After watching the Superbowl last night, it made think once again that defense is the key. Denver's edge rushers essentially won the game for them. IMO, if OU wins another NC in my lifetime, it will be because our defense is bad *** like in 2000.
Defense
- Thread starter SoonerMikee05
- Start date
I agree with everything you said. Football still comes down to playing defense and being able to run the ball.
When Mark Jackson was committed to A&M they were comparing him to Von Miller on all their boards. Even a couple of guys I work with were saying that they have the next Von Miller in the making. Lets hope they were right and the guy turns out to be that good.
Has anyone mentioned "Defense Wins Championships" more than 100 times in the last 3 or 4 years???
Yep man that old adage about defense winning championships is still as correct today as it ever has been. I've believed that for years, and I've been saying it for years and years. All these fancy and flashy offenses in the Big XII are fun to watch, but in the end it's going to be your defense that carries your team to that title.
It seems to be true for every sport but in some cases I think it's because in these pressure situations, offensively, teams tend to slow down and focus on execution. Maybe a fear of not making the big mistakes that can change the flow of momentum.
Miller dominated a game more than I've seen a defensive player do it for many, many years.
Denver consistently loaded the box, had someone covering Newton almost every play, and went man coverage on the receivers. Daring him to pass them out of it. He couldn't do it.
Similar to what Bama did the 2nd half to Clemson. What we did the 1st half to Clemson before Evans got knocked out.
Evans getting hurt still stings.
Similar to what Bama did the 2nd half to Clemson. What we did the 1st half to Clemson before Evans got knocked out.
Evans getting hurt still stings.
Ya Newton never could because of the pressure. Same thing that Denver was able to do to Tom Brady a couple of weeks ago. Both of them were constantly under pressure. Like Mikee said in the OP, those DE's for Denver were just sick.
I like how Denver played their game and let the rush get after it.
Feel like we have games where we are too scared to really attack the athletic QB since Mike Stoops came back.
Feel like we have games where we are too scared to really attack the athletic QB since Mike Stoops came back.
It's always a crapshoot.
Blitz four and leave single coverage on a breakaway stud receiver.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Blitz four and leave single coverage on a breakaway stud receiver.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
We haven't had really great defensive ends that can pressure a QB like those guys do. Dan Cody was probably our last one, and it was his junior year when we were really great at both ends - Cody and Wilkerson.
Many, if not most times, the "athletic QB" is a run first/throw second QB. Unless you have Denver's defense, you don't WANT to "let the rush get after it".
Wisdom and experience says you do just what Denver did.
They didn't blitz every play, they spied Cam, loaded the box to take away the run, and played man coverage. Any good NFL QB will eat you up if you play man the entire game. Cam couldn't. The aforementioned strategy kept him from running around until someone was wide open, ala VY's one successful NFL season.
Coach Mike took a similar approach in 2014, even with a very inexperienced secondary, until injuries on the DL after the WV game proved we didn't have the depth to keep it up.
The game has changed. Dener's DE's are a great example of why DE's are valued greater in the draft these days over RBs.
Good point. Michael Vick is still the greatest college football player that I was alive to witness, and Beamer couldn't win a championship with him. So many other coaches have been able to do it on the back of a single player, but he couldn't do it with Vick.