Defense - National Stats

[HelenaHandBasket]

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

So what debate were you trying to begin by stating that the Griz would be undefeated if TG was the DC for the Poly game? And please remember that TG was the DC against Poly for more than the 2015 game and his overall results would lead most people to believe that your assumption is a heaping pile of steaming shit.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

There is no way that the game 2 years ago is more comparable than the game a year ago. That makes zero sense. However, you are welcome to your opinion.

Sure it does. Compare last road game at Poly, of which TG was the DC, with this years road game at Poly. This is just as valid of a comparison as what you are using. You just don't want to acknowledge this comparison because it does not fit your "TG" agenda.

 

[ari gold]

Pretty hard to make a good comparison of this years D and last years D against CP when the lineups have changed. I get that the CP offensive stats are close to the same, but there are all sorts of factors that play into this. Last years game was at home, this years away. Last year we had Kidder and Holmes, this year just Kidder. You can make arguments like this all days long. I think the overall thing we can come away with is that through the season thus far, our defense has been considerably better than last years.

I'll take Semores defense that plays smart all day long over TG's defense, who has to constantly rely on him to read and call the correct defense. You can see it now at MSU. Their D is constant caught off guard and out of position. As a fan, thats extremely frustrating. The Griz defense this year however has been fun to watch. I for one have really enjoyed it.

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

Giving up 42 points is just not good. UM didn't give up 42 once last year. Gave up 37 and 35 to NDSU. Gave up over 27 only 2 more times. 35 to PSU and 35 to MSU (and in that one the UM D was very good and some of those later points weren't a big deal). It will be interesting to see if the D can handle EWU like they did last year.

I like this year's D and Semore so far, but I will reserve judgment until after the some of the upcoming games. Yes, Semore's system seems to rely less on his signals on each play, but it also means that players have more opportunity for mistakes like not lining up in the right spot. This has happened multiple times this year, and it's hurt the Griz. Semore has said this.

The few times I've watched the Cats, the Cat D has performed fairly well. The last quarter and the last drive of the SS game was an exception. The Cat D was weak and then bad. Couldn't defend the hurry-up offense that SS went to. As I have said, my Cat family members and friends say the Cat D is much better this year than it was last year, but still nothing to write home about.

I guess my main point is that making comparisons like this aren't really useful, and create a dumpster fire of a thread, much like this one. I also don't get why some folks are hanging on to TG so much. He's a decent DC, but lets not pretend he's the key to defensive success. At the very least we haven't lost anything by him leaving, and I personally think we got the far better end of the deal.

Jack, I have been going to breakfast for a lot of years like you every Thursday during football season. I haven't been as impressed hearing a coach talk about defense as I have been with Semore. He is flat out a good coach and knows what he is talking about. I would go as far to say that I like hearing him talk X's and O's more than I do Stitt and the offense. I for one could'nt be happier so far with coach Semore.

 

[PlayerRep]

Pretty hard to make a good comparison of this years D and last years D against CP when the lineups have changed. I get that the CP offensive stats are close to the same, but there are all sorts of factors that play into this. Last years game was at home, this years away. Last year we had Kidder and Holmes, this year just Kidder. You can make arguments like this all days long. I think the overall thing we can come away with is that through the season thus far, our defense has been considerably better than last years.

I'll take Semores defense that plays smart all day long over TG's defense, who has to constantly rely on him to read and call the correct defense. You can see it now at MSU. Their D is constant caught off guard and out of position. As a fan, thats extremely frustrating. The Griz defense this year however has been fun to watch. I for one have really enjoyed it.

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

Giving up 42 points is just not good. UM didn't give up 42 once last year. Gave up 37 and 35 to NDSU. Gave up over 27 only 2 more times. 35 to PSU and 35 to MSU (and in that one the UM D was very good and some of those later points weren't a big deal). It will be interesting to see if the D can handle EWU like they did last year.

I like this year's D and Semore so far, but I will reserve judgment until after the some of the upcoming games. Yes, Semore's system seems to rely less on his signals on each play, but it also means that players have more opportunity for mistakes like not lining up in the right spot. This has happened multiple times this year, and it's hurt the Griz. Semore has said this.

