Am I the only one loving this defense?

[zreeves]

regardless of the results, i do appreciate the effort. it was also nice to see our front 4 actually relevant and getting pressure...feels like it has been about 5 years since we got a sack with just the front 4. even though wku isnt sec caliber, it was still nice to see. hopefully they improve as the season goes on. i just hope that if oregon puts a lot of points on us it is because we are outclassed and not outcoached and/or turning the ball over.

 

[BigBadVol]

My answer to this post next week will be quite different than now...

That said...I see effort that was not as apparent the last several years...so I'll give them that.

Meanwhile...the 1st couple of games was like Kramer at the DoJo...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/v/7t8xwpW8gJQ[/youtube]

LMAO! I think we keep it closer than most think. But awesome post!

 

[NeylandArmy]

My biggest complaint is linebackers mismatched in pass coverage. Other than that, this D is so much improved over last years.

 

[Velo Vol]

- I love how ferociously they are going after the football. They truly do swarm to the ball. They are very clearly trying to create turnovers as well.

It will be a different deal when they go after players who can burn them with one misstep.

 

[Demon_Vol]

Our best defense against Oregon will be played with 5 down lineman, 2 TE's and Lane or Neal pounding the rock for long clock churning drives. That's really our only hope against them. We have to create turnovers and burn clock on offense. Hopefully they slow down the offense and don't try to up tempo the best up tempo team in the nation.

 

[Spartacavolus]

I don't like our 3rd down defense, the timing of our zone blitz calls, and showing man coverage early where teams can check and get AJ isolated in space.

Besides that, the db's played the ball well. Call int's gifts or whatever. They just say int in the stats. They swarmed well.
Seems like AJ and others were attacking early but sat back and were blocked easily at times, but that may have been to try and read or get their hands on one of the short passes.
They just need to keep it simple. And don't drop Corey Miller into coverage again please. Especially on 3rd down. But I have a feeling this staff is led by a coach who tries his best to learn from mistakes

 

[ice]

big hole in the middle of the field.
Mediocre team blew our defense out a few times, line.

 

[Exfix]

WKU outgained UT in yards on the day. Before we start fluffing the D too much lets see them play some real competition. For me, they gave up way too many yards too easily and the front four didn't get the consistent pressure against a team like that. Take away the ridiculous turnovers and its a very different game the way they moved the ball. Lots of unanswered questions and concerns IMO.

 

[zreeves]

WKU outgained UT in yards on the day. Before we start fluffing the D too much lets see them play some real competition. For me, they gave up way too many yards too easily and the front four didn't get the consistent pressure against a team like that. Take away the ridiculous turnovers and its a very different game the way they moved the ball. Lots of unanswered questions and concerns IMO.

take away the turnovers and they also arent on the field 21 minutes in the first half.

 

[majic73]

I see so many complaining about giving up 3rd and long .

Two points :

- The same coverage mechanics that caused busts generated turnovers. It was a very valid gambit . I will take it
- They schematically out coached a Petrino coached offense early ..he caught up ...our coaches adjusted and shut them down. I will take it

I realize we will have a tough time vs the ducks ...but so would everybody else in the country . I am not placing this defense in an elite category.

I do have faith in our coaches to scheme for our opponent , and adjust as they go. I thank goodness that the worst defense in the history of UT football has recovered and appears to be serviceable..at the least

 

[MOOOOONEY]

This is basically the same defense that gave up 700 yards and 48 points to a much worse Troy team. 26 points to Akron. so it seems we have improved on defense some.

 

[DC Vol]

WKU outgained UT in yards on the day. Before we start fluffing the D too much lets see them play some real competition. For me, they gave up way too many yards too easily and the front four didn't get the consistent pressure against a team like that. Take away the ridiculous turnovers and its a very different game the way they moved the ball. Lots of unanswered questions and concerns IMO.

Slow down and look at the game as a whole and not just the entire stat-line.

They gave up yards in the 1st half... ~238 while UT's Offense gained a mere ~85. If you actually look at the drive chart, their big possessions (80 and 62 yard drives) were wedged in-between 3 3-and-out possessions by UT's Offense in the 2nd Quarter.

That was completely flipped in the 2nd Half. UT's D gave up ~137 to WKU in the 2nd half. What is the parallel?

No 3-and-out possessions for UT's Offense in the 2nd Half. For a team with youth and inexperience at the CB position I thought giving up less than 400 total yards to a very potent WKU offense is actually pretty commendable.

