FAYETTEVILLE By Willy Robinson's account, Arkansas' defense should be pretty good in 2008 because of the team it faces every day in practice a wide-open Razorback offense.
"We're probably not going to see a whole heck of a lot different from anybody we face. Our offense prepares us for two back, one back, spread,"
the Arkansas defensive coordinator said.
For the past three seasons, the Razorback defense practiced against two-time Heisman Trophy runnerup Darren McFadden and also tailback Felix Jones, both of whom are in NFL camps. The Wild Hog formation added a few new wrinkles in 2006 and 2007, but under new head coach Bobby Petrino the Arkansas offense hopes to choose from a number of weapons with Casey Dick at quarterback and Michael Smith carrying the ball.
"I have been really impressed with Casey on how much his technique has improved and how coachable he is,"
Petrino said. "I'm excited about our running backs, there's going to be some young speed. Guys who work hard."
And the guys who are working hard in practice are helping Robinson build a defensive unit that can provide steady pressure on opposing teams.
"Rush the quarterback. Hit the quarterback,"
Robinson said. "What kind of pressure? It depends on how we match up. If you can't create pressure with your four down linemen, now all of a sudden ... they're holding onto the ball for an exorbitant amount of time. It doesn't matter how sticky the coverage is, somebody is going to be open."
Antwain Robinson, a senior defensive end from Little Rock, said the defensive coaches' philosophy is to seek out big plays.
"This game is all about big plays and momentum swings,"
said Robinson, who is not related to the coach. "You want to bring pressure on the quarterback each and every play. Make him make the right decision or the wrong decision. That's how you create turnovers."
Robinson, the coach, said that while he "cut my teeth"
with the blitz, he wasn't sure how often the Razorbacks will use it in the fall.
"What personnel group do you want to do it with? What down and distance do we want to do it?"
he asked. "Each game it's going to be something different and how we view our opponent."
"To be able to sit down there and judge our players against the personnel we have on offense at the skill positions, day in and day out, is a competitive situation. So we'll be able to go into the game with confidence when we play whoever we play."
But the work figuring out all this is leaving the players exhausted.
"Everybody's going 100 mph on the practice field,"
said Antwain Robinson, the defensive end. "When you get done the only thing you can think about is laying your head down on a pillow and going to sleep."
