2018 Football Staff

[Just1More]

The turnovers come from playing good, sound defense. Having players who can make plays, who know their jobs, and have been put in the right positions. Also, winning comes from that. So winning the turnover battle and winning the game flow from the same set of actions. They correlate. You cannot however attempt to win the game by winning the turnover battle. Attempting to create turnovers does not cause winning. Correlation is not causation.

Preach it CharlieK!

[CajunNation]

If you are going to play the "I'll outscore you" game, then possessions are premium. In this, turnovers are priceless. The problem some coaches have is thinking creating turnovers is a legit gameplan. This is why I loathe the junk offense mindset. It has skewed football thinking like a Dali painting.

Don't get me wrong. I love Dali, but in the hands of lesser minds, it comes out like chicken scratch on a playbook and chicken you know what on the field.

[jllanclos]

We play both Troy and App on the road.

I meant that their records don't matter at all in whether we get to the championship game or not.

[jllanclos]

Tech lacks talent but generally does a good job of generating turnovers.

This gives me tremendous hope for 2018. Because guess what? LOL

[jllanclos]

The odds of a Sun Belt defense "stopping people" are slim. You're more likely to bend without breaking and try to force turnovers and field goals, than you are to just shut someone down all game.

With the spread offenses being so potent, it's hard even for power 5 teams to have classic great defenses.

If you can stop the run, all you need is a couple incomplete passes to stop a drive.

The formula for winning in the Sun Belt isn't complicated.

[jllanclos]

Is what “a thing”, coaching turnovers over sound defense? Yes, it is a thing.

Nothing turns a game around like a turnover. Not sure why you have to choose, though, and this is my problem with Hud's defenses. Be aggressive. Force turnovers. Line up and hit the crap out of somebody and make them punt. Not sure why you can't coach a team to do all of the above.

[Turbine]

Three-and-out guarantees a fresh defense.

Much more so than allowing a 50-yard drive and getting a turn over.

[jllanclos]

Three-and-out guarantees a fresh defense.

Much more so than allowing a 50-yard drive and getting a turn over.

This might be my biggest frustration with Hud. Knowing he had the worst defense in football, he should've coached to maximize rest. His offense snapped the ball quickly and went 3-and-out due to bad play calling often, making opponents fresh and our already-putrid defense exhausted.

I know that's not what we talked about, but we should've milked more clock on offense for that reason. I know dude wanted fast-paced offense, but you have to know what you've got and coach to that.

I was encouraged in the first presser, when Napier was asked what kind of offense he was going to run. His answer was, "Here's the things we'd like to do. But first I need to get to know our personnel and coach a scheme that gives our personnel the best chance to win." Something to that effect.

I think we're going to improve quite a bit this year.

As bad as this team was, there's absolutely no reason THIS team in 2017 shouldn't have been 7-5 or possibly even 8-4. Tulsa won 2 games. ULM was absolutely a coaching loss. We lost to a 1 win Ga. Southern team. No reason THIS team of under-talented athletes shouldn't have been 8-4.

We are not that far from a Sun Belt championship game, y'all.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Three-and-out guarantees a fresh defense.

Much more so than allowing a 50-yard drive and getting a turn over.

Crimson Tide defense actually was in an 11 game streak where the defense actually scored a TD. That defense also kept most teams from getting double digit first downs.

It seems turnovers actually cohabit great defenses.

[Cajunfanatico]

"ULM was absolutely a coaching loss."

I was going to say that Napier would have gone for two, however, had he been coaching, he'd probably not need the two pointer to win.

[Rainman66]

Like anything, this isn’t a black & white answer. Let’s say a team averages 10 possessions a game. The very top turnover teams average 3 takeaways per game, so that leaves 7 more possessions you have to defend. I would rather force 7 punts in a game, then get 3 turnovers. Ideally, you want both, but give me a defense that consistently forces punts and/or FG attempts and I’ll take my chances without getting takeaways.

[jllanclos]

Like anything, this isn’t a black & white answer. Let’s say a team averages 10 possessions a game. The very top turnover teams average 3 takeaways per game, so that leaves 7 more possessions you have to defend. I would rather force 7 punts in a game, then get 3 turnovers. Ideally, you want both, but give me a defense that consistently forces punts and/or FG attempts and I’ll take my chances without getting takeaways.

If you get pressure in the Sun Belt, you get both. And you only need like 3 stops to win. LOL