Big Plays Given Up By Our Defense

[KolchakAU85 430]

During last night's game, I think I heard the TV commentators mention that in the first half alone, our D gave up 8 big plays.

Their definition of a big play was "a run that gains 12+ yards, or a pass that gains 20+ yards".

They said more than 4 such plays for an entire game is considered excessive.  And we gave up 8 of them in one half?

I wonder how many we gave up for the entire game.

[auburnphan 6,050]

Justin Ferguson‏Verified account @JFergusonAU 4m4 minutes ago

 

 

Auburn now ranks last nationally in time of possession during conference games. The Tigers' offense has been on the field an average of 24:12 in seven SEC games. The defense has been on the field an average of 35:48.

[weagl1 1,781]

7 minutes ago, auburnphan said:

Justin Ferguson‏Verified account @JFergusonAU 4m4 minutes ago

 

 

Auburn now ranks last nationally in time of possession during conference games. The Tigers' offense has been on the field an average of 24:12 in seven SEC games. The defense has been on the field an average of 35:48.

And that is the root of the problem.  No defense is going to hold up to that.  Ineffective offense keeps the D on the field and they simply give out.  

[doug3020 842]

Listened to the rundown this am. Those guys seem to think our offenses ineptness has basically taken the heart out of the defense. I seem to agree w this. Hard to bust your tail and go all out when you know the outcome. I'm sure the defense was all sorts of fired up when the Coxcat re-emerged. Any doubt who's calling plays?

[I_M4_AU 7,764]

Reminiscent on 2008, Tubs last year.

10 minutes ago, doug3020 said:

Listened to the rundown this am. Those guys seem to think our offenses ineptness has basically taken the heart out of the defense. I seem to agree w this. Hard to bust your tail and go all out when you know the outcome. I'm sure the defense was all sorts of fired up when the Coxcat re-emerged. Any doubt who's calling plays?

 

[aujeff11 6,243]

23 minutes ago, weagl1 said:

Ineffective offense keeps the D on the field and they simply give out.  

Substitute offense for “offense and defense” and your post is golden. Our O was fine in tbe first half and we still couldn’t stop them from moving the ball and putting up 20 by halftime. 

[BHDAU1 240]

Our defense wasnt great but it was good enough if the offense had done anything after scoring ten points. But the offense sputtered from Stidham's unease in the pocket and missing some easy throws compounded by horrible play calling.  The defense was also down two starting ends.  That cant be forgotten. 

[80Tiger 899]

A lot on this board has given the D a pass for some of their performance this year but the fact is they have been underwhelming to say the least: in everyone of our losses they were major contributors. Just needed one stop in the LSU game and we win. While our O was awful against MSU, they gashed us at what was supposed to be our strength, D line . We made Tenn QB look like an AA on third downs and then again last night  big play after big play. The losing has been a team effort this year and no coach gets a pass on it.

[tigers23 643]

I remember Bama winning the NC in 92 by winning games 10-7, 17-0, the lack of offense excuse is very weak

[bmartin3228 117]

2 minutes ago, 80Tiger said:

A lot on this board has given the D a pass for some of their performance this year but the fact is they have been underwhelming to say the least: in everyone of our losses they were major contributors. Just needed one stop in the LSU game and we win. While our O was awful against MSU, they gashed us at what was supposed to be our strength, D line . We made Tenn QB look like an AA on third downs and then again last night  big play after big play. The losing has been a team effort this year and no coach gets a pass on it.

umm,  I with you on no one get a pass especially for last night debacle. More so because our secondary looked to have no clue what coverage we were in. Tutt last night was all over the place, sometimes on replay you would see most secondary playing zone then one bone head playing man leaving wide open throws to the zone he was suppose to be in.(On replay did not look like a combo coverage, looked completely busted)I could be wrong 

Having said that, time of possession IS the reason for defensive struggles. I thought Steele called his worst game of the year last night on important downs so again no pass given. But as a season yes, I would give them a pass. Especially this late in the season offense has completely ripped the heart out of our defense. Our Dline is one of the best , they are not going to be one of the best playing at 70% cause they are constantly on the field. 

