Thoughts on the defense

[IndyIUFan66]

First , Allen is in his wheelhouse on D and I think Chad Witt as DC in training, are going to do a really nice job together.

I won’t name every player, but here are some specific standouts as well as some position group notes after game one win, that most of the credit goes to the defense on this one:

D-Line:
JH Tevis - he’s a vet, got good penetration and simply taking on double teams to allow others to make plays. Glad he’s here!

Beau Robbins - He has bulked up to truly B10 size and his former 4* talent now has the frame to go with it. Not sure if he played more bc Head was out or not but think he is now fully in the rotation which more depth the better.

Bryant - don’t underestimate job he is doing now, gets good pressure on the offense.

DL rotation: lot of guys playing, think they are going to keep getting better and are B10 level position group.

Jones - Talk about taking the baton from McFadden. He is a stud and a great leader. Huge asset played superb game.

#5 Jennings - He was highly productive last night. Great pick up.

#0 McCollough - still a tad slim but a great athlete who covers a lot of ground. More to come as he gets more experience ahead.

LB room: Casey was strong too. Good athletes here but think we need to get (and will see) more production from the back ups.

Sanguinetti - He has emerged as a real contributor, kind of like Robbins, he has played his way into the regular rotation.

Pierre - wow is he productive! Big hitter, nose for the ball. Like him a lot!

Mullen/J Will - strong corner play.

DB room: many are contributing here, and it’s still probably IU’s deepest position group on the team.

As the adage goes “big jump from game 1 to game 2” - I think our defense was strong in game one and if they can keep learning, growing & improving, they could have a special year ahead.

 

[DCDAVID]

We don’t come close to winning that game without our D. Lots of positives as you note. If there is a criticism it was that some of the tackling was sloppier than I have seen from IU since the Wilson days. First “contact” game so hopefully that turns around next game.

 

[Hoosiers Rising]

The D was good but not great. Room for some improvement but I don’t see a lockdown D against P5 teams. D Line got mauled last night.

 

[ThreeToMakeTwo]

The D was just good enough. Whew!

 

[TMFT]

First , Allen is in his wheelhouse on D and I think Chad Witt as DC in training, are going to do a really nice job together.

I won’t name every player, but here are some specific standouts as well as some position group notes after game one win, that most of the credit goes to the defense on this one:

D-Line:
JH Tevis - he’s a vet, got good penetration and simply taking on double teams to allow others to make plays. Glad he’s here!

Beau Robbins - He has bulked up to truly B10 size and his former 4* talent now has the frame to go with it. Not sure if he played more bc Head was out or not but think he is now fully in the rotation which more depth the better.

Bryant - don’t underestimate job he is doing now, gets good pressure on the offense.

DL rotation: lot of guys playing, think they are going to keep getting better and are B10 level position group.

Jones - Talk about taking the baton from McFadden. He is a stud and a great leader. Huge asset played superb game.

#5 Jennings - He was highly productive last night. Great pick up.

#0 McCollough - still a tad slim but a great athlete who covers a lot of ground. More to come as he gets more experience ahead.

LB room: Casey was strong too. Good athletes here but think we need to get (and will see) more production from the back ups.

Sanguinetti - He has emerged as a real contributor, kind of like Robbins, he has played his way into the regular rotation.

Pierre - wow is he productive! Big hitter, nose for the ball. Like him a lot!

Mullen/J Will - strong corner play.

DB room: many are contributing here, and it’s still probably IU’s deepest position group on the team.

As the adage goes “big jump from game 1 to game 2” - I think our defense was strong in game one and if they can keep learning, growing & improving, they could have a special year ahead.

I think McCullough is going to be really versatile for them this year. They had him lined up all over and his quickness allows them to use him on all kinds of stunts without taking himself out of the play.

Honestly, for me the Cinci game is going to be my measuring stick. I don’t think they’ll be nearly as good as last year. But UI is run heavy. WKU is pass heavy. I want to see how they do against a “normal” offense they’ll see equivalents of.

I still think the defense is very similar in talent and execution as last year, probably actually a little more talent, particularly on the DL. And I can’t get over how critical it is to be able to get a pass rush with 4-5 vs 6. If they come out fired up next week against Idaho it’s going to be a blood bath.

 

[82hoosier]

I'm hoping that the defensive lapses are a function of only scrimmaging three times prior to playing the three games. And not just scrimmaging but running 90+ plays like they would in an actual game.

Shriver was decleated on the first play of the Illinois game probably because they ran a play that just did not work. It would have been ironic if he was out for a number of games because coach Allen was concerned about players getting hurt in practice.

If that is the case then the Hoosiers should continue to get better through on the job training. Reminds me of professor Harold Hill in The Music Man with Robert Preston telling his band members to use the think system.

The Hoosiers getting 15 points this Saturday against Cincinnati - wtf? I'm hoping that the Hoosiers incorporate more bubble screens etc into their running game. I still miss Lee Corso's shovel passes!

 

[Crossblock]

My biggest problem with the Defense is the number of Plays they have given up for 20 yards or more. I believe there were 8 or 10 plays against WKU that went for that distance. I'm not sure how much of that lies with Us and how much with WKU. W KU is one of the few teams I see who can consistently use the width of the field to set up and run their Offense. When We try to do that, it seems like We throw a WR Receiver Bubble Screen or something else wide just to do it, but never come back off of it to open big plays in the middle of the field.

We need to get several consecutive Series of 3 and outs. It would also hope that An official gives us a call to close out a series, I am still trying to figure out How the ball carrier Aaron Casey tackled in the end zone who fell side ways was ruled to have made it out of the end zone.

 

[IndyIUFan66]

Stopping back g long plays is huge need for IU. Think everyone can be vulnerable to at least 1-2 big plays a game, but keep it manageable.

Think McCollough could have a coming out party against a true contender level team being on the big stage. Sure hope so.

Think if we can get to 3 takeaways we can win this one! TBD

 

[Radio Zero]

Stopping back g long plays is huge need for IU. Think everyone can be vulnerable to at least 1-2 big plays a game, but keep it manageable.

Think McCollough could have a coming out party against a true contender level team being on the big stage. Sure hope so.

Think if we can get to 3 takeaways we can win this one! TBD

TA said on his radio show tonight that three is the goal.

 

[vesuvius13]

I have to wonder if rotating players in so much is causing the lapse in defense. They play great down in the red zone so far giving me hope that they will do that in the other parts of the field. This is the week to play a full game by all parts of the team.