UK fan. I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up and stop the run this year. Thanks in advance.
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I agree. And I must confess that I am actually excited about our defense but I just don't have the experience to really tell.Not a coach or ex player, but I have stayed at a holiday inn. If Paschal lives up to expectations, if our linebackers play their gaps and if our depth can play we will be good. That is very, very generic I know
UK fan. I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up and stop the run this year. Thanks in advance.
Yes there are a plethora of fans that wish they were experts. And most will post a reply and it not be very well thought out. And they end up dominating a post. And just bickering back and forth. I'm not into that. I'd rather have reasonable talks with open minded individual who are not concerned with getting the last word in.Are you sure? Curious as to why you need to state that up front? Maybe because of previous posts?
Not saying you but I would rather have someone post with knowledge and discuss the topic in a reasonable way instead of the usual, oh yeah well mines bigger way. JmoYes there are a plethora of fans that wish they were experts. And most will post a reply and it not be very well thought out. And they end up dominating a post. And just bickering back and forth. I'm not into that. I'd rather have reasonable talks with open minded individual who are not concerned with getting the last word in.
Has to be a Holiday Inn Express or you don’t know squat.Not a coach or ex player, but I have stayed at a holiday inn. If Paschal lives up to expectations, if our linebackers play their gaps and if our depth can play we will be good. That is very, very generic I know
UK fan. I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up and stop the run this year. Thanks in advance.
I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up
but I have stayed at a holiday inn.
Awesome post very well put together. I'm not a coach or former player but I look at the guys on our d-line and think they have potential to be really good. And it seems to me our linebackers could be better. But like has been stated they didn't preform well in the blue-white game. I really like your post and it makes sense. Just wondering if anyone saw anything schematically or technique wise that would give even more hope for a successful season. I like the stats about bama. Think if we could get close to three YPR that would be a great season. And to me that would be stopping the run. Thanks for your post. I also wonder what Stoops best year for YPR as a d- coordinator was. And Matt House's.You're asking for someone to a make a prediction regarding one of the most unpredictable games there is. Second your question is vague what is the definition of "stopping the run"? The best team against the rush last year was Alabama at 2.7 YPR. We allowed 5.0 YPR last year which is not going to get it done. 3.6 YPR would get us roughly into the top 25 - is that "stopping the run"?
What we know: We have better talent up front then we have had in recent years and a lot more depth, while our losses have been minimal. Hypothetically then we should improve over last season, but until they actually play they games no one will no for sure if we improve and if so by how much.
Awesome post very well put together. I'm not a coach or former player but I look at the guys on our d-line and think they have potential to be really good. And it seems to me our linebackers could be better. But like has been stated they didn't preform well in the blue-white game. I really like your post and it makes sense. Just wondering if anyone saw anything schematically or technique wise that would give even more hope for a successful season. I like the stats about bama. Think if we could get close to three YPR that would be a great season. And to me that would be stopping the run. Thanks for your post. I also wonder what Stoops best year for YPR as a d- coordinator was. And Matt House's.
Great info. Thanks again.Thanks.
3.0 might be a tall order. Believe it or not beyond Bama which was #1 in YPR allowed last season, there was not another SEC team in the top 25 in stopping the rush. The next best SEC team was Auburn at 3.7 YPR allowed. Only 5 teams allowed 3.0 or less, one of which ironically was Neal Brown's Troy team which was #2 at 2.9 YPR. I say ironically because Brown as most everyone knows is best known for his offensive acumen.
Depending on your linebackers to stop the run is a true sign your d-line isn't adequate. I think our starting d-line is acceptable, I think we run into trouble when we require depth. The one spot on this team that we still lack true depth, is the d-line.
I like the run defense to improve because of depth. You have guys like Middleton and Carter who have been forced into action early and often. These guys Imo are more suited to be solid back ups. The emergence of Hoskins Paschal and Bohanna will upgrade the starting unit and then you have guys in Middleton and Carter who have been productive decent players rotating in. Add Dubose Taylor Looney you got back ups who have had weight room time and field time as decent depth pieces. I also believe Allen adding weight should help him set edge better. Throw in a healthy JJ a thumper in Kash and you got yourself a solid if not spectacular front 7 with experienced bodies.UK fan. I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up and stop the run this year. Thanks in advance.
A 3-4 with the right personnel is a fantastic defense. As Grumpy said, it requires different skills. The straight 4 down is getting less and less, and finding those man mountain nose tackle athletes gets harder each year.
I think this is likely the first year Kentucky has a group of assistant coaches that are solid with coaching and running the 3-4.
I believe in the 3-4 because it allows you to be more athletic which is a big deal with the offenses we are seeing today. As more and more teams move to the 3-4 those huge guys are harder to get because more teams want them. I don't believe they have to be the 340+ monsters but that's just an opinion.
I think you need an athletic guy in the 270-280 range to play a 5 technique, a 300 or so guy to play a 3 and a 310+ to play a 0 or 1 technique. Again a personal choice because I put more value on thickness and agility than size defensively. At LB, I think in today's game it's more important to be athletic, fast and able to play in space than being the big striker of 10 years ago. With all the spreads we are seeing they have to be able to cover, you just can't expect the offense to sub and give you a chance to get a run stopper out. OCs will use formations to create mismatches and force them to cover guys they can't.
