FAYETTEVILLE — What's wrong with the Arkansas defense? Ken Hamlin didn't hold back when asked Wednesday at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club.
It was the same sort of thing he told the team a few months ago when he, Quinton Caver and Eddie Jackson spoke the morning of the spring game.
“Overall, we just said that they aren't tough enough, not efficient enough," Hamlin said. "They have to be tougher and get off the field on third down.
“I told them that I didn't see the passion, the accountability from within. I don't see the physical toughness. I told them I didn't know if they knew what it meant to have that Hog on their helmet.”
Hamlin said the team was thankful for the talk.
“What we said, they needed that," Hamlin said.
Hamlin has watched the transition from the 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme on defense. He played both in the NFL. He isn't sure that it's the scheme, or just the lack of ability.
“I don't know if it's the lack of talent, or lack of heart,” he said. “Maybe it's a combination of both. I do see the difference when they line up against Alabama. But if you give it your all, I can live with that. I don't see that.
“I see players break loose and guys change speed (in pursuit). That can't happen. I see people back up to make a tackle. That should never be on film. There's too much of that. I know they can definitely do a better job of recruiting.
“If your leaders are doing that, then the freshmen know it's OK. The leaders have to tell someone that they are wrong.”
The transition to the 3-4 should have helped safeties read keys easier.
“What we did in the 3-4 at Dallas made it easier,” Hamlin said. “The 4-3 requires more communication in the back end. In the 3-4 they shouldn't be factored into the run quite as much and shouldn't get fooled.”
That's an 8-year NFL veteran talking. He was an All-SEC performer for the Hogs and started from 2000-2002.
“What we tried to do at Arkansas was intimidate the other offense,” he said. “We had a 'Code Red' where we went to the other team's locker room on Friday and beat on the door. We wanted them to know we were there.
“It was right up my alley. That was Coach (Keith) Burns. I loved to talk trash.
“The other team in the league that talked trash was Mississippi State. They said they were going to run through our stretch lines in warmups. We were ready. We were standing straight up stretching because I wanted to be the first one to jump on someone's head.”
One of Hamlin's favorite games was the seven-overtime thriller at Ole Miss in 2001.
“Ole Miss fans talked trash, too,” he said. “They told us how they were going to beat them at the start. They were still talking in the first few overtimes. By the fifth, we had their respect. They knew by then that we were not going anywhere and we'd be there until we won.”
Hamlin was asked about the greats of the game. He played with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and Jerry Rice in Seattle.
“I will say that 90 percent of what came out of Peyton's mouth at the line of scrimmage was false,” he said. “But he could make you believe he was calling an audible.
“Peyton ran practice. He took control of every single move. He'd get the defense lined up and could tell them if there was a bad step anywhere.”
Hamlin said he once had hotel security knocking on his door because he was too loud.
“They said Peyton was next door and I was disturbing him,” Hamlin said. “I was talking to my little sister on the phone. I couldn't believe it.”
Hamlin's nickname was "The Hammer." He had running battles with Caver to see who would make the most tackles.
“We had hitters on our team,” he said. “It was a competition with Caver every game, every practice.
“I'm not saying every player on that defense was a heavy hitter. Some guys were not, but they knew they could turn guys into the middle and Quinton and I would take care of it. That's how you do it.
“And, we didn't mind blitzing. South Carolina wanted to throw it, but we came up with a defense we called 'Gamecock' for them. We put seven on the line standing up. We were all coming. They had two seconds to get the pass off or we had them.
“The corners could play press and all they had to worry about was the slant or the go. There wasn't time for anything else. We dictated.”
That's not what he sees now.
“I see a lot of the same issues happening,” he said. “I see the same big plays.
“I will say that I don't know what to correct. It's to the point that there are too many things to correct just one thing.”
Are the players motivated?
“You shouldn't have to be motivated to play this game,” Hamlin said. “If you aren't motivated, you shouldn't be out there.”