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our defense will take a step back, but so will the offenses we face

Flynell7 said:
For as great as Mesidor was last season it’s very disingenuous to say that was expected. It’s a testament to his hard work and JT’s coaching.

For that reason I’m excited to see what the highly rated younger guys can do at DE
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... I disagree. It was very easy to fully expect him to be great. You could say AS GOOD as he was couldn't have been reasonably expected ...
 
Josh said:
Did anyone call Mesidor a “superstar” edge before the season? Bain was coming off a year he didn’t play much and Mesi was moving to DE after we fattened him up like Chickilo and played him inside. While I absolutely agree you can expect a slight drop off from last year, let’s not pretend like anyone saw the dominance off the edge coming last year.
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... I saw our DLine dominance coming
 
Memnon said:
Damon Wilson
Marquise Lightfoot
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I think with this yrs offense it may be possible or even likely for them to be statistically better.

I still don't think they will be close to Bain and Mesi in run strength. And when our LBs didn't upgrade, I'd say that's my only concern on the entire Defense tbh. Nickel too, but I believe with how many top DBs we have there is just no reason to really worry much about it. Like we have what 9ish DBs that we want to be heavy contributors at min?

But there is no reason Wilson shouldn't significantly improve at RunD vs last yr at Mizzou. And Lightfoot pound for pound I do think is going to be good-great. Its just ultimately mass kicks *** generally, especially short yardage.

If one of Blount/Lowe step up, I think it is very possible as a whole our DLine is better than last yr (as a whole). Idk if it will reach the peak of our DLine like they all 4 were playing on Playoffs (assuming healthy Moten) though...
 
CreativeCane said:
I’m going to push back slightly.
  1. We all have recency bias. Thomas and Scott were legit stars in this defense, but they both dropped in the draft because they only had one year of good tape. Neither were nearly as impactful before getting in the Heatherman scheme. If I recall, Scott’s coverage is what was questioned. Who is to say Thornton couldn’t make a similar leap? Especially because he’s shown more in his time at BC than either two guys did pre-Miami.
  2. Thornton played for BC. I don’t even care about stats here. He has never had this level of talent around him to both lift his game and cover up for any weaknesses. A could coordinator also plays to his guys’ strengths.
I believe we could see a big leap in his production this year.
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1. That's not necessairly accurate.

Keionte Scott struggled in 2024 when Auburn moved him to Boundary Corner. His first 2 seasons he was fantastic in coverage at Nick with coverage grades above 75+. The 24 season they moved him outside & that wasn't his natural position so he had a hard time adjusting. He also had a mid-season high ankle sprain.

Scott had 2 years worth of film of him covering very well at Nickel for Auburn.

2. I watched full games of Thornton from BC, Tim Lewis deliberately called the Defense to keep Thornton out of downfield coverage. He used him as basically a LB playing in the Rover/SS spot. His primary assignment/first read was coming down backside in run support on run plays & on passing downs he was timing the snap to crash the pocket as a Blitzer. He was rarely dropping in shells; whenever he did, he was almost always in the Cloud Hook & Hole Zones. I could literally count on my hands the number of times they had him in Deep 3rd's.

There's a reason why even when you watch his highlights, it's 90% run support.

That's actually a smart thing to do, playing to his strengths & putting him in position to be an effective playmaker despite his limitations.

He can play in the same role in this Defense & be an impactful player.
 
I believe that we very well be better along the defensive line, more experience in the interior and deeper on the edge. The quarterback pressure percentage is:
Bain 9.26%
Messidor 8.27%
Wilson II 10.00%
Lightfoor 10.20% with considerable less snaps than the other three.
 
Memnon said:
1. That's not necessairly accurate.

Keionte Scott struggled in 2024 when Auburn moved him to Boundary Corner. His first 2 seasons he was fantastic in coverage at Nick with coverage grades above 75+. The 24 season they moved him outside & that wasn't his natural position so he had a hard time adjusting. He also had a mid-season high ankle sprain.

Scott had 2 years worth of film of him covering very well at Nickel for Auburn.

2. I watched full games of Thornton from BC, Tim Lewis deliberately called the Defense to keep Thornton out of downfield coverage. He used him as basically a LB playing in the Rover/SS spot. His primary assignment/first read was coming down backside in run support on run plays & on passing downs he was timing the snap to crash the pocket as a Blitzer. He was rarely dropping in shells; whenever he did, he was almost always in the Cloud Hook & Hole Zones. I could literally count on my hands the number of times they had him in Deep 3rd's.

There's a reason why even when you watch his highlights, it's 90% run support.

That's actually a smart thing to do, playing to his strengths & putting him in position to be an effective playmaker despite his limitations.

He can play in the same role in this Defense & be an impactful player.
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Uh Huh Writing GIF by thepanozzoteam
 
Handsome Squidbum said:
Cribby said:
We had the two best de’s in America that were complete players. Imo the pass rush will drop off ( duh) but the setting the edge by the de’s is more of my concern. The Interior should be better so maybe those guys take some pressure off with the run d.
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I expect DB, interior DL, and LB will be better in 2026. So the one position that might take a slight step back is DE, but when 3 of the 4 position groups on defense will be deeper and more experienced next season, I don't quite see how that adds up to the defense overall taking a step back.
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Exactly especially with year two of Heatherman.

