Maybe we are better on D than we think...

[Coach34]

The Nasty Bunch has scored 50+ in their games since us
We made Fournette earn it all damn night- he ran thru Auburn like the were a SWAC team
We played a bastard 40 Slide front vs NW State for some reason.

Saturday is gonna answer some questions- because Auburn runs the ball fairly well out of the Spread.

No excuses

[Behrdawg]

My primary concern is the lack of created turnovers. We need them.

[thunderclap]

Watching LSU last week I think we still have a chance to make some noise. But it all starts this week. Dan just has to turn them loose.

[Shooter McGavin]

No way Coach. The defense sucks, especially the secondary. Everyone knows this**

In all seriousness, I am not worried about the defense other than the lack of turnovers created. Like Behrdawg said we need to start causing them soon.

[BossDawg]

The Nasty Bunch has scored 50+ in their games since us
We made Fournette earn it all damn night- he ran thru Auburn like the were a SWAC team
We played a bastard 40 Slide front vs NW State for some reason.

Saturday is gonna answer some questions- because Auburn runs the ball fairly well out of the Spread.

No excuses

I think our defense is pretty good. I would like to see some friggin' turnovers this weekend though.

[Todd4State]

My primary concern is the lack of created turnovers. We need them.

Not a concern for me simply because of LSU and Northwestern State's style of play. We had a couple against USM- the most aggressive team we played.

[Todd4State]

The Nasty Bunch has scored 50+ in their games since us
We made Fournette earn it all damn night- he ran thru Auburn like the were a SWAC team
We played a bastard 40 Slide front vs NW State for some reason.

Saturday is gonna answer some questions- because Auburn runs the ball fairly well out of the Spread.

No excuses

Manny makes good adjustments. USM had 10 in the first half, and 6 the rest of the game. LSU 14 in the first quarter and 7 the rest of the game. Northwestern State nailed a 52 yard FG and had a long TD drive when we weren't focused because we were up 35-6.

AND our defense has been on the field most of the season because we haven't been able to run the ball the first two games.

If we can work the younger guys in at LB and S we might/should improve as the year goes along.

[Irondawg]

I think we are a middle of the pack defense until a few things improve: (1) We have to tackle better - way too many missed tackles or bad angles, (2) Our LB's have to get off blocks a little better and (3) Our safeties have to start making some big plays.

We're not bad as-is, but to take the next step those 3 things need to happen.

[Schultzy]

Schemes be damned, we need to win the 1st quarter, on sheer will alone.

Whoever wants it most will win this game.

[Todd4State]

I think we are a middle of the pack defense until a few things improve: (1) We have to tackle better - way too many missed tackles or bad angles, (2) Our LB's have to get off blocks a little better and (3) Our safeties have to start making some big plays.

We're not bad as-is, but to take the next step those 3 things need to happen.

I can't argue with any of that- it does seem like we tread water at times.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

This topic was part of my asking the question yesterday as to which team had faced the best collective offensive teams so far this season, us or No. Miss. You can find the thread elsewhere on the board. My reasoning for asking was to point out two points. Was our defense as bad as everyone was making us out to be and is No. Miss. defense as fabulous as everyone was making them out to be. It was NOT to insinuate that our defense was better than theirs. But who is looking at actual production numbers?....

So I'll go ahead and put out the numbers here and you can draw your own conclusions and to which way things are trending.

Looking at the opponents rankings for the first 3 games this season first: And keep in mind (I thought I pointed this out in my previous thread, but you know how reading comprehension goes some times), NW St. and UT Martin rankings are for FCS teams, not FBS. Also, some said it was not a large enough sample to draw any conclusions....in some ways that is accurate, but it is 25% of the season, and it's as far as we've gotten so far. Bottom line, I'm trying to point to how the two teams are beginning to trend. Again, draw your own conclusions how you wish. Mine are that we aren't as bad as we are perceived to be and the Land Sharts aren't as dominant as they are perceived to be.

Total Offense
USM 20 UT Martin 44
LSU 75 Fresno St 91
NW ST 90 Bama 23

MSU FBS Rank Land Sharts
80 Rushing Def 75
26 Pass Def 59
44 Total Def 67

336 Yards Per Game 370
5 TD's Allowed 8
4.86 Yards Per Play 4.53
52 1st Downs Allowed 76
21% 3rd Down Conv. 35%
80% Red Zone Def. 75%
16.7 Scoring Def. 20.3

I will also point out, No. Miss last 6 FBS opponents have scored totals of 35, 30, 17, 42, 21, and 37 points against them. That is an avg of 30.3 points per game.

One thing remains....we all agree that our tackling could be better, our coverage a little tighter, our angles become better, etc. Big plays need to happen more frequently, etc. And if they do; when they do, these numbers will only get better.

[Political Hack]

coverage will not get tighter. It's our scheme. we give up the underneath throws and wait for other teams to make mistakes or put themselves into a difficult 3d down spot. As long as our 3rd down conversions stay low and we can stop the run, we're going to be just fine.

[HoopsDawg]

I think we are a middle of the pack defense until a few things improve: (1) We have to tackle better - way too many missed tackles or bad angles, (2) Our LB's have to get off blocks a little better and (3) Our safeties have to start making some big plays.

We're not bad as-is, but to take the next step those 3 things need to happen.

Nailed it.

[Where'sWaldo]

I still need proof to verify our effort against LSU. If the refs are looking the wrong way on the two of those holding calls we may get blown out of our own stadium.

[msstate7]

I still need proof to verify our effort against LSU. If the refs are looking the wrong way on the two of those holding calls we may get blown out of our own stadium.

What if the ref wasn't looking on our defensive holding that led to LSU's first td?