Are CAA defenses good or offenses bad?

[Saint3333]

Maybe a little of both. I can't figure out the CAA results to date. Could some CAA provide a ranking of the offenses and defenses, strengths and weaknesses to educate the rest of us?

[R3TRO]

I would say both offenses and defenses are good. Here's a look at the scoring for vs. against from the CAA OOC FCS games.

CAA Scores vs. OOC FCS
UNH = 64-13 (2-0)
UMass = 57-28 (2-0)
JMU = 58-10 (2-0)
Richmond = 68-40 (2-0)
Nova = 57-10 (2-0)
W&M = 67-17 (2-0)
Delaware = 56-9 (2-0)
URI = 52-51 (1-1)
Maine = 31-26 (1-1)
Towson = 57-69 (1-1)

[jmufan999]

5 of the top 8 scoring defenses nationally are from the CAA... that should tell you a lot.

#1 UD - 8.0 ppg
T-2# JMU - 13.3 ppg
#5 UNH - 15.6
#7 W&M - 16.0
#8 Nova - 16.2

i've only seen UNH and UD so i can't really comment on the strengths/weaknesses of each team, but those two are pretty good. i think any CAA team that makes the playoffs this year could be dangerous. could.

[Saint3333]

Alright let's expand on the analysis thus far of "pretty good". Below are the offensive rankings which may be a reflection of the defense played, but are lower than year's past.

Offense:

UMass - 18
Nova - 26
UD - 34
UNH - 43
W&M - 49
Maine - 82
JMU - 83
Towson - 87
URI - 91
Richmond - 95

[ur2k]

Alright let's expand on the analysis thus far of "pretty good". Below are the offensive rankings which may be a reflection of the defense played, but are lower than year's past.

Offense:

UMass - 18
Nova - 26
UD - 34
UNH - 43
W&M - 49
Maine - 82
JMU - 83
Towson - 87
URI - 91
Richmond - 95

It's a weird year. UD and Nova (with Sczuczurcrzr) are the class of the league, but any other team can beat another any day.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

It's a weird year. UD and Nova (with Sczuczurcrzr) are the class of the league, but any other team can beat another any day.

Villanova brought back some of that old time religion in the game against Maine. Even without Szuczur they apparently have a potent offense. The UD/Nova game is always a good one, but this year Delaware Stadium should be busting at the seams for the matchup.

[Reign of Terrier]

but could the great scoring defenses have something to do with bad offenses?

[UNH Fanboi]

I think we could ask the reverse question about some other conferences (good offenses or bad defenses). We'll find out during the playoffs. I think W&M's games against Weber and SIU answered the question pretty well last year.

[Saint3333]

Ask away, but this thread is about the CAA this year, try to stay on topic.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

but could the great scoring defenses have something to do with bad offenses?

I think that is the biggest factor. The scored against most of the OOC opponents have been higher than those against other CAA teams.

[tribefan40]

Ask away, but this thread is about the CAA this year, try to stay on topic.

Yeah but the question is flawed. You use national rankings to evaluate the conference, but we can't analyze similar stats in other conferences? I think the results are consistent with years past. There are three or four teams that will be tough every week, but the reality is that it's a deep conference and 'any given saturday' happens. The games that I have seen (primarily W&M) have featured more defense than offense,which I think is the case throughout the conference this year. Injuries have also played a role (see UR) but good teams will find a way. As others have said, the playoffs will be telling. Hope we get there. xnodx

[Brad82]

Good question-Rhody's defense is much improved.

[Squealofthepig]

It gets back to the old tired tautology: Offense wins games; defense wins championships.

It's a bit hard to judge, but I have to (grudgingly) give kudos to the CAA for some solid defense. It's a bit like the FBS and the SEC, really. They may not be pretty to watch, and the games may in fact bore you to death. But if you're placing money on outcomes, you'd probably place money on the CAA (or SEC).

[Col Hogan]

How to answer the question posed in the opening post???

I will say this...the Richmond defense is sure not hurt like its offense is...

Of course, stupid coaching by UMass helped make the Richmond defense look real good...

[Saint3333]

My comment really comes down to a shift in the CAA over the past few years. I felt like before the CAA was much more balanced with some great offenses (i.e. UNH) and solid defenses. This year it appears everyone has an impoved defense, but no one's offense is explosive. The SoCon has done just the opposite.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I think many CAA teams are in a cycle of having beefed up their defenses to deal with the many high powered offenses. There are some seriously good defenses in the CAA this year!!

The UNH offense didn't have too many problems with Central CT or Lehigh, but every CAA game has been an offensive challenge because of the quality of the defenses. FWIW, I don't agree with all the criticism of our QB because the detractors never mention how often he's throwing before getting nailed by a defender. The JMU fans are all over Dudzik, but at least against UNH he was often throwing under duress.

Richmond may be down to their 4th string QB, but they have three Buchanan candidates on their defense!!! The UNH team that a few years ago had 265 pound DTs now has a 295 and a 300 pound DT along with physical, athletic, 255-265 pound DEs! Add in three seniors in the DB and we feel that this is the best defense we've had in recent memory. JMU has a few very good players on the defensive side of the ball. URI has one outstanding player on their DL who was putting pressure on our QB despite only three man rushes. Those are the teams I've seen so far.

It's FCS with 63 scholarships so one side of the line usually has a little better talent than the other. Right now that pendulum has swung to the defense. xtwocentsx

[purplepeopleeaterv2]

After watching the teams that JMU has played to date I'm convinced that the CAA is a more Defensive conference this year. JMU specifically has an outstanding defense this year but is lacking offensively. Also worth noting is that I believe Liberty has a better defense than advertised.

[State Line Liquors]

Yes and No.