What has happened to the Cowboy Defense?

[McPeachy]

Head scratcher! Why in the hell we didn't blitz like crazy to get after Rypien right out of the gate on Saturday is just mind boggling. Can't help but think rattling him would have set a better tone than just sitting back and letting him pick the LB's & DB's apart. Rushing 4 isn't cutting it, Granderson especially has been silent, not sure what is going on with Prosser, Trey, Hall, either. Walk-on Crall looks the best of any of the D ends right now.

Our defense has clearly taken a step back from 2017. And with our famous 3 & out offense, they are on the field all day long getting their asses kicked. Strength & Conditioning needs a look as well - we certainly don't look as aggressive as last year - those LSU boys aren't impressing me much, regardless how big their f-word SEC heads are. If we continue to only rush 4 (over and over and over) we will let Hawaii, FSU, and USU roll over us the next 3 weeks.

[cali2wyo]

I think our cornerback play is a big factor as well. They're too slow to jam up the receivers letting them get into their routes quickly and letting the QB get rid of the ball quickly. Less open receivers leads to more QB pressure leads to more turnovers. It seems like Yoyo and Granderson are still making some good individual plays against the run, but I'm willing to bet that opposing QB's are just getting the ball out quicker than last year so the pressure isn't getting to them in time.

Also, we flat out got lucky at times last year with all the turnovers. Show me a defense that forced an insane amount of turnovers and I'll show you a defense that will regress the following year.

And what's with Wingard playing so deep this year? At times on TV he's not even in the picture on run plays. It seems like he's thrived playing closer to the line and being aggressive. But maybe the coaching staff agrees that our CB play isn't as strong and Wingard needs to be more of a safety net back there this year.

[J-Rod]

I figured the turnover total would come back to Earth, but geez it has crash landed back to Earth.

[OrediggerPoke]

This has been going through my head every game since NMSU. Granderson has struggled to get off blocks when last year no one could stop him. I am also wondering whether fatigue is taking its toll because last year Allen could at least get a few first downs to give the defense a breather. Its disappointing because this is potentially costing Granderson a lot of money in the NFL draft. I really hope to see him open it up in the 2nd half of the year.

I also agree that we need to dial the blitz up a lot more. Let's take our chances with the defense forcing a turnover and getting a score rather than playing it safe and staying on the field only to have the offense go 3 and out.

[calpoke25]

The simplest explanation is the defense last year relied on a really historical level of turnovers that was always going to regress back to the mean.

[OrediggerPoke]

The simplest explanation is the defense last year relied on a really historical level of turnovers that was always going to regress back to the mean.

That's an accurate and true explanation for the amount of turnovers. It is not an explanation for the visible line play regression as far as getting off the blocks and getting pressure on passing downs. The amount of disruption that the front 7 has caused this year isn''t even in the ballpark of last year's defense...and it is the same guys!

[fromolwyoming]

Losing our two starting CBs really has hurt. But it also doesn't explain the seeming backwards trend the defense has had in regards to getting into the backfield.

But, we also seem to be blitzing a lot less than last year as well. Trying to rely more on our d-line alone to get pressure than anything. Which really hasn't been working very well.

[LanderPoke]

Agree with everything. It's puzzling. How did we go from having a dominant D line last year to looking like we do now? Are we really blitzing less? What the hell is going on. This has me bummed out almost as much as the offense.

[wstrnthndrdad]

Starts with the defense being on the field so much and getting tired. Boise St. had over 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession. With Wazzu and Mizzu it wasn't time but number of plays, both had >90 plays to our 50-60. Leads directly to reduced effectiveness of the DL, poor tackling, CBs getting beat downfield, most of our defensive troubles are, IMO, due to that.

Wazzu and Mizzu QBs threw a lot of quick passes, not enough time for DL to get to them. Losing senior CBs from last year's squad hurts, their coverage was actually quite good, gave DL more time to get to the QBs. Wofford's option is tricky, also slows down the DL's rush, holding them to 14 points was a job well-done.

