Defense Rankings (Out of 130 in FBS)

[Adam Sandler]

99th in Total Defense
59th in Rushing Defense
122nd in Passing Defense
117th First Down Defense
103rd 3rd Down Defense
120th in Red Zone Defense
52nd in Tackles for Loss
Tied for 67th** for Turnovers (a lot of ties here)

Numbers say it all. Knew this defense would give up some yards, but hoped they’d make up for it in turnovers and critical down defense. Hasn’t happened.

If you’re going to give up yards, you have to get off the field. Bend but don’t break. Create negative plays on 1st down and get off the field by creating and taking advantage of opportunities. Create turnovers to lessen the time on the field, which is a lot when you have the fastest offense in the country.

Not an argument for Pruitt, he had to go, but this team was top 25 in defense and terrible on offense. Now the teams great on offense and fun to watch, but terrible on defense, and haven’t found adequate replacements for the pieces that left in the portal. I actually like coach Banks and the aggression the defense sometimes plays with. Hope he can get this team to improve. I do have concerns though. Recruiting dropped off a bit from Pruitt. Seems not enough attention was paid to defensive needs/depth as well, while missing on plenty of guys we were in final top whatever’s for.

2022 will be pivotal for the defense. Have to address defensive back and linebacker deficiencies through the portal in the off season, and do so successfully. 2023 recruiting class needs to be a homerun. If Heupel has 3-4 years to make this a sec champ contender, defensive improvement this year and next is what has to happen for that to be possible.

EDIT: Please let it be noted that it wasn’t until I dove into the numbers and started thinking about 10-3 that I became concerned with the defense. I actually like the scheme, the coach, and the energy.

Additionally, my post lacks insight to the fact that our defense statistically spends much more time on the field due to the style of offense we run and that maybe overall defense numbers should be expected to not be great. That said, it is not an excuse for lack of turnovers. Lack of talent may be a good excuse for that, which I did mention in the original post.

Also, apologies to those who are tired of this discussion. This thread is not for you. Get back to your day and stop being irritated by open discussion on a free forum.

 

[DaddyChad]

The chef needs some groceries before we get something other than crap sandwiches.

Do we have a pass rusher? I mean a true pass rush guy that can generate pressure. Not really. Do we have talent at the LBer position? Arguably Banks has developed over the season but I doubt any of our guys would start for another SEC team other than Vandy. Our secondary is terrible not even arguable there.

I see a lot that Banks calls and it’s great schematic calls usually generates turnovers or at least put players in positions to make plays. That said we don’t have the talent to push and pressure the QB position even if we did our secondary isn’t great but at least they would have to hold up less time. Our Lbers can’t control the middle of the field so we struggle versus any mobile QB.

I would argue the numbers Pruitt had were bunk as well. Teams could just run the ball and run out the game in several games. Heupel’s offense will force the other team to put up high offensive output to keep up.

 

[Doberman]

Abysmal.

 

[peaygolf]

"LOFT"

 

[savannahfan]

99th in Total Defense
59th in Rushing Defense
122nd in Passing Defense
117th First Down Defense
103rd 3rd Down Defense
120th in Red Zone Defense
52nd in Tackles for Loss
Tied for 67th** for Turnovers (a lot of ties here)

Numbers say it all. Knew this defense would give up some yards, but hoped they’d make up for it in turnovers and critical down defense. Hasn’t happened.

If you’re going to give up yards, you have to get off the field. Bend but don’t break. Create negative plays on 1st down and get off the field by creating and taking advantage of opportunities. Create turnovers to lessen the time on the field, which is a lot when you have the fastest offense in the country.

Not an argument for Pruitt, he had to go, but this team was top 25 in defense and terrible on offense. Now the teams great on offense and fun to watch, but terrible on defense, and haven’t found adequate replacements for the pieces that left in the portal. I actually like coach Banks and the aggression the defense sometimes plays with. Hope he can get this team to improve. I do have concerns though. Recruiting dropped off a bit from Pruitt. Seems not enough attention was paid to defensive needs/depth as well, while missing on plenty of guys we were in final top whatever’s for.

