Part one, the offense, is here: link clicky. You can click on that or you can just, you know, scroll down, it was only one post ago.
Defense has nearly always been our stronger suit, and that's to be expected because Al Groh is a defensive coach at heart. So it's weird to be more confident in the offense than the defense going into a season, but that's exactly what I got going on here. As with the offense, I'm not going to do a position-by-position breakdown because you can find those at my Examiner writings. As with the offense, it's question-and-answer time.
1. The depth is kinda iffy, isn't it?
Yes, yes it is. Iffy does not begin to describe it. Only in the secondary can we rotate players in and out that have plenty of game experience. And then it's still only a three-man rotation at each position. Brandon Woods and Chase Minnifield can rotate in behind the starters at safety and corner, respectively, without much if any drop in production. The fourth at each position is a major dropoff, especially at safety where Trey Womack has been a special-teams guy his whole career.
In the front seven though.....eyyyoucchh. Defensive end is a freshman party. Our backup nose tackle is 245 pounds. The backup inside linebackers combined for a grand total of two plays last year, because one of them wasn't even eligible.
The starters are all solid. Especially on the line. But injuries anywhere up front would be just deadly. Don't even want to think about it. Here in the preseason we all like to think this or that player is some kind of stud because the coaches might say some nice things, but the reality of this is that the backup front seven is, as a whole, woefully inexperienced, and it'll show all too clearly if injuries strike the starters.
2. No Clint Sintim, no Chris Long. Will there be a pass rush this season?
Sure, with of course the already standard caveat that health is a must. One thing that was nice to see last year was Matt Conrath and Cam Johnson getting plenty of time on the field, because they're it now. They're the guys. It'll be interesting to see if this experiment of putting John-Kevin Dolce out there at nose tackle in pass rush situations works, because if it does, look out. Conrath and Johnson have Holy Terror potential on the outside and if Dolce flushes a hapless pocket quarterback out of his pocket, these guys can clean that up no sweat. All three of those guys are physical and athletic.
3. OK, so three of four starting linebackers are new to the gig. That's bad. But four of four starters in the secondary are awesome. That's good. Which outweighs the other? Should we be worrying about the linebackers more than we brag about the secondary, or vice versa?
That depends entirely on the opponent. Take Georgia Tech. Last year they just shredded us on their first two drives. It was awful. Tech had nine possessions in the game and they got 45% of their yards on those first two drives, both of which resulted in touchdowns. Then our defense adjusted and suddenly our linebackers were there to make all the plays. That's what happens when three of them are seniors. Can a much less experienced unit make the same adjustments? I really worry about the GT game for that reason. North Carolina is another team with a powerful rushing attack that might cause problems.
On the other hand, certain opponents play right into our hands. Maryland has a good but not great running game and a quarterback that's neither great nor good. Bad quarterbacks play right into our hands. We can make Maryland completely one-dimensional. If we can open up a lead on them it'll be that much harder for them to come back.
The linebackers are not bad, but as a whole they're not much more than capable, either. But a really good set of safeties can help cover up some mistakes. And I think I like it better this way than the reverse - if we had stud linebackers but inexperienced and slightly undertalented defensive backs. A good secondary can take away the passing game in a way that linebackers cannot, and help support the linebackers in the run game too. And it's not like the linebackers are bad. Denzel Burrell has a year of starting experience and the coaches (and me, on occasion) rave about Steve Greer. We're going to cringe at times about our linebackers, but on balance, we're in good shape.
4. Predictions?
Yeah, OK.
- The run defense was pretty good last year, giving up 3.7 yards a carry. That was 40th in the country. It will not be as good this year. Our linebackers are neither supremely talented nor experienced. They are, as I said, at best capable. If I had to pick one coach in the country to coach up a set of inexperienced linebackers, I'd want Al Groh. But the coaches can't make the plays or the reads for the players. Inexperience is going to cause those reads to come a hair slower no matter what, and good running teams will generally be able to take advantage.
Plus, things are going to happen like, teams running draw plays once they figure out we have a 245-pound nose tackle in passing situations. I really hope that does not bite us in the ass.
- The pass defense was also pretty good last year. It will not get worse and most likely, it'll get better. The ACC does not have a lot of good wide receivers, and choosing between Cook's or Dowling's side of the field to throw at is a scary proposition. Or you could throw over the middle which is the territory of the player Al Groh has talked up the most this offseason; that'd be Rodney McLeod. (Actually, the ACC has a lot of good secondaries and not a lot of good quarterbacks, so we're not the only team with this happy situation. Passing yards may be hard to come by in this conference.) But after doing all those season previews, I like our secondary matched up against any in the ACC. Assuming we have a pass rush, and we will if the primary pass rushers are healthy, we'll be very stingy when the opponent's quarterback drops back in the pocket.
- Steve Greer will live up to most of the hype. He's not big and will get exploded by the occasional fullback. But by all accounts he's smart as hell, and that's a lot more important than athleticism at inside linebacker.
