Woody

[JCline0429]

Was Woody the defensive coordinator at Wofford the night we hung 80 on them? Not asking that because of Saturday night's game because actually I thought we had a relatively good performance against the level of Montana's talent.

[mtnjax]

Yes

[ASU-FTW]

I'm really having a hard time understanding why he wanted our defensive line to lose weight. It raised my eyebrows when I heard it at first and after I witnessed the Montana game it solidified my concerns. A light d line may work in the SoCon but NOT in the FBS. I will continue to feel apprehensive until I see us dominate an FBS caliber offensive line. Unfortunately I am going to have to wait until next season in order to determine if Woody's style is right for a Sun Belt schedule.

[JCline0429]

I'm really having a hard time understanding why he wanted our defensive line to lose weight. It raised my eyebrows when I heard it at first and after I witnessed the Montana game it solidified my concerns. A light d line may work in the SoCon but NOT in the FBS. I will continue to feel apprehensive until I see us dominate an FBS caliber offensive line. Unfortunately I am going to have to wait until next season in order to determine if Woody's style is right for a Sun Belt schedule.

Sounds like he equates becoming lighter with increasing speed. His schemes have to be appropriate for that to work.

[Maddog1956]

I'm really having a hard time understanding why he wanted our defensive line to lose weight. It raised my eyebrows when I heard it at first and after I witnessed the Montana game it solidified my concerns. A light d line may work in the SoCon but NOT in the FBS. I will continue to feel apprehensive until I see us dominate an FBS caliber offensive line. Unfortunately I am going to have to wait until next season in order to determine if Woody's style is right for a Sun Belt schedule.

Sounds like he equates becoming lighter with increasing speed. His schemes have to be appropriate for that to work.

There is some logic behind saying that we might not get the biggest, strongest guys so we'll go with blinding speed. That only works however if you're blinding fast guys can also tackle. I think where we are currently (FCS moving to FBS, plus seeking and playing "cream teams") we have to be prepared for both. We need need speed for the smaller teams we play and "big meat" for the larger teams.

[asumike83]

I was actually pretty impressed with the defense but they need help from the offense. No defense is going to hold up against a front line like Montana when they hold the ball for over 36 minutes.

They only gave up 16 points through three quarters against a very good offense. After a 3-minute drive, the defense held up and forced a punt on UM's last possession of the third. When they were asked to go right back on the field after Bryant's interception on the very next play, hard to place the blame on them for the ensuing touchdown. They barely had time to take their helmets off. After the score, another three-and-out that took just over a minute and the defense was right back out there.

The way I see it, the defense kept App in the game for three quarters until they got worn out because of the offense's inability to sustain a drive. The offense ran 11 plays for 27 yards in the fourth. Keeping a good team off the board at home is too much to ask of any defense with that kind of offensive performance.

[97grad]

I was actually pretty impressed with the defense but they need help from the offense. No defense is going to hold up against a front line like Montana when they hold the ball for over 36 minutes.

They only gave up 16 points through three quarters against a very good offense. After a 3-minute drive, the defense held up and forced a punt on UM's last possession of the third. When they were asked to go right back on the field after Bryant's interception on the very next play, hard to place the blame on them for the ensuing touchdown. They barely had time to take their helmets off. After the score, another three-and-out that took just over a minute and the defense was right back out there.

The way I see it, the defense kept App in the game for three quarters until they got worn out because of the offense's inability to sustain a drive. The offense ran 11 plays for 27 yards in the fourth. Keeping a good team off the board at home is too much to ask of any defense with that kind of offensive performance.

I agree with this 100%, and I can't believe the beating the D has taken on the MMB here since the game. For a new coach with a new scheme, I thought they did pretty ok. They certainly got zero help from the offense in terms of getting time to rest and not turning the ball over.