Porous Defenses Everywhere

Mean Green 93-98 · November 15, 2007

Points onslaught makes mincemeat of national defense

By Dennis Dodd

CBSSports.com Senior Writer

It was bad. Real bad for Ron Mendoza.

At the end of The Week That Defense Died, North Texas' defensive coordinator was searching for answers. Along with perhaps a shot of Jack. Mendoza and his players were on the losing end of the highest scoring I-A regulation game in history, contributing to one of the highest scoring weeks in the sport in recent memory.

Still, Navy only squeaked out a 74-62 victory. That's because Navy's porous defense was almost as bad as North Texas'. Almost.

"On the record or off?" Mendoza said when asked what he did Saturday after his defense surrendered 70 for the second time this season.

We told you it was bad.

The offensive revolution that has taken over college football since roughly the beginning of this decade has been well chronicled. Another set of national records is being established this season in scoring, passing yards and total yards. Last week, more than a quarter of I-A teams scored at least 40 points. North Texas was one of 11 that scored at least 50. It was the only one of the group that lost.

CBSSports.com decided to look at this scoring explosion from the other side of the ball. What is happening to defenses that are at such a disadvantage these days that games probably feel like ambushes? For those who love defense, will it ever be like 2001 again? That's the last year a defense (Miami) allowed less than 10 points per game.

"We'll probably never see somebody holding people to nine points a game, 10 points a game," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said.

Never? Only 10 years ago, Michigan won a share of a national championship limiting teams to 8.9 points. If current leader Ohio State holds limiting opponents to 11.4 points, it would be the second-highest average to lead the country since 1995.

"I will never fail to believe that you can't play good defense against somebody," said Tomey, whose 1993 Arizona "Desert Swarm" defense allowed 331 rushing yards in a season. "I believe you can, but obviously it's much, much tougher." Almost impossible for North Texas, which regularly plays I-A non-conference heavyweights (Oklahoma and Arkansas this season) in guarantee games. In the 916 games North Texas has played in its history, it has given up 70 points only four times. Two of those games have come in the past 11 weeks. The season started with a 79-10 loss to Oklahoma and went South from there. Mendoza soldiered on as the guy in charge of (statistically) the worst defense in the country. Worst, at least, in scoring D (almost 50 points per game). Second-worst in yards surrendered per game (518.2).

"I got with my family, and my grandson, and they consoled me," Mendoza said, his only on-the-record comment regarding his Navy postgame depression. "It all falls back on me ... I'm ultimately responsible."

A year ago, Mendoza was coaching in high school at powerful Southlake (Texas) Carroll. In fact, the past quarter century of his career has been in the preps. This is his first college since a year spent as a grad assistant with New Mexico Highlands in 1980.

There have been better times to jump up into the big time. For this man of 51, 30 is the new 20. That is, 30 points per game, which is roughly the average points per team this season (28.4 points, up four from 2006).

"It's tough," Mendoza said. "The offenses have gotten a lot better, a lot faster. You're having 6-6 receivers and 6-5 receivers who run like deer. That kid at Oklahoma makes a lot of folks look silly. The running backs at Arkansas? Gosh almighty."

That exclamation would be in reference to Oklahoma's gifted receiver Malcolm Kelly and Arkansas tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. The trio accounted for six touchdowns against the Mean Green, which is four fewer than what Navy put up in North Texas on Saturday.

Mendoza is not a lone victim. Even grizzled veteran coaches feel like they're chipping out of pot bunkers on most Saturdays. The NCAA rules committee has been passing rules in favor of the offense for years. The rise of the spread offense has taken advantage of one of the most difficult defensive skills to perfect: tackling in space.

"You can catch a guy out of position a yard or two down the field," West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez said. "The hardest thing to do on defense is tackle in the open field."

De facto holding has been legal for offensive linemen for years.

"They acknowledge that if you have your hands inside (the shoulders) and are holding onto the jersey, it's OK," Oklahoma's Bob Stoops said. "I don't see it changing."

Michael Clark, chairman of the NCAA football rules committee, is hesitant to do anything at the moment. In 2006, timing rules cut down the number of plays. Coaches howled and the rules were re-adjusted for this season. Game length is up 14 minutes from 2006 to 3:21. The average offense runs 72 plays, up an average of eight from last season.

"You don't want to be reactionary," said Clark, the coach at Division III Bridgewater. "I thought two years ago we were reacting to game length. (But) competitive balance is always on the table. We always try to look for trends. Is this just a spoke in the road that is going to sustain itself?"

Every coach talks about evolution. The defenses will eventually catch up, but how? Cornerback might be the loneliest position in football considering the height and speed of the modern receiver. Defensive linemen are harder to find than cheap gas. Linebackers are less likely to even play when coaches are forced to play more defensive backs to combat four- and five-receiver sets.

"Defense is recognition," Tomey said. "The biggest thing is you've got to believe you can stop people. You've got to go in feeling like you're not going to give up touchdown after touchdown after touchdown."

There already is a league like that. It's called Arena Football. One stop during the game by a defense can literally be the difference between winning and losing. Sometimes it seems that all college football needs is a roof to join the AFL.

Tomey's old Arizona defense was in the top two in rushing defense three consecutive years from 1992-94. Now if a team is good against the run, it usually means the opponent is having an easy time passing. Currently, Oregon State is No. 1 in rush defense but 82nd in pass defense.

