Manny Diaz

[TheChosenOne]

Just to play devil's advocate, a few things definitely need to be squared away.

First and foremost, we're not as talented as we think we are.
Mike Jackson gets worked weekly and nobody says ****, yet Knowles gets blasted on here daily. He (Jackson) is severely overrated by our fan base. He gets hyped because he picked a few ill-advised passes last season and he looks great in his uniform. He has slow feet and gets worked by any WR who's decent at running short/intermediate routes.
Our DE's are playing at a pedestrian level right now, which makes me question Simpson's coaching ability. They possess no pass rush moves. They're all predictable. Garvin always tries to rip around the edge and lately has been getting pushed outside the pocket. Jackson tries to bull-rush everybody. Neither one of them possess a counter-move when their first move fails. For a DL/pass-rush junkie like me, it's ugly to watch.
Can anybody sit here and honestly tell me that they look like they've gotten better? I wanna give Simpson the benefit of the doubt but the team that he built just got beat by a Deerfield team that drove 10 hours and Jalar Holley was a complete non-factor. I loved his energy in practice, but so far he's looking more like a rah-rah guy and less like a technician.
Our DT's are very pedestrian. Willis (and Nesta when he's in) are elite IMO. The rest will be working regular jobs when they leave UM. They are nowhere near the level we need at Miami.
Our CB's get beat inside far too often. When we play press, it's a "catch" technique, so we're not really getting our hands on WR's. It's passive and allows a free release, which defeats the purpose of playing press IMO.

There's not a single coach on this defensive staff that deserves an automatic pass because no unit looks stellar. Even the LB's have regressed IMO.
This all falls on the CEO of the defense. The DC sets the tone for what he wants done with his DL, secondary, etc.

Our LB's run with piano's on their back. Every time the QB decides to run they ALWAYS look a step slow meanwhile I'm watching LSU and their LSU LB are there before the QB even fully commits to scrambling.

IMO our defense is inconsistent. It like they play fast one series then they play slow af. It could be conditioning but we might end up missing Kul more then we thought.

Diaz ENTIRE defense is based on our ability to rush the passer and get in the back field. We were top 5 in both TFL and Sacks and our defense was just average so imagine not being top 5 or 10 in those categories? We'll be looking at a 70th ranked defense.

 

[deleted5896]

The elephant in the room: Shaq is an average MLB.

 

[brock]

spot on. kirk herbstreet out of the blue said jackson might be the best cb in the nation and a lot of us started "believing" that even tho there was no actual video evidence to the fact

as far as the way our cbs play. a lot of us have been screaming about that for the last 2 years.

Last year he played at a high level, didn’t give up a pass over 26 yards and less than 260 yards in 13 games. He definitely was beat a few times in the toledo game it’s no sugar coating that he will be fine

 

[JimmyJohnsonsHair]

17.1 yards per completed pass last week. That needs to improve. They can't expect to just sack the QB on every pass play.

 

[simplycanes]

I've supported some things about Coach Diaz. I've questioned some things Coach Diaz does. I think we're currently hovering slightly below our potential.

There's a long thread from when Diaz was hired where poster GoldenShowers (not sure what name he currently posts under) and I watched each of his MSt games. Diaz called more or less the same defense (at least in philosophy) with the same vulnerabilities when his guys don't get home (to the QB). The late blitzes and telegraphed DB blitzes really have to go or be adjusted. They're stale. You can see opponents prepared for them.

Even if we remove the Savannah St game stats, his 3rd down defense is actually better [so far] this year. But, on the flipside, a stat I think is more telling of a defense is yards/play, and we're worse so far there this year. He's trusting his DBs a bit more, which is why you saw Jackson beat 1 on 1 a couple times by nice plays/throws. We've finally kept 3rd LB off the field more, which was inexplicable last year. There's still general concern because we struggle with pass coverage in certain areas and I don't think we have the DL depth (specifically DT) we need.

We'll see what adjustments are made, if any. When it comes to ACC schedule, I worry less about our D than I do about our O.

He has shown decent awareness in the past. There some peculiar moments, but I don't understand the fire some have under his seat.

 

[JimmyJohnsonsHair]

I think its misleading to say Diaz is aggressive.

First of all his scheme is a relic of the 90s (the fire zone blitz). The zone blitz is the defensivie equivalent of the wishbone. It doesnt fool people, and it leaves a ton of space for modern offenses to throw the ball.

