2014... #1 in the nation 10-2 team.... had the 84 ranked defense in the nation!

[Coach007]

Rush defense was 44th.... passing 114th.

That team had studs like Preston Smith, Chris Jones, Mckinney, Calhoun, Redmond, Jefferson.... Had More sacks than this year, had more 34 more QBHs.


BUT THE POINT IS, we went 10-2 with the 84th ranked defense with studs. Stop with all of the friggin negative talk and just be happy that our defense has talent and a great DC that actually came back!

[ShotgunDawg]

Hey...

If Stevens turns out to be a $30 mil QB & someone becomes Bear, then yeah we gotta a shot

[The Federalist Engineer]

2014 had the notorious 1a and 1b defensive gimmick...even the CBS guys that normally don’t like us were wondering if our coaches understood it was not actually a good idea

The Egg bowl and orange bowl defensive debacles were because our DC had checked out or already left to his Florida job, if I recall correctly. I care not to remember the exact time line.

[Goldendawg]

2014 had the notorious 1a and 1b defensive gimmick...even the CBS guys that normally don’t like us were wondering if our coaches understood it was not actually a good idea

The Egg bowl and orange bowl defensive debacles were because our DC had checked out or already left to his Florida job, if I recall correctly. I care not to remember the exact time line.

It ain't when you are at mid-season or 3/4 through, it's how and where you finish. We usually finished with Dan on a job search when it came to the UM game or a bowl.

[Todd4State]

2014 had the notorious 1a and 1b defensive gimmick...even the CBS guys that normally don’t like us were wondering if our coaches understood it was not actually a good idea

The Egg bowl and orange bowl defensive debacles were because our DC had checked out or already left to his Florida job, if I recall correctly. I care not to remember the exact time line.

I definitely 100% agree that 1A/1B hurt our defensive stats along with Collins bend and break style of defense.

Collins was actually not only checked out for the Orange Bowl- he was at Florida. That was the game where Deshea Townsend called the defense for a half and it did not turn out well.

[Coach007]

All valid points.

I'm just reminding everybody that we will not fall to 84th. We will stay top 20. And If Stevens turns out to as advertised, we will have a shot

[BuckyIsAB****]

Hey...

If Stevens turns out to be a $30 mil QB & someone becomes Bear, then yeah we gotta a shot

From all accounts I have heard, he has been pretty legit so far

[Jarius]

From all accounts I have heard, he has been pretty legit so far

I expect him to be better than Fitz, but better than Fitz is a LONG way from being as good as the guy leading our team in 2014, and I don't care what stats people want to use to make Fitz look semi comparable to Dak. Those 2 were not close. Our receivers in 2014 were also much better than the ones we will field this year. The defense will be better this year than in 14, so we will just have to see how it goes. I'm in wait and see mode, although I think 8-4 is the most likely outcome.

[Scared_Hitless]

I expect him to be better than Fitz, but better than Fitz is a LONG way from being as good as the guy leading our team in 2014, and I don't care what stats people want to use to make Fitz look semi comparable to Dak. Those 2 were not close. Our receivers in 2014 were also much better than the ones we will field this year. The defense will be better this year than in 14, so we will just have to see how it goes. I'm in wait and see mode, although I think 8-4 is the most likely outcome.

Dak was highly underrated in college even though he was highly praised. One of those conundrums as he carried this team in 2015 season with barely any help. A converted TE at LT and Holloway up the middle at 155 lbs. I do not expect Tommy Stevens to be near his level, but JoMo offense is more explosive in theory so the scoring can be similar. I miss Bear tbh watching old highlights that guy was a blocking maniac.

[ShotgunDawg]

Our receivers in 2014 were also much better than the ones we will field this year.

I think this could actually be a question

Bear - Zuber
Ross - Guidry/Osirus
Tubby - Thomas

Malcolm - Spivey

Agree it will tough for this group to be as good as that one, but talent wise the ceiling could be higher

[Jack Lambert]

I definitely 100% agree that 1A/1B hurt our defensive stats along with Collins bend and break style of defense.

Collins was actually not only checked out for the Orange Bowl- he was at Florida. That was the game where Deshea Townsend called the defense for a half and it did not turn out well.

Teams like UAB throwing the ball down field didn't help.

[msu15]

I think this could actually be a question

Bear - Zuber
Ross - Guidry/Osirus
Tubby - Thomas

Malcolm - Spivey

Agree it will tough for this group to be as good as that one, but talent wise the ceiling could be higher

Hell Fred Brown was better than anything we had last year.

[Jarius]

I think this could actually be a question

Bear - Zuber
Ross - Guidry/Osirus
Tubby - Thomas

Malcolm - Spivey

Agree it will tough for this group to be as good as that one, but talent wise the ceiling could be higher

No way. The worst starting receiver on that 14 was at minimum equal to our best on this team.

[BrunswickDawg]

I definitely 100% agree that 1A/1B hurt our defensive stats along with Collins bend and break style of defense.

Collins was actually not only checked out for the Orange Bowl- he was at Florida. That was the game where Deshea Townsend called the defense for a half and it did not turn out well.

