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AFM Magazine


Impact Stats: Total Defense

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Tommy Tuberville’s Auburn Tigers placed fifth in the nation among all Divison I-A teams in Total Defense in 2004, surrendering just 19 total touchdowns, the second lowest total that year. They were first in the country in Scoring Defense.

“When you’re consistently good on defense, it gives your offense a lot of chances to go for big plays. You’re going to give your offense more turnovers and more balls in better field position and, to me, where it really starts is defense. You can look at some teams that are averaging 40-50 points a game, but sooner or later someone’s going to stop you and you’ve got to be good on defense to win consistently. You can win games offensively, but to win games consistently and stay in the top echelon, you’ve got to play consistent defense.”

Consistent defense means being able to stop both the run and the pass on a regular basis. Time has proven if you’re good at one and not the other, your team will get burnt whether it be in the first game or the last game. This past fall each of the top six schools in Total Defense won at least nine games, While Auburn dropped to #9 in Total Defense they still finished with a 9-2 regular season record. Two of the top six in this category went to BCS bowls. The top six:

1. Virginia Tech: 9-2 (Gator Bowl)
2. Alabama: 9-2 (Cotton Bowl)
3. Miami: 9-2 (Peach Bowl)
4. Ohio State: 9-2 (Fiesta Bowl)
5. LSU: 10-2 (Peach Bowl)
6. Texas: 12-0 (Rose Bowl)


Among other divisions, Duquesne led all D I-AA colleges in Total Defense. The Dukes allowed their opponents an average of only 3.05 yards per play. Bowie State was the Total Defense leader among D II schools and Trinity College (CT) led all D III colleges in that category.

“Total Defense is an important category but not as important, obviously, as points on the board,” said Duquesne Head Coach Jerry Schmitt. “You want to have as few weaknesses as you can in your defensive game and so the balance – against the run and the pass – is important.”

Bowie State head coach Mike Lynn agrees: “Total Defense is just that: it encompasses stopping both the run and the pass. You’ve go to be consistent in both. Our new defensive coordinator, Daronte Jones, came in and put together defensive schemes that helped us with our overall defense. The University of West Virginia and their staff under Rich Rodriguez helped us with different overall schemes. They assisted us with variations of the 4-3, 3-3-5, and 3-5-3 defenses that we used this year along with an aggressive, attacking and blitzing defense. These defenses fit our personnel. We try to put our best players on defense so they can make an impact, a difference in the game.”

Chuck Priore’s Trinity College Bantams not only led D III schools in Total Defense but finished first in Rushing Defense, second in Pass Efficiency Defense, and first in Scoring Defense. Trinity gave up an average of only 4.5 points per game. “You can look at statistics a lot of different ways,” says Priore, who recently became the head coach at Stony Brook, a I-AA program. “But it’s crucial in a game to know as a complete team we can take away our opponents team strength (running and passing) and know you have the confidence to do so.”

Game preparation, as well, is becoming more and more sophisticated as the right defensive scheme is put into place to stop the next opponent. This means scouting an opponent with the video editing equipment necessary for total preparation. “The technology of digital editing for opponent scouting is getting better and better,” according to Priore. “Now it’s a necessity to have the equipment to not only scout your opponent but utilizing the cut-ups necessary to prepare your position players. Digital editing systems allow you to spend more time on other things as you prepare for the next game.” s

In March, AFM continues it’s 10-part series by breaking down each of the top ten statistical categories in building a championship team. The March subject: Scoring Offense. To view the original article on ’10 Impact Stats to Build a Championship Team’ that appeared in the July issue of AFM, log onto AmericanFootballMonthly.com.






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