Blackshirts back??

NUinID said:
The King said:
No because our DL depth is pretty short especially at DE, with Keels and Natter being an unknown. Hell, we just heard that Collins was moved to DE just for extra reps.

Corner is still pretty slim and inexperienced. We'll see how Cockrell and Mosley react. Davie coming back would be huge, but that's not gonna happen.

The middle of our defense is pretty formidable, young, and set for the future with S, LB, and DT.

In sum, our 2 deep is solid enough to be a top 10 defense. Our top 3/4 guys (in case of injury) are not. But we are clearly on the right track, especially athletically.
Click to expand...
I'm going to agree and disagree with a couple of things here. I agree that our defense most likely will not be as good as 2009, but it could be top 20 which is good enough. I disagree that we won't be as good because of depth issues on the d-line. We had basically no depth in 2009 on the d-line. Suh and Crick played virtually every snap of every game that year. We may not be super deep, but we are definitely deeper than that year.

We were very deep and very solid in the secondary in 2009 that was a strength. We may not be that deep in the secondary.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, I tried to incorporate that into my examination later when I stated that there is absolutely nothing wrong with our 2 deep - its our 3rd and 4th guys that we will see major issues with. But Crick and Suh were better than anyone we currently have on the DL and Suh and Crick both (from what I recall) hardly had any injury issues in 2009 and Suh was freaky good and played damn near every down. I'd also argue that, while yes Gregory is good, McMullen is a complete unknown as of now so we don't have a proven DE (of Crick caliber) to equate to them. Once again, I will say that our ENTIRE DL is not an issue, just the DE's, if an injury were to occur. It's a long season and frankly, I'm not so sure I can trust us to stay healthy.

I think it is also tough to compare 2 NFL caliber players (who didn't get hurt very often, 1 of which, Suh, is the best DT in the L and was dominant as a rookie) to 1 NFL caliber player (Gregory) so it is my OPINION that our depth needs to be stronger in order to make up for not having someone like Suh on the defensive side of the ball.

And yes, of course, we don't have the secondary depth that we did back then. Didn't everyone go to the NFL from that secondary? I don't see Prince or Fonzie walking through that door anytime.

 
Crick was a DT. The DEs were Turner and Allen in 09. Gregory is probably our best DE since Wistrom.......or at least since Rucker or VandenBosch.

 
Might be some unproven guys on this defensive roster, but unproven doesn't mean they aren't legit. Some really good players are finally going to see the light of day on that field this year. I think this defense gonna be real good.

 
TheSker said:
Crick was a DT. The DEs were Turner and Allen in 09. Gregory is probably our best DE since Wistrom.......or at least since Rucker or VandenBosch.
Click to expand...
Crock and Suh were both DTs. And I said DE is our weak position. But our best player happens to be a DE (Gregory) and he doesn't have anything close to a Suh like impact; thus, we need better depth than we did with Suh, because Suh was just that good.

 
The King said:
TheSker said:
Crick was a DT. The DEs were Turner and Allen in 09. Gregory is probably our best DE since Wistrom.......or at least since Rucker or VandenBosch.
Click to expand...
Crock and Suh were both DTs. And I said DE is our weak position. But our best player happens to be a DE (Gregory) and he doesn't have anything close to a Suh like impact; thus, we need better depth than we did with Suh, because Suh was just that good.
Click to expand...

You're comparing one's first year and sophomore year to the other's senior year.

Suh had one really good game as a junior against Kansas with 12 tackles, 3 TFL and 2.5 sacks.

If you look at Randy Gregory's numbers throughout the season they are pretty darn comparable. Whose is whose?

Player 1

76 tackles - 16 TFL - 7.5 Sacks

Player 2

65 tackles - 16 TFL - 9.5 Sacks

 
They're going to be pretty salty. It seemed that the only thing holding some guys back was youth and comfort. I'm sure most of that confusion is gone. Remember, there will be guys coming in during the summer that will push for time. I expect Walton and King to be thrown in as speed rushers on 3rd down to go along with Randy. I also wont be surprised to see Trai Mosely push for time as well.

 
Carriker's high sack season was 9.5, with 19.5 career.....probably better suited to be a DT, which is what happened in the NFL.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
So playing out of position he was the Big XII Lineman of the Year and an All-American.

Two things Vanden Bosch never did.

 
Good points......not a debate I actually care about so disregard my post. I really like our defensive line this coming season.

 
ericdolph said:
I look forward to the defense this season as well. Most of the younger guys have some decent experience from last year and the dline will wreak some more havoc. Hopefully our O improves on turnovers while putting up some early leads against the tougher teams allowing the D to play with a more aggressive approach. Bo's defenses can be scary good when we rush the passer well.
Click to expand...
Bo's or Tom's or Bob's...don't care who the coach is, I so long to have another scary D. Think of names like Glover, Dutton, Wistrom, Sandman, Polk, Suh and on and on...those guys were just plain terrifying to opponents I imagine. Just watched a youtube highlight video of Carlos Polk, to the tune of "Hall of the Mountain King". On more than one play, it looks like the runner just give up and stops rather than getting hit. That's the kind of scary I want to see. Not dirty, just clean and clearly violent.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top