2022 will be pivotal for the defense. Have to address defensive back and linebacker deficiencies through the portal in the off season, and do so successfully. 2023 recruiting class needs to be a homerun. If Heupel has 3-4 years to make this a sec champ contender, defensive improvement this year and next is what has to happen for that to be possible.

I just wonder why we (not just you), that is to say many of us, are so up in arms over our weak defensive play? As I remember from the very start of speculation after the 2020 season, we knew our defensive was going to be weak. Why piss and moan now that our appraisal was/came true.

 

[MontyPython]

There are 3 types of lies in this world: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.

Just throw all those D stats out the window, as they're virtually meaningless in CJH's gameplan.

Why? Time of possession (TOP). Because our offense is so quick and efficient, we don't hold onto the ball very long at all. In fact we were ranked #130 out of 130 teams in TOP with an average of 24:24 per game. This means opposing teams have the ball an average of 35:36 per game to run up offensive numbers.

During the course of the entire season, our offense was on the field for 5 hours 18 minutes and 24 seconds, while our defense was on the field for 7 hours 41 minutes and 36 seconds. I repeat - our defense was on the field nearly 2 1/2 HOURS longer than our offense.

Thus, it should be no surprise whatsoever that our defense STATISTICALLY speaking, appears to be a hot piece of flaming garbage.

Yet, we were just a few plays from beating Pitt, Ole Miss and Perdue which woulda/coulda/shoulda put us at 10-3.

Can our D get better? Absolutely. But we need more talent and numbers at LB and the secondary. Regardless, the numbers will always tell another story, whether we actually win, lose or draw.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

Thankfully the offense was outstanding. With these stats we would not have won 5 games.

 

[Special Ed]

There are 3 types of lies in this world: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.

That quote is usually attributed to Mark Twain.

 

[JRich]

...another thread about bad defense.

I don't think some of y'all paid any attention this season. The front four hasn't been able to pressure the QB since Barnett was here. Most of the quality players from last year that were getting paid, and therefore had to transfer, were on the defensive side of the ball. This year's back seven, Banks the exception, couldn't tackle a tackling dummy. They were second and third string guys. Beasley got trucked by QB's all season long, and McCullough got juked by slow, bruising running backs. They were just bad. UT was forced to play a lot of bad players on defense. Other teams exploited these deficiencies.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I find this thread interesting. It’s been said for awhile now, especially on VN, that defense doesn’t really matter in college football. That it’s now about offense. Our offense, this year, is more explosive than almost any one we have had in the modern era. Yet some now want to complain about the defense.

Trying to compare Banks unit to Pruitts is silly. One, Pruitt was a tenured DC whom has learned from the best in the business. Two, if anyone cares to remember, there were many times throughout Pruitts run where the defense didn’t even know how to line up correctly. This was Banks first year as a full time DC. We lost quite a bit on defense to the transfer portal. Did Pruitt deal with that? No. He created that for Banks.

Is Banks a great DC? Right now absolutely not. But this year won’t be the definitive year for him imo. I think next year will be a little more telling. Hopefully this year he can improve the defense.

 

[87&91ALUM]

I remember the days when the head coach would do an "all call" opening try-outs to anyone who wanted to play and thought they had the talent. Portal sounds great. We need to be open to all options. With the NIL, maybe offer a signing bonus for try-outs that can run fast, understand the game, have experience, and tackle in the open.

 

[Nationdom]

99th in Total Defense
59th in Rushing Defense
122nd in Passing Defense
117th First Down Defense
103rd 3rd Down Defense
120th in Red Zone Defense
52nd in Tackles for Loss
Tied for 67th** for Turnovers (a lot of ties here)

Numbers say it all. Knew this defense would give up some yards, but hoped they’d make up for it in turnovers and critical down defense. Hasn’t happened.

If you’re going to give up yards, you have to get off the field. Bend but don’t break. Create negative plays on 1st down and get off the field by creating and taking advantage of opportunities. Create turnovers to lessen the time on the field, which is a lot when you have the fastest offense in the country.

