Defensive stats through 5 games

ICHawk24

ICHawk24

Well-Known Member
This defense is turning out to be very, very good.

7th nationally in yards per game.
12th nationally allowing 2.91 yards per carry.
11th nationally allowing 5.4 yards per attempt.
13th in yards per play.
14th in completion percentage.
8th in interceptions with 8.
16th in passer rating.

Everyone is down on the pass defense, and while there are some things that need to be worked on, it has been very good so far.
 
Norm must be back in the meeting room because everyone said this wasn't possible without him. I get we haven't gotten to the tough part of the schedule, but if you can't see that our front seven is pretty damn good, you aren't watching the same games. Carl Davis and LTP are immovable...and playing at a very high level. I also think it's time the people who were down on Morris, eat some freaking crow. The dude can play and he will be playing on Sunday. You have to realize that he's still very young...he really should have had a redshirt year...but was forced into action.

I loved that Phil Parker was up Lowrey's arse yesterday for missing the jam and getting beat. That's two big ones he's given up to give a team hope. He should have had his foot in BJ's butt. I tip my hat to Phil Parker...and his staff on the defensive side of the ball. With this defense, we will win against MSU, Purdue, and Nebraska. NW, OSU, Wisconsin, and Michigan are going to be tough, but our D will keep us in the game, save for OSU. Damn they have a ton of athletes on offense...and they all make plays. Right now, OSU is the only one I say is really stacked against us.
 
The biggest defensive stat is this: They are only on the field for 24:10 per game. That is less than 6:03 per quarter. A rested Defense performs closer to their peak and makes fewer mistakes.
 
We did a great job getting to the QB yesterday which surprised me. But the thing that is sticking out as the largest improvement of the line so far this year is their ability to keep containment. Last year, they were relying on the linebackers getting to the outside and bringing runners back towards the center of the field. Granted, the linebackers have been doing a great job assisting this year and getting tackles, but the line has been keeping containment themselves and closing gaps.
 
ICHawk24 said:
This defense is turning out to be very, very good.

7th nationally in yards per game.
12th nationally allowing 2.91 yards per carry.
11th nationally allowing 5.4 yards per attempt.
13th in yards per play.
14th in completion percentage.
8th in interceptions with 8.
16th in passer rating.

Everyone is down on the pass defense, and while there are some things that need to be worked on, it has been very good so far.
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8th in 3rd down conversion defense, 16th in scoring defense.

For comparison, Michigan State is: #1 in total and passer efficiency D, #2 in rushing, #3 in third down conversion D, #10 scoring D. Should be a great game this week.
 
biasedHAWKEYE said:
8th in 3rd down conversion defense, 16th in scoring defense.

For comparison, Michigan State is: #1 in total and passer efficiency D, #2 in rushing, #3 in third down conversion D, #10 scoring D. Should be a great game this week.
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yeah, MSU makes a living on stopping the run. it will be a really interesting match up.
 
i also was surprised to see us get to the QB so many times. outside of this game, i thought we had a pretty good run D, but very limited pass rush. we'll see if this week was the beginning of that, or just an anomaly. we have a very smart, and fundamentally sound, front 7 when it comes to rushing D. they know their job, read their keys, and keep contain very well. that will be tested in the coming weeks, but it's very promising.
 
bitmap said:
The biggest defensive stat is this: They are only on the field for 24:10 per game. That is less than 6:03 per quarter. A rested Defense performs closer to their peak and makes fewer mistakes.
Click to expand...

I really like this stat. It is a credit to the offensive ability to put together multiple long drives throughout the game (getting points off those drives will be another thread). But it is keeping the defense fresher. I've also noticed the core group of the d-line is getting many more reps because of it; and they are still being quite effective. Guys like Hardy, Meier, Coop, Johnson, etc are getting less reps. And it seems to be working pretty well.

With the exception of the secondary at times, I'd say I am very pleased with the D so far.
 
Go check our defensive stats through 6 weeks last year and get back to us. We have yet to play a team with a pulse outside of NIU, who put up 30 points and 438 yards on us. Get back to me after we play OSU, Bucky, jNW, and 'Braska. K thx bai.
 
GlassHawk said:
Go check our defensive stats through 6 weeks last year and get back to us. We have yet to play a team with a pulse outside of NIU, who put up 30 points and 438 yards on us. Get back to me after we play OSU, Bucky, jNW, and 'Braska. K thx bai.
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glass as in made of glass?
 
GlassHawk said:
Go check our defensive stats through 6 weeks last year and get back to us. We have yet to play a team with a pulse outside of NIU, who put up 30 points and 438 yards on us. Get back to me after we play OSU, Bucky, jNW, and 'Braska. K thx bai.
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What do you want? We have a top ranked defense, and we've played one ranked team and two BCS level teams on the road in rivalry games. If you can't see this defense is full of playmakers, you're either recovering from a massive headwound, blind, or an idiot troll.
 
