Is the D-line better than 2009?

NUance

NUance

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2009

LDE: Barry Turner(Sr)/Camstache(RFr)

DT: Suh(Sr)/Terrence Moore(Soph)

DT: Crick(Soph)/Steinkuhler(RFr)

RDE: Pierre Allen(Jr)/Josh Williams(RFr)

2011

LDE: Camstache(Jr)/ Eric Martin(Jr)

DT: Steinkuhler(RFr)/Terrence Moore(Jr)/Chase Rome(Soph)

DT: Crick(Sr)/Thad Randle(Soph)

RDE: Josh Williams(Jr) or Joe Carter(Sr)/Ankrah(Soph)

That article of Sip's got me to thinking. Is this year's D-line better than 2009? I say yes.

The depth chart in a couple of months could look something like I have above. Sure, I have a couple of guesses in there, and there will be a little juggling of positions in the next few weeks. But we know three of the starters for sure. The point of this thread is: back on 09 our starters were pretty solid. Suh was a freak, the likes of which we’ve only seen maybe a time or two before at NU. Crick, a soph then, along with Turner and Pierre were all very solid. But we had very little depth. Very little. I don’t think Suh or Crick came out of a game for a breather the whole season.

This year our starters might be better across the line, on average. Sure Crick gives up a bit to Suh. But Crick is the best DL on this squad, and one of the best DTs in the B1G. Maybe in the nation. The thing that these guys have over 2009 is depth. We could start the #2s and have a pretty decent squad. Maybe better than 7 or 8 of the B1G schools. I think this year’s D-line is gonna be quite a bit better than 2009. Rivaling some of those monster D-lines we fielded in the 90s. It's gonna be real fun to watch. And violent.

 
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I'm going to go w/ that overused word "potential" I think this line potentially has the chance to be better than the 09' line, but I'll still wait and see. They should be more consistent, for the reasons you mentioned. When we think of the 09' line we all think of the Texas game...but that's not the story of the entire season. I don't see this line having a game like that - where they just completely dominate the opposing team (a team that played for the MNC)...but I see them more consistently playing just a notch or two below that level.

 
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kchusker_chris said:
I'm going to go w/ that overused word "potential" I think this line potentially has the chance to be better than the 09' line, but I'll still wait and see. They should be more consistent, for the reasons you mentioned. When we think of the 09' line we all think of the Texas game...but that's not the story of the entire season. I don't see this line having a game like that - where they just completely dominate the opposing team (a team that played for the MNC)...but I see them more consistently playing just a notch or two below that level.
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Yeah that Texas performance was a masterpiece alright. It had the added bonus of one of the great highlight plays of all times--the McCoy frisbee throw.

 
I'd like to see Eric Martin just freak on people and become a starter. Not incredibly likely...but he's been one of my favorite players since he was a hyper energy bomb freshman

 
nuance said:
kchusker_chris said:
I'm going to go w/ that overused word "potential" I think this line potentially has the chance to be better than the 09' line, but I'll still wait and see. They should be more consistent, for the reasons you mentioned. When we think of the 09' line we all think of the Texas game...but that's not the story of the entire season. I don't see this line having a game like that - where they just completely dominate the opposing team (a team that played for the MNC)...but I see them more consistently playing just a notch or two below that level.
Click to expand...
Yeah that Texas performance was a masterpiece alright. It had the added bonus of one of the great highlight plays of all times--the McCoy frisbee throw.
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That was seriously one of the, if not THE, best defensive performances I've ever seen. And the bowl game performance against Arizona was also pretty crazy.

I think we have a pretty good D-line, but I'm gonna be a little more cautious in trying to compare it to a proven one. Bring on the season!

 
tschu said:
I'd like to see Eric Martin just freak on people and become a starter. Not incredibly likely...but he's been one of my favorite players since he was a hyper energy bomb freshman
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Yeah, I'd like to see Caveman more at DE. But only if they still play him on special teams. Whenever he's on the field on ST I focus in on him. Because that's where the action is. And by action I mean people getting blown up.
 
