This will be Stoops’ Best Defense To Date

[JHB4UK]

Kind of strange criticizing a defensive philosophy that is consistently one of the 4 best in the SEC year in & year out. Doing that with far less talent than other SEC programs.

Brad White is running Mark Stoops defense, just like Matt House did before. Stoops believes in zone coverage with a secondary facing the QB to keep the playmakers in front of them. Stoops built his coaching career as a secondary coach for Butch Davis & the excellent Miami Fl teams. He's never believed in man 2 man corners on WRs because the O has all the advantages, and the corners have their backs to the QB and will be burned by scrambles.

 

[CRZ4UK]

'We haven't been able to get pressure' is a past tense sentiment. We have an extremely good, extremely deep defensive line that will be able to bring pressure against SEC QBs. Is it enough to work against UT? Is their offense half as good now that Hooker and his WRs are gone? We'll see. That's the fun of CFB.

Fact of the matter is that Brad White has given up way too many points to the mighty mustards the past two years, and at some point you've got to think that one of the better DCs in the SEC will figure out how to defend that offense (without a 1st and 2nd team defense full of future NFLers a la UGA).

It really won’t matter if Hooker was that good or not. If they overload our deep zone like they have at least four times a game, Morgan Newton could make that throw when no defender is within 15 yards. That’s 28 points right there. The huge key is their Oline. If they can’t hold up for 4-5 seconds those routes won’t work. Their Oline was outstanding last year. Let’s hope they have a year like ours last year.

 

[JPFisher]

It really won’t matter if Hooker was that good or not. If they overload our deep zone like they have at least four times a game, Morgan Newton could make that throw when no defender is within 15 yards. That’s 28 points right there. The huge key is their Oline. If they can’t hold up for 4-5 seconds those routes won’t work. Their Oline was outstanding last year. Let’s hope they have a year like ours last year.

If they overload our deep zone then we aren't getting pressure. If we get pressure, then timing plays go out the window and UT will have to play into our defense (generally) with shorter throws. The pass rush really will be a critical component of keeping UT from throwing long at will.

Let's also not forget that our safeties are one of the strengths of our defense. As long as corners can stick to their responsibilities, our CBs don't have to be All-Americans for our secondary to be good. Our players have seen this offense twice. Stoops and White have seen it twice. That's got to factor in eventually – especially if someone cracks the code on that offense before we hit them.

I dunno. Maybe I'm an optimist.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

It really won’t matter if Hooker was that good or not. If they overload our deep zone like they have at least four times a game, Morgan Newton could make that throw when no defender is within 15 yards. That’s 28 points right there. The huge key is their Oline. If they can’t hold up for 4-5 seconds those routes won’t work. Their Oline was outstanding last year. Let’s hope they have a year like ours last year.

They didn't overload anything. They wisely preyed on a deep defender (Valentine ) to bite up on a shorter route, which he obliged over and again. Valentine also made a similar critical error vs vandy.

I was one of Valentine's only defenders on here most of his career. He was very good but hunted out INTs and it cost us at times.

The problem was the execution, not the scheme. Tbh UT will be tough on offense while they're allowed to run up and snap the ball. Just how it is.

 

[K_TIME]

If they overload our deep zone then we aren't getting pressure. If we get pressure, then timing plays go out the window and UT will have to play into our defense (generally) with shorter throws. The pass rush really will be a critical component of keeping UT from throwing long at will.

Let's also not forget that our safeties are one of the strengths of our defense. As long as corners can stick to their responsibilities, our CBs don't have to be All-Americans for our secondary to be good. Our players have seen this offense twice. Stoops and White have seen it twice. That's got to factor in eventually – especially if someone cracks the code on that offense before we hit them.

I dunno. Maybe I'm an optimist.

Dude you’re making up crap at this point to win Q argument

Tennessee does not load up on a zone. They run both wr outside rhe numbers on both sides of field the entire game. And they run switches to see if they catch you on mid xommunication

 

[CRZ4UK]

They didn't overload anything. They wisely preyed on a deep defender (Valentine ) to bite up on a shorter route, which he obliged over and again. Valentine also made a similar critical error vs vandy.

I was one of Valentine's only defenders on here most of his career. He was very good but hunted out INTs and it cost us at times.

The problem was the execution, not the scheme. Tbh UT will be tough on offense while they're allowed to run up and snap the ball. Just how it is.

