StatTiger 3,188 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Although the Ole Miss offense garnered plenty of attention last season under Hugh Freeze, the Rebel defense also improved. The Rebels improved in total and scoring defense but their biggest and most shocking improvement came in forcing "negative plays". During the 2012 season, 8 teams from the SEC finished in the nation's top-25 of forcing plays for loss and turnovers. Of those 8 teams, Ole Miss had the No.1 defense in forcing negative plays with a national ranking of No. 4. The Rebels were No. 94 the season before. They are still a far cry from being a dominant defense but forcing negative plays is a huge factor to go along with an explosive offense. This is the kind of improvement Auburn needs in 2013 to go along with Malzahn's offense. Last season, Auburn was No. 88 nationally in forcing negative plays on defense. Here is Ellis Johnson's recent national rankings as a DC in terms of forcing plays for loss and turnovers: 2011 USC: 12th 2010 USC: 18th 2009 USC: 50th 2008 USC: 42nd 2007 MSU: 20th 2006 MSU: 15th 2005 MSU: 29th Not bad for two programs not commonly renowned for great defense. Auburn's national rankings: 2012: 88th 2011: 70th 2010: 33rd 2009: 72nd 2008: 46th 2007: 61st 2006: 34th 2005: 34th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperNova 0 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Negative is Postive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 34,002 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 "I love me a little contact Petey!" Julius Campbell-Remember The Titans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle79 3,569 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Where are you getting the "negative plays" ranking? I checked the NCAA stats page and see categories for "Tackles for loss", "Sacks", "Turnovers gained", but nothing for "Negative plays" which I think would include all three of the above stats. Just curious as to where you found national rankings for that stat as I wanted to see how the 2004 defense compared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 34,002 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Where are you getting the "negative plays" ranking? I checked the NCAA stats page and see categories for "Tackles for loss", "Sacks", "Turnovers gained", but nothing for "Negative plays" which I think would include all three of the above stats. Just curious as to where you found national rankings for that stat as I wanted to see how the 2004 defense compared. He his own secret stash of web sites he uses. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StatTiger 3,188 Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Where are you getting the "negative plays" ranking? I checked the NCAA stats page and see categories for "Tackles for loss", "Sacks", "Turnovers gained", but nothing for "Negative plays" which I think would include all three of the above stats. Just curious as to where you found national rankings for that stat as I wanted to see how the 2004 defense compared. I collect the data and create my own database. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StatTiger 3,188 Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Where are you getting the "negative plays" ranking? I checked the NCAA stats page and see categories for "Tackles for loss", "Sacks", "Turnovers gained", but nothing for "Negative plays" which I think would include all three of the above stats. Just curious as to where you found national rankings for that stat as I wanted to see how the 2004 defense compared. The NCAA website only goes back to 2005 for tackles for loss, for the entire season. This is why I only had the national data from 2005-2012. I can tell you that the 2004 defense had a combined 116 TFL and forced-turnovers, defending 780 snaps on the season. That equated to a negative play every 6.72 snaps, which would have ranked No. 3 compared to defenses during 2012. So it's safe to say the 2004 defense was very good in this category too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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