I got to listen to Pat Jones and George Srhroeder on the am animal this morning. The conversation actually started out about Saban's whining about the NFL messing up his teams chemistry for the bowl game. Like almost everyone else they just thought he was trying to divert the attention from his poor job of coaching to somebody else's back. Then the conversation turned to defense, specifically Bama's lack of against the better spread teams. So George ask Pat what it takes to have a great defense and how do you measure a great defense when there are so many different offenses out there.
Pat said, IMO, the most profound statement I have ever heard him say. Pat said the best way to analyze a defense, whether it is high school, college or pro is to put the film on the screen and count missed tackles and big plays given up. That really struck a cord with me. Especially playing in the Big 12 against so many high powered offenses. I immediately thought of our 2011 defense. They gave up a lot of yards but they kept plays in front of them, made teams make long drives, and often ended up with a TO or forcing a team into making a mistake. We had good tacklers on that team-Lewis, Martin, Lowe, etc. We were not dominant at DT so many people overlooked us but those made plays at big times and they limited big plays against them.
In the Big 12, teams are going to rack up yards and score some points but if you are sound fundamentally and do not get out of position, you can field a good defense. A classic example would be uo and K St last year. uo has by far the superior athletes at most position but they are feast or famine. They either make a great play or have a bust. K St, on the other hand, foes not recruit the elite athlete that uo does but goes about it's business in a workman like way. K St finished 1st in scoring defense(in conference) and 2nd in total defense. uo finished 6th in scoring defense and 5th in total defense.
Spencer did a great job in 2012 when we returned 7 starters and some decent backups. This year we are even more experienced. Last year we were simply too young and then just had a rash of injuries, forcing guys to play way too many snaps. These guys have a chance to be one of the best, if not the best, defense in the league this year.
Pat said, IMO, the most profound statement I have ever heard him say. Pat said the best way to analyze a defense, whether it is high school, college or pro is to put the film on the screen and count missed tackles and big plays given up. That really struck a cord with me. Especially playing in the Big 12 against so many high powered offenses. I immediately thought of our 2011 defense. They gave up a lot of yards but they kept plays in front of them, made teams make long drives, and often ended up with a TO or forcing a team into making a mistake. We had good tacklers on that team-Lewis, Martin, Lowe, etc. We were not dominant at DT so many people overlooked us but those made plays at big times and they limited big plays against them.
In the Big 12, teams are going to rack up yards and score some points but if you are sound fundamentally and do not get out of position, you can field a good defense. A classic example would be uo and K St last year. uo has by far the superior athletes at most position but they are feast or famine. They either make a great play or have a bust. K St, on the other hand, foes not recruit the elite athlete that uo does but goes about it's business in a workman like way. K St finished 1st in scoring defense(in conference) and 2nd in total defense. uo finished 6th in scoring defense and 5th in total defense.
Spencer did a great job in 2012 when we returned 7 starters and some decent backups. This year we are even more experienced. Last year we were simply too young and then just had a rash of injuries, forcing guys to play way too many snaps. These guys have a chance to be one of the best, if not the best, defense in the league this year.
