Bill Stewart gets a lot of grief for the sometimes meandering manner of his press conferences. Sometimes we get confused trying to follow along and sort sense from nonsense. Quite often, there’s a good point lost in translation. 

Fortunately, there’s value in Decoding Bill Stewart. This week, WVU’s head coach is asked about what’s made his defense so effective of late. Stewart talks of shoestrings and Wicksy, but also of the value of speed, experience and even depth as they relate to the Mountaineers and what they do so well on the defensive side of the ball.

From Tuesday’s press conference

Question: “Coach, your defense is ranked nationally in many categories¹ and among the tops in country². What is it about that defense that’s coming together so well now?”

Answer: “Speed. Speed and they understand. Remember earlier in the season when I said, ‘Once our safeties, once Robert Sands, once Sidney Glover, who’s kind of — Sidney’s out there leading all of that, he and Robert getting everything lined up – and Terence Garvin get on a shoestring³, get on a string, once those guys start on a string like ’07, Wicksy⁴, Ryan Mundy with the Steelers⁵, once we get on that like that and those two corners we have? Man, you can do a lot of stuff.⁶‘

“Now you insert a linebacker, you take a guy like Najee Goode coming off on a big tackle, a Bruce Irvin comes in, our ‘40’ and our ‘SWAT’ package, guys, it’s pretty lethal now⁷.

“We have five fast guys, four fast guys. Boy, I’ll tell you what. Our ‘SWAT,’ our ’40,’ which is our ‘nickel,’ ‘dime,’⁸ you know who’s second-team? Think about who’s second-team on that. Scooter Berry and Chris Neild. That’s our two starters⁹. They’re second-team on that. You talk about speed¹⁰?

“So we’ve got the disguise, we’ve got corners, now we’ve got linebackers that can blitz and then you bring, you bring a Robert Sands down as a ‘Sam’¹¹ and you bring Sidney Glover down as a ‘Willie,’¹² put two more corners in for their place¹³, we’re fast. That’s what’s happened to our defense. We’re fast. And we’ve been able to get ahead.

“Someone said the other day we’ve been ahead every, what, five games, the five wins we’ve got ahead. Is that correct¹⁴? Once we get ahead and people start passing, it seems like our defense is responding pretty well.¹⁵“

And breathe. Let’s tiptoe through the footnotes.

1. Actually, WVU’s defense is ranked in every defensive category. The NCAA ranks all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in 37 categories — 14 on defense. It’s a statistical evaluation.

2. True! The Mountaineers are No. 5 in total defense, No. 3 in scoring defense, No. 4 in rush defense, No. 11 in pass defense and No. 11 in sacks. And yet I’d argue that defense is probably underrated nationally.

3. Take that, Denard Robinson! This is actually pretty sharp. WVU’s three safeties aren’t on the same page as much as they are connected by a shoestring. Try and follow me here: They’re all connected and when one moves they must all move. It’s critical to the pre-snap shifts and deception — what Stewart calls disguises — in which those safeties engage.

4. That’d be Eric Wicks. His name has come up a bunch this season. Jeff Casteel delivered us into a discussion a while back about what was a better play-on-the-ball interception: Wicks against Louisville in 2007 or Brandon Hogan against Coastal Carolina this season. I say Hogan.

 5. Yep, Ryan Mundy plays safety and is a special teams regular for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The third safety in 2007? Conspicuously absent Quinton Andrews, who had an enormous interception in the Fiesta Bowl that involved him baiting Oklahoma quarterback – and eventual Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick – Sam Bradford (3:05 mark). Come to think of it, that game offered a pretty vivid illustration of what savvy safeties can mean to a defense.

6. If you can’t trust your cornerbacks, you have to ask your safeties to do a lot in the pass game, which greatly limits the way the shoestring can fold to confuse the quarterback, cover the field, and contest the run.

7. No more effective than on third down, which is something WVU really, really wanted to be good at this season. If the Mountaineers can win first down and not lose on second down — that is, give up a first down or create a third-and-short — they feel good about third down. If it’s a passing situation — and this is dictated by the score, the time on the clock and field position as much as it is by down and distance — WVU is going to a pass/pass rush defense, which is when things get really fun. The aforementioned national rankings? WVU is No. 2 in first downs allowed per game and third-down conversion percentage. The sacks, the pressure and the constant threat have a lot to do with that.

8. Backwards. Not being picky, just consistent. To be clear, because people do try to understand these things about the Mountaineers, the “SWAT” is a nickel package and the “40” is a dime package. That’s what I’m told, at least.

9. This might not seem like a big deal, but what is arguably the best part of WVU’s defense doesn’t feature two starting defensive linemen, including arguably the most valuable in Neild.

10. The main reason neither of those two play is because of their speed — and not a lack thereof as much as how a replacement has more … and is also taller and can better discourage at the line of scrimmage.

11. Sam is football jargon for the strong side linebacker. The strong side is the side of the offensive line or the line of scrimmage that has a tight end.

12. Willie is football jargon for the weak side linebacker. The weak side is the side with no tight end. In sets with a tight end on each side, the Sam and Will stick with left and right, whichever they’re more comfortable and familiar with, and the same goes for plays on which there is no tight end.

And to complete this triplet, Mike is the middle linebacker. In a 3-4 look, with two middle linebackers, there are two Mikes, as opposed to a Mike and a Mark. On festive occasions a 3-4 will have a Will known as a Jack. Or Buck. Or Rover. I’ll stop now.

13. This is as detailed as anyone from WVU has been about the personnel on defense this season, one where the Mountaineers have tried to be secretive about who plays where and when. I’ll continue to respect this initiative, but Stewart is making his point here. He keeps talking about rotating out one set of players for another set of smaller and/or quicker players. The smaller and/or quicker guys move faster and cover more ground and the defense can thereby task itself to be more exotic. About as important is what happens when a quarterback looks and sees corners where he expects to see safeties and safeties where he normally finds linebackers. 

14. Not exactly. WVU trailed Marshall from the opening drive until tying the score on its final drive in regulation. When the Mountaineers got ahead, the defense did make a big play in overtime when Goode blew up a running play and recorded an eight-yard loss that contributed to Marshall’s game-ending missed field-goal attempt. Playing from ahead had nothing to do with that, though.

In the other wins, WVU was able to force the other team’s offense into being one-dimensional. The Mountaineers beat CCU 31-0, led Maryland 28-0 and UNLV 42-0 and encouraged USF to pass on the way to a 20-6 win.

15.  The Mountaineers, like so many other defenses, are better when they can work with a lead and call plays based on more educated guesses about what the opponent will do. Their success begins in the back with two safeties who have enough game experience to know how to be in the right spot even when they line up in a dummy position to fool the opponent. Sands and Glover have brought Garvin along nicely. When the time comes for the Mountaineers to really make hay, they roll with pass defenses and pass-rush packages and use a blend of quicker players who might not necessarily fit into the stereotype of the position they are asked to play. The combined effect is a group that thus far has defended the run and the pass very well and used its varied personnel groups to stop drives and keep opponents out of the end zone.