Washington Football victory keys on Greg Gaines and Vita Vea

Huskies’ hammer

They are a matched set. Defensive tackle Vita Vea is the hammer. He does more than redirect the offense away from him. He attacks. Like a blacksmith hammer, he smashes the offensive line and disrupts the backfield while plays are developing.   That means he is present when a quarterback is setting up to throw as well.

And that means quarterback sacks.

Vea makes things happen on defense. That ability to toss blockers to the side throws complete chaos into an offense.  But eventually, they can turn that strength into a weakness. Bait pursuit with misdirection. Play action passing. Reverse running plays.  To stop that type of scheme, the Huskies must rely upon a different type of skillset.