Jed's Midseason Grades: Defense
October 15, 2011 10:10 AM | General
MSN radio sideline reporter Jed Drenning is providing periodic commentary on the Mountaineer football program for MSNsportsNET.com. You can also read more about Mountaineer football at Jed’s website http://thesignalcaller.com. You can also follow Jed on Twitter: @TheSignalCaller
With seven starters lost (including four NFL draftees) from one of the most formidable units in school history, 2011 had many of the hallmarks of a rebuilding year for Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel and company.
Even the return of quarterback-clobbering fan favorite Bruce Irvin was tempered by the uncertainty of how he would respond in his new role as an every down player. With Irvin’s pass rushing counterpart Julian Miller hampered with an early season injury, the Mountaineers did more shuffling than sacking through the season’s first six games.
But once again this resilient unit has not only survived to tell the tale but has flourished along the way. At the midway point, the Mountaineers rank 38th in the nation in scoring defense (21.5 per game). Had UConn not scored on a pick-6 midway through the fourth quarter last week, the Mountaineers would rank exactly 10 spots higher at No. 28. Moreover, West Virginia ranks 18th in the nation (and 2nd in the Big East) in yards allowed and has held four of six opponents to 16 or fewer points.
In fact, in half of the six games played so far this year, WVU didn’t allow a single defensive touchdown. None of this, however, touches on the Mountaineer defense’s propensity to swell up and make key plays and provide high quality situational football that doesn’t always surface on the stat sheet. Cases in point:
• Clinging to a six-point advantage late in the fourth quarter at Maryland, West Virginia’s defense had been on the field for 86 snaps and was on its heels as the Terps were driving for the potential go ahead score. Maryland had reduced a 34-10 Mountaineer lead to 37-31 and the crowd of 53,627 had become a factor. The Terps marched to the WVU 35-yard and just when the Mountaineers needed a play the most DB Eain smith delivered, picking off Maryland QB Danny O’Brien with 1:13 left inside the West Virginia 20-yard line to seal the win. It was West Virginia’s third interception of the day.
• With a feisty UConn team trailing just 10-9 early in the third quarter and driving for a go-ahead score, WVU’s Pat Miller forced Connecticut’s Lyle McCombs to cough up the football at the Mountaineer 10-yard line. West Virginia linebacker Jewone Snow scooped up the loose ball and rambled 78 yards to the Huskies 22. The play set the table for a Geno Smith-to-Tavon Austin TD strike that extended the WVU lead to 17-9 and effectively deflated UConn as the Huskies offense mustered a mere 32 yards the rest of the afternoon.
With upcoming conference games against Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville (teams that rank 100th, 106th and 94th in total offense, respectively) might we expect this defense to really begin asserting itself in the coming weeks?
Either way, West Virginia is already No. 23 in the nation in third down defense and the Mountaineers have only allowed the opposition to reach the end zone nine times in 20 red zone visits. WVU has forced nine turnovers – two fewer than they had at this point last year. That number will grow in bursts as the sack totals increase, but at this point the Mountaineers haven’t been as opportunistic as they would like to be. A marginal number of takeaways, coupled with some rough patches against the run game (188 by Maryland and 186 by LSU) make this unit’s grade lower right now than it could be by the end of the year, but still impressive nevertheless considering the talent lost on this side of the football.
DEFENSIVE GRADE: B-
Check back on Sunday to see what grade I assign to the West Virginia special teams units.
With seven starters lost (including four NFL draftees) from one of the most formidable units in school history, 2011 had many of the hallmarks of a rebuilding year for Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel and company.
Even the return of quarterback-clobbering fan favorite Bruce Irvin was tempered by the uncertainty of how he would respond in his new role as an every down player. With Irvin’s pass rushing counterpart Julian Miller hampered with an early season injury, the Mountaineers did more shuffling than sacking through the season’s first six games.
But once again this resilient unit has not only survived to tell the tale but has flourished along the way. At the midway point, the Mountaineers rank 38th in the nation in scoring defense (21.5 per game). Had UConn not scored on a pick-6 midway through the fourth quarter last week, the Mountaineers would rank exactly 10 spots higher at No. 28. Moreover, West Virginia ranks 18th in the nation (and 2nd in the Big East) in yards allowed and has held four of six opponents to 16 or fewer points.
In fact, in half of the six games played so far this year, WVU didn’t allow a single defensive touchdown. None of this, however, touches on the Mountaineer defense’s propensity to swell up and make key plays and provide high quality situational football that doesn’t always surface on the stat sheet. Cases in point:
• Clinging to a six-point advantage late in the fourth quarter at Maryland, West Virginia’s defense had been on the field for 86 snaps and was on its heels as the Terps were driving for the potential go ahead score. Maryland had reduced a 34-10 Mountaineer lead to 37-31 and the crowd of 53,627 had become a factor. The Terps marched to the WVU 35-yard and just when the Mountaineers needed a play the most DB Eain smith delivered, picking off Maryland QB Danny O’Brien with 1:13 left inside the West Virginia 20-yard line to seal the win. It was West Virginia’s third interception of the day.
• With a feisty UConn team trailing just 10-9 early in the third quarter and driving for a go-ahead score, WVU’s Pat Miller forced Connecticut’s Lyle McCombs to cough up the football at the Mountaineer 10-yard line. West Virginia linebacker Jewone Snow scooped up the loose ball and rambled 78 yards to the Huskies 22. The play set the table for a Geno Smith-to-Tavon Austin TD strike that extended the WVU lead to 17-9 and effectively deflated UConn as the Huskies offense mustered a mere 32 yards the rest of the afternoon.
With upcoming conference games against Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville (teams that rank 100th, 106th and 94th in total offense, respectively) might we expect this defense to really begin asserting itself in the coming weeks?
Either way, West Virginia is already No. 23 in the nation in third down defense and the Mountaineers have only allowed the opposition to reach the end zone nine times in 20 red zone visits. WVU has forced nine turnovers – two fewer than they had at this point last year. That number will grow in bursts as the sack totals increase, but at this point the Mountaineers haven’t been as opportunistic as they would like to be. A marginal number of takeaways, coupled with some rough patches against the run game (188 by Maryland and 186 by LSU) make this unit’s grade lower right now than it could be by the end of the year, but still impressive nevertheless considering the talent lost on this side of the football.
DEFENSIVE GRADE: B-
Check back on Sunday to see what grade I assign to the West Virginia special teams units.
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