Auburn Defense 2011-2012

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The 2011 season ended with a much needed exclamation point last night after a 43-24 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers. Its strange that Auburn managed such a (in the end) dominating win after a season full of close calls and blowouts at the hands of superior opponents. I expected a victory, but I had no idea that once we finally got going, we would pour it on the way that we did. For the first time all season, the offense played to its full potential though the Ole Miss game was a close second.

Defensively, it was a mixed bag. The first half saw 17 Virginia points that at times, looked all too easy for the Cavs. The second half saw a fired up defense that created pressure at times though they gave up another touchdown. Statistically, Auburn looked about the same as it did in any other game in 2011 - lots of overall yards though the Tigers did manage to hold UVA under 140 yards rushing - their strength on offense.

As I said in one of my previous posts, yards per play is sometimes just as good an indicator of defensive performance as total yards. For the Chik-Fil-A bowl, Auburn's defense gave up an average of 6.13 yards per play. This was the highest average for the defense all season in a win - with the next highest average coming against South Carolina with 5.56. For the season, Auburn averaged 6.79 yards a play in its 5 losses, with the highest coming against Georgia with a staggering 7.14. In its victories, the defense averaged 5.03 yards per play with the best performance against Florida with 3.29.

On an individual basis, Daren Bates showed his continued confidence and solid play at linebacker with an 8 tackle, 1.5 tackle for loss performance. Bates has improved dramatically over the course of the 2011 season, finally seeming to take that step forward at linebacker that he couldn't quite make in 2010. Gabe Wright showed out at DT last night, earning the game's only sack which led to the safety. Jeffrey Whitaker shared in a TFL, but no other defensive lineman recorded an impact play on defense. Though the line played better than some games, it still couldn't provide a consistent 4-man pass rush - a factor which led to Auburn's pass defense giving up so many yards through the air.

Watching from the upper ring of the Georgia Dome, I could easily see Auburn's zone coverage schemes being exploited by an experienced quarterback with plenty of time to throw. It always seemed that the UVA receivers found their little pockets of open coverage in between 2 or 3 defenders. To me, Auburn's defensive backs played relatively well - responding quickly to completed passes and making sure tackles most of the time - a departure from the rest of the season. Defenders seemed to stay in their zones and react quickly. I believe the primary problem on defense last night was the same problem with the defense all season - inconsistent play from the defensive line - in particular the DTs. Wright stepped up last night when given the chance. Perhaps Wright can snag a starting spot on the line in 2012.

I think Auburn will turn to another "Tampa 2" type of defensive coordinator who runs plenty of Cover 2 and Cover 3 base schemes. These schemes can be very effective if complemented by a good D-Line that can consistently rush the passer with only 3 down linemen. Both Eguae and Lemonier look solid at end but Auburn needs someone to step up and play with both intensity and authority at DT for the defense to work. There will certainly be plenty of experience to lean on with the DT corps in 2012 so hopefully things will work out.

At linebacker, Jake Holland will probably end up the starter at the middle spot. Holland played well in 2011 for being a first time starter but 2012 is definitely his year to step up the level of play. His interception last night could be a good sign of things to come. Bates will lock down the outside spot for his senior season - finally playing to his potential. I still think that Jonathan Evans will start to begin the year, but will be supplanted at some point by either Jawara White or Kris Frost. Erique Florence should step in and play well in Neiko Thorpe's place at safety next year, and the returning starters will provide talent AND experience in the secondary.

Great win last night and hopefully a great 2012 is on the way!

War Eagle!

Ryan