Yes, he blitzes a lot, but he plays spot drop zone behind it which is as pussified a thing as you can play behind a blitz. In order of most high risk to least risk here is the coverage you can use in a blitz:

cover 0: 6 man blitz, no deep safety, pure man to man everywhere. your man beats you and its a TD.

man-free: five man blitz, a single deep safety. man coverage everywhere else.

pattern read zone blitz: 5 man blitz, players play man coverage within their zones and pass threats off to other defenders. Turns into man coverage aftr routes are run.

spot drop zone blitz: 5 man pressure; players keep everything in front of them and dont get beat deep, no tight coverage. Rally and live to see another down

So yes, he blitzes a lot, but that only tell half the story. On the back end his scheme is painfully amateur and scared, which is why there is always space to throw on 3rd down and why his defense struggles to get off the field.

This guy gets it. Manny wants to have his cake and eat it too -- he wants to blitz without the risk of getting burnt deep. The consequence of that approach is that it leaves the middle of the field uncovered. That's why we gave up 17.1 yards per completed pass last week and a ton of 3rd down conversions last year.

 

[Canemang]

Just to play devil's advocate, a few things definitely need to be squared away.

First and foremost, we're not as talented as we think we are.
Mike Jackson gets worked weekly and nobody says ****, yet Knowles gets blasted on here daily. He (Jackson) is severely overrated by our fan base. He gets hyped because he picked a few ill-advised passes last season and he looks great in his uniform. He has slow feet and gets worked by any WR who's decent at running short/intermediate routes.
Our DE's are playing at a pedestrian level right now, which makes me question Simpson's coaching ability. They possess no pass rush moves. They're all predictable. Garvin always tries to rip around the edge and lately has been getting pushed outside the pocket. Jackson tries to bull-rush everybody. Neither one of them possess a counter-move when their first move fails. For a DL/pass-rush junkie like me, it's ugly to watch.
Can anybody sit here and honestly tell me that they look like they've gotten better? I wanna give Simpson the benefit of the doubt but the team that he built just got beat by a Deerfield team that drove 10 hours and Jalar Holley was a complete non-factor. I loved his energy in practice, but so far he's looking more like a rah-rah guy and less like a technician.
Our DT's are very pedestrian. Willis (and Nesta when he's in) are elite IMO. The rest will be working regular jobs when they leave UM. They are nowhere near the level we need at Miami.
Our CB's get beat inside far too often. When we play press, it's a "catch" technique, so we're not really getting our hands on WR's. It's passive and allows a free release, which defeats the purpose of playing press IMO.

There's not a single coach on this defensive staff that deserves an automatic pass because no unit looks stellar. Even the LB's have regressed IMO.
This all falls on the CEO of the defense. The DC sets the tone for what he wants done with his DL, secondary, etc.

Just lock the thread cause all of this is factual.

This falls on Richt as much as Diaz for hiring so many "green" coaches on that side of the ball.

 

[Ayeplus]

Just to play devil's advocate, a few things definitely need to be squared away.

First and foremost, we're not as talented as we think we are.
Mike Jackson gets worked weekly and nobody says ****, yet Knowles gets blasted on here daily. He (Jackson) is severely overrated by our fan base. He gets hyped because he picked a few ill-advised passes last season and he looks great in his uniform. He has slow feet and gets worked by any WR who's decent at running short/intermediate routes.
Our DE's are playing at a pedestrian level right now, which makes me question Simpson's coaching ability. They possess no pass rush moves. They're all predictable. Garvin always tries to rip around the edge and lately has been getting pushed outside the pocket. Jackson tries to bull-rush everybody. Neither one of them possess a counter-move when their first move fails. For a DL/pass-rush junkie like me, it's ugly to watch.
Can anybody sit here and honestly tell me that they look like they've gotten better? I wanna give Simpson the benefit of the doubt but the team that he built just got beat by a Deerfield team that drove 10 hours and Jalar Holley was a complete non-factor. I loved his energy in practice, but so far he's looking more like a rah-rah guy and less like a technician.
Our DT's are very pedestrian. Willis (and Nesta when he's in) are elite IMO. The rest will be working regular jobs when they leave UM. They are nowhere near the level we need at Miami.
Our CB's get beat inside far too often. When we play press, it's a "catch" technique, so we're not really getting our hands on WR's. It's passive and allows a free release, which defeats the purpose of playing press IMO.

