Defense and sacks

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Combination of factors, right?
  • Yes, there’s talent on the DL. Smith is clearly an NFL talent. I think Eastern will get there. Mentz is developing more quickly than anticipated.
  • Gophers have caught some good match ups in a depleted MSU OL and a Nebraska OL missing a starter and losing another for targeting - plus having a QB who holds the ball as long as anyone in the country.
  • Collins increasingly playing man coverage and bringing 5 or 6 rushers — mostly because the DBs stink in zone coverage. It’s gonna lead to more sacks, but also potentially more chunk plays according to Derek Burns…but he thinks the Gophers should up their pressure rate even more.
  • LBs doing a good getting home (or creating havoc) when they blitz. Mav, Williams, and Kingsbury have all been excellent in that regard.
  • I wouldn’t say the D is doing a great job while the O stinks. I’d say the O is below average, and while the D is doing a nice job with pressures and in the red zone, they give up a TON of yards and force very few turnovers. Combined with subpar special teams, this often leaves the offense with horrible field position.
 

LeftofThaDial said:
9 game in and it’s wild to see some of our defensive stats. Despite a lot of people saying our DL sucks. We are 5th in all of FBS in sacks, 3rd if we go down to P4. Very frustrating season, We have talent, but the offense is so damn bad.
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I haven't really seen a lot of people saying the DL sucks but they have definitely gotten more crap then they deserve.

Pop Quiz for the board - Anthony Smith leads the team and conference in sacks with 9....who are the #2 and #3 guys on our team for sacks? I was a little surprised when i looked it up.

As for the offense, there were going to be some growing pains with a freshman QB getting his first taste of action. And that gets compounded by not having our best RB for much of the season. So while the offense has been frustrating we are still finding a way to win and Drake looks like he is going to be really good.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I haven't really seen a lot of people saying the DL sucks but they have definitely gotten more crap then they deserve.

Pop Quiz for the board - Anthony Smith leads the team and conference in sacks with 9....who are the #2 and #3 guys on our team for sacks? I was a little surprised when i looked it up.

As for the offense, there were going to be some growing pains with a freshman QB getting his first taste of action. And that gets compounded by not having our best RB for much of the season. So while the offense has been frustrating we are still finding a way to win and Drake looks like he is going to be really good.
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Would guess Menz and no idea on #3
 




I haven't seen much in the way of folks complaining about the DL.

Other way around really.
 

Menz is #2 on the team with 6 sacks.....#3 has not been guessed yet.....
 





16 of them in two games against Nebraska and MSU. DL has been solid in my opinion. We struggle on backside with cutbacks by RB which is LB and backside DL issues.
 





This defense is not just good with sacks, it is also very good with TFLs. It is a higher-risk defense, using lots of blitzes, which can lead to rewards, but also leaves the team more vulnerable to explosive plays when blitzes are picked up well. I like the higher-risk strategy because, for the Gophers, it is actually producing a lot of sacks and TFLs--the mid-range "reward." It is also damn fun to watch. The higher--range reward would be more turnovers, esp. interceptions because of passes thrown under pressure. Interceptions are the reward that often gives the offense a shorter field and a higher likelihood to score 7. If the D we are using continues to pressure QBs (and ideally contain mobile QBs, such as Oregon's), maybe the turnovers will come. So far, we haven't produced many turnovers that give Drake & Co. a short field. The best way for the Gophs to stay in the game against Oregon is for the defense to force turnovers and shorten the field for the offense.This week, Iowa might be able to use special teams (in addition to a stout defense) to gain field position advantage and perhaps even score points against Oregon; I know Iowa will try. Will we? Go Gophers!
 







LeftofThaDial said:
We have talent, but the offense is so damn bad.
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That's exactly it in a nutshell. Considering conference games only, the Gophers are 3rd from the bottom in scoring (above only Purdue and Wisconsin) and 2nd from the bottom (ahead of only Wisconsin) in yards gained from scrimmage.

Our defense isn't bad (middle of the pack in points allowed in a conference that typically has more than its fair share of good defensive teams). The defense would have more to show for its efforts if it wasn't on the field so damn much because of so few sustained drives by the offense and the fact that the defense frequently starts in less than favorable field position. The defense has been damned near heroic more than a few times this season.
 

I was sure the Gophers were going to break the 2 week old program record for sacks (9) after they got 6 in the first half against MSU
 

MaxyJR1 said:
16 of them in two games against Nebraska and MSU. DL has been solid in my opinion. We struggle on backside with cutbacks by RB which is LB and backside DL issues.
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I feel the DL has been good rushing the passer but not great in run defense.
 



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