Any scrimmage insight?
- Thread starter Mafiadawg
- Start date
Well, over on ED we got a freak out over how bad the defense could possibly be. There are a few people who think after watching the scrimmage that the defense will be limited but not a bucket full of holes. Then there are a few others who saw the same scrimmage and say we've got zero depth, questionable talent and the potential to have the worst defense since the Sirmon Fiasco of 2016.
But, they all agree that the offense is looking pretty good.
But, they all agree that the offense is looking pretty good.
Which means screwed in the SEC.
with a few exceptions.
But, this is not a normal year.
And LSU, BAMA, UGA on the road, but home field advantage is not what it normally is...
with a few exceptions.
But, this is not a normal year.
And LSU, BAMA, UGA on the road, but home field advantage is not what it normally is...
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I think everyone understands that our defense is going to have some struggles this year. Or at least everyone should go into the season with that expectation.
The fact of the matter at CB is we lost both starters from last year (Smitherman and Dantzler), our top returning backup opted out (Williams), and one of our two talented freshmen from last year (Jones) left. So we really just have one guy coming back at CB who has played meaningful snaps. We have some young talent at that position but zero experienced depth. Plus we lost a good DL in Lovett.
As long as we play hard and look well coached, I’ll be happy with the defense. It’s just about managing expectations. If you think this is going to be a good defense, then that’s on you.
The fact of the matter at CB is we lost both starters from last year (Smitherman and Dantzler), our top returning backup opted out (Williams), and one of our two talented freshmen from last year (Jones) left. So we really just have one guy coming back at CB who has played meaningful snaps. We have some young talent at that position but zero experienced depth. Plus we lost a good DL in Lovett.
As long as we play hard and look well coached, I’ll be happy with the defense. It’s just about managing expectations. If you think this is going to be a good defense, then that’s on you.
We will have some problems at times on defense but I also don’t think we are going to give up 50 points a game like some would have you believe. If our offense is good then our defense doesn’t have to be great. That was our problem the last two years, our offense was so bad that our defense had to play pretty much a perfect game for us to beat anyone with a pulse.
Just prepare for us to be in some shootouts this year and needing to score 40+ to win certain games. That’s always been part of the deal with Leach teams at times anyway.
Just prepare for us to be in some shootouts this year and needing to score 40+ to win certain games. That’s always been part of the deal with Leach teams at times anyway.
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Not sure I agree with that. Let’s see how they look at the end of October before judging that position group.
Define “screwed in the SEC.” Of course we will lose to the elite teams. We almost always do. This season will be judged by how we play against Kentucky, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
I think we will move the ball and score points on everyone we play, other than Bama, UGA, and maybe LSU. 4-6 is the most likely outcome. 3-7 is also possible, although that would be a little disappointing.
I guess it depends on what people’s expectations are. Anyone who honestly expects this team to be better than 4-6 is setting themselves up for failure.
To put it in context, we have had a winning SEC record exactly one time post-Sherrill. Why would anyone this this team is our second best team this century? Just enjoy the ride- it’s a transition year and if nothing else, our offense will be fun to watch.
Define “screwed in the SEC.” Of course we will lose to the elite teams.
Never have we been scheduled to go on the road to those teams,
And via an impromptu schedule, we got 17ed in that regard.
Never have we been scheduled to go on the road to those teams,
And via an impromptu schedule, we got 17ed in that regard.
If the air raid offense is any good (or very good) that means not many 15 - 20 play clock eating scoring drives, which means our inexperienced D will be on the field more especially against the run oriented offenses in the SEC. Not a good combination for this season. So, unless we score every possession our offense will be sitting most of the game watching our opponents run the field for 5 -10 yards at a pop while eating game clock.
We’re really going to have to bust out the opponent plays per game stats again?
Leach’s air raid is not like Phil Longo’s air raid. It is not a hurry up offense. Here are where Washington State has ranked in fewest plays per game defensively the last several years.
2019- 47th nationally (tied for 2nd in the Pac 12)
2018- 21st nationally (1st in the Pac 12)
2017- 21st nationally (1st in the Pac 12)
2016- 17th nationally (1st in the Pac 12)
So basically, he had the most “ball control” offense in his league for the past four years. The offense absolutely does not force the defense to stay on the field for long.
I could see us struggling with that some this year because we 1) may have trouble adapting to the new offense, which leads to more incompletions and 2) our defense may simply struggle getting off the field, which isn’t the offense’s fault.
Either way, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that it will be a long term issue.
Well we started a bunch of young guys last season as well due to cheating in academic. I am use to being young. Seems like we are young every season.
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Seriously.
7 months with no sports at all and still many didn't watch old Leach games.
