Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/890458
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS Stats don't paint an accurate picture of Penn State's defensive performance umbers, not statistics, are what defensive coordinator Brent Pry is more concerned about. Points allowed? So long as they are fewer than what his offense is scoring. Yards? See question A. Plays? The more there are, the more opportunities he has to develop his players. Tackles? It's not about who leads, but how many follow. When it comes to quantifying the suc- cess of his defense, Pry doesn't dwell long on the stat sheet and where his team stands in comparison to others. "I don't know where we are," he said. "I look at each week [to figure out] what we're doing well and what we're not doing well enough – not statistically, just from the video." Are his players staying true to their as- signments? Are they running to the football? Are they causing disruption when they can? Are the backups up- holding the standard of the starters? Those are the items that first grab his at- tention before he analyzes the data. The approach works, because if Pry were to take a peek at the statistics, this is what he would find: At the season's midpoint, his was the only unit in the country that was allow- ing fewer than 10 points per game. The Lions were also holding opponents to 4.01 yards per snap, ranking them as one of the top 15 stingiest de- fenses in the country on a play-by-play basis. When it comes to total yards, Penn State was outside the top 25, but it had been on the field for a lot of plays. In the Big Ten, only Iowa had played more defensive snaps than Penn State's 427 through six games – and on average, the Hawkeyes' oppo- nents were outgaining Penn State's op- ponents by 1.3 yards per play. Pry, however, assesses his defense's success using a multitude of other vari- ables. He first takes into account that Penn State has seven senior starters and an abundance of experience. "We've got some old heads out there who can ad- just," he said. Steadiness at defensive tackle and at middle linebacker provides the frame- work. "You grow your defense from the inside out," he said, "and we have three stalwarts there." Overall athleticism, quickness and agility across the board are factors as well. "We're a staff that believes in team speed," Pry said. JUDGMENT CALL N NOTHING DOING Parker Cothren wraps up North- western running back Justin Jackson. Photo by Steve Manuel