• Hi Guest,

    We've updated the site to combine all the forums that were part of the Big Sky Fans Network into one location. This will make it easier to navigate and participate in all the discussions for each school without having to have multiple accounts, etc. We are still working out some tweaks but please let us know if you notice anything.

    With the migration, in some circumstances, your username could have been merged with one of your other usernames from the other forums. If this is the case, you can request to change your username in your account details page of your profile.
  • Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!
  • Guest, do want an ad free experience on BigSkyFans.com among other benefits? Upgrade your account today!

    Simply click your profile name > account upgrades > BigSky Club > choose between the year long subscription (two free months) or month to month

    Thanks for the continued support. Cheers!

What is wrong with the D?

The main issue of the defense in my opinion is all the injuries that have occurred over the first four weeks of the year. Multiple starters have missed substantial amounts of time. This defense was changed and built around the rover back position, Todd Raynes. Having him out for the majority of the start of the season has killed the flow and grit of the team. He's the leader, captain, and has the most experience, along with zumora, on the field. Getting him back will be pivotal.

They also need to stop rotating so many kids in. They need to stick with the best 7 in the back end and continue to rotate the front 4..

Shmed knows what he is doing, we just have to get healthy. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time. GO EAGS!
 
ewufootball4 said:
The main issue of the defense in my opinion is all the injuries that have occurred over the first four weeks of the year. Multiple starters have missed substantial amounts of time. This defense was changed and built around the rover back position, Todd Raynes. Having him out for the majority of the start of the season has killed the flow and grit of the team. He's the leader, captain, and has the most experience, along with zumora, on the field. Getting him back will be pivotal.

They also need to stop rotating so many kids in. They need to stick with the best 7 in the back end and continue to rotate the front 4..

Shmed knows what he is doing, we just have to get healthy. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time. GO EAGS!
Click to expand...
I may be a bit biased, but totally agree. Raynes has played safety for the past 3 years and has total knowledge of the defensive schemes and whose responsibility for whom and thereby is much more comfortable playing the new rover role. Putting a freshman at that rover and expecting him to be able to adjust on the fly as well is a big job to ask. Raynes also has the speed to cover the slot and the size to handle the edge. Hoping he will be back for Cal Poly.
 
tumblr_m2jg2aWICG1rto2weo1_250.gif
 
Thanks for all the responses. I do think that the number of injuries to key personnel has played some part. The overall opinion seems to be that this group is young but has a lot of room for growth which could be a good reason for optimism.
 
loloman said:
ewufootball4 said:
The main issue of the defense in my opinion is all the injuries that have occurred over the first four weeks of the year. Multiple starters have missed substantial amounts of time. This defense was changed and built around the rover back position, Todd Raynes. Having him out for the majority of the start of the season has killed the flow and grit of the team. He's the leader, captain, and has the most experience, along with zumora, on the field. Getting him back will be pivotal.

They also need to stop rotating so many kids in. They need to stick with the best 7 in the back end and continue to rotate the front 4..

Shmed knows what he is doing, we just have to get healthy. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time. GO EAGS!
Click to expand...
I may be a bit biased, but totally agree. Raynes has played safety for the past 3 years and has total knowledge of the defensive schemes and whose responsibility for whom and thereby is much more comfortable playing the new rover role. Putting a freshman at that rover and expecting him to be able to adjust on the fly as well is a big job to ask. Raynes also has the speed to cover the slot and the size to handle the edge. Hoping he will be back for Cal Poly.
Click to expand...

Quality stuff in both these posts. :nod:
 
Eagledawg said:
Was looking at the Tacoma News Tribune Husky football blog where they had a preview of each opponent for the upcoming season and they had a nice rundown on the Eagles.
http://blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports/2014/05/05/uw-2014-schedule-previews-eastern-washington/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But what caught me by surprise was the statistical rundown. I knew all the big offensing numbers but the defensive numbers and where they rank nationaly, WOW. Here's an excerpt.

2013 STATISTICAL RANKS:
104th in Total Defense (457.7);
115th in Passing Defense (277.1);
74th in Rushing Defense (180.7)
More stats here: http://stats.ncaa.org/team/index/11520?org_id=207.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

11th in the Big Sky in total defense giving up 6yds per play and 457yds per game(Sports Network).

You know the old saying "you win with defense", well those don't look like the kind of numbers that a preseason #1 would have. Are those the kind of numbers that the defense has given up the last couple of years? I know we had a rash of injuries in the secondary last year and had some freshman linebackers with a lot of playing time but I didn't know the defense ranked 115th. I think we only have 5 starters back from last years defense but we have a lot of players who gained experience last year.

