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 Marc MorehouseHi, I'm Marc Morehouse. I've covered sports for more than 15 years, mostly in Eastern Iowa. I've had Hayden Fry [...] |
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Four downs with the D-line
Iowa's Mike Daniels (93) celebrates after bringing down Michigan State's Edwin Baker (4) during the first half of their Big Ten Conference college football game Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)
QUICK LOOK BACK: No question the individual and unit numbers were down across the board. The Hawkeyes totaled 21 sacks and 57 tackles for loss in 2010. The five-year averages are 23.2 sacks and 66.2 tackles for loss, so there’s no arguing the ’10 numbers were down.
Why? Some of it can be explained away with the attention defensive end Adrian Clayborn drew. A few teams gambled and blocked him with a tight end at certain times, but he also faced his share of double teams. Tackles, tight ends and backs were sent his way and his numbers dropped. A complementary rusher at the end position never really emerged. Christian Ballard had moments, but Iowa’s mayhem came from the inside, with Karl Klug and Mike Daniels combining for 9.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.
Iowa’s philosophy also shifted a bit on the outside when linebackers went through a series of injuries. Iowa’s ends seemed to concentrate on setting an edge and thinking contain. In the overall scheme, it helped Iowa’s defense put up representative numbers.
In 2010, Iowa allowed 3.24 yards a carry and 1,320 overall rushing yards. The five-year averages are 3.34 and 1,479. The scoring defense also was representative. The Hawkeyes allowed 221 points in 2010, 17 points a game. The five-year average 216.8 and 17.02.
In the end, you had a defensive line that didn’t put up the mayhem numbers, but you had a defense that was once again among the Big Ten’s best. At that point, the Hawkeyes were in funnel mode, thus the DEs attempted to set a hard edge and funnel everything inside.
The D-line was the foundation for this. You can argue that point all you want, but consider the injuries at linebacker with Jeff Tarpinian (four starts), Tyler Nielsen (eight starts, season-ending neck injury) and Jeremiha Hunter (missed one start and slowed with knee injury).
Fatigue was a factor. Iowa lost five games in the fourth quarter last season. Long, sustained TD drives came home to roost in each of the losses. At that point, the Hawkeyes were in survival mode. The D-line was their elite unit and Iowa had to ride it into the ground.
Caption: Iowa's Broderick Binns runs an interception into the endzone for a touchdown against Arizona in the fourth quarter at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, September 18, 2010. (Cliff Jette/Sourcemedia Group)
FOURTH DOWN: CONCERNS — The three big dogs have left the pen. Clayborn, Ballard and Klug were productive players that the rest of the Big Ten had to account for each and every game. Clayborn will be a first-round draft pick. Ballard will be a second-round pick. If Klug runs the 4.67 he ran last spring at Iowa, he will be a draft pick. He might not be a defensive tackle (no talk from NFL teams on Klug playing tackle in the league), but, at 275 with a 4.67, he’ll be something.
Iowa's Steve Bigach (54) sacks Michigan State quarterback Andrew Maxwell during their Big Ten Conference college football game Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)
Of the six players who logged big minutes, tackle Mike Daniels and end Broderick Binns are back. After them, it’s newbies, so experience is the major concern here. Depending on who emerges, size also could be a concern. And, yes, Iowa got away with undersized D-tackles during the Mitch King and Matt Kroul days. Those two weren’t ideal size, but but were in the NFL last season and they could slug it out with any Big Ten offensive lineman.
Along with the collective 89 starts Clayborn, Ballard and Klug accumulated, Iowa also will be missing three fully matured bodies that spent five years in Chris Doyle’s weightroom. Binns and Daniels will be fifth-years, but the other two, whomever they are, will not.
Even though they play different positions, Daniels’ emergence in 2010 (four sacks, 11 tackles for loss) pushed Binns out of the starting lineup. Binns started all 13 games in 2009 when he had5.5 sacks and 9.5 TFLs. Last season, he started five games and had no sacks with one tackle for loss.
Binns talked about his season in this post. “My role this year is a lot different than it was last year. I’m a team player. That’s fine. I get in there and do what I can, but there are other guys who are producing and who do play. I’m not disappointed at all.”
The D-line is definitely a hot spot for 2011.
THIRD DOWN – ADDITIONS/SUBTRACTIONS: Clayborn, Ballard and Klug are gone. So is Anthony Ferguson, a 6-3, 280-pounder who would’ve been a redshirt freshman this spring. Ferentz confirmed this in February. Sophomore Martin Hopkins (6-3, 250) is still on the online roster.