I don’t know how they are supposed to communicate on the fly like that. In our scheme valentine turns the receiver over to the deep safety at a certain depth. Problem is. They run two receivers in that zone at Valentine. He would have to abandon his zone and stay with one guy going deep,or turn over two receivers to the safety. Each TD he played his zone and he turned over two guys to the safety. Boom. Wide open TD. No safety can cover two guys at once. I really would love to ask Brad White what he was supposed to do in that situation??? That’s why people call it a gimmick offense. That can work in college because coaches have to scheme zone because not everyone has the same or close athletes. If they showed this pre snap pro players would immediately go man. The confusion wouldn’t work.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I don’t know how they are supposed to communicate on the fly like that. In our scheme valentine turns the receiver over to the deep safety at a certain depth. Problem is. They run two receivers in that zone at Valentine. He would have to abandon his zone and stay with one guy going deep,or turn over two receivers to the safety. Each TD he played his zone and he turned over two guys to the safety. Boom. Wide open TD. No safety can cover two guys at once. I really would love to ask Brad White what he was supposed to do in that situation???

Not at all. It's a switch route and all valentine had to do was carry that deep route. Instead he kept jumping the skinny post that crossed his face. They took advantage time and again.

Year before they attacked us very differently but still at the weak link: Cedric dort. They knew dort had no interest in coming up to tackle or set an edge. Kept throwing short and eating us up.

All those are personnel problems not scheme. It wasn't flooding anything. UT is very good at exploiting a player weakness. This year it will be hardaway if we don't get him cleaned up.

 

[CRZ4UK]

Not at all. It's a switch route and all valentine had to do was carry that deep route. Instead he kept jumping the skinny post that crossed his face. They took advantage time and again.

Year before they attacked us very differently but still at the weak link: Cedric dort. They knew dort had no interest in coming up to tackle or set an edge. Kept throwing short and eating us up.

All those are personnel problems not scheme. It wasn't flooding anything. UT is very good at exploiting a player weakness. This year it will be hardaway if we don't get him cleaned up.

I guess we see the tape differently. I even went back and watched the plays on YouTube before I responded. I don’t see it as he jumps the post. I see it as he is playing zone and therefore not supposed to follow someone deep. He stops and turns 2 over to the safety. He stayed in his zone.

 

[K_TIME]

I guess we see the tape differently. I even went back and watched the plays on YouTube before I responded. I don’t see it as he jumps the post. I see it as he is playing zone and therefore not supposed to follow someone deep. He stops and turns 2 over to the safety. He stayed in his zone.

Go back and watch driving iwth styles breakdwon of UT first half. Their first TD Valentine stays inside while Hyatt who was in the slot run a go route on the sideline for a wide open TD. Valentine stayed with his outside WR and didnt stay deep in his zone responsibilities which were deep third of his side of field.

I'm sure it's harder than I am making it out to be.....but our DBs did nto play discipline in either game

 

[CRZ4UK]

Go back and watch driving iwth styles breakdwon of UT first half. Their first TD Valentine stays inside while Hyatt who was in the slot run a go route on the sideline for a wide open TD. Valentine stayed with his outside WR and didnt stay deep in his zone responsibilities which were deep third of his side of field.

I'm sure it's harder than I am making it out to be.....but our DBs did nto play discipline in either game

Either way it’s hard to believe they get receivers that wide open on us and others. They lost a lot of WR talent. We look at Key and brown as all world for us. If they just stood next to Jaylin Hyatt you would probably laugh at the difference. We skinny.

 

[mrschwump]

EKU will be a good test for UK's passing D. Their QB threw for nearly 4000 yds/30+ TDs last year, that's good I don't care who you are. A reminder that UK hasn't had a 3000+ yd passer since Mike Hartline, much less a 4000 yd guy.

 

[YaketySax]

EKU will be a good test for UK's passing D. Their QB threw for nearly 4000 yds/30+ TDs last year, that's good I don't care who you are. A reminder that UK hasn't had a 3000+ yd passer since Mike Hartline, much less a 4000 yd guy.

I agree and I’m pretty sure I know how it’ll play out. EKU has some success finding seams in the zone, along with Stoops decades old philosophy of giving up 4-6 yards to prevent an explosive play, and some will judge it means the DBs and LBs stink because they can’t cover poor EKU.

they won’t realize if UK wanted to man up EKU or Ball St they could easily out-athlete them. But you don’t do that so the team is better later in the season when you can’t just out-athlete SEC competition. UK man’s up EKU, allows nothing, and some would be fooled into thinking this means UK is better than they actually are.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I guess we see the tape differently. I even went back and watched the plays on YouTube before I responded. I don’t see it as he jumps the post. I see it as he is playing zone and therefore not supposed to follow someone deep. He stops and turns 2 over to the safety. He stayed in his zone.

We definitely do. He is in zone and his responsibility was probably deep 1/3 on his side (no one gets behind him)or a two man game where they would pass off of they tried to rub/pick/cross.

