NT Defense Improvement Indicator - More Experienced

[BillySee58]

I went through and ran the numbers on career games started among our defensive players.

Heading into the 2020 season our defensive depth chart had combined to start 59 games at the Division 1 level.

This season, heading into the 2021 season our defensive depth chart has 215 career starts at the Division 1 level, unofficially by my count.

If/when the defense improves this season a lot of the credit will go to Phil Bennett, but this team is just so much better from a roster construction and depth standpoint than they were a year ago. Littrell did a great job of keeping nearly all of our starters while also adding D1 starters from other schools.

We now can couple our stellar recruiting with experience and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see this defense take a big step forward. How big of a step is on Bennett and the players executing, but the horses are here.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

Bennett has probably been through this situation once or twice in his storied career, and with all of the weapons he has, it’s gonna be hard to mess this up. 

[UNTLifer]

Does experience under Bowen count as experience?

[BillySee58]

4 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Does experience under Bowen count as experience?

Yes

[Tom McKrackin]

27 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

Heading into the 2020 season our defensive depth chart had combined to start 59 games at the Division 1 level.

This season, heading into the 2021 season our defensive depth chart has 215 career starts at the Division 1 level, unofficially by my count.

Wow should make a huge difference with more experience.

[Monkeypox]

4 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Does experience under Bowen count as experience?

Now that we've learned what NOT to do...

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, Monkeypox said:

Now that we've learned what NOT to do...

[97and03]

We don’t yet have a defensive depth chart 

[untjim1995]

I think the defense will look better towards the end of the season for a couple of reasons--one, Phil Bennett's scheme will sink in more and more as the year goes on, and two, the schedule gets much easier after the first 7 weeks. It won't surprise me to see posts on this board saying we haven't seen any defensive improvement, but playing @SMU, UAB, @La Tech, @Mizzou, Marshall, and Liberty in the first 7 games is just a gauntlet that is gigantic for where we are right now.

[97and03]

I think we will see plenty of 3 and 4 fronts and the personnel will change based on that. I also hope we have at least a legit two-deep, if not three deep based on the amount of DL we have brought in. We need them to burn eligibility because of the overloaded young classes and also we better hope they can play immediately. 

[BillySee58]

31 minutes ago, 97and03 said:

We don’t yet have a defensive depth chart 

I just counted all of our defensive players. That’s what I meant by defensive depth chart. 

[Udomann]

2 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Does experience under Bowen count as experience?

But seriously. The 215 career starts figure needs relative comparison. What are other teams facing? 215 may be a left tail standard deviation still compared to other teams. Of course it's larger than 59, but in a vacuum it tells us nothing

[BillySee58]

55 minutes ago, Udomann said:

But seriously. The 215 career starts figure needs relative comparison. What are other teams facing? 215 may be a left tail standard deviation still compared to other teams. Of course it's larger than 59, but in a vacuum it tells us nothing

What do you mean by “what are other teams facing?”

[PlummMeanGreen]

Not necessarily us, but what about the teams who had a miserable year last year, but the media says: “the good news is all 11 starters are coming back!😳

[Udomann]

2 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

What do you mean by “what are other teams facing?”

What are others teams facing (or looking at) in terms of returning starters and games played. It could be that 215 is really low or just average. Without relative constraints we can't say its good or bad. I could look it up, but... Lazy.

[BillySee58]

3 hours ago, Udomann said:

What are others teams facing (or looking at) in terms of returning starters and games played. It could be that 215 is really low or just average. Without relative constraints we can't say its good or bad. I could look it up, but... Lazy.

Okay, I figured you were saying something along those lines but facing threw me off. I usually think of that word meaning in opposition, but that’s besides the point.

Anyways, yes I always get these type of comments but as a hobby it has always been easier for me to analyze UNT in a vacuum rather than do all 13 other conference members or even the 6 other division members.

Maybe I can do it for other teams once the two deeps start coming out but I can’t imagine 215 would be left of the national median. That’s basically two seasons of starting experience (~20 starts) at each of the 11 positions. But can’t say for sure.

[Aldo]

I am here for the positivity @BillySee58.

My view is that it can't get any worse.

I do agree that experience is important, but like others have said (maybe 1 I kinda skimmed) is that Bennett has proven he can turn really really bad defenses around within a few seasons.

I've been on hiatus because of life, but now...

 

FOOTBALLLL

[Eagle71]

18 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Does experience under Bowen count as experience?

Yes, because you learned how NOT to play defense.  If you're coachable, Bennett will show you the right way to play the game and it will be an "eye-opening" experience.