Does a bad O make the D better?

[RTRMR]

Honest question….does a terrible offense beget a good defense?

OK, now hear me out…..

This year, this offense is scaring NO ONE. The most points the offense has put up in a conference game is 28. So, because no team fears us, offensively, they know that 24-27 points SHOULD beat us. In other teams knowing this, does it change the way they call plays? The more risks you take in play calling = the greater chance of turnovers, and in turn, giving an anemic offense momentum. So, do teams dial down their playbook/play conservatively, when playing us, so as to not beat themselves? IF teams are, in fact doing this, does it lead to better defensive statistics?

Not saying I necessarily agree with the above, just something to consider.

 

[fkkkjm]

Does a stupid question beget brilliant answers? In all seriousness - Nobody on our schedule is looking past us, so I don’t think the above is true. We played OSU tough the whole game and Day said we’re a tough out. Why would someone like harbaugh or Tucker even think like that?

 

[JWB389]

Honest question….does a terrible offense beget a good defense?

OK, now hear me out…..

This year, this offense is scaring NO ONE. The most points the offense has put up in a conference game is 28. So, because no team fears us, offensively, they know that 24-27 points SHOULD beat us. In other teams knowing this, does it change the way they call plays? The more risks you take in play calling = the greater chance of turnovers, and in turn, giving an anemic offense momentum. So, do teams dial down their playbook/play conservatively, when playing us, so as to not beat themselves? IF teams are, in fact doing this, does it lead to better defensive statistics?

Not saying I necessarily agree with the above, just something to consider.

I bet there is some truth to that, but I'm not sure we could prove it. I've thought OSU did that this year and in previous years. Perhaps even Michigan.

 

[RTRMR]

Does a stupid question beget brilliant answers? In all seriousness - Nobody on our schedule is looking past us, so I don’t think the above is true. We played OSU tough the whole game and Day said we’re a tough out. Why would someone like harbaugh or Tucker even think like that?

Think like what? If you play conservatively, and don’t turn the ball over, you win?

 

[heckmans]

Honest question….does a terrible offense beget a good defense?

OK, now hear me out…..

This year, this offense is scaring NO ONE. The most points the offense has put up in a conference game is 28. So, because no team fears us, offensively, they know that 24-27 points SHOULD beat us. In other teams knowing this, does it change the way they call plays? The more risks you take in play calling = the greater chance of turnovers, and in turn, giving an anemic offense momentum. So, do teams dial down their playbook/play conservatively, when playing us, so as to not beat themselves? IF teams are, in fact doing this, does it lead to better defensive statistics?

Not saying I necessarily agree with the above, just something to consider.

That's some serious mental gymnastics. A terrible offense puts the D on the field for more plays and on shorter fields. A terrible offense makes the D perform worse than it otherwise would.

Conversely, a great offense can make the D's job easier by 1) preventing them from spending too much time on the field, and 2) forcing the opponent's O into predictable situational play-calling.

 

[JoeLion]

The overall defense has been good all year, from game #1. The line has had challenges due to injuries but LB and secondary play has been very good. They are good because they are talented and play with aggressive discipline

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Goodgrief!

 

[bvillebaron]

That's some serious mental gymnastics. A terrible offense puts the D on the field for more plays and on shorter fields. A terrible offense makes the D perform worse than it otherwise would.

Conversely, a great offense can make the D's job easier by 1) preventing them from spending too much time on the field, and 2) forcing the opponent's O into predictable situational play-calling.

BINGO.

 

[slykens]

The overall defense has been good all year, from game #1. The line has had challenges due to injuries but LB and secondary play has been very good. They are good because they are talented and play with aggressive discipline

I really like the defense this year but they’ve also had some incredibly frustrating errors at very inopportune times.

The blown coverages on the final TDs in the Iowa and Michigan gave up leads the team never got back. There was another blown coverage TD and long TD run against Ohio State. I’m not saying if none of these plays are blown that PSU wins those games but I think limiting explosive plays in critical situations could have helped win especially with a crappy offense.

Don’t get me wrong - I agree that this is a very good defense overall but I’d like to see a few things cleaned up for next year.

 

[Limestoner]

The answer to your question is sometimes, but not this time. Yes, while PSU's run game does not scare anyone with a healthy Clifford they still beat some good teams, would have destroyed Iowa, and played OSU tougher than any other Big10 team this season. PSU's D is legit and that has nothing to do with their offense.

 

[fastlax16]

I really like the defense this year but they’ve also had some incredibly frustrating errors at very inopportune times.

The blown coverages on the final TDs in the Iowa and Michigan gave up leads the team never got back. There was another blown coverage TD and long TD run against Ohio State. I’m not saying if none of these plays are blown that PSU wins those games but I think limiting explosive plays in critical situations could have helped win especially with a crappy offense.

Don’t get me wrong - I agree that this is a very good defense overall but I’d like to see a few things cleaned up for next year.

Unless youre the 2000 Ravens, you can't have an offense that demands your defense play absolutely perfect week in and week out. No defense is going to prevent absolutely every big play, but if you have an offense that can score some points reliably, not every big play is fatal.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Actually could be some truth to this hypothesis. O and D are complimentary. Football is very situational and both sides game plan accordingly. A lousy O can hurt the D as the D will spend more time on the field, get tired and especially be more susceptible to injuries over a season.

But a real great O can also hurt a D. Think 94 offense. They scored so quickly and so often that the D was on the field for most of the game. And one of the knocks on us by the polls was that we gave up so many points. They ignored that the D was on the field about 70% of the time.

So the OP could have some truth to it. Lots of people said that we played far too conservative against Illinois because we knew it would be a very low scoring game and didn’t want to risk a critical turnover. Perhaps opposing teams call a conservative game if they feel it will be a very low scoring game. Depends on the OC. Some might take more risk so as to score. Others may play it close to the best to avoid mistakes. Much of that would depend on the ability of the opposing O and if their OC has faith in them playing a clean game.

 

[ryoder1]

I really like the defense this year but they’ve also had some incredibly frustrating errors at very inopportune times.

The blown coverages on the final TDs in the Iowa and Michigan gave up leads the team never got back. There was another blown coverage TD and long TD run against Ohio State. I’m not saying if none of these plays are blown that PSU wins those games but I think limiting explosive plays in critical situations could have helped win especially with a crappy offense.

Don’t get me wrong - I agree that this is a very good defense overall but I’d like to see a few things cleaned up for next year.

Yep, a very solid defense but certainly not elite. Elite Ds do not give up game winning big plays in crunch time. Also they don't give up all those rushing yards to a below average Illinois team.

The scUM loss was so frustrating because the D played well the whole game then inexplicably plays their worst when we needed them to come through the most. The other thing about that game which was frustrating about the D is I believe scUM cashed in on 2 TDs on their only trips in the red zone. We generally are good about limiting red zone TDs but not that game. So we give up a back breaker big play in winning time plus allow them to convert TDs on both red zone trips. If we forced one of those red zone trips to be a FG then they only tie us with their last TD. We may still have lost but our chances of winning go up significantly.