Defense plays vanilla, to its strengths

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith likes the depth the Razorbacks have up front on defense and the fact he believes the team can play a more fundamental defense and have opposing offenses earn yardage.

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith likes the depth the Razorbacks have up front on defense and the fact he believes the team can play a more fundamental defense and have opposing offenses earn yardage.

Monday, August 6, 2012

— Back in 1974 as Coach Frank Broyles’ Razorbacks continued massively integrating, linebackers coach Harold Horton in practice called out the “vanilla defense” signaled by defensive coordinator Jimmy Johnson.

Ivan Jordan, counting himself among eight black defensive players on the field, shouted back, “Hey, can’t we at least call it chocolate chip?”

Jordan, a former two-time All-Southwest Conference defensive end and Fort Smith Northside alum during his 1972-1975 Razorbacks tenure, recalled players and coaches convulsing in chuckles at his request in jest.

The same request would draw the same chuckles today.

And the vanilla part would still be accurate regardless whatever skin color dominates the defense.

Vanilla defense, of course is nothing about color but vanilla ice cream’s status as the ageless standard. Plain vanilla. Unexciting but solid, the base ice cream and football’s base defense.

In these days of “geniuses” and football portrayed more complicated than rocket science, few clamor for vanilla.

But Arkansas Coach John L. Smith does. Most good defensive coaches do if they believe their vanilla can suffice without all the extra toppings that may enhance the flavor but if overdone can make you sick.

Smith is Arkansas’ first head coach from a defensive background since Joe Kines, the interim coach when Jack Crowe was fired one game into 1992.

Kines, a longtime successful defensive coordinator before, after and during his 1991-1994 Arkansas stint, stressed sound defense stems from keeping it simple.

So does Smith, on a 10-month Arkansas contract since Bobby Petrino was fired last April.

Smith and defensive coordinator Paul Haynes, hired by Petrino last December but a former assistant for Smith at Louisville and Michigan State, believe if the defensive front can control the line of scrimmage, then the back end staying home leaves the offense scant room to roam.

The front is Arkansas’ deepest and most experienced defensive portion.

“I think we are better up front,” Smith said. “The fact that we don’t have to move every play, we don’t have to gamble every play, we don’t have to blitz every play. We can sit back and we can play a little vanilla defense and make them have to earn it.”

Haynes was the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator in the 29-16 Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas City in January.

“The front is good and we have a lot of depth there,” Haynes said. “We call them the rock of our defense and we will build around them.”

Kevin Peoples, the defensive tackles coach who also worked on the Cotton Bowl preparations, knows what it would mean should his guys come to the front.

“If you are able to stop the run and pressure the passer with the front four,” Peoples said, “that gives you a lot of opportunities with what you can do with the secondary. But if you are having to use the back end for blitzes and movements and all that stuff to stop the run, then it makes it a lot more difficult. Any time you can resolve an issue with the defense up front, you are in a lot better shape.”

Sports, Pages 16 on 08/06/2012