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Spring Cleaning - Defense

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Our defense is going to be so ******* good. And to think we lost 5 HEAVY rotation lineman - Chad Thomas, RJ McIntosh, Kendrick Norton, Trent Harris, and Anthony Moten. Thats tough to replace for sure. But I'm not worried in the slightest about DE. In fact I expect to have a better pass rush this year. Secondly I'm not worried at all about a drop off from McIntosh to Willis. The only question is that 1tDT role. Hope Ford steps up and Tito is a quality rotational guy. I think Silvera is going to be a beast as Willis' backup, and Jordan Miller looks like a future stud too. Im so excited to watch our Defense.


.....now if only we had a ******* QB and OTs.
 
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I agree. Only thing is Manny needs to wake up and stop leaving the middle of the field wide open.
 
Tito Odenigbo--I am not sure what he will bring to the table. Experience for sure but hopefully at 6-3/300 has some run stuffing abilities.
Nesta Silvera -- at 310 lbs--has the ability in both run stuffing and pushing the pocket
Jordan Miller-- I read on another site no too long ago had been working to drop from 345 earlier this year to 325-330. His strength numbers are up as he in benching near 400 and squatting over 550 so being a run stuffer or goal line/short yardage defender looks good.
 
Great write-up Mr. Adams! Your accounts of progress and whatnot have been concise and InSightFul! Measured! Keep it coming, I appreciate levity and revelation when it comes to my Squadron.
 
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DTP said:
McCloud was at his best against run heavy offenses like Georgia Tech and Notre Dame. We'll still see plenty of traditional 4-3 against those types of teams. The switch to a 4-2-5 is the best news of the spring though. I was beyond frustrated with Diaz last year lining up with three linebackers (one of whom is a severe liability against the pass) against spread teams. With a striker they'll be so much more versatile and won't get stuck trying to sub out the third linebacker for a DB when the opponent is going no huddle.
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Third down defence should see the greatest improvement. it was hard to watch Mcloud drop into coverage, but you couldn't help it because that's where passes went and seemed to always be completed. Not his fault it's just his skill set didn't fit the role he was asked to play.

Mcloud is great at getting into the backfield. Hope He keeps a positive attitude if/in a reduced role. We'll need him.
 
305to404CANE said:
I'm glad they created some flexibility at the SAM spot, because was always have a second late and **** poor angle that could have been 2 yard loss, that ended up being a 15 yard gain. That will go a long way this season. When we face traditional run teams like BC, GT and etc, that's where McCloud, Perry and Wilder will eat. Blades is going to get a hard look at the #2 corner spot as well. Feel a lot better about our DL, and this defense, statically can be better than last year D. Feel bad for Malek tho, but man I can't help but think if he came back, this Defense would probably be a top 5 D.
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Good post but I disagree on Blades to an extent. You say he will get a hard look at the #2 CB spot but I just don't see it. I can't see Blades coming in the Summer and passing up Bandy, Dean, Ivey and Frierson for the #2 CB position. He may very well earn PT at CB but IMO I think the coaches may try him out at Safety because of the need there.

Going into the season with Hall as the only legit option behind the starters is frightening to say the least. That's not a dig on Hall as I think he will be an impact true freshman. My worry is depth. I haven't forgotten Amari Carter but he is a pure box safety at this point and is currently a liability in coverage. We need another Safety that has the coverage skills and range to play the deep third sideline to sideline. There is currently nobody on the rooster that fits that description except for maybe Hall. We need to inject as much speed and range into the Safety "room" as possible.
 
TheChosenOne said:
Okay now do a special teams spring cleaning.

- Kickoff Coverage - Bad
- Kickoff Return Blocking - Bad
- Punting - Bad
- Punt Coverage - Bad
- Punt Return Blocking - Bad
- Field Goal Kicking - Unreliable
- Opponents made 100% of their FG against us.

Last year Specials team was the worse special teams I've ever seen in IDK how long. It like we turned into UMass when our special teams unit was on the field. Has anyone asked if the special team has improved? Especially the punting..?
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To be fair, Miami finished #5 in punt return average. You can argue that Berrios was too conservative, but he was reliable. Punt coverage was good. Miami gave up 65 yards for the season. Net punting was abysmal and mixed in with Feagles yips it better improve early or the kid is finding the bench like he did against Clemson. He was very good against Wisconsin. I got to believe he improves.