That is, of course, without considering the gaudy turnover stat-line that you guys keep conveniently ignoring. Oh, right, they were all due to WKU playing poorly instead of our guys swarming to the ball and stripping constantly as well as playing off routes to bait a poor pass... a la a Lovie Smith coached Bears team.

EDIT: I will say that the first pick-6 (Coleman's) was a total gift. Sutton's was most definitely just a very good play on the ball. Poor decision, but it was a poor decision the QB made due to being lured into making it.

 

[GAVol]

When the season is complete, this year's defense won't be judged on how they play next week, hater.

They won't be judged on how they put the clamps on Austin Peay and Western Kentucky either.

We're clearly better up front, but even against a couple of weak teams we've looked suspect in coverage and I suspect that will become more apparent in the coming weeks.

 

[DD4ME]

The very best part for me has been the noticeable in game adjustments and the intensity/physicality. Being intense/physical and being flexible in your schemes can go a long way towards covering for some of our deficiencies.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Talk to me next Saturday night around 7:00.

Right you are. One thing that bothered as I watched the game at Neyland. The frequency of times that mid-field was wide open. If the QB had opted to run or handed off to the RB more often, they would have either scored or gouged out giant chunks of yardage. You do that with Oregon and they will have us 60 points behind by the first half. Yes, we looked better but only because our mid-level opponent didn't take advantage of the repeated mid-field gifts we so generously provided.

CBJ better have a roaming guy who stays on the QB at all times, and someone who flies to field. Trouble with that plan is De'Anthony or that other guy is in the position, they're just gone if you don't hit and wrap them up right away. maybe we will correct this by the Oregon game. This is Butch's test as well as the team's. We have a really good coach (win, lose, or draw) and better team if we either win or make it a genuine contest. You can bet Oregon is t6aking a serious look at how to exploit the tendency to leave mid-field open.

 

[photovol]

Our defense did indeed create turnovers, but they did give up an average of 8.5 yds per carry to Andrews. Oregon's RB's are much, much, faster and much more elusive and they have a running QB, if we don't tackle better it's going to be a very long day.

 

[Cyclopskiller]

The "D" is shih "D"..

 

[Freak]

They won't be judged on how they put the clamps on Austin Peay and Western Kentucky either.

We're clearly better up front, but even against a couple of weak teams we've looked suspect in coverage and I suspect that will become more apparent in the coming weeks.

Fair enough. I'm just not going to make too many judgments based on what I see this Saturday.

 

[Vols4us]

My biggest complaint is linebackers mismatched in pass coverage. Other than that, this D is so much improved over last years.

We have a winner.

That has been a major problem much of the time going back to third and Chavis and the Mustang package. The LBs get lost in play action because they are so focused on stopping the run. With the improved front 4 play they need to focus more on their keys and zones of coverage.

 

[SandoVOL]

I liked the energy, we had some mistakes for sure, and we left the middle if the field wide open on 3rd down multiple times. Some of that is just a lack of speed across the middle of the field which oregon is sure to take advantage of. I hope the return of Maggit and Smith and eventually Vereen will give us a little more speed and a little more attack on the qb.

 

[noshow]

I like the fact that the defense dosen't look totally confused running all over the field before the snap like they did last year. For that reason alone i feel their much inproved since last year.

 

[goooooovols]

In all seriousness our defense played well and is no doubt improved over last year, WKU may be one of the best rushing offenses we face this year.

 

[GAVol]

Fair enough. I'm just not going to make too many judgments based on what I see this Saturday.

The funny part is that after seeing Oregon throwing the ball yesterday against UVA, I actually feel a little better about our chances of slowing them down.

 

[1974Vol]

Two reasons this D may be even better this eeek is they get Maggit and Smith back. We may see a lot of nichol against the Ducks trying to get people on the field that can run with the Oregon backs. Look for AJ to be off the field except on short yardage and goalline. Game will hinge on how well Vols tackle in space. The Ducks use short passes almost as a run game just to get their speed guys in space against an LB or safety. Teams that could tackle in space have held up pretty well. Those that don't get torched. The Ducks get gaudy passing stats due to YAC. Tackle them and keep them behind the sticks and you have a chance.

 

[1974Vol]

In all seriousness our defense played well and is no doubt improved over last year, WKU may be one of the best rushing offenses we face this year.

They did have a good down hill running attack. Georgia, USCe and Bama will have better ones but I don't see anyone else Vols play with a better power run game than what they saw Saturday.