Speed on D

[Hogopolis]

With almost the entire two deep coming back on D next year, is there any way they all get faster and learn to tackle before next September?  Is playing fast something coach Herb can train them for?

[LSPRazorbac]

Whereas we need to get a little faster I don't that is as much a problem as the players are slow to read and react in coverage.  We seem a little lost and hesitant in coverage.

We don't play fast and we take some really terrible angles sometimes to the ball.

I think guys being a little more aggressive in coverage and with a little more understanding of coverage we will look much faster.

[Kevin]

when it is this bad, i wish he would play some of the younger guys as much as he does dre greenlaw. it can't be worse can it.

team scores in 2 minutes instead of 3.

[lamont7906]

I know many say talent and the easy answer is to say both but I have to say it has to be our scheme more so. The reason I say this I look at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt defense barley get a rest because there offense is so putrid they can't put together drives, Missouri is the same way but both defenses is still legit with no breaks meaning rest because of their offense. I look at out D we give up 50 plus points and Missouri give the same ole miss team 27.  I did not look at how either of the team recruited defensive players but I know our players and Missouri and Vanderbilt players is about even par recruiting wise so I ask is it scheme? Or we not willing to change anything or try different things. Willy was horrific as DC but even with the talent he had second half  adjustments  you could see the changes he made and how different our D played I don't see it here.  No adjustments at all so I believe it has to be scheme more so then our players being that bad looking at our counterparts of Missouri, Vanderbilt and what Willy did in second half with horrible defenses.

[Uberanubis]

right now its a lack of talent and experience. remember we are playing a  lot of young guys on defense this year. I'm sure there were a lot of calls that left the middle wide open. you know because  no one ever throws in the middle of the field on us.

[Cure]

Talent at LB, scheme/talent at DB. They're a bit undersized at DB, so they're having to play off to negate big gains in man press, but they seriously need some recruiting in the back 7.

They are built to stop the run, but they don't have the depth/personnel needed to stop the spread.

[PonderinHog]

Talent at LB, scheme/talent at DB. They're a bit undersized at DB, so they're having to play off to negate big gains in man press, but they seriously need some recruiting in the back 7.

They are built to stop the run, but they don't have the depth/personnel needed to stop the spread.

So the present scheme matches our existing personnel, right?  If/when we upgrade our back seven, do you expect the scheme to change?

[Hogsmo Kramer]

631 total yards, over 500 passing yards, and 51 points AT HOME!!!!

I don't care what it is, fix it or be gone.

[wupigsuey]

Gotta think talent. It seemed much better last year with future nfl'ers on it. Also seemed like their recievers were able to block our DB's for long periods last night. Like they didn't have the strength to get off the blocks.

[Cure]

So the present scheme matches our existing personnel, right?  If/when we upgrade our back seven, do you expect the scheme to change?

Yes, I would say so based on what they're working with. They can't play man with LBs that can't drop in coverage and DB's that aren't great in bump and run. It's much easier for them personnel wise to run a zone when they have a decent defensive line. They're lacking some speed on the backend, but mainly instinct and physicality, so they're in a zone defense, it'll help mask a lot of your deficiencies.

People kept calling for blitzes out of the zone, yet aren't acknowledging how difficult it is to blitz out of the zone defense. There isn't much that Robb can do right now to fix the defense against a spread without putting his defense in even worse situations.

[Hoggish1]

Willy was horrific as DC but even with the talent he had second half  adjustments  you could see the changes he made and how different our D played I don't see it here. 

It has been written on here in great detail that Willy got adjustments at the half from Bobby.

Both are gone and good riddance!

[Dark Helmet Hog]

The defense suffers from a lack of team speed.

[wupigsuey]

The defense suffers from a lack of team speed.

I agree with that

[DeltaBoy]

We need another good class and some players to Grow up.

[buldozer]

I have heard for over 50 years the "just wait until next year" solution from some hog fans and coaches..... and I have never once seen this to be the case. In every instance where players that where mediocre one year suddenly became good the following year, there was a coaching change at some level that brought it about. Either a coach was actually changed or the scheme.

I just don't buy into the whole concept that exactly the same concept will work great next year, just give it one more year to work.... because I have never seen that occur. Rob Smith's system may have worked last year because of the unique players we had but also because most of the SEC teams we played had not seen his technique. I don't know why it worked as well as it did, but I know now it doesn't work at all and I doubt it will magically start working great next year without a complete makeover.

