Our defense looks much improved. If you just look at the stats then it looks like they suck. UCLA played most of the game at the close to the 50 yard line. When offense was struggling early in the game, the D was holding it down and they made big plays at the right moment. We did something Texas A&M couldn't and that was stopping Rosen in the 4th.

(09-18-2017 12:32 PM)Crazier Wrote:  Our defense looks much improved. If you just look at the stats then it looks like they suck. UCLA played most of the game at the close to the 50 yard line. When offense was struggling early in the game, the D was holding it down and they made big plays at the right moment. We did something Texas A&M couldn't and that was stopping Rosen in the 4th.

True. I'm not writing the defense off this season. But I hope the defense can hold some of the better teams we play to less than 40 points in case the offense doesn't explode.

Some really stellar looking young guys. TJ Carter is going to be really good. Been excited about Tim Hart since he signed. Jonathon Wilson is hard to handle rushing the passer.

I think we are definitely better. UCLA is going to put up big numbers all year.

(09-18-2017 12:29 PM)TiminMem23 Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 12:18 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 11:45 AM)TiminMem23 Wrote:  They gave up 45 points. It took six TD passes from Riley Ferguson to win the game. I just struggle calling that a good or even an improved defense. It's now been 7 out of 8 games dating back to last season of giving up 40 plus points to teams with a winning record.

Yes, the defense made two big interceptions and held UCLA at the end. But IMO, they did enough to give the offense a chance to win the game. Had it not been for the two interceptions and those end up being TDs, Memphis gives up 60 points and doesn't give the offense a chance.

I still think there is a ceiling on this team with that defense. If the offense doesn't score 40 against a good team, there's a good chance we'll lose. I think that puts us around 8-4 again.

You also have to account for how short our drives were. We had a lot of 3 and outs and a lot of very quick scoring drives. UCLA had the ball a lot.

Quote:I still think there is a ceiling on this team with that defense.

You don't think that a defense with an entirely new defensive backfield, many of whom were playing their first D1 game (ULM doesn't count) have any room for improvement? That seems a bit weird.

I concede that point. I agree that our style of offense leads to more possessions for the other team and more time on the field for our defense. That contributes to more points given up.

I didn't say the defense can't improve. But if we continue to give up 40 points to teams with winning records, I think there is absolutely a ceiling of 8-9 wins. Of course, most of us will be more than happy with 8-9 wins. I just don't see us having a "magical" year and winning 10-11 games. Unless the D improves. I hope they do. It's entirely possible.

I'm gonna agree with you on the concern. I am concerned too.

BUT... You can't play the "what if" game with those interceptions. Those were not brain farts on the part of Rosen. Those were in large part due to the specific blitz pressures our defensive coach dialed up. In fact, Rosen is derned lucky his wide receiver saved him from a third INT on that offensive pass interference in their last possession.

(09-18-2017 12:36 PM)TiminMem23 Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 12:32 PM)Crazier Wrote:  Our defense looks much improved. If you just look at the stats then it looks like they suck. UCLA played most of the game at the close to the 50 yard line. When offense was struggling early in the game, the D was holding it down and they made big plays at the right moment. We did something Texas A&M couldn't and that was stopping Rosen in the 4th.

True. I'm not writing the defense off this season. But I hope the defense can hold some of the better teams we play to less than 40 points in case the offense doesn't explode.

Part of that is losing Jake Elliot. Did UCLA down a single kickoff?

I don't know the answer yet.

Defense wasn't great last year, and Pennington and Maulet, who were both really good last season, graduate. Then we lose Dillon and Gentry in the first game.

Our D stepped up the in the 4th Q, but I also think UCLA was absolutely exhausted from the heat and humidity. Bruins were definitely dragging.

Need more data points. Hopefully we can say yes to this question after the UCF game in 12 days.

(09-18-2017 12:45 PM)Tigx Wrote:  I don't know the answer yet.

Defense wasn't great last year, and Pennington and Maulet, who were both really good last season, graduate. Then we lose Dillon and Gentry in the first game.

