Instant Defensive Improvement

[The Franchise]

Someone else mentioned they were low in terms of redzone % and I asked what they were in terms of TD ratio. Haven't gotten a response for that. Would be curious to see how they fared in that regard instead of how many teams made or missed FGs against them. They were pretty decent in scoring defense, so it stands to reason they at least should be fairly decent in getting TD stops in the RZ.

And, as for blaming the offense for things the defense struggled in, that's a garbage strawman just shy of those who say "all" the defense's problems were because of the offense. It'd be absurd not to recognize the offense has a hand in how many plays the defense sees. It's be equally absurd to fail noting how the defense struggled in 3rd down conversion.

I guess nuance isn't for message boards.

23/37 scores in the red zone against us were touchdowns.

How does that compare to other schools? Throw me some objective measures here. I genuinely haven't looked.

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

 

[LuCane]

23/37 scores in the red zone against us were touchdowns.

How does that compare to other schools? Throw me some objective measures here. I genuinely haven't looked.

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

Yes, primarily because we allowed a lot of 3rd down conversions and secondarily because we were on the field a ****LOAD of time (more opportunities). You really can't come around to the fact the game is symbiotic and the offense's play helps defensive stats (e.g. less plays per game) while defense helps offensive stats (e.g. PPG via turnovers and more opportunities)? If you can't at least acknowledge that the way many have acknowledged our areas for significant improvement, not worth the dialogue.

Also, Ohio State had 29 visits into their redzone and just about everyone sings their praises. This statistic isn't evidence supporting anyone's side.

 

[ChosenOne]

23/37 scores in the red zone against us were touchdowns.

How does that compare to other schools? Throw me some objective measures here. I genuinely haven't looked.

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

I was just about to say this. We're letting teams in the red-zone at will. Our numbers look more comparable with these Big 12 defenses then the elite defenses and those Big 12 defenses are playing elite offenses.

 

[LuCane]

How does that compare to other schools? Throw me some objective measures here. I genuinely haven't looked.

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

I was just about to say this. We're letting teams in the red-zone at will. Our numbers look more comparable with these Big 12 defenses then the elite defenses and those Big 12 defenses are playing elite offenses.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).
All just incredible coincidences?

Funny stuff.

 

[The Franchise]

How does that compare to other schools? Throw me some objective measures here. I genuinely haven't looked.

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

Yes, primarily because we allowed a lot of 3rd down conversions and secondarily because we were on the field a ****LOAD of time (more opportunities). You really can't come around to the fact the game is symbiotic and the offense's play helps defensive stats (e.g. less plays per game) while defense helps offensive stats (e.g. PPG via turnovers and more opportunities)? If you can't at least acknowledge that the way many have acknowledged our areas for significant improvement, not worth the dialogue.

Also, Ohio State had 29 visits into their redzone and just about everyone sings their praises. This statistic isn't evidence supporting anyone's side.

You’re getting very emotional over a simple question. I asked you because I wanted your opinion on that topic and because I respect your opinion. I didn’t ask because I was looking to lead you down a path.

I’m fully aware that there is a symbiotic relationship between the offense and defense. I just am not as willing as some to put as much of the fault on the offense for the defense’s inability to stop bad QBs from killing us.

Also, we should keep in mind that we gave up all those red zone trips playing one less game than we had scheduled.

 

[LuCane]

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

Yes, primarily because we allowed a lot of 3rd down conversions and secondarily because we were on the field a ****LOAD of time (more opportunities). You really can't come around to the fact the game is symbiotic and the offense's play helps defensive stats (e.g. less plays per game) while defense helps offensive stats (e.g. PPG via turnovers and more opportunities)? If you can't at least acknowledge that the way many have acknowledged our areas for significant improvement, not worth the dialogue.

Also, Ohio State had 29 visits into their redzone and just about everyone sings their praises. This statistic isn't evidence supporting anyone's side.

You’re getting very emotional over a simple question. I asked you because I wanted your opinion on that topic and because I respect your opinion. I didn’t ask because I was looking to lead you down a path.

I’m fully aware that there is a symbiotic relationship between the offense and defense. I just am not as willing as some to put as much of the fault on the offense for the defense’s inability to stop bad QBs from killing us.

Also, we should keep in mind that we gave up all those red zone trips playing one less game than we had scheduled.

