Cincinnati's Defense
- Thread starter UCF_99_Grad
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I remember when Killins was not the starter, and the yardage was flipped. It's unfair to compare the two.
Both are needed, as are otis and taj. Mccrae is a beast but killins and otis can force defenses to pay extra attention to them which can open up the middle of the field.
Anyone else think we need to get away from Marlon returning kicks? He looks too slow for me.
Agreed. He also tries to return everything when we would be just fine starting at 25
Yeah I know at least once he was 2 yards deep in end zone and brought it out to 12. Not a good decision. We need speed back there.
We have run very few trick plays. I would
Love to see a two back set with Killins or OJ with McRae lined up in the backfield. The options would be limitless
With the right game plan we wont need any trick plays.........that said I would love to see the USF KZ to AK option......
I think we will be surprisingly effective against their run game...not shutting it down but managing it. Warren may get 100 yards, but only because he gets about 30 carries or more, i.e. a 3 or 4 yd avg. Similar to how we managed Kerryon Johnson in the Auburn game (43 carries for 90 yards). We may get it done possibly by stacking the box and forcing Cincy to pass to beat us, cause we sure don't want Warren to get out on the loose.
UCF has speed and talent to run an offense like Oklahoma State (If Gundy doesn't make the stupid decision of going for 2 and just waiting it out into the 3rd OT to force OU to go for two they might have won had their D gotten it to OT)
UCF plays fast, but Heupel's playcalling wastes that uptempo. There are too many runs up the middle. And if your going to do the short passes at least throw the ball forward instead of the side (for some reason the swing pass ends up being too slow and the guys are getting tackled in the backfield.
Everyone seems to know what's coming for UCF's first drive:
1st and 10 > Run right up the middle for a yard or a parallel pass where the back gets tackled for loss
2nd and 9-12 > Run up the middle for a yard
3rd and 8-11 > Pass that doesn't go beyond the sticks and may or may not end in a 1st down or an inaccurate incomplete pass by Milton
What they should do is pass for 6-7 yards on 1st/2nd down and use McCrae to pick up the 3rd and shorts and the real fat guys to punch it in on the goaline.
This is the type of game where if the playcalling is bad like it's been in the past, UCF might end up losing.
UCF plays fast, but Heupel's playcalling wastes that uptempo. There are too many runs up the middle. And if your going to do the short passes at least throw the ball forward instead of the side (for some reason the swing pass ends up being too slow and the guys are getting tackled in the backfield.
Everyone seems to know what's coming for UCF's first drive:
1st and 10 > Run right up the middle for a yard or a parallel pass where the back gets tackled for loss
2nd and 9-12 > Run up the middle for a yard
3rd and 8-11 > Pass that doesn't go beyond the sticks and may or may not end in a 1st down or an inaccurate incomplete pass by Milton
What they should do is pass for 6-7 yards on 1st/2nd down and use McCrae to pick up the 3rd and shorts and the real fat guys to punch it in on the goaline.
This is the type of game where if the playcalling is bad like it's been in the past, UCF might end up losing.
Yes. He looks slow and isn't elusive. Why can't we put both Killins and Anderson back there?
What does that have anything to do with it?
Why is it unfair to compare the two?
Are you not seeing what everyone else is seeing?
Which number is higher 8.9 or 4.8???
I’ll defend this to the end.
If we keep running Killins up the middle for
1-2 yards on 1st and 2nd downs, it’s going to continue to leave us in 3rd and long plays. Every time that we fail to covert that, Cincinnati will get the ball back
Even if it’s 1-3 times a game, that’s the difference between winning and losing. Sure.. he played better vs Navy, but Navy isn’t Cincinnati. Less room for error
I continue to see plays of 1-2 yards and when McRae gets it, a stop is 2-4 yards and every else is a big gain. Hence, an 8.9 yard per run average.
If we were to lose a game, it would most likely be due to this and by then it will be too late.
I’ve seen enough of this to know it’s not working. If Killins breaks a few, then great, but he hasn’t
1-2 yards on 1st and 2nd downs, it’s going to continue to leave us in 3rd and long plays. Every time that we fail to covert that, Cincinnati will get the ball back
Even if it’s 1-3 times a game, that’s the difference between winning and losing. Sure.. he played better vs Navy, but Navy isn’t Cincinnati. Less room for error
I continue to see plays of 1-2 yards and when McRae gets it, a stop is 2-4 yards and every else is a big gain. Hence, an 8.9 yard per run average.
If we were to lose a game, it would most likely be due to this and by then it will be too late.
I’ve seen enough of this to know it’s not working. If Killins breaks a few, then great, but he hasn’t
Agree 100%. All is wonderful until you lose a game and then it’s too late
Thanks for actually pointing out the details. Most of us see it.
Why did they go away from Killins? He was improving on the kick off returns.
