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

[VolForLife83]

Leary was doing a lot of quick, deep drop backs before throwing too. Soon as he took the snap, he quickly ran back 7 plus yards. Their whole plan was built around not getting sacked and ours was not to give up the run

 

[pimo1]

I think the heavy emphasis on zone came from three different reasons. Firstly, zone is typically better than man when playing the run. Secondly, we don’t have two man corners. Thirdly, they kept extra blockers in to protect against the rush, so we had to blitz more and resulting played zone behind as a sometimes less complicated alignment for the defense. Florida killed us when we played man by utilizing presnap motion to create bad matchups. We had guys running around n we just stunk at it. We simplified a little to avoid the big bust, gave up yards, but won the game.

Totally agree. Sometimes you pick your poisons based on what you have. Losing Hadden hurt us a lot (my own opinion) because if we manned up I honestly think fewer guys would be wide open all night long.... their receivers were not really all that scary compared to some units we have faced. Ray Davis is their leader in rushing and receiving TD's (he accounts for 14 of their 28 TDs on offense).. the whole game plan was dont let him beat us.

 

[volsrock09]

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!

I believe there were multiple factors for not being as effective against the pass. This is my opinion.

Pass rush wasn't as effective as it has been this year- if you give the QB 4-5 seconds to throw he will find someone open more times than not. When the DL can pressure the QB with 4, it makes for a good recipe for success against the pass and makes DB's look good.

CB1 being out for the year.

Man coverage on the outside struggled out the gate- I haven't gone back and rewatched the game but being in the stands it seemed like they adjusted to zone to keep everything in front of them sometime after the first couple drives. There were 2 throws that were big plays for UK that Leary put in the perfect spot 20-30 yards down the field in man coverage early. From my perspective, DB's were in good position (from what I recall) but they just made the plays. May have scared Banks I'm not sure.

Zone- seemed because of that we were less aggressive. My problem wasn't even with the zone but I cant stand when DB's just sit in the middle of their zone then let a WR (the only one within 10 yards of them) sit perfectly in between 3 DB's. They wait until the ball is thrown to react. They should shadow the receiver in their zone, pass them off to the next guy. It would be different if the opponents scheme forced DB's to make a decision but a few plays if not more were basically routes on air for 5–10-yard hitches.

 

[TNVOLFN]

I did rewatch several plays of Kentucky completing throws and I personally thought Leary threw with amazing accuracy. Certainly it’s harder to be so accurate when the pressure is coming (especially with speed rushers off the edge) so the lack of pressure played into it BUT…I think Leary simply threw several extremely accurate passes. JMO.

Leary was absolutely on fire, it eerily reminded me of Rattler last year.

 

[loosecannon]

Leary was absolutely on fire, it eerily reminded me of Rattler last year.

Glad we didn’t let that beat us. The slash and dash really worked in our favor.

 

[NetworkVol]

Totally agree. Sometimes you pick your poisons based on what you have. Losing Hadden hurt us a lot (my own opinion) because if we manned up I honestly think fewer guys would be wide open all night long.... their receivers were not really all that scary compared to some units we have faced. Ray Davis is their leader in rushing and receiving TD's (he accounts for 14 of their 28 TDs on offense).. the whole game plan was dont let him beat us.

I agree. During the game, I was almost begging the TV to have us go to man coverage...but now I get it. We would've got burnt. I think we can possibly tighten up on passing off the receiver between the zones but overall, the game plan worked. I'm sure going into half time, with the lead and getting the ball back...there wasn't much to change.

 

[DougVol]

The poster I quoted expressed concerns about how we would match up with UGA.

That’s fine. He needs to worry about Mizz first too.

 

[Sara Clark]

I felt like the game plan was to contain Davis. If Davis were given an inch, he would take a mile in the running game.

 

[cyclevol]

Defensive Coordinator chose to stop Ray Davis's running attack and make the QB beat us. Bad thing is the QB played the game of his life.

Yep and the best thing is, he had the game of his life and we still won! We are to them what UF is to us. Joe played really well and the running back trio is top shelf. Loved the strategy of putting in the quickest back in the 4th quarter when their defense was tired!

 

[Dragon18]

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.

This is what I believe overall. If I were Banks I would have schemed about the same based on what Leary had shown all season. They also got the ball out quickly. Their back averaged 115 ypg and we held him to 47. I think if we were ever losing control of the game they would have adjusted to tighter coverage… maybe lol.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Totally agree. Sometimes you pick your poisons based on what you have. Losing Hadden hurt us a lot (my own opinion) because if we manned up I honestly think fewer guys would be wide open all night long.... their receivers were not really all that scary compared to some units we have faced. Ray Davis is their leader in rushing and receiving TD's (he accounts for 14 of their 28 TDs on offense).. the whole game plan was dont let him beat us.

And since Ray Davis did not beat us, and no one else on Kentucky's team beat us, we did not play crappy defense.

 

[pimo1]

And since Ray Davis did not beat us, and no one else on Kentucky's team beat us, we did not play crappy defense.

I am not the OP sir... I never said we played crappy defense. I made it clear I think the outcome was part of our gameplan.... to play soft zone and limit their runs while giving up passing yards.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Leary was absolutely on fire, it eerily reminded me of Rattler last year.

He was. That's why when I see a thread title talking about our "crappy defense" I automatically know that the OP is dumb.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

@pimo1 I know you weren't the op. I thought you made some points that directly contradicted the op. I highlighted them, because I don't feel we played crappy defense.

 

[livefaith]

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

Few will say it, but here it is. UKs offensive line was the best against our pass rush all year. They weren't holding like @ Alabama and still kept that pocket clean nearly all night. Redux of last year where QBs could tee off on us. UKs did and it was nearly enough to beat us!
This worries me about what Mizzou saw.

 

[gray0306]

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

yes they practiced their holding really well...it showed!!!!

 

[gray0306]

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?

oh h yeah that "big blue line" lol

 

[strkr]

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

We have depth banks and willie will not insert some of our younger db's who are faster than our slow slaw sr db's.

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

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!

I glean their was a whole lot of holding by Cats OL in that game. Same could be said for Elephants!

 

[Jackcrevol]

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!

he tried, and O Leaaary picked it up. Also threw to areas of soft coverage in the zone. (Rushing 4 doesnt work). Doesnt help when those 4 get held

 

[KTrain]

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

Also, everyone remember UKs Oline had rested for 2 weeks and have game planned for 2 weeks and the coaching staff have been game planning all off season. If Stoops could have got a W, he is in a decent to good place but a W vs UT & UF in same season, he would be untouchable. Also playing on the road we got no game action penalties zero, seems to be the norm in SEC on road. So we will be facing a mobile QB at Missouri I expect a lot of the same. We need a turnover free game vs Mizzou like we had at UK and hopefully they cough one up.

 

[3holenones]

We won this game…right? I went to the Kentucky/Covid game. That was a game to complain about. I’ll take this win with a smile and no complaints from me.