JonforOSU
08-15-2008, 12:29 PM
Ok, in effort to really take a closer look at the defense, I've decided to break down each position and give my prediciton on how the defense will be improved this year. The goal is to be a top 50 defense. I think we can do that and the biggest reason why? Depth and speed.
**This anaylsis does not include projected red shirts
DE projected depth chart-Ugo Chinasa, Derek Burton, Jamie Blatnik, Richetti Jones, Shane Jarka, Jeremiah Price,Nigel Nicholas,Jeremy Gray-INJURED
Needless to say, this looks like the deepest position on the defensive line right now. We have a legitment two deep at this position and quality back ups if the injury bug bites, God forbid. With Derek and Ugo having extensive playing time and the talk of Blatnik and Jones' surge in the preseason camps, it seems that we're finally poised to put some decent pressure on Qb's from the outside and able to do so the whole game. A few of our problems in the past have been undersized ends and not enough depth to keep that pressure on the edge throughout the whole game. We now have good size, speed and depth. This will have a trickle down effect on our defense. QBs who have less time or have to unload early in the pocket don't make good decisions. It could help our secondary have a great year.
DT projected depth chart- Jeray Chatham, Tonga Tea, Swanson Miller, Quencey Patrick,Chris Donaldson,Ahmad Jones
Along with Linebacker, this is one of my biggest concerns heading into the year. Not saying I don't think we have talented players here, it's just we havn't seen alot of them in action. Aside from Chatham and Tea, this group has either yet to see a D1 snap or has very few snaps on this level. Again the common theme here is depth. Keeping Chatham and Tea fresh is crucial. Word is Tonga is down to 300 or so pounds and is more mobile. If this holds true and Miller can live up to his run stopping hype, then we could see an improvement. Patrick has been a mainstay on the scout team the last few years and Donaldson seems to have passed the learnig curve test as he's made the third rotation of tackles. Overall this a group that has limited experience but will be an overall upgrade to last years line because of depth and a legit push up the middle. If the pups can come along and provide solid play 15 or so snaps a game, then we should have a decent year on the line.
LB projected depth chart- Pat Lavine, Orie Lemon, Andre Sexton, Donald Booker, Jared Glover, Justin Gent, Deron Fontenot, Kenny Alexander, Seb Clements
Two things about the linebacking core this year. 1. They are very young. 2. We're not very big. Lavine led the team in tackles last year which is good. You want someone in your front seven to lead in tackles, as that means backs are not breaking into the secondary very often. The good thing about these backers is that there is a definite upgrade in speed. We're gonna see an improved and sudden leader Orie Lemon take the lead of this core as Lavine is not a very vocal young man.. I wouldn't be surprised to Seb Clements get alot of time in the middle when we play run heavy teams and be a leader as well. Glover, Alexander and Booker have the talent to be special players, but again it's going back to the playing time they have gotten in the past, which ain't much. Look for a more solid analysis of this grouip after the first game at Qwest field. They are gonna face a pass heavy offense with a mobile quarterback, which is a good test for even the best of linebacking units. Overall we've got depth and talent here, but we're undersized and inexperienced. That's a recipe for a long season, but again, I won't pass judgement until we're done with the non-conference.
Cornerback projected depth chart- Jacob Lacey and Perrish Cox, Terrance Anderson and Maurice Gray, Markelle Martin and Brodrick Brown.
