Navy's Defense Moves On From "Bend But Don't Break" Philosophy
Even in the midst of past successful seasons, the objective for the Navy defense against Notre Dame was to do just enough so their offense could win the game for them.
That will not be the case this year.
Throughout the 11-year tenure of Navy Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo, the Midshipmen have never finished in the top 50 in ESPN's team efficiency defense, but they're on pace to do so this season. They currently rank No. 42.
I know I use this metric a lot, but that's because it measures how much impact an offense or defense to a team's scoring margin throughout the season, and not just how many yards or points a team has given up.
Typically, Navy's team efficiency defense ranks somewhere in the 90-115 range, which has been the case seven out of the last 11 seasons. But under a new defensive coordinator, they've completely changed their defensive philosophy and it's clearly paying off.
"They have the new defensive coordinator," Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly said at his weekly radio show. "Brian Newberry has done a really nice job of really changing the whole way of how they play. The way they played up into this year is to keep the ball in front of us, bend but don't break. and that has changed dramatically. They are a pressure defense."
The numbers back this up as well. The Midshipman are currently tied for 20th in the nation in sacks per game with three. That's well ahead of other vaunted defenses, including Alabama's, Michigan State's and Auburn's.
Navy is also 26th in TFLs per game with 7.1 per game. That's ahead of Auburn, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Strong Against Pass and Run
One aspect of their defense that allows them to be successful at an unprecedented level under Niumatalolo is that they're stout against both the pass and run.
"They're doing a really nice job," Kelly said. "They've got smart kids. They do a lot of things on defense that they haven't done before."
Their pass efficiency ranks 19th, just seven spots behind Notre Dame.
Navy is also in the top 20 in yards allowed per game at 109.4 and, more importantly, yards allowed per rushing attempt at 3.22.
Without the athletes that many other defenses across the country has, Navy accomplishes this by being exceptionally disciplined and mixing how they play opponents.
"This is a defense that we've never played before," Kelly said. "They're running multiple defensive coverages, the multiple fronts, pressures. Things that we hadn't seen from them before."
IMPORTANCE OF SPECIAL TEAMS
Now that wide receiver and punt returner Chris Finke is healthy after dealing with nagging injuries to his ribs, knee and back, it will be important for him to find a way to generate some plays in the passing game and on special teams.
"We've got to play well on offense, too. Certainly, we've got to score some points. We've got to play well on defense and our special teams have to come up really big for us as well," Kelly said. "We need our special teams to do some things for us in terms of field position. If we get our special teams to get some returns for us and help us out with field positions, that will be big for us as well."
But that will be difficult against this Navy defense and punt team. The Midshipmen currently rank 14th punt return defense by allowing returns of 2.86 yards per kick.
Where the Irish could have more success is on kick return, where the Midshipmen rank 82nd in kickoff defense.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Lawrence Keys, or whomever Notre Dame has return kicks, will need to be ready.
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