2010 Defense

GrandpaHawk

GrandpaHawk

Well-Known Member
With Donahue only getting better at pinning the other team down inside the 10 yd line don't you think we could really be a force on Def. this year(even better than last year).With Binns,Klug and Ballard getting a full year of starting and having the Beast at the other Def end spot we will raise havoc in the back field.We have the potential to be the best Def in the Nation IMO.
 
Amari and the linebackers will be sorely missed. But the NFL-caliber D Line will make up for some of that.
 
It goes without saying that we'll be losing quality talent in the 3 defenders who are going to be NFL bound. However, that said, we still return EIGHT freakin' starters! That's 8 guys who are a year more experienced ... that, in itself, leads to team improvement.

Lest we not forget, Godfrey had a SR campaign to remember ... a SR campaign that ended up catapulting him into a NFL starting gig! The very next season, we had Fletch have a season to remember too ... and he ended up being the 2nd pick of the 3rd round in that years NFL draft. For those who might have forgotten ... Fletch was only really a first year starter too ... and early in his career he looked worse than either Castillo and Lowe had in their starts!

When you also recall that we're not plugging in wee babes at the LB spots ... but rather battle-tested veterans. The LB spots will be pretty well manned too.

I distinctly recall that there were many folks who thought that there was no way that our D would be better in 2008 after losing so many starters ... like Godfrey, Humpal, Klink, Iwebema, and Mattison ... and yet the D improved! The following year, yet again many folks were incredulous that the D could improve after losing two 4-year starters at DT in addition to Fletcher ... and yet the D improved!

How many people here remember the players who were consensus picks to win the LB spots in 2008? We had just lost Klink, Humpal, and Gattas. The only true "given" at LB was Edds. However, past Edds ... the clear front-runners for the starting spots were Coleman at the MIKE LB spot and Tarpinian at the WILL LB spot.

What then happened?

What happened is that Angerer had such an impressive spring practice in 2008 that he put himself in legit contention for the starting spot (although he didn't win it outright at that point)! Furthermore, at some juncture prior to the 2008 season Tarp got injured and Hunter got promoted ... and as we all now know ... the rest is history!

So that begs the question ... who is going to make their splash over the spring and summer camps? The LB competition should be great ... we have some very good veteran guys ... and during summer camp, the young talent should be pretty promising too.

At CB, things could get interesting too. While Bernstine will likely be an early favorite ... I wouldn't overlook Hyde for a second. Furthermore, I wouldn't count Lowe or Castillo out either.

But yeah ... the 2010 D has the potential to truly be great!
 
ThunderHawk said:
Amari and the linebackers will be sorely missed. But the NFL-caliber D Line will make up for some of that.
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I'm far more worried about replacing Amari than I am either of the LB's. We have a history of reloading at the LB position and if nothing else I think he will be faster and more athletic at LB. On top of that I think we are returning the best LB we had on last years team in Hunter.

On the other hand we haven't exactly set the world on fire when it comes to CB recruiting. We've basically got by with servicable CB over the past 8-10 years and we haven't had a CB like Amari that could shut down his side of the field that I can remember. I love Prater and I'm sure someone will emerge from the group of guys that we had but at this point its a crap shot.
 
HawkIreign said:
I'm far more worried about replacing Amari than I am either of the LB's. We have a history of reloading at the LB position and if nothing else I think he will be faster and more athletic at LB. On top of that I think we are returning the best LB we had on last years team in Hunter.

On the other hand we haven't exactly set the world on fire when it comes to CB recruiting. We've basically got by with servicable CB over the past 8-10 years and we haven't had a CB like Amari that could shut down his side of the field that I can remember. I love Prater and I'm sure someone will emerge from the group of guys that we had but at this point its a crap shot.
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HawkIreign -

You kidding?

The "lock down" CB that you say we got in Spievey ... he was but a 2-star guy!

I agree that Spievey is the best CB we've had at Iowa during Ferentz's reign ... however, I wouldn't marginalize Godfrey and Fletcher.

I truly believe that a big part of what has led to Iowa's success at CB is that we've gotten talented and confident guys who have been willing to put in the work to develop and improve.

Anyhow, I truly believe that Iowa's CB situation is in good hands under Phil's direction ... especially given the personnel who we still have returning. Prater and Bernstine are excellent talents ... and Hyde very well might have the potential to surpass them both! On top of that, both Lowe and Castillo have experience and have shown some promise.

Lastly, the job of the CB is made much easier when you have an impressive DL and veteran safeties. Considering that Greenwood is an old hand at making calls for the secondary ... Iowa's pass D is definitely in good hands!
 
The only probelm the D had this year and the only I problem I see next year is what Stanzi does with the ball. If he can prevent the INTs then we force teams to go 80-90 yards to score which was nearly impossible this year... but when you give up the ball and allow them the opportunity to go 35-40 yards to score it is much more diffcult for the D obviously. Stanzi cuts his INTs down in half this year.... we will have Top 5 rated D stat wise in the country.
 
ThunderHawk said:
Amari and the linebackers will be sorely missed. But the NFL-caliber D Line will make up for some of that.
Click to expand...

8 returning starters on what may very well have been the BEST DEFENSE in the nation.

Bruce Davis, Troy Johnson, Jeff Tarpinian, Tyler Nielsen will take a bit to gel, however talk about a SALTY group coming back. Yikes
 
I think the biggest thing people are overlooking about our defense is the fact that we return both safeties. Both of those safeties happen to be experienced and ball hawks. I also think that this year Tyler Sash really emerges as the leader of the defense. It is hard to share the field with a personality like that of Pat Angerers and be in a leadership role. Everything that we have seen from Sash leads me to believe he carries the torch from Angerer to lead this defense emotionally. He has the ability to "quarterback" the defense from back there, a job normally reserved for a linebacker. Combine that with Brett Greenwood and we have quite an impressive back stop for our secondary. The fact that those two are back there will allow our young corners to further develop and it will take the pressure off the corners. Having the corners know that they can rely on Sash and Greenwood behind them will boost their confidence and allow them to grow.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
HawkIreign -

You kidding?

The "lock down" CB that you say we got in Spievey ... he was but a 2-star guy!

I agree that Spievey is the best CB we've had at Iowa during Ferentz's reign ... however, I wouldn't marginalize Godfrey and Fletcher.

I truly believe that a big part of what has led to Iowa's success at CB is that we've gotten talented and confident guys who have been willing to put in the work to develop and improve.

Anyhow, I truly believe that Iowa's CB situation is in good hands under Phil's direction ... especially given the personnel who we still have returning. Prater and Bernstine are excellent talents ... and Hyde very well might have the potential to surpass them both! On top of that, both Lowe and Castillo have experience and have shown some promise.

Lastly, the job of the CB is made much easier when you have an impressive DL and veteran safeties. Considering that Greenwood is an old hand at making calls for the secondary ... Iowa's pass D is definitely in good hands!
Click to expand...

Seriously Homer, you need to bust out of HI a little more often to bring us the knowledge!
 
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