Not an argument for Pruitt, he had to go, but this team was top 25 in defense and terrible on offense. Now the teams great on offense and fun to watch, but terrible on defense, and haven’t found adequate replacements for the pieces that left in the portal. I actually like coach Banks and the aggression the defense sometimes plays with. Hope he can get this team to improve. I do have concerns though. Recruiting dropped off a bit from Pruitt. Seems not enough attention was paid to defensive needs/depth as well, while missing on plenty of guys we were in final top whatever’s for.

2022 will be pivotal for the defense. Have to address defensive back and linebacker deficiencies through the portal in the off season, and do so successfully. 2023 recruiting class needs to be a homerun. If Heupel has 3-4 years to make this a sec champ contender, defensive improvement this year and next is what has to happen for that to be possible.

This is why im not even close to being sold on Josh. same results as Pruitt just with offense and not defense. I dont care about exciting football. I care about wins. and not wins agaisnt freaking usc and Missouri.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

...another thread about bad defense.

I don't think some of y'all paid any attention this season. The front four hasn't been able to pressure the QB since Barnett was here. Most of the quality players from last year that were getting paid, and therefore had to transfer, were on the defensive side of the ball. This year's back seven, Banks the exception, couldn't tackle a tackling dummy. They were second and third string guys. Beasley got trucked by QB's all season long, and McCullough got juked by slow, bruising running backs. They were just bad. UT was forced to play a lot of bad players on defense. Other teams exploited these deficiencies.

Totally agree. I don’t really even think Banks is good. He and the other LBs got torched on a regular basis and missed TONS of tackles. As much as we besmirched Henry T when he left, he would have easily been our best defensive player by far. I mean guys like McCullough, Burrell and even Flowers were not good. I mean how many of our defensive starters would make the 2 deep for 95% of the SEC? I would say not many.

Some people want to just blame coaches for everything. It’s stupid.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

This is why im not even close to being sold on Josh. same results as Pruitt just with offense and not defense. I dont care about exciting football. I care about wins. and not wins agaisnt freaking usc and Missouri.

The players actually wanting to play hard for the coaching staff and for each other should be a good indicator that this is not the same as Pruitt.

 

[OffTackleVol]

That quote is from Mark Twain.

Was that Tom's conversation with Huck?

 

[RhodesVol]

I find this thread interesting. It’s been said for awhile now, especially on VN, that defense doesn’t really matter in college football. That it’s now about offense. Our offense, this year, is more explosive than almost any one we have had in the modern era. Yet some now want to complain about the defense.

Trying to compare Banks unit to Pruitts is silly. One, Pruitt was a tenured DC whom has learned from the best in the business. Two, if anyone cares to remember, there were many times throughout Pruitts run where the defense didn’t even know how to line up correctly. This was Banks first year as a full time DC. We lost quite a bit on defense to the transfer portal. Did Pruitt deal with that? No. He created that for Banks.

Is Banks a great DC? Right now absolutely not. But this year won’t be the definitive year for him imo. I think next year will be a little more telling. Hopefully this year he can improve the defense.

I agree with this analysis. Banks did his best job making chicken salad out of chicken s**t.

Let's look at what he had to work with at each level of the defense:

Secondary - Alontae and Theo were your only legitimate SEC players. They both had very good years, and should be thanked by UT fans as they exit. McCullough and Flowers are either (a) too slow to play at this level, or (b) not instinctive enough to be where they need to be. Either way, they are not capable of anchoring the back end of your defense. Warren Burrell has not shown me a ton, and the remainder of your defensive backfield were either freshmen who Banks inherited in the recruiting class or transfers.

Linebackers - WOOF! Jeremy Banks is improved, and I really like a ton of what he does as a player. However, he should not be your best LB in the SEC. Beasley and Solon Page are not SEC caliber players.