I’m slightly concerned with our run defense as I believe teams will try and play keep away from our offense.
 
rch said:
I believe that we very well be better along the defensive line, more experience in the interior and deeper on the edge. The quarterback pressure percentage is:
Bain 9.26%
Messidor 8.27%
Wilson II 10.00%
Lightfoor 10.20% with considerable less snaps than the other three.
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i don't think anyone is concerned about pass rush ... but you have to earn the right
 
ageezy said:
i don't think anyone is concerned about pass rush ... but you have to earn the right
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People have no clue how elite and special we were at setting the edge. Most pass rushers don’t want to have the discipline to stick to setting the edge while still getting home to the qb. Imagine the sack numbers if 3 and 4 went full on Diaz scheme just getting up field causing havoc. I don’t think people realize the combination was.
 
Cribby said:
People have no clue how elite and special we were at setting the edge. Most pass rushers don’t want to have the discipline to stick to setting the edge while still getting home to the qb. Imagine the sack numbers if 3 and 4 went full on Diaz scheme just getting up field causing havoc. I don’t think people realize the combination was.
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1781998969350.png


hopefully this serves as a reminder ... its extreme, but this is what a bunch of pass rushers can get you when they don't set edges ...
 
Cribby said:
The schedule is why the drop off isn’t as big of a deal to me. When we do step up in competition is when it’ll be more of an issue. No DE is what those guys were. They blew up the run game and pass. Always affecting the game even if stats didn’t show it.

I could see a guy or two with more total sacks but having nowhere near the impact on offenses if that makes sense. Watching Missouri games Wilson would disappear for long periods then would make a splash play.
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The question will be how many teams have the talent on the ol to contain everyone as a team . I believe Motten will be that guy and a first round draft pick . I Could see Blount creating big time issues on obvious pass Downs at both de or nt . The issue will be the ol can only double so Many and I believe we have more talent in the trenches across the board than eveyone . Def top 3 the biggest ? Mark Is our lbs to me . Someone of them are going to have to step up or move aside for younger ones . I def how we don’t cater to upper class man I’m so glad we got two top lbs this class . I can see at least one being big factors in year 1 .
 
Josh said:
Respectfully, if we’re getting into shootouts this year something went horribly wrong.
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We will not be in too many shootouts this season. Quite the opposite. This defense will be much closer to 25’ than 24’. This offense will be much closer to 24’ than 25’. Enjoy the season.

If we can stay healthy and the OL gets better by December then it could be a season we will always cherish.
 
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FuriousStyles said:
DE drop off some
DTs improve with experience
LB may be a push
CBs improve with experience which will make the DL look a little bit better than maybe they are… goes both ways
Safeties… I expect a little worse on run downs but better on passing downs so push there.

Outside of Carr being better with experience I don’t think ND offense is better overall enough to worry beyond regular respect of them being above average

I think we mop everyone else. Should anyway.
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yeah ND lost an all time great RB and a backup that went in the first round. If they cannot find someone to run the rock, they’re ***ked. Carr is going to have to play hero ball.
 
Josh said:
Did anyone call Mesidor a “superstar” edge before the season? Bain was coming off a year he didn’t play much and Mesi was moving to DE after we fattened him up like Chickilo and played him inside. While I absolutely agree you can expect a slight drop off from last year, let’s not pretend like anyone saw the dominance off the edge coming last year.
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Brother, I was having active debates last summer with posters on here who thought Mesi was a JAG, washed up from all the injuries and never special to begin with. Most of the posters a year ago were expecting Lightfoot, Blount, McConathy (he was a GTAA at one point) and even Lowe to leapfrog Mesi during camp and over the course of the season.
 
Moten
Scott
Bliount
K Davis
Lightfoot
Wilson

Alll have a ton of experience

Need these guys to take it up a notch

Lowe
Pickett
Scroggins
J Carter
Bacon

The talent is there to be deep and attack in waves
 
grover said:
That's a fair prediction. I'm expecting much better. Top 10 in defense, Top 5 in offense.
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I’d love it. And honestly we have the talent and schedule for it. I just don’t think Mario plays the game that way. Maybe that run down the stretch changed him some. Let’s hope it did.

I hope the staff all gets together collectively and says the best way for us to win every game is to play the way we did in 2024 on offense and 2025 on defense. There’s no rule that says you can’t play offense like you feel you have to score on every possession while also playing incredibly aggressively on defense and feeling like you need to hold the other team under 20 to win.

Both Indiana and Texas tech had top 10 units on both sides last year. Mario needs to fully embrace the fact that he has 2 Lamborghinis for units on both sides of the ball and you don’t have to protect either side. I just don’t think they do that for a full 60 minutes over 12 games. We’ll see.
 
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