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| How Good Does our Defense Have To Be? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 30 2012, 04:13 PM (637 Views) | |
| *TennesseeTuxedo | Jul 30 2012, 04:13 PM Post #1 |
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How good does our defense have to be in order for the Vols to be a good team? The old adage says that defense wins championships. Just how good does our defense have to be and what does our defense have to do in order for our team to be successful this season? Our defense was decent the past two seasons. We were overwhelmed depth wise in a couple of games and beaten by speed in a few others. We have not gotten pressure on opposing QBs in many seasons. In my opinion, that is something that we have to have in order to improve our defense. We have been too slow or young at linebacker to blitz and have given opposing QBs all day to throw. Hopefully Sal Sunseri will bring some new ways to pressure the QB from different angles. I do not believe that we have to be a stop defense. Our offense will put pressure on both the opposing defense, but also on the opposing offense to keep pace on the scoreboard. With a bit of pressure we could force the QBs into bad plays and force them to punt or turn the ball over. So how good does our defense have to be? I firmly believe that if we can pressure the QB enough, that 2012 will be a very successful and special season for the Vols. |
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| Shakearag | Jul 30 2012, 04:32 PM Post #2 |
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The Voice of Al Sharpton
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You heard it here first....... Our defense is going to be better than last year. Never was impressed with Justin Wilcox and his defensive schemes. He let Kentucky control the ball and clock for the entire game and they ran all over us. |
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| Tnphil | Jul 30 2012, 04:40 PM Post #3 |
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If they don't score....we don't lose! In other words...very important! I know...I know, on paper our offense should score points....I also know we are playing against SEC defenses. |
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| *OrangeRev | Jul 30 2012, 04:43 PM Post #4 |
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Tree hug'n, bleed'n heart, lazy luv'n, global warm'n token liberal
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Whatever your opinion may be of Wilcox, please don't blame the Kentucky loss on him or our defense ... holding them to 10 points and a couple of hundred yards of offense is not a poor performance. |
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| *Zippy | Jul 30 2012, 04:45 PM Post #5 |
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Burning Man, 2009 FOREVER
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Lets not even discuss winning championships in 2012. Defense may well win championships, but UT doesnt need to win a championship of any sort next season for it to be a success (except for the 'state championship', they damn well better not lose to Vandy...) However, here's what I think about UT's D. First of all: our defense was nowhere near as good in practice as it was on paper for the last two years. Wilcox got all he could out of those two teams with smoke and mirrors, and a LOT of teams took pity on us and called off the dogs early. So yeah our D wasnt bad the last two years statistically, but they were not very good either. This years defense I expect will be the polar opposite: much better in practice, but statistically inferior. With the offense we have in 2012 and considering the DC is a newbie...we are going to take chances on D, which will lead to more big plays (which is bad, because we gave up our fair share of those already) and probably worse rankings statistically. So...how do you define "good" for UT's D in 2012? Personally, I define it mostly on turnovers. What UT's D needs to do for UT to be a good team is MAKE DAMN PLAYS, the thing last years defense did basically one time (against Vandy). UT's D needs to significantly increase the number of sacks, QB pressures, interceptions and fumbles...just turnovers in general. I'm much more concerned about that than I am how we rank statistically in yards given up and/or points against. If we end up with a +1 or better turnover margin per game, we are going to have one hell of a year. If there is one stat I'd look at for the 2012 UT D, it's turnovers. Most of the things I'd look for from UT's D are very difficult to quantify: meaning, it's not just important that you have a good 3rd down conversion percentage, for example: not all 3rd downs are equal. Some are vastly more important than others, and it's the important ones I'm concerned about. UT's D in 1985 is a good example of this. Statstically I dont think they were all that great, but they just made a TON of big, game-changing plays every game. A ton. That's what we need the D to be in 2012 |
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| LonzoVol | Jul 30 2012, 04:52 PM Post #6 |
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Zippy nailed it, turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, three and outs! This defense could be statistically worse than last season and still be better if they can disrupt and cause, yes, turnovers. An aggressive, attacking defense will get burned occasionally and long plays hurt statistics. However, Tennessee's defense has not been creating havoc as of late and I believe that is what Sal is bring to the party. This team has legitimate, D1 defensive tackles now. This should make some of the linebackers into play makers this season. Still urgent need for a pass rusher. |
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| gallavol | Jul 30 2012, 05:57 PM Post #7 |
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Cynical Idealist
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CSS is known as a bring the heat DC, and I agree with that philosophy. The thing is, Sal has been bringing it with Saban's players. I'm interested to see how well it works with our somewhat "still developing" players. The front seven does not scare me this year, the back seven is the scary stuff this season. |
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| LonzoVol | Jul 30 2012, 06:15 PM Post #8 |
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That's 14 total. Vols have already tried that at LSU in 2010 and it didn't work. |
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| *TennesseeTuxedo | Jul 30 2012, 06:34 PM Post #9 |
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I think that we are going to surprise some people with how good our defense is going to be. |
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| humbletx | Jul 30 2012, 07:44 PM Post #10 |
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Tennessee had a good defense last year too. An improved defense, - possibly - though its thin,talent wise at the LB position. Good defenses force their opponents to be uncomfortable - take them out of what makes their offense go - specifically stop the run. UF is gonna try to RTDB, South Carolina/UGa are gonna RTDB. Alabama the same. |
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| Shakearag | Jul 30 2012, 07:52 PM Post #11 |
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The Voice of Al Sharpton
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It's just that I hate a vanilla defense and giving up 36 minutes of ball control to Kentucky with over 200 yards rushing to a team with no passing threat spells BAD defense regardless of holding them to 10 points. We should have shut them out with their quarterbacks out because we had better team personnel than Kentucky. No reason to lose that game and the loss still sticks in my craw. |
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| RedneckVol | Jul 31 2012, 05:59 AM Post #12 |
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Apprentice
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They have to be good enough to step up when our offense sputters...and it will sometime in the season. Whether it's due to injuries, a trap game, an overinflated view of themselves, whatever, there will be at least one game during the season where the offense is not hitting on all cylinders. At that point, the defense will have to step up and shoulder the burden of keeping the game close enough to win. Our kicking game is suspect but our offense is about as potent as I've seen in a decade. If the O falters, it's up to Sal's Squad to save the bacon. This year, I think they can. The Vols offense will surely put pressure on the opposing defense, but it will also puts pressure on OUR D. If they're the hurry-up/quick strike offense I think they'll be, our D will be on the field for a long time. It will be interesting to see how they react. In spite of myself, I am looking forward to seeing the season get cranked up! THIRTY TWO DAYS!!! |
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| *JollyVolly | Jul 31 2012, 06:08 AM Post #13 |
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A Very Manly Man
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I'm concerned about our depth on defense more than anything. I think our front seven will be much better. My other concern is the cornerbacks. With better qb pressure this shouldn't be as big a concern, but they really looked lost sometimes last year..... |
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| *Zippy | Jul 31 2012, 11:30 AM Post #14 |
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Burning Man, 2009 FOREVER
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That's almost a certainty, I think, as most people think our defense is going to be completely awful. |
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| *Zippy | Jul 31 2012, 11:32 AM Post #15 |
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Burning Man, 2009 FOREVER
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Definitely. Chances are pretty good we are a strange team to handicap next year. We are almost certainly going to have a game (or two) where the offense doesnt click and we get our doors blown off by 20-30 points. But by the same token, I think we are going to hammer a team or two that we should lose to (Georgia, South Carolina, Florida...one of those three is going to take a beating). Again: bet OVER. |
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