A closer look at the pass D

[BanditVol]

We all know they give up a lot of yards. On the other hand, teams HAVE to pass against us, for two reasons. One, we score so much. Two, we are actually really good against the run (11th nationally). Let me add that's not just because teams don't try to run, we are 7th in yards per carry.

So we are 128th in passing yards allowed. That's not good.

But a closer look shows the following:

42nd in yards per attempt
41st in yards per completion
52nd in pass efficiency D

The last one of those is a lot more meaningful than the 128th in the country pass yards allowed which is definitely skewed by teams trying to keep up with our offense.

Let me make clear that I am not saying 52nd in the country is great, that's very mediocre. But it is a HELLUVA lot better than 128th!

As for by far the most important stat in defense, we are 22nd in the country in scoring defense. I know that's skewed a bit by Akron and Ball State but we also did play three ranked teams and every other team out there has also played multiple cupcakes, so I think it evens out.

Bottom line...on a closer look maybe the Pass D is not so awful as it seems at a quick glance.

 

[VolForLife83]

Nope, it's still horrible

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

You ca put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. Go back and even watch our game against Ball State. They had WRs running open for large parts of the game. If they had a good QB, they would have scored more. We have made 2 mediocre QBs look great.

Look at Richardson. He threw for 453 yards 2 TDs against us. Wanna know how much he has thrown for in his last 2 games total? 306 yards and 3 TDs. And those teams were Missouri and Eastern Washington. Daniels had his best passing day in the SEC against us.

There is no other way to spin it. Our pass defense is terrible. OSU and Bama both score like we do, how are their pass defenses? Oh right they are in the top 15 nationally.

 

[DaddyChad]

It’s pretty awful. Lbers have been better in coverage imo though.

 

[orangemadam]

Against Bama expect this :
If Young plays full game - 395 yds passing
If Milroe plays full game - 245 yds passing.

I like my chances if Milroe starts.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

You can put lipstick on a pig that's the 22nd best pig in the country, but it's still a pig. You know, the 22nd best pig.

Lol, some of these goofballs in vn.com.

Thanks for the stats run-down, @BanditVol , you make a great point. And I think you're dead-on right, too. This defense is actually one of the better in the country when it comes to what counts: stopping the other team from scoring.

Particularly stopping the other team from scoring as much as we do. 22nd in the nation is more than good enough when the offense is 1st in the nation. Together they add up to championship football.

Go Vols!

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Scoring defense is the most important statistic.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Scoring defense is the most important statistic.

Anything to make our defense look better than it actually is I see.

 

[Jeff Clark]

It's too late in the game in my opinion to do much with the Tennessee secondary this season what you see is what you get. The 2022 Tennessee football team reminds me of the Late 1970s-Mid 1980s BYU teams or the 1980-1982 San Diego Chargers teams trememdous offense and poor defense.

 

[Volador]

So, just imagine how many more yards LSU would have added through the air if we didn't have 5 sacks or caused numerous pressures? Our D Line is not the best in the country however, w some above average coaching, we are mixing it up in the trenches with our stunts, looks and blitzes. This might be considered putting lipstick on a pig mind you, but I prefer to call it smart coaching.

300 Bad
WIN Good

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Anything to make our defense look better than it actually is I see.

We are giving up an average of around 18 points per contest through five games.

 

[Zues1]

My take, they give up a lot of plays in the middle of the field. Big pass plays are harder to come by in the RedZone.
Run defense is very good.....

 

[Jauan't Some?]

We’ve been having this same argument since last season. The per game stats for the defense are going to be inflated because our lightning quick offense forces teams to play catch up and gives them a ton of possession time with which to do it.

At the end of the day if they rack up yards in the middle third of the field and don’t finish drives with touchdowns good for them I guess? LSU was averaging 36 points per game and we held them to 13. Tennessee’s defense is top ten in opponent red zone scoring at 65%. We’ve given up 4 passing touchdowns, 4 rushing touchdowns and 5 field goals in the red zone all season. That’s pretty dang good.

 

[VonVol2]

We are 2nd in the conference and 7th nationally in red zone defense. So long as that number stays around the same our offense can do enough to win games.

 

[Orange_Vol1321]

You can't just blame the secondary, we need to get LB's and our defensive line to the opposing QB and not allow him to have a lot of time.

With that said, our defense did just that against LSU and looked 100 times better. Dee Williams being back is also a big help.

 

[JohnWardForever]

We all know they give up a lot of yards. On the other hand, teams HAVE to pass against us, for two reasons. One, we score so much. Two, we are actually really good against the run (11th nationally). Let me add that's not just because teams don't try to run, we are 7th in yards per carry.

So we are 128th in passing yards allowed. That's not good.

