Defense

[clawman1]

WOW that Will Katoe is a warrior! He was noticeably limping on and off the field and between plays but when the ball was snapped he was all over. GOOD JOB!
We have a lot of very skilled players on the line, in the d backfield, and linebackers yet we have the rap of poor defense. I don't see it but keep reading about how we do not play defense. We do bend but don't break very much. The Bobcat offense was supposed to be so good yet we held them of 4 scores. All 4 guys in the d backfield were playing a different position last week yet we pretty well shut their receivers down except for the short passes.
Are my expectations low?

 

[luckyintheorder]

WOW that Will Katoe is a warrior! He was noticeably limping on and off the field and between plays but when the ball was snapped he was all over. GOOD JOB!
We have a lot of very skilled players on the line, in the d backfield, and linebackers yet we have the rap of poor defense. I don't see it but keep reading about how we do not play defense. We do bend but don't break very much. The Bobcat offense was supposed to be so good yet we held them of 4 scores. All 4 guys in the d backfield were playing a different position last week yet we pretty well shut their receivers down except for the short passes.
Are my expectations low?

Wish I could be more help. The stats are odd or incongruous with the effort the D puts out. It is a very HIGH effort D team. Kudos. This effort mixed with an offense that is nigh on UNSTOPPABLE eventually combines too overwhelm opposing offenses with the pressure of keeping up. Our best Defense is our offense right now plus continued high output of effort that makes it difficult for the opposition to keep pace. D effort shows that EWU will never give up despite oppositions best efforts. Its sort of like PsyOps warfare. Coach B says it best here: Team effort, mindset, desire to win.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TTyCct_qsM&list=UU_rXvI7kr_WVWxGi0l-Vogw[/youtube]

Without diving into X's and O's, the numbers yesterday for MSU suggest they beat the hell out of Eastern and against most teams would have been an MSU victory. Efficient passing in the second half, nice balance in the first half. Had three stops (at least one wide open dropped pass for first down) and a FG for the defense isn't spectacular. IMO this isn't a bend don't break D as too many possessions in the red zone end up as TD.

How do we get beat? When the opposition's offense is confident, their D is proficient enough to get a couple of stops on EWU ala SHSU or possibly NDSU

What should D be doing better? You fill in the blanks (be honest).

Draw your own conclusions but EWU D will still be 90th or lower in defense again this week. At this point just going to support D effort and rely on Coach B doing everything they can on offense to keep the pressure on. A slight improvement in defensive acumen/execution will enable run to championship.

 

[clawman1]

The Cal Poly game may be a good example of why the defensive stats do not match the game performance.
Our D pretty much shut them down!
In the 4th qtr a lot of substitutions, so young guys can get some experience, allowed them to run up some scores.
Good Job D

 

[luckyintheorder]

The Cal Poly game may be a good example of why the defensive stats do not match the game performance.
Our D pretty much shut them down!
In the 4th qtr a lot of substitutions, so young guys can get some experience, allowed them to run up some scores.
Good Job D

Really turning the corner! Playing a team like Cal Poly takes discipline in assignments and the mixture of youth and experience peaked in this game. Way to go D. :thumb:

 

[loloman]

The Cal Poly game may be a good example of why the defensive stats do not match the game performance.
Our D pretty much shut them down!
In the 4th qtr a lot of substitutions, so young guys can get some experience, allowed them to run up some scores.
Good Job D

Really turning the corner! Playing a team like Cal Poly takes discipline in assignments and the mixture of youth and experience peaked in this game. Way to go D. :thumb:

Really proud of those guys how they were able to prepare for Cal Poly's offense and were able to shut them down like they did. It shows how versital they are in dealing with different looks. Was nice to see so many reserves getting a chance to get in as well. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: