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Losing Etheridge in the DB room is the problem

LouDiamondz

LouDiamondz

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Sep 19, 2026
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The DB room has been night and day from this year compared to last. Yes we lost Keionte and Thomas but we have the majority back this year and they look like a bunch of retards who are scared to cover. I’m starting to believe losing Etheridge is a bigger problem than we expected. Jefferson was key in recruiting this year but it appears the coaching is not the same. All of a sudden Lucas, O’Connor, Poyser, and Fitz are complete trash??? OJ is good but he is not Deion Sanders in his prime so losing him shouldn’t make this room look like garbage. Something doesn’t add up.
 
LouDiamondz said:
The DB room has been night and day from this year compared to last. Yes we lost Keionte and Thomas but we have the majority back this year and they look like a bunch of retards who are scared to cover. I’m starting to believe losing Etheridge is a bigger problem than we expected. Jefferson was key in recruiting this year but it appears the coaching is not the same. All of a sudden Lucas, O’Connor, Poyser, and Fitz are complete trash??? OJ is good but he is not Deion Sanders in his prime so losing him shouldn’t make this room look like garbage. Something doesn’t add up.
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Something is definitely different back there.
 
Harris is the safeties coach and I doubt the dude forgot how to coach in a few months. Nobody has replaced the production of Scott and Thomas. Then you add in no Bain and Messidor on top of hetherman scheme
 
JgDaCane said:
You lost Scott & Thomas. Also having Bain & Mesidor are a DB's dream.
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Those guys were studs, I get it. However, I don't think that's an excuse for why these guys are playing so poorly. Their technique has gotten significantly worse from last year, they're lackadaisical, and they can't tackle. I'm sorry, but the drop-off is inexcusable.
 
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dycane said:
No, losing two guys who are now playing in the NFL, and another two who haven’t played all season due to injury, is the problem.
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It’s college football, injuries happen and there will be turnover most years with guys graduating or leaving early to go pro. The coaches are the ones who were responsible for replacing Thomas and Scott. Whether it’s the recruiting or the coaching, no excuse for this team to be statistically one of the worst pass defenses in the country.
 
Keionte Scott is and was a psychopath. You can not and have not replaced much of anything about him and it shows a bit.

Jakobe Thomas was also a very specific player that excelled in Heatherman's scheme.

Efforts to replace with similar archetypes has not been nearly as successful.

Losing Etheridge is another key loss, but not as important as those two. Just two impeccable scheme fit and player types for this team. Built different players.

With that said, I know #6 is banged up, but he's getting sauce and tossed out there. Ethan O'Connor had an easy easy Pick 6 opportunity, but he glitched, waited for the pass catcher to have possession before he even attempted to tackle. Just kind of hung out next to him until he made the catch. Something has to be up with the coaching or what they are being told this year, because our DBs broke on balls like that last year, they are keeping a lot of stuff in front of them this year and not breaking on balls too often when they are in the air. One of the reasons 6 gets toasted on those close balls, he's giving players too much space. After the catch, lack of effort by 6, too.
 
it's a combination of all those things ... losing bain/messi ... losing scott/jakobe ... losing ethridge

i will say though, i have not been impressed with the fundamentals of our dbs ... it's been down right bad in some instances ... missing jams, bad feetwork, late eyes ... maybe @Memnon can give a better assessment
 
htownkidd said:
Ryanmilli said:
I am far from a football savant, but watching live, it seems to me that the safeties are the primary issue.
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Agree, but Lucas has been absolute horse manure.
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I don’t know what coverages we were in on the TDs he gave up or who had what responsibilities. But on both, Lucas appeared to be ****ed at the safety. Like he was expecting help that he didn’t get.

To me, we looked much better when Fitz was back there. And I thought Thornton was good when he came in. JJ has a bright future but looks pretty lost to me.
 
LouDiamondz said:
The DB room has been night and day from this year compared to last. Yes we lost Keionte and Thomas but we have the majority back this year and they look like a bunch of retards who are scared to cover. I’m starting to believe losing Etheridge is a bigger problem than we expected. Jefferson was key in recruiting this year but it appears the coaching is not the same. All of a sudden Lucas, O’Connor, Poyser, and Fitz are complete trash??? OJ is good but he is not Ed Reed in his prime so losing him shouldn’t make this room look like garbage. Something doesn’t add up.
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FIFY

Watch your self with the nole references
 
ageezy said:
it's a combination of all those things ... losing bain/messi ... losing scott/jakobe ... losing ethridge

i will say though, i have not been impressed with the fundamentals of our dbs ... it's been down right bad in some instances ... missing jams, bad feetwork, late eyes ... maybe @Memnon can give a better assessment
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Finding the biggest loss on the DL was Mesidor. Not a knock on Bain, but Mesidor being that overaged, mature defensive lineman being able to line up in every position...inside, outside, over LT, over RT, inside shoulder of the tackle, shading the center...he could do it all and generate a pressure from anywhere to wide 9 to 0 tech. Not having that kind of guy (Blount tries to do some of those things...but he's just not 25 year old Akheem Mesidor that is wise beyond his years) has hurt the pass rush, for sure. He was such a disruption = production player for us.
 
ST26 said:
JgDaCane said:
You lost Scott & Thomas. Also having Bain & Mesidor are a DB's dream.
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Those guys were studs, I get it. However, I don't think that's an excuse for why these guys are playing so poorly. Their technique has gotten significantly worse than last year, they're lackadaisical, and they can't tackle. I'm sorry, but the drop-off is inexcusable.
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Technique wasn’t great last year. Go watch some of last year games. The secondary wasn’t great. Bain and Messidor getting consistent pressure made it look a lil better than what it was
 
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