5 Fall Camp Questions on both sides of the ball

Jul 23, 2019

Offense

1. QB: Will whoever is selected at QB, assuming Enos' effectiveness and a more varied attack, give us a significant leap from Malik Rosier version 2017?
2. OL: Who will solidify themselves as the best Tackle combination and spark a domino effect for remainder of the OL? (Zion/Scaife, Scaife/Herbert, etc.)
3. RB: Will Harris or Lingard make a sophomore leap into superstardom. I'm not talking about natural progression or Travis Homer's leap in 2017. I'm talking Clinton Portis flashes when he made the leap.
4. WR: Will JT and Pope be used as they should - being moved around, jet sweeps, option routes, etc.? This alone can change 3rd down conversion %.
5. TE: Will the TEs be used in a way to dictate defensive coverage? Another enormous factor in the transformation of 3rd down conversion %.

Defense

1. DT: My second biggest question on the team in terms of the committee approach we seem to be heading toward. Who will disrupt 3rd down pockets? Who will consistently collapse plays to get teams behind schedule, as per Manny's previous system requires. I'm fine with getting it from a committee, but someone needs to leap.
2. S: My third biggest question on the team is whether our young Safeties will be adequate or surprise in comparison to two experienced, NFL-level Safeties who'd played in our defensive system that places a lot of pressure on Safeties.
3. DE: Will Hill be healthy, Rousseau make a leap and Garvin show out in his contract year to the level of what I've called the best pass rushing trio in the country? The numbers would have to show 35+ TFLs between them, if healthy.
4. LB: Will Pinck or Shaq have a Dan Morgan-type senior year?
5. CB: Will the second corner (Ivey?) make a leap like Michael Jackson in 2017?

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ScubaCane

Jul 25, 2019

Our lines will be our undoing

B
bshaw28

Jul 25, 2019

brock said:
Year you are right, still can’t have that though either way

Totally get the concern over Deejay's play, and no question he has things he needs to improve this year. I just feel like he's made plenty of big plays too, and is getting a little overlooked.

Between poor play calling, poor QB play, poor OL play, Richards getting hurt, Thomas "leaving" the team - Deejay's fumbling problems were just one more thing to add to a huge list of offensive problems last year.

No_Fly_Zone

Jul 25, 2019

Tee3000 said:
Jaquan played a ton with jenk & Carter.

I think he was mostly playing nickle with them, but I agree with your larger point that Jaquan had played meaningful snaps in the secondary before taking over at safety. His instincts and smarts back there are undervalued by some fans.

Diaz/Baker put a lot of pressure on those safeties (and especially the field safety). Those guys might have the toughest job on our defense. But I'm not all that concerned considering the athletes that we have stepping in. Between Hall, Carter, and Bolden, I'm fairly confident the back end will be covered.

No_Fly_Zone

Jul 25, 2019

NorthEastCane said:
I guess we all have different definitions of beast. But the one most commonly heard is that regardless what attributes they, they show up every game, particularly when the competition steps up. I'm sure he'll continue to improve. We shall see if he plays like a beast in the ACC championship game of bowl season.

When 90% of the running plays your coach calls are inside handoffs on first or second down, your QB isn't scaring any secondary you face all year, and your OL isn't getting any push in the running game, 6 rushing TDs and 617 rushing yards on 109 carries (5.66 YPC) is pretty **** good.

He also sheds tackles like a beast. I was trying to find yards after contact and broken tackles stats for him, because my eyes tell me he excels there, but I couldn't find any. But I know he broke 5 **** tackles in his punt return TD against Pitt (in the ACC) last year. And I remember a couple of runs against UNC where he broke at least 3 or 4 tackles (the first one usually in the backfield). Add what he does receiving and on special teams to that, and yeah, DeeJay is a beast of a football player, especially considering he's a rising junior.

N
NorthEastCane

Jul 25, 2019

No_Fly_Zone said:
When 90% of the running plays your coach calls are inside handoffs on first or second down, your QB isn't scaring any secondary you face all year, and your OL isn't getting any push in the running game, 6 rushing TDs and 617 rushing yards on 109 carries (5.66 YPC) is pretty **** good.

He also sheds tackles like a beast. I was trying to find yards after contact and broken tackles stats for him, because my eyes tell me he excels there, but I couldn't find any. But I know he broke 5 **** tackles in his punt return TD against Pitt (in the ACC) last year. And I remember a couple of runs against UNC where he broke at least 3 or 4 tackles (the first one usually in the backfield). Add what he does receiving and on special teams to that, and yeah, DeeJay is a beast of a football player, especially considering he's a rising junior.

I get all that. I just think we're a bit too casual labelling people beasts.

What you're talking about used to be common place around here. Maybe it's been too long since we've seen one. The last ones at that position that would approach that were Duke Johnson or Lamar Miller. Although they became second team All Conference, they were still a notch below All American (e.g., Gore, McGahee, Edgerin James etal). Are you ready to put him on that level?

Last edited: Jul 25, 2019

T
Tee3000

Jul 25, 2019

NorthEastCane said:
That's only your opinion.

Sean Taylor and Jerome Brown brought it every week (just to name a couple). I believe we both can agree they were beasts.

I’d call those guys monsters..lol..Agree to disagree..it is what it is.

No_Fly_Zone

Jul 25, 2019

NorthEastCane said:
I get all that. I just think we're a bit too casual labelling people beasts.

What you're talking about used to be common place around here. Maybe it's been too long since we've seen one. The last ones at that position that would approach that were Duke Johnson or Lamar Miller. Although they became second team All Conference, they were still a notch below All American (e.g., Gore, McGahee, Edgerin James etal). Are you ready to put him on that level?

It looks like we may have different definitions of the word "beast." To me, style of play factors into that particular label. Barry Sanders is the best RB I have ever seen play football with my own eyes, and a total freak of nature, but I think Marshawn Lynch was more of a beast with the ball in his hands.

DeeJay, who breaks tons of tackles and is rarely brought down by initial contact (and who has been fending off tacklers in the backfield his entire collegiate career) and does so many different things right on the field, qualifies as a beast in my book.

To your question, he has not proven to be All Conference or All American level yet, so I wouldn't/couldn't call him that (yet). And at this point, he's not on the level of Gore, McGahee, Edge, Ottis Anderson, Bratton, Portis, Duke, Miller, Jackson, Najeh, etc...

R
rayray

Aug 25, 2019

rayray said:
the two big ones for me are this:

1. if the offensive line is bad vs the gators, can butch berry get the unit to move past it and grow into a line that doesn't hamstring the offense for the entire season? we're opening the season in a big game and hostile environment with a new coach, new OC, new center, new players all over the line and potentially a new QB versus the best defense we'll face in the regular season. it wouldn't surprise me if the o line flops in game 1, but it can't drag down the whole season.

2. both our current depth chart and recent recruiting lean heavily towards blurring the lines between safety, nickel corner, and outside linebacker... do we see an evolution in manny's defense to mitigate our complete lack of depth at LB and address the shape of our defensive roster going forward? is someone like amari carter a safety, or a sort of positionless back 7 player who moves around the field and can help mask whatever deficiencies we might have at LB after the 3 seniors? and is this where players like gilbert frierson, derrick smith, keyshawn washington etc are headed? another way of putting this question is like this: is manny looking at a future of football where you don't have one "striker" on the field but 2 or 3 or 4?

despite the hysteria from many porsters on this board, this outcome was pretty predictable. not many factors in the o line's favor going into the UF game. let's see what butch berry can do...

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5 Fall Camp Questions on both sides of the ball

5 Fall Camp Questions on both sides of the ball

Comments (107)

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