Literally and figuratively, the biggest addition is defensive tackle Carl Davis, a 6-5, 295-pounder who’ll be a redshirt freshman this fall. He sat out last season as a true freshmen, but at the Iowa practices we were allowed to view, Davis was coached hard and kept in the loop. He might not have been a second-teamer, but Iowa coaches kept him engaged, knowing they might need him as soon as this season.
Donovan Johnson also is a redshirt freshman tackle. At 6-3, 265, he might still be in the “building the body” mode.
Mike Hardy is an interesting prospect. The redshirt freshman is 6-5, 270. He practiced as an end last season, but could project inside or the O-line. There’s need on the D-line, so he’s probably staying put. Question is end or tackle?
Louis Trinca-Pasat graduated from Chicago’s Lane Tech and enrolled last January. He spent 2010 practicing as a tackle. At 6-3, 250, he’s very much in development.
True freshman Darian Cooper announced on signing day that he picked the Hawkeyes. He comes with credentials (all-metro, Baltimore metro defensive MVP), with numbers (10 sacks, four forced fumbles his senior year at DeMatha High School) and with a 6-1, 280-pound body that might — MIGHT — be built to contribute early. Not a lot of freshmen DL crack the two deep at Iowa (Cody Hundertmark did as a true frosh in 2007), but if Cooper shows in camp that he can handle it, you have to at least be open to the possibility.
SECOND DOWN — BATTLE BREWING: There are 11 scholarship players and three walk-ons competing for the
Ball State quarterback Kelly Page (5, left) escapes Iowa defensive lineman Lebron Daniel (58) in the fourth quarter of their game on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)
two spots after Binns and Daniels. Let’s assume those two are locked in. Daniels, there’s no question. He answered all questions last year and then some with four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Binns’ 2010 started with a summer OWI and just sort of flatlined from there. The highlight was the interception return for a score that tied the Arizona game. Binns is in, but not as “in” as Daniels, if that makes any sense. He might have some proving to do in camp or he’ll face a hostile takeover.
So, two spots and 14 bodies.
Tackle (Listed in order of likelihood)
Steve Bigach — The 6-3, 272-pound junior has put in the time in the weightroom. He came to Iowa at 220 pounds in the 2008 recruiting class. Fifty-two pounds later, he’s put himself in position for a job. Had a sack in mop-up time against Michigan State last season, but he was the fourth tackle behind Klug, Ballard and Daniels. The high side could be a Kroul type.
Carl Davis — It’ll be interesting to see if he’s still in the 295 range. When he signed, Iowa coaches thought he could trim down to the 280 area. Sat out while redshirting last season, Davis was coached up. D-line coach Rick Kaczenski made sure he was fully engaged in practice. That tells me coaches believe they’ll need him soon, as in maybe this season.
Thomas Nardo — The walk-on senior is 6-3 227. According to the e-mails released in the wake of rhabdomyolysis, Nardo missed a least a week of school, so may have been among those stricken. Nardo saw some time late last season and made a play or two against Ohio State.
Donovan Johnson — If his winter goes well, Johnson, a redshirt freshman, could be a surprise inside. Might be closer to 6-1 than 6-3. He’s sort of a Mike Daniels starter kit.
Mike Hardy – At 6-5, 270, the redshirt freshman might have the body to move inside. He also might have the athleticism to work at end, where Iowa likely needs him to be.
Louis Trinca-Pasat — Remember seeing the redshirt freshman play on the inside during practices last fall. At 6-3, 250, he’s still working his way up to tackle weight.
Darian Cooper — Again, not likely for a true freshman to break into a rotation on the inside, but at 6-2, 280, Cooper might be able to handle it and Iowa might need him.
Scott Covert — Listed at 6-2, 245, the sophomore is probably still developing. He was among second-tier D-linemen at Insight Bowl practices last fall.
Casey Krieter — The 6-3, 250-pound sophomore is a walk-on. He might be more of a long snapper. He stepped in last fall when Andrew Schulze was injured.
Martin Hopkins — The 6-3, 250-pound sophomore might still be in development.
Where do you draw the line for realistic contributors (serious contenders for playing time)? After Nardo? Iowa has played three tackles, but if Kaczenski and Norm Parker get what they want out of two, and they stay healthy, they ride those two. Last season, Daniels’ rise changed that. In ’09, it was Klug and Ballard. King and Kroul took most if not ever snap from 2006-08.
