Monkeypox

intensity.

http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/2007/Internet/r...7000000497.HTML Stats and rankings there as well. Scoring offense ranks #100. Scoring defense still ranks #119. Shame those late game scores had to happen.

actually, it has. it puts up yards, but not enough points. tonight was a perfect example. they had one good drive all game and it came towards the end. there have been COUNTLESS opportunities from within the opponents' 30-yd line where we move backwards, and we have had a real problem with turnovers. the only thing the offense has done exceptionally well is pass between the 20s. it's the passing equivalent of DD ball. "Look at all the rush yards" has simply become "Look at all the passing yards." it's just as one-dimensional, and ULM was able to take advantage of that for most of the game. by the time we mounted a drive, we would've already been behind had our D not stepped up like they did in this game. i guess the thing is that i'm not really that worried about it. i think it will come together, but the people who harp on the defense are (not) surprisingly silent about the O.

i doubt anybody WAS happy with it, BUT some people are reasonable about things. i mean, AGAIN, i don't see anybody calling for the OC's head despite some serious problems with the offense.

A solid offensive drive ending in points. Man, what's this thing we're doing where you hand the ball off and a guy runs up the field with it?

i'd rather we stop backing up when we get into opponent's territory. it shouldn't have been a field goal attempt at all when you start with 1st and Goal at the 6.

Where are all the "Fire the OC" threads for us being one of the worst in the country in scoring offense? Oh, I forgot... yards between the 20s are sexy when you're throwing the ball.

SMU, FAU, and ULL are a combined 13/41 on 3rd downs vs. us. 31.7%. that would rank us around the top 25 or so. including Arkansas and OU, we have allowed a 39.4% 3rd down conversion rate, which ranks us at #70. of course, teams haven't had to convert a whole lot of 3rd downs vs. us for the most part, as they bust huge plays on 1st and 2nd down.

i can't add anything other than: agreed. going for two that early in that situation is stupid, and hurt us in this game.

Yeah, I've been barking up that tree this season, to no avail. I understand not being angry about the offense, but I wouldn't be overly thrilled with one of the lowest scoring offenses in the NCAA, which also turns the ball over at a ridiculous rate. A bunch of yards between the 20s might look sexy on the stat sheets, but that's about it.

yep. this board sure is full of those. there are a few things Lonnie says with which i agree. however, for the most part i think he just likes being argumentative, and while he COULD CHOOSE to present his arguments in a straightforward and reasonable manner, it's rarely the case. most of the time it appears his goal is simply to incite the overly optimistic crowd. to the point at hand. every coach everywhere argues with the refs. they get on them about late hits, bad calls, good calls, etc. good coaches, bad coaches, NFL coaches, Div. 1-A coaches, Div. 1-AA coaches, high school and pee-wee coaches. thus, his argument here is pretty stupid, and should probably just be ignored. don't feed the troll.

Favorite comment: After the game, Michelle Tafowhatshername: "Tony, you threw four interceptions in the first half. What were you thinking at that time?" Romo replies "Was it only four?"

Well, that was Folking fantastic.

You mean 5. Well, there was that trap game.

The problem doesn't seem to be wearing down, since they're giving up big plays early and often. It's just that they give up HUGE, BIG, MONSTROUS plays. That's partly a result of conditioning, sure, in not being able to catch people, but it's a lack of speed and being out of position to make plays.

Being frustrated and angry at the craptastic defense isn't kneejerk. Calling for a coach's head is. Armchair defensive coordinating is fun.

Just because they were recruited for a 4-3 base defense doesn't mean it's the same. That's just the alignment, and doesn't necessarily define a player's responsibilities or techniques.

For a true freshman playing his first game as a starter behind an inconsistent O-Line on an 0-4 (now 0-5) team playing in wet conditions... I think a B+ is probably about right. I'm willing to bet that most true freshman, disregarding the other info, fair worse than that in their first start.

Yeah, there was something about it posted on here. Our games are longer. More passing stops the clock more, as does giving up 70 yards at a time.

Yeah, and I think he was trying some more things tonight and they worked okay, but we STILL gave up big plays. To me, I just can't understand it being a problem with the scheme itself so much as execution. You don't blister 70-yd-runs off without multiple failures on the defense, from play-calling down to assignments down to tackling. Part of that's coaching. A lot of that is KNOWING what you're doing. Granted, it's probably been longer since I played on defense, but, IMO, the biggest problem in changing schemes is that, in order to make plays, you have to be COMFORTABLE in what you're doing. Right now it seems like guys AREN'T comfortable in their assignments or the scheme and when they try to make plays, it ends up for the worst. Every scheme is designed with failsafes and, by taking yourself out of position or taking that gamble, the failsafe has to be reliable. THEY have to be comfortable in what they're doing to understand what YOU'RE doing and their new responsibilities are. And that, to me, is how these huge plays are broken. Guys have to be seeing the same thing out there, a linebacker and a safety just as much as a QB and a WR on any given play. There's a lack of understanding and execution. And I'm not afraid to say that we just need more monsters on the D. And more experience coaching.

Exactly. My only point in mentioning the issues on offense is to say it's not JUST the defense that needs to be better if we actually want to win, and that they're not the sole cause of our woes.

Oh, I agree, we're going nowhere until our defense can make stops.... AND our offense can stop turning the ball over 3 and 4 times a game. My goal is to win a bowl game. And then win more. And then win against real opponents I now consider unwinnable. I've seen enough of us simply going to NO to get our butts handed to us, and, BELIEVE me, I don't care HOW good our defense is, if we turn the ball over as much as we do and come away from the opponent's 30-yd-line without points 3 times in a game, we're not going to win against any half-decent opponent. So the wailing and moaning about how our defense is costing us games when NO ASPECT OF OUR TEAM is working properly bothers me. It's all the same people who were content to squeeze by the Sun Belt every year with numerous miscues and penalties and a terrible offense and then thought we'd have half a shot at winning in New Orleans. Anyone can see our defense is laughably bad. Why? Anyone's guess. So I want to bring up the things that seem to not be so obvious to people, or, in many cases, hurts their feelings in regardsto certain players. But our offense has enough problems to keep us from getting anywhere meaningful as well, so while I absolutely LOATHE our defensive performance this year, I can't get too bent out of shape about it when our team is bad all over. Is our defense costing us games? Yep. Is our offense? Yep. Is our special teams? Yep. Vizza did well tonight, but if you are expecting us to go out there and set the world on fire with our current offense, you will be mistaken. But I understand. I think there's a light at that tunnell, because we have the playmakers on that side of the ball and a coach who actually has been here before, as much as people might want to downplay that aspect. But with regards to wins THIS YEAR, I don't see any part of our team capable of making that happen. So I will repeat: It will get worse before it gets better. It's the nature of change.

Yeah, they did. And don't forget this fantastic offense everyone keeps talking about has turned the ball over 10 times in our 3 winnable games vs. SMU, FAU, and ULL, and is pretty far to the bottom of the barrell in every category but passing yards (note that that includes SCORING, which is what good teams do when they get a 1st down near the opponent's 30-yd line). But yeah, this D is certainly worse. Maybe if they keep changing the SCHEME (everyone's favorite term now that they've been deputized as coaches) every week, they won't look nearly as lost on defense... maybe.

People who care about the long-term success of the program.

we still have the same basic problems on offense (turnovers, inability to score), but as stated earlier, I'll take the mistakes from a freshman.