Gophers Defense

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I'm sure most of you knew this and if some of you did not. then i was stun to hear this.

Minnesota is ranked 25th in total defense, but their rush defense is only 78th. Wow, is anyone suprise by Minnesota Defense. I'm sure am. This is for the Nation, not the Big Ten. Not sure what our ranking it in the Big Ten.
 

I think we were ranked 25th in the Big Ten in Total Defense in 2007.
 

The YOY improvement (through week 11) in ranking is really impressive, actually.

Stat-2011 rank-2012 rank

Rush Defense-101-73 (+28)
Pass Defense-69-7 (+62)
Pass Efficiency Defense-113-16 (+97)
Scoring Defense-104-30 (+74)
Total Defense-95-25 (+70)
 

If we finish up strong, we'll have two first team all-conference players on defense. Maybe one more on second team.

None on offense.
 

Imagine a 2003 offense with a 2012 defense...maybe someday we'll have a good offense and defense at the same time in some alternate universe.
 


Gopher07 said:
The YOY improvement (through week 11) in ranking is really impressive, actually.

Stat-2011 rank-2012 rank

Rush Defense-101-73 (+28)
Pass Defense-69-7 (+62)
Pass Efficiency Defense-113-16 (+97)
Scoring Defense-104-30 (+74)
Total Defense-95-25 (+70)
Click to expand...

Is it common for the defense to be the first of the 2 sides of the ball to take a leap forward?
 

22nd in First Down allowed per game
7th in passing defense
16th in passing efficiency defense
50th in sacks (up from 119)
30th in scoring defense
25th in total defense (as mentioned above)
38th in punts forced per game

And by the way, the offense is 22nd in time of possession
Special teams 8th in KOR defense
 

You look into the stats and you see a Coach playing things very, very, very safe.

He thinks the team is emotionally fragile.
 




Studwell55 said:
If we finish up strong, we'll have two first team all-conference players on defense. Maybe one more on second team.

None on offense.
Click to expand...

Michael Carter and D.L. Wilhite? This has been a great turn around. Let's see if we can stop the run this week. We know what's coming and we are relatively healthy on defense.
 

nokomismod said:
Michael Carter and D.L. Wilhite? This has been a great turn around. Let's see if we can stop the run this week. We know what's coming and we are relatively healthy on defense.
Click to expand...

For whatever reason the injury bug that has plagued our offense to date has stayed away from the defense. That overall health has played a key role because there is not a lot of depth there if the starters go down.
 

I'm pretty sure we are currently 25th in the Big Ten on Flea Flicker defense. We've been burned by that play too much this season.
 

Gopherdrummer said:
I'm pretty sure we are currently 25th in the Big Ten on Flea Flicker defense. We've been burned by that play too much this season.
Click to expand...

I can only remember two times, @ Iowa and Illinois. Were there others? I'm just asking, I honestly can't remember.

The injuries is an important factor for why the defense has been solid this year (and at times quite dominant). The offense hasn't had that same luxury. It would have been interesting to see how those offensive numbers would have ended up stacking up had we seen better health from that side of the ball. Being 22nd in time of possession though is a very big stat. That really helps the defense out a lot when we at least hold onto the ball, even if it's not the most productive.
 



Studwell55 said:
You look into the stats and you see a Coach playing things very, very, very safe.

He thinks the team is emotionally fragile.
Click to expand...

In what way? Our sacks and turnovers are up. We play a lot more man-to-man than last year. I don't see that as playing "very, very, very safe" at all.
 

I agree that we are not playing safe on Defense. Lots of stunting and blitzing as well. Maybe safe on offense at times.
 

GophersInIowa said:
In what way? Our sacks and turnovers are up. We play a lot more man-to-man than last year. I don't see that as playing "very, very, very safe" at all.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing he meant offensively. And yes, they are. But can you blame them? I mean, it's hard for a coach to put a lot of trust in a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who are entering into a program that has been struggling a little bit and expect them to just light up. They likely are being very safe, trying to build them up, rather than be too reckless and end up doing more harm than good.
 

Monty519 said:
I'm guessing he meant offensively. And yes, they are. But can you blame them? I mean, it's hard for a coach to put a lot of trust in a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who are entering into a program that has been struggling a little bit and expect them to just light up. They likely are being very safe, trying to build them up, rather than be too reckless and end up doing more harm than good.
Click to expand...

If he did mean offense, it's rather odd since this entire thread and the stats posted are about defense.
 

NE will be a huge test to our D and the numbers...they have the ability to put up 600 yards and 45 points on us. Our offense needs to show up and hold the ball to protect the D (tough with all the injuries). Not expecting a lot...MSU will be our 7th win this year IMO!
 

GopherinPhilly said:
NE will be a huge test to our D and the numbers...they have the ability to put up 600 yards and 45 points on us. Our offense needs to show up and hold the ball to protect the D (tough with all the injuries). Not expecting a lot...MSU will be our 7th win this year IMO!
Click to expand...

Saw that the NE offense in #8 in the country in number of plays over 20 yards. Defense will be tested and I hope our offense can sustain some drives keep our D fresh and NE off the field.
 


MNVCGUY said:
For whatever reason the injury bug that has plagued our offense to date has stayed away from the defense. That overall health has played a key role because there is not a lot of depth there if the starters go down.
Click to expand...

+1
 



Claeys is very aggressive and plays a "forward" defense. So much different than what we've been used to. For too many years, we've had defenses that have been more "read" based and didn't do much in the way of trying to prevent the offense from doing what it wanted to do, but instead limiting the success of their approach. Claeys really likes to throw the offense off and keep it off balance. It's been fun to watch. Linebacking has been up-and-down and I wonder how much better we'd be if we had a premium blitz guy at that position.
 

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