Ends
Lebron Daniel — The 6-2, 250-pounder is a fifth-year senior. He spent the last two seasons spelling Clayborn. Norm Parker started talking him up two years ago. Daniel has seen a share of playing time, but nothing consistent. This is his one year to show what he can do. He probably has the inside track to starter opposite Binns.
Dominic Alvis — At 6-4, 240, the sophomore might still be in developmental stage. Terrific all-around athlete at Logan-Magnolia, Alvis could punch his way to extended playing time. He’s had a few setbacks with injuries.
Joe Forgy – The 6-4, 255-pounder is a senior, and this is his best chance to have an impact on the roster. Also, he could find a role on special teams. Transferred from Ellsworth Community College.
Hardy — It’ll be interesting to see where he lines up this spring. As the roster stands, he’s probably needed more at end.
Joe Gaglione — The 6-4, 242-pounder missed all of ’09 with a shoulder injury. He returned last season and saw some mop-up duty. Too hard to tell where his progress is.
Who’s the third DE? Probably Alvis. He’ll have to prove himself as legit to put a claim in on some playing time. That will, obviously, decided whether or not there’s a rotation.
_____________
Last five years of Iowa rush defense
2010 — 3.24 ypc; 1,320 total yards
2009 — 3.49 ypc; 1,607 total yards
2008 — 3.08 ypc; 1,272 total yards
2007 — 3.21 ypc; 1,459 total yards
2006 — 3.62 ypc; 1,737 total yards
Averages — 3.34 ypc; 1,479 total yards
___________
Iowa’s sacks the last five seasons
2010 — 21
2009 — 30
2008 — 17
2007 — 27
2006 — 21
Average — 23.2
____________
Iowa’s tackles for loss the last five seasons
2010 — 57
2009 — 73
2008 — 67
2007 — 66
2006 — 68
Average — 66.2
____________
Iowa scoring defense the last five seasons
2010 — 17.0 ppg; 221 total points
2009 – 15.4 ppg; 200 total points
2008 — 13.0 ppg; 169 total points
2007 — 17.3 ppg; 225 total points
2006 — 22.4 ppg; 269 total points
Averages — 17.02 ppg; 216.8 total points
____________________
FIRST DOWN — “On Iowa” prediction for 2011 season: Let’s take a shot at a two deep:
RE — Lebron Daniel, Joe Forgy (Daniel gets the shot he’s been waiting five years for. Ball’s in his court.)
DT — Mike Daniel, Thomas Nardo (Enough here for a rotation? Daniels’ uncommon strength will pull this unit during the last month or so of winter workouts.)
DT – Steve Bigach, Carl Davis (Hard to put a border around what Davis could be or do for 2011. He could breakthrough for some real playing time here. He also could stall at No. 3 tackle, which would likely get him some PT.)
LE – Broderick Binns, Dominic Alvis (Can Binns find the magic from ’09? Is Alvis ready to be a No. 3 DE? This unit has some proving to do. It will be part of the reason why you won’t entirely enjoy reading Phil Steele’s deal in about a month.)
_____________
DTs, DEs of the Big Ten
Illinois — The Fighting Illini were bitten hard by the NFL early departure bug, with junior DT Corey Liuget making the run for the money after the Illini’s bowl victory over Baylor. Rating — Second-team. Akeem Spence (6-1, 305) had four tackles for loss as a freshman starter last year. Michael Buchanan (6-6, 225) had 5.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore.
Indiana — The Hoosiers return three starters, including tackles Adam Replogle and Mick Mentzer. Also, end Darius Johnson will be back. Rating — Second-team. Johnson made an impact last season with 4.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. Mentzer had 4.0 tackles for loss; Replogle had 3.5.
Iowa – Iowa is pretty much putting it back together on the DL for 2011. The Hawkeyes will build around tackle Mike Daniels and end Broderick Binns. Rating — Honorable mention. After leaning so heavily on Ballard, Clayborn and Klug, the bill comes due this year.
Michigan — The Wolverines will build around DT Mike Martin (6-2, 299) and senior DE Ryan Van Bergen (6-6, 283), who had 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks last season. Rating — Second-team. The Michigan defense has nowhere to go but up, and new DC Greg Mattison, along with new DL coach Jerry Montgomery (former Hawkeye DT) will provide an immediate boost.
Michigan State — The Spartans return four players who’ve started including junior DT Jerel Worthy, who had eight tackles for loss and four sacks. End Tyler Hoover had 3.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Rating — First-team. The Spartans D-line will be a strength. The rotation MSU has used will payoff this season.