Looking back if we didn't have a high powered offence we could have been it trouble a number of times, here are a few that come to mind and remember I live on the west side and only attended the S. Utah game.
SHSU
2nd half of the Montana game
Portland State
Jacksonville State we were on the ropes until their QB was hurt.
Towson, having to dig out of the first half hole.

The Oregon St. game I thought they played good fundamental defense with good tackling and not giving up the Big play.

So what do you think, do we have the right players and coaches to improve the defense to the level of a champion defense?
Click to expand...

Time to revisit this thread. New season, new coordinator, new scheme.
lets revisit some numbers here!

2013 STATISTICAL RANKS:
104th in Total Defense (457.7);
115th in Passing Defense (277.1);
74th in Rushing Defense (180.7)

2014 STATISTICAL RANKS:
95th in Total Defense (441.8);
109th in Passing Defense (266.4);
65th in Rushing Defense (175.4)

2015 STATISTICAL RANKS:
120th in Total Defense (511.9);
95th in Passing Defense (217.1);
122th in Rushing Defense (294.7)

Our D seems to look good at times especially against the run and QB sacks but after a couple of really good plays they give up the long gainer. What do you guys think? Are we getting better?
 
Unfortunately, this seems to be a problem that isn't improving. A defense could make our team enormously good If we could just hold teams to 25 points or thereabouts. That's not exactly extraordinary.

The stats are what they are...
 
Pitched a second half shutout, stopped a drive with an interception, and forced Weber to attempt field goals. I'd say they played a very large part in the win.
 
I would disagree was that line of thinking. Yes, they only gave up 13 points and that is definitely a feather in their cap. However, all they really did was play good defense in the redzone. Weber moved the ball all over the field against them. They had 27 first downs. That was the second most given up by a Big Sky team this week. They also possessed the ball for almost 42 minutes...

Our defense was opportunistic. They got a TD taken off the board by a penalty. They were able to intercept a tipped ball that went through the receivers hands. They survived a last drive when a receiver dropped a long pass that hit him in the hands. Those things happen in a game, but you could easily say our D rode their luck about as far as it would take them.

Look, our defense was the better of our two units on Saturday. They certainly did enough to "earn" a win. They outplayed the offense for the first time all year. But let's not pretend that they were a dominating force. They'll still have to improve a lot to keep NAU in check.
 
I agree Dopa. There were still a few fine defensive plays sprinkled here and there. Ebukam's fourth quarter sack to help force the FG attempt being one of them. I've been to all but maybe one or two home games over the last ten years. The weather conditions yesterday were as difficult as any I can remember. Well gotta go. The Kool Aid's calling.
 
Again the run D looks stout at times but too many times would look good on 1st and 2nd but on 3rd down they
just couldn't get off the field and that was with the help of the wind.
 
The way the NAU offense is playing right now, I think this weekend will be very hard to watch as an EWU fan. I don't picture them doing anything to stop NAU. Only chance we have is to win a shootout exactly like the Montana State game. Probably need a 50+ point day to win. Pressure is on West!
 
JasonEWU said:
The way the NAU offense is playing right now, I think this weekend will be very hard to watch as an EWU fan. I don't picture them doing anything to stop NAU. Only chance we have is to win a shootout exactly like the Montana State game. Probably need a 50+ point day to win. Pressure is on West!
Click to expand...
Ya, they may run up and down the field but I still think we control the red zone and slow them dramatically, well enough for our offense to pull out a win.
 
clawman said:
JasonEWU said:
The way the NAU offense is playing right now, I think this weekend will be very hard to watch as an EWU fan. I don't picture them doing anything to stop NAU. Only chance we have is to win a shootout exactly like the Montana State game. Probably need a 50+ point day to win. Pressure is on West!
Click to expand...
Ya, they may run up and down the field but I still think we control the red zone and slow them dramatically, well enough for our offense to pull out a win.
Click to expand...

I'll settle for what you mention, but I'd *REALLY* love to see our D step up and make a few 3 and outs. Letting a team flip the field and go on long drives every possession is getting old.
 
LDopaPDX said:
clawman said:
JasonEWU said:
The way the NAU offense is playing right now, I think this weekend will be very hard to watch as an EWU fan. I don't picture them doing anything to stop NAU. Only chance we have is to win a shootout exactly like the Montana State game. Probably need a 50+ point day to win. Pressure is on West!
Click to expand...
Ya, they may run up and down the field but I still think we control the red zone and slow them dramatically, well enough for our offense to pull out a win.
Click to expand...

I'll settle for what you mention, but I'd *REALLY* love to see our D step up and make a few 3 and outs. Letting a team flip the field and go on long drives every possession is getting old.
Click to expand...

I think we will be fine against NAU. It certainly won't be easy and EWU will find a way to make it a nail biter, but I honestly think we are the better team and have more talent on both sides of the field.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top