Vastly Improved Defense

[NatiHoosier]

Although it has yet to really show up on the stat sheets, I truly believe this is a much improved defense through the course of the last few weeks. I think the addition of Darius and Ralph back into the mix was huge, but more so the strides made by the secondary; these boys look pretty legit. Although Fant sometimes misses a tackle, he has shown glimpses of lockdown pass coverage. I don't think we could ask much more of such a young secondary.

 

[crossfire74]

Although it has yet to really show up on the stat sheets, I truly believe this is a much improved defense through the course of the last few weeks. I think the addition of Darius and Ralph back into the mix was huge, but more so the strides made by the secondary; these boys look pretty legit. Although Fant sometimes misses a tackle, he has shown glimpses of lockdown pass coverage. I don't think we could ask much more of such a young secondary.

We have certainly improved in many phases from game 1 and from last year. We still need some things before I really begin to feel comfortable with this D, but Knorr is done a pretty good job of making up for the things we don't have by varying schemes, blitzes, keeping people fresh, etc. We've been opportunistic, which is great to see.

 

[turney333]

Still be no means a "good" defense, but yes greatly improved. Perhaps a "good enough" defense.

One big thing is that this defense appears to have legitimate depth across the board which I don't think we've had since the early 90s. We don't have the handful of big time playmakers like typical mid-level B1G defenses have on the 1st string, but our 2nd string is generally comparable to mid level B1G teams.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

I like the aggressiveness of the DBs. I can recall the days of giving the 15 yards cushions on every down. I hope we don't get away from that.
That said, we get burned a lot. Can't help but wonder if we would give up so many 70+ yard passes with veterans like Antonio Allen and Michael Hunter back there?
A lot of confusion among the frosh DBs right now.

 

[oldcougar77]

I like the aggressiveness of the DBs. I can recall the days of giving the 15 yards cushions on every down. I hope we don't get away from that.
That said, we get burned a lot. Can't help but wonder if we would give up so many 70+ yard passes with veterans like Antonio Allen and Michael Hunter back there?
A lot of confusion among the frosh DBs right now.

This is why I like the direction of the program. We are playing without 3 experienced guys ( 4 if you count Dutra) in Allen, Hunter, and Clark that were projected to be starters in our secondary. In past years that would have meant major position shifts - moving linebackers to safety and receivers to corner, etc. that weakened our depth considerably.

Now we are able to recruit at a level that allows us to plug in young players natural to those positions and still compete. It's too bad that we couldn't redshirt some of these young guys or play them more sparingly to allow them to grow, but it hasn't devastated us. We will have to live with some of the mistakes they are going to make and at some point those mistakes will probably cost us a game. Still, they have shown that they can compete and make big plays and are not totally out of place. They have the skill set and instincts to grow into those starting roles sooner rather than later. Hopefully by the middle of conference play they are playing at a high level and making fewer mistakes. If they can cut down on the big miscues that lead directly to opponents' scores, we can win a lot of games.

 

[82hoosier]

The defense is still, statistically, one of the worst in the country after 3 games.

 

[Tegray1]

I like the aggressiveness of the DBs. I can recall the days of giving the 15 yards cushions on every down. I hope we don't get away from that.
That said, we get burned a lot. Can't help but wonder if we would give up so many 70+ yard passes with veterans like Antonio Allen and Michael Hunter back there?
A lot of confusion among the frosh DBs right now.

Hunter wasn't as athletic as these freshmen nor as physical. Brown, Williams, Crawford, and Cook all have closing speed.

 

[wakeman26]

The D made huge improvements last year from the beginning of the season to the last, I am hopeful we will see it again over the course of this year.

As far as the secondary, and losing people at corner... I have seen less dropoff than I expected (and I didn't expect as much as some to begin with). Bennett and Hunter were.... average. Current corners, slightly below average but way more upside. And it is showing up in the TO margin. IU has always given up big plays on blown coverages and missed tackles. Happened all the time last year. At least this year for most of those, this secondary has responded with a huge play of their own which was not the case before.. Bennett didn't give us anything Fant hasn't, thus far. He is still a bit undersized but his reactions are great. Cook is a better nickel this year than Fant was last year. Brown has made/missed as many plays as Hunter did.

Antonio Allen we miss, but how much? From my estimates, Crawford has the same # of career interceptions through 3 games as Allen had through 2 seasons. He is more rangy and athletic, and seems to grasp the basics of safety a lot better than Allen did. AA spent his HS days headhunting, not covering. And too often he tried to do the same at IU.

The talent pool keeps getting better and better.

Not saying we have a great D, but echoing OldCougar that the direction of the program, and even the secondary, is trending in the right direction.

 

[Hoosiers Rising]

These DB's are going to be good. Nice to get them experience while we have a powerful offense. Who knows what kind of O we will have next year.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

Hunter wasn't as athletic as these freshmen nor as physical. Brown, Williams, Crawford, and Cook all have closing speed.

I tend to agree. Probably just knew coverages better. I did some quick research and saw where Hunter is not a starter at Oklahoma State but does get some rotation. He had no stats in their 2nd game but had some tackles against UTSA in their blowout win. So much for going there and becoming an instant starter.

 

[GoIUHoosiers]

The defense is still, statistically, one of the worst in the country after 3 games.

I wonder where sit without the SIU game when we were playing without key starters? The Wake coach mentioned that we're now full strength on D. I'd bet we're not in the 100's based on games two and three.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

We lead the country in "pass deflections" at the line of scrimmage.....and Coach Tom Crean is taking note of this!