The few times I've watched the Cats, the Cat D has performed fairly well. The last quarter and the last drive of the SS game was an exception. The Cat D was weak and then bad. Couldn't defend the hurry-up offense that SS went to. As I have said, my Cat family members and friends say the Cat D is much better this year than it was last year, but still nothing to write home about.

I guess my main point is that making comparisons like this aren't really useful, and create a dumpster fire of a thread, much like this one. I also don't get why some folks are hanging on to TG so much. He's a decent DC, but lets not pretend he's the key to defensive success. At the very least we haven't lost anything by him leaving, and I personally think we got the far better end of the deal.

Jack, I have been going to breakfast for a lot of years like you every Thursday during football season. I haven't been as impressed hearing a coach talk about defense as I have been with Semore. He is flat out a good coach and knows what he is talking about. I would go as far to say that I like hearing him talk X's and O's more than I do Stitt and the offense. I for one could'nt be happier so far with coach Semore.

It's an internet message board. Much of what occurs in forums like this involves discussions like this. This was a reasonable discussion, compared to many. It wasn't a dumpster fire.

Perhaps the question you should ask, is why are so many posters and Griz fans continuing to bring up TG's name to dump on him? He's gone; he's a Cat. Dozens of posters continue to do that. Almost all of my comments regarding TG are in defense of him after someone trashes him. He's been a friend for many years. I will continue to defend him if people attack him unfairly. And one more thing, based on the conference stats of the major D categories in the 3 year's TG was the DC, UM had the no. 1 ranked defense. A Kaimin article a few weeks ago said Semore inherited the top-ranked defense in the conference. Why is it so hard for some people, apparently you too, to admit that?

Yes, the D looks good this year (minus CP) and Semore seems to have nice talent, but I'm not going to declare the D and Semore great until UM plays some more good teams. The D looked great the past two weeks, but I'm not going to hang my hat on those 2 games. Yes, Semore likes to talk X's and O's. If you understand all of what he is saying, then perhaps you can summarize it for me sometime. And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)? Semore may turn out to be the best DC UM has ever had, but the D stats so far this year don't even come close to the great defenses of the 2000 decade. Not even close. I like him and believe he is talented and promising, but I will wait to declare him the savior.

 

[horribilisfan8184]

Pretty hard to make a good comparison of this years D and last years D against CP when the lineups have changed. I get that the CP offensive stats are close to the same, but there are all sorts of factors that play into this. Last years game was at home, this years away. Last year we had Kidder and Holmes, this year just Kidder. You can make arguments like this all days long. I think the overall thing we can come away with is that through the season thus far, our defense has been considerably better than last years.

I'll take Semores defense that plays smart all day long over TG's defense, who has to constantly rely on him to read and call the correct defense. You can see it now at MSU. Their D is constant caught off guard and out of position. As a fan, thats extremely frustrating. The Griz defense this year however has been fun to watch. I for one have really enjoyed it.

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

Giving up 42 points is just not good. UM didn't give up 42 once last year. Gave up 37 and 35 to NDSU. Gave up over 27 only 2 more times. 35 to PSU and 35 to MSU (and in that one the UM D was very good and some of those later points weren't a big deal). It will be interesting to see if the D can handle EWU like they did last year.

I like this year's D and Semore so far, but I will reserve judgment until after the some of the upcoming games. Yes, Semore's system seems to rely less on his signals on each play, but it also means that players have more opportunity for mistakes like not lining up in the right spot. This has happened multiple times this year, and it's hurt the Griz. Semore has said this.

The few times I've watched the Cats, the Cat D has performed fairly well. The last quarter and the last drive of the SS game was an exception. The Cat D was weak and then bad. Couldn't defend the hurry-up offense that SS went to. As I have said, my Cat family members and friends say the Cat D is much better this year than it was last year, but still nothing to write home about.

