Recruiting Forum Football Talk IV

[KB5252]

So far with a few bowl games remaining we are
7th/130 in Points Per Game
90th/130 in Points Allowed Per Game
if we can get the points allowed cut down to be in the 40’s or so that would be great

When you are a high scoring team you expect other teams to pass against you heavily. To counter this you need very good corners and pass rushers. We are mediocre at best. That must change.

 

[Pepe_Silvia]

Notre dame looks better without Brian Kelly lol

 

[volinbama256]

kentucky is winning. fml

Yep, they have a 225lb RB like Purdue and you see what he did... I am so sick of us not having a big RB who can pound the rock up the middle. The Purdue kid was probably like a 2* and ran over us all day... No matter who the coach is for UT, they won't get a big RB... I was so excited to get Crouch, thinking he would eventually split time, but no... Beckwith is the closest thing we have, but everyone says he's afraid to get hit? Go find me a hungry big RB that's a 2-3* and I guarantee he will be valuable...

 

[MoCo_Vol]

When you are a high scoring team you expect other teams to pass against you heavily. To counter this you need very good corners and pass rushers. We are mediocre at best. That must change.

Yeah, this became very obvious watching Georgia.

You get elite DL play and the job of the secondary becomes so much easier.

 

[lilesrt]

All true but when you are rushing 3-4 about every down against a minimum of a 5 man line, you're not going to pressure the qb. We can blame the offense but if you're honest you have to acknowledge the defense has the responsibility to get off the field. They seldom did, even early in games. They were warn out by the end of the 1st qtr because they never could get off the field. A good defensive coordinator will scheme to help out a weak defense. Banks seldom did.

The offense is the only reason we won games. No complaints there. And I do agree to an extent.. Scheming only takes you so far for so long. It’s difficult to win one-on-one matchups with subpar talent and no depth. Good players make good coaches. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true (we’ve seen it here for years). Here’s to defensive improvement in 2022!

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Yep, they have a 225lb RB like Purdue and you see what he did... I am so sick of us not having a big RB who can pound the rock up the middle. The Purdue kid was probably like a 2* and ran over us all day... No matter who the coach is for UT, they won't get a big RB... I was so excited to get Crouch, thinking he would eventually split time, but no... Beckwith is the closest thing we have, but everyone says he's afraid to get hit? Go find me a hungry big RB that's a 2-3* and I guarantee he will be valuable...

Whitehead, Hodge, Beckwith, Banks

Not for lack of effort. Sadly the two still here playing RB haven’t really proven to be great big backs. Hopefully Williams can be that guy.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

First and foremost Banks needs some more dudes.

Remember we were still better than we were last year with less talent.

We're going to get better next year. Just not sure by how much. Helps having most everyone back, but the key to me is being able to disrupt the passer upfront.

 

[TitanicVolz]

Yep, they have a 225lb RB like Purdue and you see what he did... I am so sick of us not having a big RB who can pound the rock up the middle. The Purdue kid was probably like a 2* and ran over us all day... No matter who the coach is for UT, they won't get a big RB... I was so excited to get Crouch, thinking he would eventually split time, but no... Beckwith is the closest thing we have, but everyone says he's afraid to get hit? Go find me a hungry big RB that's a 2-3* and I guarantee he will be valuable...

Justin Williams says Hi...Personally hope Small bulks up some,but could def see Williams playing early and being very good.

 

[31VFL]

The Boilermaker’s front did a great job with blitz pick up. When Aiden O’Connell was under pressure he was 7 of 14 for 173 yards. When he wasn’t under duress he was 19 of 32 for 361 yards. Tennessee couldn’t affect him. When Tennessee did blitz he was 9 of 15 for 217 yards and 4 touchdowns which means they didn’t get home with their blitzes.

-Hubbs

 

[headhunter15]

When it's 1st and goal within the 5, stop passing. Idk how many critical situations this happened to us this year, I clearly remember 2. Maybe a third. Where we passed and got sacked or a hold and just went backwards. Wish to see more QB sneak behind HH when we're only 2 freakin yards away. Jmo

Defensively - dear god go hire jancek in some capacity and let him and martinez show how it's done on 3rd down. Or some other 3rd down guru. Can be an analyst, idc. But we absolutely have to fix 3rd down D or we'll never get over the hump, no matter how many meaningless TFLs we get or how many we score.

I’m absolutely down to bring the Janitor back! What’re is he at now?

 

[KB5252]

Yeah, this became very obvious watching Georgia.

