1ST play from scrimmage says it all for Arkansas

[smb]

Did every body think that when Bama scored on the first play it really explained what is going on with the team. I mean it really was a routine play nothing fancy. The reason I say this is I thought our run defense was suppose to be the strong point. But if your caught off guard on the first play doesn't it reveal your team is not improving as the season progresses.

[Al Boarland]

Did every body think that when Bama scored on the first play it really explained what is going on with the team. I mean it really was a routine play nothing fancy. The reason I say this is I thought our run defense was suppose to be the strong point. But if your caught off guard on the first play doesn't it reveal your team is not improving as the season progresses.

The defense just isn't that good. You can say they have improved and provide your opinions on why that is, but that doesn't make the unit good or even average.

[parallaxpig]

Defense will never improve no matter what scheme until we get SEC quality linebackers.

[smb]

I ask Coach BB at a Razorback club meeting in Pine Bluff about his defense. As I remember his lackluster response left me worried. He didn't seem confident with his own answer.

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

Defense will never improve no matter what scheme until we get SEC quality linebackers.

/Thread

[HoggieStyle]

Defense will never improve no matter what scheme until we get SEC quality linebackers.

And you need even more in a 3-4....ugh...

[DeltaBoy]

Read they overplayed on the fake and left an alley for him to run through .

[jst01]

That play reminded me that the Hogs are never ready and prepared at the beginning of a game just as they are never ready and prepared at the beginning of a season. Grossly unprepared on so many levels.

[Piggfoot]

They ran straight at our right DE and Linebacker. There was a hole a Mack truck could have driven through and it was that way all day.

[Piggfoot]

Read they overplayed on the fake and left an alley for him to run through .

Theyve been doing that forever.

[hawgsalot]

Man you guys are way overplaying this one, the 1st play was simply a fired up D that two guys over pursed or it's stopped for a lose.  I don't think we're a good D but we are better and it's fairly obvious.  To me for the 1st time in forever we actually have legit Lbs, Greenlaw, Harris and even Eugene held their own.  Harris and Greenlaw made a ton of plays although Greenlaw missed a couple that resulted in big plays.  That's a big boy football team we played Sat and they've made several Ds look pretty pedestrian this year with Hurts running ability.

[26.2Hog]

The defense just isn't that good. You can say they have improved and provide your opinions on why that is, but that doesn't make the unit good or even average.

That play reminded me that the Hogs are never ready and prepared at the beginning of a game just as they are never ready and prepared at the beginning of a season. Grossly unprepared on so many levels.

Sad.  True.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Read they overplayed on the fake and left an alley for him to run through .

Uh.

That happens on every successful running play since the inception of football.

[LRHawg]

Defense will never improve no matter what scheme until we get SEC quality linebackers.

Yep. The Will ILB looked like he had lead feet.

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

They ran straight at our right DE and Linebacker. There was a hole a Mack truck could have driven through and it was that way all day.

Whats sad is our DE had a beeline on the guy and couldn't catch him. That should've been a 2 or 3 yard gain, but the kid reminded us why 5* players are 5* players

[Piggfoot]

Man you guys are way overplaying this one, the 1st play was simply a fired up D that two guys over pursed or it's stopped for a lose.  I don't think we're a good D but we are better and it's fairly obvious.  To me for the 1st time in forever we actually have legit Lbs, Greenlaw, Harris and even Eugene held their own.  Harris and Greenlaw made a ton of plays although Greenlaw missed a couple that resulted in big plays.  That's a big boy football team we played Sat and they've made several Ds look pretty pedestrian this year with Hurts running ability.

That is the problem with this defense. They don't protect their slot.

[LAGNAF]

They ran straight at our right DE and Linebacker. There was a hole a Mack truck could have driven through and it was that way all day.

You might want to look at the play again. Harris started right, it was clogged and he cutback to the left.

[Piggfoot]

You might want to look at the play again. Harris started right, it was clogged and he cutback to the left.

We don't hold our defensive positions with our line or linebackers.

[DoctorSusscrofa]

It's hard to tell whether one play of one game really tells you anything universal about the Hogs.  It's certainly possible that a team could score on the first play from 75 yards away and have that be the one play or one of only a few plays that they do well on.  But the fact that it wasn't anything that was designed to go all-the-way necessarily does hint that we're no match for our opponent or that we over-pursue or that we lack sufficient team speed.  In our case the hint is accurate.

[Jim Harris]

Did every body think that when Bama scored on the first play it really explained what is going on with the team. I mean it really was a routine play nothing fancy. The reason I say this is I thought our run defense was suppose to be the strong point. But if your caught off guard on the first play doesn't it reveal your team is not improving as the season progresses.

I'm just guessing here but I would bet that in 25 years of SEC play, Alabama has scored on Arkansas on its first snap from scrimmage more times than any other team. They may lead that stat all time vs. Arkansas. It goes all the way back to the 1992 game: first snap, TD. I know 2002, first snap, 80-yard run. Last year, first offensive snap, TD.

[Jim Harris]

We don't hold our defensive positions with our line or linebackers.

The backside linebacker overran that play, and it happened on numerous other plays that didn't go for TDs as well. The long run in the second quarter by Scarborough, somehow #23 was all the way over to the side where the pulling guys were going, and #7 from the right DE also followed those pulling linemen to Bama's right, and with the TE handling Eugene, there was a humongous lane for Scarbrough. Frankly surprised it didn't go for a TD, which probably indicates how far behind Scarborough is from where he was going into the Clemson game last January.