I guess my main point is that making comparisons like this aren't really useful, and create a dumpster fire of a thread, much like this one. I also don't get why some folks are hanging on to TG so much. He's a decent DC, but lets not pretend he's the key to defensive success. At the very least we haven't lost anything by him leaving, and I personally think we got the far better end of the deal.

Jack, I have been going to breakfast for a lot of years like you every Thursday during football season. I haven't been as impressed hearing a coach talk about defense as I have been with Semore. He is flat out a good coach and knows what he is talking about. I would go as far to say that I like hearing him talk X's and O's more than I do Stitt and the offense. I for one could'nt be happier so far with coach Semore.

It's an internet message board. Much of what occurs in forums like this involves discussions like this. This was a reasonable discussion, compared to many. It wasn't a dumpster fire.

Perhaps the question you should ask, is why are so many posters and Griz fans continuing to bring up TG's name to dump on him? He's gone; he's a Cat. Dozens of posters continue to do that. Almost all of my comments regarding TG are in defense of him after someone trashes him. He's been a friend for many years. I will continue to defend him if people attack him unfairly. And one more thing, based on the conference stats of the major D categories in the 3 year's TG was the DC, UM had the no. 1 ranked defense. A Kaimin article a few weeks ago said Semore inherited the top-ranked defense in the conference. Why is it so hard for some people, apparently you too, to admit that?

Yes, the D looks good this year (minus CP) and Semore seems to have nice talent, but I'm not going to declare the D and Semore great until UM plays some more good teams. The D looked great the past two weeks, but I'm not going to hang my hat on those 2 games. Yes, Semore likes to talk X's and O's. If you understand all of what he is saying, then perhaps you can summarize it for me sometime. And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)? Semore may turn out to be the best DC UM has ever had, but the D stats so far this year don't even come close to the great defenses of the 2000 decade. Not even close. I like him and believe he is talented and promising, but I will wait to declare him the savior.

You answered your own question.

 

[grizindabox]

I am the.....number 1 ranked....spear-chucker....in my neighborhood....means I must be.....good.....amirite....

 

[garizzalies]

And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)?.

You're right. What a breath of fresh air Semore has been this year. He wants his D to constantly improve and what you just described is how that starts (identifying mistakes and weaknesses). This is so much more helpful for the team as a whole instead of making up excuses or blaming the offense. That kind of toxic response does nothing to help improve and can only create friction in the lockerroom and hurt team chemestry.
Thus I believe not only is the scheme light years better than prior years, the team unity is also stronger. The coaches and players have even commented on this issue a few times.
Good catch, PR. Thanks for pointing that out

 

[PlayerRep]

And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)?.

You're right. What a breath of fresh air Semore has been this year. He wants his D to constantly improve and what you just described is how that starts (identifying mistakes and weaknesses). This is so much more helpful for the team as a whole instead of making up excuses or blaming the offense. That kind of toxic response does nothing to help improve and can only create friction in the lockerroom and hurt team chemestry.
Thus I believe not only is the scheme light years better than prior years, the team unity is also stronger. The coaches and players have even commented on this issue a few times.
Good catch, PR. Thanks for pointing that out

TG did the same thing when he was the DC. He didn't make excuses or blame the offense, at least publicly to my knowledge or when I was around him. I call BS to the friction in the locker room stuff. Most teams have big rivalries between the offense and the defense. That doesn't create friction in the locker room. Regarding team chemistry, that starts with the head coach. Stitt seemed to want to make a bunch of changes and get rid of a number of traditions when he arrived at UM. That didn't sit well with a lot of players last year. Yes, the team chemistry seems to be good this year. The coaches appear to have done a good job of fitting the transfers in with the rest of the team. The team also seems to be talented and improving. A number of transfers are very good, and provide depth, and surprises like JLM and Sims have been a big help.

 

[horribilisfan8184]

And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)?.

