Has our defense improved in the last two games?

The Minnesota game I hate to say it was basically about the team taking them too lightly. They played 2 really good games before they played the Gophers and thought they were going to walk into that stadium go through the motions and win the game.

This type of performance I put on BP. I say this because I think he takes teams lightly sometimes. Players can pick up on subtle things coaches say that give them an indication that they don't respect the other team. Listening to his taped pregame on the radio, he couldn't even remember the 2 QB names for Minnesota basically saying they looked the same on film. He didn't come right out and say they were bad, but you could tell by his voice inflection he didn't think they were anything special.

My point is that you can think anything you want as a coach but you have to make your players think they are playing a good team. Minnesota is a good team. They aren't great but right now they are playing very confidently and could very well win a couple more games this year.

 
DrunkOffPunch said:
gobiggergoredder said:
Using NW as a gauge is a mistake. The hail mary has served as Kool-Aide for some. Let's examine some facts.

  1. NW averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
  2. NW is the 74th ranked offense in NCAA (399 YPG). They were held to 326 against the huskers.
  3. Treyvon Green in the #3 TB and he didn't even make it through the entire game.
  4. Averaged 4.8 yards per play


Positive Stats

  1. 8-21 passing by NW.
  2. 2-14 on third down.



Northwestern couldn't convert on passing opportunities in this game.
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Here's a positive stat-

After the first two NW drives for TD's,(both drives went for 75 yards) the D only gave up 161 total yards. They only averaged 11.5 yards per drive during that time span, while during that time span we turned the ball over four times. 10 of NW's points came off turnovers starting at our 38 and our 7. Lastly,(and most important) NW only gained 34 yards in the 4th quarter(23 of which came on one drive). I'd say improvement is there, it's consistency that is key. So, can our defense be more consistent?

Edit- Also, 6 3-and-outs. 7 if you count the interception.
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Held NW to 81 yds passing and no TDs. I'd say that's a pretty impressive performance by the Blackshirts.
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If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that the D gives up 24 to NW, i would've counted it as a win. I'm not sure anyone can argue that D played well for most of the game and did their job. What we will see next week is an entirely different story.

 
Technically speaking, the defense has improved. Going into the Minnesota game, total defense was ranked #72 and 49 yards per game separated us from #30.

Going into this weekends game, we are ranked #70 and 37 yards now separate us from #30.

 
I think we're tackling better than last year.

I think we have better athletes in the game than last year.

When we blitz, we actually look kinda scary.

And with all the talk about Kellogg and Westerkamp and Abdullah's heroic fourth down conversion, I'm pretty sure that was our defense making a goal line stand after a totally demoralizing turnover.

I'm not sure what you can accurately extract from the last two games, but there appears to be a path to progress.

Don't know if the stats back it up. Just a gut feeling. They would really benefit from a better scheme, drawn up by better coaches.

 
Total yards given up:

Wyoming - 602

S Miss - 284

UCLA - 504

SD St. - 465

Illinois - 372

Purdue - 216

Minnesota - 430

Northwestern - 326

Generally speaking, that is a downward (improving) trend.

 
The bad:

---Their 3rd string RB had 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) and 3 TD's

The good:

---We held a mobile QB Colter to 3.7 ypc and only 81 total passing yards.

---Made some very big stops on the third downs

---Our offense had 4 turnovers and put us in some bad spots, but I felt the D responded well

So I think we made some improvements for sure. VV needs to play, and I still think Rose and Bando need to be on the field at the same time.

 
BIG ERN said:
The bad:

---Their 3rd string RB had 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) and 3 TD's

The good:

---We held a mobile QB Colter to 3.7 ypc and only 81 total passing yards.

---Made some very big stops on the third downs

---Our offense had 4 turnovers and put us in some bad spots, but I felt the D responded well

So I think we made some improvements for sure. VV needs to play, and I still think Rose and Bando need to be on the field at the same time.
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After the four INTs, NW took over on our 38, their 37, their 21 and our 7. They got a total of 2 first downs and 10 points off those four possessions. That's a pretty good job of stepping up by the Blackshirts.

I would definitely go for Rose and Bando as well but they have them at the same spot (MIKE) currently. They definitely seem to be our two best LBs at the moment, although the offenses we'll see over these last four game might get Anderson back in the mix more as well.

 
Mavric said:
BIG ERN said:
The bad: ---Their 3rd string RB had 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) and 3 TD's The good: ---We held a mobile QB Colter to 3.7 ypc and only 81 total passing yards. ---Made some very big stops on the third downs ---Our offense had 4 turnovers and put us in some bad spots, but I felt the D responded well So I think we made some improvements for sure. VV needs to play, and I still think Rose and Bando need to be on the field at the same time.
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After the four INTs, NW took over on our 38, their 37, their 21 and our 7. They got a total of 2 first downs and 10 points off those four possessions. That's a pretty good job of stepping up by the Blackshirts. I would definitely go for Rose and Bando as well but they have them at the same spot (MIKE) currently. They definitely seem to be our two best LBs at the moment, although the offenses we'll see over these last four game might get Anderson back in the mix more as well.
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I think Rose at middle and Bando outside.

 
BIG ERN said:
I think Rose at middle and Bando outside.
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Both have played well but I like the aggressiveness I've seen out of Rose. Similar to several of the young guys, he doesn't always do everything right, but he reacts quickly and attacks, which makes up for a lot.

 
I like seeing both Rose and Banderas there but Banderas showed he clearly understands his responsibilities a bit better. Rose was caught out of position in the wrong gap quite a few times against Northwestern. Still I like his size and physicality which is why I think the rotation works.

As far as the original question I would have to say yes the defense has improved. Maybe not as a consistent unit, but definitely have seen some individuals make some big steps forward.

Tell me Moss reads that NW QB and makes that interception five weeks ago. I doubt it. He has learned and he read that perfectly. He saw RG coming with backside pressure and he dropped into the passing lane beautifully. I'd say Ankrah has really made some progress lately as well. Banderas looks more comfortable out there. Ciante Evans is becoming more aggressive. Cooper has been pretty good all year but I'd say that last game was his best.

If we can get consistent play from the entire group, each man doing their job, I think we have something special happening here next year. As much as some of you would like to convince people that there is a talent issue here, you won't convince me. These guys are some damn talented athletic football players. If they get it put together mentally, LOOK OUT. Right now though, we are just seeing flashes here and there from individuals. At this point, I'm okay with that. We are young and still learning, but any progress is better than none.

 
It's been talked about how Banderas spent a lot of time with Will Compton over the offseason to get a head start on the mental part of the game and it shows. The guys just seems to be a little more dialed in than everyone else.

 
True to the Red.......Always said:
I like seeing both Rose and Banderas there but Banderas showed he clearly understands his responsibilities a bit better. Rose was caught out of position in the wrong gap quite a few times against Northwestern. Still I like his size and physicality which is why I think the rotation works.
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I thought this as well watching but it was interesting to hear Blake Lawrence break down a couple plays on Big Red Wrap Up the other night. On the big zone read run right up the middle, the tackle started to block down which would usually mean outside zone and Rose jumped out. But then the tackle came back and blocked the DE out, opening up a huge gap in the middle which led to the big play. Pretty tricky scheme that was hard to see watching the play. I'll have to watch a little closer and see if that was the case other times.

Even with that, I think I'll still take the aggressiveness from Rose. He reminded me during the NW game of Levonte early on - wasn't always going to the right spot but was at least going at full speed. Not that he'll be that good but it's not a bad place to start from.

 
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