You get elite DL play and the job of the secondary becomes so much easier.

We just lack speed on the edge and at db. There may be two or three serviceable guys coming back at db but we need at least two more guys there. A fast edge guy and maybe an interior d lineman for rotation. A versatile linebacker would be nice as well another o linemen. We absolutely must hit at all those positions.

 

[InVOLuntary]

The offense is the only reason we won games. No complaints there. And I do agree to an extent.. Scheming only takes you so far for so long. It’s difficult to win one-on-one matchups with subpar talent and no depth. Good players make good coaches. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true (we’ve seen it for years here). Here’s to defensive improvement in 2022!

I'm in no way advocating a change but I have zero confidence he can get the job done. I was hoping to see some new wrinkles as the season progressed but it never changed from the very generic defenses he ran earlier. Hopefully this offseason is good to him.

 

[VolGee4]

-Hubbs

Yea, I didn’t want to go back and watch. But I recall that we blitzed several times and still couldn’t get there.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Those are volume stats though and we obviously will defend more plays because of our offense. In fact we were 127th in plays defended out of 130 teams. Unfortunately half of that equation was also on our defense due to 3rd down d, but the rest is just tempo of course.

Need efficiency stats to see an apples to apples comparison. For instance, our run D per rush is 38th. Pass D is 53rd YPA. Overall YPP 51st. Up from 76th in 2020 under the "guru".

You're right about RZ and 3rd down though. "Situational football" killed us with an otherwise pretty decent defense. And, sadly, I believe (jmo) situational football comes back to coaching. The D coaches have got to fix those things.

Good post Devo!
GBO!!

 

[lilesrt]

I'm in no way advocating a change but I have zero confidence he can get the job done. I was hoping to see some new wrinkles as the season progressed but it never changed from the very generic defenses he ran earlier. Hopefully this offseason is good to him.

I hear you. If you were the DC what would be your plan for improvement in 2022? Just curious.. I like talking shop even though I’m by no means a coach or expert.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Man if Iowa could score

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Whitehead, Hodge, Beckwith, Banks

Not for lack of effort. Sadly the two still here playing RB haven’t really proven to be great big backs. Hopefully Williams can be that guy.

Didn't Hodge hit the portal?

 

[Weezer]

Just thinking back on the season, we need better line play on both sides of the ball. Both sides struggle with consistently getting a good push IMO. A good off season in the weight room should help that. Hopefully.

After the bowl game, I'm convinced secondary is our biggest weakness. I really hope we take some portal DBs.

And I'm still hoping Verse picks us. Would be nice if he announced soon.

 

[Nash_Vol97]

This Iowa vs UK game is just two overrated teams taking turns showing us just how overrated they are.

 

[Weezer]

Didn't Hodge hit the portal?

Yes.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

TD Hawkeyes

 

[mr.checkerboards]

This Iowa vs UK game is just two overrated teams taking turns showing us just how overrated they are.

Two slaw slow teams. UK is built just like a Little 10 team.

 

[AllVol11717]

Yea, I didn’t want to go back and watch. But I recall that we blitzed several times and still couldn’t get there.

We have a ton of experience on the D line but zero elite players there. Young could get there but it’s hard when everyone else in your base rush set can get roadblocked by a single olineman.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

We just lack speed on the edge and at db. There may be two or three serviceable guys coming back at db but we need at least two more guys there. A fast edge guy and maybe an interior d lineman for rotation. A versatile linebacker would be nice as well another o linemen. We absolutely must hit at all those positions.

I think we got some edge talent and that'll allow Baron to move to interior DL, hopefully he can add some strength/size in that new role.

I actually think Hadden/Turnage both are going to be pretty good CBs for us, both just seem to need more experience. Speed/skill in the limited action they have seen has shown both are more than capable. Really hoping Slaughter, Charles, McDonald, & Rucker can show something. I actually think Tank/Flowers aren't as bad as other people...but I think neither is really fast enough to play safety. I expect one of them could move down to the STAR and spend more time near the line of scrimmage.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Just thinking back on the season, we need better line play on both sides of the ball. Both sides struggle with consistently getting a good push IMO. A good off season in the weight room should help that. Hopefully.

After the bowl game, I'm convinced secondary is our biggest weakness. I really hope we take some portal DBs.

And I'm still hoping Verse picks us. Would be nice if he announced soon.

The secondary will look better with a better pass rush. But i do agree it needs upgraded as well