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The "depth" conversation

Trav said:
It's not overblown. Think about where we'd be with injuries at RB now like last year. Top 2 injured then the third goes down and the next man up scores the winning TD. Last year we had to plug in a 3rd string guy from UAB off the street. No amount of coaching would fix that.

Depth is a lot better but not ideal. One thing that always stood out to me when watching the great early 2000 teams was how guys would sub in and the production wouldn't drop *at all*. McDougle would go to the bench and Jamaal Green would come in and get sacks. Bibla would get a rest and Ed Wilkins would come in and road-grate people. McGahee would get a breather and Geathers is breaking huge runs.

We're not quite there yet, but getting closer, especially at WR and OL.
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I get what you are saying...I really do. But let me ask you this...the NC TCU team from last year, do they have "depth" or were they just really well coached...how about top 25 teams like James Madison, Tulane and Air Force...does Oregon St, Duke and Missouri have "depth"? I always thought coaching can make any player that wasn't considered a great backup, the one who get criticized for said lack of depth, turns that depth problem into a solution. My point is many of the players stepping up now weren't exactly looked at as strong backups at one point, but coaching has made them better...just a thought
 
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Memnon said:
Oddly enough, WR.

I’d argue LB too.
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LB is the only answer I would accept. WRs haven't had enough opportunities to play. Breshard and Horton have both made plays but very infrequently. Untapped talent in that room is very similar to RB.
 
cway313 said:
LB is the only answer I would accept. WRs haven't had enough opportunities to play. Breshard and Horton have both made plays but very infrequently. Untapped talent in that room is very similar to RB.
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The point is, they could if they were given the opportunity.

Depth is being able to replace a starter with a 2nd or even 3rd team guy & not have a drastic drop off in play.

At WR, if George, Young & Restrepo were all out with injuries, Harrell, Horton, Smith could all fill in those roles & do well (depending on the QB); I’d even go as far as to say that Kirk, Nathaniel Joseph & Robby Washington would be pretty good as well. Mainly due to the Offensive system in general is conducive to WR productivity.

They’re not running routes 3 centimeters away from each other anymore (thanks a lot Gattless), so getting open isn’t really as much of an issue anymore as fans used to always think it was.
 
Memnon said:
The point is, they could if they were given the opportunity.

Depth is being able to replace a starter with a 2nd or even 3rd team guy & not have a drastic drop off in play.

At WR, if George, Young & Restrepo were all out with injuries, Harrell, Horton, Smith could all fill in those roles & do well (depending on the QB); I’d even go as far as to say that Kirk, Nathaniel Joseph & Robby Washington would be pretty good as well. Mainly due to the Offensive system in general is conducive to WR productivity.

They’re not running routes 3 centimeters away from each other anymore (thanks a lot Gattless), so getting open isn’t really as much of an issue anymore as fans used to always think it was.
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I wouldn't count unproven players as depth. If that's the case, you could make an argument for CB and TE. Harrell has not looked good, and the rest of those guys have done nothing to generate a bode of confidence.
 
cway313 said:
I wouldn't count unproven players as depth. If that's the case, you could make an argument for CB and TE. Harrell has not looked good, and the rest of those guys have done nothing to generate a bode of confidence.
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The confidence comes from the system they play in; in this Offense, it would be very very hard for a WR to struggle.
 
k9cane said:
I still think we another Cristobal class or two away from having the requiste depth needed to really compete at the national level...
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Which is why this class has way too many holes at key positions. We have legit everything to sell, and aren't closing.

Signing day is less than two months away. Obviously it's easy for me to say behind a screen, but it's time to get cooking and up the bags to levels that programs moan and ***** about. Kind of like last year - wasn't it more fun to hear about Miami buying everyone?

You know...sort of like we've done regarding kids we've missed out on for the past twenty odd years? Where's that f^ck you NIL money at? Certainly wasn't used on 80% of this current class....
 
Memnon said:
The confidence comes from the system they play in; in this Offense, it would be very very hard for a WR to struggle.
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I'd be on same page if Mario didn't hog those minutes for the starters early in the season. We don't know if the moment is too big for those guys.
 
[]_[] swag said:
I wouldn't say we have great depth at OL. But if you look at the way we started the season vs where we were last year. You had guys playing last year like Sagopalu that looks buried on the depth chart this year.

Flagg is coming off the bench vs a starter. K smith no longer sees the field. Those are all big steps in the right direction. Clearly Mario needs more time to build the depth to where we want it, but it's night and day from last year.

Last year's team could have been another 7/8 win team but the injury bug hit hard and our depth was atrocious.
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I think that was the biggest problem last year not Mario not the O.C. That is at Maryland I don't remember his name nor do I want to. But x was hurt and a lot of guys were hurt. If we build quality depth then we can start being taken seriously nationally.
 