[Pathological]

Stupidity...doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Don't get me wrong, I really like this coaching staff.  They are bright guys and know their craft well.  But, I don't care if they think we aren't talented enough to play press or blitz or whatever their reason is...we showed the same scheme the entire game and it never worked.  At least throw a curveball every now and again.  If we get burned pressing on a play or playing man on a play or blitzing on a play, what difference does it make since we are getting burned sitting in zones all night long???  At least, if you switch it up every now and again, you keep the offense thinking and guessing.  And you disrupt the timing a little bit or maybe get a little pressure.  Yeah, I saw we blitzed a few times...Ellis right up the middle and it was telegraphed from miles away with plenty of time on the play clock for State to adjust their offensive call.  Their was no disguising the blitz at all.
So whether it is talent or lack thereof, I don't know, but I feel the coaches bear a lot of responsibility for the results last night on defense because we just sat in that "bend don't break" zone the whole night and kept expecting different results which never materialized.
This was the same thing that happened with Texas Tech.  We have a defensive philosophy that will not work consistently against a well-run spread offense.   The key word is consistently.  We managed to outscore Auburn, but it was similar in that game as well.

[Cure]

Stupidity...doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Don't get me wrong, I really like this coaching staff.  They are bright guys and know their craft well.  But, I don't care if they think we aren't talented enough to play press or blitz or whatever their reason is...we showed the same scheme the entire game and it never worked. 

No, they did not show the same looks all night long.

[Tusks]

631 total yards, over 500 passing yards, and 51 points AT HOME!!!!

I don't care what it is, fix it or be gone.

[hoglady]

The defense suffers from a lack of team speed.

No doubt.
And in this league that is an almost impossible deficiency to cover up - no matter the scheme.

[Rockhawg]

We seriously need more LB'ers. We are paper thin because of injuries and under recruiting that position. The back end i believe has taken a step back from last year and i don't have an explanation for that. The DL has faced a few QB's that get rid of the ball so quick that we don't get pressure on them and they know our LBers are not fast enough to cover the middle of the field.
It's so crazy how things can turn around, one minute we are weak at WR and the next, that is our strong point. I have never seen so many broken bones on one team in one season in my entire life! Kudos to the Staff for being able to patch it together just to get to where we are. Last night was a heart breaker, one guy misses a block and we go from a bowl game in Florida to one in the Land of The Wind Chill Factor. I will never be more cold than i was in Memphis at the Liberty Bowl.

[pigmania]

The vast majority of this years injuries have been on the offensive side of the ball, but yet they have kept plugging along, keeping us in games that the defense can't do. You would think by looking at their performance, that the defense was decimated by injuries.

[Rockhawg]

Kalia Hackett broken hand (LB) Josh Williams broken foot or leg (LB)

[Medic821]

I've never coached or played at that level.  The one thing that's just killing me is  the 5-7 yard cushion we are giving on nearly every frickin passing situation.  But that bend till you break crap just  killing me.  Like of talent? Scheme?  Or hard headed coaching by DC?  IMO not having two adays has affected the tackling.  Period.  How does having Hocker to having very little faith in the kickers happen???  Frustrated.

[LSPRazorbac]

I posted this in the RObb Smith thread and I'll post it here:

Again, just try something.

On Passing downs switch to a 3 down lineman and disguise your blitzer.

Stand your DE up and mix it up who is dropping into coverage and who is blitzing between your linebackers.

Walk a LB up to the line of scrimmage and then twist him with a DL when they blitze.

Drop a DE or DT into the passing lane on 3rd down to try and disrupt one the many times they convert with a simple slant route.

Showing different looks is useless if you are bailing out into the same deep shell defense time and again.

Blitzing is useless if you are playing off the hot route.


Lets just try something different against the spread.


It seemed like last year we ran a lot more twists with our DL that helped us get pressure, this year we seem to just rush the passer straight up.

[pignparadise]

I think it's both youth and talent. In 1983 Arkansas went 6-5 with no bowl. Texas scorched our young secondary manned by Kevin Watt and Greg Lasker 31-3. In 1985 that same secondary went 10-2 and both Lasker and Watt are considered among the best that ever played in the secondary.

[hawginbigd1]

Kalia Hackett broken hand (LB) Josh Williams broken foot or leg (LB)

I don't know about under recruiting the position, in 3 years we have booted 3 players that would more than likely be starting right now, 2 for sure!