I stayed at a Best Western but that's close enough.Not a coach or ex player, but I have stayed at a holiday inn. If Paschal lives up to expectations, if our linebackers play their gaps and if our depth can play we will be good. That is very, very generic I know
Do you think Dean Hood's move to the secondary will help with the missed assignments by the secondary? I do because I think he is the best coach on this staff. I also think White will really help with the linebackers. Jmo.I stayed at a Best Western but that's close enough.
We have enough talent to be a mid pack defense. The problem is that our LBs don't shutdown their gaps. There is way too much free lancing on the defense. And too much busted coverages. Fix those 3 things and this will be a top 6 defense in the league. However if we continue to let Jordan Jones run wherever he wants, continue to have LBs play off the ball instead of filling gaps, and continue to have our safeties and corners get mixed up on assignments then we will once again be the worst defense in the league.
To answer the OPs question I don't think anyone, including Mark Stoops, knows right now. When you get beat by talent you have to live with it. Being beat because of broken assignments and busted coverages however is unacceptable and there's still too much of that going on.
Do you think Dean Hood's move to the secondary will help with the missed assignments by the secondary? I do because I think he is the best coach on this staff. I also think White will really help with the linebackers. Jmo.
Yup. You don't have to have Haloti Ngata lining up as a NT to be effective......though, every team would take one if they could get one. In some respects the NT position gets overrated. You don't have to be huge. You don't have to command double teams. You don't have to have pass rush ability. The main goal is to be a fairly immovable clog in the middle of the line. If you can do that at #300 then great.
Also, it's worth noting that often the true NT's only play a lesser percentage of downs. Dick Lebeau is one of the best 3-4 DC's ever to coach.....and he is well known only to play his NT's for about 20-40% of the defensive snaps. The NT's get switched out in obvious passing downs or when the offenses run quicker tempo. It's also worth noting that because he doesn't use the NT with a high percentage, he has never gone for the Haloti Ngata types who are the elite NT's. He's always done very well with the lesser known names.
Now, all I have said above does NOT mean that the NT is meaningless. It's certainly a major player in a 3-4 base defense.
Now, about the 3-4 defense. Everyone is correct that it's design is to put more speed and athleticism on the field. But it's also worth noting that just about program......including UK......only runs a true 3-4 alignment a fraction of the time. Stoops runs a lot of 4 linemen fronts......and they shift people around quite a bit.
In reference to defensive rankings. Be cautious. The "bend not break" philosophy is a very proven, sound approach. It's not my personal cup'o'tea, but it is a proven philosophy. By design, it will yield more yards than a more aggressive defense. Soooo, theoretically, you can field a really effective defense but not be ranked very high.
Well, surely I meet at least one of those qualifications!UK fan. I would like someone preferably a football coach or ex college player to give their opinion on whether or not they believe our defense will step up and stop the run this year. Thanks in advance.
We disagree a little on the NG responsibility, his job is to require double teams. UGA gets out of 3down look but normally in passing downs and brings in an extra LB. Now that LB may put his hand down, I suppose it is to cause a little more confusion for the offense
And it is usually difficult to "improve" defense with a new stud here or there.
Hence, I made reference to the "Wildcard conundrum" in one of my posts, above.
I tend to agree with your theory that using the same mature personnel does not guarantee improvement, but there have been notable exceptions. Kentucky in 2006 was ranked well into the 100's on total defense. Two seasons later, they were 32nd in total defense.
Now, pegging the difference maker might be subjective, but the biggest change was the emergence of Jefferson Countian Myron Pryor. He played on both the 2006 and the 2008 teams, but looked much more effective as a senior than as a Soph. Also, one stud, Micah Johnson, was an addition to the formula, in 2008 (and yes, 2007).
So it can be done.
Not necessarily. A NG can be every bit of disruptive if you have him shoot the gap to cause havoc in the middle.
https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2...aller-nose-tackles-issac-gross-defense-spread
It's also worth noting that if you have a guy who doesn't shoot the gap.....but is just stout enough to be relatively immovable.....they can shut down a running lane and create OL disruption. Now, that being said, such guys often draw a double team because it takes 2 guys to move them and open lanes.
Once again, let me reiterate, that everyone would choose a guy who draws double teams and is a dominate force over someone who can't. But it's a farce that a NG "has to" do these things to be effective.
You talking a different scheme now, that's a 2 gap technique, which is an adaption made when you don't have someone that can demand double teams. The thing you have to remember with a NG who is playing this technique, you are leaving a lane for the rb to cut back to and be in your secondary, when your LB don't have good lateral quickness it's magnified. Shooting gaps is riskier than I like to play, how many 8-10 yard runs are you willing to give up to get a 2 yard loss?
Of course it's a different technique. As you said, it's an adaptation when you don't have a guy who can command double teams. That was the point.....you don't "have to" have a guy who demands double teams. Though, it is what is desired.
The WildCard Conundrum...I like the sound of it even if I don't know what it is.Hence, I made reference to the "Wildcard conundrum" in one of my posts, above.
I tend to agree with your theory that using the same mature personnel does not guarantee improvement, but there have been notable exceptions. Kentucky in 2006 was ranked well into the 100's on total defense. Two seasons later, they were 32nd in total defense.
Now, pegging the difference maker might be subjective, but the biggest change was the emergence of Jefferson Countian Myron Pryor. He played on both the 2006 and the 2008 teams, but looked much more effective as a senior than as a Soph. Also, one stud, Micah Johnson, was an addition to the formula, in 2008 (and yes, 2007).
So it can be done.