Was the crappy defense due to lack of pass rush or lack of coverage? The Definitive Proof

[37620VOL]

I set out to prove, with undeniable evidence, that our lack of QB pressure against UK was because our DBs and LBs didn't cover well enough and UK's strategy seemed to be "get the ball out quick".

The data did not check out. In fact, I don't think there's much of a conclusion at all to glean from the data. I pulled the number of pressures and sacks from our first 8 games and compared them to our opposing QB's TTT (Time To Throw) statistic. Here's the data:

GAME	TTT	PRESSURES	SACKS
UVA	2.4​	20​	5​
AP	1.9​	15​	7​
UF	2.5​	11​	1​
UTSA	2.3​	30​	4​
SC	3​	33​	7​
TAMU	3.2​	32​	2​
BAMA	3.5​	13​	3​
UK	2.7​	9​	1​

So, I don't know, let me know what you can glean from it or if you have some better stats to analyze. My gut says the first 4 games we were getting home on the pass rush insanely fast but possibly against weaker competition. SC and TAMU saw good pass rush but mobile QBs were able to extend plays yet the coverage held up. Against BAMA and UK the pass rush was lacking and, without a reliable shutdown corner, the coverage was also quite bad.

I say all this with low confidence, but we seem to fare better when the pass rush gets home in under 2.5 seconds. So I say dial it up, Banks!

 

[jvol1]

Kentucky seemed to have game planned for our blitzes very well and injuries at db.

 

[DaddyChad]

This game it was both the pressure wasn’t there most of the time and the coverage wasn’t great either. You can point out holds by their line but we got little to no pressure on Leary, we also had several instances where the defender was 5-7 yards off the receiver.

 

[volbound1700]

Kentucky played well on the offensive line. They played a collapsed line that always had blockers holding up and Leary stayed in the pocket to rely on this protection.

Scary thing is that this doesn't bode well for Georgia game.

I was surprised how weak the UK defense is. We need to fix our red zone issues, though. Cost us against Alabama. Red Zone issues are on the offensive line.

 

[sonofUT62]

This game it was both the pressure wasn’t there most of the time and the coverage wasn’t great either. You can point out holds by their line but we got little to no pressure on Leary, we also had several instances where the defender was 5-7 yards off the receiver.

9 yards off the ball on a 3rd and 6. It’s mysterious.

 

[Volbrando]

holding no calls play a role in us not being able to sack them as well

 

[sonofUT62]

Kentucky played well on the offensive line. They played a collapsed line that always had blockers holding up and Leary stayed in the pocket to rely on this protection.

Scary thing is that this doesn't bode well for Georgia game.

I was surprised how weak the UK defense is. We need to fix our red zone issues, though. Cost us against Alabama. Red Zone issues are on the offensive line.

I think we will show some things against UGA in the red zone that we haven’t done a lot of. Maybe Sampeon and Wright in the backfield together and one motions out. I hope the Florida game was an anomaly for UGAs offense. They looked like a nightmare for a team that doesn’t cover or tackle well in the secondary.

 

[DaddyChad]

I would like to be fair as well though. While we’re complaining about pressure we also should point out the front seven absolutely stoned the run.

 

[JRich]

Kentucky had a good plan to counter UT's blitz's, and their offensive line played well. Include the fact that opponents are allowed to hold against UT and you have nullified the front seven, although they still managed to stop the run.

The secondary, frankly, sucks. To have so many seniors they should be better. Need to recruit some playmakers that can tackle at those positions.

 

[lostsheep]

I set out to prove, with undeniable evidence, that our lack of QB pressure against UK was because our DBs and LBs didn't cover well enough and UK's strategy seemed to be "get the ball out quick".

The data did not check out. In fact, I don't think there's much of a conclusion at all to glean from the data. I pulled the number of pressures and sacks from our first 8 games and compared them to our opposing QB's TTT (Time To Throw) statistic. Here's the data:

GAME	TTT	PRESSURES	SACKS
UVA	2.4​	20​	5​
AP	1.9​	15​	7​
UF	2.5​	11​	1​
UTSA	2.3​	30​	4​
SC	3​	33​	7​
TAMU	3.2​	32​	2​
BAMA	3.5​	13​	3​
UK	2.7​	9​	1​

So, I don't know, let me know what you can glean from it or if you have some better stats to analyze. My gut says the first 4 games we were getting home on the pass rush insanely fast but possibly against weaker competition. SC and TAMU saw good pass rush but mobile QBs were able to extend plays yet the coverage held up. Against BAMA and UK the pass rush was lacking and, without a reliable shutdown corner, the coverage was also quite bad.

