No Progress

The pain and the frustration were evident in the Air Force Lockeroom following Wyomings 56-23 win Saturday Night. And its now 3 weeks in a row the Falcons have this same kind of feeling. Its more than just losing a game. Its how Air Force is losing. The defense is getting shelled. Teams are throwing the ball all over the field and scoring at will. A 5 yard pass turns into a 15 yard gain or more. The numbers the Falcons defense have given up are staggering: In the last 3 games Air Force has given up 150 points, 1732 yards of Total Offense, and the last 3 quarterbacks the Falcons have faced are a combined 96-112 for 1037 yards and 10 touchdowns. So, what to do? Look, its not just one issue with the defense, and blame can't fall on just one person. Troy Calhoun certainly has to look at the defensive scheme he uses. It tends to be a 3 man front with 4 linebackers, with the outside guys up on the line on occasion, and 4 deep in the secondary. The last 3 games the Falcons have played a lot of nickel with a 5th defensive back coming in for a linebacker. Against Utah State Air Force gave wide receivers a big cushion off the line of scrimmage. Against Boise state they tightend up a bit in the second half. Saturday, Wyoming did not throw as many bubble screens but were more aggresive throwing down the field. Whatever the Falcons tried did not work. I would like to see the Air Force play man to man on the receivers and blitz as often as they can. You can rush 5, have 5 guys playing man to man when the offense uses 5 wide receivers, and your 11th guy can be a hybrid. He can "spy" the quarterback, especially if he tends to run. He can drop back in coverage, or he can blitz. The problem with blitzing is, most qb's throw from the shotgun and throw quick so its hard to get to them. But you have to do something to knock offenses off their rhythm. You need to take away the short passing game and make them throw over your head. You don't play defense backing up. And these days you can't drop 7 or 8 guys into zone ccoverage and stop teams. It does not work. A lot of fans have asked me about coaching. Here's what I know. The Air Force defense has not been the same since Tim Deruyter left. I think Defensive Coordinator Charlton Warren has to look at everything he is doing and, if need be, simplify the defense, and make it more aggressive. Here's what I don't know-Have the Falcons used essentially the same gameplan the last 3 games? If the answer is yes, then the coaches have to take a lot of blame. Youth-There is a lot of it on the defense. The only way you get older and wiser is play through it. I did like the fact we did see more of older players like Jared Jones, Chris Miller and Connor Healy, who have playing experience, in the 2nd half. Bottom line-everyobe must share the blame for the demise of the defense. Its Coaches, its players, its gameplans. Change must happen. If they don't, get used to more big numbers, especially in the loss column.