Emotional? You're confusing my tone and statements. My comment about ending the dialogue supports how little I care to bother with this if we can't at least learn from each other. I'm not putting "as much" fault on anything. I'm sitting here complementing objective measures with having watched every single 3rd down conversion this season on replay. I know where we struggle and why. We had one less game, but the percentages are the same: we allowed about 30% more redzone trips because we allowed about 30% more plays than many of those teams. It's simple math.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).

FWIW, all of this as presumed support for my idea that we were a slightly above average defense. Not great, not even "very" good (because we were too frail and hung by a thread too often), but slightly above average and needed help from the other side.

 

[The Franchise]

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

Yes, primarily because we allowed a lot of 3rd down conversions and secondarily because we were on the field a ****LOAD of time (more opportunities). You really can't come around to the fact the game is symbiotic and the offense's play helps defensive stats (e.g. less plays per game) while defense helps offensive stats (e.g. PPG via turnovers and more opportunities)? If you can't at least acknowledge that the way many have acknowledged our areas for significant improvement, not worth the dialogue.

Also, Ohio State had 29 visits into their redzone and just about everyone sings their praises. This statistic isn't evidence supporting anyone's side.

You’re getting very emotional over a simple question. I asked you because I wanted your opinion on that topic and because I respect your opinion. I didn’t ask because I was looking to lead you down a path.

I’m fully aware that there is a symbiotic relationship between the offense and defense. I just am not as willing as some to put as much of the fault on the offense for the defense’s inability to stop bad QBs from killing us.

Also, we should keep in mind that we gave up all those red zone trips playing one less game than we had scheduled.

Emotional? You're confusing my tone and statements. My comment about ending the dialogue supports how little I care to bother with this if we can't at least learn from each other. I'm not putting "as much" fault on anything. I'm sitting here complementing objective measures with having watched every single 3rd down conversion this season on replay. I know where we struggle and why. We had one less game, but the percentages are the same: we allowed about 30% more redzone trips because we allowed about 30% more plays than many of those teams. It's simple math.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).

FWIW, all of this as presumed support for my idea that we were a slightly above average defense. Not great, not even very good (because we were too frail and hung by a thread too often), but slightly above average and needed help from the other side.

Everyone knows our defense was on the field a lot. Can you pinpoint exactly how much of that was the fault of the offense versus the defense’s own inability to get itself off the field? Or are you giving opinions on that?

 

[DMoney]

I watch a ton of football.

You don't watch every snap of every team. Nobody does. That's why you can't accurately rank us in relation to the rest of college football. Only the stats can do that.

Yards per play is the best catch-all metric of defensive performance. Manny Diaz himself has long championed it.

We ranked 9th out of 130 teams. That's very good. The teams ahead of us are the teams you would expect:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Wisconsin
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. Washington
7. Georgia
8. Penn State
9. Miami

As you know, turnovers are the number one indicator of wins and losses. We ranked first in the country. It's not a fluke. Diaz said going into the season that it was his main point of emphasis for improvement. That's why we had the chain. The fact that we had one of the best pass rushes in the country (first in sacks per game) fueled the turnovers.

Mediocre is middle of the pack. We are far from it. The defense carried us to 10 wins despite an erratic offense and weak special teams. My expectations are a championship defense. We aren't there yet, and the reason is third down defense. But we're closer than we've been in a decade.

 

[ChosenOne]

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

I was just about to say this. We're letting teams in the red-zone at will. Our numbers look more comparable with these Big 12 defenses then the elite defenses and those Big 12 defenses are playing elite offenses.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).
All just incredible coincidences?

Funny stuff.

I'm 100% sure that UF had one of the most inept offenses in college football for the last 5 years and they still finished top 10 on defense majority of the time. (Not this year though but they still finished ahead of us)

 

[LuCane]

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

Yes, primarily because we allowed a lot of 3rd down conversions and secondarily because we were on the field a ****LOAD of time (more opportunities). You really can't come around to the fact the game is symbiotic and the offense's play helps defensive stats (e.g. less plays per game) while defense helps offensive stats (e.g. PPG via turnovers and more opportunities)? If you can't at least acknowledge that the way many have acknowledged our areas for significant improvement, not worth the dialogue.

