Bruce James comments of the Defense

[Oklahawg]

The bustle about the "Jack" position should tell you the staff is already in Tinker Mode. They realize that the talent left behind is akin to the Island of Misfit Toys. That good, maybe really good, front 4 lacks the slobberknocker inside. Good DTs who aren't able to plug the middle can be schemed into pourous midline run game stats. Think: Florida in the shotgun, no TE, creating wide splits and Tim Tebow or a swifty RB being 1-on-1 with a MLB. All due to scheme.

Scheme helps most when we play the teams with some balance (or pass-oriented) who don't overwhelm us. Aubbie (maybe), Bama, KY, SC. LSU and Florida should have the horses to have their way with the Hogs, regardless of scheme. It'll be a high scoring affair both games.

The discipline and physical training will certainly help maximize what the team can do. But, you can get a well-disciplined, and in-shape HS team that'll go undefeated in their district in class 2A and they'd get plowed by even bad D1 teams. Point: discipline and physical training will keep some games close for the offense to win, and possibly keep us from being totally obliterated by anyone. Maybe not.

I don't know that Bruce James is right or not. I do know that there are no "stars" on defense save whatever we already know about from last year: Shepperd, ARob, A Davis. Beyond that we are left to hope that there were "diamonds in the rough" to be developed by the staff, or someone in the recruiting ranks was woefully underranked. There aren't Crawfords, Smiths, DJs, Clevelands, Salters, Curtis' and Adams, guys who had the publicity prior to donning a UA uniform.

[jabohog]

The bustle about the "Jack" position should tell you the staff is already in Tinker Mode. They realize that the talent left behind is akin to the Island of Misfit Toys. That good, maybe really good, front 4 lacks the slobberknocker inside. Good DTs who aren't able to plug the middle can be schemed into pourous midline run game stats. Think: Florida in the shotgun, no TE, creating wide splits and Tim Tebow or a swifty RB being 1-on-1 with a MLB. All due to scheme.

Scheme helps most when we play the teams with some balance (or pass-oriented) who don't overwhelm us. Aubbie (maybe), Bama, KY, SC. LSU and Florida should have the horses to have their way with the Hogs, regardless of scheme. It'll be a high scoring affair both games.

The discipline and physical training will certainly help maximize what the team can do. But, you can get a well-disciplined, and in-shape HS team that'll go undefeated in their district in class 2A and they'd get plowed by even bad D1 teams. Point: discipline and physical training will keep some games close for the offense to win, and pcossibly keep us from being totally obliterated by anyone. Maybe not.

I don't know that Bruce James is right or not. I do know that there are no "stars" on defense save whatever we already know about from last year: Shepperd, ARob, A Davis. Beyond that we are left to hope that there were "diamonds in the rough" to be developed by the staff, or someone in the recruiting ranks was woefully underranked. There aren't Crawfords, Smiths, DJs, Clevelands, Salters, Curtis' and Adams, guys who had the publicity prior to donning a UA uniform.

The ones you mention on defense have proven themselves against SEC competition. The big name recruits on offense (other than Cleveland, maybe Smith) have not.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

He didn't say the defense would suck, he just has a lower win total than you. You and him are basically saying the same thing, you just think we will win more games. You ask for facts and he gave them to you, but you don't want to hear it. Agree to disagree.

Applying for a moderators position? No, we don't see it the same. He thinks the defense is going to be bad, primarily because of the "back 7". I don't. I also don't think they will set the world on fire, but I certainly don't think they will be bad. We definitely have some issues in terms of experience at LB, but we do have some experience in the secondary and others have apparently stepped up who weren't given that opportunity under Nutt. Let me ask you......who has a better view of the talent and a better opportunity to evaluate that talent.......one of us or the coaching staff? The staff thinks we are going to be fine in the secondary. How can we continually dispute that? BP has been pretty forthcoming about the areas he feels we are coming up short in.......he would add the secondary to that list if he thought that was the case. I'm not buying it fellas, I believe the staff. We'll be very strong up front, have some potential issues at LB and the secondary will be good. So, no, we aren't saying the same things here.

[jabohog]

Applying for a moderators position? No, we don't see it the same. He thinks the defense is going to be bad, primarily because of the "back 7". I don't. I also don't think they will set the world on fire, but I certainly don't think they will be bad. We definitely have some issues in terms of experience at LB, but we do have some experience in the secondary and others have apparently stepped up who weren't given that opportunity under Nutt. Let me ask you......who has a better view of the talent and a better opportunity to evaluate that talent.......one of us or the coaching staff? The staff thinks we are going to be fine in the secondary. How can we continually dispute that? BP has been pretty forthcoming about the areas he feels we are coming up short in.......he would add the secondary to that list if he thought that was the case. I'm not buying it fellas, I believe the staff. We'll be very strong up front, have some potential issues at LB and the secondary will be good. So, no, we aren't saying the same things here.

