Arkansas loss produces moves in the secondary

[SlickRick]

We will probably see more backfield moves as we get deeper into the season. I hope it's intelligent evaluation of talent and not because our staff chooses to blame the secondary for the entire D's lack of contribution to each play. If we keep allowing every QB time to stretch the field... you cannot blame the D secondary each and every game.

In reality, after game one... UL's secondary was more impressive than Arkansas's. If Terrance would have had the time Allen had... we had wide, wide, wide open receivers that a blind QB could have located. Arkansas's secondary had more blown coverages than UL's. Way more.

Overall, I agree. The defense kind of did what I expected, but Tillman was burned twice for TD's and that has to be corrected, especially the TD scored on the bootleg play where he left his man wide open in the endzone. There's a lot of depth in the secondary, so moving personnel around makes sense at this point in the season. I was more disappointed with the offense. I expected we would score more points and after seeing the game in person, we could have easily scored 31 points on them.

The biggest problem I saw on defense was our inability to stop the run outside the tackles. We did not have the speed on the edges and they burnt us all day. Running over 20 plays to their right side and 7-8 to the left. So, the decision to give Alexander and Barksdale more playing time on the field is all about increasing OLB speed. Also, Patt and Riles are better tacklers and have excellent speed as well. Our inability to stop the run is the reason their QB had more time to throw. Play action is a _____ when you are successfully running the ball!

I read on NBC CFT that Snyder will give his running QB (Sams) more snaps this weekend. Their Juco QB (Waters) only had 1 yard on 11 carries against the NDSU. So, the moves we are making this week seems to be the right way to go given what we saw last week and what we expect to see this week.

[SlickRick]

I agree. I wasn't expecting anymore out of the defense than what was shown. However, 14 points from our offense that only lost 2 starters....pathetic!

"Pathetic"...that's a bit harsh at this point in the season. We lost 4 starters, 5 if you include Blaine G. Offenses don't always click right away. Even the Saints have games where the offense is not working on all cylinders. I expect to see better results this week. I was disappointed in the offense last Saturday, but it wasn't "pathetic". Loosen up a bit.

[Bigbuf]

We will probably see more backfield moves as we get deeper into the season. I hope it's intelligent evaluation of talent and not because our staff chooses to blame the secondary for the entire D's lack of contribution to each play. If we keep allowing every QB time to stretch the field... you cannot blame the D secondary each and every game.

In reality, after game one... UL's secondary was more impressive than Arkansas's. If Terrance would have had the time Allen had... we had wide, wide, wide open receivers that a blind QB could have located. Arkansas's secondary had more blown coverages than UL's. Way more.

Tillman was burned twice (once REALLY bad) and was picked on by the hogs all game. While Trim was making tackle after tackel (7) Tillman had none. Make no mistake about it the secondary is the weak spot of the D. HUD has said all along that they need to find the best four in the secondary. I like that changes but what I like even more is that the changes are happening NOW rather than later.

Arkansas may have blown coverage that we didn't take advantage of, but I don't think that should even enter the equation as to whether the secondary has the right people in position because with the two burns by Tillman we obviously don't not have the right guy there and I think if you move one you should look at the whole package. Hell Stover is getting a chance....man I like how things are moving so fast and I don't think there is a better time than now, it's out of league play (remember Sun Belt Champs), they get a look at a legendary coach's team and a look at a mobile QB.

[CajunAlum10]

Any word on if Stover has the accuracy? I know Brauchle botched an easy one Saturday but alot of that has to be associated with nerves.... he has obviously proven in the past that he's an accurate kicker. But does Stover have the accuracy? We know he has the leg... that's for damned sure. It'll be interesting to see how the kicker position plays out over the course of the year. Just goes to show you that the Kicker has a lot more meaning to a team than some people want to believe.

[Just1More]

Tillman was burned twice (once REALLY bad) and was picked on by the hogs all game. While Trim was making tackle after tackel (7) Tillman had none. Make no mistake about it the secondary is the weak spot of the D. HUD has said all along that they need to find the best four in the secondary. I like that changes but what I like even more is that the changes are happening NOW rather than later.

Arkansas may have blown coverage that we didn't take advantage of, but I don't think that should even enter the equation as to whether the secondary has the right people in position because with the two burns by Tillman we obviously don't not have the right guy there and I think if you move one you should look at the whole package. Hell Stover is getting a chance....man I like how things are moving so fast and I don't think there is a better time than now, it's out of league play (remember Sun Belt Champs), they get a look at a legendary coach's team and a look at a mobile QB.

You are missing my point to some extent. The title of this thread implies that "as a result of the loss" secondary changes were made. I know we have a "secondary under construction". But, I'm not blaming them for the loss. Their blown coverages were no worse than Arkansas's (and I doubt they have an article saying "secondary changes due to win"). My point isn't about who sucks on offense or defense. I give the players more credit than the coaching staff this past Saturday. I wasn't impressed with our offensive play calling, short the first two drives (not the red zone decision of the first drive) and short the use of Maxwell, finally. We were running the ball very well, and ditched it. We gave up a field goal - nearly a TD at the end of the first half, because our staff actually thought our D could stop Ark and get the ball back - and call TOs - I didn't like it, even if we did get the ball back.