As a team is had gotten sloppier as the season has progressed. I mean hell we had a player on punt coverage try and catch a fair catch hahahahaha 

[tigers23 643]

If the defense played three downs instead of two, they wouldn't be on the field nearly as much.

[AU-24 3,063]

1 minute ago, tigers23 said:

If the defense played three downs instead of two, they wouldn't be on the field nearly as much.

If they stop the opponent on third and long they wouldn’t be on the field as much.

[KolchakAU85 430]

Why are we better at stopping 3rd-and-one than 3rd-and-nine?

I watched series after series last night where we would put UGA in 3rd-and-long, and then they'd convert.  Over and over.  And over.

Just sickening.

[alexava 6,973]

I have seen people saying the defense basically quit out of frustration towards the offense. That’s bs. We were 4-1 ranked in the top 10 when Mississippi State gashed us for about 400 yards rushing. We are just very mediocre all around except rushing offense where we are bad. 

[The Six 39]

3 hours ago, auburnphan said:

Justin Ferguson‏Verified account @JFergusonAU 4m4 minutes ago

 

 

Auburn now ranks last nationally in time of possession during conference games. The Tigers' offense has been on the field an average of 24:12 in seven SEC games. The defense has been on the field an average of 35:48.

That's a...yeah, that is a problem, boys and girls and zhes. 

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, 80Tiger said:

 lot on this board has given the D a pass for some of their performance this year but the fact is they have been underwhelming to say the least: in everyone of our losses they were major contributors. Just needed one stop in the LSU game and we win. While our O was awful against MSU, they gashed us at what was supposed to be our strength, D line . We made Tenn QB look like an AA on third downs and then again last night  big play after big play. The losing has been a team effort this year and no coach gets a pass on it.

Agree....the offense is about what many expected but the D has not lived up to pre-season hype..  The D got pushed around right off the bat last night....Just look at the first quarter.....AU fails to move the ball after about 2 minutes....and UGA comes back with a 10 play 80 yard drive that takes up 5 minutes.....AU comes back with a drive for a TD that takes only 2 1/2 minutes to go 75 yards....and UGa comes back with a 15 play drive for 73 yards and 8 minutes.  So the D is on the field for 13 minutes and our O is out there less than 6...in the first 20 minutes of the game....whose fault is that?.     

Auburn's TOP on its first two scoring drives was less than 6 minutes for a total of 19 plays.  If there is anything to complain about in TOP is that the AU offense does not work the clock.....and the more we pass (and miss them) the less TOP.  OF course that got worse and that TD just before the half was the backbreaker I guess. 

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

5 hours ago, weagl1 said:

And that is the root of the problem.  No defense is going to hold up to that.  Ineffective offense keeps the D on the field and they simply give out.  

Not that easy. Go back and watch the first two drives in the game by uga. Had nothing to do with the offense . Has to do with the defense. I forgot the number but some thing like 8 of 10 3rd down conversions in the first half by uga . 4 at more than 5 yards to go. How about the 4th down they converted. Even the attempted pass on the field goal showed uga’s lack of concern for our defense. Offense is dreadful I agree but defense is not far behind them. Team May have not quit but they definitely don’t care about whether they win or not any more.

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

Not that easy. Go back and watch the first two drives in the game by uga. Had nothing to do with the offense . Has to do with the defense. I forgot the number but some thing like 8 of 10 3rd down conversions in the first half by uga . 4 at more than 5 yards to go. How about the 4th down they converted. Even the attempted pass on the field goal showed uga’s lack of concern for our defense. Offense is dreadful I agree but defense is not far behind them. Team May have not quit but they definitely don’t care about whether they win or not any more.

Well said.

