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I claim that for non-BCS teams it is easier to begin building a strong program by focusing first on offense, then defense.

Name one non-BCS program that has a strong defense, especially against the power conferences. There may be some, but very few if any. Look at BG, Boise St., and also Louisville (non-BCS before this year). They all have very powerful offenses but give up lots of points on defense against better teams. Some might say TCU, but they had a lousy defense last year and in spite of their victory against Oklahoma, whose young QB play was terrible, I'm not convinced yet about their defense. Utah had a good defense last year, but their tradition was based on defense long before Meyer got there.

You can argue that BG and other non-BCS teams don't focus on recruiting good defensive players, especially defensive linemen, but I can't buy that argument. Big and athletic defensive linemen and linebackers are at a premium and the top programs do everything they can to get them.

The best chance a non-BCS coach who wants to build a program has is to:

1-focus first on creating a powerful offense and create a national reputation for exciting football.

2-then hope that this reputation will help him bring in some big and athletic defensive linemen and linebackers so that he can build a strong defense.

If he can be successful at doing 1 and then 2, then he has a chance to build a top program that can do well against anyone.

This strategy does not mean of course that you neglect building a defense. It just means that building a good offense first and then hoping to ride this success and build a good defense makes the most sense.

I believe that Coach Brandon is following this strategy. He has a powerful and exciting offense. Can he use this to recruit better defensive players, big and athletic defensive players? Time will tell.

It is extremely difficult in recruiting top defensive players to go against programs like Ohio State, Auburn, Oklahoma, USC, and so on. Or even programs like Michigan State, West Virginia, Boston College, and Virginia.

Give Coach Brandon credit. He knows and has publicly stated that "defense wins championships". Every other coach, especially in the big programs knows this as well.

I think it is unrealistic to expect quick results in this area. Let's see how our defense develops over the next 2-3 years.

GO BG!!

good points. I think the hiring of lovett was a calculated move to start building this defense. I'll give him about 3 years. If he doesn't have a championship (read; Miami) level defense by then, I'll be upset and disappointed.

I'm hoping to see some halftime adjustments against Boise. It'll be good practice for the 2 games at the end of the year that actually count now.

Salsa wrote: I think it is unrealistic to expect quick results in this area. Let's see how our defense develops over the next 2-3 years.

And let's hope our offense can stay strong over that period. Omar will probably be gone after this season.

Salsa wrote:
You can argue that BG and other non-BCS teams don't focus on recruiting good defensive players, especially defensive linemen, but I can't buy that argument. Big and athletic defensive linemen and linebackers are at a premium and the top programs do everything they can to get them.

The best chance a non-BCS coach who wants to build a program has is to:

1-focus first on creating a powerful offense and create a national reputation for exciting football.

2-then hope that this reputation will help him bring in some big and athletic defensive linemen and linebackers so that he can build a strong defense.

If he can be successful at doing 1 and then 2, then he has a chance to build a top program that can do well against anyone.

This strategy does not mean of course that you neglect building a defense. It just means that building a good offense first and then hoping to ride this success and build a good defense makes the most sense.

I believe that Coach Brandon is following this strategy. He has a powerful and exciting offense. Can he use this to recruit better defensive players, big and athletic defensive players? Time will tell.

It is extremely difficult in recruiting top defensive players to go against programs like Ohio State, Auburn, Oklahoma, USC, and so on. Or even programs like Michigan State, West Virginia, Boston College, and Virginia.

Give Coach Brandon credit. He knows and has publicly stated that "defense wins championships". Every other coach, especially in the big programs knows this as well.

I think it is unrealistic to expect quick results in this area. Let's see how our defense develops over the next 2-3 years.

GO BG!!

These are great points. I agree with this viewpoint because we are trying to use are explosive and entertainig offense to bring in defensive recruits. Its really hard because recruiting is a flat out battle for D line man and LBs. When i go to rivals100.com to see the best D lineman and Lbs in the country, the size of the players and competition between schools is crazy. These D lineman that are going to these national powerfouse programs are are 290 to 350 lbs compared to Bg's 260 to 290lbs D lineman. As for the LBs, Bg's linebacker size isnt that bad compared to the best in the nation, the only difference is that they are running 4.5 and 4.4 40 yards dashes. The have the speed and size combination, which is lacking at Bg. The last linebackers we had with the great combination of size and speed was mitch Hewitt and NFL bound Washington Redskin Khary Campbell. We will know our program is moving in the right direction of stopping the run when we recruit some size on the D line and some big speedy LBs. i think that using our amazing and attractive offense wil attract some quality D lineman and LBs because they will see that we need them!! and hopefully they will come to help us out. One thing we should be proud of is that bg is getting some great offensive recruits which will maintain our high powered offense.

Anthony Turner is the Real Deal, if omar leaves, we will be solid!!!

go Falcons