Chop Chat
Fansided

FSU Football: The defense can be elite in 2018 with one improvement

By Kelvin Hunt

DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 14: Emmett Rice #56 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts after an interception against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 14: Emmett Rice #56 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts after an interception against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

FSU football needs its defense to get back to being elite with all the talent on the roster.

Most people thought the FSU football defense would be among the elite teams going into the 2017 season. The crazy thing is they played like it in the season opener against Alabama who’d go on to have a top 25 offense.

However, poor defensive coaching and poor situational tactics cost the Noles at least two wins in 2017.

The Noles went on to finish the season the No. 33 ranked defense according to S&P advanced metrics. It was the worst defensive finish since the 2014 team and ironically both were teams were coached by the same defensive coordinator.

READ: 3 Improvements To Expect From FSU Defense

When you delve into the numbers though, FSU wasn’t really as bad a defense as those numbers could indicate. Check these stats:

  • No. 11 in yards per play
  • No. 29 in explosive plays allowed
  • No. 15 in passes defended
  • No. 20 points allowed per game

3rd Down Conversions

FSU football wasn’t terrible on third down conversion, coming in at 36.18 percent (72 of 199 converted) in 2017. However, it was terrible on third and long(Kelly).

The Noles defense faced third and seven or longer 123 times in 2017. That’s right 62 percent of third downs the defense faced was third and seven or longer, and they allowed those to be converted at a 20 percent clip.

If we break it down further, 59 percent (72 of 123) were third downs of 10 yards or more. So as FSU fans know all to well, they were great at getting stops on first and second down.

However, it was those third and long conversions that were absolute killers for that defense.

No team with the talent of FSU should be allowing teams to convert 20 percent of third and seven or longer. I expect that number to change quite a bit in 2018.

Stopping those long conversions gets the defense off the field first and foremost so they can rest. It obviously helps end scoring threats and gives the offense more opportunities to score themselves.

Next: Top 3 Takeaways From Spring Camp 2018

It also improves all those numbers were FSU was decent in (bullet section above). If a FSU can be top 10 in those categories, there’s a good chance they’ll be elite and win a lot of games.

Home/FSU Football