Our Linebackers and Defense this year.

[CockyLifer]

You guys haven't been reading threads at all recently huh? Check the predictions for 2014 thread and that is just one that you must read if you want to have a wtf moment about how our fans are thinking thread.
I don't get it at all our team is as deep as it has ever been and we have talent everywhere. Yes the names are not household to the average fan but we have the players that with a fun n gun style offense could make our season very special. Win anyway.

[b381l]

My take on our 2014 defense:
DT.....push
DE.....weaker
LB.....better
CB.....weaker
Safety.....better

I thought our coaches did a great job coaching up our LB last year. They were a definite liability early in the season but continued to get better throughout the season. Our 3-4 defense (when used) will in effect take away our weaker DE and put another LB on the field which is a positive. It remains to be seen how it will all play out. Having said that, I believe our offense will be better because of an improved OL.

[CockyLifer]

Thanks for making this thread 1137.

[WeCocky]

Originally Posted by CockyLifer

You guys haven't been reading threads at all recently huh? Check the predictions for 2014 thread and that is just one that you must read if you want to have a wtf moment about how our fans are thinking thread.
I don't get it at all our team is as deep as it has ever been and we have talent everywhere. Yes the names are not household to the average fan but we have the players that with a fun n gun style offense could make our season very special. Win anyway.

Thank you.

[b381l]

Regarding the SPUR position, from what I've read the light came on for Diggs this spring.....he is playing fast and will provide a needed improvement at the position. I'm also expecting good things from Walton this year. He played really well all spring. And if BAW performs as advertised, he will see the field quite a bit at the new BOB LB spot in the 3-4 defense.

[garnet_black215]

Originally Posted by b381l

Regarding the SPUR position, from what I've read the light came on for Diggs this spring.....he is playing fast and will provide a needed improvement at the position. I'm also expecting good things from Walton this year. He played really well all spring. And if BAW performs as advertised, he will see the field quite a bit at the new BOB LB spot in the 3-4 defense.

Do either of those guys play DE?

[conwaycock2]

Originally Posted by Gamecocks1137

Go back and re watch the last 5 games. See if our LBs are just normal and inexperienced.

I'll make this easy for you. Last game
Wisconsin 43 rushing attempts
296 yards
6.8 yrds per carry


And that includes yardage lost by sacks. That's not exactly Steel Curtain numbers.

We also made a very ordinary RB Rod McDowell look pretty damn good in the Clemson game. Fortunately Chad The Wonder Boy wanted to showcase his passing attack & that didn't exactly pan out. Never did figure why they quit running. Maybe the same reason they tried a trick play after moving down the field at will on the first drive.

[2000grad]

Originally Posted by conwaycock2

I'll make this easy for you. Last game
Wisconsin 43 rushing attempts
296 yards
6.8 yrds per carry


And that includes yardage lost by sacks. That's not exactly Steel Curtain numbers.

Wisconsin pretty much gashed everyone last year in rushing. They averaged 283 per game

[garnet_black215]

Originally Posted by conwaycock2

I'll make this easy for you. Last game
Wisconsin 43 rushing attempts
296 yards
6.8 yrds per carry


And that includes yardage lost by sacks. That's not exactly Steel Curtain numbers.

Solid. People seem to forget this bit of information.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by garnet_black215

Do either of those guys play DE?

I already said DE was going to be weaker this year.....but Diggs should help with run support.

[dieselcock]

Kelcy was good,but he can be replaced..NOBODY can replace a talent like Clowney when he is 100%,and quoting stats about English is unfair to the kid...he WAS undersized and inexperienced...he will only get better..Sutton did nothing last year,and Dixon really came on at the end with more playing time...It amazes me how so many people follow recruiting like a religion,and claim if we get player "x" to sign he will be a game changer...then before the kid has had time to develop they are off to the next big name we "have to get" on board...I see DE being handled by 4-5 guys,and I think a few of those undersized DE's are going to shock a few people...just get the secondary stable and we will be fine.

[conwaycock2]

Originally Posted by dieselcock

Kelcy was good,but he can be replaced..NOBODY can replace a talent like Clowney when he is 100%,and quoting stats about English is unfair to the kid...he WAS undersized and inexperienced...he will only get better..Sutton did nothing last year,and Dixon really came on at the end with more playing time...It amazes me how so many people follow recruiting like a religion,and claim if we get player "x" to sign he will be a game changer...then before the kid has had time to develop they are off to the next big name we "have to get" on board...I see DE being handled by 4-5 guys,and I think a few of those undersized DE's are going to shock a few people...just get the secondary stable and we will be fine.

