Defense wins championships …. Usually. You can outscore folks but not a great gameplan. The top defenses are usually there at the end.
Sigh, being ELITE on one side of the ball, offense or defense, and being good on the other side puts you in a position to win championships. Iowa gave up 4 points more a game than Michigan, good enough for 4th nationally vs UM 1st. However, Iowa scored 20 points less. One was undefeated national champs, the other was 10-4. Side note: Iowa's 10-4 may be the worst 10-4 in the history of college football. They played 3 ranked opponents and were outscored 92-0!
We’ve never won by outscoring folks. Always had a good defense. Need both but 30 points is enough with a defense usually. Our offense was average and defense was historically bad.
Just 4 years ago UF had a better scoring defense than LSU, 12th vs 29th. However, LSU had a dude named Joe Burrow and killed almost everyone they played for a title and a Heisman. Elite O, good D. 06 we had the 7th ranked defense and 34th offense, which is why people thought we would get rolled by OSU 5th D and 6th O. Elite D, good O. 08 we were elite on both sides, 6th O and 3rd D. OU was 1st on O, 9 ppg better than UF, but only average on D 63rd. Just 2 years earlier we had embarrassed a team with a similar profile, thus people gave OU a chance, and it wasn't a blowout. Elite + good = chance, that's all I'm saying.
Burrow and that offense are an outlier. They dropped 50 on elite defenses.And defense was the difference in our championships.
Hate to say it again, but don’t forget special teams. Napier does not seem to understand the importance, but there’s no reason we should also forget about it. To your point on offense, though, while I agree that defense was the bigger problem, that’s no reason to dismiss the insidious effects of poor play calling last season. Napier didn’t do the defense any favors with some of his dumb decisions to go for it on fourth down, the highest example of which was the Georgia game.
I have my gripes about some of Napier's game management like going conservative too early, timeout usage and 2 minute offense but I don't necessarily have a problem with him going for it on 4th down. I have to believe he wouldn't do it so much if he had any confidence in the defense. I can't really blame him for trying to play keep away given how awful our defense was. Now the plays he ran on those calls were often terrible and that I agree is a problem.
I think Napier is very aware of anything we are. He may think he has the answers and not have them but he’s very aware of the problems
We were not going to have a snowball's chance in hell of winning that game without the offense keeping up on the scoreboard. I am admittedly critical of many things Napier, his aggressiveness on 4th down is not one of them. It can be very difficult to reconcile his aggressiveness on 4th down with the conservative approach with a lead, wish the former would continue from start to finish unless we are up 3+ scores.
In a vacuum, I agree. If the other decision making looked rational, well thought out, and consistent with best practices, I would say, yes, the 4th-down judgments were calculated risks that showed sound cost-benefit analysis. But in context with the other bizarre decision making on having two OL coaches and a “game change coordinator!” it looks like a part of a pattern of poor, head-scratching judgment.
Our defense let tge other team score in any quarter and from anywhere on the field. I get the part where scoring works and punting is automatic points to the opponent. It’s like admitting you can’t stop anyone.
Very true...maybe he wouldnt need the 4th down aggressiveness if he called a well executed downfield play on 3rd and 11 instead of the god awful wide receiver screen for minus one yard on 3rd down.
Etienne was the better pure runner. Montrell was better at pretty much everything else (maybe pass catching was a wash). Both are/were very good backs. Etienne is probably the better home-run hitter of the two...something Billy's offense desperately needs.
4th and Dumb slogan is already taken. We'll have to think of another catchy slogan to describe that woeful decision. Maybe 4th and Brainfart?
The days when college football players felt that loyalty to a school was paramount to everything else are in the past. The same is true of company employees. Money is one factor. The desire to play for a national championship level team is another. I wish him the best.
