Gator Defense

[t-gator]

I thought Dexter was likely gone myself but you never know. He didn't really blow anything up last night. But let's say he does leave. We would have Lee, Watson, McLellan, lions, Humphries Thomas and the 3 to 4 we sign. That's a big group. Hopefully we can develop our own.
If there's an absolute gamechanger at DT then sure. But I'd rather see us develop our rather than bring in some pretty average guys that weren't gonna play at there former schools like we've done in the past.

 

[Red D]

The defensive recruits are surely going to believe the staff when the say “you have a chance to play early.”

 

[gatormandan]

Im with you on that. Utah has a pretty dominate Oline and they seem well coached. We shall see with Ky.

 

[I Have No Friends :(]

Dexter seemed like he was playing injured to me. The motor he had in the spring game just wasn't there, and he was stiff in his movement. Regardless, will be looking for him to have a better game against Kentucky. Our defense is going to be a work in progress all season, but I liked that they kept fighting for 60 minutes. Keep being stingy in the redzone and forcing timely turnovers, and it may be enough to win the majority of our games.

 

[Defend the Swamp]

Dexter seemed like he was playing injured to me. The motor he had in the spring game just wasn't there, and he was stiff in his movement. Regardless, will be looking for him to have a better game against Kentucky.

Three critical errors I repeatedly noticed. The good news is they are all correctable.

1) GD lines up a yard and a half off the line. Watching film, he’s strong & violent but way too late. OL is in much better position by the time GD engages. Also creates gaps when others manage penetration. Solution…move closer.
2) Fire off immediately upon the snap. GD is too near the center to not explode upon first movement of the snap. Would drill this to death in practice. Film shows a slow get off but he’s strong enough to still be impactful.
3) Line up early. Hand in dirt, cleats set, ready to go. His goal should be the first one down & the first one off, once snapped.

This is the difference between being a really good player and an elite difference maker. Will be specifically watching for this improvement over the next few games.

 

[GatorTruth133]

You're right about that. New center and two new tackles. On the re-watch, we did get pentration, but many times lost contain. Also, Utah did a lot of rolling out. We were unlucky in that we had several blitzes that were nullified because the playcall had a roll out coming away from the blitz. Perhaps it was recognized, but I don't think some were. As much as I thought Utah's O-line with 2 new starters might have issues, their new OL had several starters last year and some experience. UK is starting multiple freshmen on their line.

 

[oxrageous]

Kentucky's O-Line is better than Utahs's.

26 carries for 50 yards against Miami of Ohio. If you remove the negative yards for the QB rushes, their RB's had 19 carries for 68 yards.

 

[FireFoley]

Is the Wingo kid still on the team? Seem to remember people were ecstatic about him and his 5 stars.

 

[williston_gator]

Just like with your mom, they need to wrap up when they tackle.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Utah is built from the ground up to run and Whittingham has it down to a science. KY is disciplined but their line doesn't stack up to Utah's

 

[Defend the Swamp]

Appreciate the response. Not taking this as argumentative at all. I love talking technique, scheming, and design. I just see it differently.

1) Didn’t see an overly complicated blocking scheme. Lining up that far off the ball actually hurt our overall positioning based on the post snap positioning of the other three linemen (and LB’s). Of course I wasn’t in the prep meetings but this seems too much of a reach to think lining up that deep was intended.
2) If the intent was read & react, then sure, don’t fire out. Can’t imagine that was the intent. If so, we’re going to get run on all year. The best defenses in the league have interior lineman that are penetrating & disruptive that invariably open up fill lanes for LB’s. (But disciplined, design penetration.) If our coaches are teaching our best interior lineman to squat, they’re missing one hell of an opportunity.
3)Way too many times the DL not lined up in time. I see this as a leftover from Grantham, and a product of being gassed. I get the communication angle but, I’ve seen more plays made by a ready, fast-reacting defense than one that’s still moving around when the ball is snapped. Case in point, all linemen standing, LB’s looking away from the QB/backfield, corners looking back at safeties, ball snapped…touchdown run

Will be extremely interested in watching how this defense develops with different opponents/schemes.

 

[Defend the Swamp]

I read somewhere that GD played, by far, the most snaps. High adrenaline, exhausting effort. And still, loved his punch and effort. Not surprised old (bad) habits surfaced. But, as stated, these are easily coachable.
Will see but, predict he will be developed into the monster we think.
Not ready to throw the coaches under the bus quite yet. They’re more likely less worried about GD during the game than any of the other ten. But I would LOVE to be in the film room with them to see how they address.

 

[Defend the Swamp]

Same. Amazing amount of plays with no breather. He deserves much respect.

Will be watching his technique closely this season. And interested to see who steps up around him. He can’t do it alone.

 

[5-Star Finger]

Yeah, I was underwhelmed. I agree, I think it is all of the above.

 

[jdh5484]