He said there’s a resolve in his team.

“They know they’re capable of more,” the coach said. “They’ve experienced more, but they also understand what they need to improve.”

While the defense has been pinned as the problem in UVA’s 1-3 start, the offense and special teams can’t be let off the hook. Ball security on both has led to 47 points by opponents, which is a huge number after only four games.

“That and big plays against our defense downfield, usually in the throw game, primarily have a huge influence on outcome,” Mendenhall said. “Those things have to be cleaned up.”

Three UVA senior starting defensive backs — safeties Joey Blount and Brenton Nelson and cornerback De’Vante Cross — didn’t finish the Wake game due to injuries. Mendenhall said Monday that he had not been updated on the status of those players at that point.

“We can’t let that affect us,” Snowden said. “I have confidence in every guy that steps out there, whether they’ve been out there or not. I mean, I see what guys can do in practice, but also, the front seven has to step up and play better when we see that because we have kind of less-experienced guys back there.

“But last season, guys were kind of beaten down toward the end of the season, but we still won the division with those guys. I still have faith that no matter who’s out there, guys will get it done.”