10. We return 8 starters.

 

9. The guys who were not starters last year Blanton, Nix, and Shembo may very well be upgrades from last year.

 

8. All these guys will be in the 2nd year of the Longo Program.

 

7. Our corners are as good as I can remember. They are tough in run support and give the good coverage to allow our front seven to get to the QB.

 

6. The Defense Line will have added depth to rotate players to keep them fresh. DE will rotate Ethan, KLM, Kona, Lynch, and Tuitt. DT will rotate Cwynar, Hafis, and Nix.

 

5. Darius Fleming ... I believe Fleming will make the same improvement Harrison made last year. Fleming went from the Shembo role of put your hand on the ground and go get the QB to having to know when to drop into coverage and when to attack the LOS. His reaction time will be quicker this year so that he can be the impact player he should already be.

 

4. This isn't really the way you want your defense to improve but the best teams we play lost key members of their offensive line.

BC lost Castonzo (3rd ranked OT in draft) Clainborne OG (All-ACC HM), & Lapham OT

USC lost Tyron Smith (1st ranked OT in draft), Lewis OG and Dowd OC (HM all-pac10)

MSU lost Young OT (2nd Team All Big10) Deane OT, and Stipek OC

Air Force loses a OG and a OT

Mich losses Schilling OG (all- Big10 HM) and Dorrestien OT

Stanford Loses Beeler OC (1st team All pac10), + Phillips OG & Hall OT (both HM all-pac10)

Pitt loses Pinkston OT (1st Team All Big East) and Karabin OC

Maryland loses Pinegar OT (All-ACC HM)

Navy loses an OT but mainly they lost Dobbs the QB

South Florida loses Sims OT (1st team Big East) and Genus OC (1st team Big East) plus their other OT Bass.

 

3. SENIORS!!!! Cwynar, KLM, Ethan, Fleming, Gray, Blanton, Harrison, Slaughter ... We will have at least seven seniors on the field on defense. I never will forget the quote from Ara saying for every Freshman you have starting you can add a loss. In general, I believe a 3-star senior will beat a 5-star freshman. If nothing else, a senior knows this is his last year to get it done. One of Weis' problems was he was always playing with underclassman as his best players. That does not work. Underclassman should be getting on the field enough to allow them to get experience like Shembo last year. But not be counted on to win games like Clausen, Te'o, Floyd, Rudolph, Armondo, etc under the Wies years.

 

2. We will be playing the same defense for the 2nd straight year. Something we have not done for what ... 6 years? Maybe this one should be at the top of the list. This allows guys to react quicker because they don't have to think as much.

 

1. Manti ... He was only a Soph last year. I believe he will be an All-American this year .

Edited April 6, 201114 yr by GeorgiaIrishFanChuck

Works for me, although I don't know that Nix is technically a starter, so I think ND returns 9 starters on D.

 

A few things I would add.

 

Better offensive production.

 

Hopefully some longer drives will result in more rest. Scoring more and getting some leads will make teams one dimensional. Even non-scoring drives should pick up some yards keeping positive field position for both O and D.

 

Competition and Young athletes. Guys like Spond pushing Shembo. Nix pushing Cwynar. Moore pushing Calabrese. Lynch, Tuitt, Ishaq et al may not play too much, but they provide competition. Don't think those older guys don't know they aren't there. Last year most of the guys on D were there pretty much be default. That isn't the case now.

Edited April 6, 201114 yr by corysold

Plus hopefully we do better on field position next year with an improved return game.

[quote=GeorgiaIrishFanChuck;344494 Underclassman should be getting on the field enough to allow them to get experience like Shembo last year. But not be counted on to win games like Clausen, Te'o, Floyd, Rudolph, Armondo, etc under the Wies years.

.

 

excellent point. Think of how tiny Brian Smith, Fleming, Mondo, Clausen etc were when they were thrown out there against G Tech / Michigan their freshmen years. clausen and smith even tweeted recently about how far over their heads they were. The experience and strength and conditioning of a senior are invaluable when compared to a true freshman.

Like all of these reasons. Can't wait for the BG game, for nothing else but seeing these guys in some sort of action.

 

Alex

#4's argument is invalid.

 

We lose players every year, but we say the guys behind them are upgrades, or "next man in" Could the same not be said for the other teams?

 

Remember, Michigan, Stanford, Pitt, USC, and now MSU recruit just about the same athletes ND does. you can argue that ND is a little bit better in terms of ranking, but it's hardly by a wide margin.

Top Ten reasons our defense will be even better:

 

1)---Manti Teo

2)---Ethan Johnson

3)---Gary Gray

4)---KLM

5)--Darius Flemming

6)--Harrison Smith

7)--Loius Nix

--Prince Shembo

9)--Kona Shwenke

10)--Robert Blanton

 

10 + 10

 

11)--Aaron Lynch

12)--Zeke Motta

13)--Sean Cwynar

14)--Hafis Williams

15)--Danny Spond

16)--Jamoris Slaughter

17)--Ishaq Williams

18)--Carlo Calabrese

19)--Steve Filer

20)---Bennet Jackson

 

Too much talent not to be better!!

 

aloha's

Lynch and Williams need to learn how to practice before they can even think about playing time. I don't think Diaco is gonna have them playing this year.