You're right. What a breath of fresh air Semore has been this year. He wants his D to constantly improve and what you just described is how that starts (identifying mistakes and weaknesses). This is so much more helpful for the team as a whole instead of making up excuses or blaming the offense. That kind of toxic response does nothing to help improve and can only create friction in the lockerroom and hurt team chemestry.
Thus I believe not only is the scheme light years better than prior years, the team unity is also stronger. The coaches and players have even commented on this issue a few times.
Good catch, PR. Thanks for pointing that out

We will be lucky to keep Semore for 3 years.

 

[RayWill]

And, has Semore not said that the D didn't play well against CP, say he took responsibility, say that players are not lined up in the right position at times, say the secondary makes too many eye mistakes, say the D has to do better after turnovers in bad spots (and not give up easy and quick scores)?.

You're right. What a breath of fresh air Semore has been this year. He wants his D to constantly improve and what you just described is how that starts (identifying mistakes and weaknesses). This is so much more helpful for the team as a whole instead of making up excuses or blaming the offense. That kind of toxic response does nothing to help improve and can only create friction in the lockerroom and hurt team chemestry.
Thus I believe not only is the scheme light years better than prior years, the team unity is also stronger. The coaches and players have even commented on this issue a few times.
Good catch, PR. Thanks for pointing that out

TG did the same thing when he was the DC. He didn't make excuses or blame the offense, at least publicly to my knowledge or when I was around him. I call BS to the friction in the locker room stuff. Most teams have big rivalries between the offense and the defense. That doesn't create friction in the locker room. Regarding team chemistry, that starts with the head coach. Stitt seemed to want to make a bunch of changes and get rid of a number of traditions when he arrived at UM. That didn't sit well with a lot of players last year. Yes, the team chemistry seems to be good this year. The coaches appear to have done a good job of fitting the transfers in with the rest of the team. The team also seems to be talented and improving. A number of transfers are very good, and provide depth, and surprises like JLM and Sims have been a big help.

Hook line and sinker garizzalies. Better hang on got a whale now

 

[Bear Axed]

Well, this thread hasn't been a dumpster fire, yet?

The one thing it does show is that about 98% of the Posters on this thread
know that Semore is doing a much better job halfway through his 1st year as DC
than Tyler had done in his past 5

One guy doesn't agree?

 

[PlayerRep]

Well, this thread hasn't been a dumpster fire, yet?

The one thing it does show is that about 98% of the Posters on this thread
know that Semore is doing a much better job halfway through his 1st year as DC
than Tyler had done in his past 5

One guy doesn't agree?

Better job in CP game this year? Oh, really. Will UM have the no. 1 defense in the conference this year? Will UM's defense handle EWU (and NAU)? Agree on great job against MVS and SS. Nice job in first several games too. As I said, Semore may become the best UM DC of all time, but I am not going to declare him the savior at this time. Need more games and data.

 

[Bear Axed]

Well, this thread hasn't been a dumpster fire, yet?

The one thing it does show is that about 98% of the Posters on this thread
know that Semore is doing a much better job halfway through his 1st year as DC
than Tyler had done in his past 5

One guy doesn't agree?

Better job in CP game this year? Oh, really. Will UM have the no. 1 defense in the conference this year? Will UM's defense handle EWU (and NAU)? Agree on great job against MVS and SS. Nice job in first several games too. As I said, Semore may become the best UM DC of all time, but I am not going to declare him the savior at this time. Need more games and data.

Stick to your one game.....and every one else agrees, it's all you got

 

[OmegaGRIZ]

Semore's defense did really well against Cal Poly. After a shaky first half that included two very short-field touchdowns, Semore's halftime adjustments limited Cal Poly, a team averaging 6 yards/carry, to 3.9 in the second half. Who knows what would have happened on the 4th-quarter drive that ended in a touchdown had it not been for Yamen Sander's cramps, but Cal Poly's second half drives went like this (plays-yards): 6-38, 3-(-11), 3-1, 8-70, 3-2, 8-75, 5-6.
Of the 145 yards on the touchdown drives, 94 came on two plays. One of those was attacking a safety who was suffering from cramps, but was forced back onto the field when another safety went down. Credit Cal Poly for recognizing that, but saying the defense didn't play well is obfuscating the facts a little bit.

