[NU Sports] Defense

[Michael Vance]

At 11/25/2005 07:06 PM, warneradams wrote:
>Does our style of offense force our defense onto the field more often
>thereby tiring them out?  I notice where we threw it more than our opponents
>this year and rushed for fewer attempts. We also had the shorter time of
>possession in 7 or 8 games.  Of course this could be the result of a weak
>defense allowing our opponents to stay on the field longer but it could also
>be aided by an offense that gets off the field more quickly.  We also
>allowed almost twice as many points in the 2nd and 4th quarters as we did in
>the 1st and 3rd.

I think that this is the biggest flaw in a primarily pass-oriented 
offense.  If you don't run it with the precision of a Purdue (in Tiller's 
first few years) or Tommy Chang-led Hawai'i, you run a huge risk of not 
using much time, whether you score or not, and sending your defense back 
out onto the field without much of a breather.

A big item of discussion down here in Indy has been exactly what is 
different about this year's Colts team.  My contention has been that the 
biggest thing (there are a lot of factors) has been that they haven't been 
relying on Manning and Harrison as much and that has allowed them to win 
the time-of-possession battle, which they rarely did last year.  The best 
way to stop the opposing offense will always be to keep them off the field.

-Michael