Defensive strategy: LBs dropping into coverage

I've had the chance to go back and watch the Arkansas game. There are two very different things that happened in the game. First, Georgia took far fewer defensive chances in the second half. Second, Arkansas decided to go over the middle more.

In the second half:

• Allen completed 20 of his 28 passes
• Arkansas had 230 yards through the air
• The Razorbacks scored three passing TDs, two of them in 4-6 yard territory

Now, there were a couple of things at play. First, with a significant lead, Pruitt blitzed less. Second, by doing so, we were seeing what we could do in coverage while rushing four. Third, that led to a number of pass interference calls, including three in the second half that extended drives.

Oh, and it also resulted in a number of plays where a late releasing WR was open in the middle with a linebacker in hot pursuit, but not closing fast enough.

I get what Pruitt wanted to do. Without the game on the line, he was getting his young CBs some work on an island, and our LBs some more work in covering middle passes. Call it a mixed bag, because I thought Bowman did a good job, outside on one glaring mistake. I wanted to read more into the breakdowns on pass protection in the second half, but I think we went away from what worked in the first half on purpose.

TD

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