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Just a thought - DB’s

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kidego

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Coach Steel has been saying how good the DB’s have looked all spring. CMC even commented that they saw talent but it didn’t translate to the field and that they figured out the issue. With that said, isn’t it possible that the DB’s are really good and made the WR group look average? The drops could have been a result of frustration and pressing to make something happen against a really tough group of DB’s. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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kidego said:
Coach Steel has been saying how good the DB’s have looked all spring. CMC even commented that they saw talent but it didn’t translate to the field and that they figured out the issue. With that said, isn’t it possible that the DB’s are really good and made the WR group look average? The drops could have been a result of frustration and pressing to make something happen against a really tough group of DB’s. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♂️
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I was thinking the same thing actually.

That can be a factor.

But still, good WRs find a ways to make tough catches in traffic consistently. And some of those drops were not forced errors.
I am just going to chalk it up to Spring game jitters. We have seen George and Key Smiff make those type of catches in games and even more difficult ones.
 
Here is the thing with coach talk, not even referencing Steele here. This goes for before also, but particularly now with the portal happy, you can't just go to the media and say this guy has been bad, this WR dropped 5 in a row today, this QB was not good today. You know some guys need tough love and some not so much, but you don't want to talk bad on a player particularly in Spring to the media. Say we have some players with great potential, but they are not reaching that level yet, you don't want to embarrass them to the media. On the practice field they are giving it to them. This is why people get confused when they hear something different from coaches than what some other people might be saying. The coaches are doing what they should do. The DB play has been better, but this is Spring. I still hope we get a better CB transfer than Porter.
 
Agreed, they got their hands on a bunch of those dropped balls so in my mind there’s no reason not to catch them. Now is the time where the men separate from the boys. If they wish to play a ton of reps in 2022, they need to haul in the rock, simple as that unfortunately. I did however love the way the DB’s played yesterday afternoon. They seemed to be forever in the pockets of the receivers.
 
A flat out drop is inexcusable, but our dbs seem to be more physical in the limited action I saw. As far as WR, let's see who can emerge from the pack and not just make the tough catches, but the easy ones consistently.
 
I think its a little bit of both. Last year, I think this same WR group makes more plays than they did on Saturday. I noticed a lot of pass break ups and tight coverages.
 
kidego said:
Coach Steel has been saying how good the DB’s have looked all spring. CMC even commented that they saw talent but it didn’t translate to the field and that they figured out the issue. With that said, isn’t it possible that the DB’s are really good and made the WR group look average? The drops could have been a result of frustration and pressing to make something happen against a really tough group of DB’s. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Possibly! Idk…. But what I do know is that our WRs gotta make plays when we get a chance to make plays. There were opportunities on that field yesterday for plays to be made, and for a good portion of that scrimmage, our WRs **** the bed for whatever reason. I understand that DBs are gonna make plays, too. But for us to get where we wanna go, we gotta clean that up.
 
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Maybe they're more engaged due to Steele's D and the way he likes to press? Covering your opponent is more fun than covering grass.
 
Liberty City El said:
That train of thought travels in both directions...

Maybe the DB’s looked good because the WR’s were just subpar?

The truth is somewhere in the middle.
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LCE - would you agree that the group as a whole performed better in the Spring Game than you’ve seen the last few years. I loved the pressing and they seemed to be very disruptive - not giving up easy zone catches like we’ve seen.

The one weakness that needs to be addressed is the TE crossers which gained slot of yards. (That may have been LB responsibilities as well)
 
sstcane said:
LCE - would you agree that the group as a whole performed better in the Spring Game than you’ve seen the last few years. I loved the pressing and they seemed to be very disruptive - not giving up easy zone catches like we’ve seen.

The one weakness that needs to be addressed is the TE crossers which gained slot of yards. (That may have been LB responsibilities as well)
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Yes they did & I liked what I saw.

But IMO it’s a mistake to take that & then try to transpose it onto regular season games, because #1, the WR’s we’ll face in season will for the most part be better than our own & #2 you can’t oversell too much what happens in Spring games.

Spring games are Spring games & Real games are Real games...

Hopefully we play up to our best ability & it’s enough to help us win, but there’s no way to know until then.
 
kidego said:
Coach Steel has been saying how good the DB’s have looked all spring. CMC even commented that they saw talent but it didn’t translate to the field and that they figured out the issue. With that said, isn’t it possible that the DB’s are really good and made the WR group look average? The drops could have been a result of frustration and pressing to make something happen against a really tough group of DB’s. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Maybe some of it but drops are drops and not coming up with contested balls are what they are, improved DBs or not. WRs didn't have their best day but not giving up on the group being very good. Agree though it would be great if we could find another Osborne/Rambo type in the portal.
 
