Our defense is awful...

[PBR549]

We haven't looked good on O or D and the coaches know that. Does that mean the season is going to be a bust? No. We felt the same way in 2014 after the GSU game.
I think this week will give us a better idea of where we are.

 

[BuzzStone]

Just keep in mind if we can win 2 out of the next 10 that is an improvement over last year.

 

[InsideLB]

To anyone who'd listen I was jumping up and down in 2014 saying we were not a good football team and we we were destined for 7-5. That team shocked me by going to work each day and getting better. The D was still sketchy but they stopped the run and created turnovers.

Going into this season we were all worried about pass rush and getting off the field based on not having established guys winning 1 on 1's to get pressure. In today's game that is a serious handicap, IMO.

Roof's MO is to stop the run at all costs and and not give up long pass plays. If the other team racks up yardage through the air so be it. On pass plays he wants to generate drive stopping incompletions, sacks, INTs, fumbles, & holding calls. If he doesnt get those he will count on the red zone tightening up the secondary to stop teams from finishing drives.

Problem is we don't have a pass rush. We can blitz but then we get screened and quick-gamed to death, and one is more vulnerable to big plays. We also have problems with our eyes. This said if we could get more consistent pressure we'd get off the field more on 3rd down.

Guys just have to get better on that side of the ball. On O you can expect an option team to have issues with execution early. Those guys need to keep grinding.

IMO we have a chance to be a good team. Right now IMO Pitt looks really, really good. We will need to get a lot better if we want to beat them on the road.

 

[LongforDodd]

I know that, but it looked like he wasnt pushing the pile.

I agree that I believe he got stood up momentarily but was able to push forward slightly and then lost the ball

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I think Mercer played well and didn't kill them selves. We did get one 3 & out in the first half, but the 7-8 minute drive in the second half made everyone forget that. We did lose turnover battle 0-2 but they were ~95 and ~65 yards from Mercer end zone.

The D is the weakest phase of our game. We can probably eke out a bowl game with modest improvements. To win Coastal, we'll need 2014 type improvements on D. There is time and hope; we are 2-0.

I think Vandy will be the biggest test of our D to date next week so we'll see.

 

[UgaBlows]

I hope that burning Adams redshirt yesterday means they plan to play him a lot. He plugged holes and moved the line of scrimmage, looked way better than Kallon imo.

 

[UgaBlows]

Hopefully these guys keep improving. If yall will recall in '14 CPJ got sick to death of Roofs "death by a 1000 cuts" def scheme after 2-3 games and got personally involved with the D and made Roof get more aggressive.

 

[tech_wreck47]

So fire Roof, hire someone else, and do this same song and dance again in 3 years because the problem isn't the DC.

No, just make the right hire this time. trust me there are guys out there, Just look at Don Brown, he coached for a guy that was never a defensive coach unless he did in highschool, and yet he had Boston college ranked as the number 1 D in the country last year. Sorry but it's not the head coaches job to coach the D when he's the offensive coordinator, there's just not enough time to be a head coach over every aspect of the team and have to coach both sides, can he tell the D what he want? Sure, but he cannt be in two places at once and coach both sides at the same time. That's not how it works.

 

[tech_wreck47]

We don't get Alabama players!

Nope but we do get Boston college type recruits, when you don't have a team full of NFL players it helps to be aggresive, not wait for the game to come to you because you can't over power the other O. You can play a simple D when you have studs every where because you can over power and win the 1 on 1's, we don't have that.

 

[AE 87]

I've not given up on our D for this season. It's possible that Roof was trying new personnel and testing eye discipline or other things more than prioritizing getting off the field. They only averaged 3 yds/carry so maybe he decided stopping the run even if giving up short passes.

That being said. I don't buy the argument that we don't have the talent to match up to Mercer and that Roof is getting us the best talent possible.

We'll see.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

When have we ever been good at tackling to the ground. People brag about Tenuta, but that was a problem then too at times. We look like we don't know how to tackle much of the time.