Oh BS, Kyle. Semore's defense against CP sucked. Even Semore admitted that. The UM defense this year was literally not half as good as last year's. And the offense this year, was literally twice as good as last year's. Sander's cramps, BS. I saw the play, just like you did. Sanders made a huge mistake and let the receiver run past him. At that point of the play, Sanders didn't think the receiver was going to go deep. It had absolutely zero to do with cramps. Sanders was beat at the moment he let the receiver go by. Sanders thouht the receiver was going to do a shorter route. As I have said before, given what happened there, no NFL safety could have made up for that mistake. Please don't tell me that you are defending 8-70 and 8-75. Jeez, you were smarter when you were at that stupid paper, the Missoulian.Ha. Okay, I still love you.

I am sorry, Kyle, but cramps don't cause anyone, including a safety, to not react and let a receiver run by him. That portion of the play, the critical part, has absolutely f***[*] nothing to do with cramps. Zero. Nothing.

Idiot, Kyle hung you out to dry. Consider yourself owned because Semores defense was just fine and a lot better than the previous years.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[OmegaGRIZ]

Well, this thread hasn't been a dumpster fire, yet?

The one thing it does show is that about 98% of the Posters on this thread
know that Semore is doing a much better job halfway through his 1st year as DC
than Tyler had done in his past 5

One guy doesn't agree?

Yep no doubt who know what

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[brewskis]

Talking shit on the cats and their coaches is fun. If that's an issue then maybe you'd be more comfortable in bobcatnation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brewskis]

Well, this thread hasn't been a dumpster fire, yet?

The one thing it does show is that about 98% of the Posters on this thread
know that Semore is doing a much better job halfway through his 1st year as DC
than Tyler had done in his past 5

One guy doesn't agree?

Haha Tyler is such a joker. Giving him to lil brother and promoting Semore was the best move any Griz head coach has made. Stitt will slap Tyler like a red-headed stepchild in November.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mavman]

Pretty hard to make a good comparison of this years D and last years D against CP when the lineups have changed. I get that the CP offensive stats are close to the same, but there are all sorts of factors that play into this. Last years game was at home, this years away. Last year we had Kidder and Holmes, this year just Kidder. You can make arguments like this all days long. I think the overall thing we can come away with is that through the season thus far, our defense has been considerably better than last years.

I'll take Semores defense that plays smart all day long over TG's defense, who has to constantly rely on him to read and call the correct defense. You can see it now at MSU. Their D is constant caught off guard and out of position. As a fan, thats extremely frustrating. The Griz defense this year however has been fun to watch. I for one have really enjoyed it.

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

Giving up 42 points is just not good. UM didn't give up 42 once last year. Gave up 37 and 35 to NDSU. Gave up over 27 only 2 more times. 35 to PSU and 35 to MSU (and in that one the UM D was very good and some of those later points weren't a big deal). It will be interesting to see if the D can handle EWU like they did last year.

I like this year's D and Semore so far, but I will reserve judgment until after the some of the upcoming games. Yes, Semore's system seems to rely less on his signals on each play, but it also means that players have more opportunity for mistakes like not lining up in the right spot. This has happened multiple times this year, and it's hurt the Griz. Semore has said this.

The few times I've watched the Cats, the Cat D has performed fairly well. The last quarter and the last drive of the SS game was an exception. The Cat D was weak and then bad. Couldn't defend the hurry-up offense that SS went to. As I have said, my Cat family members and friends say the Cat D is much better this year than it was last year, but still nothing to write home about.

Now that is a game that you can not compare from last year to this year. Ewu had the wheels coming off and missing some big playmakers. This years EWU team is waaay better.

 

[PlayerRep]

Semore's defense did really well against Cal Poly. After a shaky first half that included two very short-field touchdowns, Semore's halftime adjustments limited Cal Poly, a team averaging 6 yards/carry, to 3.9 in the second half. Who knows what would have happened on the 4th-quarter drive that ended in a touchdown had it not been for Yamen Sander's cramps, but Cal Poly's second half drives went like this (plays-yards): 6-38, 3-(-11), 3-1, 8-70, 3-2, 8-75, 5-6.
Of the 145 yards on the touchdown drives, 94 came on two plays. One of those was attacking a safety who was suffering from cramps, but was forced back onto the field when another safety went down. Credit Cal Poly for recognizing that, but saying the defense didn't play well is obfuscating the facts a little bit.