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Guys… it’s spring practice… I know fans get excited because it’s the off season but it’s the same thing every year. Don’t gleam too much from what happens in the spring. It’s a developmental part of the season, where most of the vets and starters don’t go 100%. It’s mainly for the new guys on the roster or players trying to find their place.

I am still very concerned about our corners. It’s good that we got Porter and hopefully Blades fulfills his potential but what these kids do in the spring is way different than summer camp and then Saturdays. Malik Rosier had utter command on the offense in spring of 2018…

What I saw on Saturday is a team that will be in a mud fight for a knife just to win 8. The good news is that many key contributors weren’t there but we have major depth and talent issues scattered all over the field. Although we do have some nice talent as well.
 
Liberty City El said:
Yes they did & I liked what I saw.

But IMO it’s a mistake to take that & then try to transpose it onto regular season games, because #1, the WR’s we’ll face in season will for the most part be better than our own & #2 you can’t oversell too much what happens in Spring games.

Spring games are Spring games & Real games are Real games...

Hopefully we play up to our best ability & it’s enough to help us win, but there’s no way to know until then.
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But will they really, how many teams on our schedule have the receiver group better than ours and the ability to over match our secondary honest question. I know two teams Clemson and Texas a&m have the bodies
 
Odysseus said:
But will they really, how many teams on our schedule have the receiver group better than ours and the ability to over match our secondary honest question. I know two teams Clemson and Texas a&m have the bodies
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UNC - Joshua Down; 101rec 1,335yds & 8TD’s last season, he’s literally the best WR in the ACC

Pitt - Jordan Addison; 100rec 1,593yds & 17TD’s, the 2nd best WR in the ACC
Jared Wayne; 47rec 658yds & 6TD’s
Konata Mumpfield; (Akron Transfer) 63rec 751yds & 8TD’s

UVA - Dontayvion Wicks; 57rec 1,203yds & 9TD’s

Va Tech - Tayvion Robinson; 44rec 559yds & 5TD’s
Jaden Blue - (Temple Transfer) 166rec 1,623yds & 10TD’s in 3 years as a starter at Temple

I actually wouldn’t include TAMU’s WR’s in that group because they have just as many unproven commodities as we have in their WR group. They have high ranked kids but their offense doesn’t feature the WR’s, the TE’s & RB’s are the primary focus & get the lions share of targets in their offense.

Clemson’s group is mostly young & burgeoning. They lost 5-star TF Adam Randall already for the season in Spring camp with an ACL tear & he was looking to be a big contributor for them, but they still returned Beaux Collins who had 31rec 407yds & 3TD’s as a TF last year, Joseph Ngata the most experienced one of the group as a Junior, Dacari Collins another True Sophomore, plus signed 4-star Antonio Williams who’s a speedster & 3-star Cole Turner who’s supposed to be the next Hunter Renfrow for them.

Clemson’s WR corps is not as good as they’ve had in the past, they have a group of young Sophomores who are all 6’3 & above & have good potential but they’re unproven, but the caveat is if DJ Ukulele remains their QB they’ll be completely ineffective.

Overall, the point is, I’m simply saying while the Spring game was nice from our DB’s & it could be a good sign of things to come, people shouldn’t automatically assume that it’s just going to be a walk in the park the rest of the way just because they shut down our WR’s in a Spring game. There’s difference between locking down your own guys in practices & scrimmages & locking down guys in actual real games against real P5 opponents. Our guys may drop the ball, but that doesn’t mean our opponents will. Doesn’t mean they’ll automatically catch it either, just saying fans tend to not see the other side of things because they’re buying a little too high on hope & selling low on reality.

All I’m saying is, don’t get too carried away too soon. I like the direction we’re headed in too, just wait until they actually get it done on the field first before we start chiseling in names on the Bednarik trophy.
 
Liberty City El said:
That train of thought travels in both directions...

Maybe the DB’s looked good because the WR’s were just subpar?

The truth is somewhere in the middle.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking.

The only thing I would add is that I don't value what coaches say in the Spring very much. It's been 20 years since I did. I don't even bother watching their interviews anymore.

We'll know what we've got come gameday. I do expect a much more sound defensive unit though. They'll be better than they were before due to having real coaches preparing them.
 
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