You would do what to the person telling you we would be #1 in Pass Defense w/o Countess

Submitted by iawolve on

Statistics are funny things and always need to be taken in context, but there is no-effing-way I would ever believe we would be this late in the year with the #1 Pass Defense without Countess playing more than a few series. It is actually inconceivable.  Yes the Big Ten is down, but they still do drop back and pass the ball. Absolutely incredible job by Mallory getting this group to play with confidence and technique. There are not enough points to minus from Gibson to add to Mallory, tip of the hat. 

dothepose

November 15th, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^

You're title is making my brain hurt.

But I would tell that person to tell me what our run defense is, our total defense, rank and are we going to the Rose Bowl?

NOLA Wolverine

November 15th, 2012 at 8:47 PM ^

On a side note, I wonder how much time Raymon Taylor would have gotten this year if Countess was still around. Taylor has evolved into the best corner on this defense, at least from Michigan State's point of view (targeting floyd almost exclusively). 

Mgodiscgolfer

November 15th, 2012 at 8:49 PM ^

We Still have to play 2 very good throwing teams and after last week I am not sure this ends great  Yes the glass will still be 70% full. No Countess you are right no way we ever sniff this side of 50.

Sonofdetroit

November 15th, 2012 at 8:51 PM ^

Not to take anything away from are secondary because they have done a tremendous job but lack of quality QB play in the Big Ten is a large reason. Look at these B1G numbers.

Passing Yards By Team D1

26. Indiana

40. Penn State

64. Purdue

73. Michigan State

80. Nebraska

96. Iowa

100(Tied). Michigan

100(Tied). Ohio State

102. Minnesota

108. Illinois

112. Wisconsin

114. Northwestern 

switch26

November 15th, 2012 at 8:55 PM ^

Our secondary doesn't have a lot of speed, and we lack big playmakers..  We haven't face a decent passing QB all year..

LSAClassOf2000

November 15th, 2012 at 9:15 PM ^

Two of the more significant contributions among all defensive statistics for 2011 are that Countess accounted for 5% of total tackles and 17% of pass breakups, both of which are significant and definitely confirm that he is a presence in the secondary. 

Consider as well the offenses we have seen this year, several of which are not generally known for their effective passing  games. On average, teams last year were 17 of 28 against us, but this year, the average is 14 of 25. They are throwing less, but with a second year in Mattison's defense in progress, when they are throwing, we are giving up 22% fewer yards per game on average, and we are on track  to give up 28% fewer total yards. So, there are the generally anemic passing games, but what there is of a passing game, we are defending it better. 

Mallory deserves a lot of credit for getting the secondary to the level that they are at, but I can't help but think sometimes how much better these already stellar pass defense stats would be with Countess out there....

mrkid

November 15th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^

That's great but if you watch the games you can tell that our pass defense isn't that great. So many B1G QBs have missed huge opportunities to make big plays in the passing game. Our secondary has gotten beat repeatedly but the QBs are just missing.

So what would I say? I would say thank you to the B1G QBs for being absolutely terrible at hitting wide open WR.

Soulfire21

November 15th, 2012 at 9:48 PM ^

Been over this, all of the teams we've played do not have good passing offenses.  Now, that's not to discredit a good defense, but it is to be realistic.

EDIT:  BIG TENNNNN!  [had to]

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

November 15th, 2012 at 9:47 PM ^

Since you're the one telling me that we're #1, I'll just ask you to name your gift. I don't believe it, but I'll accept it as the only good news of this stinkin' day. (PS - Please don't reply like my wife by stating a bunch of innuendo and suggestions and then yell at me for not buying something completely different because I should have anticipated your real request.)

Soulfire21

November 15th, 2012 at 10:24 PM ^

Pass Efficiency Defense and Opponent YPA

Opponent adjustments: Success Rate and PPP combine to form S&P, an OPS-like measure for football. Then each team's S&P output for a given category (Rushing/Passing on either Standard Downs or Passing Downs) is compared to the expected output based upon their opponents and their opponents' opponents. This is a schedule-based adjustment designed to reward tougher schedules and punish weaker ones.

Pass Efficiency Defense
Raw Data:
No. 1 FLORIDA STATE
No. 36 MICHIGAN

Opponent Adjusted:
No. 1 ALABAMA
No. 27 MICHIGAN

I could only find raw data for opponent YPA

Opponent YPA
Raw Data:
No. 1 FLORIDA STATE (5.2 YPA)
No. 18 MICHIGAN (6.0 YPA)

Buck Killer

November 15th, 2012 at 10:37 PM ^

Air Force, Northwestern, Nebraska, and the Big BLOWS at passing with Martinez leading the way. Sorry but we suck at pass coverage. Northwestern's back up had easy targets.