Some of us have speculated in the past that the reason for this has to do with practice strategy. As I understand it, very few college teams practice tackling to the ground every day, as they would have done a few decades ago. The rationale is twofold, wanting to avoid injuries to your offensive players and wanting your defensive players to have fresh legs for the game. I will go out on a limb here, since I have never actually attended a practice and am only going by what I have read, and say that many teams feel like by the time you get to this level you should not require a ton of work on basic techniques, outside of tackling prosthetic devices like tires and dummies. And the fear of getting banged up in practice is also the reason few teams practice full contact on punt and kick off returns.

All of this is to say, I am hoping that this will be a little like 2014 where in game experience helps the defense improve their technique.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Why do we use hyped up language like "moved the ball at will" and "awful"? On the day, we lost the turnover battle 2-0 and still gave up total of 10 points. If they moved the ball at will, what are you telling me, they just didn't feel like scoring?

There were some frustrating moments for sure, but this was far from awful. We need to play better on third down is what I came away with. We played vanilla and made up our minds to make them earn it all the way down the field without taking chances. IMHO, it was not a bad strategy for a game like this where we were likely to score a bunch. I like aggressive D too, but I understand, or think I do, the motivation for today's defensive tactics.

I'd agree with you if this were a league game or a game against another Power-5 team. But it wasn't. This was a game against a FCS team that went 5-6 last year. Mercer should not have been able to move the ball on us like they did. The fact that we held them to 10 points is irrelevant. I'm not concerned about Mercer. I never felt the outcome was ever in question. My concern is that this may be a portent of our future performance. My concern is if we play like this against more skilled teams, are we going to be good enough offensively to keep up with our opponents?

I'm not doom and gloom here, just sharing my concern. I'm not saying we're awful or that it's all CTR's fault (although others are), I'm saying I'm concerned with how our defense performed against an FCS team. Boston College had an anemic offense last year (the reason they lost games because their defense was stout), yet they basically out-played our defense until the very end.

If our defense can keep teams out of the endzone and off the scoreboard like they have in the first two games, I'll not care how many yards they give up between the 20's. However, if the first two games is a reflection of how we're going to be, I'm concerned we won't be able to score enough points to win consistently.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I would describe our D as weak and be surprised that we only gave up 10.

Therein lies the problem of definition. In this age of high powered college offenses, holding any team to ten points is the exact opposite of the definition of weak. We are all clearly struggling to define our angst.

 

[ATL1]

Kallon played well. DT wasn't the problem. Mercer quick throwed and killed GT on the perimeter.

I do want to see more Adam, Glanton, & Serge tho. Rotate guys in and out.

2 sacks one from Saint-Amour. Simmons got pressure as well.

Next test Vandy

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I hope that burning Adams redshirt yesterday means they plan to play him a lot.

Me too. I was surprised when he game in. I wondered when the decision was made to burn his redshirt and I hoped it was for the right reasons.

 

[DC Bee]

Hopefully these guys keep improving. If yall will recall in '14 CPJ got sick to death of Roofs "death by a 1000 cuts" def scheme after 2-3 games and got personally involved with the D and made Roof get more aggressive.

That was after game 7, UNC, and GT had just lost 2 IIR to be 5-2. The result was the PITT 1 QTR fumble-fest the following week.

 

[Ibeeballin]

So let me ask this question: if we completely shut Mercer down, would all the concern and questions be silenced? I doubt it because this game really didn't mean much in the grand scheme of who we are as a team. We have issues, we are repeat offenders on a lot of things, but Mercer played well and still only managed 10pts. Hopefully we can clean up our mistakes and be ready for Vandy's smash mouth style

 

[DC Bee]

@Ibeeballin - As one of the board's defensive gurus, did anything stand out to you between week 1 & 2, or are the offense schemes between the two opponents too different?

 

[rosebud78]

We won by 25 get over it. 50% of teams that played yesterday didn't. Pessimism keeps up over here, I may have to go over to butt hurt/ big cry.com

 

[gt365]

IMO the 2nd D group of player, are bigger and more physical than the 1st group in certain spots. Play the best 11 guys not because they had game experience.

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