DBs

BVHawk95

Well-Known Member
Obviously they've looked a tad shell shocked tonight but I couldn't quite put my finger on why, until I saw this.l:


Couple that with keeping guys in to protect and doubling AJE literally every dropbacks (who is still getting pressure) and that is probably the issue.
 
Hope Brent's comes back soon. I'd like to see him on the outside with OJ playing cash.

Hopefully Merriweather can speed things up. He's athletic, but wasn't reading fast enough to play FS in Iowa's scheme.
 
Big opportunity for improvement in the defensive backfield. and if history is any indicator, they'll be fine. Hankins seemed to me to be content to just kinda shove the receiver down. Did you notice? He wasn't' really laying his body on receivers. Maybe its because he was often out in front playing the ball
 
I honestly thought the DBs were in pretty decent position for the most part. Their QB made some really nice throws into tight windows.

Seemed like OJ was chewing out DJ Johnson for a blown assignment on a long pass on Miami’s first drive.

As another poster mentioned we might see OJ slide into the cash spot and Brents take over on the outside when he is healthy.

Merriweather looked pretty good tackling. Just needs to progress with the coverage but it was only his first game back there full time, I think he can and will improve.
 
Obviously they've looked a tad shell shocked tonight but I couldn't quite put my finger on why, until I saw this.l:


Couple that with keeping guys in to protect and doubling AJE literally every dropbacks (who is still getting pressure) and that is probably the issue.

You knew that AJE was going to get double teamed and teams were going to slide their protection toward him. That’s going to happen all year. He is so relentless with his effort that I still think he will get double digit sack numbers or come close to it.
 
AJ wasn't double teamed for most of the night. There lineman was handling him quite well by himself.
 
AJ wasn't double teamed for most of the night. There lineman was handling him quite well by himself.

I did not see the double teams at the line either. They did keep a back or H back to help out but most was one on one. My take is he needs more moves and use his leverage. He has the one quick move off the line with his hands but if the lineman can select his hands at this point he is a one trick pony.

His motor was good though and he played with good fundamentals and technique. Not really concerned. I would like to see them stunt more with him and the tackles and I think that will come
 
I have my own pet theory about what the coaches were trying to do. When they saw the confusion out there, they went to the usual base 4-3-4 and simplified things. It's better to quickly fix one defensive scheme, rather than have two schemes that are all messed up. DJ Johnson ended up being the odd man out since they weren't going to be playing 4-2-5 for right now. He wasn't playing well anyway.

I expect the more experience guys Hankins, Stone, and Ojemudia to clean things up fairly quickly. Merriweather at free safety will be more of a work in progress. Likewise, at linebacker I expect Colbert to quickly knock off the rust. Niemann looks like a solid starter outside. Not as sure about how Welsh is doing at MLB.

Also, people have forgotten that the defensive line is down three starters and a backup player from last year. The coaches likely wanted see how Epenesa and Golston a held up for a full game, fix things on the fly, and get plenty of tape on them. Nixon was the only backup lineman that saw much time. I also think the staff wanted to gauge how well the defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and how much pressure they could bring as the game wore on.
 
That is plainly false.
This right here. The only times he was one-on-one were plays that were designed for the ball to be out in under three seconds. Doesn’t matter how good you are, unless the tackle totally whiffs, you aren’t sniffing the QB as a defensive end when the ball is getting released that quickly. That was Miami’s game plan, and it was a good one,
 
Was at the game, Row 15, so had a good view: re AJ there is truth to both perspectives. He got double-teamed some, he sometimes got chipped if he got past the tackle, but he also played the position entirely differently than he did last year, when he just pinned his ears back and tore into the backfield. He first move last night was almost always straight ahead, pushing the tackle back, containing the edge. Period. It is the Parker way. Given Iowa's BTen opponents, AJ will probably get a handful of secondary scramble sacks, but I don't expect him to reach the sack total he had last year. The role he played last year is being filled this year by Amani Jones, which is why Jones had more sacks than AJ.
Other impressions from the evening:
* AJ Johnson looked lost out there...to the point where as AreWeThereYet noted Parker brought in Nieman, returned to the 4-3-4, and the defense settled down immediately. Nieman is a pro prospect and just too good to keep off the field. Take Welch off the field if you need to, but Nieman has to be a starter.
* Merriweather was a slow to react during his first start. Miami's QB was a Fr starting his first game and was staring down his target every throw and sometimes the ball was in the air forever -- yet Merriweather was always late. He's got to get better, quickly.
* Stanley was sharp. His throws were absolutely on-target. Thrown hard when they needed to be, with touch when called for. Only 1 serious mis-throw in 30 attempts.
* An unexpected concern, and somewhat subtle, is LB Colbert. Last year I thought he was superb as a Fr. -- partly because he covered the field laterally so well. Last night he was slower to get over to the sideline, struggled to get off WR blocks, and generally was a step slow and behind the play. He appears a tad heavier and bulkier, and in this case it may not be an improvement. I'm guessing the stats will show he had a lot of tackles, but plays he was holding to 2-3 yds last year were going for 5-7 yds last night.
* Sergeant had the stats, but RB Young brought energy and provided a spark. When will he start?
 

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