The thing is, the bend and break isn't Collins style - it was Dan's style. Collins has produced very strong, attacking defenses everywhere else has been. Temple as strong for the AAC - ranking #2 in Total D last year. His UF defense in '16 was #2 in the SEC in Total Yards. His FIU defense in 2010 led the Sun Belt in Total D, Scoring D, and was top 3 in Sacks and TFL. I not sure we ever saw a Collins defense in Starkville. Dan wasted a ton of defensive talent over 9 years with his approach

[ShotgunDawg]

No way. The worst starting receiver on that 14 was at minimum equal to our best on this team.

We'll see. I realize it seems that way, but we'll see.

Remember, that 2014 team had Dak Prescott throwing them the ball & not Fitz. I think we see some WRs take make big jumps this year.

[ShotgunDawg]

Hell Fred Brown was better than anything we had last year.

We'll see. We've got some talent that hasn't produced

[msstate7]

We'll see. I realize it seems that way, but we'll see.

Remember, that 2014 team had Dak Prescott throwing them the ball & not Fitz. I think we see some WRs take make big jumps this year.

They were still dropping balls in the spring game

[ShotgunDawg]

They were still dropping balls in the spring game

Every WR unit in the country drops balls. We'll have to see what a real game looks like

[Jarius]

We'll see. I realize it seems that way, but we'll see.

Remember, that 2014 team had Dak Prescott throwing them the ball & not Fitz. I think we see some WRs take make big jumps this year.

I do think the receivers improve due to qb play, but I still don't think they are anywhere near the 14 group and that group was just average in the SEC.

[ShotgunDawg]

I do think the receivers improve due to qb play, but I still don't think they are anywhere near the 14 group and that group was just average in the SEC.

We'll see. I don't think the talent levels are that different. Really wish we had a big guy like Bear that we could rely on to catch to the ball.

[BeastMan]

We had the 23rd ranked scoring defense and if you filter out FCS games we were 20th in the nation in scoring defense. Near the top of the SEC in INTs and sacks. This thread is retarded. In real football games we had a top 20 defense nationally.

[Prediction? Pain.]

We had the 23rd ranked scoring defense and if you filter out FCS games we were 20th in the nation in scoring defense. Near the top of the SEC in INTs and sacks. This thread is retarded. In real football games we had a top 20 defense nationally.

Yeah, the '14 defense was much closer to Top 25 than the raw "total defense" stat indicates. The advanced stats rankings had us pretty high (20th per the FEI and 26th per the S&P+) and you can see why when you look at the numbers behind the overall raw stats.

For example, in SEC games, our defenses was dead last in "pass defense" if you look only at total passing yards allowed per game. But here's the deal -- since teams were usually playing from behind against our fast-paced and efficient offense, we faced more pass attempts than any other SEC team. Hence, most passing yards allowed. But look at how teams gained those yards. In SEC play, we were 3rd in the conference in opponent completion percentage and top half of the SEC in both yards per attempt allowed and opposing QB rating.

Add to that a top half finish in the SEC in yards per rush allowed and Top 3 in the SEC in sacks, interceptions, opponents' 3rd down conversions, and red zone D (TD% allowed), and you've got a pretty solid D. Not elite last last year, but pretty good all things considered.

[fishwater99]

All valid points.

I'm just reminding everybody that we will not fall to 84th. We will stay top 20. And If Stevens turns out to as advertised, we will have a shot

That defense would have been Top 20 easy with another DC and no damn 1a & 1b bullshit...

[BuckyIsAB****]

Guidry and Mitchell arent even close to Fred Ross's level right now. Hopefully they change that but you could put both their production together and its probably not even half of what Ross did.

It is time for Devonta Jason to be a dawg. Deddrick Thomas and Zuber can beat man coverage but they arent fade guys like Mitchell has the chance to be. Guidry can do it all but he just has to get his head straight.

[BrunswickDawg]

Yeah, the '14 defense was much closer to Top 25 than the raw "total defense" stat indicates. The advanced stats rankings had us pretty high (20th per the FEI and 26th per the S&P+) and you can see why when you look at the numbers behind the overall raw stats.

For example, in SEC games, our defenses was dead last in "pass defense" if you look only at total passing yards allowed per game. But here's the deal -- since teams were usually playing from behind against our fast-paced and efficient offense, we faced more pass attempts than any other SEC team. Hence, most passing yards allowed. But look at how teams gained those yards. In SEC play, we were 3rd in the conference in opponent completion percentage and top half of the SEC in both yards per attempt allowed and opposing QB rating.

Add to that a top half finish in the SEC in yards per rush allowed and Top 3 in the SEC in sacks, interceptions, opponents' 3rd down conversions, and red zone D (TD% allowed), and you've got a pretty solid D. Not elite last last year, but pretty good all things considered.

Defense isn't all about singular stats like "Total Defense" or "Passing Defense". We played 7 games last year that were pretty one-sided for us. During Dan's years, many of those games would have been 21-24 point wins instead of true blowouts because we always seemed to take the foot off of the gas (both on offense and defense) and we'd give up late TDs in garbage time. That didn't happen last year. We also had a lot of 2nd and 3rd string guys making plays and taking advantage of opportunities in those games. That is something we also didn't see as much previously. In fact, most games you didn't see drop from 1st team to 3rd team. That says to me that our defensive staff has a strong ability to keep guys focused, and I think that is why so many are optimistic about how well the defense will play this year.