2012 Defense Discussion

[kippy1040]

You probably meant "Shazier and Klein", as Sweat was a senior last year and is no longer on the team. But to your point, I don't think the LB rotation, or lack thereof, indicates that the staff is fully satisfied with the level of play from the starters. Instead, I think it's mostly that the backups are young and inexperienced, and just not quite ready yet. It's pretty rare for a true freshman linebacker to be ready to play at a starter's level. Spielman did it, Katzenmoyer did it, Hawk did it, but those guys were all-timers. Laurinaitis, also an eventual great one, didn't see the field much until forced in by Carpenter's injury against Michigan. And that was purely out of necessity, not because he was really ready. I think there's a good chance that at least a couple guys from last year's LB recruiting class will end up being very good. But it shouldn't be too surprising that they're not there yet.

That was my bad and thanks for the correction - i meant to type in klein but for some reason i had a senior moment. I think that this is youngest corp of linebackers we have had in a long time.

 

[Brandon26841]

I know this is kind of off topic, but they had an article discussing the overall speed of the major BCS conferences in a recent Sports Illustrated. It was from combine times (the only valid times to consider) over the last 5 years. This doesn't really prove anything of course. Like a poster said before, this is only players that were invited to the combine so it's an extremely small sample size.

The SEC averaged the fastest offensive skill positions with a 4.6071 forty, with the Pac-12 coming in 6th with a 4.6538 forty. The Big-10 was 5th, at 4.6189. That's not much of a difference there.

The Pac-12 however had the fastest offensive lineman, and the SEC finished next to last there. The SEC was the fastest in the defensive skill positions with a 4.6059 forty average, and the Big-10 was 4th at 4.6323.

The Big-10 actually had the fastest d-line average 40 at 4.9217, and the SEC finished last at 5.0050. Can't say I expected that. That was really the only place I felt that the SEC truly had an advantage at speed wise, but I guess that's not the case.

Overall it went like this for average 40 times:

Big 12: 4.7672
ACC: 4.7744
Big 10: 4.7860
SEC: 4.8091
Pac-12: 4.8158
Big East: 4.8159

Kinda pointless, but interesting nonetheless.

 

[MaxBuck]

... article discussing the overall speed of the major BCS conferences in a recent Sports Illustrated. It was from combine times (the only valid times to consider) ...

Overall it went like this for average 40 times:

Big 12: 4.7672
ACC: 4.7744
Big 10: 4.7860
SEC: 4.8091
Pac-12: 4.8158
Big East: 4.8159

Kinda pointless, but interesting nonetheless.

As I said above, it is pointless. Comparing only combine times is essentially skewing the statistics toward the mean - you're comparing times among only those players regarded as sufficiently talented to warrant NFL interest. So it's invalid.

If one were to have accurate 40 times (i.e. times measured the same way, contemporaneously) for all players in all conferences, that would be a valid comparison. But we don't have such things.

Maybe the best metric is looking at how many players in the NFL are from a given conference over the past 5-10 years. I think the SEC looks pretty good by that measure: NFL PLAYERS' CONFERENCE AFFILIATION. But it's clearly not an overwhelming advantage the SEC holds over other conferences in apparent NFL talent. So other factors obviously come into play, like oversigning, coaching style, and the little scheduling games played by SEC schools that make them look better than they probably actually are.

 

[Taosman]

I'm sad for 'Bino but I'm very excited to see Perry on the field! Josh Perry(15) is a terrific prospect with a very high ceiling. And let's not forget Storm Klein has looked improved in his play! I have to re-watch Saturdays game to see how he did.
The safety play worries me more than the LBers!

 

[OHSportsFan]

I still don't get the secondary's obsession with just reaching, often at the head or shoulder level, for a tackle. Who ever thought that was the right technique to bring someone down in the game of football?

I have far more of a problem with the arm tackle attempts than the kill shots.

It's also led to a lot of facemask calls (though, a couple of the ones Saturday were very weak considering the offensive player was just as guilty).

In the end, the DB's have to realize their size and GET LOW to take a ball carrier out. Roby often does the best job.

 

[Osi]

Phil Steele's Midseason All -Americans

Of note:
2nd Team: Johnathan Hankins, Bradley Roby
3rd Team: John Simon, Ryan Shazier

 

[Brandon26841]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but what's the deal with Curtis Grant?

Is his on-the-field play such a liability right now that's he pretty much unplayable at this point? I know he got benched for Storm Klein and was moved to 2nd string SLB, but with Sabino out they're going straight to true freshman Josh Perry over Grant? I'm hearing coaches talk about the lack of depth at LB'er and how they're trying to bring Perry, Perkins, Marcus, Williams, and even Roberts along, but no mention of Grant. Is he even in the mix right now?

 

[MaxBuck]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but what's the deal with Curtis Grant?

Is his on-the-field play such a liability right now that's he pretty much unplayable at this point? I know he got benched for Storm Klein and was moved to 2nd string SLB, but with Sabino out they're going straight to true freshman Josh Perry over Grant? I'm hearing coaches talk about the lack of depth at LB'er and how they're trying to bring Perry, Perkins, Marcus, Williams, and even Roberts along, but no mention of Grant. Is he even in the mix right now?

He's not playing. We're very thin at linebacker.

You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out.

 

[stowfan]

I'm hoping we see some more rotation with the defense. We lose Simon, Williams, Goebel, and probably Hankins this year. It would be nice to get some playing time for the guys who will be taking over next year.

 

[Brandon26841]

He's not playing. We're very thin at linebacker.

You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out.

Obviously. It's still just kind of surprising that he's that far off considering he was pretty much set in stone as a starter this year. People keep saying... "He's young, the light will eventually come on for him" but wow. This doesn't really bode too well IMO. He might need to pull a Sabino and redshirt a season.

Just goes to show that you should never really believe anything you hear about players in the pre-season. Everyone was showing a good amount of confidence in him before the year started, but I guess it was wishful thinking more than anything, and Meyer hinted at that several times.

 

[Buckeye513]

2001-2010 Ohio State gave up 81 points to Indiana. Total.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Holy shitsnacks.

 

[OhioState001]

Where does the blame lie? I think its scheme because we have some very good players. Roby,Simon,Hankins,Goebel,Bryant,Shazier,Howard and OJ are all playing fine. I don't think Barnett is terrible and I'm not going to put it all on Storm or Boren.

 

[jlb1705]

Where does the blame lie? I think its scheme because we have some very good players. Roby,Simon,Hankins,Goebel,Bryant,Shazier,Howard and OJ are all playing fine. I don't think Barnett is terrible and I'm not going to put it all on Storm or Boren.

I'm not going to pick out names, but the list of "good" players on defense right now is not nearly that long.

 

[woofermazing]

My knee jerk reaction is the lack of o-line pressure. We were probably getting held egregiously, the camera positions suck at that stadium.

Regardless, we can't have the best unit neutralized.