Me a Mod, don't make Lanny laugh. Actually I thought you were one until I started to read closer. Believe the staff, what do you expect them to say? Read between the lines would be better like Oklahawg did.

[akp4105]

Me a Mod, don't make Lanny laugh. Actually I thought you were one until I started to read closer. Believe the staff, what do you expect them to say? Read between the lines would be better like Oklahawg did.

Exactly.. you think Petrino's gonna say our secondary needs a lot of help when we play Texas, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, and South Carolina.. who are all gonna throw the ball.. and try it deep more than a few times.. NO. Its OBVIOUS we are very thin at LB.. so he can state that. We arent thin in the defensive backfield.. we just arent talented enough and dont have a lot of experience. He's not gonna announce to the world that our DB's arent very good. You'll see when games role around.. our defense, especially the "back 7".. thats DB's and LB's, is going to struggle..

[aaaactionvp]

you guys gotta understand there are going to be some growing pains, but all in all this team is going to be solid.  fundamentals can solve a lot of problems.

[Wu Tang Clan]

I agree.  That's why I'm not THAT worried about our defense.  I think we'll be fine if we can just stay healthy/not in jail (especially at the LB spots).  We aren't going to have a good defense, but we can have an average one.  That's all we need, as long as the offense performs like I think it's going to.  We do need some freshmen to step up and provide some good depth at several positions, though.  And that's kind of scary.  But, I think the main reason our defense looks so bad right now is that a) it has only been a week of practice and 2) they are going against a Petrino-led offense in these practices/scrimmages.  I think they'll be average....

You are delusional.  It doesn't matter how good a coach Petrino is when he does not have talent.  TALENT wins national championships not coaches.  The defensvie recruiting has  been absolutely terrible the last 3 or 4 years especially in the secondary, dline and linebakcers.  How many wins did the Atlanta Falcons have this year?  There are a lot of upper classmen who are not SEC caliber players.  I hope they play a lot of freshmen who will get punished and take their lumps but they will gain experience which is better than getting punished with seniors. 

[Fatmanhog]

i dont mind seeing a few punishment games when it comes to a new coach. it was all the pain we had to sit thru for the last ten years. i want us to win every game just like all of us here but my heart wont be broken when we have to take a few lumps to gain leaps next year. our defense may not be good but we can all agree that the future seems brighter right? WPS

[Reaganite]

Based on what Mr. James said, I think the term for the year should be Fastbreak Football.

We should go into games, on offense, with the mentality that we've GOT to score on every possession (as we should have for the last 10 years).  More so now that ever before.

[aaaactionvp]

You are delusional.  It doesn't matter how good a coach Petrino is when he does not have talent.  TALENT wins national championships not coaches.  The defensvie recruiting has  been absolutely terrible the last 3 or 4 years especially in the secondary, dline and linebakcers.  How many wins did the Atlanta Falcons have this year?  There are a lot of upper classmen who are not SEC caliber players.  I hope they play a lot of freshmen who will get punished and take their lumps but they will gain experience which is better than getting punished with seniors. 

Isn't the secondary, d-line and linebackers the entire defense?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Me a Mod, don't make Lanny laugh. Actually I thought you were one until I started to read closer. Believe the staff, what do you expect them to say? Read between the lines would be better like Oklahawg did.

I think that this staff has been fairly forthcoming in terms of being honest about where we are at with all positions. I haven't noticed BP pulling any punches, he seems to call it the way it is. I realize some/most coaches veil the truth behind good ol boy generalizations and deflecting direct questions about their teams, but I haven't noticed that about Petrino. So as I said, yeah, I believe them. And, in that regard, I think he has also been forthcoming about our LB situation as well, while maintaining that our D-Line will be a strength and that he is not concerned about our secondary. I mean, what do we need? A notarized statement?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Based on what Mr. James said, I think the term for the year should be Fastbreak Football.

We should go into games, on offense, with the mentality that we've GOT to score on every possession (as we should have for the last 10 years).  More so now that ever before.