Well, we have three starters across that line who've spent a season playing together already. We definitely have more bodies to throw in there. But trying to find a way to call a line better without Suh is not easy until you see them producing monster performances like he was able to do individually. We're certainly more injury resistant this year.

 
nuance said:
2009

LDE: Barry Turner(Sr)/Camstache(RFr)

DT: Suh(Sr)/Terrence Moore(Soph)

DT: Crick(Soph)/Steinkuhler(RFr)

RDE: Pierre Allen(Jr)/Josh Williams(RFr)

2011

LDE: Camstache(Jr)/ Eric Martin(Jr)

DT: Steinkuhler(RFr)/Terrence Moore(Jr)/Chase Rome(Soph)

DT: Crick(Sr)/Thad Randle(Soph)

RDE: Josh Williams(Jr) or Joe Carter(Sr)/Ankrah(Soph)

That article of Sip's got me to thinking. Is this year's D-line better than 2009? I say yes.

The depth chart in a couple of months could look something like I have above. Sure, I have a couple of guesses in there, and there will be a little juggling of positions in the next few weeks. But we know three of the starters for sure. The point of this thread is: back on 09 our starters were pretty solid. Suh was a freak, the likes of which we’ve only seen maybe a time or two before at NU. Crick, a soph then, along with Turner and Pierre were all very solid. But we had very little depth. Very little. I don’t think Suh or Crick came out of a game for a breather the whole season.

This year our starters might be better across the line, on average. Sure Crick gives up a bit to Suh. But Crick is the best DL on this squad, and one of the best DTs in the B1G. Maybe in the nation. The thing that these guys have over 2009 is depth. We could start the #2s and have a pretty decent squad. Maybe better than 7 or 8 of the B1G schools. I think this year’s D-line is gonna be quite a bit better than 2009. Rivaling some of those monster D-lines we fielded in the 90s. It's gonna be real fun to watch. And violent.
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Steinkuler skipping classes?

Or his little bro?

 
I'm interested to see what other folks on this board think the D-line 2-deep will look like. That's just a wild ast guess on my part for #2s and RDE.

 
I really believe this D-line class is better than the '09. Hearing the way JP talks about the improvement that both Crick and Meredith makes me shiver. And I think (pure speculation) that Carter will be a beast at the other DE. I'm excited for this year

 
One thing to remember when considering Eric Martin: the defensive line will be playing differently in the B10. In the Big XII you had these spread teams that were takin shotgun snaps and throwing the ball quickly, the line was basically there for a little pressure and quarterback contain. In the B10 they will see more pro-style quarterbacks that they can attack. If I had to guess, I think we'll see the DE's pinning their ears back a little more this year and that suits Caveman very, very well.

 
bball_backer said:
One thing to remember when considering Eric Martin: the defensive line will be playing differently in the B10. In the Big XII you had these spread teams that were takin shotgun snaps and throwing the ball quickly, the line was basically there for a little pressure and quarterback contain. In the B10 they will see more pro-style quarterbacks that they can attack. If I had to guess, I think we'll see the DE's pinning their ears back a little more this year and that suits Caveman very, very well.
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You could also say that because they aren't working us horizontally as much now, we don't need the speed as much as we need the power-containment for the running game - which doesn't suit Martin as well. I see Martin as they guy that chases the QB down as he begins to scramble or covers the RB who hangs back and gets the ball dumped to him 3 yards in the backfield, not the guy that collapses a pocket and distrupts a 2 back run game.

I'm excited to see him play end - but I was always hoping he'd end up in that Lawrence Taylor - outside linebacker role. Blitzing from the blind side at 6'3 240lbl. If you look at LT, and the way he played...Caveman kind of has that same reckless aggression that caused so many QBs headaches.

 
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kchusker_chris said:
bball_backer said:
One thing to remember when considering Eric Martin: the defensive line will be playing differently in the B10. In the Big XII you had these spread teams that were takin shotgun snaps and throwing the ball quickly, the line was basically there for a little pressure and quarterback contain. In the B10 they will see more pro-style quarterbacks that they can attack. If I had to guess, I think we'll see the DE's pinning their ears back a little more this year and that suits Caveman very, very well.
Click to expand...
You could also say that because they aren't working us horizontally as much now, we don't need the speed as much as we need the power-containment for the running game - which doesn't suit Martin as well. I see Martin as they guy that chases the QB down as he begins to scramble or covers the RB who hangs back and gets the ball dumped to him 3 yards in the backfield, not the guy that collapses a pocket and distrupts a 2 back run game.

I'm excited to see him play end - but I was always hoping he'd end up in that Lawrence Taylor - outside linebacker role. Blitzing from the blind side at 6'3 240lbl. If you look at LT, and the way he played...Caveman kind of has that same reckless aggression that caused so many QBs headaches.
Click to expand...
Literally or figuratively? I say literally.

 
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