I say all this with low confidence, but we seem to fare better when the pass rush gets home in under 2.5 seconds. So I say dial it up, Banks!

Refreshing to see someone set out to prove a theory, realize it's not correct, actually admit it, and seek input.
Most of us will argue 'til we're blue in the face to prove whatever random theories we come up with having zero evidence to support it.
Well done, @37620VOL !

 

[VolFreakJosh]

Kentucky had a good plan to counter UT's blitz's, and their offensive line played well. Include the fact that opponents are allowed to hold against UT and you have nullified the front seven, although they still managed to stop the run.

The secondary, frankly, sucks. To have so many seniors they should be better. Need to recruit some playmakers that can tackle at those positions.

Boo Carter

 

[fossilfiction]

There is nothing in college football that has undeniable evidence but the effort is strong. Tennessee was daring them to beat us through the air and they almost did. The run was taken away from them and their only path to victory was their receivers and QB beating the secondary. As improved as the defense seems, the secondary needs some help fast. There needs to be at least two guys who can flat-out ball starting in the secondary and the two deep solid with serviceable and reliable guys.

 

[FloraVol]

I'm going to go with the choke hold blocks our pass rushers have had to contend with the last two games.

 

[fossilfiction]

I think we will show some things against UGA in the red zone that we haven’t done a lot of. Maybe Sampeon and Wright in the backfield together and one motions out. I hope the Florida game was an anomaly for UGAs offense. They looked like a nightmare for a team that doesn’t cover or tackle well in the secondary.

No way we are holding back redzone plays for Georgia that could have helped get points instead of field goals against Alabama. We have seen what this team is now. It's time to believe it.

Terrible, just really bad in the red zone
One of the best rushing attacks and only getting better with Joe now running hard
Inconsistent at passing
Play calling this year is bland but it's called to the strengths and against the weaknesses
Rough in the secondary
Good on the d-line
Solid at LB
Average on 4th and short for some reason despite the run game
Pretty good on special teams
Heavy on penalties at the worst times
Hot and cold in every game for spells
Completely capable of beating everyone they play along with losing two of them

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Kentucky seemed to have game planned for our blitzes very well and injuries at db.

I think the problem with our zone defense, is the LBs, DBs, and Safeties are suppose to defend their area and break on the the receiver if the ball is thrown in their zone; not wait for the receiver to catch the ball and then they to tackle him before he starts down field. The defense should attempt to , find the ball, close in on the receiver, intercept the ball if possible, prohibit the receiver from catching the ball and finally make the tackle if the they can not complete any of the first steps. I saw a lot of trying to make the tackle and not much of the other activities. Few passes are going to be defended well if the receiver has no defender within 5 yard of him.

 

[loosecannon]

I set out to prove, with undeniable evidence, that our lack of QB pressure against UK was because our DBs and LBs didn't cover well enough and UK's strategy seemed to be "get the ball out quick".

The data did not check out. In fact, I don't think there's much of a conclusion at all to glean from the data. I pulled the number of pressures and sacks from our first 8 games and compared them to our opposing QB's TTT (Time To Throw) statistic. Here's the data:

GAME	TTT	PRESSURES	SACKS
UVA	2.4​	20​	5​
AP	1.9​	15​	7​
UF	2.5​	11​	1​
UTSA	2.3​	30​	4​
SC	3​	33​	7​
TAMU	3.2​	32​	2​
BAMA	3.5​	13​	3​
UK	2.7​	9​	1​

So, I don't know, let me know what you can glean from it or if you have some better stats to analyze. My gut says the first 4 games we were getting home on the pass rush insanely fast but possibly against weaker competition. SC and TAMU saw good pass rush but mobile QBs were able to extend plays yet the coverage held up. Against BAMA and UK the pass rush was lacking and, without a reliable shutdown corner, the coverage was also quite bad.

I say all this with low confidence, but we seem to fare better when the pass rush gets home in under 2.5 seconds. So I say dial it up, Banks!