Most insiders look at our cornerbacks as a legitment core within the conference. In fact, it could be said that no one in the league has more experience than we do in our secondary. Anderson finished up last year on a high note, earning a start in the bowl game and playing rather well while doing it. Cox is a guy that's been around and people keep waiting for his huge season to come. He started off with a bang returning a kick for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball in an OSU jersey, joining the only other player to ever do that, Barry Sanders. Had a great game in the pouncing of Nebraska last year, but has been known to fall asleep sometimes. I think Cox is helped by the competition behind him. IMO, he steps up to the challenge and has a Jacob Lacey-type season this year. In the sense that the light just comes on and he starts playing up to his potential. Speaking of Lacey, I expect him to have a season that gets the NFL scouts buzzing. Lacey has great ball instincts and won't get "out-toughed" by anyone. It's early to make this comparison and I don't want him to fall victim to it like Bobby did when we compared him to Vince, but for some reason he really reminds of Adam Jones, with his speed and size. BTW, Lacey is the fastest player on the team with sub 4.4 speed. If he wants to find himself in the NFL he's gonna have to do it by being an every down, lock up corner as he doesn't play special teams and doesn;t have the size to make a roster on that alone. He has the chance to shine facing some of the country's top receivers in conference play. If he limits Maclin, Crabtree and Iglesias that could be a good enough bid for a roster spot in the NFL. Gray brings in solid depth and a bit of a hard hitting corner who you will see play the run support role. His talent is there, we'll see how well he does with learning the defense as we get into fall camp. Brown was a recruit the coaches were very excited about coming in just for his speed. He's an undersized corner, but plays much bigger. We'll see if he can contribute this year, but it will only happen if there is injury. I'm sure we'll see him on special teams more so than in the secondary.
Safety projected depth chart- Ricky Price and Quinton Moore, TJ Bell and Luciene Antoine, Johnny Thomas and James Thomas or Victor Johnson
Wow, what a safety line-up. This is the unit I'm most excited about."The Punishers" hype through the pre-season has me itchin to see him lay one on a WSU reciever!!! Everything from dented shoulder pads to hits that make Gundy give him a nick name. You know he's gotta be doing something right. Quinton Moore is a player that I've been routing for and I'm glad he's getting his chance to get some solid play time. You've got Price, Bell and Johnny T as the speedsters back there along with heavy hitters Moore, Antoine, Johnson, and James T. That's a perfect balance of talent on our backside. We're deep enough to have fresh legs out there through the 4th and the most talent I've seen at safety in a long time. I expect big things from this unit.
There you have it, my breakdown of the defense. I think 8 wins is very doable with an outside shot at 9 if they can really step it up defensively. I think the only unit we took a small step back in is linebackers, but we'll know more after the first few games this season. IMHO, the defense will hinge on the development of our young backers and the ability to get off the field. We've done good playing situational defense but always seem to give up the big play on 3rd and longs(boy hasn't that been the case for a while). I think with the improved depth and talent in the secondary along with a better defensive front we can be a top 50 defense.
Your thoughts?
**This anaylsis does not include projected red shirts
DE projected depth chart-Ugo Chinasa, Derek Burton, Jamie Blatnik, Richetti Jones, Shane Jarka, Jeremiah Price,Nigel Nicholas,Jeremy Gray-INJURED
Needless to say, this looks like the deepest position on the defensive line right now. We have a legitment two deep at this position and quality back ups if the injury bug bites, God forbid. With Derek and Ugo having extensive playing time and the talk of Blatnik and Jones' surge in the preseason camps, it seems that we're finally poised to put some decent pressure on Qb's from the outside and able to do so the whole game. A few of our problems in the past have been undersized ends and not enough depth to keep that pressure on the edge throughout the whole game. We now have good size, speed and depth. This will have a trickle down effect on our defense. QBs who have less time or have to unload early in the pocket don't make good decisions. It could help our secondary have a great year.
DT projected depth chart- Jeray Chatham, Tonga Tea, Swanson Miller, Quencey Patrick,Chris Donaldson,Ahmad Jones
Along with Linebacker, this is one of my biggest concerns heading into the year. Not saying I don't think we have talented players here, it's just we havn't seen alot of them in action. Aside from Chatham and Tea, this group has either yet to see a D1 snap or has very few snaps on this level. Again the common theme here is depth. Keeping Chatham and Tea fresh is crucial. Word is Tonga is down to 300 or so pounds and is more mobile. If this holds true and Miller can live up to his run stopping hype, then we could see an improvement. Patrick has been a mainstay on the scout team the last few years and Donaldson seems to have passed the learnig curve test as he's made the third rotation of tackles. Overall this a group that has limited experience but will be an overall upgrade to last years line because of depth and a legit push up the middle. If the pups can come along and provide solid play 15 or so snaps a game, then we should have a decent year on the line.
