Auburn Football 2010: The Defensive Line Turns Up The Heat

One of the biggest problems for the Auburn team in 2009 was rushing defense.  Auburn was ranked 78th nationally in this statistic. It was quite simply one of the worst showings in the history of the University.

Ball State had 195 yards rushing against Auburn. Most assume that Arkansas beat Auburn with the passing attack, but this was not the case. Arkansas had 221 yards rushing against Auburn. Auburn allowed an average of 224 yards per game to be gained on the defense through the first seven games of 2009 before losses due to sacks and tackles for a loss are considered.

The really telling part—it was the weaker half of Auburn’s 2009 schedule. No team can win consistently while allowing their opponents to gain 224 yards per game on the ground.

In the last three games of the season Auburn had turned this around and trimmed nearly 100 yards per game off of this total. What happened that changed these statistics so drastically?

Nick Fairley had five solo tackles against Northwestern. He had one tackle and three assist against Alabama. He had two tackles against Georgia. In fact he had 14 solo tackles for the season and eight of them come in the last three games.

Also during those last three games he had 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries. This shows a steady improvement through the season for both player and team. Nick Fairley is not the only defensive tackle to improve throughout the season, he is simply a good example of one that did.

The same kinds of improvement can be followed by the defensive ends as well. Antoine Carter had seven solo tackles and four assists in the final three games. This is about triple the production for him over the first three SEC games in which he played.

It is no secret that the Auburn defensive line was thin in 2009. One secret that has been kept very well is the massive improvement of this unit over the season. This improvement has continued through the spring.

With new freshmen Nosa Eguae , Jeffrey Whitaker ,  Corey Lemonier , as well as JUCO transfer  Joel Bonomolo due to join the team this summer, look for this unit to go from good to great. Craig Sanders joined the team for spring practice and had a great A-Day.

While the statistical improvement shows that the defensive line will be effective against the rush, will the pass rush be as effective as is needed?

For the 2010 season, Auburn will have good depth at defensive tackle and defensive end. Everyone of these players approaches getting to the quarterback a little different. This will present offenses with a very difficult problem that constantly changes.

The added depth will also make sure that the pressure is applied by a fresh player every down. This means pressure will come in the forth quarter as quickly as it did in the first. An added benefit to this is the presence of Auburn defensive ends with fresh legs in the backfield on every play to help contain the rushing game.

The other change for 2010 is at defensive tackle.

Nick Fairley is a dominant defensive tackle that requires a double team to block and keep out of the backfield. Jeffrey Whitaker is also this type of defensive end. As Nick Fairley perfected his technique, the entire Auburn defensive line became better. If Jeffrey Whitaker can perfect his technique quickly, Auburn could have this type of defensive tackle in the game on every play.

This type of play is most effective on first and second downs and really disrupts the rushing attack.

The use of that extra offensive lineman to block the defensive tackle takes away some of the ability of the offense to provide lead blockers for the running backs, which increases the effectiveness of the strong side defensive end. It also makes blocking the strong side linebacker and middle linebacker a hit and miss probability.

The added benefit of this on third down and long situations is pressure on the quarterback. In a normal passing situation, there are five offensive linemen a running back and tight end to keep the pass rush off the quarterback. This is seven offensive players.

The defense normally has two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, a middle linebacker, and strong side linebacker applying pressure. This is only six defensive players applying pressure.

There is a numerical advantage for the offense around the quarterback. When two offensive players are required to block one defensive tackle, it evens this numerical advantage and allows the weak side linebacker to cover the short quick developing pass better. It also allows the strong side linebacker to focus on the tight end more.

In effect, it makes a short passing game much more difficult and leaves the quarterback waiting on slower developing routes. This increases the chances of a sack.

The added benefit of having more than one such player to work with is the ability of putting them on the field together at certain times. This causes a complete collapse of the pocket and mayhem around the quarterback. With max protection required, it causes a big numerical advantage to the defense and increases the chances of interceptions.

One such player is a luxury most teams do not have in college football. It can mean the difference in an average defense and a top twenty defense. Mike Blanc, Nick Fairley, Derrick Lykes, Jeffrey Whitaker, and Zach Clayton look to turn up the heat on offenses in 2010. 

With the added depth and talent level the 2010 Auburn defensive line fields, fans can look forward to a much more effective overall defense. The defensive secondary will have the time they are required to cover receivers fall dramatically. Auburn will be able to utilize the safety blitz without giving a numerical advantage to the offensive receivers.

The defensive secondary will have to make less plays against the rushing attack. This will lead to more forced turnovers and three and outs. Defending less plays means a fresher defense on one hand, and the powerful Auburn offense running more plays on the other.  

Auburn only plays one team with a truly superior offensive line in 2010. Georgia has a truly dominant offensive line. In every other game in 2010, the Auburn defensive tackles should rule the line of scrimmage. In this game, it will be up to the defensive ends to elude blocks and get to the quarterback and running backs.