Ducks Defense will only get better

[buckmarkduck]

I obviously have missed something. Who is Fat Mac?

Jordon Scott.

Thanks! And why is he called that?

That's what he came to UO with. I think his twitter is even fatmac something.

[Greenblood]

At last I'm fully informed on Scott's nickname. Thanks!

It will indeed be a day of celebration when we hear that Pagano is finally full-go in practices. And my reading of some of Moseley's practice reports suggests that Young could be a pretty immediate contributor once he's in game shape.

[Duck07]

Okay, after the kick off return to see SUU march down the field and tie the score was sickening. But, only two more scores, none in the second half was beyond great The defense played with an attitude, they wanted to, "Do something!". Last season it didn't matter the team, receivers ran loose all over the field, running backs chewed up yardage, 3rd & 38? Didn't matter. But not this defense.
The best thing I heard from Coach Taggart was when he told the DB's, 'Randy Moss isn't out there, get up on 'em" The prevailing wisdom is that the most improvement is from game 1 to game 2, I can hardly wait!

I knew people would freak over that drive but there was no way that SUU could gimmick a full game of drives like that. They tried to throw the kitchen sink at us and the teams ability to communicate, rotate and play at a high level against new formations is only going to improve. They kept everything in front of them and SUU got the ball out quick. Once the game settled in and they couldn't do that anymore, we took advantage of it.

The thing that people haven't brought up much is the rush defense in this game. We owned the LOS when they tried to run the ball and it seemed like their best runs of the game were on broken plays where someone didn't finish as opposed to successfully running the play. The result of the first drive might have looked familiar, but looking at the details of what went on it was obvious we had a totally different defense out there.

[Phenom]

SSU only averaged 2.5 yards per play.

[Duck07]

SSU only averaged 2.5 yards per play.

that's an elite number even against a cupcake.

[rsbgduck]

One thing I've heard people say is our O play calling was fairly vanilla so not to put to much on film, would it not be safe to say that the D was also for the same reason.
I always expect an FCS team to come out and be successful on O the first drive or two (depends on how long the O is on the field for the second possession) because of our D seeing things they didn't on film and adjusting. Seen quitte a few missed tackles in the first half, I would like to blame that on kids being jacked up for the first game and getting to hit someone else, yes even Springs (better clean it up next week or he will be moved down the depth chart). Overall I was satisfied with the performance (more so second half). If they can get one Corner and Safety to step up and be consistent in coverage, that will open up Blitz packages which will make our D better and more exciting. JMHO of course

[Greenblood]

SSU only averaged 2.5 yards per play.

that's an elite number even against a cupcake.

If only it were true. The number (as one can see at http://www.goducks.com/boxscore.aspx?id ... h=football, Team, Total Offense, Avg. / Play under SUU) is actually 4.2 ypp. It's possible it was 2.5 in the second half. 2.6 per SUU rushing attempt for the game (though i think QB sacks are still considered part of that).

[Duck07]

One thing I've heard people say is our O play calling was fairly vanilla so not to put to much on film, would it not be safe to say that the D was also for the same reason.
I always expect an FCS team to come out and be successful on O the first drive or two (depends on how long the O is on the field for the second possession) because of our D seeing things they didn't on film and adjusting. Seen quitte a few missed tackles in the first half, I would like to blame that on kids being jacked up for the first game and getting to hit someone else, yes even Springs (better clean it up next week or he will be moved down the depth chart). Overall I was satisfied with the performance (more so second half). If they can get one Corner and Safety to step up and be consistent in coverage, that will open up Blitz packages which will make our D better and more exciting. JMHO of course

Yes and No. It's Game 1 so the coaches are more worried about making sure they get the basics down and communicated. At the same time, there are also the basic staples of the defense that will be used throughout the season. Usually on defense its better to be very good at a few basic schemes than have a giant tool box to try and constantly find the right tool for each play. We will definitely see new things as the opponent changes and we respond ie Stanford, Utah.

[Phenom]

SSU only averaged 2.5 yards per play.

that's an elite number even against a cupcake.

If only it were true. The number (as one can see at http://www.goducks.com/boxscore.aspx?id ... h=football, Team, Total Offense, Avg. / Play under SUU) is actually 4.2 ypp. It's possible it was 2.5 in the second half. 2.6 per SUU rushing attempt for the game (though i think QB sacks are still considered part of that).

But Facebook can't lie...

[Duck07]

Well we were at 6.4 yards per play last season and 5.8 the year before. 4.2 would have ranked 3rd last season nationally.

[GrandpaDuck]

It was 6.0 yards per play at half-time, so the getting it to 4.2 for the game required an outstanding second half.

[Greenblood]

Colorado went from giving up 6.4 ypp the year before Leavitt (2014) to 5.7 his first season there. I'm hoping to see -- on a Duck defense that I'd like to believe has more talent than that 2015 Colorado unit -- an improvement from last year's 6.4 ypp to 5.5 this season. I'm not sure, however, that these games vs. FCS teams are counted in those stats.

[pairadux]

One of the adjustments I liked was when SUU would line up trips right. We'd spy a CB or LB partway between the line and the WRs cutting off the quick hit angle. I haven't seen us do that before, but it forced an immediate 2nd read by their QB and allowed for more pressure because they couldn't sling it out there for a quick 8-9 yard gain.

[buckmarkduck]

It was 6.0 yards per play at half-time, so the getting it to 4.2 for the game required an outstanding second half.

Take away one lucky play, and they would have been way below 6.0 yards a play in the first half. Outside of the first drive and that one broken play, our D was decent. Not great but a lot better than the last two years, and it actually reminded me of Aliotti D's, not perfect but got the job done. And I fully expect to see Pagano, Young and Robinson staring in the next 2-3 weeks.

[Duck07]

Colorado went from giving up 6.4 ypp the year before Leavitt (2014) to 5.7 his first season there. I'm hoping to see -- on a Duck defense that I'd like to believe has more talent than that 2015 Colorado unit -- an improvement from last year's 6.4 ypp to 5.5 this season. I'm not sure, however, that these games vs. FCS teams are counted in those stats.

They are; which also used to be a point of contention for the stats and rankings differences between the SEC and PAC as we played the extra conf game while they usually played another low mid-major at best at home. Fortunately we at least begin and end our regular season against FCS schools!