Also, Ohio State had 29 visits into their redzone and just about everyone sings their praises. This statistic isn't evidence supporting anyone's side.

You’re getting very emotional over a simple question. I asked you because I wanted your opinion on that topic and because I respect your opinion. I didn’t ask because I was looking to lead you down a path.

I’m fully aware that there is a symbiotic relationship between the offense and defense. I just am not as willing as some to put as much of the fault on the offense for the defense’s inability to stop bad QBs from killing us.

Also, we should keep in mind that we gave up all those red zone trips playing one less game than we had scheduled.

Emotional? You're confusing my tone and statements. My comment about ending the dialogue supports how little I care to bother with this if we can't at least learn from each other. I'm not putting "as much" fault on anything. I'm sitting here complementing objective measures with having watched every single 3rd down conversion this season on replay. I know where we struggle and why. We had one less game, but the percentages are the same: we allowed about 30% more redzone trips because we allowed about 30% more plays than many of those teams. It's simple math.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).

FWIW, all of this as presumed support for my idea that we were a slightly above average defense. Not great, not even very good (because we were too frail and hung by a thread too often), but slightly above average and needed help from the other side.

Everyone knows our defense was on the field a lot. Can you pinpoint exactly how much of that was the fault of the offense versus the defense’s own inability to get itself off the field? Or are you giving opinions on that?

I think it's primarily their fault, as I answered you above. I think it's secondarily the fact they're not good enough to get thrown under the bus by the other side of the ball. The stats shown above pretty much tell the story. We were 64th out of 130 teams in 3rd down defense. That kept us on the field. We were egregiously low in almost all the statistics that indicate an offense helping out a defense - 3rd down conversion, TOP, rushing attempts.

We have to get way better at 3rd down defense. We have to get infinitely better at 3rd down offense. The stats (and wins) will follow.

 

[BoxingRobes]

If the DL was better, we theoretically wouldn't have to blitz as much, leaving the DBs out to dry.

Diaz' defense will not change much...look at his history as a DC, last year wasn't off the trail. I like him, but he's not elite. On his best year he's a second tier and he'll float into the third tier on a bad year.

With that said, increase the talent and depth on the DL and in the LBs and it might solve most of the issues that come with his defense annually as he could ease off the blitzing.

 

[LuCane]

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

I was just about to say this. We're letting teams in the red-zone at will. Our numbers look more comparable with these Big 12 defenses then the elite defenses and those Big 12 defenses are playing elite offenses.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).
All just incredible coincidences?

Funny stuff.

I'm 100% sure that UF had one of the most inept offenses in college football for the last 5 years and they still finished top 10 on defense majority of the time. (Not this year though but they still finished ahead of us)

Great. Feel free to chip into the thread with some research and show us some objective measures of how their defense was or was not aided by their offense's ball control.

 

[jhtheking]

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

It’s a CIS post-season tradition to pick a side of the ball to blame for our struggles. Dig those stilettos in, fellas.

I feel like we're in year 3 or 4 of the Shannon/Golden era's already.

Fcking Groundhog Day. Guys on here trying to blame the offense and the Punter and everyone else under the sun for our defense drinking from the **** pipe for large portions of this season.

Meanwhile, Thunderfoot Feagles looked like a Ray Guy finalist against Wisconsin, and we still managed to make another colostomy bag of a QB look like Tom Brady.

Did the offense let a true freshmans QB in his first start for a 4 win Pitt disaster slam us and run over us like a tank?

Our offense let journeyman Benkert start 19 for 19? Kelly Bryant, a basic passer, hit every throw he attempted in the first half and put us in an insurmountable hole?

Our defense was mediocre this year. And our offense and STs were poor for the most part. It’s a goddam miracle we won 10 games given the obvious foibles in all 3 phases.

Blah blah blah. That wasn't the point of this thread. This thread was about an improving offense will help the defense. It will. All of those points are straw man arguments.

 

[canesglory]

When the D played lights out, we smoked teams....ND/VT. Not consistent enough overall & as was said 3rd downs were ugly

 

[BigJoeGrizzly]

I have never seen so many people fault an offense for the defensive woes. The last two games teams scored a combined 44 points in the first half. The game before that a true freshman QB couldn’t be stopped. How much of this was due to being “gassed” or the O going 3 and out? Vs Wisky the offense sputtered only in the 2 qtr after lighting it up in the first. Again it’s the offenses fault for giving up 21 unanswered points after the D couldn’t cover Wisky’s midget WRs.

