3 Traits of a Bob Diaco Defense

[Saunders]

1. "No Crease" is No JokeDiaco's defense has come to be known as the "no crease" defense, which loosely means fill the gaps to eliminate horizontal creases, don't be overly blitz reliant to avoid vertical creases and remain assignment sound. The goal there being to prevent the big play. Every defensive coordinator would probably prefer to play that way, but Diaco did it at Notre Dame.

Between 2010 and 2013, the average college defense gave up an explosive play (20-plus yards) on 6.16 percent of its total plays defended. These were Diaco's numbers at Notre Dame:

2010: 5.31

2011: 3.95

2012: 4.34

2013: 3.66

Nebraska's numbers under Mark Banker:

2015: 8.70

2016: 5.96

Taken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

 

[suh_fan93]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

 

[Mavric]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

Iowa's Defensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 24

2011 - 37

2012 - 59

2013 - 6

Iowa's Offensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 21

2011 - 58

2012 - 115

2013 - 96

So while neither was particularly good in 2012, their defense was usually significantly better than their offense. So it's definitely not all the defense's fault.

 

[BigRedBuster]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

There's a lot more to winning a football game than defense.

 

[suh_fan93]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

There's a lot more to winning a football game than defense.

Which is why a stat like this is can be very misleading which is exactly my point...

 

[SuperBigFan69]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

There's a lot more to winning a football game than defense.

Exactly and lucky for us we have good offensive coaches.

 

[Saunders]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

We barely beat the 2011 and 2012 teams, and got mudholed by the 2013 team.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

"No Crease" is No JokeTaken as a four-year chunk, Diaco's Notre Dame defenses gave up an explosive play 4.31 percent of the time. That was second nationally during that span, trailing only Florida State and one spot ahead of -- drumroll, please -- Iowa.

http://hailvarsity.com/s/864/3-traits-of-a-bob-diaco-defense

Iowa's record during those 4 years just to put things into perspective.

2010: 8-5

2011 7-6

2012 4-8

2013 8-5

That's great that Iowa didn't give up a ton of big plays during those 4 years but it didn't necessarily translate into them doing great things or even close to it. Just sayin'.

We barely beat the 2011 and 2012 teams, and got mudholed by the 2013 team.

Uggggg, I have never heard the term "mudholed" Wow, gross!

 

[NUance]

Iowa's Defensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 24

2011 - 37

2012 - 59

2013 - 6

Iowa's Offensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 21

2011 - 58

2012 - 115

2013 - 96

So while neither was particularly good in 2012, their defense was usually significantly better than their offense. So it's definitely not all the defense's fault.

2010 was a weird year for Iowa. Both offense and defense in the top 25, yet they only won 8 games. I guess that's why you can't look at these stats in isolation.

Okay, now looking at these stats in isolation, it seems that Iowa's offense has really been holding them back the past three years.

Edit: As I look at this post, I guess it's a bit off-topic for this thread. No meant derail. lol

 

[Saunders]

Iowa's Defensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 24

2011 - 37

2012 - 59

2013 - 6

Iowa's Offensive Rank in Yards per Play:

2010 - 21

2011 - 58

2012 - 115

2013 - 96

So while neither was particularly good in 2012, their defense was usually significantly better than their offense. So it's definitely not all the defense's fault.

2010 was a weird year for Iowa. Both offense and defense in the top 25, yet they only won 8 games. I guess that's why you can't look at these stats in isolation.

Okay, now looking at these stats in isolation, it seems that Iowa's offense has really been holding them back the past three years.

Edit: As I look at this post, I guess it's a bit off-topic for this thread. No meant derail. lol

They weren't bad, just didn't do well in close games. They lost all 5 games by a touchdown or less.

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-10/big-ten/2010-iowa-hawkeyes-football-schedule.php

 

[NUance]

Here's another data point:

Notre Dame Scoring Defense

2010 #23

2011 #24

2012 #2

2013 #27

link

 

[SuperBigFan69]

Here's another data point:

Notre Dame Scoring Defense

2010 #23

2011 #24

2012 #2

2013 #27

link

The only stat I care about it when it comes to defense.

 

[JJ Husker]

You can try to pick it apart anyway you wish but the fact is Diaco has had better defensive results than we have. Sure there is more to winning games but it's a helluva lot easier to win when you're not giving up big plays and you're limiting the points the other team is scoring. Not sure what the point is in trying to paint it any other way.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Here's another data point:

Notre Dame Scoring Defense

2010 #23

2011 #24

2012 #2

2013 #27

link

The only stat I care about it when it comes to defense.

It's really the only one that matters.

 

[JJ Husker]

Here's another data point:

Notre Dame Scoring Defense

2010 #23

2011 #24

2012 #2

2013 #27

link

The only stat I care about it when it comes to defense.

It's really the only one that matters.

Well sort of but I bet you wouldn't find many teams with a good scoring defense rank if they're giving up a bunch of big plays and have other crappy defensive stats. Those good scoring defense stats don't happen in a vacuum.