Mean Green Defense Struggles

[MeanGreen61]

NT defense struggles

Mean Green still one of two winless teams in Sun Belt

Shawn Edwards

Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: SPORTS

After five games, NT (0-5, 0-2) remains winless. The offense has begun to find its rhythm under Todd Dodge's new offensive system, but the defense has continued to struggle.

So far this season, the defense is surrendering 547 yards of total offense per game and has allowed each opponent to score 30 or more points.

"We have to improve on giving up the big plays, and we've got to improve on forcing turnovers," Dodge said. "That is something that we are really focusing in on this week."

With last week's loss to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (1-5, 1-1), NT is one of only two teams in the Sun Belt Conference without a win. Stopping the run has been a major problem for the defense this season as it has given up more than 160 yards on the ground per game.

The team will not have a break this week as the University of Louisiana-Monroe (1-4, 1-1), led by leading rusher in the conference Calvin Dawson, comes to Denton this Saturday. Dawson averages 134 rushing yards per game.

Senior linebacker Maurice Holman said that everybody on the defense will have to execute the assignment given to each of them against Dawson.

"That's the only thing we aren't doing," Holman said. "We are in position and we are doing everything we have to do to get there. We just have to make the play."

NT has moved from the 3-4 defensive scheme it used last season to 4-3 this year. Senior defensive back Aaron Weathers said he does not feel there need to be any drastic changes to the defensive scheme at this point in the season for the defense to improve.

"We just need to listen to our coaches in practice, focus on our job and watch a lot of film," Weathers said. "I just need to be a leader, communicate with my team and try to go out there and make plays."

Big plays have hurt the defense all year, with opponents totaling 21 scoring drives that have taken less than two minutes. Dodge said that the defense will have to eventually stop those big plays from happening.

The defense was able to make a few improvements in the loss to ULL. For the first time all season, the defense held its opponent without a first down on its first two possessions. The defense recorded only two sacks the previous four games but recorded two, the most in a game this year, against the Ragin' Cajuns.

Dodge said the defense has progressed and was able to meet some of the goals set for the game against ULL.

"One of the huge deals that we want to achieve on defense is to get three-and-outs," Dodge said. "During the course of a ball game we want to force five three-and-outs. We forced five against Louisiana-Lafayette. .... The one thing that I have to do as a football coach with our defense and our defensive coaching staff is to make sure that I point out that we are making progress."

Weathers said he feels some pressure to step up defensively and help out the offense.

"We've got to play a lot better than we have been," Weathers said. "The offense is scoring points and we have to do our job so that we can get a win."

Although the defense ranks at the bottom of the nation in points and yards allowed per game, Dodge said it cannot look back but has to focus on improving everyday.

"We've got more games left than we have already played," Dodge said. "We have a great opportunity to improve and we expect to go win every game we play."