Unleashing CTR's Defense

[PBR549]

I think he has potential and improved as the season went along last year. He's aggressive although sometimes over runs his fill lane. He also showed improvement in pass defense and the zone coverages we played most of the time were beneficial to his ability level. He's the best lber we have and I expect him to be much improved this season. We can work with someone who is tough and aggressive like BM. It wouldn't surprise me if he ended up being all ACC.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I think BM has a higher ceiling than PJD had and I was a PJD fan. I believe there is some truth to both @33jacket and @PBR549 critique of him.

This will be the first year I consider him to be a seasoned player. How good the 4 guys in front of him play will have a large bearing on how well he and the rest of the LBers play.

 

[33jacket]

I think BM has a higher ceiling than PJD had and I was a PJD fan. I believe there is some truth to both @33jacket and @PBR549 critique of him.

This will be the first year I consider him to be a seasoned player. How good the 4 guys in front of him play will have a large bearing on how well he and the rest of the LBers play.

BM was the ideal type of LB you would want inside in the early 1990s. However, my view is, today, he becomes more situational due to what offenses do now.....

 

[MidtownJacket]

I just hope we do a better job this year disguising covfefe

Dude.. I am going to have to just change my sig to the AE 87 Wall of Fame - your snark is on point!

 

[Techster]

BM was the ideal type of LB you would want inside in the early 1990s. However, my view is, today, he becomes more situational due to what offenses do now.....

Yup...been saying that for a while. Classic MLB playing in the wrong era where spread teams are so prevalent. No way he should have been playing in a 2 LB scheme with so much space to cover. Covering space is Brant's primary weakness. Not his fault...coaches need to do a better job of helping him or scheming to disguise his weaknesses.

I do think that if reports of us going to 3 set, or 5 man hybrid LB/DB set is true, you'll see a different Brant if he's playing inside. He excels if he can "see ball, destroy ball", but will struggle if there are too many people in his space.

 

[Techster]

This thread...

 

[DvilleJacket]

Can't remember which coach it was but he said BM is the best talent we have on defense. Said he would be a different player this season.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Defense, in my opinion, has a low ceiling for improvement. I do believe some slight improvement is possible, but I don't see the raw talent or depth to expect anymore than a slight incremental improvement. But, just my opinion.

 

[CuseJacket]

It is interesting to me that 1) this thread title is not "Unleashing CPJ's Defense" and 2) no one made that comment already.

Not meant to be pointed or anything. Just food for thought and maybe another angle for discussion?

 

[dressedcheeseside]

It is interesting to me that 1) this thread title is not "Unleashing CPJ's Defense" and 2) no one made that comment already.

Not meant to be pointed or anything. Just food for thought and maybe another angle for discussion?

It's not his defense. CPJ has ownership of the O because he is his own OC, not because he is the HC.

 

[CuseJacket]

It's not his defense. CPJ has ownership of the O because he is his own OC, not because he is the HC.

I'd be interested to hear if others agree or disagree that this is not CPJ's defense and that he does not own the D. Like I said in my last post, it's interesting that no one mentioned it.

 

[4shotB]

It's not his defense.

very strongly disagree with this. he is the head coach...it's his roster, assistants, special teams. D, O, etc. Sure he prefers the O but you can't be the head ball coach and not own the whole darn thing. Like it or not, it comes with the territory and paycheck.

 

[alentrekin]

It's not his defense. CPJ has ownership of the O because he is his own OC, not because he is the HC.

I also disagree. He may prefer to delegate D, but it's all his. And he'll even get tactical -- e.g. going into all of the D meetings last year and deciding to simplify.

 

[redmule]

I think BM has a higher ceiling than PJD had and I was a PJD fan. I believe there is some truth to both @33jacket and @PBR549 critique of him.

This will be the first year I consider him to be a seasoned player. How good the 4 guys in front of him play will have a large bearing on how well he and the rest of the LBers play.

I remember Keith Brooking's first two years. Actually, I don't remember much at all about his first two years. He did OK, I guess. Now his second two years, I remember those very well.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Of course he's the head coach so everything is his, but that's not the point. The D is Roof's design and implementation. The coordinators specialize in one side of the ball or the other. The head coach oversees the two. If you guys don't see any role specialization in the coaching structure, I can't help you. There's no wonder to me nobody questioned the thread title till post #49 when somebody wanted to argue semantics instead of talk defense.

