WholeHogSports
KNOCK ON WOOD : Improving rushing defense key to improving Razorbacks’ record
Posted on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/57840/
On the surface, giving up 148. 8 yards of rushing a game doesn’t sound that bad. It’s certainly not great, but at first glance, it doesn’t seem crippling, either.
But going into the Arkansas Razorbacks’ fifth game of the season, it has to concern head coach Houston Nutt and defensive coordinator Reggie Herring.
The Razorbacks are ranked eighth in the SEC in rushing defense and 10 th in total and scoring defense. By contrast, LSU is tops in the league at stopping the run — allowing opponents a paltry 39. 0 yards per game — and is No. 1 in defense overall.
Again, the amount of yardage isn’t necessarily the big deal. Stats are for losers, but what should be of prime concern is that when the Razorbacks’ two SEC opponents wanted and needed to rush the football, the Hogs weren’t able to effectively stop them. Alabama only rushed for 123 yards on the Hogs, but tailback Terry Grant was effective enough on first and second down to keep the Crimson Tide out of tough third-down situations and most importantly to sell the play-action that quarterback John Parker Wilson used so effectively to pick Arkansas’ secondary apart in a 41-38 Tide victory.
The following week, Kentucky struggled running the football in the first half, but in the second half the Wildcats found their way to muscle the Hogs for a total of 170 rushing yards for the game.
On the Wildcats’ goahead drive, Kentucky tailback Derrick Locke picked up chunks of yardage — 5, 6 and 12 yards a pop — as Andre ’ Woodson directed his team to victory.
Yes, Arkansas gave up 265 yards passing to the Wildcats, but it was the Wildcats’ improved second-half rushing attack as well as turnovers and senseless mistakes by Arkansas that paved the way to a Wildcats’ victory.
Even after the Razorbacks’ 66-7 victory over North Texas last Saturday, one of the points of improvement Nutt pointed to is more physical play up front by the Razorbacks’ defensive line.
Now, the defensive line isn’t the only unit responsible for plugging up an opponent’s running game. The D-line works in tandem with the linebackers and safeties to get the job done. Defense is played as a team.
But, then again, there is no secret the Razorbacks’ defensive front has had more than its share of problems off the field since the spring, and those problems may have been a distraction. If so, the Hogs must work their way past it.
Razorbacks defensive linemen Marcus Harrison and Antwain Robinson have All-SEC if not NFLtype ability. Malcolm “ The Wood” Sheppard was a sensation in the spring, Ernest Mitchell proved his merit last fall as a starter and Fred Bledsoe has untapped potential, which we saw on various plays against Kentucky, including his safety on Woodson.
They along with Adrian Davis, Chris Wade and Patrick Jones seem to have the ability to get the job done. They just need to pull together and do it.
If opponents continue to gash the Razorbacks with their running game, there are going to be some more long and perhaps lost Saturdays as the season goes along.
Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.