Oh BS, Kyle. Semore's defense against CP sucked. Even Semore admitted that. The UM defense this year was literally not half as good as last year's. And the offense this year, was literally twice as good as last year's. Sander's cramps, BS. I saw the play, just like you did. Sanders made a huge mistake and let the receiver run past him. At that point of the play, Sanders didn't think the receiver was going to go deep. It had absolutely zero to do with cramps. Sanders was beat at the moment he let the receiver go by. Sanders thouht the receiver was going to do a shorter route. As I have said before, given what happened there, no NFL safety could have made up for that mistake. Please don't tell me that you are defending 8-70 and 8-75. Jeez, you were smarter when you were at that stupid paper, the Missoulian.Ha. Okay, I still love you.

I am sorry, Kyle, but cramps don't cause anyone, including a safety, to not react and let a receiver run by him. That portion of the play, the critical part, has absolutely f***[*] nothing to do with cramps. Zero. Nothing.

Idiot, Kyle hung you out to dry. Consider yourself owned because Semores defense was just fine and a lot better than the previous years.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Nope. A cramp doesn't result in a d-back letting a receiver run by him. A mistake does. If you had ever played the game, you would know that. Semore's or UM's defense was not fine in the CP game. UM didn't give up over 40 points once last season. In fact, gave up over 27 only 4 times, 2 to NDSU. Even you should know that giving up 20 points is way better than giving up 42.

 

[PlayerRep]

Pretty hard to make a good comparison of this years D and last years D against CP when the lineups have changed. I get that the CP offensive stats are close to the same, but there are all sorts of factors that play into this. Last years game was at home, this years away. Last year we had Kidder and Holmes, this year just Kidder. You can make arguments like this all days long. I think the overall thing we can come away with is that through the season thus far, our defense has been considerably better than last years.

I'll take Semores defense that plays smart all day long over TG's defense, who has to constantly rely on him to read and call the correct defense. You can see it now at MSU. Their D is constant caught off guard and out of position. As a fan, thats extremely frustrating. The Griz defense this year however has been fun to watch. I for one have really enjoyed it.

It's not hard to compare this year's D against CP to last year's D against CP. Jeez, look at the points and stats. Comparisons like this are made all the time. Are you saying that Griz teams and seasons can't be compared to each other, because they happened in different years and things have changed? I don't know how anyone could conclude anything other than that last year's UM D performance was considerably better than this year's. It's just a fact. It's really not disputable. Now, that doesn't mean last year's D was better than this year's D, or that TG was a better DC than Semore. And I have not tried to make any such argument, by the way. I was discussing the very narrow point.

Giving up 42 points is just not good. UM didn't give up 42 once last year. Gave up 37 and 35 to NDSU. Gave up over 27 only 2 more times. 35 to PSU and 35 to MSU (and in that one the UM D was very good and some of those later points weren't a big deal). It will be interesting to see if the D can handle EWU like they did last year.

I like this year's D and Semore so far, but I will reserve judgment until after the some of the upcoming games. Yes, Semore's system seems to rely less on his signals on each play, but it also means that players have more opportunity for mistakes like not lining up in the right spot. This has happened multiple times this year, and it's hurt the Griz. Semore has said this.

The few times I've watched the Cats, the Cat D has performed fairly well. The last quarter and the last drive of the SS game was an exception. The Cat D was weak and then bad. Couldn't defend the hurry-up offense that SS went to. As I have said, my Cat family members and friends say the Cat D is much better this year than it was last year, but still nothing to write home about.

Now that is a game that you can not compare from last year to this year. Ewu had the wheels coming off and missing some big playmakers. This years EWU team is waaay better.

Of course, I can compare that game, and I will.