Buffs Film Room: How Gerald Chatman transformed Colorado's defense

Through the first five games of 2022, the Buffs had the worse defense in the CFB.

Defensive coordinator Chris Wilson was let go alongside Karl Dorrell and the keys to the defense were handed over to interim defensive coordinator Gerald Chatman.

Chatman had his work cut out for him over the bye week to make the defense serviceable and he delivered.

Colorado’s interim defensive coordinator had never called a defensive game before Saturday but he may have had every college football fan and analyst fooled with how his defense delivered the Buffs’ first win of the season.

In this edition of the Buffs Film Room, we take a look at the changes Chatman made and how the Buffs learned to play much better defense in two weeks.

Familiar faces in different places

Under Chris Wilson, Colorado played primarily out of a four-man front. Occasionally the Buffs would go into a 4-2-5 nickel defense in obvious passing situations. 

This was one of the reasons why CU struggled so much against the run, linebackers were asked to cover a lot of ground and multiple defensive linemen had to win on a given rep to see some degree of success.

Chatman decided to go with three down linemen instead of four and added the joker position, a standing edge defender usually placed on the weak side of offensive formations. The addition of the star or big nickel position was another great addition as it put another linebacker on the field.

Robert Barnes was the primary beneficiary of the big nickel defender; Guy Thomas and Jamar Montgomery rotated in at joker.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Barnes played safety at Oklahoma allowing him to fit right into his new role.

Thomas and Montgomery are big athletic defenders listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds and 6-foot-2, 250 pounds respectively.

The joker allows Thomas and Montgomery to use their speed and frames to their advantage when it comes to rushing the passer and holding contain on the edge.

Adding those positions and putting those players in situations where they can be versatile, instantly made the Buffs faster at the second level and boosted their ability to generate pressure in the form of blitzes or even in four-man rush instances.

Guy Thomas is at joker, standing up on the edge to the boundary. With the new positions and the alignments created because of them, Guy Thomas has space to work with and it forces the pulling offensive lineman to cover a lot of ground to block the joker. Thomas is instantly able to gain ground into the backfield and Colorado fills all their gaps to surround Cal’s standout running back, Jadyn Ott.

Robert Barnes and the versatility of the big nickel are on display here. Some will call it lucky, but this is a beautifully timed blitz by coach Chatman. Barnes is blitzing straight down the b-gap that the left guard is pulling away from. These types of calls were absent during the Buffs’ first five games. Blitzes were called but not with this level of versatility. Barnes doesn’t get the sack but charts a hit and a pressure resulting in a negative play for Cal’s offense.

It’s a first down, but having Barnes at big nickel with his size and speed allows him to crash down on and funnel runs inside toward the rest of the Buffs’ defense. This results in fewer missed tackles by defensive backs on running backs on the perimeter and gang tackling is the aftermath.

Terrance Lang and Na’Im Rodman create this play by decimating the right side of Cal’s offensive line and Josh Chandler-Semedo splits a pair of blocks to make the play behind the line of scrimmage. But check out the ground that Jamar Montgomery covers on this play all the way from the joker position in the boundary. The joker and Montgomery’s presence instantly make CU’s defense faster.

Colorado will be facing a much tougher test in terms of defending the run this week against Oregon State, but these are encouraging signs.

Creating pressure

We already touched on this point briefly above, but coach Chatman allowed the Buffs’ defense to be disruptive for the first time all year against Cal.

Whether it was blitzes or advantages in terms of gaps and alignment, Colorado’s defensive players were playing much faster and more confident because of the aforementioned position additions.

Two blitzes designed and perfectly called by Chatman produced the Buffs’ only two sacks on the day.

This pressure Chatman designed and unleashed early in the first quarter was unlike anything else the Buffs had this year. Jamar Montgomery is at joker and the inside backers, Josh Chandler-Semedo and Marvin Ham III, are lined up in the a-gaps threatening blitz. Cal’s offensive line slides left and the inside backers fake a rush and drop. Terrance Lang is given a free run to the quarterback and gets his first sack of the season. Na’Im Rodman has a tremendous bullrush from the field-side 3-technique also.

What a beautifully designed pressure from Gerald Chatman.

The Buffs’ second sack was the result of another coach Chatman-designed pressure, this time in a critical point of the game. Nikko Reed is called on to blitz and it’s a perfect call against Cal’s condensed formation. Chatman catches the Golden Bears out of position again here as Cal’s tight end goes across the formation with the split-zone play-action. Montgomery’s wide split from the joker locks up the right tackle and Reed has a free hit on Plummer. 

Perfectly scouted and called by Chatman.

Two sacks may be underwhelming in the grand scheme of things but CU’s new defensive coordinator is opening this defense up and putting players in a position to be successful.

Oregon State’s quarterback Ben Gulbranson is inexperienced and turnover-prone, Chatman should be able to take advantage of that.

Playing fast and confident

The combination of Mike Sanford’s energy and Gerald Chatman’s new and improved defense had Buff defenders flying around and making plays all game. Even when the Buffs weren’t getting sacks, they were creating pressure even when rushing with only four.

It was apparent that Colorado’s defenders found their confidence and stride over the bye week.

Jalen Sami got in on CU’s defensive party at the end of the first quarter and was able to split the double team and wrap up Ott behind the line of scrimmage on this play.

Colorado’s front held strong again on the ensuing 3rd-and-1.

Guy Thomas was possessed last Saturday and he along with Trevor Woods met Ott at the line of scrimmage for this run stuff.

The versatility of the joker and big nickel position is on display again here but it’s Terrance Lang that makes the play. With CU able to quickly become a five-man front with Barnes and Thomas on the line of scrimmage, Terrance Lang is singled up on a tight end and beats his block with ease.

The defensive play of the game for Colorado last Saturday. Colorado is able to push the pocket and flush Plummer out on the edge forcing out a tough throw. The ball floats in the air and Trevor Woods shows great awareness and football instincts to make a play on the open receiver.

Can the Buffs do it again?

Colorado has faced a gauntlet of a schedule to this point and Oregon State has been a tough matchup for almost every team on their schedule so far.

The Beavers have a balanced offensive attack that features speedy backs and receivers along with a hard-nosed offensive line.

The limits and versatile nature of coach Chatman’s defense will be put to the test. Colorado’s front will have to dig deep and limit the amount of push Oregon State is able to generate.

The Beavers’ quarterback, Ben Gulbranson, is the weakest link of their offense and could ultimately play into the Buffs’ hands.

Colorado played their best game of the season against Oregon State last year to beat the Beavers in overtime. If this year’s game has any chance of finishing in a similar fashion, the Buffs will need Chatman and all 11 players on top of their game this Saturday.