Defensive Line - I thought Garner did a great job with the DL this season. Matthew Butler played like a man possessed all year, and he seemingly played every defensive snap all year. There were games where he played 90 snaps at DT. That's impressive. I think Elijah Simmons could be a good player if he could stay healthy and improve his conditioning - the two issues likely impacting one another. Terry could be a solid player, and I thought that Blakely had a very servicable year. On the edge, Baron had issues staying healthy, but regardless, Byron Young seems to be our only real pass rush threat.


So, were the stats great? No, I get that they weren't, but you have essentially one unit that performed good - not great - and an absolute dearth of talent all over the defense. Let the man stock the cupboards, and then critique his cooking.

 

[hog88]

It won't be much better next season.

 

[overseasorange2]

This is why im not even close to being sold on Josh. same results as Pruitt just with offense and not defense. I dont care about exciting football. I care about wins. and not wins agaisnt freaking usc and Missouri.

I do. I enjoyed the games this year compared to the boring teams in the recent past. Maybe that is just me.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

So much recency bias

Remember when we were worried about Banks getting hired away because of how well he was doing with our defense?

He made us about as good as we were going to get with what we have. The bowl game was by far the worst and that's why we are all so up and arms about it.

Look we held Ole Miss to 31 points and some of those points came after a Velus fumble

Bama only had 24 at the beginning of the fourth

Mizzou and USC jr only got garbage points against us

We still got stops, but we couldn't overcome our depth issues and the inflated time our defense was on the field because of our offense.

We get better players and we will see significant improvement. And we are already doing that. And a lot of guys are coming back and yes, they will probably be better.

It's just not something to be gravely concerned with. We weren't helpless out there all year.

 

[Carp]

You have to have the right personnel for the type of defense you want to run as well. Just because you might have some talented players left over from the last regime, doesn't mean they are a good fit for your defense.

It's gonna take a couple cycles to get the defense built up. This cycle was a nice start with our top recruit being a highly sought after DL along with two more highly rated edge defenders. Hopefully, we able to generate more pressure in 2022 which should help alleviate some of the depth issues in the secondary.

 

[MSME Vol]

Doesn't help when Alabama, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, and Purdue all play us with an ace at QB. They each had a player that could outmatch our secondary.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Defensive yardage stats are meaningless in our system.. We have a much higher # of possessions than average, therefore our defense plays a much larger # of plays than average. Defensive efficiency is much more important than yardage rankings.

In defensive efficiency, ESPN has us ranked #44 out of 130, which is spectacular given the situation Tim Banks inherited. We had virtually no LBs, not enough DL (though we did a good job getting DL from the portal), and we were also a bit thin at secondary. There were obviously some weak points (3rd down defense in particular), but given what we started with, that's an amazing performance by the D.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

As a general rule, anytime you hear a DC say his strategy going into a year is "to be opportunistic and force turnovers", it means you are not very good and are going to need some luck.

 

[McDad]

Defensive yardage stats are meaningless in our system.. We have a much higher # of possessions than average, therefore our defense plays a much larger # of plays than average. Defensive efficiency is much more important than yardage rankings.

In defensive efficiency, ESPN has us ranked #44 out of 130, which is spectacular given the situation Tim Banks inherited. We had virtually no LBs, not enough DL (though we did a good job getting DL from the portal), and we were also a bit thin at secondary. There were obviously some weak points (3rd down defense in particular), but given what we started with, that's an amazing performance by the D.

Good observation. Looking at defensive totals is a fool's errand due to our unique offensive philosophy. The assessment is valid only if taken relative to time/possessions/etc.

Do you mind posting our D efficiency under Pruitt as a comparison?

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Good observation. Looking at defensive totals is a fool's errand due to our unique offensive philosophy. The assessment is valid only if taken relative to time/possessions/etc.

Do you mind posting our D efficiency under Pruitt as a comparison?

Here's the link:
2021 College Football Power Index | ESPN

Looks like we were 39th last year, so a slight fall, but given what we lost in talent, that's pretty amazing.

Massive gain on offensive efficiency, of course, going from 77th to 17th.