Manny Diaz Defense Turnaround

AllAboutTheU13

Sophomore
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
656
Defense National Rank

........................2015........2018
Yards/game......69th.........4th
Yards/play.........86th........3rd
Yards/pass........26th.......2nd
Yards/rush.......115th......23rd
TFL/game........104th........1st
Sacks/game......70th........9th

Gotta be one of the greatest defensive turnarounds ever. Nothing worse than being a Canes fan with a trash defense. It was hard to watch games with teams carving up our D like they did under Golden. But it’s good to look back and appreciate how far the D came under Diaz. Will be fun to see where we go with him at the helm 🙌🏼
 
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The defense has been going in the right direction.

Outstanding job on 3rd downs last year - maybe we finished tops in the country.

PPG allowed will hopefully get down - I think we were around 18 a game last year which is still a bit high to compete annually for championships.

I think that's our next opportunity.
 
I was going to make a thread about the most important factors for defensive improvement this year, but is a fine thread to say it. And I’m lazy.

TOP, PPG and Offensive Efficiency will determine the success of the defense more than any stat on that actual side of the ball. Similarly, Enos’ hire will have the most impact on the success of the defense, because it is on offense that we have the most potential for improvement. He has a chance to give the D some things it literally never had last year, or contistently the year prior: 1) A credible threat to score. 2) Ball control (within reason) 3) A lead throughout the game. Improvement in those three areas alone will result in a better defensive performance week in and out, in my opinion.
 
His willingness to adapt his style (specifically his 3rd down packages) is a great sign.

I was hesitant. I thought for sure we'd see same BS 3rd down defense in '18.
 
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Our defense with actual leads, pinning their ears back would have a lot of fun. How many good teams did we have a solid lead over early in the game? We saw how the Notre Dame game snowballed with a few score lead.
 
The defense has been going in the right direction.

Outstanding job on 3rd downs last year - maybe we finished tops in the country.

PPG allowed will hopefully get down - I think we were around 18 a game last year which is still a bit high to compete annually for championships.

I think that's our next opportunity.
You’re right about 3rd down conversion - we jumped from 67th in 2015 to 1st in 2018.

PPG I think was more a factor of being put in poor field position by the offense and special teams. It felt like ever game there was at least one score - sometimes 2 or 3 - that were a direct result of turnovers on offense, fumbles on special teams, etc. Just off the top of my head, I think there were 2 fumbles on special teams vs GT last year that placed them inside the 20. Hard to blame the defense for that. Our D was 18th in PPG but I feel pretty confident saying it would’ve been top 10 in PPG if not for the terrible offense and special teams.
 
Now we just need Enos to do the same thing
There are probably 70 OCs out there that would turn our O around, and I am confident Enos is one of them. People just need to realize how horrible Richt/Brown/Dugans really were. They were D'Onofrio bad, or maybe even worse. Dear God, I can't believe I am saying that.
 
I had My reservations about Diaz defense entering last season and while it was not perfect they still greatly improved. One thing about Diaz since his time here he has constantly worked to refine how efficient his defense can be. Defense lacked turnovers in 2016, he made that a priority in 17. The defense struggled at times getting off on 3rd down the previous year, the defense ended up #1 all season on 3rd down defense in 2018 . That’s signs of a good coach imo
 
I was going to make a thread about the most important factors for defensive improvement this year, but is a fine thread to say it. And I’m lazy.

TOP, PPG and Offensive Efficiency will determine the success of the defense more than any stat on that actual side of the ball. Similarly, Enos’ hire will have the most impact on the success of the defense, because it is on offense that we have the most potential for improvement. He has a chance to give the D some things it literally never had last year, or consistently the year prior: 1) A credible threat to score. 2) Ball control (within reason) 3) A lead throughout the game. Improvement in those three areas alone will result in a better defensive performance week in and out, in my opinion.

Field. Position.

Give our D a decent starting place and we'd be top 5
 
Not to mention our punting put us in terrible field position many times.

Also, and iirc, Pink alluded to the fact in his post practice presser, that seeing a multiple offense in practice will better prepare the D for what they will probably see from other teams.
 
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Amazing to know we squandered a national championship defense with a crap record followed by an embarrassing bowl game performance
 
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I had My reservations about Diaz defense entering last season and while it was not perfect they still greatly improved. One thing about Diaz since his time here he has constantly worked to refine how efficient his defense can be. Defense lacked turnovers in 2016, he made that a priority in 17. The defense struggled at times getting off on 3rd down the previous year, the defense ended up #1 all season on 3rd down defense in 2018 . That’s signs of a good coach imo
Glad you seen the light bro lol
 
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