[onebadrubi]

I guess I am a little confused at these responses.  From the offensive view, the RB was to be running a power play to the RG or RT, arkansas closed that gap immediately at the line of scrimmage.  The problem/breakdown in that play is the DE or OLB collapsed and did not seal the backside edge.  This was not a zone read or gus style offense error.  This was a direct power play that the runner just was patient enough and bounced it back, then had the speed to run away.  Our safety had already bit down and sucked up too far, and I am not sure if it was the DE or OLB responsible to seal that edge, but they failed.  Then the CB is all that is left and he was blocked by their WR. 

[smb]

I guess I am a little confused at these responses.  From the offensive view, the RB was to be running a power play to the RG or RT, arkansas closed that gap immediately at the line of scrimmage.  The problem/breakdown in that play is the DE or OLB collapsed and did not seal the backside edge.  This was not a zone read or gus style offense error.  This was a direct power play that the runner just was patient enough and bounced it back, then had the speed to run away.  Our safety had already bit down and sucked up too far, and I am not sure if it was the DE or OLB responsible to seal that edge, but they failed.  Then the CB is all that is left and he was blocked by their WR.

My thing is this will Arkansas ever have a defensive back to rundown an Alabama back 75 yards before he scores. Probably not.

[onebadrubi]

My thing is this will Arkansas ever have a defensive back to rundown an Alabama back 75 yards before he scores. Probably not.

The problem is fundamental or scheme, they got sucked down in too the "wash", flat out footspeed, dude had a headstart and shorter distance to the pylon. 

If you are looking for foot speed, we ran A&M down on both their long runs but our guy had to come from the other side of the field. 

two deep safeties is useless if they are playing at lb depth and don't "stay home".  We should be moving one down in the box and put one as a deeper than deep safety.  He's literally there to not let anything past or over his head.  Play defense in front of him 10 vs 10.  Instead we are dropping 7-8 in too what looks to be some 30-40 yard zone and letting the lack of a 3 man pass rush against 5-6 blockers give a QB plenty of time to pick that zone apart.  Annoying.

[Tejano Jawg]

I'm just guessing here but I would bet that in 25 years of SEC play, Alabama has scored on Arkansas on its first snap from scrimmage more times than any other team. They may lead that stat all time vs. Arkansas. It goes all the way back to the 1992 game: first snap, TD. I know 2002, first snap, 80-yard run. Last year, first offensive snap, TD.

Before I got to this post, I remembered a long (80?) Bama TD on the first play...one of the first couple you mentioned. I didn't recall so many, and not last year. In the one I'm thinking of, it was a year we could have been a little competitive, but getting punched in the stomach right off the bat, sometimes that's all it takes.

On Saturday, the first image I saw on TV (since they were still on Texas-OU here) was our offense lining up and the score 7-0 Alabama. And only a few seconds gone. I wondered why someone thought it was necessary to spot THEM 7 points. That's not really fair, is it?

After seeing the replay, it was so "Arkansas 2017." Lots of people out of position, like 5-year olds chasing the ice cream truck, and a very routine run through wide open space.

[hogsanity]

Did every body think that when Bama scored on the first play it really explained what is going on with the team. I mean it really was a routine play nothing fancy. The reason I say this is I thought our run defense was suppose to be the strong point. But if your caught off guard on the first play doesn't it reveal your team is not improving as the season progresses.

3 or 4 times a game there are a couple guys on the back end that manage to get so far out of position that it almost looks intentional.

[parallaxpig]

When we are on defense start watching our linebackers. They disappear for various reasons. Overplay the fake, get wiped out by a Olineman or tight end or simply they are too slowwwww.

[LRHawg]

We don't hold our defensive positions with our line or linebackers.

Yeah. I think the Will ILB was probably 1-2 steps too far to his left and therefore had a really bad angle on the cut-back.

[LRRandy]

I've been told on here that last year aTm was handed points by the  razorback defense because of poor scheme. I argued that is was the quality of the player not the scheme. New year. New scheme. Same results. At some point it quits being a coincidence. It's the Jimmy's and the Joe's. A player doesn't have to be a 5 star to excel. Arkansas has fielded teams of scrappy football players that may not have been highly recruited and they won. There are very few difference makers suiting up on Saturdays for the Razorbacks. On the play in the op, that was a mental breakdown, not a lack of physicality or speed or scheme. A bust. It set the tone for the game.

[nchogg]

I remember Joe Adams did the same thing just don't remember the game.

[GoHogs1091]

Our defensive players got out of position just like Texas A&M's Linebackers and 1 A&M Safety did on Harris' long TD run against A&M.

Proper gap control and proper filling in by Linebackers can curtail a lot of Alabama's rushing.  Harris is real good at cutting back when a hole occurs on the back-side of the action, therefore defensive players have to be disciplined and not get out of position even though Alabama initially gets all of the action going over to one side of the line during the immediate first part of the run play.

[smb]

I'm just guessing here but I would bet that in 25 years of SEC play, Alabama has scored on Arkansas on its first snap from scrimmage more times than any other team. They may lead that stat all time vs. Arkansas. It goes all the way back to the 1992 game: first snap, TD. I know 2002, first snap, 80-yard run. Last year, first offensive snap, TD.

After you pointed this out it makes me think of teams not focus or scared.