Minnesota — The Gophers took a hit when coach Jerry Kill announced in January that tackle Jewhan Edwards was no longer in school. Edwards led Minnesota last season with 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. Rating — Honorable mention. That’s a blow for a team that finished last in the Big Ten in rush defense and that allowed 33.0 points a game.
Nebraska — Jared Crick was a second-team all-American in 2010. Fellow tackle Baker Steinkuhler was honorable mention all-Big 12. End Cameron Meredith was a second-team all-Big 12 selection. Rating – Silver football. The Huskers have the makings of an elite D-line.
Northwestern — Here’s what Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told the NU official site about his D-line: “They’re running as well as they have since I’ve been here. We’ve got explosive athletes, we’ve got good size, Niko Mafuli might be in the best shape of his career right now. Brian Arnfelt to this point is probably having the best off-season of anybody in that group. We had to fix Jack’s shoulder (Jack DiNardo), so he’ll be out for spring. Quentin Williams is no longer playing baseball, he’s already up to 270 pounds (from 240 something). Davon (Custis) is up over 250. So that young group is starting to really mature, as they typically do. Vince (Browne) is Vince. He’s steady Eddie. You could set your watch on his work ethic and his commitment. But needs to double that total. Has to take that sack total and double it.” Rating – Second-team. Browne leads the way. The senior had 15.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks last season.
Ohio State — Mammoth tackle Johnathan Hankins (6-3, 335) has potential on the inside. End Nathan Williams and tackle John Simon are experienced veterans who have impacted Big Ten games. The Buckeyes have three four-star recruits battling over the other end spot. Rating – First-team. Simon is undersized and over-motored.
Penn State — If they can stay healthy, the trio of Jack Crawford, Eric Latimore and Devon Still will give the Nittany Lions a more-than-solid foundation. Only Still made it through last season in good health. Rating — Honorable mention. Penn State has upperclassmen in place, but one or more need to have a breakout season.
Purdue — The Boilers return two starters — DT Bruce Gaston and DE Gerald Gooden. Gaston had 4.5 tackles for loss; Gooden had four. Junior tackle Kawann Short but he had all-Big Ten numbers, finishing fourth in the league in sacks (6.0) and sixth in tackles for loss (12.5). Rating – Second-team. With Short and Gaston on the inside, the Boilers should have an easier time replacing all-everything Ryan Kerrigan.
Wisconsin — The Badgers return three starters, including tackles Patrick Butrym and Jordan Kohout. End Louis Nzegwu also returns. As far as depth goes, sophomore Ethan Hemer has made a few starts. Rating — End J.J. Watt decided to do the NFL thing, and so the Badgers have a giant hole to fill that they didn’t anticipate at the end of the season. Yes, just one player, but was second in the league with 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi evades John Simon of Ohio State during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, November 20, 2010. (Cliff Jette/Sourcemedia Group News)
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Thanks to e-mailer Eric for pointing out that Cody Hundertmark did pay on the D-line as a true frosh. Totally forgot that.
Fixed that today. I probably need to take my computer home at night now for spring practice.
Definitely tomorrow. Can’t stand downtown CR on St. Patrick’s Day. Total amateur hour. And nowhere to park.
Try Chicago on St Patty’s Day. And by St Patty’s Day, I mean the Saturday they designate for celebration and binge drinking for all the Irish, I mean wannabe Irish, citizens.
I’m a grinch on that day.
I was on the periphery of that a few years ago. Some of it spilled over to the Three Floyds brew pub. There wasn’t enough Bud Light there to sate the masses, so they left.
Nothing better than Hawkeye football when all we get now is BB. Thanks Marc.
If I remember correctly, when King and Kroul emerged they didn’t have much fanfare. Norm knows how to coach up the new kids.
They were oddities, and you can tell by their numbers.
King was supposed to be an LB. It was a curious move at the time, but one that paid off in a big way. Kroul was supposed to be a center. Again, paid off in a big way.
Minor edit: Binns’ INT against Arizona DID tie the game, Mossbrucker’s miss should’ve given Iowa the lead.
A lot of unknown here. The unfortunate part of having such good D-linemen the last several years is that there’s not a lot left who got regular playing time, and we’ve seen lots of improvement in guys 2nd and 3rd seasons in the starting lineup (Kroul, Clayborn, Klug).
Fixed and thank you!
This will be a transitional year at this spot. But how transitional? They’ve set a high standard. If they can keep teams at 3.5 ypc, is that a success? I think yes.
