Countdown to Army-Navy 2018: GBK Preview - Midshipmen’s Defense

GoBlackKnights.com continues our preview of Navy with a look at the Midshipmen defense. As noted in our introductory article, both Army and Navy play a similar 3-4 defense, although there are some differences in the labels used for linebackers and certainly some differences in defensive schemes that are beyond the scope of our analysis.

Defensive Line:

- LE: Senior Josh Webb (6-5, 250 lbs) appeared in 10 games and played 321 of the 791 total defensive snaps for Navy in 2018. Has registered 9 Total Tackles, including 2.0 TFLs. Webb carries a negative 4.4 rating from Pro Football Focus for the season.

- NT: Junior Jackson Pittman (6-3, 309 lbs) played 521 snaps in 2018. Currently ranks 9th in Total Tackles with 32, including 3.0 TFLs. He has the highest rating from PFF of the defensive linemen with a plus 6.2 for the season.

- RE: Senior Jarvis Polu (6-3, 292 lbs) played 545 snaps in 2018. Currently ranks 11th in Total Tackles with 30, including 1.5 TFLs. Army fans who follow recruiting will recognize Polu as the 3 star defensive lineman who flipped from Army to Navy when Monken replaced Ellerson as Army’s head coach. He has a plus 2.5 season rating from PFF.

Linebackers:

- STR: Junior Elan Nash (5-11, 196 lbs) has played a little more than half the snaps this season with 476. He ranks 7th in Total Tackles with 33, including 0.5 TFLs. His PFF rating is a neutral 0.1.

- MIKE: Senior Taylor Heflin (6-2, 229 lbs) has played 669 snaps and leads Navy in Total Tackles with 93 and TFLs with 9.0, and he is tied for the lead in Sacks with 3.0. He is also the most penalized player on the defense and was ejected from the Air Force game for targeting, triggering a significant increase in offensive productivity for the Falcons. His PFF season rating is a negative 6.2.

- SAM: Senior Hudson Sullivan (6-2, 240 lbs) has played 674 snaps this year and is second on the team in Total Tackles with 80, including 1.5 TFLs. His PFF rating for the season is a negative 7.6.

- RAID: Junior Nizaire Cromartie (6-2, 242 lbs) has played 582 snaps this season and is 5th in Total Tackles with 80, second in TFLs with 5.0 and tied for first in Sacks with 3.0. PFF gives him a negative 5.5 rating for the season.

Defensive Backs:

- CB: Senior Jarid Ryan (5-11, 190 lbs) has played the most snaps of any Navy defender this season with 707, but is tied for 8th it Total Tackles with 32 with no TFLs. He leads the team in passes defended with 3 interceptions and 7 passes broken up. Ryan has the second best rating from PFF among Navy’s defensive backs with a plus 4.1.

- CB: Freshman Michael McMorris (5-9, 165 lbs) has seen action in 10 games, but has only 218 snaps for the season. He replaced sophomore Micah Farrar who started the season at CB. McMorris has 20 Total Tackles, including 1.0 TFL. McMorris earned a negative 2.5 rating from PFF.

- S: Senior Juan Hailey (6-1, 199 lbs) has played 517 snaps this season and is fourth on the team in Total Tackles with 53, including one assisted TFL. His PFF rating for the season is a negative 2.9.

- S: Senior Sean Williams (6-1, 197 lbs) is generally regarded as the best player on the Navy defense. He was recently selected as an honorable mention on the All AAC team. Williams is a four year starter for the Midshipmen and has played 671 snaps this season. He is third on the team in Total Tackles with 77, with one assisted TFL. He ranks second in interceptions with 2 and second in passes broken up with 4. He has the highest rating of Navy’s defensive backs with a plus 5.0.

In the table below we compare Navy’s defensive statistics with Army West Point’s offensive statistics for the same category, e.g. Navy Scoring Defense vs Army Scoring Offense and Total Defense vs Total Offense.

As we did for the offense, we compiled defensive statistics for Navy and Army against the two common opponents this season, Hawaii and Air Force as shown in the table below.

Navy’s defense has allowed 8 points more per game this year than they did last season. In part that is due to a decrease in time of possession, leaving the defense on the field a little longer this season, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The Navy defense has not done well, statistically in recent years, relying heavily on their ball control offense to score enough points to win games. As we noted in our initial preview article, the Navy scoring machine has not been nearly effective this season, and the combination of lower offensive production and a weak defense has produced the first losing season for Navy since 2011.

Some Navy apologists argue that the Midshipmen faced some very high powered offenses this year, but the schedule isn’t significantly more difficult now than when they joined the Atlantic Conference. The only three opponents who have scored less than 30 points against Navy this year were Lehigh (21), Temple (24) and Memphis (21). Navy’s game with Memphis was played in tropical storm conditions, which limited the Tiger’s offensive capabilities and contributed to 4 Memphis turnovers that had a major influence on the outcome of that game.

The last 3 games between Army and Navy have been relatively low scoring affairs that were won in the final quarter. Given the familiarity of both defenses with the triple option, we would expect a low scoring game again this year.

Next Up a Preview of Special Teams for Navy vs Army West Point

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