[westside_player]

talent. It's the same coach you wanted to give a multi billion dollar life time contract to last year

[LSPRazorbac]

talent. It's the same coach you wanted to give a multi billion dollar life time contract to last year

Is it?  OR was a lot of that Randy Shannon?

[Nipsey Mussle]

Our D is built to match up against Bama and LSU, and thus we played them pretty well (very well in the case of LSU). Sadly, we are built to look slow and tired against everyone else.

[hoglady]

Is it?  OR was a lot of that Randy Shannon?

Possibly - and that's something that's hardly ever mentioned.
Maybe we do miss him a lot more than anyone thought we would.

[TeufelHog]

I believe it's several things . . .
TALENT, yes . . . we are currently young, undersized, and always a step or two slow.
SCHEME, yes . . . because I think we compensate for our weaknesses by refusing to get beat over the top.  The cushion we give receivers is allowing our opponents quick-outs/slants for 5-10 yards a pop . . . AT WILL.
DEPTH, yes . . . been fighting injuries all year long.  I have never seen so many broken bones in any one season.  We have to identify why and get it remedied.
COACHING, yes . . . FUNDAMENTALS!  We have had a significant problem with basic tackling, getting off/breaking away from offensive blocks/holds, poor pursuit angles, over-shooting/over-running tackles, not turning our heads-looking for balls in-flight in order to break-up passes . . . just frustrating to watch.  Mystifying this late in the season.

[westside_player]

last years defense had several NFL players. this years defense doesn't . that's probably the biggest thing. Rob smith didn't forget how to coach and randy shannon isn't the difference between giving up 400 yards a game and 600

[Fatty McGee]

Other team and their pretty damn good QB and pretty good offensive game plan might have something to do with it.  Maybe.

[LSPRazorbac]

Other team and their pretty damn good QB and pretty good offensive game plan might have something to do with it.  Maybe.

Pretty simple gameplan---screens, slants, and hitches. then QB run on 3rd and short.

Its not like they were throwing a lot of different looks and stuff at us.

[Bebop]

Other team and their pretty damn good QB and pretty good offensive game plan might have something to do with it.  Maybe.

It's been going on all year long and not from just last night. Our secondary is the weakest link on our team. I think it is a mixture of both talent and scheme, but I would waiver that it is more scheme than talent.

[presidenthog]

this guy is responsible for the two worst units on out team. (defensive line and special teams) I have a feeling he will not be here next year or at the very least will not  be getting a raise. now if we replace him I'm not sure if we have to get a DL coach who also does special teams or if we can find someone else to do special teams but these 2 spots on the team are a glaring weakness. at any rate I would like to get Mizzou's D line coach.

[Hogsolo]

Since we aren't slowing down teams anyway, I wish they'd let the corners play tight to the line and be physical on the release. 

Maybe we'd give up too many big plays, but I'd like to see these guys given the chance to dominate at the line and then one on one. 

[RebelliousHog]

This I agree with except a few points.

I believe it's several things . . .
TALENT, yes . . . we are currently young, undersized, and always a step or two slow.
TRUE EXCEPT- I SEE OTHER TEAMS PLAYING FROSH DBs ALL THE TIME AND PLAYING WELL. CAN WE NOT GET THAT SORT OF ATHLETE? UNDERSIZED CAN BE HELPED WITH A WEIGHT PROGRAM. SPEED? SORRY, BUT YOU CAN'T FIX SLOW.
SCHEME, yes . . . because I think we compensate for our weaknesses by refusing to get beat over the top.  The cushion we give receivers is allowing our opponents quick-outs/slants for 5-10 yards a pop . . . AT WILL.
WE COMPENSATE FOR SAID WEAKNESS THEN GET BURNED BY YAC AND POOR TACKLING. I AGREE WITH OTHERS. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. EITHER OTHER PLAYERS, OR DIFFERENT SCHEME. IT CAN'T BE ANY WORSE.
DEPTH, yes . . . been fighting injuries all year long.  I have never seen so many broken bones in any one season.  We have to identify why and get it remedied.
INJURIES HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE. WON'T EVEN ARGUE THIS POINT.
COACHING, yes . . . FUNDAMENTALS!  We have had a significant problem with basic tackling, getting off/breaking away from offensive blocks/holds, poor pursuit angles, over-shooting/over-running tackles, not turning our heads-looking for balls in-flight in order to break-up passes . . . just frustrating to watch.  Mystifying this late in the season.
AGREE COMPLETELY WITH THIS. WE COULDN'T TACKLE EARLY IN THE YEAR AND NOW IT'S LATE IN THE YEAR AND WE STILL CAN'T.