Biggest issue, IMO, is offensive production. Best friend of the defense is a long time-consuming scoring drive. 2 years ago we had a lot of those, last year just enough, this year hardly any.

But, we are 2-3, been uglier than expected, but right where we should be. I expect the offense to improve, with time and less-stout competition. If so, the defensive performance should also improve.

[calpoke25]

Besides the turnovers though I think that Hazelton doesn’t seem like he has a lot of confidence in our corners (rightfully so after watching WSU abuse them). Our defense isn’t nearly as aggressive because of this fear of leaving them on an island I think. I do believe we brought more pressure last year than we have so far this year.

[ragtimejoe1]

Schedule and freakish turnovers.

Prolific offenses moved the ball on us last year, too. Last year's D vs BSU, Mizzou, and WSU likely wouldn't be that much different than this year.

I think a step back for sure, but not a big leap back.

[J-Rod]

Schedule and freakish turnovers.

Prolific offenses moved the ball on us last year, too. Last year's D vs BSU, Mizzou, and WSU likely wouldn't be that much different than this year.

I think a step back for sure, but not a big leap back.

There is something to be said for this too.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21

#7, #8, #29. Few teams nationally have had it as rough as the Wyo defense in terms of opposition.

Granted, #17, #49, #30 are up next, so it doesn't get much better.

...but the final four games rank 64th, 100th, 106th, and #43 (UNM's QB was ruled out for the season today). The defensive tear will have to wait a few weeks. Truth is, a big reason the 2017 defense's numbers were so strong is because the opposition wasn't good on offense. Even Boise was going through some crap. Things change every year.

[laxwyo]

Veteran QBs know where they are going with the ball a lot sooner than younger ones. I’ve seen Carl beat his man plenty of times just to have the QB get the ball out when he’s 2 steps away.

[ragtimejoe1]

Schedule and freakish turnovers.

Prolific offenses moved the ball on us last year, too. Last year's D vs BSU, Mizzou, and WSU likely wouldn't be that much different than this year.

I think a step back for sure, but not a big leap back.

There is something to be said for this too.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/21

#7, #8, #29. Few teams nationally have had it as rough as the Wyo defense in terms of opposition.

Granted, #17, #49, #30 are up next, so it doesn't get much better.

...but the final four games rank 64th, 100th, 106th, and #43 (UNM's QB was ruled out for the season today). The defensive tear will have to wait a few weeks. Truth is, a big reason the 2017 defense's numbers were so strong is because the opposition wasn't good on offense. Even Boise was going through some crap. Things change every year.

I hadn't looked at the numbers. Wow, those 3 are ranked pretty high.

I definitely agree that last year's schedule facilitated the defensive rankings and probably overall record too. Josh Allen, the amazing number of turnovers, and weak schedule tempered or masked some glaring deficiencies. I think SJSU game was more of a canary than abberation.

[OrediggerPoke]

Veteran QBs know where they are going with the ball a lot sooner than younger ones. I’ve seen Carl beat his man plenty of times just to have the QB get the ball out when he’s 2 steps away.

I'll have to re-watch some games. I have not seen that and have tried to really watch Granderson. Granted I did not watch the whole Boise game as I couldn't stomach it.

[Asmodeanreborn]

Veteran QBs know where they are going with the ball a lot sooner than younger ones. I’ve seen Carl beat his man plenty of times just to have the QB get the ball out when he’s 2 steps away.

I'll have to re-watch some games. I have not seen that and have tried to really watch Granderson. Granted I did not watch the whole Boise game as I couldn't stomach it.

That happened a lot vs Boise. It was frustrating to see how quickly our secondary let somebody get wide open. Unless the O-Line is as incompetent as ours, defensive linemen aren't going to get to the QB in under 2 seconds.

[LanderPoke]

I've noticed the corners giving 6 -10 yards to start and still getting burned deep. That needs to change and it probably will only we get to the easy part of our schedule