Kickoff returns were middle of the pack. I think we have better options this year. The biggest problem on kickoff coverage was Badgeley. He had a mediocre leg (#7 in conference in kickoff length) and his deep ball was pedestrian and at times lacked hang time. On field goals, he was never reliable 50 yards and beyond. He had two bad games at the end of his senior year and finally missed from 40 to 49 yards against Clemson and as I recall he missed against Wisconsin. This kid from Texas coming in hopefully has a stronger leg with better hang time.

What we really miss and haven't had in a long time is a Bubba McDowell or Tremain Mack-type special teamer. Somebody who excels at blocking kicks.
 
Dwinstitles said:
Against elite teams possibly but hes played alot better than what he was but we do need a upgrade....redwins tough as **** though i like his swag.
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Diaz asks his safeties to do a lot, both mentally and physically. It's probably the hardest position to make the transition. I think Redwine will have a productive season with a year under his belt at the position.
 
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I embrace the striker position one thing it does is allow us to have McCloud ready to take over at the Mike or Will position if Shaq or Pinkney leaves after this season for the league.
 
Let me clarify my original post..when I said "I don't know how I feel about taking Wilder/McCloud/Perry" off the field I meant when we play teams like LSU who are just going to line it up and try to run us off the field..I trust McCloud more then DSmith at this stage. Obviously, in passing situations I want DSmith at Striker but do we know if he can hold his own against elite power running teams?

And to the poster who said Bandy can play outside or nickel..what did he play mostly at Columbus? Werent Jobe and Henderson the outside guys and he was the nickel? I don't know all I know is that if he is going to be the "Honey Badger" his skill set to me is best suited for that nickel. JMO. But if we have no one else....we have no choice then.
 
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When I watched McCloud's high school film I thought his best role would ultimately be as a stand-up edge rusher and I still feel that way. He's best when the play is in front of him and he doesn't have to think as much.
 
@Stefan Adams you crushed it with these spring cleanings. Loving what you and the CIS staff are bringing to the table. Can't wait to check the new podcast on the way home tonight.

Keep it up, glad to see the Greatest Cane Site in the History of the World continue to thrive, adapt, and get better.
 
HighSeas said:
When I watched McCloud's high school film I thought his best role would ultimately be as a stand-up edge rusher and I still feel that way. He's best when the play is in front of him and he doesn't have to think as much.
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You may have just hit on something there, man. I at least don't really recall that type of role having been discussed for him, but from what I have seen, you are dead on the nail. Hey Zach, don't think, go get ball. Dude can do that. It's when he's trying to make a read and hold his lane that he hesitates and gets caught out of position. With our depth chart on the DLine the way it is, he could definitely get some more snaps as a hybrid rush end/backer where you're not quite sure if the D is playing with 3 or 4 down linemen. It's up to Zach to get healthy, be a leader, stay engaged, and continue to study the game, but it's also up to Manny to find ways to use these physically gifted kind of tweener guys in ways that maximize their utility and potential. It's exactly what we're seeing with Derrick Smith, this summer and fall camp and into the season will be really interesting to watch how this defense develops.

Man it sucks that we lost #12. Even still, I'm feeling really good about this defense's ability to be elite. Whether they can sustain nicks and injuries and remain elite all season remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic about what they're doing on that side of the ball.
 
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g8rh8rMD said:
@Stefan Adams you crushed it with these spring cleanings. Loving what you and the CIS staff are bringing to the table. Can't wait to check the new podcast on the way home tonight.

Keep it up, glad to see the Greatest Cane Site in the History of the World continue to thrive, adapt, and get better.
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I’ve been on the Steed train since hs (Franchise too). He’s another Spence but with more room to grow.

I always viewed him as a sure thing at the college level.
 
gcane44 said:
I feel great about that. The SAM position was arguably the biggest vulnerability on our defense last season.

My favorite blurb was that the team opened up with the Smith in there at Striker for every spring practice.
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Exactly. We couldn’t cover the short and intermediate game all year. And those guys were notorious for being more lost in space than Dr. Smith.

On top of that, with his exceptional speed, there’s no reason Wilder can’t get taught up on that striker spot.
 
nvlahos said:
IMO Redwine has a Rayshawn Jenkins type of Senior year

Need 2-3 corners to step up. My bet is on Bandy, Frierson, and Ivey in that order
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Redwine has nowhere near the speed Jenkins had. Redwine is a good Cane, but his lack of foot speed and quickness is a huge liability.
 
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