Defensive Coordinator Van Malone

[PonyUp_62]

Rebel10, check the offer lists and WALK ONS for JMU & ECU. I think someone mentioned JMU or ECU had 4 walk ons starting on their defense! Your argument falls completely flat no matter how many times you repeat it. TCU & Baylor all day, JMU & ECU no way.

They 'looked faster' to you

Have to agree here. I think the last 2 minutes of the JMU are evident of how poorly coached our defense was.. Couldn't get a stop and had zero end zone coverage in the red zone which ultimately led to us losing..

[gostangs]

uh - its called talent. when you are outmatched in talent you will usually lose.

[Charleston Pony]

let's face it...fixing the D is going to lag behind the offense. Just look at the Big XII (our recruiting grounds) and it's easy to see that the best athletes tend to want to play offense. Morris & Co will have to follow the same path that JJ espoused when he came to SMU, i.e., recruit enough talent on offense to be able to put a lot of points on the board and generate some fan enthusiasm for the program...but realistically still lose a lot of high scoring games in your early years. Once you've built a strong offense that can score points and hopefully take some pressure off the defense, maybe the defensive recruits will take more interest. Or borrow a page from Patterson and convert some of that offensive talent into quality defensive players. Either way, gotta figure that until Morris & Co's 1st couple of classes become upper classmen, we will be re-visiting these "fire the coach" comments that should be taken with a grain of salt until this staff has Jrs & Srs on the roster. We've been waiting for almost 30 years...I can be patient for a few more before judging anyone on this staff.

[smupony94]

@BillNicholsDMN 35m35 minutes ago University Park, TX
Defensive coordinator Van Malone, asked what SMU's biggest problem has been against dual-threat QBs: "The quarterback"

@BillNicholsDMN 27m27 minutes ago University Park, TX
Coach Chad Morris on SMU's inability to play 4 full quarters: "It's been a roller coaster of emotions ... We're unable to finish the thing"

@BillNicholsDMN 4m4 minutes ago University Park, TX
W/ WR Courtland Sutton drawing double covers, SMU OC Joe Craddock said "we're moving him around & working ... to get other people the ball"

[footballdad]

uh - its called talent. when you are outmatched in talent you will usually lose.

Just because you keep repeating it, doesn't make it so:

https://rivals.yahoo.com/jamesmadison/f ... adison-196

[PonyUp_62]

uh - its called talent. when you are outmatched in talent you will usually lose.

It is more than just talent though.. This whole season the other teams offense has ran right through our defense...Currently, our defense has given up an average of 8.3 yards per play, we are not that talentless.. Adjustments need to be made i think we can all agree on that. At a minimum Malone should be able to see the weak points and evolve our defense to partially fix those gaps. The problem is our defense has not progressed over the course of the season, but seems to have gotten worse..

[Puckhead48E]

IF we made the first or second tackle....that would make our average of 4 more misses or whiffs per big play irrelevant. No matter what defensive scheme you run, if your defenders can't tackle and have absolutely no concept of how to mark a receiver, you are hosed. Well...we are hosed.

And please do show me Rivals or Scout recruiting numbers and HS times to prove to me how good players are. That crap is lazy and...if that had so much power on the game then we wouldn't be complaining about Jones coaching job. So pick your BS stat and run with it...or just let your eyes tell you that the guy who misses someone standing still in front of them or the guy who can't figure out where he is on the field might actually be at fault for his abject mediocrity.

[tristatecoog]

I wonder how much of the second half futility is due to lack of depth, lack of conditioning or lack of adjustments. At least the team seems loose and united, evidenced by jumping up and down in unison between drives, even in the fourth quarter vs ECU.

[Planter's Punch]

I wonder how much of the second half futility is due to lack of depth, lack of conditioning or lack of adjustments. At least the team seems loose and united, evidenced by jumping up and down in unison between drives, even in the fourth quarter vs ECU.

Probably lack of depth and lack of skill or experience to adjust. The coaches seem to still be searching and willing to burn red shirts to find guys that can play. I hope the staff can keep the team united, the atmosphere they create is great, because there will potentially be some real ugly scores and few wins the rest of the season.

[JasonB]

This last game was the first on tape where I saw us wear down visibly on defense. Shortened rotation, injured player, and suspensions killed us on the depth on the d-line. In the second half, players were keeping pads high and getting pushed off the ball.

[Ponyneighbor]

I will be disappointed if he is not fired at the end of the season. I can't see a logical argument that be made to defend him.
1. SMU is currently dead last (128th out of 128 teams) in yards per game. We are giving up 600 yards per game, including giving up 729 yards to a non-FBS school. Think about that: 729 yards is the equivalent of a team completing 10 full length-of-the-field drives in one game.
2. The defense is worse than last year's (saying something) with comparable talent
3. As Jason B (page 2) and footballdad (page 4) have pointed out, our talent on defense is NOT inferior to many of our opponents, and clearly higher-rated than JMU and ECU.
4. Our defense typically gets worse as the game wears on, which would suggest that we are not making adjustments (coaching issue)

No one is arguing our talent level on defense is high; it is clearly below what we want it to be, and I expect this to be the low point. But I'm concerned that the improving talent we will see over the next few years will result in marginally improved results, masking a glaring weakness on our otherwise strong coaching staff. I think we all want players AND coaches here that are best-in-class

[Rebel10]

This last game was the first on tape where I saw us wear down visibly on defense. Shortened rotation, injured player, and suspensions killed us on the depth on the d-line. In the second half, players were keeping pads high and getting pushed off the ball.

ECU had 2 starting O lineman out and 5 defensive starters out according to the announcers so I guess what you are saying is the ECU had more depth than SMU. That excuse will not work in this situation because they had just as many players out if not more.

[mrydel]

Apparently you do not watch the games. Lots of players are being substituted and repositioned in an attempt to evaluate what we have and how best to use them. No one with any knowledge of the game should have expected more than what we have seen this year. If you put down money that we would be in a bowl game you will get what you deserve.

Is Malone the answer? I do not know. But you have to give time for evaluation and upgrade in order for the defense to improve. That is what is glaringly happening this year and I am fine with it. I expect improvement in 2016 and a solid defense in 2017. To expect anything more is dreaming.

[Ponyneighbor]

Apparently you do not watch the games. Lots of players are being substituted and repositioned in an attempt to evaluate what we have and how best to use them. No one with any knowledge of the game should have expected more than what we have seen this year. If you put down money that we would be in a bowl game you will get what you deserve.

Is Malone the answer? I do not know. But you have to give time for evaluation and upgrade in order for the defense to improve. That is what is glaringly happening this year and I am fine with it. I expect improvement in 2016 and a solid defense in 2017. To expect anything more is dreaming.

a) I've seen every game this year, and yes, I'm aware of the substitutions and position changes (though I wouldn't describe the latter as "lots")
b) i predicted 2-10, not a bowl game. I was not expecting miracles (though I think the offense borders on this description)
c) I'd like to know how long you think it should take Malone to evaluate players and put them in the right place. Perhaps by game 10 or 11 (and by extension, practice 100 or 110) that process will be complete and we can expect improved results?

[Mestengo]

a good morning
b today is going to be a great day
c I admire your organizational skills