Over at the Athletic, Max Olson ($$) tells us about defensive Stop Rate.
Stop rate is a simple measure of defensive success: the percentage of your defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or turnover on downs.
Your current number two team in Stop Rate? That would be the Georgia Bulldogs, at 81.7%. (And, no, Alabama isn’t first. It’s seventh.)
Things could always stand a little improvement, but it’s worth keeping in mind that though Georgia’s sack numbers are minuscule, this defense is getting it done, even in a year that many labeled transitional. Smart and Tucker appear to have a clue.
Get The Picture 
I expect that number to improve this weekend
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Erk would be proud.
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Are we “seeing the bigger picture” in these stats? I feel so woke.
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Last year spoiled us in terms of defensive expectations, so yeah Kirby and Mel have a clue, and many measure us unfairly. The defense with bend don’t break has accomplished its goal. But going into game seven we haven’t tested this defense’s ability to get off the field when we absolutely have to stop someone and get the ball back.
Can defenses be really good when they don’t have that ability to disrupt the offense with a big defensive play at, or behind the LOS? Few can, and that is my fear for this defense. Where is our defensive Jarvis Jones, or R, when we have to get it done? Add to that our recent injuries, and the defense may be good, but are they man enough in a street fight?
Our secondary has shaped up enough at this point to give me some comfort going forward, but the front group may have trouble stopping someone before the red zone, FG range, or when it is getting late in the 4th and we need to make one come from behind drive near the buzzer. You cannot score without the ball (usually) so when they can play keepaway like we can to others. it can be very frustrating. I want to be the guys running the last 7 minutes off the clock in the 4th. We have definitely been spoiled in that regard. On the plus side, the weather looks like it might be giving both teams a break when it comes to depth issues.
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So far this year I’ve certainly been somewhat critical of what I perceived to be our inconsistencies on both sides of the ball. However, the more you delve into the statistics, the more impressed I am. I could get used to this sort of transition year.
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Yeah, for the Vandy game, I watched with more of a “big picture” mindset and found that I enjoyed the game more. Rather than obsessing over each drive and worrying about a mistake in the immediate context, I tried to just look at the overall effect on the game as a whole. I think we have to look at the season in the same manner.
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I’m with you. We have constant analysis and predictions of all 12 games beginning in August and the games become anticlimactic. Like you, I watch the game hypercritical of each play because I was told we would win. High level viewing is the more balanced approach to micro criticism. Now, if I could just do that….
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Bingo. Last year, we thought we might be better, but it was always a 2019 is the projection where we thought we would win it all. So with a lot of youth – talented youth, mind you, but still youth – we are doing great. It drives me crazy when we get an unsportsmanlike penalty (it drives Kirby crazy, too) and I wish we could just walk away from some stuff, but I have to admit that if it was me on that field, I might overreact too. That’s your ‘in the arena’ comment.
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Georgia continues to find new ways to skin the cat.
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My nipples are still erect.
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What are UK, UF and LSU’s Stop Rate rankings?
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