- Matt Conrath will pick up at least five sacks.
- Will Hill won't be the only true freshman defensive end to find his way on the field. At some point this season, we'll also hear from Brent Urban, who is a big, big man. However, the line is the only place we'll see any members of the recruiting class of '09 on the defense this year.
- Like I said yesterday: 7-5.
Showing posts with label burrell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burrell. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
the drama is dead; long live the drama
With Tristan Spurlock and Jontel Evans back in the fold pretty much officially, the last shred of drama from the '08-'09 season is finally at a close. That's now officially last season, and the lack of a schedule does not deter me from calling the '09-'10 campaign "this season."
Or is it the end? DeShawn Painter, as you might have read, is no longer bound to Florida and is looking elsewhere. According to ESPN, we're the front-runner for his services. Yay? I dunno. First off where does that even come from? I really don't think that's based on any, like, actual insider knowledge. I think that's just a guy having to fill in the blanks in an editor-directed article and figuring one school's as good as any other. That's #1. #2, where does the scholarship come from? There were 14 players on the roster last year, and only one was paying his own way. The scholarship limit is, of course, 13 - Diane and Soroye depart, replaced by Spurlock and Evans, and there you are at 13 again. Where the scholarship for Painter would come from, I have no idea. So I think it's safe to say, Painter isn't going to be an option, and any future drama is '09-'10 drama, not '08-'09 drama.
OK, what else on this very, very offseasonish Wednesday? The Tewaaraton Trophy nominations are out - 21 in all, four of which are 'Hoos. The obvious two are Danny Glading and Garrett Billings; Shamel Bratton also picks up a nomination, and the fourth is for Mike Timms. When the five finalists are selected, Bratton and Timms are very unlikely to be on the list is my guess. Bratton because there's no way he beats out Glading and Billings, and Timms because long-stick guys don't win the Tewaaraton same way defensive players don't win the Heisman. Not to disparage what Timms has done, though, which is basically to make a mess of opposing offenses.
Also, the local newspapers tag-team on some QB fluff. Jeff White brings you Vic Hall and Jay Jenkins has Jameel Sewell. Both are pretty similar themes of "likable guy finally getting a shot at running the show." Much of the quarterback publicity coming out of spring camp has focused on these two gentlemen, and it really would seem that Marc Verica is the odd man out for now.
Finally, the official website has been doing some running Q&A's with various players - today, Nate Collins is on the hook. Most of it's the usual fluff, but Collins gives some pretty strong hints at what the linebacker depth chart looks like. Based on that, plus yesterday's with Denzel Burrell as well as the rest of the precious rare morsels of info that sneak out of camp, here's a guess at the way that's shaping up: Outside, the first-teamers are Cam Johnson and Burrell, with Billy Schautz and Aaron Clark backing up. Schautz has been getting good reviews out of practice, but outside is where all the established players with experience are. Inside, Darren Childs and Steve Greer are the ones with the first group according to Collins, and Aaron Taliaferro and Darnell Carter are with the second team.
Or is it the end? DeShawn Painter, as you might have read, is no longer bound to Florida and is looking elsewhere. According to ESPN, we're the front-runner for his services. Yay? I dunno. First off where does that even come from? I really don't think that's based on any, like, actual insider knowledge. I think that's just a guy having to fill in the blanks in an editor-directed article and figuring one school's as good as any other. That's #1. #2, where does the scholarship come from? There were 14 players on the roster last year, and only one was paying his own way. The scholarship limit is, of course, 13 - Diane and Soroye depart, replaced by Spurlock and Evans, and there you are at 13 again. Where the scholarship for Painter would come from, I have no idea. So I think it's safe to say, Painter isn't going to be an option, and any future drama is '09-'10 drama, not '08-'09 drama.
OK, what else on this very, very offseasonish Wednesday? The Tewaaraton Trophy nominations are out - 21 in all, four of which are 'Hoos. The obvious two are Danny Glading and Garrett Billings; Shamel Bratton also picks up a nomination, and the fourth is for Mike Timms. When the five finalists are selected, Bratton and Timms are very unlikely to be on the list is my guess. Bratton because there's no way he beats out Glading and Billings, and Timms because long-stick guys don't win the Tewaaraton same way defensive players don't win the Heisman. Not to disparage what Timms has done, though, which is basically to make a mess of opposing offenses.
Also, the local newspapers tag-team on some QB fluff. Jeff White brings you Vic Hall and Jay Jenkins has Jameel Sewell. Both are pretty similar themes of "likable guy finally getting a shot at running the show." Much of the quarterback publicity coming out of spring camp has focused on these two gentlemen, and it really would seem that Marc Verica is the odd man out for now.