GlassHawk said:
Go check our defensive stats through 6 weeks last year and get back to us. We have yet to play a team with a pulse outside of NIU, who put up 30 points and 438 yards on us. Get back to me after we play OSU, Bucky, jNW, and 'Braska. K thx bai.
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Our defensive numbers weren't even close to this good last year through 5 games.
 
bitmap said:
The biggest defensive stat is this: They are only on the field for 24:10 per game. That is less than 6:03 per quarter. A rested Defense performs closer to their peak and makes fewer mistakes.
Click to expand...

^ this is a great point. Far fewer 3 and outs by the hawks offense.... and even flipping the field helps.
 
HawkeyeMcNutt said:
Our defensive numbers weren't even close to this good last year through 5 games.
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The numbers were closer than you think. After MSU (game 6) we were:

19th in total defense (vs. 7th now)
31st rushing D (7th now)
28th passing D (29th now)
21st in scoring defense (17th now)
30th in pass efficiency defense (16th now)
40th in 3rd down defense (8th now)
15th in 4th down defense (102nd now)
17th in first downs allowed (21 now)

http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/football/51399-hawks-d-real.html
 
MSU’s offense is much more balanced than Minnesota. They are equally bad at both running and passing the ball. That being said, Iowa’s is going to have to tighten up coverage of the soft spots underneath the coverage. The last thing Iowa wants to do is let a bad quarterback and his receivers, play pitch and catch in front of a soft zone.
 
Billso said:
The numbers were closer than you think. After MSU (game 6) we were:

19th in total defense (vs. 7th now)
31st rushing D (7th now)
28th passing D (29th now)
21st in scoring defense (17th now)
30th in pass efficiency defense (16th now)
40th in 3rd down defense (8th now)
15th in 4th down defense (102nd now)
17th in first downs allowed (21 now)

http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/football/51399-hawks-d-real.html
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I actually remember Iowa's defense last year being surprisingly decent at times-- as opposed to the awful fans were worried about in the beginning of the year. Although there were some exceptions (see: Central Michigan, Penn State, Michigan) where everything went wrong. The offense was by far the worst part of last year.

The defensive line got pushed around a lot last year, but you could argue that with Hyde Iowa's secondary was better last season: the Hawkeyes are playing a true freshman at corner after all and isn't Lowdermilk also a first time starter at one of the safety spots? This said, it would be hard to argue watching Iowa play this year that the defensive line hasn't improved. The linebackers, as long as they stay healthy, will remain excellent.

This isn't a dominant defense, though, clearly. They still need to show they can stop a dynamic offensive team like Northwestern or Ohio State, which I suspect might be hard games for Iowa to win. They should continue to do well against styles Iowa matches up well with historically, though, so Michigan State and Wisconsin should be fun.
 
Billso said:
The numbers were closer than you think. After MSU (game 6) we were:

19th in total defense (vs. 7th now)
31st rushing D (7th now)
28th passing D (29th now)
21st in scoring defense (17th now)
30th in pass efficiency defense (16th now)
40th in 3rd down defense (8th now)
15th in 4th down defense (102nd now)
17th in first downs allowed (21 now)

http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/football/51399-hawks-d-real.html
Click to expand...

Last year's defense was by no means an abysmal defense -- they ended up with a respectable national ranking. If the offense had been ranked about the same, I suspect Iowa would've won 9 games. So there is only so much scope for improving the defense -- if we only move up 10-15 spots over last year, that's great. So the 4 million dollar question is whether the Offense can rank in the fifties or better.

Edit: Hawsel, either I missed your post or was typing at the same time.
 
While watching either The Final Drive or one of the Post Game shows on the BTN yesterday they said that Iowa was one of only three teams that has yet to give up a rushing TD this year.
 
GlassHawk said:
Go check our defensive stats through 6 weeks last year and get back to us. We have yet to play a team with a pulse outside of NIU, who put up 30 points and 438 yards on us. Get back to me after we play OSU, Bucky, jNW, and 'Braska. K thx bai.
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See, here is the problem with your logic on this one: Every BCS team of note has played the "cupcake" teams at this point in their schedules. So, you are basically comparing Iowa's defense against lesser competition to other teams' defenses against lesser competition. Now, Iowa has played, as another poster pointed out correctly, two BCS teams on their home fields and has won both games...I would say, decisively. They were beaten by a team that is likely a top 25 team at this point. So, I think you can look at Iowa's defensive stats, compare them to other teams around the country, and start to draw some conclusions. I do agree that its possible, even likely, that as Iowa's schedule toughens up, their stats may not be so stellar. However, that will be true of most BCS teams as they begin their conference schedules. Does that make sense to you, or am I missing something? Would like to hear your thoughts.
 
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