I agree. Sutton is just a head scratcher & production from that side will not be down. It will be up. The real problem is replacing Clowney & also the fact that all of the returning players at DE (who have played) are either primarily pass rushers or in the case of Dixon, a run stopper. None strike me as the complete package. That's why I think you'll see a fairly extensive rotation at DE depending on down & distance. The guy I think has a chance to surprise, at some point, is David Johnson. Not prototypical size, just seems like a baller to me. We'll see.

[The'Boose2001]

You do bring up valid points. It was probably 4 or 5 years ago when everyone was worrying about the youth at LB after the Brinkleys left. Spurrier filled those holes with recruits and they did very well with proper coaching. Imo, we have one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation with Whammy. Give our coaches time to develop the new talent. There's still alot of time left until kickoff.

[bhusc2002]

Originally Posted by WeCocky

I am optimistic. These guys are HUNGRY. Watch their winter video. They are killing each other.

It seems like that would hurt depth.

[CockFighter]

We have more talent at LB than we have ever seen in the school's history. They are not the best in the SEC just yet because they are still not proven(ex Skai Moore). At DT we have depth but most of the guys appear to be on the same level at this point. I have not seen any dominate DT that stands out as a playmaker, although there are guys I believe will show in the season(Griffin, Abu, Dixon). As for the DE position, we have no depth. Dixon has proven to be a smart player that hustles and great run stopper. English is the only DE with NFL athleticism but he needs to prove himself this year with his added weight. The rest are either tweeners(Harris, Cooper) or overweight (Johnson, Turner) or injuries(D. Washington). I put my faith in the twiners since they are the better athletes. We really need J. Thomas to make it in and live up to his expectation for a decent strong side pass rush.

[PageUSC]

Originally Posted by b381l

I already said DE was going to be weaker this year.....but Diggs should help with run support.

If we get bigger bodies like Diggs and Walton on the field along with our solid DTs we should be good against the run.

To the OP, I haven't seen anyone crying and saying we are going 6-6, but maybe I missed that. The concerns that I and others have expressed are our lack of a pass rush at DE and inexperience at CB and that is a bad bad combo.

Look for potential breakout stars in Johnson and BAW to help with this. Also Walton at OLB. Dude may injure some folks this year.

[trapper82]

Originally Posted by PageUSC

If we get bigger bodies like Diggs and Walton on the field along with our solid DTs we should be good against the run.

To the OP, I haven't seen anyone crying and saying we are going 6-6, but maybe I missed that. The concerns that I and others have expressed are our lack of a pass rush at DE and inexperience at CB and that is a bad bad combo.

Look for potential breakout stars in Johnson and BAW to help with this. Also Walton at OLB. Dude may injure some folks this year.

No one was crying and saying we end up at 6-6 if you actually read the posts. This whole use of the word "people" and "fans" saying that will happen is a pretty sensational revision. What one guy said is that we could go 7-5 if it goes pretty badly with injuries and the defensive schemes we have in place to negate some of the talent drop-off don't work out. He said it was "worst case scenario" for that to occur.

Most fans that aren't predicting undefeated or one loss seasons seem to be around the 3 loss mark with UGA, Auburn and Florida on the road as the big question marks. UGA will have a new QB, playing in our place, both of which are advantages for us. It's early in the year and we tend to still figure things out defensively up to the 3rd or 4th game, which are disadvantages. If UGA wins it will be because we can't stop the run. If the defense is able to do that, well who knows what the season can hold.

There is also the fact that the most talented team with the best coaches doesn't ALWAYS win. Losses happen sometimes. Some people are just saying they don't see losing one of if not the best QB we've had, a number 1 overall NFL pick along with several other key players and it not show up on the W-L column. It doesn't mean your less of a fan, just that you see some places it could go south.

[CoverTwo]

What I don't understand why its a travesty to say that our defense is likely to take a step back this year.

Why has our defense been so good under Coach Johnson and Coach Ward? Its because we have been able to dominate at the LOS and drop everyone into zone coverage. When you have had a pass rush as good as ours, you don't have to bring extra defenders. Its the same reason why our offense can't seem to put up huge statistics in our Spring Games. When you crowd the field with 7 defenders, its hard to find anything other than a check down. The same thing our defense has been doing to our offense is the same thing they have been doing to opposing teams. We are going to get you into 3rd and long and make you find a hole in our defense within a short amount of time while we bear down on you with our very talented pass rushers.

