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PODCAST: Water in the Desert ft. D$
Comments (50)
For the defense, I think Simpson can help mitigate all the talent lost at D end & tackle should be decent albeit not likely spectacular. Definitely worried about linebacker, not sure how much Aristide can help but we need every bit of help at that position group.. Secondary should be better as long as best players play & Ivey, Carter aren't handed too many reps out of seniority. Offense, encouraged by TVD but anxious to see what Garcia will bring. Not worried about RB or TE. Hopefully Key Smith keeps this up to keep at least one of either 6/8 off the field. We'll see what the freshman receivers bring to the room. Refreshing to have experience & depth on our opponent line for once, I wanna see ND & Rivers at guard. Hedley gonna Hedley but hopefully Lil Borregales is on par with his big bro.
Perhaps, a favoritism deal? Absolutely no reason for Gaynor to be locked in. Adidas must cringe every time he’s the highlight reel because he looks like he’s playing on skates sometimes.
No next level flashes by Ford? I had high hoped for that dude based on Kuligowski's glowing assessment. He's not a bad ACC DT. But he does nothing that stands out yet, and I doubt he makes an NFL practice squad without demonstrable improvement.
He will look better with some bigger guards next to him. Don’t think the battle with Clark is completely over, though.
That’s fair and I hope you’re right; however, I’ve seen him get his **** pushed in on a simple one on one battle. No guard could have saved him. Gaynor was supposed to be this under the radar, tough kid out of high school but I don’t see it at all. At least, not on the field. The OL has been beyond frustrating the last 4 years. Golden had it in a better place.
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@DMoney do you think we go after a transfer portal LB or defensive tackle and are there any good ones out there?? Also I know I keep hearing Keontra Smith will be a good move at will but do you think the coaches will actually move him there or is that just something you would like to see. I mean with those guys struggling why not try it in the spring ?
What about his ****** snapping?
I'm sorry. I love the breakdown but the last line, is misleading I believe. You say the front 7 is likely the weakness of the team but that doesn't quite add up to me. The situation at LB is extremely concerning and is the true weakness of the defense and the team.
My point is that just because we lost Phillips and Roche to the NFL doesn't mean that the DL will be weak. Sure it may lack that superstar DE for now but to me the DL as a whole is extremely deep and talented. Silvera and JHH at DT will be very good and fun to watch. Behind them we have experienced veterans in Ford and Miller with young talent like Elijah Roberts and Leonard Taylor representing the future. This is not to mention guys like Jalar Holley and Quinten Williams.
At DE we have some explosive young talent in Jahfari Harvey, Chanz Williams and Cameron Williams who all have experience in backup roles. In addition to them we have Deandre Johnson and Zach McCloud who moved over from LB. These 5 will likely receive the bulk of the snaps with true freshmen Jabari Ishmael and Thomas Davis likely redshirting. It should also be pointed out that players such as Quinten Williams, Elijah Roberts and Leonard Taylor have the ability to play DE is certain situations and subpackages.
Now that I got that off my chest I can turn my wrath to the LB position. In the breakdown above it says that it's a lack of talent and development. The thing is that I would hardly characterize a unit with Sam Brooks, Avery Huff, Tirek Austin Cave and Corey Flagg to be lacking in talent. Lacking in depth maybe but talent no. Another thing is how long do Avery Huff and Tirek Austin Cave need to learn the defense? It can't be that complicated. I can't tell you exactly what is going on here but something doesn't add up. I will say that if the Alabama game comes and I see Jennings starting next to Flagg I may destroy the TV. Just move Keontra Smith to Will already! Then move Jalen Harrell to Striker. Here's another idea. Everyone seems to be ranting and raving about Chase Smith and his potential at Striker. I agree with this but why limit him to Striker if he has to ability to be an impact player at LB? Rant over.
****, did not think X would emerge this year at all.
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The "surprise" behind Restrepo is laughable because it's literally ONLY because of his looks. If he was 5 shades darker nobody would be surprised. Nobody that actually knows him or seen him play live is surprised.
He was already tearing up practice last season so what we're hearing right now is no surprise. There's no way they're keeping this kid off the field this year. He walks on the field with a chip on his shoulder every day.
Kid has been hearing this "surprised" bullsh!t his entire life. Even college scouts doubted him. You'd think people would drop these preconceived notions after watching so many white skill players excel in the NFL lately, yet here we are.
He was already tearing up practice last season so what we're hearing right now is no surprise. There's no way they're keeping this kid off the field this year. He walks on the field with a chip on his shoulder every day.
Kid has been hearing this "surprised" bullsh!t his entire life. Even college scouts doubted him. You'd think people would drop these preconceived notions after watching so many white skill players excel in the NFL lately, yet here we are.
Great podcast. With Amari being a liability at safety, why have they never tried moving him to LB? Especially w the numbers at safety now, he should never see the field there again.
I agree that LB is by far the biggest issue. But the DL has work to do as well. There’s a reason they hired Simpson. Our terrible run defense last year goes beyond just one unit.
That said, I’m a huge Simpson fan and believe there is enough talent in the unit.
Slowest snap in all of Football which ruins the timing of King and the Offense. I still do not understand why or how it is possible to get the ball to King that slowly and inaccurate when you do it every day.
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I’ll be honest - I’ve been on the X train since the Monarch days, but even I’m a little surprised at how twitchy he is on a college field. He’s not just quick and competitive, he has a little juice to him as well.
This is great news. Get Pope off the **** field for good.
. Even when people see X make an impressive play they'll still doubt him & we obviously know the reason why smh.
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I think you are confusing weak overall with weakness of the team. We lost two potentially 1st round NFL DE the last two years and a potentially second day guy. It is hard to replace. I agree we have solid people waiting, but I don't foresee Harvey getting R1 buzz. The Dline may be fairly good, but I get the point that a team may decide to run as oppose to throwing at Tyrique or Couch or at one of the safeties because they feel that is the "weaker" position.
For LB you point out Brooks (#750 overall recruit, didnt even crack top 50 at LB), Cave (514 overall recruit, didnt crack top 25 for his position) and Flagg (830 overall recruit and #35 LB) as "talented" Huff is the only one who was borderline top 200 and top 15 (not top 10) in his position. I would call that a talent issue. Do you think anyone outside of UM fans know who TF these guys are? I am not trying to pump up rankings but if they had the physical talent they would have been ranked higher on that alone. I agree Keontra makes too much sense at Will, Smith still too light to be in that spot.
Especially considering that you HAVE to find a way to get JWill20 on the field with Tae. Only problem is what does Keontra do with Donaldson size guys running at him. He's always seemed like a tweener, not quite the athlete you need at safety but not quite big enough for LB. We desperately need the coaches to get Huff ready because he's the one we need paired with Flagg
Also now it makes sense why Harrell was moved to CB. With Ivey and Blades both on the mend, we barely had any CBs to run our OFF against. CB depth issues are hurting us in more than 1 way smh
Speaking for my post, the surprise has nothing to do with his looks. More so his youth. I know he is the goods. I've seen it with my eyes and he has a 4.1 shuttle. Rambo, Harley are the top 2 WRs. Keyshawn flashed big time IMO. Then, Pope and Wiggins came back. I had no prior reason to believe those two would get benched. But if they do get benched I'm all for it. That's why I am still surprised he is up to #4 WR, as stated by D$, 5 practices into spring. They have not even reached double digit padded practices yet.
An uncover-able WR is exactly what Miami needs
