Austin A is our DC much like Toney

AA is the polar opposite of Grantham. He will throw the kitchen sink at teams in an effort to figure out what works. It causes a lot of poster to ask WTF is he doing, example would be the 3 man rush dropping 8 into zone.

 

If we were getting interceptions with eight men that would be great, but that is not happening. With our conservative offense that has no urgency until we are down two tds, our defense stays on the field and the d line gets worn down. The qb has all the time in the world on the opposing team, all he has to do is wait till someone gets open, of course none of the eight dbs are close to this open receiver. Arkansas beat up our line, hurt some people and did what they want. How about a five man physical line and two lbs in the middle and 4 dbs play man. This would get some pressure on every play and not leave the middle of the field wide open.

 

I would opt for anything on defense than what we’ve seen this year. He may be a swell coordinator with personnel issues, I dunno. Am I supposed to believe young players have to perform like this before they improve;
Silly penalties
Improper number of players on the field
Horrific tackling
Wildly out of position
Getting run over the entire game
Lack of pressure, way too much cushion
Inability to intercept balls thrown right at you
Inability to adjust (see end of game yesterday)
That Arky QB was running completely untouched for 10-20 yards several times. And, once Arky figured out we were not going to stop it, they just kept hammering it and we never reacted. This doesn’t strike me as good coaching. As Bullish noted, I’d rather go down fighting than watching them run past me play after play after play. The OT segment when we “defended” was pathetic and inexcusable. I’m not impressed with the coaching on D this year. I don’t see much difference between this D coach, last years, or dare I say Grantham

 

No true pass rusher on the roster, very slim lb talent,a defensive line while having a few talented guys, none are very fast or disruptive.
Any qb we play is very comfortable in the pocket and you can’t scheme around that.

 

I don't disagree and I'm not calling for his head. Fans need to accept he is here and let him sign some classes. The talent is young and the depth is thin. Seems like every year we lose our QB on the defense from an already thin position. Just can't break the cycle for whatever reason.

With that said, our portal additions have been mediocre at positions of great need. Outside of that, our talent still shouldn't be an excuse against a struggling offense like Arkansas or some other programs. At some point you gotta coach them up. Not going to out talent everyone.

2ndly, if we rush 3 and drop 8 why are guys still running free so early in their routes? All I said was that we don't force turnovers, we don't force sacks, we don't pressure the qb and yet we can't say we have good coverage either. We literally don't do anything well.

2007 was a historically bad defense but we knew we had talent that was just going through growing pains. We also had the benefit of a historically great offense to keep every game interesting. We don't have that this year so coaching mistakes and discipline have to he a strength. Frankly, it hasn't been. That's the disappointing thing for me and the source of any concern I have going forward. I believe he will figure it out but unfortunately I don't think he has yet. I have a hard time believing even coach would say he is on schedule with his own methodical process at this point.

I never bought into the "sunbelt billy" angle that he was in over his head in the SEC because he has been involved in major programs at various stops. I think it's a stupid complaint. I will again say that pre season and early on he has tended to contribute to fan expectations with some of his comments like last year with AR and this year when he said that people are going to be surprised at what we have on defense this year. Something to the effect that people don't see what we see in practice as if we were greatly improved. That is concerning. Is he saying that because he sees them perform against our offense? It's concerning to hear preseason praise from the coach and then see a pretty bad product during.

 

This thread has not aged well at all.

 

#8 for us is an issue. I see the back of his uniform way too much.

 

I plainly recall that the knock on AA was the propensity of his defenses to give up big plays. But it was argued (or wished) that relentless pressure + unpredictability would more than compensate. But the decision had its detractors.

 

I think the issue with the DC is his youth and inexperience...hopefully, year 2 will show some improvement.

 

I hear it all the time at work, hope isn’t a strategy.

 

Thats great till the O goes 5 wide. Next solution? FTR i dont believe in 3 dl or soft zone either

 

We are not halfway through the rebuild. Follow up this year's class with 2 more like it and in 26 we'll win most of our games and be in the playoffs.

24 and 25 will be roller coaster rides. 25 could surprise but not counting on it.

 

Sounds like you’re saying we should have been prepared to give it at least five years.

 

As long as we keep putting #21 out there with a 3 man front we’re going to get gashed right up the middle..as soon as I saw him out there in OT I knew we were in trouble..need more players not just size but talented

 

All we know is what we see on the field and it ain’t good. We are fans and many here went to UF so we have a right to question our athletic programs.
I believe most here are unhappy with the coaching and understand the timeline to rebuild the talent base.
Of course, we have to see it play out but we can vent for now and look forward to basketball and baseball seasons!

 

Yes. A 5 year rebuild from the start. We can discuss coaching and scheme all day but we're getting pushed around by half the teams we play.

 

Holy Crap! We have to wait until 26...now, thats a new one! CBN will be gone if we have to wait to 26.

 

#3 is no better.

 

When you hire little league coordinators to step up to SEC play, there is a huge learning curve. Too young for the SEC. Paying a million dollars per year for an inexperienced DC is crazy. Billy’s hiring of coaches without big boy coaching experience at certain positions is part of the problem. Still a young team and new coaching staff but ai don’t want hear about our DC being energetic, bright, …. He had no solution when Arkansas changed offense in the 2nd half to have QB run. Could not get off field on 3rd down in second half, can’t stop deep pass plays, and defense was not ready for OT play.