Time of possession and the D
Looking at the review and watching the EMU game as well as the Colts v. Dolphins the other night is it possible that the reason our D looked gashed at times was because they were on the field a long time? Now granted if they would have been able to make a couple of stops we would have simply scored more, but running a play every 20 seconds or so leads to some issues on the D side.
September 24th, 2009 at 12:35 AM ^
but another reason is, looking at the UFR, once backs got to the second level we were not where we were supposed to be. The linebackers scored a -12.5
September 24th, 2009 at 2:30 AM ^
TOP is overrated when you have an offense and QB like Manning.
(ours has been pretty good too so far)
September 24th, 2009 at 7:18 AM ^
Last year the meme was that the defense looked worse because the offense couldn't hold on to the ball, so the D was always on the field and getting tired.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:00 AM ^
knowing the offense hadn't scored AGAIN; I'm sure it isn't as bad to return to the field after the offense scored.
Last year: 3 yards and a cloud of dust
This year: 90 yards and a trail of vapor
September 24th, 2009 at 8:50 AM ^
This is something I have always wondered about. It seems like teams that put up a ton of points never have a great D, sometimes a good one but never a great one, and I wondered if this because the defense was tired. It makes sense. If you have a fast paced offense that scores quickly and the other team dominates TOP, being tired has to factor in on the D.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:54 AM ^
The two games sited are anomalies. Last year TOP was 28 min for M and 32 for the opposition for the year. Not a big discrepancy.
In 2007 it was 30 min for M and 30 for the opposition.
2008 PSU: First half TOP M=17 PSU=13, Score was 17-14 M, the D got killed in the 2nd half. It wasn't from TOP. End of game TOP was 30 M, 30 PSU
2008 osu: First half TOP M=14, osu=16, Score was 14-7 osu, the D got killed in the 2nd half. It wasn't from TOP. End of game TOP was 29 M, 31 osu.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:47 AM ^
Looking at the first 6 mins 18 secs of the game on play-by-play
Indy TD: 80 yds on 1 play TOP: 12 secs
Miami TD: 75 yds 10 plays (no incompletions, 1 penalty) TOP: 6 min 6 secs
Score is tied, but Miami enjoys a 96%-4% TOP advantage.
Points are the most important factor, obviously. Turnovers, which can dramatically affect pts/possesion, are very important; a turnover deep in your own territory lowers your pts/possesion and gives the opponent an excellent opportunity to raise his pts/possesion. If pts/possesion are fairly even, then TOP may indicate the winner, or not, if one teams is running and staying in-bounds and the other is thowing the ball over 10 yds with a >50% completion rate.
TOP is usually not very meaningful in games with big plays, such as EMU at M last Saturday.
Points are the most important factor, obviously. Turnovers, which can dramatically affect pts/possesion, are very important; a turnover deep in your own territory lowers your pts/possesion and gives the opponent an excellent opportunity to raise his pts/possesion. If pts/possesion are fairly even, then TOP may indicate the winner, or not, if one teams is running and staying in-bounds and the other is thowing the ball over 10 yds with a >50% completion rate.
TOP is usually not very meaningful in games with big plays, such as EMU at M last Saturday.