I, like a few others, believe that the Defense got worse this year and that the talent was one reason, but the coaching was a greater reason. I've seen the numbers about yards per game and where we rank in the SEC and all that and none of that means jack to be honest. So I decided to look at some tangible numbers that matter, INTs, Sacks, and forced fumbles and here we go...
Year INT Sacks FF
2011 18 31 14
2012 14 43 17
2013 17 26 9
2014 11 11 2
Seem likes the numbers show that Ward did great with the players that had been under EJ for 3-4 years and the d-line still did outstanding while BL was the coach. But we have seen more than a steady dip under Ward. I know that INTs went up by 3 in 2013 but sacks went down by 17 so that tells me that we were getting less pressure on the QB so he had more time to throw which turns into 3 more INTs but also probably means more completions and more TD passes for the opposing team.
Also, the last two years are under Deke, Botkin, and Ward. I know and agree the players aren't as good as Clowney, D. Holloman, D.J., Taylor, etc. But whose job is it make sure the cupboard isn't bear? when EJ left, Clowney had two more years, Quarles had two more years, Sutton had two more years, Hampton had two more years, Surrat had two more years and Brison Willliams had 3 more years.
So best case scenario is that this year we should have had guys with 3 years experience in the program replacing these players and worst case is guys with two years experience.
Instead we had three freshman DBs, a freshman LB moved to DE, and a bunch of project guys who haven't filled out and gotten better. Yes, some of these were EJ's recruits, but all that means is that our current coaching staff couldn't "coach them up" and get them ready to play in 2-3 years.
I think Ward was great when he had all the players mentioned above, but who was in charge of setting the foundation for the players listed above? Maybe we are who we are on defense because of who has been laying the foundation for the past 3 years.
Year INT Sacks FF
2011 18 31 14
2012 14 43 17
2013 17 26 9
2014 11 11 2
Seem likes the numbers show that Ward did great with the players that had been under EJ for 3-4 years and the d-line still did outstanding while BL was the coach. But we have seen more than a steady dip under Ward. I know that INTs went up by 3 in 2013 but sacks went down by 17 so that tells me that we were getting less pressure on the QB so he had more time to throw which turns into 3 more INTs but also probably means more completions and more TD passes for the opposing team.
Also, the last two years are under Deke, Botkin, and Ward. I know and agree the players aren't as good as Clowney, D. Holloman, D.J., Taylor, etc. But whose job is it make sure the cupboard isn't bear? when EJ left, Clowney had two more years, Quarles had two more years, Sutton had two more years, Hampton had two more years, Surrat had two more years and Brison Willliams had 3 more years.
So best case scenario is that this year we should have had guys with 3 years experience in the program replacing these players and worst case is guys with two years experience.
Instead we had three freshman DBs, a freshman LB moved to DE, and a bunch of project guys who haven't filled out and gotten better. Yes, some of these were EJ's recruits, but all that means is that our current coaching staff couldn't "coach them up" and get them ready to play in 2-3 years.
I think Ward was great when he had all the players mentioned above, but who was in charge of setting the foundation for the players listed above? Maybe we are who we are on defense because of who has been laying the foundation for the past 3 years.