LB projected depth chart- Pat Lavine, Orie Lemon, Andre Sexton, Donald Booker, Jared Glover, Justin Gent, Deron Fontenot, Kenny Alexander, Seb Clements
Two things about the linebacking core this year. 1. They are very young. 2. We're not very big. Lavine led the team in tackles last year which is good. You want someone in your front seven to lead in tackles, as that means backs are not breaking into the secondary very often. The good thing about these backers is that there is a definite upgrade in speed. We're gonna see an improved and sudden leader Orie Lemon take the lead of this core as Lavine is not a very vocal young man.. I wouldn't be surprised to Seb Clements get alot of time in the middle when we play run heavy teams and be a leader as well. Glover, Alexander and Booker have the talent to be special players, but again it's going back to the playing time they have gotten in the past, which ain't much. Look for a more solid analysis of this grouip after the first game at Qwest field. They are gonna face a pass heavy offense with a mobile quarterback, which is a good test for even the best of linebacking units. Overall we've got depth and talent here, but we're undersized and inexperienced. That's a recipe for a long season, but again, I won't pass judgement until we're done with the non-conference.
Cornerback projected depth chart- Jacob Lacey and Perrish Cox, Terrance Anderson and Maurice Gray, Markelle Martin and Brodrick Brown.
Most insiders look at our cornerbacks as a legitment core within the conference. In fact, it could be said that no one in the league has more experience than we do in our secondary. Anderson finished up last year on a high note, earning a start in the bowl game and playing rather well while doing it. Cox is a guy that's been around and people keep waiting for his huge season to come. He started off with a bang returning a kick for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball in an OSU jersey, joining the only other player to ever do that, Barry Sanders. Had a great game in the pouncing of Nebraska last year, but has been known to fall asleep sometimes. I think Cox is helped by the competition behind him. IMO, he steps up to the challenge and has a Jacob Lacey-type season this year. In the sense that the light just comes on and he starts playing up to his potential. Speaking of Lacey, I expect him to have a season that gets the NFL scouts buzzing. Lacey has great ball instincts and won't get "out-toughed" by anyone. It's early to make this comparison and I don't want him to fall victim to it like Bobby did when we compared him to Vince, but for some reason he really reminds of Adam Jones, with his speed and size. BTW, Lacey is the fastest player on the team with sub 4.4 speed. If he wants to find himself in the NFL he's gonna have to do it by being an every down, lock up corner as he doesn't play special teams and doesn;t have the size to make a roster on that alone. He has the chance to shine facing some of the country's top receivers in conference play. If he limits Maclin, Crabtree and Iglesias that could be a good enough bid for a roster spot in the NFL. Gray brings in solid depth and a bit of a hard hitting corner who you will see play the run support role. His talent is there, we'll see how well he does with learning the defense as we get into fall camp. Brown was a recruit the coaches were very excited about coming in just for his speed. He's an undersized corner, but plays much bigger. We'll see if he can contribute this year, but it will only happen if there is injury. I'm sure we'll see him on special teams more so than in the secondary.
Safety projected depth chart- Ricky Price and Quinton Moore, TJ Bell and Luciene Antoine, Johnny Thomas and James Thomas or Victor Johnson
Wow, what a safety line-up. This is the unit I'm most excited about."The Punishers" hype through the pre-season has me itchin to see him lay one on a WSU reciever!!! Everything from dented shoulder pads to hits that make Gundy give him a nick name. You know he's gotta be doing something right. Quinton Moore is a player that I've been routing for and I'm glad he's getting his chance to get some solid play time. You've got Price, Bell and Johnny T as the speedsters back there along with heavy hitters Moore, Antoine, Johnson, and James T. That's a perfect balance of talent on our backside. We're deep enough to have fresh legs out there through the 4th and the most talent I've seen at safety in a long time. I expect big things from this unit.
There you have it, my breakdown of the defense. I think 8 wins is very doable with an outside shot at 9 if they can really step it up defensively. I think the only unit we took a small step back in is linebackers, but we'll know more after the first few games this season. IMHO, the defense will hinge on the development of our young backers and the ability to get off the field. We've done good playing situational defense but always seem to give up the big play on 3rd and longs(boy hasn't that been the case for a while). I think with the improved depth and talent in the secondary along with a better defensive front we can be a top 50 defense.
Your thoughts?