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Hurricanes add new defensive position. Here's what it involves and who's playing it.

Love the idea of getting more speed on the field, Smith has the speed and athleticism to match-up with TE's and hit when he's in the box.
 
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Aren't we still vulnerable to be attacked through the air with Smith being that rover? He was out of place covering the slot whenever he came in as an additional DB last year. Yeah, he'll be good at the LOS POA, but he'll have the same coverage issues that he had.

How much will we run the 4-2-5 as Smith as opposed to the 5th DB vs someone like Bandy?
 
AUcane said:
Aren't we still vulnerable to be attacked through the air with Smith being that rover? He was out of place covering the slot whenever he came in as an additional DB last year. Yeah, he'll be good at the LOS POA, but he'll have the same coverage issues that he had.

How much will we run the 4-2-5 as Smith as opposed to the 5th DB vs someone like Bandy?
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I think it depends on the opponent and their strengths. I'd wager we see a lot of Smith/Finley/Wilder vs. say Georgia Tech or BC, and Bandy/nickel vs. FSU, Toledo, etc.

I wonder also if this will allow us to also use some of the 4-2-5 concepts that Pete Carroll taught Dan Quinn (and perhaps subsequently Jess Simpson...) For example: https://emeraldcityswagger.com/2017/04/09/seattle-seahawks-breaking-down-4-2-5-defense/

Atlanta was more of a 4-3 Under team than a true 4-2-5, but they used a lot of nickel zone-blitzes out of Cover 3 that I bet Diaz would like to mimic.

Having a guy like Smith in that Rover spot should at least help to shore up the run game, and I do think Smith came on a bit more as a DB late last season. I think having a much more defined role on the defense will also allow him to concentrate on getting better at his assignments.
 
AUcane said:
Aren't we still vulnerable to be attacked through the air with Smith being that rover? He was out of place covering the slot whenever he came in as an additional DB last year. Yeah, he'll be good at the LOS POA, but he'll have the same coverage issues that he had.

How much will we run the 4-2-5 as Smith as opposed to the 5th DB vs someone like Bandy?
Click to expand...

I think the whole point is that this is more of an alternative for the base 4-3 than it is for nickel package. Obvious passing downs will call for obvious passing defense—nickel coverage with a 3rd corner in the game, likely Bandy bumping in to the slot. But the whole point of having near LB sized DBs more regularly on the field in place of a more lumbering LB is for flexibility to better defend on 50-50 downs and not leave as much of an obvious weakness to be exploited on the field
 
smith fits this position perfectly....

man sooner or later they will be some head-hunters roaming with smith, gurvan and amari all on the field at once jeeez.
 
ghost2 said:
I think it depends on the opponent and their strengths. I'd wager we see a lot of Smith/Finley/Wilder vs. say Georgia Tech or BC, and Bandy/nickel vs. FSU, Toledo, etc.

I wonder also if this will allow us to also use some of the 4-2-5 concepts that Pete Carroll taught Dan Quinn (and perhaps subsequently Jess Simpson...) For example: https://emeraldcityswagger.com/2017/04/09/seattle-seahawks-breaking-down-4-2-5-defense/

Atlanta was more of a 4-3 Under team than a true 4-2-5, but they used a lot of nickel zone-blitzes out of Cover 3 that I bet Diaz would like to mimic.

Having a guy like Smith in that Rover spot should at least help to shore up the run game, and I do think Smith came on a bit more as a DB late last season. I think having a much more defined role on the defense will also allow him to concentrate on getting better at his assignments.
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All good points. I also think Smith can be a disruptive blitzer
 
AUcane said:
Aren't we still vulnerable to be attacked through the air with Smith being that rover? He was out of place covering the slot whenever he came in as an additional DB last year. Yeah, he'll be good at the LOS POA, but he'll have the same coverage issues that he had.

How much will we run the 4-2-5 as Smith as opposed to the 5th DB vs someone like Bandy?
Click to expand...

Why? It’s not that possible that a true freshman improves in coverage?
 
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TheSwagger1 said:
Agree. TCU and other schools have had great success with these kinds of tweener kids, and So Florida produces more of those types of athletes than anywhere else in the country.
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that's why it hurt my soul when Jermaine Grace got in trouble
 
AUcane said:
Aren't we still vulnerable to be attacked through the air with Smith being that rover? He was out of place covering the slot whenever he came in as an additional DB last year. Yeah, he'll be good at the LOS POA, but he'll have the same coverage issues that he had.

How much will we run the 4-2-5 as Smith as opposed to the 5th DB vs someone like Bandy?
Click to expand...

Smith was good in man coverage. When he was getting exploited we were in zone and it was more of him having bad eye discipline versus having the athleticism to keep up with people.
 
DTP said:
There you go. That's the difference between playing a 4-2-5 and traditional "nickel" 4-2-5. Instead of relying on a third linebacker or undersized corner to counter spread teams on running downs, you utilize a third safety(or rover, or striker) that is better against the pass than a traditional LB and better against the run than a traditional nickel corner. Thank you for realizing it's 2018, Manny Diaz.
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So Manny may not be the brain dead dolt I thought he was. Maybe I'll give him another shot in 2018 because I was done with him at the end of the 2017 season.
 
stb said:
From same article--
"Who has been the hardest receiver for the cornerbacks to cover this spring? "

“Lawrence Cager, when he’s on, when he’s that guy, Cager is pretty tough with his length,” Rumph said. “But [it’s] Jeff Thomas without a doubt. Just the speed aspect, something the ACC is not going to be used to seeing. I can’t wait to see the other corners try to run with him. He’s not just a fast guy; he’s doing things exactly right. The guy Jeff Thomas reminds me of is Santana moss, Roscoe Parrish. He understands how dynamic he is.”
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canesbaby said:
I love the aggressive defensive line and the turnovers but the other stuff, namely making scrub quarterbacks look like Joe Montana and the constant unnecessary blitzing, has me really down on him.
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I literally posted about our defense and why it was great last season.
Yes we allow some yards that can be easy at times. But the defense is designed to handle that. Be over aggressive to FORCE big plays, and take away big plays. What that ends up doing is occasionally giving the easy 5 yard passes.
Look we absolutely want to improve our 3rd down defense and redzone defense, but acting like our defense was anything but great last year is wrong.
 
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