FYI - other Top 10 defenses per FBS stats - miami (5-5) and southern miss (4-5). UAB at 9-1 was in the Top 10 and so is Appy State.
FWIW - Temple's run defense was 96th when we played them. Theyre still 96th.
FWIW - Temple's run defense was 96th when we played them. Theyre still 96th.
Lol still trying to figure out how to run up the middle i guess.
Seems like we always call wr screens to the long side of field. Which gives them space but it takes forever to get there and defense is on it quick.
Ball in the air moves a lot faster than a defender can run
UCF's Offense is going to make Cincinnati Defense into an oxymoron.
Game over by half...(heard it here first)...
Game over by half...(heard it here first)...
I love the optimism, but we've been killed by the run this year, and UC has been very good on the ground. Warren is going to have a career day rushing the ball. Hopefully we have Gilyard in early to track this kid down because he will break loose and Pat ain't gonna cut it.
Unfortunately, don't see the UCFierce on our defense this year like last year.
Good offenses rolled up tons of yards on UCF last year too. Do you remember the USF and second Memphis games? Their offenses were breaking records. Navy had a better offensive performance against us last year. We also lost two star defensive players to the NFL.
I think quick out passes haven't been effective due to the loss of Trequan Smith. He was a great run blocker. Look at last game, Snelson had another holding call which negated a big play.
The opposition is kicking away from him
The runs up the middle are an essential part of this offense. It would be like running the triple option, but never using the dive option.
The goal of this offense is to pull the safeties into the box. This opens up the WR deep balls, because there is no safety over the top.
As a defense, you need to pick your poison.
option 1) Play up and narrow to stop the inside run, risk the deep ball. Pray for KZ to be off
option 2) Play a soft zone with press coverage, leave the middle of the field open for TE. Pray the D-line stops the run / contains KZ.
option 3) Play back and wide to stop the deep ball / TE routes, give the offense 6+ yards a clip up the middle. Pray UCF neglects to run up the middle
Every team has taken option 1 or 2, because you have a shot of something going wrong. Navy took the almost surefire death, but a slow death.
That surprised the offense on the first possession and it was a 3 and out. Option 3 is the best defense if UCF doesn't run up the middle. That's why you need to run up the middle, even if it's for nothing, to keep defenses out of option 3.
The goal of this offense is to pull the safeties into the box. This opens up the WR deep balls, because there is no safety over the top.
As a defense, you need to pick your poison.
option 1) Play up and narrow to stop the inside run, risk the deep ball. Pray for KZ to be off
option 2) Play a soft zone with press coverage, leave the middle of the field open for TE. Pray the D-line stops the run / contains KZ.
option 3) Play back and wide to stop the deep ball / TE routes, give the offense 6+ yards a clip up the middle. Pray UCF neglects to run up the middle
Every team has taken option 1 or 2, because you have a shot of something going wrong. Navy took the almost surefire death, but a slow death.
That surprised the offense on the first possession and it was a 3 and out. Option 3 is the best defense if UCF doesn't run up the middle. That's why you need to run up the middle, even if it's for nothing, to keep defenses out of option 3.
Marlon looks way too slow to return kicks. And running it out of the end zone is just crazy. I just don't get it.
Yeah, it has to be adrenaline over logic.
ND has flatout mandated their guys just faircatch.
When you consider the odds of a block in the back or a hold, it's not worth it. Especially with this offense.
Gameplan will be bend but not break so he will get his yards in the first half and lose the mojo in the second half
vs USF he was average in the first half then started gaining 10+ yard chunks in the 2nd half
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It's not fair to compare Killins against a fresh defense vs Mccrae against a team later in the game.
Mccrae is getting a lot of touches lately, so it doesn't matter if he starts or not. Heup looks at what the defense is doing then plans accordingly. Killins starting gives a better recieving option out of the backfield
Mccrae is great. If this was the Statue's team, he would be the starter. However, Heup has a more dynamic offense and RB rotation is huge. It doesn't matter who starts.
Pitt has some great rb's as well and we were able to contain them???
that's a good point. After the Pitt game I thought the defense turned the corner but it has regressed since that game. If that defense shows up then this team easily runs the table again
I know, so what gives then? Are we and the AAC that much better than the ACC right now? Or did Pitt just play like crap that day? I can't figure that one out. Or were Terrence Plummer, Shaq Griffin, and Bruce Miller playing in disguise?
Killins hasn’t actually been that great later in the game as well until he played Navy. In reality, he’s probably been worse in the later stages. So., not sure that fresh leg theory really pans out unless you’re saying that he’s worn out in the second half.
If we continue to turn the ball over on downs in the early parts of the games and have to play comeback, it’s eventually going to come back to bite us in the ass. Things are all fine and dandy until we lose a game to a team with a good defense in the second half that can score as well. Then all hell breaks loose.
I’ll take 8.9 yards per carry and passing the eye test over 4.8 yards a carry anyday. Additionally, I’m far from alone in this criticism
