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Interesting (and surprising) stat re: LBs

@Canesfan0024 @Hufftwoseven

Figured the two of you would like to remind us that we are just "fanboys" and tamper our excitement and expectations regarding Pickney again, and in the process, hype up past and/or current LB's from other teams.
 
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Liberty City El said:
Not surprising at all, some of us actually watch the games & understand football.

Fans just ****ride whatever the popular opinion is & all it takes is for a few people to say our LB's suck & the rest of the board just hops on the bandwagon.

We literally have had among the top 2 LB Corps in the ACC these last 2-3 years & all 3 are back as Seniors with tons of experience & starts.

Fans blame everything that goes wrong in the run game on the LB's but our struggles in stopping the run are more on the interior DLine than anything. Not saying the LB's are perfect, but they are far from the weak link of Defense & are actually probably our strongest unit in terms of actual experience & productivity.

Shaq & Pinckney are extremely underappreciated by this fanbase & deserve a lot of credit for the turn around of the Defense from the D'No era.
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I was surprised about Shaq. He struggles in coverage, IMO.
 
brock said:
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Shaq has good short area burst/quickness, and it showed in the particular clip. Sideline to sideline he isn't the fastest guy out there. I think he was better in zone coverage than man. A particular play comes to mind from a few years ago. He got roasted on a wheel route up the left sideline that cost us the game, if I remember correctly. Can't remember who we played tho.

I love Shaq and am happy he is back. As usual, any criticism on this board brings out the lynch mob. I was simply surprised to see him ranked that high.
 
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gogeta4 said:
People put up these unheard of hype/expectations on players...then say they never lived up to the hype. Why were they the Bermuda Triangle 2 in the 1st place?
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I may have come across as being negative. That wasn't my intention. I'm not saying it was right to compare them to the Bermuda Triangle. I'm just stating a fact that this was the hype at the time. Just because they're not the best of all time doesn't mean they're not awesome players in their own right.

As I wrote above, I believe they'll be the best in the ACC. Maybe that's hyping them up, too. But the point of my post was just to say I think highly of their abilities and am thrilled they're back.
 
gogeta4 said:
People put up these unheard of hype/expectations on players...then say they never lived up to the hype. Why were they the Bermuda Triangle 2 in the 1st place?
Click to expand...

I may have come across as being negative. That wasn't my intention. I'm not saying it was right to compare them to the Bermuda Triangle. I'm just stating a fact that this was the hype at the time. Just because they're not the best of all time doesn't mean they're not awesome players in their own right.

As I wrote above, I believe they'll be the best in the ACC. Maybe that's hyping them up, too. But the point of my post was just to say I think highly of their abilities and am thrilled they're back.
 
Liberty City El said:
Not surprising at all, some of us actually watch the games & understand football.

Fans just ****ride whatever the popular opinion is & all it takes is for a few people to say our LB's suck & the rest of the board just hops on the bandwagon.

We literally have had among the top 2 LB Corps in the ACC these last 2-3 years & all 3 are back as Seniors with tons of experience & starts.

Fans blame everything that goes wrong in the run game on the LB's but our struggles in stopping the run are more on the interior DLine than anything. Not saying the LB's are perfect, but they are far from the weak link of Defense & are actually probably our strongest unit in terms of actual experience & productivity.

Shaq & Pinckney are extremely underappreciated by this fanbase & deserve a lot of credit for the turn around of the Defense from the D'No era.
Click to expand...

Manny's D sells out for the sack/TFL...when they don't get it, guys aren't always in position to stop the run and we give up a big play. What fans see is the LB in the wrong position, and maybe that's his fault. But sometimes, maybe a lot of times, his job is to attack and not play the cutback.

It was maddening to watch the first half of the 2017 fsu game. Their RBs sucked, but everyone on our D attacked the ball and let them bounce outside. That was overpursuit by the LBs, but I'm pretty sure they were doing what Manny wanted, not being bad at their job.

And this isn't to bash Manny, I love what he does on D. It's just to say that that's what his D has always done...make a big play or give up a big play. And most of the time they make the play. It's just that when they don't the LBs are the ones who look bad.
 
brock said:

From that article

*Just a single ACC defender this millennium has reached at least 300 total tackles with 40 tackles for loss and ten sacks in career: Miami great Sean Spence. Both Quarterman, first, and Pinckney are within range*
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All this stat does is tell us just how dominant ST was. Dude played in mop up time as a freshman, then left after his junior year. Crazy the numbers he put up.
 
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These linebackers are really the glue of our defense and I think what they do is still not talked about enough. Manny Diaz's defense is boderline insane and a lot of ballsy **** goes on in that front line. Without discipline linebackers it doesnt work.
 
Its always seemed to me that Shaq was the more physically prepared of the two but Pinckney has better instincts and is more of a playmaker. If you told me a LB made a huge play in a key situation, my first guess would always be Pinckney.

McCloud is the Curley Joe to their Larry and Moe.
 
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Pickney is good against the pass. Shaq has athletic limitations in coverage but makes up for it by being smart.

We have two of the best linebackers in college football, and I expect them to take a big step as seniors. All of our good linebackers made a jump in their last year.
 
And I expect we shall see Shaw and Pinckney jump their Senior seasons as well. Because if they do, coupled with what arguably will be our finest overall DL in years across each man, then it’s going to be extremely difficult for teams to pass at will against our young secondary. And **** near impossible later on in the year after they’ve gained experience.
 
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Ignorant fans who don't understand different defensive styles like to bash our linebackers because they don't get ridiculous tackle numbers. I will trade big plays (TFLs, sacks, turnovers) for big tackle numbers 10 times out of 10. I mean it's nice that you got ten tackles in a game but if they're all five yards past the LOS, what good is that? Diaz has allowed these guys to gamble in their run fits quite a bit. Occasionally it looks bad and they're out of position but often times, they're right where they need to be to drop a guy in the backfield.
 
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