One thing about tackling. If you play press coverage at least they are in the area code of the receiver, rather than 5 yards off and being faked out of their jock.

[JoeyCapital]

this guy is responsible for the two worst units on out team. (defensive line and special teams) I have a feeling he will not be here next year or at the very least will not  be getting a raise. now if we replace him I'm not sure if we have to get a DL coach who also does special teams or if we can find someone else to do special teams but these 2 spots on the team are a glaring weakness. at any rate I would like to get Mizzou's D line coach.

Every time I see a post of yours I get a weird urge to take a bath in coors light. Weird

[spiritof92]

It seems there's no middle ground with ST coaches anywhere.  They are either outstanding or terrible. 

[hogs25]

Our D is built to match up against Bama and LSU, and thus we played them pretty well (very well in the case of LSU). Sadly, we are built to look slow and tired against everyone else.

Anytime we play a spread team we make every QB look like Montana.  It's been going on for YEARS even way before BP was here.  Last week against LSU was the best defense I've seen in a long time but against the spread bet the farm on the other team.  Alabama sacked Daks 9 TIMES.  They make it look so damn easy.  All I know is you can throw it right over the middle against Arkansas easily usually wide open every play.  At one point Daks was like 20-23.  So there's no doubt in my mind MSU would've kicked the game winning FG.  Would be better off playing backyard defense against spread teams I got this man you get that man.  You put Daks on LSU's team and they probably win a couple of MNC's. 

[Bacon_Bitz]

Let's get mizzou's dline coach for big bucks and find another dedicated special teams coach who might have some pointers for Jennings and the secondary too. CBB came here cuz we said we'd get him the assistants he needs so shell out the money

[arkansasrazorback]

THE D-LINE ISN'T A PROBLEM. GODDDDDDDD.  They can't get pressure when the QB takes a 2 or 3 step drop and throws to a wide open receiver.  GET A CLUE.

[presidenthog]

THE D-LINE ISN'T A PROBLEM. GODDDDDDDD.  They can't get pressure when the QB takes a 2 or 3 step drop and throws to a wide open receiver.  GET A CLUE.

It is a combination of poor secondary, LB in coverage and D line not getting pressure. you need to get a clue. the pressure from our d line is what gave us a top 10  D last year. this is basically the same secondary except tevin was a shut down nickle guy. the pressure from the D line last year made QBS throw earlier than they wanted to so the secondary didn't have to cover guys for 6 seconds. this year or D line isn't doing what it did last year .

[presidenthog]

even if they throw it quick the D line has to do a better job of getting thier hands up to block passing lanes (they have said this all year) we are also dead last in the SEC in sacks, that is on the DL. spin it however you want.

[westside_player]

Hopefully Beliema can do what Nutt did and develop a defense by putting 100 pounds on a guy while he's here or just finding 5'6 players like Olajubuto with heart. B/c defensive studs like they have at lsu bama auburn a&m and mississippi don't grow on trees at Arkansas

[Bubba's Bruisers]

Our D is built to match up against Bama and LSU, and thus we played them pretty well (very well in the case of LSU). Sadly, we are built to look slow and tired against everyone else.

Right now, We're built to be successful against crappy QB's.  Throw out a good QB and offensive coach against us, and we're toast. 

[hawgfan4life]

Hopefully Beliema can do what Nutt did and develop a defense by putting 100 pounds on a guy while he's here or just finding 5'6 players like Olajubuto with heart. B/c defensive studs like they have at lsu bama auburn a&m and mississippi don't grow on trees at Arkansas

Really?  You want BB to be more like Nutt?  You probably sent several people to the hospital with that post.

[Razorbackers]

THE D-LINE ISN'T A PROBLEM. GODDDDDDDD.  They can't get pressure when the QB takes a 2 or 3 step drop and throws to a wide open receiver.  GET A CLUE.

Exactly. The d-line at Arkansas is great when they can be a factor. Against the run and against pro-style teams. But I don't care you who are, if the corners and linebackers allow for such a large cushion on slant routes, you aren't getting pressure on the QB.

Losing Mitchel, Washington, and Spaight really hurt us in pass coverage. Brooks Ellis is not, and never will be, a coverage linebacker. Greenlaw will get there. But the other guys that could be helping are hurt.

The secondary has been pretty disappointing as well. But they're overall a young squad. So idk. We'll see, I guess.

[Medic821]

Not sure what the answer is.  Hope to get back 7 fixed soon.