It's depressing to learn the old tenet: Things will change because they always do.

When?

• In general, most coordinators still haven't figured out how to account for the quarterback being a runner. UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan rushed for 108 yards last season, 55 of them in the upset of USC. The Trojans completely disregarded Cowan as a running threat during the afternoon that knocked them out of the national championship race.

Ten years ago, a defense could dismiss most quarterbacks as runners. Now Tim Tebow dominates games because he has a rocket arm and the body of a linebacker.

• There are only a handful of defenses that can generate a consistent pass rush with four players. Once a coordinator starts blitzing to compensate, he leaves himself open to the big play in the secondary. Defensive masterminds Nick Saban of Alabama and Bo Pelini of LSU try to mix up their blitzes, playing a game of cat-and-mouse, gambling that their defenders can reach the quarterback before he can throw.

• Defensive linemen are still the rarest commodity in the sport. Unless some coach taps into a gusher on the recruiting trail, it's going to stay that way.

• Normally we would look at the defense-rich SEC to show us the way, but as of this week, the league is the second-highest scoring in the country (30.7 points per team).

Until something changes, guys like Mendoza will need more than a hug on most Saturdays. They'll need a therapist.

"We told our kids it was going to be a high-scoring affair," Mendoza said, Navy still on his mind. "We made them punt two times. That's something other people haven't done."

greenminer · November 15, 2007

Those are the first Mendoza quotes I've read all season.

Got5onIt · November 15, 2007

"It's tough," Mendoza said. "The offenses have gotten a lot better, a lot faster. You're having 6-6 receivers and 6-5 receivers who run like deer. That kid at Oklahoma makes a lot of folks look silly. The running backs at Arkansas? Gosh almighty."

Is he really that surprised? :blink:

Mean Green 93-98 · November 15, 2007

Those are the first Mendoza quotes I've read all season.

I've got to admit, I thought it a little strange that Coach Mendoza has been withheld from our local reporters; and yet a national reporter with no particular interest in the success of UNT is able to get a couple of quotes from him.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · November 15, 2007

I've got to admit, I thought it a little strange that Coach Mendoza has been withheld from our local reporters; and yet a national reporter with no particular interest in the success of UNT is able to get a couple of quotes from him.

It's just another rookie mistake by Dodge. Driving home from the OU game, two Sooner assistants were sitting in on a radio talk show and taking phone calls. I don't know if they do that every week, or just for home games, or what. But, the point is, they are available to the public after the game.

Seems to me that you'd like the public and press to get to know your guys as much as possible. Maybe not. KSU's Bill Snyder didn't let his assistants speak. Not surprisingly, most left when they had a chance. The biggest and most painful losses came when OU hired Bob Stoops and he raided Snyder for Brent Venables, his brother Mike, and Mark Mangino. Venables had played for Kansas State less than seven season prior. But, he jumped ship for the media-friendly Stoops.

Anyway, from this interview, Mendoza doesn't seem like a monster. It seems like he has a pretty good perspective on it. Perhaps locals wouldn't be so hard on him if Dodge would just let him get out and talk.

What could hurt? The guy can't be more of a nightmare than Mike Leach.

Edited November 15, 2007 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

forevereagle · November 15, 2007

It's just another rookie mistake by Dodge. Driving home from the OU game, two Sooner assistants were sitting in on a radio talk show and taking phone calls. I don't know if they do that every week, or just for home games, or what. But, the point is, they are available to the public after the game.
Seems to me that you'd like the public and press to get to know your guys as much as possible. Maybe not. KSU's Bill Snyder didn't let his assistants speak. Not surprisingly, most left when they had a chance. The biggest and most painful losses came when OU hired Bob Stoops and he raided Snyder for Brent Venables, his brother Mike, and Mark Mangino. Venables had played for Kansas State less than seven season prior. But, he jumped ship for the media-friendly Stoops.
Anyway, from this interview, Mendoza doesn't seem like a monster. It seems like he has a pretty good perspective on it. Perhaps locals wouldn't be so hard on him if Dodge would just let him get out and talk.
What could hurt? The guy can't be more of a nightmare than Mike Leach.

Very valid point. It would be nice if Dodge would even explain the decision since we can't hear directly from Mendoza.

class84 · November 15, 2007

A. I'm glad he is accepting responsibility

B. The man sounds overwhelmed by his position

C. The visual of our DC being consoled by his family after a game doesn't give me a great deal of confidence about his or our future, at least in the short term.

GoMeanGreen1999 · November 16, 2007

I've got to admit, I thought it a little strange that Coach Mendoza has been withheld from our local reporters; and yet a national reporter with no particular interest in the success of UNT is able to get a couple of quotes from him.

It is a little surprising to read that from a national guy. When I saw the thread topic, I never expected it would have comments from Mendoza.

GoMeanGreen1999 · November 16, 2007

"It's tough," Mendoza said. "The offenses have gotten a lot better, a lot faster. You're having 6-6 receivers and 6-5 receivers who run like deer. That kid at Oklahoma makes a lot of folks look silly. The running backs at Arkansas? Gosh almighty."

I guess Mendoza wasn't around the game of football when Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders both ran for OSU in the same season.