H-O-L-D...

Hold that line!

Defense

In the last post I gave my thoughts on this year’s offense. Now for my thoughts on the 2010 defense.

It is no secret that one of the biggest weaknesses on the 2009 team was the defense. It is also no secret that the jury is still out on Ted Roof due to the team’s performance. I am willing to give Roof a pass for now. The 2009 defense had to be the thinnest and most injury prone unit I have ever seen. Many will blame the Bama loss on the defense but again I give Roof and the defense a pass here. When it came to the Bama game we were so thin we were playing a true freshman undersized linebacker beside 2 other linebackers who hadn’t sat for a snap since sometime in early September. We had no backups in the secondary because the backups were the starting safeties. I read somewhere after that game that something like 26 Bama players recorded a defensive stat while something like 16 AU players recorded a defensive stat. Keep in mind 11 play at a time. Bottom line – this group was tired and had absolutely no depth. We were 1 injury away from recruiting frat boys from the stands to fill in at linebacker. A pulse and a pair of cleats would have gotten you a spot on the 2 deep last year at linebacker or safety.

The primary focus of the 2010 recruiting class was to increase depth on defense and the coaches certainly achieved this goal. The fact that we have a warm body to place on the field means that this year’s defense will be improved. Do I expect significant improvement? No, while we have added depth they are inexperienced. While this group of freshman is extremely talented, inexperience in the SEC can spell trouble and it is this reason alone that I believe AU will lose 2-3 games. I’ll go through each position and discuss whether we are upgraded, worse or the same as last year.


Defensive Line – Same. We lose one of the best pass rushers in AU history in Antonio Coleman and that is a huge loss. However we have some VERY talented freshman providing key depth here. I also really like Nick Fairley who will start this year at tackle. Watch for this guy to spend lots of time in opponents’ backfields. If this unit plays together and we develop 2 great pass rushers this defense will be just fine. Remember the names Lemonier and Whitaker as I look for them to develop quickly into very solid players.

 

Linebacker – Upgraded. As I discussed above, this unit is upgraded just because we have warm bodies to provide depth. A bonus is the fact that again these freshmen are EXTREMELY talented and will be a significant strength of this team for some time. Coming back are Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens and both are solid linebackers. This year Darren Bates moves from safety to linebacker and I love the move. Bates can flat out hit somebody. Oh and by the way he is fast! While he may be on the small side, anytime you can move a guy with a nose for the football, who can hit hard, closer to the ball it is a good thing. Look for this group to be a very strong part of this defense if they all stay healthy. If Bynes and Stevens go down however, we could be in trouble with inexperience leading the way.

 

Secondary – Upgraded. Again the presence of any depth whatsoever improves this group; however I am still very concerned about this group’s depth. On the bright side Aaron Savage and Zac Etheridge both return at safety and Mike McNeil provides some great depth at this position. Neiko Thorpe and Demond Washington are solid corners but Neiko needs to continue to grow and improve. T’sharvan Bell provides good depth and a nickelback option, however behind him is again inexperience. This group MUST stay healthy and will rely on the DL to put some pressure on opposing QBs.

 

Overall we are improved if for no other reason than depth. However I am very concerned about the lack of experience as most backups are true freshman. If these guys mature quickly and there are relatively few injuries then this Defense will be just fine with solid depth. If there are injuries especially at a few key positions (CB) then we are in for a long defensive season. That being said, if you read my comments on the offense earlier I think they can score enough to keep us in most games. However a quick paced Malzahn offense means the Defense will likely be on the field a lot. Lastly remember Chizik has presided over 2 championship defenses (04 AU and 05 Texas) and I truly believe that he and Ted Roof will have this group playing much better and just having Chizik on the sideline makes me feel much better.