But a closer look shows the following:

42nd in yards per attempt
41st in yards per completion
52nd in pass efficiency D

The last one of those is a lot more meaningful than the 128th in the country pass yards allowed which is definitely skewed by teams trying to keep up with our offense.

Let me make clear that I am not saying 52nd in the country is great, that's very mediocre. But it is a HELLUVA lot better than 128th!

As for by far the most important stat in defense, we are 22nd in the country in scoring defense. I know that's skewed a bit by Akron and Ball State but we also did play three ranked teams and every other team out there has also played multiple cupcakes, so I think it evens out.

Bottom line...on a closer look maybe the Pass D is not so awful as it seems at a quick glance.

TENNESSEE is 3-4 players away from being One Of The Best CFB teams EVER. That's absolutely a Fact!

 

[morristown vol]

We all knew the defense was behind the offence and all we could hope for is they get better as the season rolls on and i think we seen that Saturday.The season depends on them.Days of shut-outs are over so if hold a team under 15 you did a good job.

 

[The Original Fade]

You ca put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. Go back and even watch our game against Ball State. They had WRs running open for large parts of the game. If they had a good QB, they would have scored more. We have made 2 mediocre QBs look great.

Look at Richardson. He threw for 453 yards 2 TDs against us. Wanna know how much he has thrown for in his last 2 games total? 306 yards and 3 TDs. And those teams were Missouri and Eastern Washington. Daniels had his best passing day in the SEC against us.

There is no other way to spin it. Our pass defense is terrible. OSU and Bama both score like we do, how are their pass defenses? Oh right they are in the top 15 nationally.

The ugly truth right here

 

[Halph66]

And even with all the grumping and gripping, the Vols are 5-0 and ranked #6 in all the land. No one can state definitely what the future will bring.
For now, I’ll just enjoy the ride. GBO!

 

[HalfullVol]

Does UT normally play zone coverage? I think they normally play zone pass defense.

Zone coverage would limit QB runs downfield. Zone opens up windows of opportunities for passing but helps limit big play potential.

Milroe would seemingly be easier to defend against. BY is more competetent as a passer but the shoulder injury he sustained might make him more fragile should he play.

 

[VolBricks]

I think OP is onto something, it is not the complete answer but it is part of the answer. Against FL we played mostly 2 deep zone and got scorched because the D-line could not get to the QB. Against LSU we play press man and what do you know we look much better (LSU o-line was down 2 starters and were bad). We pressed at the LOS which made the QB for LSU hold the ball longer than he should have, this gave our d-line time to get to him. Also our young DB's are getting better at press man coverage. Expect a lot of press man coverage against Bama if the 2nd string QB starts for the pachyderms. If BY starts I expect we play more 2 deep zone and the "Bend don't Break" strategy because BY is good enough to beat us passing the ball.

 

[bigorangepoppa]

Does UT normally play zone coverage? I think they normally play zone pass defense.

Zone coverage would limit QB runs downfield. Zone opens up windows of opportunities for passing but helps limit big play potential.

Milroe would seemingly be easier to defend against. BY is more competetent as a passer but the shoulder injury he sustained might make him more fragile should he play.

As a poster on an Alabama fan site said, BY's shoulder injury makes him "vernable". I've got to remember that word for future use.

 

[sjt18]

You ca put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. Go back and even watch our game against Ball State. They had WRs running open for large parts of the game. If they had a good QB, they would have scored more. We have made 2 mediocre QBs look great.

Look at Richardson. He threw for 453 yards 2 TDs against us. Wanna know how much he has thrown for in his last 2 games total? 306 yards and 3 TDs. And those teams were Missouri and Eastern Washington. Daniels had his best passing day in the SEC against us.

There is no other way to spin it. Our pass defense is terrible. OSU and Bama both score like we do, how are their pass defenses? Oh right they are in the top 15 nationally.

I think I'm going to look at it like this. Any time UT can hold an opponent under its season average for scoring, I'm going to call it a win. They've done it against every opponent except UF and we all know the "luck" they experienced at the end to go with coverage that was too soft.

UT's pass D hasn't been good. However LSU was a better passing team than UF with much better WR's. UT improved statistically against them but also while stepping up a bit in competition. Their receivers weren't as open or as consistently open as UF's.

I'll take progress right now.

 

[Wolfeman_Vol]

The ugly truth right here

Bama and OSU's pass defenses are helped out by the pace they run their offense as well. As in, they want time of possession. We run speed, and as a result, our defense is typically on the field much more than our offense. Unlike Bama and OSU, who's Defenses are, most likely, on the field a lot less than their offenses on a typical day.

 

[Powder and shot]

Hard for the casual fan to see the performance during the game. They looked to be in good position last game most plays. Total yards stats don’t concern. Clearly last game the passing yardage was ineffective For LSU.