Finally, the official website has been doing some running Q&A's with various players - today, Nate Collins is on the hook. Most of it's the usual fluff, but Collins gives some pretty strong hints at what the linebacker depth chart looks like. Based on that, plus yesterday's with Denzel Burrell as well as the rest of the precious rare morsels of info that sneak out of camp, here's a guess at the way that's shaping up: Outside, the first-teamers are Cam Johnson and Burrell, with Billy Schautz and Aaron Clark backing up. Schautz has been getting good reviews out of practice, but outside is where all the established players with experience are. Inside, Darren Childs and Steve Greer are the ones with the first group according to Collins, and Aaron Taliaferro and Darnell Carter are with the second team.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
injury bug says how YOU doin'?
Not real great, thanks, Injury Bug. But you're gonna take a second starter off the defensive depth chart anyway, huh? Jerk. Yeah, Aaron Clark is done for the season, having sprained a knee in the USC game. Surgery will happen. Clark is a senior, but has not yet redshirted a season so he should be back next year.
This really isn't as bad as all that, though. Bad for Clark, yes. Bad for depth, yes. But Clark and Denzel Burrell were waging the most even position battle on the team and were pretty likely to be splitting the year 50/50. Now Burrell wins by default. Before the injury, Clark was playing about as well as you can allow yourself to say a defender played in a 52-point debacle, but Burrell won't be a drop-off in ability. Now we just need Dowling back. Quickly, because Minnifield was picked on early and often by the USC offense.
So, the basketball team. Back from Quebec with a 2-1 record against the Canadian teams. At first I said, WTF squared, man, how'd we lose to - lemme check here - McGill?? But McGill gave Kansas - the same Kansas with the big trophy from last season - a run for their money too, eventually losing by only 5. And they used a 13-3 run in the closing minutes of the game to win, after we'd already played almost 3 full games in less than 24 hours. So it really doesn't show much. Actually what it shows is this: full marks to Dave Leitao for trying to do something - anything - to fix our age-old problems on the road. Putting the team through three games in two days is a great idea. And we seem to have this historical difficulty beating no-name teams in exotic locations - Chaminade and PR-Mayaguez come to mind - so getting that out of the way when the games don't count (and before the trip to the far-off land of Minneapolis) can only be a good thing.
At least we're not the only football team in Virginia to be pretty pissed off about losing on Saturday. Tyrod Taylor's redshirt lasted all of one week down in Blacksburg. College Game Balls was mildly annoyed by Glennon's somewhat less than stellar performance against East Carolina, in case you couldn't tell.
Lastly: BlogPoll update. Tennessee decided Monday was a good day to die, and did. So my presumptive poll from Sunday is no good, and here is the new one. Speak now or forever hold your piece.
This really isn't as bad as all that, though. Bad for Clark, yes. Bad for depth, yes. But Clark and Denzel Burrell were waging the most even position battle on the team and were pretty likely to be splitting the year 50/50. Now Burrell wins by default. Before the injury, Clark was playing about as well as you can allow yourself to say a defender played in a 52-point debacle, but Burrell won't be a drop-off in ability. Now we just need Dowling back. Quickly, because Minnifield was picked on early and often by the USC offense.
So, the basketball team. Back from Quebec with a 2-1 record against the Canadian teams. At first I said, WTF squared, man, how'd we lose to - lemme check here - McGill?? But McGill gave Kansas - the same Kansas with the big trophy from last season - a run for their money too, eventually losing by only 5. And they used a 13-3 run in the closing minutes of the game to win, after we'd already played almost 3 full games in less than 24 hours. So it really doesn't show much. Actually what it shows is this: full marks to Dave Leitao for trying to do something - anything - to fix our age-old problems on the road. Putting the team through three games in two days is a great idea. And we seem to have this historical difficulty beating no-name teams in exotic locations - Chaminade and PR-Mayaguez come to mind - so getting that out of the way when the games don't count (and before the trip to the far-off land of Minneapolis) can only be a good thing.
At least we're not the only football team in Virginia to be pretty pissed off about losing on Saturday. Tyrod Taylor's redshirt lasted all of one week down in Blacksburg. College Game Balls was mildly annoyed by Glennon's somewhat less than stellar performance against East Carolina, in case you couldn't tell.
Lastly: BlogPoll update. Tennessee decided Monday was a good day to die, and did. So my presumptive poll from Sunday is no good, and here is the new one. Speak now or forever hold your piece.
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Southern Cal | -- |
| 3 | Georgia | -- |
| 4 | Florida | -- |
| 5 | Oklahoma | -- |
| 6 | Missouri |  1 |
| 7 | Texas | 1 |
| 8 | Arizona State | 1 |
| 9 | LSU | 1 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 1 |
| 12 | Kansas | 1 |
| 13 | Brigham Young | 2 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | 2 |
| 15 | Auburn | 2 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech |  2 |
| 17 | Wake Forest | 2 |
| 18 | Oregon | 2 |
| 19 | Alabama | 7 |
| 20 | Clemson | 14 |
| 21 | Illinois | -- |
| 22 | Fresno State | -- |
| 23 | South Florida | -- |
| 24 | Tennessee | 6 |
| 25 | North Carolina | -- |
Dropped Out: Michigan (#24).
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