Defensive strategy with the Huepel Offense: Red Zone denial (off season musing)

#28
#28
I may be wrong in my opinion, but I don't think Heupel necessarily wants a defense that gives up big plays or a lot of yards. With a depleted roster, especially on defense, the best chance for winning was score fast and often and try to get so far ahead that the other team can't catch up. I would think Heupel would love to have a defense like Georgia that stops the other team in just a few plays, gets off the field, and turns it over to the offense to score, then repeat. A defense doesn't get so tired they start arm tackling if they aren't on the field any longer than Georgia's was. And most definitely, a deep offensive and defensive line would be great too.
 
#29
#29
Certainly we can get TOP down to less than five minutes per game. That would tyre out they’re offense. There RBees and slant operators would be tired by the 3rd quarter.



Come on spellcheckers - get me!
 
#30
#30
Scoring the most points always wins the game. TOP has nothing to do with that. A team that takes 12 plays to score 3 points will lose to a team that scores touchdowns in 4 plays.
The score at the end of the game determines the winner.
Music City Bowl no.1 being an exception.
However, I would be interested in seeing any examples of a winning team having a TOP less than 14:00. The Kentucky game has to be the all time record.
 
#31
#31
The score at the end of the game determines the winner.
Music City Bowl no.1 being an exception.
However, I would be interested in seeing any examples of a winning team having a TOP less than 14:00. The Kentucky game has to be the all time record.


I've looked and can't find any info on that........That has to be the record.? Right?
 
#32
#32
TOP is a useless stat. What really matters is the quality of your possessions as opposed to how much time you actually possess the ball. 3rd down conversions and red zone touchdown percentage are good indicators of how well your offense/defense is.
 
#33
#33
If the defense will stop the opponent's offense, they won't be on the field for so many plays. It really is that simple. The fact that our offense often scores quickly admittedly adds to the number of possessions. But we have to stop associating our style offense with the inability of our defense to make stops. A few more high impact players on defense will solve a lot of our issues.
 
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#34
#34
First and main thing they need is an elite pass rush. It doesn’t fix everything but getting some pressure on the qb routinely is going to help more than anything. Not saying the other positions aren’t needs or important but we have to improve our pass rush or it won’t matter much.

Acquiring monster DTs should be the focus and priority IMO
 
#35
#35
To me in a nutshell they need 2 elite corners, big,fast, and athletic LB's. Plus a couple of headhunting safeties. I would also throw in 2 6'6" 265 edge guys that run a 4.5. Top it off with 4 6'4" 325 lb DL that spit fire.
Well count me in on that order as well 👍🏻. Of course probably every coach in America would like that too.
 
#36
#36
Our biggest problem this year on defense, and the reason they couldn’t get off the field, was that we continued to allow teams into 3rd and short situations. Never failed. Seldom did we put the opposition in 3rd and 6 or longer. It was pathetic. Continued all the way up to the end, even against Purdue. That’s why we lost that game as well. Until we can put pressure on the QB, and tackle in open space, this will continue. Recruiting will help this. Coaching will help. But Banks had better start commit to blitzing more than twice a game.
 
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#37
#37
Rodney Garner said it best "we get off the field on 3rd down and we don't have to worry about being out there for 90 plays."
 
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#38
#38
OP's premise makes sense to me. If our D can prevent big plays and force opponents to field goals, we'll win 9 out of 10 times. Red zone D stats seem like a reasonable yardstick to start with.
 
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#39
#39
The score at the end of the game determines the winner.
Music City Bowl no.1 being an exception.
However, I would be interested in seeing any examples of a winning team having a TOP less than 14:00. The Kentucky game has to be the all time record.
I was talking about the score at the end of the game. The TOP never matters. Only the final score. I don't know if 14 minutes is a record or not. It was just a win. I love our attacking style of offense. The fact that we score fast doesn't matter. It is ONLY about scoring TD's. I agree about the MCB game, but the record shows we lost. Still pizzes me off. I hate losing anytime, but refs should not determine who wins.
 
#42
#42
The best possible support our defense gets next year is our offense scoring a ton of points and staying on the field longer. Our rebuild on defense is going to take years.
 
#43
#43
TOP is a useless stat. What really matters is the quality of your possessions as opposed to how much time you actually possess the ball. 3rd down conversions and red zone touchdown percentage are good indicators of how well your offense/defense is.
Bingo. ToP is one of those old school boxscore stats only know-nothings still reference. Sort of like talking about volume stats.

It's all about efficiency. Points/possession. Yards/play. Etc. You don't earn any points, nor is there any correlation between ToP and wining.
 
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