No matter what he was in, I can 1000% guarantee he was not supposed to let a wr run by him deep while he played hero ball trying to get an int.

UT gets people wide open because 1) they're well coached (disgusting as it is) and 2) they're allowed way too much leeway with some presnap stuff which includes the quick snap. In fact most of the wide open routes they had last year was due to this same switch route concept they ran in different areas of the field and at times even juggled receiver assignments just before the snap

 

[JHB4UK]

If you watched Texas-Bama last night Milroe was befuddled and threw 2 backbreaking INTs against zone coverage. The only explosive deep pass plays he completed were when Horns went man.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

If you watched Texas-Bama last night Milroe was befuddled and threw 2 backbreaking INTs against zone coverage. The only explosive deep pass plays he completed were when Horns went man.

Most all of eky passing success was vs man or blitz. Not sure why we went man so often.

 

[cathouse]

If you watched Texas-Bama last night Milroe was befuddled and threw 2 backbreaking INTs against zone coverage. The only explosive deep pass plays he completed were when Horns went man.

Now, tell me what Bama played on D and how that worked out for Nick against a modern fast paced offense?????

Milroy threw two unforced interceptions against the zone purely because he could not read a defense. That will not work against a seasoned QB with good WR's.

Ole Nick's cover two zone got his butt whipped last night.

 

[YaketySax]

good secondary play



good rush defense

 

[The-Hack]

I agree and I’m pretty sure I know how it’ll play out. EKU has some success finding seams in the zone, along with Stoops decades old philosophy of giving up 4-6 yards to prevent an explosive play, and some will judge it means the DBs and LBs stink because they can’t cover poor EKU.

My God, that was a freakishly accurate prediction.

This defense allows a lot of movement between the 30’s, but then begins to tighten as the endzones approach.

 

[The-Hack]

View embedded media

-Experienced secondary with depth and NFL players.
-ILB pair that is best to date (>Kash and Jones in ‘18)
-OLB unit with depth and NFL player with Weaver
-DL has depth and Walker is first/second round talent.

Overall, good depth and NFL talent. If they tackled better on Saturday they’d have had more sacks and TFLs. The coverage issues will improve with more game reps.

Who is scoring more than 30 offensive points on this squad? Tennessee, UGA, Bama, and anybody else?

I doubt Bama or UT score 30 on this defense.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I doubt Bama or UT score 30 on this defense.

UT will be a good test. They test a secondary's eye discipline to the extreme. Early on I posted was very concerned about the play of hardaway especially when we got to UT. Fortunately the staff saw it too and benched him.

Imo this is the most complete secondary stoops had here, as far as discipline goes. Our safety play is top notch and hairston is extremely solid especially in playing responsibilities. Phillips needs to tighten up but his fault is playing off too far.

If we can get just a little more discipline out of Wallace (at times guilty of freelancing and especially over pursuing) and find someone other than him to give us a pass rush, this will probably be stoops' best defense here.

 

[YaketySax]

 

[K_TIME]

You can see how this defense is going to be top five in sec We are taking ehe ball away Alway been nasty vs the run

 

[tdcat]

Pressure up the middle from Walker and Wallace might just make this defense Stoop's best one. Inside pressure really makes life difficult for QBs.

 

[seccats04]

Giving up 28 points to Vandy won't help our stats. But the good news is we don't have anyone left on our schedule who has an explosive offense unless you count UL, who is playing the equivalent of a HS schedule giving them inflated stats.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

UK has won its 1st 4 gms by an avg score of 38-15.5

That's an avg margin of victory of 22.5 ppg. or 3 TDs per game.

Thats basically 4 blowouts

Now the real season begins and 4 of our 5 ranked opponents come to Lexington.

If this team improves incrementally over the course of the season and stays healthy (for the most part) we will have an outside shot at going 11-1 and possibly winning the East if Auburn and TN can win at home v Georgia.
Before you scoff, stranger things have happened in the SEC.

 

[rolaid]

South Carolina will light us up good chance Miss St does also- anyone who can pitch & catch with a experienced QB will give us fits - we do not get pressure with front 4 so Dbacks are soft coverage
Don’t tell me about Vandy - they are heading for 0-8 in league

 

[HerrosHeroes]

South Carolina will light us up good chance Miss St does also- anyone who can pitch & catch with a experienced QB will give us fits - we do not get pressure with front 4 so Dbacks are soft coverage
Don’t tell me about Vandy - they are heading for 0-8 in league

We have the two highest rated corners in the SEC and the highest rated DL man.

No one is lighting this D up. No one. Not with Wallace and Weaver doing their thing!!

After we gig the Gators we can resume this convo as I will have more ammo for you then.

 

[YaketySax]

Any more believers now?

 

[YaketySax]

People are saying it more and more