And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

Aug 15, 2016, 4:54 PM

I know this is going to sound crazy to some of you, but guess what? We actually don't have to have elite players in the secondary on defense to have a great season and win the national championship. Crazy, right? Let me explain.

Throughout the history of football, both college and NFL, all solid defenses began where? Up front. The key to a GOOD secondary is a GREAT d-line. When you have monsters up the middle (and we do), fast and powerful edge rushers (and we do) and fundamentally-sound LB's (and we absolutely do), guess what that does? It takes the pressure off the secondary to have to perform at an elite level. When everybody does their job up front from the DL to the LB's, the opposing team's run game usually gets stifled, and the opposing QB is pressured and has to make quick decisions. At this point, all a secondary has to do is simply be in position and execute the right coverage. The rest will take care of itself. Why does this matter? Because when you think about it, all of this talk about our desperate need to find another elite corner, and our secondary being not just suspect at times; but the big question mark all throughout this off-season, really isn't that big of a problem as I think most of us being told it is, or are making it out to be.

Still not encouraged? Please allow me to provide specific examples of what I mean. A. Bryant and C. Wilkens are both proven players who are productive, highly skilled, and will take on increased leadership roles the season. Oh and Wilkens can still play DT if needed. Not to mention, C. Ferrill and R. Yeargin are both freak athletes who have completely transformed their bodies, and are ridiculously fast. Oh, and they've been given rave reviews by their position coaches all off-season. For DT, we have the reliable, strong, experienced, and veteran leadership of C. Watkins and S. Pagano. Add in freshmen phenom D. Lawrence and, as long as this interior group does it's job, the DE's will have a field day this season because they'll consistently have a wide-open lane straight to the QB. For LB's, once again we have the proven, talented, and experience of Boulware, and K. Joseph (who the coaches said could've easily started last year). Add in D. O'Daniel and J. Williams- both of whom are well-versed and experienced in Venables' system- and we'll be just fine up the middle. And so, frankly, even if the rest of our secondary is simply "average": look at everything we have up-front. The secondary won't have near as much pressure to perform as you might think. Yes, at times, they'll certainly be called on to step up. But as Dabo and Co. often preach, as long as everybody just does their job, the rest will take care of itself.

Tiger fans, we're going to be just fine this year. Don't allow yourself to overthink, and get too worried. Russ the coaches' preparation process and their analysis of the player's development. See you in three weeks. Spot the ****ball.

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* You're correct that championship football starts with a good front 7.

* You're correct that when the run is stuffed, the offense looks to pass.

You're not correct about what happens next:

* If all the secondary needs to do is be in the right spot and coverage when the passing starts, then that requires a well-disciplined secondary. So, if they can do it when they need to, they can dang well do it from the git-go..... which means that you have a good front 7 AND a good secondary. If they aren't doing it before, they ain't going to do it when the pressure's on them.

* What IS true, is that with a good front 7 that is stuffing the run, when the passing starts, they put pressure on the QB, causing him to hurry his throw or hit the check-down short receiver. A hurried throw sometimes is a floater or a bit off-target, which CAN (but not guaranteed) allow a DB to catch up or make an interception where at other times he might allow a TD. A check-down short pass can often fall short or sail over the receiver's head, causing a defender to sometimes be in the right spot accidentally. The same throw (if completed) is often short of a 1st down, which allows the defender to make a stop before the recieiver can make the needed 1st down yardage.

So, while it's better to have a good front 7 AND a good secondary, it's possible that a team can scrape by with a good front 7 and a less than good secondary - but they'd better score a bunch - which I think we'll be able to do against Auburn and the next 2 games. Louisville may be another story.

But in any event, we cannot expect a secondary to suddenly start playing good football when the air raid starts (see ND 2015 in the rain). If you want the catfish dinner, you have to have a good secondary for the entire 60 minutes (see 'Bama 2016).

And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

We'll be fine***

didn't read OP - but ^^^^^THIS^^^^^^***

Re: And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

Re: And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

Close, but not quite....

Re: Close, but not quite....

Re: Close, but not quite....

Re: And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

Re: And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

Re: And encouragement for those worried about the Defense

has anybody given thought to the fact our "young" secondary

Re: has anybody given thought to the fact our "young" secondary

We do have elite players in the secondary

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