DEFENSE CLAP CLAP
by EffinDane on Nov 11, 2009 8:15 AM EST
Email
PrintWe do not have the best defense in the nation. Ok, we've got that out of the way.
Despite the giant dump that many sportscasters, opponents and fans have taken on our defense this year, there are a lot of positives there. I'm not arguing that Dave Wommack should not be feeling some heat, but in all honesty things could be worse and when it comes down to it, our defense has gotten the job done the entire year, and yes, has put us in the position to win a few times. Don't believe me? Ok, here we go.
(Heads up, these are in no particular order, have no structure, and are littered with some hyperbole. I've said enough bad things about our D this year to give them the Kool-Aid, gold glasses treatment at least once. Yep.)
Positive #1: Mario Butler has done his damnedest to be the man this year. Tied for 6th for solo tackles (24 on the season), he matches Jerrard Tarrant's and trails Morgan Burnett's numbers by only six. He has 2 of the 8 interceptions for this season, and has been pretty damn solid the entire year. Maybe I just didn't expect enough out of him, but I've been very surprised at how much he has contributed this season. I think it's safe to say that he is not playing in Morgan's shadow anymore.
Positive #2: Morgan Burnett's tackle on Riley Skinner on 3rd down in overtime. Ok, I'm not going to lie, I got pretty pissed when I saw him overrun what should have been a pretty easy tackle at Vandy. And I think we were all on the Morgan Burnett interception watch at the beginning of the season. Watching Morgan simply ignore a blocker and take down Skinner on that down was pretty inspiring. The block wasn't the best, but the Wake player was definitely in the right place to make the play. Burnett still strafed the field, slowing down and taking Skinner out a few yards before the first down. That play gave our offense the chance to make us all Paul Johnson worshipers once again. If you dont know what I'm talking about, click here and watch at 5:45.
Positive #3: DERRICK MORGAN WILL EAT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN. In the meantime, he will lead the ACC in sacks, with 11.5 total going for 75 yards lost for other teams. It's getting that time where we start talking about the draft, and if there is one player that clearly looks like he is a pro still playing on the college field, it's Derrick.
Positive #4: Jason Peters's interception during the VPI game. More on that in a second. I just want to point out that Jason carries himself with a statesman-like quality. Seriously, if you've ever been around him, you think "Wow, this guy is not only smarter than me, he could beat the snot out of me with little to no effort." He's like the Kingpin or something. Anyway, that catch during the turkey carving may not have led to a score, but it kept our offense on the field. We needed all the touches we could get that night in order to allow the offense to get in it's groove. We are sitting at a +6 (20-14) turnover margin right now, and you really can't say enough about how important it is to get a hold of the ball. That kind of play will win us games, period. Oh yeah, did I mention Jason plays DT, and should really never have a chance for an interception? I was sure I did.
Positive #5: We actually adjust. Since the Miami game, we have given up 169 points. 106 of those have been in the first half, while the other 63 have been in the second. Only the Hokies scored more points on us in the second half than in the first. Also, only VPI and Mississippi State have scored more than 7 points on us in the 2nd half. I'd much rather be a second half team than a first half team, especially since only complete morons believe that this offense can't come back from a big deficit. (Ok, ok, I know - our offense is our best defense in the second half. We dominate TOP, especially in the 3rd and 4th quarters but damnit, somebody other than us gets the ball whenever we score. POSITIVITY PEOPLE, POSITIVITY.)
Got anything nice to say about Wommack or our defense?
3 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Positive #5
Is the best of them all. Great points about Jason Peters.
The college football season is so fragile. It's like a glass ball being pushed around from stadium to stadium by a rhinoceros.
by Winfield Featherston on Nov 11, 2009 8:37 AM EST reply actions
Here's a few tidbits
Fact: We only have ONE senior starting for the defense.
Fact: We should be returning TEN starters next year.
Fact: The 2010 class is loaded with defensive talent.
As much as I bellyache about our defense, what can’t be understated is that these guys come up with big plays when they are needed most. While I don’t think it’s very good for my health for our D to continue giving up almost as many points as we score on the other side, that W at the end of it all really is all that matters. I only have one request of it at this point and that is to tighten up for the next few games.
"This is America, if we can’t self-righteously look down on others and blame them for our faults, the commies win."-----Cormican on Bleeding Green Nation w/r/t fans overreacting to the Eagles signing of Michael Vick
getting close
Does anyone else think that are defense has nearly arrived? I just re-watched the Wake game and I noticed some very encouraging signs.
-We had some VERY solid tackling on Saturday that shows me that we really worked on it since Vandy, where it was awful. I saw tackles on the first hit probably 80% of the the time, which will limit the killer big plays in the future.
-We swarmed to the ball, especially in shutting down their run game. We may not get much line push for tackles for loss, but we looked very fast and were able to completely shut down the run game all day.
-Our coverage looked much better and the only times we really got beat were when skinner nickel and dimed us, or when their top receiver found himself 1 on 1 with a linebacker. Some communication issues should probably be worked out in these cases, but, again, the coverage looks worlds better than it did against, say, miami.
-Our D-line appears to have grown up a lot over the course of the season, and while they are still a weak point, especially on third downs, we seem to be getting a bit more pressure on the qb by people not named Derrick Morgan with the aid of some better blitzes.(ex: sylvester).
-Aside from two stupid penalties(roughing the kicker and personal foul on Tongo), we would likely have kept Wake at 16 points. Our major weaknesses seemed to be on third downs. I would like to see some sort of breakdown on yards per down because it looked to me like we gave up a good 2/3 of all yards on third.
Granted, all of this was against Wake, but Skinner is a solid quarterback who always makes smart decisions and has loads of experience. We look like we are improving on an every-down basis, but the third downs and big plays are killing us. I just think we are getting close and we need to keep building on this and I am excited to see what we can do against Duke.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
SHOP THE FROM THE RUMBLE SEAT STORE
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