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WeBallinBoyz said:
Which is why this class has way too many holes at key positions. We have legit everything to sell, and aren't closing.

Signing day is less than two months away. Obviously it's easy for me to say behind a screen, but it's time to get cooking and up the bags to levels that programs moan and ***** about. Kind of like last year - wasn't it more fun to hear about Miami buying everyone?

You know...sort of like we've done regarding kids we've missed out on for the past twenty odd years? Where's that f^ck you NIL money at? Certainly wasn't used on 80% of this current class....
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I can't lie, Ive been underwhelmed by how Miami has done this season. But Cristobal has shown the ability to flip guys like and bring in four-star type of guys late in the process while at UM(Skinner, Horton., Citizen), but yeah, this class while solid, needs to be a bit better than that.
 
B Run said:
I may be wrong so please correct me if I am, however the last few years I have heard Miami has a "depth" problem, especially in regards to recruiting. Yet the "depth" players that were being spoken of seem to be stepping up in big ways now...so the question is, is the "depth" conversation a little overblown? It seems like with the right coaching, "depth" isn't necessarily the issue it is made out to be.

Side note: not suggesting there is zero importance to it

Thoughts?
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Way I see it is like this.. look at the conference Miami plays in.. We have higher rated players than everyone but Clemson and FSU From top to bottom. We have more “Depth” than most of the teams we play. Injuries happen to EVERY team (there are outliers though, like Miami last year). Guys have to step up and play for all teams, it’s the nature of the sport. Why are our backups or younger guys not as prepared to play as other teams is the question? Everyone wants Miami to have that 2000-2003 depth but not even UGA has that right now and I don’t think anyone ever will again
 
B Run said:
I may be wrong so please correct me if I am, however the last few years I have heard Miami has a "depth" problem, especially in regards to recruiting. Yet the "depth" players that were being spoken of seem to be stepping up in big ways now...so the question is, is the "depth" conversation a little overblown? It seems like with the right coaching, "depth" isn't necessarily the issue it is made out to be.

Side note: not suggesting there is zero importance to it

Thoughts?
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Depth is better in all places but safety and quarterback. I really give Mario and co credit for attacking the roster weaknesses relentlessly in the offseason.
 
Depth is certainly not overblown. What you are referring to in regards to depth stepping up is on the defensive side of the ball I'm guessing. What you are seeing there is an experienced and extremely resourceful defensive coordinator in Lance Guidry take what he has available and make the best use of it. However no matter how inspired or genius Guidry's schemes and personnel use are, they will be exposed eventually if you lack quality depth.

What you are learning i[BGCOLOR=initial]s that coaching matters and a great coach/coordinator can mitigate a lack of elite talent/quality depth but in the long run the more talent and depth a coordinator has at his disposal, the more effective he can be for a longer period of time. Right now I agree with @k9cane that we are two classes away from having the type of depth necessary to compete at a national level. [/BGCOLOR]
 
B Run said:
I get what you are saying...I really do. But let me ask you this...the NC TCU team from last year, do they have "depth" or were they just really well coached...how about top 25 teams like James Madison, Tulane and Air Force...does Oregon St, Duke and Missouri have "depth"? I always thought coaching can make any player that wasn't considered a great backup, the one who get criticized for said lack of depth, turns that depth problem into a solution. My point is many of the players stepping up now weren't exactly looked at as strong backups at one point, but coaching has made them better...just a thought
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It's both of course. And I think TCU actually had pretty good depth last year. They've been recruiting at a high level for a while. And yes we can see the difference coaching makes right here. Corey Flagg is twice the player he was last year. Pretty much everyone looks better. As for the other teams you cite, they have a hard cieling with how far they'll go and they'll never have the depth of talent to compete at the highest levels but coaching will take them a long way
 
GojiraCane said:
Depth is better in all places but safety and quarterback. I really give Mario and co credit for attacking the roster weaknesses relentlessly in the offseason.
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I mean it may be better at QB too, if Saturday was any indication.
 
yessirking said:
Why is Michigan the exception?
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I'm not sure. Could be great player development and they seem to hit on a pretty high rate of their recruits but according to Jim Nagy of the senior bowl they have 20 players who'll be drafted. I watched a few of their games and they literally rotate 9 defensive lineman.
 
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Trav said:
I mean it may be better at QB too, if Saturday was any indication.
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True. I was thinking more of the sheer numbers (just 3). Ideally you never have less than 4 at any given point.

Certainly better than 2009, when we essentially had just one in Jacory Harris plus a freshman defensive back (Highmsith).
 
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