I agree, but it should be that way regardless of the quality, or lack thereof, of our defense.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

The bustle about the "Jack" position should tell you the staff is already in Tinker Mode. They realize that the talent left behind is akin to the Island of Misfit Toys. That good, maybe really good, front 4 lacks the slobberknocker inside. Good DTs who aren't able to plug the middle can be schemed into pourous midline run game stats. Think: Florida in the shotgun, no TE, creating wide splits and Tim Tebow or a swifty RB being 1-on-1 with a MLB. All due to scheme.

Scheme helps most when we play the teams with some balance (or pass-oriented) who don't overwhelm us. Aubbie (maybe), Bama, KY, SC. LSU and Florida should have the horses to have their way with the Hogs, regardless of scheme. It'll be a high scoring affair both games.

The discipline and physical training will certainly help maximize what the team can do. But, you can get a well-disciplined, and in-shape HS team that'll go undefeated in their district in class 2A and they'd get plowed by even bad D1 teams. Point: discipline and physical training will keep some games close for the offense to win, and possibly keep us from being totally obliterated by anyone. Maybe not.

I don't know that Bruce James is right or not. I do know that there are no "stars" on defense save whatever we already know about from last year: Shepperd, ARob, A Davis. Beyond that we are left to hope that there were "diamonds in the rough" to be developed by the staff, or someone in the recruiting ranks was woefully underranked. There aren't Crawfords, Smiths, DJs, Clevelands, Salters, Curtis' and Adams, guys who had the publicity prior to donning a UA uniform.

I sure don't disagree that we don't have a bunch of "marquee players" coming back on defense. Also, I've looked at the rankings of all these projected starters for every team in the SEC and teams on our schedule this year and while our average ranking is lower than most SEC teams, we aren't last. What I do know is that if you have a slew of 4 and 5 star recruits that benefit from excellent coaching and player development, then you should have a great team. But what I also know is that if you take a group of lesser talented kids, drill them in fundamentals, develop them, condition them and demand excellence from them and convey to them the need to seek excellence in the execution of their assignments on every single play, that these kids can sometimes overcome teams of higher caliber talent. I have seen it done and if some of you think back, you have too.

No one is saying we are going to win a NC this year. All I am saying is that we are going to wind up being a lot better than most people give us credit for being because this staff will bring the very most, the very best out in this team and put us in various offensive sets and defensive schemes that will offer us our best chance of success with the players we have available(creation of the "Jack LB" for instance"). I believe that this will be good enough to get us to 8-4 in the regular season this year.

[Hogginitall]

You are delusional.  It doesn't matter how good a coach Petrino is when he does not have talent.  TALENT wins national championships not coaches.  The defensvie recruiting has  been absolutely terrible the last 3 or 4 years especially in the secondary, dline and linebakcers.  How many wins did the Atlanta Falcons have this year?  There are a lot of upper classmen who are not SEC caliber players.  I hope they play a lot of freshmen who will get punished and take their lumps but they will gain experience which is better than getting punished with seniors. 

Yeah, I'm delusional for saying that I think we'll have an average defense.  I didn't claim that they were going to be really good and that our team is going to win 12 games this year.  I said we are going to be average on defense, good on offense, and we'll finish somewhere between 5-7 and 7-5.  Are those really delusional thoughts?

[Feralhog]

I sure don't disagree that we don't have a bunch of "marquee players" coming back on defense. Also, I've looked at the rankings of all these projected starters for every team in the SEC and teams on our schedule this year and while our average ranking is lower than most SEC teams, we aren't last. What I do know is that if you have a slew of 4 and 5 star recruits that benefit from excellent coaching and player development, then you should have a great team. But what I also know is that if you take a group of lesser talented kids, drill them in fundamentals, develop them, condition them and demand excellence from them and convey to them the need to seek excellence in the execution of their assignments on every single play, that these kids can sometimes overcome teams of higher caliber talent. I have seen it done and if some of you think back, you have too.

No one is saying we are going to win a NC this year. All I am saying is that we are going to wind up being a lot better than most people give us credit for being because this staff will bring the very most, the very best out in this team and put us in various offensive sets and defensive schemes that will offer us our best chance of success with the players we have available(creation of the "Jack LB" for instance"). I believe that this will be good enough to get us to 8-4 in the regular season this year.

BINGO.  It's easy to understand these guys concern.  They judge everything from the cacoon we've lived the last ten years.  They can't wrap their mind around the fact that great coaching can make a huge difference.  Hell, one guy in this thread stated Talent wins BCS championships not coaching.  If that were true, we'd have a couple of BCS wins and probably 4 or 5 appearances in BCS games the last 10 years.

