Only three games into the season, it might feel like UH’s defenders have put in overtime. . They have played 284 snaps, the fourth-highest total nationally among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. In back-to-back weeks, Arizona and Texas Tech ran 100 plays apiece.
All the extra repetitions have put a strain on a defense that lacks depth and will enter Saturday’s game against Texas Southern without safety Garrett Davis (broken foot) and linebacker Darrion Owens (knee).
“At the end of the day, our emphasis is what I have talked about since the spring — that we are trying to build more depth and create more competition,” UH defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio said. “Because when you play the number of plays that we are playing right now, either your really good players are going to get tired or they are going to be in ultimate condition. Or you have to put somebody in that’s maybe a drop-off.
True genius from CMD’O. If you play a lot you are going to get tired. If your first string gets tired and you play your second string there will be a drop off in ability. Duh…
Agreed. I had not thought about your first point but it’s entirely possible.
Hopefully the coach is getting the ENTIRE team ready but maybe it should be mentioned to him just in case.
The problem is that our bend, don’t break defense is not compatible with our fast paced offense. When you face a decent offense and have to defense 100 plays a game, no matter how much you bend there are going to be some defensive breaks.
When they asked Gibbs about Kliff’s Offense he said “All we have to do is give up less points than our opponents”.
Gibbs takes chances. One blitz he used several times was overloading the weak side with a rush LB and a DB. One of the guys was always unblocked creating pressure.