Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.
And now the defense
Auburndawg
Member Posts: 362
My main take away: we played man all the time. We were always man to man with every receiver, with one or two other guys playing zone, usually one deep, and one intermediate. No soft zones with receivers standing there wide open. We always rushed at least 4, and we did blitz frequently. Love it!
Against the run, they had some wins, and we had some wins. Some of their best runs came when we blitzed and left gaps open.
Our front 7 stuffed them three times in critical situations: 3rd and short in the first half to force the (blocked) FG, the 4th and 1, and 2nd and goal at the two, which forced them to pass on 3rd down.
Danny Shelton is an absolute beast. In on virtually every play. Always pushing the pile backwards. On the other hand, Hudson, IMO, got pushed around a lot, but Wilcox praised him today.
The front 7 did get penetration on passing plays. If Southwick didn’t throw it immediately we were in his face.
All the LBs and DBs seemed to tackle well, and I only remember one play where it looked like someone blew an assignment.
Our LBs and DEs are fast.
Southwick is the only reason the game was competitive, IMO. He couldn’t throw deep, but he picked up several big 3rd downs by sliding around and finding receivers who were just barely open.
Bottom line: Wilcox is worth twice what we are paying him. He has transformed this defense.
Against the run, they had some wins, and we had some wins. Some of their best runs came when we blitzed and left gaps open.
Our front 7 stuffed them three times in critical situations: 3rd and short in the first half to force the (blocked) FG, the 4th and 1, and 2nd and goal at the two, which forced them to pass on 3rd down.
Danny Shelton is an absolute beast. In on virtually every play. Always pushing the pile backwards. On the other hand, Hudson, IMO, got pushed around a lot, but Wilcox praised him today.
The front 7 did get penetration on passing plays. If Southwick didn’t throw it immediately we were in his face.
All the LBs and DBs seemed to tackle well, and I only remember one play where it looked like someone blew an assignment.
Our LBs and DEs are fast.
Southwick is the only reason the game was competitive, IMO. He couldn’t throw deep, but he picked up several big 3rd downs by sliding around and finding receivers who were just barely open.
Bottom line: Wilcox is worth twice what we are paying him. He has transformed this defense.
Comments
That and consistency. This is all moot if that was a one-off we witnessed on Saturday.
So I don't feel worked up over no pass rush as I plan to LIPO.
They can improve, but right now we have an average defense at best. That said, if our offense can reproduce that execution against everybody we play, then an average defense might be enough this year.
Sure, there are some things to improve on, but if we give up less than 4.5 yards per play, we will have a great season.
Our defense stopped sucking the minute Wilcox arrived.
Also, I don't think we had one sack, and our pressure was inconsistent. Littleton was NO factor.
Sure there was some pressure occasionally, but it was too inconsistent. Heck, even Sark listed as one of his 2 two priorities over the next 2 weeks "getting pressure on the QB."
I expect our defense to finish lower than that based on our offense but anything close with our offense playing well will mean a huge year. Oregon finished 44th in YAPG but opponents ran 120 more plays against them vs against Washington. The yards per play comparison was 5.37 for Washington and 4.94 for Oregon. As mentioned in a prior poast the less than 4 yards allowed against BSU Is elite. One game yes, but elite.
For my money it can't be understated how huge it was for us to get Keith Hayward. The DBs look fantastic and he made Trufant into a first rounder last year. Flat out great coach.