Until the unseen become more known the DL is going to be rated as shaky with potential to be solid. The game starts on the ball and Daniels is a good one there. However, you need 3 more. Binns has credentials to be considered as all Big10-able. What’s likely to help the DL, however, is if the Offense hits the ground running. There are few teams in conference who have ‘too many’ DL and Iowa’s had an unusual run of ‘tenured’ starters. It seems like about 10 years since Iowa has had a DL without a 3 year starter.
enatlanta -
I agree that it kinda seems that way. However, the truth of the matter is that in 2009, both Clayborn and Ballard were just JRs who only were in their 2nd year starting. Also, that year, both Binns and Klug were just first-year starters. Lastly, to add to all the “newness” that season, Ballard had also just moved over to DT.
Of course, a key difference is that it was rather apparent that Klug would be a pretty impressive “spark plug” for the DL. He had pretty impressive productivity in a back-up capacity as a SO in ’08. As we enter the ’11 season, Bigach, Alvis, and Daniel have each shown some flashes … but none have matched the sort of productivity that Klug managed to have in ’08.
Excellent discussion.
They need one or two of Bigach, Alvis and Daniel to have first-year Klug productivity. Or two of them need to add up to something close to that productivity.
I think Bigach has potential. Alvis is a great athlete. He needs good health to hone technique. Norm loved Daniel a couple springs ago, but he wasn’t going to see the field with Clayborn around. When he did, he didn’t pop. He’s a strong fifth-year body. That gives him a good launching pad.
Remember a year ago, Norm was talking Alvis, then he was injured again. He also touted Ferentz and MacMillan. Norm always has interesting insights into emerging players.
He also used to continually praise Tarp as being the equal of Hunter, hype that may have been a little bit overstated. Norm, like everyone, isn’t immune to occasionally being wrong.
It would be really nice if we could develop some actual depth along the D-line, something we haven’t had the past couple of years. We got away with it in 2009, but it is clear that not having 6-7 guys capable of playing regular minutes caught up to us in 2010, especially late in games. There are many factors for the D-line being gassed late in games, but a significant part has to be the fact that we really only had 1.5 subs (Daniels and Binns) to bring in when it mattered. Compare that to OSU that went with an 8/9 man rotation along their D-line, and the difference is stark. Obviously, Iowa just doesn’t have the depth of talent to do that, we have to develop players. But, and this is something of a blind spot for Norm, we tend to only bring out the starters and hope for the best. A regular rotation might also alleviate some of the “youthful” mistakes we can expect from such a young line.
It would be optimal if we could go about 6-7 deep, where the difference between the 2nd and 3rd DEs and DTs isn’t so great that there is a pronounced drop-off. If Cooper shows up anywhere near ready to play, I think DT will be a bit deeper and could go 4 deep or so – Daniels, Bigach/Davis, and Johnson/Cooper. Finding a 3rd, let alone 4th, DE, however, may be a lot harder.
Max Power -
Norm definitely spoke very positively about Tarp. However, given that Tarp never enjoyed a full healthy season as a starter … we’ll never know how good or bad Tarp truly was. I’d say that the fact that Tarp’s play didn’t live up to Norm’s hype was most likely due to those injuries. Thus, we really cannot say that Norm was overstating things.
As a case in point … many folks were saying the same thing about Mike Humpal after his first year starting. However, Humpal quickly shut-up the critics after having a VERY impressive SR campaign. And, mind you, Humpal’s level of play as a SR was all the more impressive given the fact that he dealt with a knee that had been surgically reconstructed to a significant degree.
Tarp’s injuries are the story of his career. We’ll never know what he could’ve been exactly. Think about this, would Iowa have won another game or two last season if Tarp had the kind of fifth year that Humpal had?
Humpal had a tremendous senior year. He’d still be getting paid to play football if his health didn’t rob him.
David Reynolds:
Certainly true about Humpal. Though, to be fair, Norm certainly didn’t do him or Klink any favors by saying that those two were going to make people “forget” about Hodge and Greenway. That is far too much hype for almost any player; and certainly more than a little unwarranted given the situation.
I’m not attacking Norm, merely pointing out that he, like all of us, can have blind spots when it comes to certain players. Heck, I’ve been praising Bernstine for years, only to see him constantly go down with injury and leave his career, to date, incredibly unfulfilled. It’s just that in the case of Norm, his praise can often have the effect of raising expectations we have for players, expectations that will be almost impossible to meet.