They want both guys to play --its likely important for the future

 

Kelly on Lynch--" We're going to make sure he gets on the field and uses his ability "

 

Kelly on ishaq---Both of those guys in the fall will be able to line up for us and compete.--But we will only do it if they can play full speed and not have to think "----

 

Fall camp should get the bugs out nicely for the EEs---expect both guys to see action as kelly builds experience for 2012--Expect Lynch to have an IMPACT as a pass rusher!

 

aloha's go irish

Lynch and Williams need to learn how to practice before they can even think about playing time. I don't think Diaco is gonna have them playing this year.

 

Coach Kelly has said that they will play this year in limited roles (like Shembo last year).

Coach Kelly has said that they will play this year in limited roles (like Shembo last year).

 

Diaco says other wise... Don't get me wrong I will love to see them play but if they arn't going make a impact I rather them not burn a year

Works for me, although I don't know that Nix is technically a starter, so I think ND returns 9 starters on D.

 

A few things I would add.

 

Better offensive production.

 

Hopefully some longer drives will result in more rest. Scoring more and getting some leads will make teams one dimensional. Even non-scoring drives should pick up some yards keeping positive field position for both O and D.

 

Competition and Young athletes. Guys like Spond pushing Shembo. Nix pushing Cwynar. Moore pushing Calabrese. Lynch, Tuitt, Ishaq et al may not play too much, but they provide competition. Don't think those older guys don't know they aren't there. Last year most of the guys on D were there pretty much be default. That isn't the case now.

 

I read this today:

 

*NT Louis Nix opened practice taking reps with the first team

I read this today:

 

You and your facts.

The keys to this season are on defense: applying pressure on the quarterback which should cause more turnovers. I think the opposition will be throwing an abundance of passes this year because I don't fear any of their running games except of course Navy's triple option. Stopping Army's triple option is one thing, stopping Navy's is a completely different animal. Until we do this I will always fear their running game.

 

The keys on offense are: scoring more TD's once they reach the red zone. Field goals are good but everyone knows it's TD's that can change momentum in any game. I feel this team will be able to move the ball but red zone scoring offense really scares me. The other key, like any year is limiting turnovers.

It sounds like it was a rough practice today. Lotta people got thrown under the bus in some form or fashion. Ishaq for learning how to practice, Lynch for cheating some of his drills, Calabrese for just about everything... I wouldn't start forecasting redshirts for the EE defenders, just the same as I wouldn't project them as starters after a great practice either.

 

Check out Diaco's interview with II if you get a chance on their Vimeo page. Still looking for quality depth it sounds like, particularly at S, ILB, and maybe even DL (which I don't worry too much about in the grand scheme of things). Again, a rough practice though by most accounts, so I wouldn't panic if I were you.

Wish I had read this earlier. Very good post GeorgiaIrish. I pretty much agree with all your points. We sure have become defensive minded on this site......and for good reason. Lots of good points here.

Diaco says other wise... Don't get me wrong I will love to see them play but if they arn't going make a impact I rather them not burn a year

 

He also said not one single player was ready to play at a high level... Those kids will play. If Lynch is as athletic as advertised, they should get on the field. Don't get me wrong, I love EJ and KLM but they have not proven to be great pass rushers. If we can throw Lynch in there for pass rushing situation (like a Prince), that sounds good to me.

Diaco says other wise... Don't get me wrong I will love to see them play but if they arn't going make a impact I rather them not burn a year

 

 

Guys like Aaron Lynch don't spend 5 years in college. We will be lucky if we see him play as a senior.

It sounds like it was a rough practice today. Lotta people got thrown under the bus in some form or fashion. Ishaq for learning how to practice, Lynch for cheating some of his drills, Calabrese for just about everything... I wouldn't start forecasting redshirts for the EE defenders, just the same as I wouldn't project them as starters after a great practice either.

 

Check out Diaco's interview with II if you get a chance on their Vimeo page. Still looking for quality depth it sounds like, particularly at S, ILB, and maybe even DL (which I don't worry too much about in the grand scheme of things). Again, a rough practice though by most accounts, so I wouldn't panic if I were you.

 

You gotta break the individuals down before you can build the team up!! Sounds like typical military boot camp tactics. You don't want them to have "good" practices every day and get overconfident or stop working hard. You need to keep stoking their fire.

The keys to this season are on defense: applying pressure on the quarterback which should cause more turnovers. I think the opposition will be throwing an abundance of passes this year because I don't fear any of their running games except of course Navy's triple option. Stopping Army's triple option is one thing, stopping Navy's is a completely different animal. Until we do this I will always fear their running game. QUOTE]

 

i understand what you're saying about navy, but i think 1 factor that works against them is they dont have dobbs anymore. that guy was good. he was an athletic senior who had played quarterback in that option for several seasons. he was also a smart kid who knew what to choose correctly more often than not.

 

dont get me wrong, we defensed it poorly by not taking away the fullback. still i think navy will not be nearly as effective because i doubt whoever is their starting quarterback will be as good as dobbs.

You gotta break the individuals down before you can build the team up!! Sounds like typical military boot camp tactics. You don't want them to have "good" practices every day and get overconfident or stop working hard. You need to keep stoking their fire.

 

completely agree with this statement. I used to coach volleyball and you can't let them become content. Keep pushing