 

[AE 87]

It is interesting to me that 1) this thread title is not "Unleashing CPJ's Defense" and 2) no one made that comment already.

Not meant to be pointed or anything. Just food for thought and maybe another angle for discussion?

When moderators troll ... what to do?

 

[RLR]

It is interesting to me that 1) this thread title is not "Unleashing CPJ's Defense" and 2) no one made that comment already.

Not meant to be pointed or anything. Just food for thought and maybe another angle for discussion?

Resident board preseason optimist, reporting for duty.

DLine.

• I've been saying Antonio Simmons is League since he was a freshman. I'll up it for his senior year - he could be a first round draft pick. Laugh all you want. He DOMINATED at times last year. Why the hell he didn't play more, IDK. He's so quick off the line. Watch his HS highlights in Florida. Kid could have played ABack for us. His stats don't tell the story of how much disruption this kid causes. 6'3 240 4.5 4o = Bruce Irvin. I think Simmons could run a 4.5 at pro day.
• Freeman, Branch, Adams, Anree all really nice players with different skillsets. enough has been said, here.
• Expecting a big jump from KCH. Also think Glanton has showed flashes in limited playing time. guy has great hands.
• Also, back in the Eric days, I remember him being very high on merriweather. so, i holdout hope for a breakout.

LBs

• BM has been discussed enough.
• Vic Alexander hits as hard as PJ. if Vic hits a pile, the play is over. He's looked slow in games. not speed slow, but processing / playing slow. seems like that's fixable.
• Terrell Lewis looks like an LSU backer...and had an offer from LSU out of HS. IDK why we don't play him more. I remember him & simmions dominating against pitt & then lewis got a penalty & was taken out of the game & i swear he played a lot less after that (or i stopped noticing him)
• Don't forget about Cooskey (sp?). guy looked great out of HS and had a good spring.
• SPEED! I don't care if they are freshmen. we got kids with some decent size who can fly coming in. that's an asset. I think some of them contribute significantly this year.
• TD Roof's HS tape is stupid. He might me by favorite recruit.

DBs

• IDK if I've ever seen a defensive backfield group this deep or this talented since i've been at GT & good DBs have been the only constant on D.
• Dorian Walker was my favorite young player on the team & i almost forgot we lost him.
• AJ Gray paired with that head-hunter at safety? experienced SR DBs who've made big time plays in big time games? 6'1 step and 6'2 simmons? all the young bucks who look really promising? Sold.

Punter

• I take it back about TD Roof being my favorite recruit. . . you guys have seen our punter, right?
• You really want to play a game of field position against the triple-option? #DeathMarch

 

[Sideways]

Branch looked really good on the DL. I think the DL as a unit takes a huge step forward this year. I think between Brant Mitchell, Vic, TL, and BJS we will be solid and maybe one of them turns into a stud. Secondary I think will be really good especially if the pass rush improves.

I pray that this happens. I may be wrong but I just do not think we can continue to just out score teams like we have been doing in many cases. A good defense covers a multitude of mistakes and always gives you a chance. Maybe this is the year we have a truly good, if not great defense. In my humble opinion, we will go as far as our defense takes us. No more JT to bail us out we have to become more balanced and just play better on D. Some have said that we need "break out seasons" from Anree or Branch or whoever. Frankly, we need break out seasons from those two and several more including Mitchell, Lewis, among others and a few surprises from freshmen would really be nice.

 

[Sideways]

BM was the ideal type of LB you would want inside in the early 1990s. However, my view is, today, he becomes more situational due to what offenses do now.....

I agree with this assessment. However, it seemed to me that Brant was playing "faster" in the spring than I remember him doing so last fall. Others more knowledgeable may differ but that was my impression. FWIW

 

[lv20gt]

It is interesting to me that 1) this thread title is not "Unleashing CPJ's Defense" and 2) no one made that comment already.

Not meant to be pointed or anything. Just food for thought and maybe another angle for discussion?

What's interesting about it? It's the way people, fans and otherwise, have viewed our HC since he was hired.