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

Not that easy. Go back and watch the first two drives in the game by uga. Had nothing to do with the offense . Has to do with the defense. I forgot the number but some thing like 8 of 10 3rd down conversions in the first half by uga . 4 at more than 5 yards to go. How about the 4th down they converted. Even the attempted pass on the field goal showed uga’s lack of concern for our defense. Offense is dreadful I agree but defense is not far behind them. Team May have not quit but they definitely don’t care about whether they win or not any more.

Don't think I'm gonna agree with that ...and while not going to provided reasons or excuses....Coe hurt and Big Kat tossed....but whatever, just wanted to note the facts......D has become an issue for the success of the team and is no longer able to control the opponent's offense....instead, giving up long drives and delivering too few three and outs, or even forced punts. 

Never thought the first game of our season would end being the best overall performance for the team.    

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Don't think I'm gonna agree with that ...and while not going to provided reasons or excuses....Coe hurt and Big Kat tossed....but whatever, just wanted to note the facts......D has become an issue for the success of the team and is no longer able to control the opponent's offense....instead, giving up long drives and delivering too few three and outs, or even forced punts. 

Never thought the first game of our season would end being the best overall performance for the team.    

My wording on the last sentence was not my best. I don’t mean to insinuate they don’t care because they do. What I meant was they are reaching a point where they are no longer upset with loosing. They are out of contention for any real goals. They are probably at a point where they are actually tired with the season and would like for it to get over. It is probably like it was when I played in school , when the season is going south fast it’s not much fun to go to class. When your winning it is a lot more fun.

[AU64 10,122]

42 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

My wording on the last sentence was not my best. I don’t mean to insinuate they don’t care because they do. What I meant was they are reaching a point where they are no longer upset with loosing. They are out of contention for any real goals. They are probably at a point where they are actually tired with the season and would like for it to get over. It is probably like it was when I played in school , when the season is going south fast it’s not much fun to go to class. When your winning it is a lot more fun.

Yep...it's probably about "expectations" ..especially when you start the season ranked.  Right now 20 or more teams are working hard just to get bowl eligible and will be happy and excited about it when the reach that point.   And yet....for many AU fans (and players too perhaps) the season is basically over now.   Too bad.    Used to be fun looking forward to a bowl game...now not so much. . 

[weagl1 1,781]

On 11/11/2018 at 2:56 PM, alexava said:

I have seen people saying the defense basically quit out of frustration towards the offense. That’s bs. We were 4-1 ranked in the top 10 when Mississippi State gashed us for about 400 yards rushing. We are just very mediocre all around except rushing offense where we are bad. 

Offense was on the field 18 minutes and defense was on the field 42.  Yes they kept falling for the fakes and Fitzgerald keeping it up the middle but when the offense keeps going 3 and out time and time again the big D linemen get gassed and that is when they they lose focus.  It’s like the D is playing a game and a half.  

[gr82b4au 5,568]

The defense could not get off the field even at the beginning of the game. People need to stop sticking up for them. ReWatch the MSU, UT, and UGA games- they were dreadful. 

We knew the offense was going to be a work in progress this year with a new OL and RB. I think the two most disappointing things this year have been the defense overall and the play of the quarterback. 

[DAG 33,955]

19 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

The defense could not get off the field even at the beginning of the game. People need to stop sticking up for them. ReWatch the MSU, UT, and UGA games- they were dreadful. 

We knew the offense was going to be a work in progress this year with a new OL and RB. I think the two most disappointing things this year have been the defense overall and the play of the quarterback. 

Big difference in a work in progress and being woefully pitiful.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

1 hour ago, gr82b4au said:

The defense could not get off the field even at the beginning of the game. People need to stop sticking up for them. ReWatch the MSU, UT, and UGA games- they were dreadful. 

We knew the offense was going to be a work in progress this year with a new OL and RB. I think the two most disappointing things this year have been the defense overall and the play of the quarterback. 

Why was it unexpected that the QB play was bad ?  Pretty much standard for any QB that Gus has for more than a year. They usually all go downhill. 🤔