At least Hogs staying away from big play

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- It's a simple guideline that's not always so simple to follow.
Limit the opponent to two big plays or fewer and your chances of winning increase substantially, Arkansas co-defensive coordinator Bobby Allen said.
One of the reasons the Razorbacks are 4-1 is that they are allowing fewer big plays than they did last year.
Last year, Arkansas allowed 45 plays of 20 yards or longer but is on pace to cut that number almost in half this season. Through five games, the defense has given up 12 plays of 20 yards or longer.
More important, opponents have scored three touchdowns of 20 yards or longer. At this time last year, opponents had scored five times on 20-yard-plus plays and that number reached 12 by the end of the regular season.
The defense has yielded two big plays or fewer in each victory. The exception was against Boise State, which hit four long plays and nearly pulled an upset.
Giving up the big play does more than just create a hole on the scoreboard.
"It really crushes the morale of a team when that happens," co-coordinator John Thompson said. "I don't care if it happens in spring practice. When the ball goes over your head, it's a downer to everyone in the stadium."
Thompson wasn't around to see it last season, but opponents regularly raided Arkansas' defense for big plays. Specifically, long touchdown passes became the common thread that ran through each of the four SEC losses.
Arkansas lived life on the edge in 1999 with the blitz and man-to-man coverage. When it worked, which was much of the time, it produced stops for short gains, sacks and turnovers. When it didn't work, opponents often blew the game open.
Witness LSU, which had won two games all season, throwing touchdown passes of 48, 60 and 67 yards. Alabama, Kentucky and Ole Miss hit long touchdowns in beating the Razorbacks, too.
This year, Georgia stung Arkansas with big plays, including a 44-yard touchdown pass and a 21-yard run, in a 38-7 victory Sept. 30. Boise State struck for four long plays, including a 42-yard touchdown pass and almost upset the Hogs on Sept. 16.
But the defense has avoided the back-breaking plays better than it did last season by expanding its defensive philosophy.
Coaches usually keep the free safety positioned back in the middle of the field rather than cheating him up on the line or sending him on blitzes, and that leaves a safety net in case a receiver slips by a cornerback or running back breaks through a linebacker.
Where the defense played a lot man-to-man coverage under previous coordinator Keith Burns, it has varied its schemes this year. The secondary has played about one-third man-to-man, one-third zone and one-third combination coverage.
"You want to be an aggressive defense but yet you don't want to sell the farm every time when you come with [pressure]," Allen said.
Rover Corey Harris made his first sack of the season Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe as part of a four-man rush. Instead of rushing four defensive linemen, only three lined up and they rushed with Harris.
"Is that a blitz?" Thompson asked rhetorically.
It's an example of how Arkansas has tried to keep offenses off balance with different wrinkles without blitzing six, seven and even eight men frequently, which leaves the defense vulnerable to big plays.
It doesn't hurt to be lucky, too.
Boise State and Georgia beat Arkansas' defensive backs for what would have been a few long-distance touchdowns if the quarterback had not overthrown the passes.
The three times Georgia receivers broke open downfield happened to be during quarters that the Bulldogs were headed toward the north end zone. A strong wind from the south happened to be blowing that day and helped the passes sail high. The 44-yard touchdown they did complete was a short pass turned into a long run on a busted assignment.
"Nobody is happy or satisfied with where we are," Thompson said. "We've given up some, still. But I think our guys are learning to concentrate better.
"You can be aggressive at different times. You want to make the offense find your weakness [by using different schemes], but you don't want to let it be the big play."

This article was published on Wednesday, October 11, 2000

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