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Ask and you shall receive, Derrick Smith to LB???

zach played poorly at times last year without a doubt but you can't pretend like his freshman year didn't happen. we have two years of play from him, some of it good and some of of it bad. there's been enough there to keep the faith imo. he also did have some games last year where he played really well -- he was one of our best players in the ND game for instance.
 
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rokulika said:
McCloud wasn't just a liability in coverage, his tackling also stunk.

This is the year that Diaz puts his players on the field.

SLB DSmith // Wilder // McCloud

MLB Shaq // Jennings// MSmith

WLB Pinckney // Steed // Perry

Try Joyner at DE while he redshirts, perhaps even McCloud at DE too.
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Joyner will play ST at minimum. No chance is McCloud 3rd string.
 
Owens started and played most of the bowl game ahead of McCloud. Perry was also coming on before the injury. If they like McCloud so much I don't think they would've moved Smith. Wilder got some game action last year too and is probably more physically capable of covering slot WRs and playing in space. And McCloud is not a good tackler.
 
waynejr31 said:
Well, as of now he is splitting 2nd team reps with Mike Smith at WLB and has been asked to learn MLB also. Steed, Pinckney, Shaq, and I believe Mike Smith all graded out with B+'s for mat drills this Spring which were the highest of the group. We were told during the recruitment phase that everyone gets a clean slate after the season and how you perform during mat drills will determine your position on the depth chart at the beginning of Spring practice. I really don't buy into this because no matter how mat drills go, its hard to forget how well or how poor a player performed during the previous season. My son and Pinckney hang out a lot and Pinckney has even gone out of his way to make sure that Wayne knows what to do. I really appreciate the camaraderie they have, but I know that my son will help to push Pinckney to be the best player he can be cause the competition will be fierce. We feel that coach Diaz will make sure that the best players are on the field and even if not starting as a redshirt freshman, there should be plenty chances to come in and make his case as to why he should be on the field.
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Mat Drills definitely determine the first depth chart. But, that quickly changes once the pads come on. However it does give whoever the kid is a chance to run with the 1s and hold the job. I like the approach. Motivate the guy who lost the job and motivate the guy who earned it from his hard work to keep it.
 
I like Mccloud but this move can be great and take the D to the next level with his athleticism
 
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UknowWhat said:
@Hurricane23 in Shaq or any MLB defense most of their required coverage is a Low Hole Drop... meaning they sink to the middle of the field and read the QB or catch a crossing route... WR run some routes based on the MLB position on the field... The QB makes reads based on the MLB position on the field so it's tough for a MLB to be a pass defender... Some offenses try and force the MLB into coverage with RBs on wheel routes etc... good MLBs will jump routes or make good reads to be in the right place .. like Shaq did a few times last season... he almost got him a pick 6 in the OB... but kinda agree with your statement
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I agree, the outside backers should be the ones mostly coverage still need a thumper on the inside. It just seems we always got beat over the middle where the backers are.
 
rayray said:
zach played poorly at times last year without a doubt but you can't pretend like his freshman year didn't happen. we have two years of play from him, some of it good and some of of it bad. there's been enough there to keep the faith imo. he also did have some games last year where he played really well -- he was one of our best players in the ND game for instance.
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his freshman year wasn't nothing to write home about either. The WVU game was the only good game i truly remember from him.
 
@KingLew88 said:
his freshman year wasn't nothing to write home about either. The WVU game was the only good game i truly remember from him.
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Glad you said it.

He was pretty average as a freshman. People just hyped him up along with the other two.....he was never in their league.

I still look back at all of the praise he got before last season by the coaches. It’s gotta make you scratch your head a bit. He’s a decent athlete...but he diagnoses plays slow and he’s stiff as ****. That’s the kinda stuff that doesn’t fix itself in the off-season.
 
McCloud has enjoyed the benefits of “I think McCloud will be the best of the group” predictions from some of our more revered football minds.

He had a great game against WVU. And that gave us all hope. But he was really bad last year. His situational football intelligence is poor too, as was evident from his multiple drive extending penalties that nearly cost us games.

I’m happy to see increasing competition at that spot. Hopefully, it’ll make McCloud better too.
 
UknowWhat said:
@Hurricane23 in Shaq or any MLB defense most of their required coverage is a Low Hole Drop... meaning they sink to the middle of the field and read the QB or catch a crossing route... WR run some routes based on the MLB position on the field... The QB makes reads based on the MLB position on the field so it's tough for a MLB to be a pass defender... Some offenses try and force the MLB into coverage with RBs on wheel routes etc... good MLBs will jump routes or make good reads to be in the right place .. like Shaq did a few times last season... he almost got him a pick 6 in the OB... but kinda agree with your statement
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Well that would lead me to ask...

Why are they reading the QB? (instead of matching and apexing WR's)

If I'm the MLB and I'm "apexing" a WR's route then he can't run away from me or sit in a vacancy.

This is my biggest pet peeve with our defense. It's prehistoric and flawed.
 
Coach Macho said:
Well that would lead me to ask...

Why are they reading the QB? (instead of matching and apexing WR's)

If I'm the MLB and I'm "apexing" a WR's route then he can't run away from me or sit in a vacancy.

This is my biggest pet peeve with our defense. It's prehistoric and flawed.
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Is this the infamous "spot drop vs. pattern-matching" debate or is that something else? Genuinely curious to learn more.
 
Smith to OLB is a great move. With all the spread offenses you see today it's valuable to have a Sam LB who is more like a Safety hybrid. A 215-220 pound guy who can play in space. It's not the 90's anymore, teams aren't lining up in the I-formation and pounding the rock every week. Sam LB's aren't lining up against TE's on the line-of-scrimmage, they're facing 2 and 3 WR sets in space. They have to carry WR's vertically, tackle bubble screens in space, etc etc etc.

I likes it.
 
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One of McCloud flaws in his game is that he goes for the kill shot like every play. It's either kill shot or whiff, which is the reason why he's out of position on most plays. He over pursues at a 1000 miles per hour. Once he can settle down in that area, he'll be okay. His athleticism is off the charts, but he has to stop playing the guessing game with tackles, which I'm sure they express that to him multiple times.
 
Coach Macho said:
Well that would lead me to ask...

Why are they reading the QB? (instead of matching and apexing WR's)

If I'm the MLB and I'm "apexing" a WR's route then he can't run away from me or sit in a vacancy.

This is my biggest pet peeve with our defense. It's prehistoric and flawed.
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Prehistoric and flawed from a guy who learned defense under Mickey Andrews and Chuckie ****? Color me surprised.
 
Coach Macho said:
Yes sir!

You ever watch our LB's in coverage? They stare at the QB. It's nauseating.
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Do you think this is more of a schematic problem or a "position coaching" problem? In other words, is Diaz's scheme predicated on the LBs peeking at the QB, or are they supposed to be matching the WRs and just aren't doing it? If it's a scheme issue, is there a defensive philosophy/scheme similar to Diaz's zone that DOES implement pattern-matching?
 
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