Best Defense vs Worst Defense in the ACC this week.

[falconholic26]

ND has the best defense so far in the Acc and is in the top 10 nationally in all categories and were almost dead last and every defensive categories. So what y’all opinions on this weeks matchup and which defense is going to give in?

 

[GTBandit22]

It’s looking bleak BUT:
The Louisville team we scored 46 on gave up 12 to Notre Dame.
Maybe the offense can score just enough and our defense lives up to the jersey for a low scoring win? Probably not, but statistically that’s our best chance.

need to be +2 at least in turnovers

 

[jacketup]

People need to understand that our defensive front 7 (or 6) is just not very good. And it's not coaching. We will give up points. Lockhart, who is a good athlete, was credited with 5 stops. The rest of the DTs totaled 1. The loss of Chimedza was major. Just run up the middle on us. No problem. BC had 39 yards in TFLs. We had 8. That doesn't say much for our OL, either.

I said before last week's game that we needed to be +2 in turnovers to win. We were -3, and all 3 resulted in TDs. The difference in the game was 21 points.

To have a chance we have to be in the plus column with turnovers. We can't give up short field scores like we did at Cuse and last week. It hasn't just been TO's-- it's where the TO's (plus retrun yards) occur. That has been even more strain on the defense.

 

[Pointer]

It’s looking bleak BUT:
The Louisville team we scored 46 on gave up 12 to Notre Dame.
Maybe the offense can score just enough and our defense lives up to the jersey for a low scoring win? Probably not, but statistically that’s our best chance.

need to be +2 at least in turnovers

Also hope that Sims will continue to improve with better decisions, play a clean game.

Crazier things have happened in the past. Maybe we get a win!

 

[ibeattetris]

People need to understand that our defensive front 7 (or 6) is just not very good. And it's not coaching. We will give up points. Lockhart, who is a good athlete, was credited with 5 stops. The rest of the DTs totaled 1. The loss of Chimedza was major. Just run up the middle on us. No problem. BC had 39 yards in TFLs. We had 8. That doesn't say much for our OL, either.

I said before last week's game that we needed to be +2 in turnovers to win. We were -3, and all 3 resulted in TDs. The difference in the game was 21 points.

To have a chance we have to be in the plus column with turnovers. We can't give up short field scores like we did at Cuse and last week. It hasn't just been TO's-- it's where the TO's (plus retrun yards) occur. That has been even more strain on the defense.

Not that it really matters, but our front 7 havoc rate is twice that of the dbs. Our ppa is also about 1.5x better on rushing downs than passing downs. We give our front seven a lot of grief, but I am not on board that they are holding us back.

 

[Josh H]

Not that it really matters, but our front 7 havoc rate is twice that of the dbs. Our ppa is also about 1.5x better on rushing downs than passing downs. We give our front seven a lot of grief, but I am not on board that they are holding us back.

44 carries for 264 yards at a 6.0 average kind of kills that point.

But yeah, we're getting torched through the air too.

 

[ibeattetris]

44 carries for 264 yards at a 6.0 average kind of kills that point.

But yeah, we're getting torched through the air too.

And despite the poor performance, the dbs still underperformed in terms of havoc. Our defense needs work in every facet. I don't think our front seven is great, I just don't exactly think either of them are more/less a liability.

 

[augustabuzz]

ND has the best defense so far in the Acc and is in the top 10 nationally in all categories and were almost dead last and every defensive categories. So what y’all opinions on this weeks matchup and which defense is going to give in?

Kelly game plans his offense to protect his defense. Chan Gailey did the same at Tech.

 

[lv20gt]

Not that it really matters, but our front 7 havoc rate is twice that of the dbs.

I really question how much splitting up havoc rate in that way actually tells you. That's not really a stat

 

[ibeattetris]

I really question how much splitting up havoc rate in that way actually tells you. That's not really a stat

Are you just saying you can't compare them directly? I guess that's fair. Here they are ranked across all teams that have played. Front seven havoc still is out performing db in relation to others.

 

[ibeattetris]

And here we are when include passing vs rushing ppa. Based on all of the evidence I've seen, I will still state that the front seven is not more of a liability than the back seven.

For anyone interested, this is Notre Dame:

 

[slugboy]

People need to understand that our defensive front 7 (or 6) is just not very good. And it's not coaching. We will give up points. Lockhart, who is a good athlete, was credited with 5 stops. The rest of the DTs totaled 1. The loss of Chimedza was major. Just run up the middle on us. No problem. BC had 39 yards in TFLs. We had 8. That doesn't say much for our OL, either.

I said before last week's game that we needed to be +2 in turnovers to win. We were -3, and all 3 resulted in TDs. The difference in the game was 21 points.

To have a chance we have to be in the plus column with turnovers. We can't give up short field scores like we did at Cuse and last week. It hasn't just been TO's-- it's where the TO's (plus retrun yards) occur. That has been even more strain on the defense.

I think we have talent at DE. I don’t think we’re playing flawlessly at any position, but I think we have good talent at some spots.
I agree about Chimedza. I think we’re playing DTs in an NT spot, and maybe that cascades down the line of scrimmage because the OL can pick their double team opportunities.
Chimedza is on the roster at 312 lbs. Lockhart, Brooks, Douse, and Camp are all listed at 305. The rest of the DLine is under 300. That’s assuming our roster weights are accurate.
Even though I’ve been told and always believed you want a 320 pounder at NT, other rosters aren’t that different from ours. We’re young though.
NCST has a couple of DTs at 320 and 344. The rest are the same as us.
I couldn’t find any DTs on Boston College’s roster over 300 lbs. So far, no one lists anyone at NT, even if that’s what they really play.
Notre Dame’s DL roster is similar in height and weight to us.
Clemson’s DL lists as about the same size as us. Miami has a couple of linemen around 320.
We’re having trouble getting tackles and winning that up front battle, though.

 

[lv20gt]

Are you just saying you can't compare them directly? I guess that's fair. Here they are ranked across all teams that have played. Front seven havoc still is out performing db in relation to others.

It's more that I think the defense is too tied together for a stat to really be able to measure just the front 7 vs just the DBs. Even in a relative sense. For instance if the front 7 can't get any pressure than it's really hard for the DBs to cover and get pass defends or INTs. It works the other way to some degree as well but in general I feel it's much harder for DBs to perform really well if the front 7 plays poorly than the other way around. A DL can force the issue by getting penetration and the ability of the DBs to cover doesn't really affect that. Likewise against the run. But while coverage sacks are a thing the nature of them still requiring the DL/LBs to eventually get to the QB and the potential for the QB just to take off running makes it less reliable. I just don't know how a stat would be able to split the impact between the two like that based on what I know about havoc rate.

Don't get me wrong I think our DBs have underperformed this year and if you argued DE was our best defensive group I might have to agree, but I think when most people complain about the front 7 this year it is mostly about the DTs and LBs