Well, that formula does not have the pieces this year. We are hurting at Defensive End. Inexperience, lack of bodies, and lack of talent. In a best case scenario, we need to hope that Darius English turns some heads when he walks onto the practice field in August (hopefully in the 250 lbs range at the very least). We need to hope that Jhaustin Thomas pulls a miracle and gets into school. Hopefully Blake McClain's recovery from foot surgery goes better than expected. Hopefully Devin Washington can stay healthy an entire camp. I think he is one more concussion away from being done with football. We have a lot of ifs right now. Its not out of the realm of possibility that Darius English, Gerald Dixon, and David Johnson are the only every down DE's we have all season. Cedric Cooper and Mason Harris are tweeners that may or may not contribute at all this year. In fact they are probably more suitable for the BOB Linebacker than DE. Do you really feel optimistic with this group? There are no game changers and there isn't anyone you really have to plan for. If I am an opposing offense, I'm going to run right at these guys and then hit our linebackers with playaction all year long because there is no one that I fear right now breaking through and getting to my QB.

In the case of our linebackers, there is no question that they are better but we need to hope that their bodies can catch up. Skai Moore, for as good as he was, looked like a strong safety/SPUR more than a WILL linebacker last year. TJ Holloman is still on the slim side as is Marcquis Roberts (he would be a great BOB linebacker, IMO). Both of those guys were inconsistent with their play all year. They both have good noses for the football but when they get in position to make play, they just have a brain fart or something and whiff / over pursue / arm tackle .. Physically, Kaiwan Lewis and Johnathan Walton are our most physically impressive linebackers but Walton lacks snaps and Lewis has been just as inconsistent as Holloman and Roberts. I think there is a very good chance that Walton and Moore will be our starters before the year is over. I also expect us to eventually end up playing 2 SPUR linebackers so we can get Diggs and Bryant on the field (two more physically ready players) because they are improving at an accelerated pace.

With all of the talk about the 3-4 we don't have the size (and I'd argue the athleticism) to make it a base defense. Schools like Alabama and Georgia take projected Defensive Ends and put them on the outside. So you have 6'2 - 6'3 240-250+ pound monsters roaming around. We don't have that which is why we are not going to see the 3-4 as a base. Its a look they want to deploy when teams are put into obvious passing situations so we can overload one side and hopefully get the offense caught up in more defenders than blockers. I also expect more blitzing from the Secondary than we have been accustomed to.

Until shown otherwise, I think many OCs are going to audible to a draw play or just straight hand off when they see us in the 3-4.

While I have concerns about Corner, I think the secondary is going to be terrific eventually this year. The defensive end position won't improve much by Week 5 but I bet the secondary will. I think Brison Williams, Chaz Elder, TJ Gurley, and Rico McWilliams can be as good of a starting unit as what we've had in the past. With Marcus, J. Smith, Moody, Groves (hopefully), Sasser, Smalls, Harris, Green, Lammons, and D. Smith all providing depth, we should be good to go bodies wise. If we can bring those freshmen along and not force them to take on a big role we will be fine.

Coach Ward needs to find a way to bridge the gap from this year to next when he gets some reinforcements in here at Defensive End. This year, IMO, is his biggest coaching challenge to date. He has got to find ways to get to the passer. I'm confident that he will field at Top 25 defense but I don't think its going to be pretty. I think its going to be one of those years where we look at the final statistics and say 'wow, we ended up in the Top 25?'

[PageUSC]

Originally Posted by trapper82

No one was crying and saying we end up at 6-6 if you actually read the posts. This whole use of the word "people" and "fans" saying that will happen is a pretty sensational revision. What one guy said is that we could go 7-5 if it goes pretty badly with injuries and the defensive schemes we have in place to negate some of the talent drop-off don't work out. He said it was "worst case scenario" for that to occur.

Most fans that aren't predicting undefeated or one loss seasons seem to be around the 3 loss mark with UGA, Auburn and Florida on the road as the big question marks. UGA will have a new QB, playing in our place, both of which are advantages for us. It's early in the year and we tend to still figure things out defensively up to the 3rd or 4th game, which are disadvantages. If UGA wins it will be because we can't stop the run. If the defense is able to do that, well who knows what the season can hold.

There is also the fact that the most talented team with the best coaches doesn't ALWAYS win. Losses happen sometimes. Some people are just saying they don't see losing one of if not the best QB we've had, a number 1 overall NFL pick along with several other key players and it not show up on the W-L column. It doesn't mean your less of a fan, just that you see some places it could go south.

That is what I was saying I haven't seen any "crying" posts as the Op referenced. Then again I don't have time to read every thread so that's why I said maybe.

I agree it doesn't make you any less of a fan or a part of the university because you point out some flaws in our team

[yazoo]

The defense will have to stand up to some physical OLs this season. I think the UGA game is going to be a huge test for us. Stopping Gurley is not going to be easy for a good DL ... our 2014 line is clearly inexperienced, but hopefully, strong.