If anything, this past season illustrated how interdependent our defensive scheme is. With the lack of overall depth that Iowa will always have (versus an OSU for example), we can’t be decimated by injuries and not expect a dropoff, losing so many LBs impacts the D-line, which in turn makes things even more difficult on the backup LBs further exposing the mistakes that young players are prone to suffer.
Totally agree with you on the lack of depth hurting Iowa in some games. I didn’t think it was that those guys were out of shape, I think any 300-pounder would have been in the same situation asked to play that many downs against teams like NW.
No doubt, Max, depth played into the fourth quarter last season. I think six might be a reasonable number to expect out of this group. Seven would be optimum, but I think six is reasonable, making the battles for No. 3 DT and DE maybe some of the more crucial on the team for ’11.
I’ve been impressed by how Ferentz and the coaches have adjusted their recruiting strategy in light of some of these issues the past few seasons. Iowa will always have to rely on Klug-like “developmental” players to be key pieces of the defense, and the offensive and defensive lines in particular. But I really think KF, et al, have tried to bring in a few more ready-now bodies along the lines to help bridge the gaps, so that we don’t have to spend 2-3 years before a recruit can contribute. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but one that we seem to be getting better at.
I agree on Norm. I love to hear from the assistant coaches. They have a bit more granular knowledge on the players they coach. And I think that’s part of what makes Norm so good, him knowing what his guys can and can’t do. That probably holds true for a lot of good coaches.
Nice rundown, Marc. I wonde how we are going to fl these holes, but Carl Davis (no relation, but I would claim him) intrigues me. If he has the feet and the strength to go with that 295 pounds, we may have a real insde stuffer. Hope so, anyway.
From what I saw last year, he plays a little too high, but that’s totally fixable. If he comes through this season, Iowa will be able to rotate tackles. I think it’s possible.
No relation! Ha! Remember Rich Walker, former Iowa hoops assistant? Carl is his nephew.
Good points Marc on the reasons why the D-Line struggled to get the numbers this past year. I really do believe that the inexperience at the LB position made the coaches nervous and probably led to the “funneling” mentality that the D-Line adopted. It’s always easy to be aggressive when you know someone’s got your back. Because of this, I could see this year’s D-line get the benefit of an improved and hopefully healthy set of LB’s. I also think you have some guys that are hungry to prove they should get starting spots including the freshman Cooper.
Cooper could happen, if he’s a legit 280 that doesn’t need a ton of sculpting. Then again, they probably won’t ask for him to play 70 snaps. If he could give them 15 good ones, I think they’d take it and the redshirt would be off.
Is it possible for Pat Fitzgerald to open his mouth without the rah rah cheerleader crap? I really can’t stand that guy.
He connects with players. Very good at pushing the right buttons. Factor the last couple seasons against Iowa? Maybe.
I doubt that we’re going to see much more rotation than what we’ve seen in the past. While long, sustained drives definitely took it out of our starters at the end of games, I imagine that it was much more emotionally deflating than anything else. And, in large part, I truly believe that our “issues” at LB played a big role concerning the lack of productivity of the DL. We were simply far too exploitable by the pass on short routes … opposing QBs invariably knew where our “weak” cover LBs were … and they routinely exploited them.
If the opposing QB always has that outlet available … then that means that the DL doesn’t have that extra second to get to the QB. Furthermore, with that extra flexibility, opposing Os were able to keep our D more on the defensive. Throughout a fair portion of the season, our D wasn’t “winning” the early downs. Consequently, opposing Os had more options at their disposal and that then puts a lot more pressure on the D. And, given what Iowa likes to do, that then ends up putting a lot more pressure on our DL.
As for the 2011 season, Nielsen and Morris are very good in coverage and will be that much more experienced. They give us pretty nice foundations provided that they can remain healthy. Furthermore, I’m hopeful that we’ll see a WILL LB emerge. I know that Marc seems to be pegging Hitchens at LEO and he very well may remain there. However, I also distinctly remember Getz earning some nice praise from Norm during the Orange Bowl bowl prep … albeit playing the role of an option QB. I’m hopeful that he might be one of the feel-good stories in the coming years and fill the hole that we have in the depth chart at the LEO spot behind Nielsen. If that happens, I could see Hitchens making a push at WILL instead of at LEO.
Marc, I think our injuries at LB made our DL look tired out at the end of some games last year because they were forced to chase too much. It is very tough for a DL to have to help the LBs. This year we should have more depth to help this. Injuries could of course change things.