Stats Program Strength

danny daniel

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2,613
My time working in HS has shown me that most mid-high level football kids want to be on offense for the glory. Pretty much all of them at my school are playing defense because the coaches are forcing them to.

Defense requires you to be mobile, strong, able to take a lick, and have the "want to" for physical contact over and over. Some players who do not meet that criteria can find a home on offense but they cannot hide you on defense. From one who was undersized (and under strength) who played both ways I can assure you that defense is a much, much rougher game than offense. Tackling is more physically demanding than getting blocked or getting tackled...by a lot.
 

Skeptic

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6,372
Defense requires you to be mobile, strong, able to take a lick, and have the "want to" for physical contact over and over. Some players who do not meet that criteria can find a home on offense but they cannot hide you on defense. From one who was undersized (and under strength) who played both ways I can assure you that defense is a much, much rougher game than offense. Tackling is more physically demanding than getting blocked or getting tackled...by a lot.
Every coach I played for and every coach I have talked to believed that defense was about "wanting it", and you are right: a good coach is going to find the weak defensive link and go right at it. 2nd half, GT-MSU in the Orange Bowl, an almost cold-blooded efficiency in driving the defense back and running Bbacks off the tackle gap. There was a beauty in the ruthlessness of it, yet MSU never adjusted. Perhaps the weakness was they had nobody to adjust with. Defense is just hard, and the D backs can get hung out to dry with today's passing games, so it helps also to have a short memory.
 

iceeater1969

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9,668
Just one fact. This was the 1st game for the MSU DC.
It was said:
The veteran dc got a better job for the great defense they put up against ala, miss, etc. Their defense was a big part made them number 1 for 4-5 weeks.


From my seats
On some plays the all american lb would holler and wave for the defemders to shift. Then the play would unfold to right and rt blocked as we ran per right overhim. Next play he did same thing but we ran a different way.
Imo
We were in a zone - both coaching (play calling.) & execution. If better dc we wiuld have used more time to score and while scoring less the margin would have been the samevir greater.

Future 15 & beyond
I wonder if their defense would have been better off to just blitz. Mayv rewatch to compare to ND where they seemed run the defense faster than we ran the plays.
 

dressedcheeseside

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14,220
That is, I'm afraid, the synopsis of our season.
ND could afford to sell out on motion and with shooting interior gaps because they knew they could handle the dive and any counter plays or passes with limited personnel. USCw tried the same thing a few years ago in a bowl game and got burned big time.
 

Boomergump

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Featured Member
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3,281
Can he win GT a National Championship
Well, you can't definitively say yes until he does it. However, I will make the following argument: He did win an Orange bowl against an opponent that spent half the season at the top of the rankings. If you can do that, which he has, then it follows that he has the capability to take the next baby step. National titles are as elusive as "all get out". Can he? I say yes. Will he? I would say odds are against it.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
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9,668
Here's just as good a question, can he make GT a consistent 9 to 10 win team?
Long answer= Not without a major contribution by defense. We constantly are young and thin on defense. In order to win we would need a real and constant improvement in quality of recruits or recruit nationally to get a needed super talented recruit that play well day one (identify need and poach power 5 promising immediate playing time).

Short answer = as coach said when Syracuse coach got fired, "UNTIL THE FUNDAMENTAL DEFICIENCIES ARE ADDRESSED, CONSISTANT VICTORIES WILL NOT FOLLOW.
 

Rock

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
615
Well, you can't definitively say yes until he does it. However, I will make the following argument: He did win an Orange bowl against an opponent that spent half the season at the top of the rankings. If you can do that, which he has, then it follows that he has the capability to take the next baby step. National titles are as elusive as "all get out". Can he? I say yes. Will he? I would say odds are against it.


This is the problem that most of you cant see through your CPJ gold glasses.

You always justify the situation and deflect everything away from CPJ. "opponent spent half the year at the top of the rankings"..
So they spent 9 games at the top. They had 1 real game in their first 9 games... LSU (who wasn't that great).



Saturday
Aug. 30 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 49-0 ---
Saturday
Sep. 6 UAB Blazers
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 47-34 ---
Saturday
Sep. 13 at South Alabama Jaguars
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL Won 35-3 ---
Saturday
Sep. 20 at LSU Tigers
Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA Won 34-29 ---
Saturday
Sep. 27 --- Open Date --- ---
Saturday
Oct. 4 Texas A&M Aggies
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 48-31 ---
Saturday
Oct. 11 Auburn Tigers
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 38-23 ---
Saturday
Oct. 18 --- Open Date --- ---
Saturday
Oct. 25 at Kentucky Wildcats
Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY- Won 45-31 ---
Saturday
Nov. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 17-10 ----
Saturday
Nov. 8
ut-martin1.gif
UT Martin Skyhawks (HC)
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 45-16 ---
Saturday
Nov. 15 at Alabama Crimson Tide
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL Lost 25-20 ---
Saturday
Nov. 22 Vanderbilt Commodores
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Won 51-0 ---
Saturday
Nov. 29 at Ole Miss Rebels
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, MS Lost 31-17 ---
2014 Capital One Orange Bowl
Wednes.
Dec. 31 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL Lost 49-34

CPJ has to have seasons like that year after year FOR ME to believe he can win anything.
 
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