Dialing it up was killing us. Leary understood the basic ideas behind blitzing: you throw where the blitzed came from. He did that repeatedly and torches us again and again. The blitzes weren’t getting free and the replacers weren’t getting a lot of wins picking up or robbing as replacers

 

[GiveHim6InSC]

I believe StoernerFumbles had some insight on this the other day. Played to stop the run and keep everything between the 20s.
No pass rush certainly hurt, but the cushion on the receivers certainly seemed to be intentional to me. The poor angles some of the guys took is concerning, though.
Good news is that there’s film on it now, so hopefully they can clean that up

 

[landscapingvol]

9 yards off the ball on a 3rd and 6. It’s mysterious.

I get that we have a lack of depth in the secondary but playing so far off that you basically concede the first down yardage on nearly every passing play makes no sense. We never adjust defensively outside of one or two series in the second half

 

[TennEddie]

Ky had 2 weeks to scheme for us and it almost worked.
Great road win.

 

[sjt18]

Nice effort but more context is needed. The DBs were playing tight coverage vs A&M. They were tight in zone and man. Apparently they believed that Johnson could beat them if given the chance and that their run game was a lower risk. Banks seemed to have gone to the opposite extreme vs UK and then didn't have any adjustments when Leary started playing well. UK couldn't run all day which should have resulted in UT playing progressively tighter in coverage or else getting "exotic" with some coverages. But if there were adjustments, UK anticipated them.... because nothing UT did was really effective except stop the run.

UK came in one of the worst O's in the SEC. Leary was much more on target so give him his due. The DL got held all day so that had an impact on his comfort in the pocket. But you simply can't play your DBs that soft. Every time Banks does it... we have a discussion like this and some geniuses try to blame the DB coach.

Ultimately UT overreacted to the threat posed by their running game... or really just the one RB and underestimated what Leary could do. This primarily falls on the DC.

 

[Other_Guy]

Front has definitely been inconsistent but I also felt like most of the time the defenders literally didn't have a chance to physically make the distance because a WR was already wide open. Haven't went back really to see.

 

[Sarms58]

Leary was on target all day - his best game so far. His line held off the pressure but he was definitely in a groove…I felt we needed to hit him more to knock him out of his groove but to do so on most plays would have Ben a PF

 

[JoeMiltonsAgent]

Personally think Leary is a lot better QB than he has been getting credit for on here.

The guy passed for 3400 yards, 35 TDs, 5 INTs his last full season at NC ST and was getting plenty of notice as an NFL prospect.

Had a bad run of injuries. Broken leg in 2020. Torn pec muscle last season. Took a nasty shot to the ribs early this season. Probably just now rounding back into form.

Think Saturday was a combination of good decision making from Leary , missed holding calls by the refs, and a secondary that can make any QB look good.

 

[BanditVol]

I set out to prove, with undeniable evidence, that our lack of QB pressure against UK was because our DBs and LBs didn't cover well enough and UK's strategy seemed to be "get the ball out quick".

The data did not check out. In fact, I don't think there's much of a conclusion at all to glean from the data. I pulled the number of pressures and sacks from our first 8 games and compared them to our opposing QB's TTT (Time To Throw) statistic. Here's the data:

GAME	TTT	PRESSURES	SACKS
UVA	2.4​	20​	5​
AP	1.9​	15​	7​
UF	2.5​	11​	1​
UTSA	2.3​	30​	4​
SC	3​	33​	7​
TAMU	3.2​	32​	2​
BAMA	3.5​	13​	3​
UK	2.7​	9​	1​

So, I don't know, let me know what you can glean from it or if you have some better stats to analyze. My gut says the first 4 games we were getting home on the pass rush insanely fast but possibly against weaker competition. SC and TAMU saw good pass rush but mobile QBs were able to extend plays yet the coverage held up. Against BAMA and UK the pass rush was lacking and, without a reliable shutdown corner, the coverage was also quite bad.

I say all this with low confidence, but we seem to fare better when the pass rush gets home in under 2.5 seconds. So I say dial it up, Banks!

The announcers and talking heads at SECN were praising the UK O line for a job well done. I think we can give them some credit.

But to your point...OF COURSE having a better pass rush improves Pass D. Why even pose such a silly question?

 

[TNVOLFN]

Our front was geared to stop the run. The steps or get off our DL took was for power to control their assigned gap (think of a tractor vs a Ferrari, one is built for power, the other for speed). You could tell the the gameplan was to stop Ray Davis and make Devin Leary beat us, which almost happened.

The emphasis of our DL to control their gap, Kentucky's OL pass protection, and our lack of skill at CB and Star combined for a bad night defending the pass.