Only one coach in the SEC approaches the game like Petrino.  Spurrier is nothing but X's and O's.  His playbook is riddled with long developing pass routes and he requires a boatload of talent for success.   Saban is close by comparison.  He's a great recruiter but imo, that's the only area he has Bobby beat.  He too is a stickler for detail with a great defensive mind, but he has his downsides. 

Mark Richt is the only coach in the league I'd trade for BP.  He's well organized, a professional, a great recruiter, hires great assistants, has a great offensive mind and he preaches fundamentals.  He's the reason UGA is now among the elite, the complete package. If you look at Richt's teams - even during rebuilding - there's never a glaring weakness. 

I think the areas of concern will be coached away.  I'm not saying we'll be great on D but we'll be solid with no real glaring weakness.  I predict you guys predicting our opponents will go through us like a hot knife through butter will be singing a different tune very soon.

[Feralhog]

Yeah, I'm delusional for saying that I think we'll have an average defense.  I didn't claim that they were going to be really good and that our team is going to win 12 games this year.  I said we are going to be average on defense, good on offense, and we'll finish somewhere between 5-7 and 7-5.  Are those really delusional thoughts?

I agree except there's no way we'll have a losing season.  6-6 at the worst.

[akp4105]

I agree except there's no way we'll have a losing season.  6-6 at the worst.

6-6 at best.

[Feralhog]

6-6 at best.

I'd agree if Nutt were still here.

[GuvHog]

I'd agree if Nutt were still here.

So would I, but he's not so I'll stick with 8-4.

[drivetimeporks]

i trust bruce's opinion

[akp4105]

So would I, but he's not so I'll stick with 8-4.

Who are we gonna beat? tell me that.. give me your 8 victories. please.

[want2be]

The highest we have ranked in defense in the past 15 years was in 2002, we were ranked 25th, which is real close to what Louisville was ranked in 2006.

Our linebackers are on the small side which may help this year against the pass and I think are secondary will come around against the pass. I think our weakest area will be those teams that run straight at us.

In the recent scrimmages the defense can not rush the quarterback and they are not running blitzes.
Once the pressure is put on the offensive line and quarterback things will change.


By the way, the 8 wins will be W.Ill, Monroe, Bama, Tulsa, Ol Miss, S. Carolina, Kentucky, Miss State

[akp4105]

The highest we have ranked in defense in the past 15 years was in 2002, we were ranked 25th, which is real close to what Louisville was ranked in 2006.

Our linebackers are on the small side which may help this year against the pass and I think are secondary will come around against the pass. I think our weakest area will be those teams that run straight at us.

In the recent scrimmages the defense can not rush the quarterback and they are not running blitzes.
Once the pressure is put on the offensive line and quarterback things will change.


By the way, the 8 wins will be W.Ill, Monroe, Bama, Tulsa, Ol Miss, S. Carolina, Kentucky, Miss State

Alabama at home is a tough game.. along with S. Carolina away and Miss St. away.. its gonna be hard to get to 8.. I see 5.. maybe 6.. and with your prediction of weakness when people run right at us.. watch out for Ole Miss..

[hogfansince79]

Alabama at home is a tough game.. along with S. Carolina away and Miss St. away.. its gonna be hard to get to 8.. I see 5.. maybe 6.. and with your prediction of weakness when people run right at us.. watch out for Ole Miss..

oh brother...

[akp4105]

oh brother...

Its a joke... sarcasm...BROTHER. He said our weakness will be against people who run right at us. Houston is known to run the ball.. right at you. He set himself up for it.

[budcampbellfan]

I'd rather have a situation where the coach is better than the player personnel rather than vice versa.  We have been wasteing talent for years and now (perfect timing) the cupboard is bare.  Our current situation will improve year to year  rather than, as before, be limited regardless of recruiting and the players' potential.  Chalk this year up to nut if it's bad, Petrino if it is good.

[Feralhog]

I'd rather have a situation where the coach is better than the player personnel rather than vice versa.  We have been wasteing talent for years and now (perfect timing) the cupboard is bare.  Our current situation will improve year to year  rather than, as before, be limited regardless of recruiting and the players' potential.  Chalk this year up to nut if it's bad, Petrino if it is good.

hater

[want2be]

Alabama at home is a tough game.. along with S. Carolina away and Miss St. away.. its gonna be hard to get to 8.. I see 5.. maybe 6.. and with your prediction of weakness when people run right at us.. watch out for Ole Miss..

Ol Miss may run straight at us but not with DMac and Felix
S Carolina and Miss St will be tuff, but I think we have the overall advantage