LB play will be as bad as it was last year. Along with two new DLmen and 2 new safeties, our defense is going to be terrible. I'm predicting no better than 8th in the Big 10.
Umm ... maybe my sarcasm meter wasn't turned on. What team are you talking about?
LB play from the '10 season can very easily be contextualized. When you have newbies thrown in to start ... along with 3rd stringers ... yeah, the play isn't going to necessarily be all that impressive. PSU has a rep for being LBer U and yet injuries at LB have really hurt them at the position over the past 2 years.
Anyhow, Morris and Nielsen will be impressive in 2011 provided that they can remain healthy (*knock on wood*).
Is Iowa slated to be "all-world" on the DL in 2011? Probably not ... however, remind me what people were predicting about our DL after we lost King and Kroul after the '08 season. Furthermore, that transition came just a year after we lost another two multi-year starters in Iwebema and Mattison. All the same, the level of DL play remained pretty darn good. If you look at the talent we have on the DL past Binns and Daniels .... we have guys who have talent/potential. Dominic Alvis, Steve Bigach,Scott Covert, Donavan Johnson (assuming his grades are good enough), Carl Davis, Louis Trinca-Pasat, and Mike Hardy ... there is some legit talent there. And, mind you, I purposely didn't include LeBron Daniel (SR) and Tom Nardo (SR) off the list. Lastly, in a pinch, both Raymon and Cooper have the physical size to play early if the need arises too.
Now, where I kind of agree is that I definitely have some concerns when it comes to how we're looking at safety. However, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited about the possibility of having Hyde and Miller as our starting safety duo. What gives me added hope is that the coaches were willing to keep Hitchens at LB rather than keep him at S ... that tells me that Phil thinks that we have some guys who can play. As it is, I anticipate that we'll see a pretty interesting competition between Hyde, Bernstine, and Miller for the two spots ... and it's not like Donatell, N. Nielsen, or Swanson will just lie down and give the spots away.
As for the CB spots ... I like the guys we have. Prater, Lowery, Castillo, Lowe, and Campbell should be more than capable of holding down the fort there. Furthermore, if we need a nickelback, Bernstine is pretty comfortable playing that spot too.
All in all, while the 2011 Iowa D will certain be exploitable at some spots (at least initially ... or if we get hit by injuries at a few spots) ... I think that there is plenty of potential for the group to develop into a VERY solid unit.
More importantly, I think that the Iowa O will be capable of being more balanced in 2011 and that will result in a more punishing and dangerous Hawk O. And, that in itself, will relieve some pressure on the D.