The defense with the exception of 2 games underperformed in a big way. I don’t have all of the answers but I am seriously concerned about this staff’s ability to address the issues. They didn’t address them vs Wisky as they ran the same **** plays that exposed us the previous 2 games.

 

[MarkyMark]

This is a great thread. The dialogue and stats are helpful to those of us that are fans, but not football technicians. To me (again not a technician) it appears we make things easy for a QB. College players are not fully developed and as we know, a very small percent find success at the next level. What is we are not doing to force QBs to make difficult reads? Always seem like they know exactly where the open guy is and before the defense knows the ball is out; and they have a first down.

Thanks for the information, it’s why we love this site.

 

[scrantoncane]

Some marquee programs across several conferences:

Miami - 23/37 - 62.16%
Wisconsin - 11/25 - 44%
Ohio State - 23/29 - 79.3%
Bama - 14/22 - 63.7%
Clemson - 13/23 - 56.5%
Georgia - 17/28 - 60.71%
Notre Dame - 24/37 - 64.86%
TCU - 16/25 - 64%
Texas - 21/35 - 60%
Florida - 21/29 - 72.4%
Auburn 20/30 - 66.66%
LSU - 19/30 - 63.33%
Michigan - 18/25 - 72%
Penn State - 18/27 - 66.66%
Mich St 18/27 - 66.66%
Va Tech - 13/21 - 61.9%
Washington - 15/24 - 62.5%
Okla - 30/43 - 69.77%
Florida State - 23/35 - 65.71%

In other words, Brown's crew at Michigan (wtf), Saban's crew, OSU (wtf) and Washington are all worse than we are at getting TD stops. Didn't quite expect that.

Any opinion as to why teams were in the red zone against us 12 times more than against a team like Michigan? Or 14 more than Clemson? Seems like we were defending the red zone more than most of those teams listed.

I was just about to say this. We're letting teams in the red-zone at will. Our numbers look more comparable with these Big 12 defenses then the elite defenses and those Big 12 defenses are playing elite offenses.

We allowed 20 more plays per game than some of those teams.
We were 126th of 130 teams in opponent plays per game.
We were 127th of 130 teams in offense 3rd down conversions (we got off the field a ton!).
We were 116th of 130 teams in rushing attempts per game.
We were 121st of 130 teams in Time of Possession.
We were 9th of 130 teams in yards per play defense.
We were 29th of 130 teams in scoring defense, allowing only relatively more points per snap than teams whose defenses got a lot less snaps run against them.
We were 64th of 130 teams in 3rd down defense (as I acknowledged, we have to fix this!).
All just incredible coincidences?

Funny stuff.

9th out of 130 in yards per play is a very good defense.

The statistics and reasoning have been posted by others in this thread, so I will skip that.

A concern I have about Diaz is his ability to adjust mid-game. It seems like it’s been a problem here forever, going back to TEs gashing the Shannon defenses.

Diaz was too rigid During games. Sticking with 3 LBs against spread, continuously dropping into zone on 3rd down, continuously stunting DLmen when offenses are gashing us running through gaping holes.

I can live with an initial scheme not working - opposing coaches get paid a lot of money to figure out how to score on us too. But he needs to be able to adjust on the fly better.

Conversely, Richt did a much better job (at least during the first 10 games) of making adjustments on the offensive side. We were a much better 2nd half team, offensively.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BigJoeGrizzly]

Last 3 games the defense was atrocious beyond pitiful. Throw the stats out especially when QBs were very average vs other teams and against us they looked perfect. My friend lives in Wisky and they wanted to throw Hornibrook to the lions before this game. They couldn’t believe how he played fans were totally shocked! He wins the OB MVP adding insult to injury. **** FSU’s defense played Kelly Bryant way tougher at Clemson and Charles Kelly sucks as a DC. What gives here?

Look we need more talent but we aren’t that bad! Don’t tell me that a D can’t make a play because the O has had too many 3 and outs.

 

[canesthing3]

Good to see the guys against Diaz from the jump digging their heels in.

 

[JimmyJohnsonsHair]

You what helps the defense rest and see fewer plays? Forcing a 3 and out.