This is something I’ve been trying to stress to Ole Miss fans, as well. Us going .500 or better in the SEC is NOT common. We’d all love for it to become the norm, but it’s not, at the moment. Yes, the West is typically tougher, at least the last 10-15 years, but we also get Vandy every year (y’all get Kentucky, who’s better than Vandy, but still historically a bottom half team in East) and we still struggle to get to 5-3 or better. So, do I think we will be better coached? Yes. Do I think we will be more fun to watch? Hell yes. Do I think we can go .500 or better against an all SEC schedule in a rebuilding year, contending with COVID and a team with depth concerns? It’s not likely.
But, when we look at the schedule we all start envisioning best case scenarios, because we are fans. I’m guilty of it, as well. Like most seasons, there will be 3 or so games that will make the season a success or failure. For us, I believe those games are Kentucky, South Carolina and MSU. And that’s assuming you don’t have a hiccup against Vandy or Arkansas, which is a major assumption.
That’s an incredibly interesting stat, and one I wouldn’t have thought was the case. That’s eye opening. Great post.
Also, there is a difference between game clock time off the field and actual total time off the field. The actual total time off the field is rest time for the defense regardless of how much game clock has run off.
Because of more passing (incompletions and more going out of bounds), the game clock will stop more, but the defense is still resting. So a 10-play passing drive that takes 20 minutes but only 6 minutes of game clock will give the defense more rest than a 14-play running drive that takes 17 minutes and 8 minutes of game clock.
Of course, the game time has to be made up somehow, but a 60-minute game that takes 3 hours and 45 minute to play due to more passing is easier physically than a 60-minute game with more rushing that takes only 3 hours and 15 minutes.
You CAN run a pass offense that chews clock IF the completion rate is good and you keep out of 3rd and long. It’s a popular misconception that you are going to run the hurry up tempo because you are passing a lot. I am interested in seeing what Leach does after a couple of seasons here. It was fun watching him use a journeyman QB from Bama’s bench to tear up his old league.
ETA. I don’t think we will see many plays where the entire offense stares at the sidelines for 30 seconds and barely gets the play off on time. LOL
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If they were, they wouldn't be going to Ole Miss. (You walked into that one!)
If our new offense is very good, I'm not getting why it is so important for our defense to be well-rested, unless our offense is getting 3 points rather than 7 most of the time and the other team is getting more 7's than 3's. If we score TD's quickly, I won't get worked up about how rested the D gets unless they are so useless they can't stop the other team from scoring TD's more than their D can stop our offense from scoring 7.
Give me 7 points fast and let my defense absorb 5-7 minutes drives if they have to. If the D gives up 7, we're back to even, and we get the ball again, and again, I want 7 points just as fast as we can get them, even if the D plays a ton more plays than our offense. It's only a problem if the other team's D is better at stopping our offense than ours is at stopping theirs.
If we can have a prolific offense and an efficient D, that's even better. But in the end, it just boils down to who has the most points when the clock hits 0. Having a D that is unable to stop the other team due to sucking wind is only a problem if our offense isn't able to continue out-scoring the other offense.
Having the worst defense since sirmon 2016 might not be that bad.
We’ve had some good ones since then.
We’ve had some good ones since then.
Hasn't this been debunked like 50 times on here already? Leach teams have good TOP.
Any report coming out of camp that the defense is disappointing needs the disclaimer that it’s going up against a pass heavy leach offense and one that routinely makes ANY opponent look bad. This is THE top offense In the nation over the last decade plus. This is an offense that routinely puts up over 500 ypg. This isn’t some balanced ball control 10 minute drive offense that we are used to seeing in the sec. leach operates in the 9th circle of eternal hell for defenses. My concern is stopping the run, not how they look stopping leach’s offense in a scrimmage. The 85 bears would be looking ate each other saying “that was supposed to be your guy, dammit” after a score. That’s why leach is here...if our defense is showing out against our offense, we are totally 17ed, so the fact that they are struggling means we are on schedule, nothing more. We don’t play mike leach offenses in the sec so quit the bellyaching. The fact that the defense struggles is a huge ray of hope that the offense has what it needs to stress defenses.
And what even I have to keep reminding myself of is that 4-6 this year would be like 7-5 or 6-6 with a normal schedule. I feel safe in saying that most would take that in a heartbeat for Leach’s first year, and for those that wouldn’t, just a reminder that we had to win 3 of the last 4 to get to 6-6 last season.
I knew it was there, I recognized it when I posted it, but was feeling generous, haha. I walked into eyes wide open.
If defensive recruiting doesn't pick up this will be a recurring theme for the foreseeable future.
ETA. I don’t think we will see many plays where the entire offense stares at the sidelines for 30 seconds and barely gets the play off on time. LOL[/QUOTE said:
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