Our D stepped up the in the 4th Q, but I also think UCLA was absolutely exhausted from the heat and humidity. Bruins were definitely dragging.

Need more data points. Hopefully we can say yes to this question after the UCF game in 12 days.

Which reminds me of the most ridiculous claim I heard from Butch Jones last week - "We plat 3 games in 13 days".

I heard that and thought "so what? Almost every team plays 3 games in 15 days at any point on the fall calendar."

That's tantamount to claiming in distress that the only thing we have left to drink on the planet is dihydro-monoxide.

(09-18-2017 10:47 AM)TIGERCITY Wrote:  Rosen has a 170 QB rating and leads all college QBs in yards and TDs. We'll have other issues to contend with but I suspect we won't see one of him again.

Except every day in practice......

I thought the D was fine. Losing 3 guys, with a high flying offense coming into town could have been really bad. We had good coaching and good effort. Mixed up our blitzing and our coverage.

I am concerned about our Achilles heel, though. A true scrambling qb. Rosen is a good scrambler, but that's not a huge part of their playbook. And he was successful when he needed to be.

By the end of the year, I think we see that we're clearly better from the past couple of years.

(09-18-2017 10:44 AM)gavinjernigan22 Wrote:  Austin Hall man...

Another of our walk-ons.

He got crossed up on one td. But he made some big plays - including forcing the final int.

Enjoy watching that kid.

There's no doubt they are coming together.

The Big takeaway is how they finished the game. Instead of fading in the fourth quarter, they stepped it up when it counted.

That's a team thing. You either have it or you don't.

(09-18-2017 01:22 PM)Tiger87 Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 10:44 AM)gavinjernigan22 Wrote:  Austin Hall man...

Another of our walk-ons.

He got crossed up on one td. But he made some big plays - including forcing the final int.

Enjoy watching that kid.

Hall is fearless. You can see it a mile away.

Is our defense better?Too soon to say, in my opinion. I will echo other posters, however, in that I don't think we will face a QB like Rosen again this season. The QB at USF is good, and if we were to meet them in the AAC championship game he would be a challenge, but he is not in Rosen's class as a pure passer. He's a dual-threat guy.

i do like the way some of our young players stepped up vs UCLA.

Ball Hawks. Every one of them.

(09-18-2017 02:17 PM)NJ1 Wrote:  UCLA scored a lot and gained a lot, but they also took about 150% the number of snaps a typical team would take in a game. Extremely up-tempo.

Memphis had to play a lot of young talent due to injuries, and the young talent stepped up in a big way.

Very true. And that's what makes it hard to judge the defense sometimes. You can't compare our defense to another team's defense if the other team runs a pro style offense. What the offense does has an effect on how many possessions there are in a game, which affects the defensive performance.

It's hard to say. I did love seeing the young guys step in and step up, like Hart and TJ Carter to name a few. Would love to see them continue to grow and play big for us.

The corner blitz was pure genius.

Most definitely to this untrained eye...more concerned about the kicking game than the defense. Considering the field position each team had to work with, a young Memphis D performed better than I would have expected...boding well for the future.

(09-18-2017 02:13 PM)holyterror Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 01:22 PM)Tiger87 Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 10:44 AM)gavinjernigan22 Wrote:  Austin Hall man...

Another of our walk-ons.

He got crossed up on one td. But he made some big plays - including forcing the final int.

Enjoy watching that kid.

Hall is fearless. You can see it a mile away.

The play where he blew up the screen 1 on 1 was awesome!

Our weakness will be against a QB that can run the ball.

(09-18-2017 06:59 PM)Sgtsawzall Wrote:  Our weakness will be against a QB that can run the ball.

You design your defense to play against each offense, but it seemed obvious that our defenders were told not to defend against Rosen running the ball. It will be interesting to see if we adjust next game or if we aren't going to be able to defend it well in general. Rosen wasn't touched on most plays until he had gained a few yards.