I wasn't counting on a stellar D against Ark. I expected better decisions on offense. My point going forward - against much lesser competition - is that if our D - against these weaker offensive lines - doesn't get disruptive - I don't want the stereotypical fan bellyaching about "our lousy secondary". An non disruptive DL can make a pro level secondary look bad. We are notorious for not getting into anyone's backfield. It needs to be a major concern of our staff. The projected tough games ahead of us are in the "we may lose" column because of their offensive threats. We cannot, for those games, just have our DL and LBs "maintaining your lane". They have to break up plays. If not, I don't care what arrangement of DBs and Safeties we come up with - they will get burned.

[Bigbuf]

You are missing my point to some extent. The title of this thread implies that "as a result of the loss" secondary changes were made. I know we have a "secondary under construction". But, I'm not blaming them for the loss. Their blown coverages were no worse than Arkansas's (and I doubt they have an article saying "secondary changes due to win"). My point isn't about who sucks on offense or defense. I give the players more credit than the coaching staff this past Saturday. I wasn't impressed with our offensive play calling, short the first two drives (not the red zone decision of the first drive) and short the use of Maxwell, finally. We were running the ball very well, and ditched it. We gave up a field goal - nearly a TD at the end of the first half, because our staff actually thought our D could stop Ark and get the ball back - and call TOs - I didn't like it, even if we did get the ball back.

I wasn't counting on a stellar D against Ark. I expected better decisions on offense. My point going forward - against much lesser competition - is that if our D - against these weaker offensive lines - doesn't get disruptive - I don't want the stereotypical fan bellyaching about "our lousy secondary". An non disruptive DL can make a pro level secondary look bad. We are notorious for not getting into anyone's backfield. It needs to be a major concern of our staff. The projected tough games ahead of us are in the "we may lose" column because of their offensive threats. We cannot, for those games, just have our DL and LBs "maintaining your lane". They have to break up plays. If not, I don't care what arrangement of DBs and Safeties we come up with - they will get burned.

I really don't care about an article that is in a paper that has a horrible rep in covering the Cajuns. I care about our coaching finding the best fit for all our talented players. They chose to start with the secondary, maybe because it has more than its fair share tatlent, maybe because it was the easier to fix...hell i don't know. But if you think that our d line can be judge against one of the best o lines in the SEC, therefore the NCAA, then so be it. I think its way to early for many things.

Also i am having a bit of a hard time following your train of thought...first u say that you are giving credit to the players than the coaches, then you kind of bash the coaches for thinking they could stop the run.

To me the team lost the game not a player, postion, or unit. We lost because of everything you said and more. changes have to start somewhere and the dude with the name of HUD has final say.

[CajunPride]

I agree with most of your comments. But at the end of the half I think calling the TO was the right call even though we did not get the result we wanted. They were pinned deep in the shadow of their own goalposts. If the young arkie qb was going to make a mistake that was the perfect time. That 3rd down play was probably the most stress he faced all day. They made a great play to get the first and then move down the field which a good team would do.

[Boomer]

I was only upset in that we waisted a few seconds before calling the T O....I was screaming at the coaches and I guess they heard me over the other 75k!!!! Lol

[CajunRed]

If our offense would have played up to its billing and capabilities, the article wouldn't have been written.

[UL_Cajuns]

We will probably see more backfield moves as we get deeper into the season. I hope it's intelligent evaluation of talent and not because our staff chooses to blame the secondary for the entire D's lack of contribution to each play. If we keep allowing every QB time to stretch the field... you cannot blame the D secondary each and every game.

In reality, after game one... UL's secondary was more impressive than Arkansas's. If Terrance would have had the time Allen had... we had wide, wide, wide open receivers that a blind QB could have located. Arkansas's secondary had more blown coverages than UL's. Way more.

+1. I was going crazy, screaming at the TV how open our guys were at times. Broadway simply missed these open guys on more than one occasion.

[CrappDaddy]

+1. I was going crazy, screaming at the TV how open our guys were at times. Broadway simply missed these open guys on more than one occasion.

I'm sure he has been breaking down film all week with the coaches. I expect he will perform much better this week. After losing his top two receivers I'm sure it will just take a little time to feel comfortable with the others.

[I_Bleed_RED]

"Pathetic"...that's a bit harsh at this point in the season. We lost 4 starters, 5 if you include Blaine G. Offenses don't always click right away. Even the Saints have games where the offense is not working on all cylinders. I expect to see better results this week. I was disappointed in the offense last Saturday, but it wasn't "pathetic". Loosen up a bit.

Besides, HUD's offenses typically take a few weeks to really get going. The offense looked somewhat underwhelming early last year.