Defense

[Gladiator Cat]

How in the hell did Utah lose to WSU is what I want to know. Utah is seriously good with a homerun hitter at TB, really solid OL/DL play and a hard hitting and relentless defense.

Well coached and jelling at the right time.

UofA coming out of Utah with a "W" will be.............well lets just say, I'll be surprised if we do.

Not impossible, but damn near.

[azpenguin]

Arizona can still beat Utah. If they do it will be because of the lessons learned against USC's D -line.

[threenumberones]

The way we've been tackling in space is getting better every week. Which of course makes the defense look all the better.

Exactly what I was thinking yesterday. Also thought we closed gaps quicker than usual. While I hope we are getting better, this might be more of a reflection of WSU's athleticism compared to say USC's. Realistically it's probably a combo of both.

[ANGCatFan]

From Matt Dudek's twitter: Silence of the Linebacker.

[ANGCatFan]

Gimino with a good article on the defense.

Arizona's defense is getting better while doing a fair amount of hanging on.

Bondurant is trying to make a go of it while on a bum knee. Starting cornerback Jarvis McCall has missed two games because of a shoulder injury, and his replacement, Cam Denson, left the Colorado game because of an injury. The Cats' 247-pound starting nose guard Parker Zellers also appeared to leave the game injured, although his replacement, Sani Fuimaono, had the key quarterback pressure that led to a fourth-quarter interception by Devin Holiday, the replacement for McCall/Denson.

Smoke. Mirrors.

Potential good news for 17th-ranked Arizona (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) is that it has yet to play the two worst passing teams in the league - Washington at home this week and then at Utah on Nov. 22 - before taking on dangerous Arizona State.

As Rodriguez said, "The more you win, the more is at stake, and there is a lot at stake the next few weeks."

The defense has had much to do with having those stakes in mid-November.

[catgrad97]

From Matt Dudek's twitter: Silence of the Linebacker.

That is awesome. He makes defense so not the problem with this team. Receivers and QB need to get on Scooby's page, not the other way around.

[azgreg]

Parks’ Place: UofA Safety’s Unique Road to Tucson

http://www.sports360az.com/2014/11/park ... ad-tucson/

Nice read.

[UAEebs86]

[UAEebs86]

[SCCat]

I love seeing charts like that where you see better, better, better...it's a rarity.

[Merkin]

Have to give a lot of credit to Scooby too, not just Casteel.

[UAEebs86]

Have to give a lot of credit to Scooby too, not just Casteel.

Casteel has changed the way he is using Scooby.

[azgreg]

[ANGCatFan]

Good Q and A with Sani Fuimaono from SB Nation. Having Sani in the line up has been a key in our defense improving during the championship stretch. Zellers is great, but Sani gives him quality relief and makes him even better.

[ANGCatFan]

AG with an AG level story on our defense and changes for next year.

Arizona defended 1,115 snaps in 14 games, the second-most in the country, which is a lot to put on a short rotation of players, even if they likely rank among the best-conditioned units in the nation. Will the 2015 Wildcats be any different, any deeper?

[BearDown89]

AG with an AG level story on our defense and changes for next year.

Arizona defended 1,115 snaps in 14 games, the second-most in the country, which is a lot to put on a short rotation of players, even if they likely rank among the best-conditioned units in the nation. Will the 2015 Wildcats be any different, any deeper?

Another good video roundtable discussion with the fellas. I hope they keep doing those as I think they offer the best discussion and perspective available regarding the Cats and each game. Good to get some level-headed perspective on the season and the program's progress overall. I was particularly pleased to hear Matt Moreno say that the team was focused, working hard and saying all the right things leading up to the bowl game, and that they weren't getting caught up in the festivities too much. When they got blown out in the first quarter I was questioning focus and preparation, so I'm happy to hear that I'm just an idiot and should shut up and let them do their thing. They'll get 'em next time.

[azthrillhouse]

AG with an AG level story on our defense and changes for next year.