There's not a single coach on this defensive staff that deserves an automatic pass because no unit looks stellar. Even the LB's have regressed IMO.
This all falls on the CEO of the defense. The DC sets the tone for what he wants done with his DL, secondary, etc.

To be honest, Willis and Nesta are the only highly recruited DT's that are on our roster right now. If we had 5 DT's that were 4 and 5 star guys (like the Bama's and the Clemson's of the world), and they looked great, then you would probably have a different take on Simpson in this area.

 

[SinisterCane]

Manny D'Onofrio???

 

[MIA42178]

Were better on third downs so far though TBH

 

[hoops156]

Were better on third downs so far though TBH

also against the run no? i only remember one really bad play (the lSU bust)

 

[KrazyCane]

Michael Jackson gets beat maybe two or three times this season and now all of a sudden he gets worked badly and no one says ****... what about the rest of the plays?? This is why I can’t take these CIS corches serious gtfoh with that dumb ****.

Jackson frees up our defense you think we would be sending all out blitzes if he wasn’t one of the cbs starting on this team??

If he was getting beat badly Bandy would be the #1 cb the end more Fake News plz

 

[PGrady24]

Michael Jackson gets beat maybe two or three times this season and now all of a sudden he gets worked badly and know one says ****... what about the rest of the plays?? This is why I can’t take these CIS corches serious gtfoh with that dumb ****.

Jackson frees up our defense you think we would be sending all out blitzes if he wasn’t one of the cbs starting on this team??

If he was getting beat badly Bandy would be the #1 cb the end more Fake News plz

He got beat twice on wheel routes against Toledo (I believe) and both coverages were not terrible. Both throws were pretty **** good too.

 

[PittsburghCane]

Ok. Guys. Hi. Hey. Let’s slooooow down. Idk if you noticed but other than Pinck our LBs are not ideal for what Diaz needs for this defense. And other than our top two safeties there’s not much experienced talent.

LBs need to process fast and run faster. Shaq can process but is slow, McCloud is fast but can’t process, and Pinck is somewhere in between. His instincts make him play faster than he is. We have them because that’s what we could get at the time. Great players, just not for this system. Notice that we are recruiting a type since. Fast, smart, true sideline to sideline with coverage ability. We missed a cycle due to that (Steed fast, smart but hurt, Wilder just fast, Jennings similar to Pinck), but this year we are what he really wants ( Solomon, Huff, Brooks) all fast, projectable, smart.

Safeties are the stars of this defense. But they need to know the book. Period point blank end of story. Our safeties are uber talented but not ready yet. They put everyone in place in the back 7. Hall can hit. It he’s not there yet. Amari needs to want to more than just hit.

We’re close not there yet. We never should expect perfection out of the gate. College football is beast of recycling players. Until you have the depth (which the coaches have been harping) we will be limited. You always here it takes 3 years but that’s in a perfect scenario. It really takes more like 4-5 to be fully stock with YOUR players. We should be happy that we have coaching that can put makeup on all the warts left over from the previous regime. We will be real contenders 2020 and on.

 

[KrazyCane]

I disagree that Shaq is slow... he's a MLB that weighs 240lbs. He's been very "fast" at making plays in the box this season. He's a traditional LBer, yes he's slow if he has to chase a slot receiver but Patrick Willis retired and middle linebackers big enough to hold up in the NFL that also run a 4.3 dont come around often.

but wht do i know... you all create Defensive Tackles w/ 99 speed on Madden and NCAA football all the time.

 

[brock]

dont understand how shaq get all this hate but people excuse the play of Pinckney who imo Has been worse than shaq this year. For our defense to take the next step those guys have to raise their game to another level. Yes they are filling rush lanes better this year but we need more impactful plays

 

[The Franchise]

D had a bad quarter. Dominated other 3.

And Lincoln had a bad 5 seconds at the theater.

 

[407cane]

It’s bigger than this game genius.

What game has the D played poorly in ?

 

[swampcougar1]

One word when Toledo started moving the ball

KNOWLES

Sad part was took Diaz not figuring it out for 24 points

 

[The Franchise]

Were better on third downs so far though TBH

Unfortunately, there are 2 other downs. Guys get too caught up in 3rd down. If you’re giving up 12 on 2nd and 9, then that sucks just as badly as giving up 5 on 3rd and 4.