Arizona defended 1,115 snaps in 14 games, the second-most in the country, which is a lot to put on a short rotation of players, even if they likely rank among the best-conditioned units in the nation. Will the 2015 Wildcats be any different, any deeper?

After reading that, feeling (ironically, given where we thought we were with this unit this year) really good about the front 3, so-so about the middle 3 (lots of potential in Miller/Cobb/Ware/Smothers but we haven't really seen it on the field) and ranging from "concerned" to "terrified" about the back 5 - especially in the context of that article's emphasis (which I agree with) on the need for depth because of our scheme. If our starters are McCall and Cam at CB, Tellas Jones & Will Parks at spur/bandit and Allah at FS, that's not too bad, but with only Holliday and Lopez being the only experienced backups...hope some of the incoming guys can contribute right away.

[Puerco]

Please write more, Gimino.

[ANGCatFan]

Good SB Nation article on modern defenses including the 335.

The 3-3-5, or 8-3, is more a defense of versatility and disguise that will require the DL to all be strong at filling interior gaps and ideally decent or good at collapsing the pocket. The linebackers are not specialists but "jacks of all trades" that can be transformed into superior pass-rushers by virtue of the system disguising where they are blitzing from.

Without versatile and intelligent players, the 3-3 is dead in the water, but when those pieces are in place it can pick on offense's weaknesses with greater precision and bring pressure from all angles.

[azgreg]

Held FUCLA to 109 yards in the 2nd half. Well done boys.

[catgrad97]

Getting better every game. Keep talking up Tate--this young, aggressive defense will keep piling up the INTs and the sacks.

[azgreg]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

[catgrad97]

We need one more TD before half for this defense to keep our "at Cal" mojo safe.

Too bad RR seems content to just let Green run out the half.

[qwertyus]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

IMO, what we really need is a secondary that can actually play. They're easily the WORST part of this defense.

[azgreg]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

IMO, what we really need is a secondary that can actually play. They're easily the WORST part of this defense.

More pressure on the QB will rectify a lot of that.

[qwertyus]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

IMO, what we really need is a secondary that can actually play. They're easily the WORST part of this defense.

More pressure on the QB will rectify a lot of that.

On passing downs, we got pressure with 4. They just couldn't get him... because those 4 guys had 3 seconds before their slot guy suddenly had 10 yards of space.

Obviously, they (front 7 and secondary) work together to form a competent defense. But I think it's no coincidence that Cal converted 13/18 3rd Dows, throwing on 12 of them...

[dmjcat]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

IMO, what we really need is a secondary that can actually play. They're easily the WORST part of this defense.

I have to believe that somewhere out there is a JUCO DB who thinks he can beat out Burns next year. Our secondary talent is less than stellar.

[whatisee]

A little more size and strength in the front 7 and the defense will be really good.

IMO, what we really need is a secondary that can actually play. They're easily the WORST part of this defense.

I have to believe that somewhere out there is a JUCO DB who thinks he can beat out Burns next year. Our secondary talent is less than stellar.

Hmmm...Whitaker is turning into one of the best DB’s in the conference. That’s why they throw to Burns who is a RS Freshman. Plenty of room to mature

[azpenguin]

If these guys get better at watching the sticks on third down, look out. Teams know they can get open receivers to the first down marker and that's leading to the third down conversion problems. A lot of these third downs are being converted really close to the line to gain and this is where the inexperience at linebacker hurts the most. If Arizona stops one of those second half drives and gets a score this becomes a boatrace.

[ChooChooCat]

Didn't know where else to put this, but does Young and Taylor have to sit out the 1st half of the Wazzu game for the targeting penalties or are they good to go from the first snap?

[azgreg]

Didn't know where else to put this, but does Young and Taylor have to sit out the 1st half of the Wazzu game for the targeting penalties or are they good to go from the first snap?

Their targeting calls came in the first half so they can play in the first half of the next game.

[Gilbertcat]

Yes that's the bright side is you don't lose them this game and since injuries were happening, the will be fresh to start next week

[azgreg]

Ouch.......accurate, but.......ouch.