Am I the only one worried about the Defense?

[El Paso Eagle]

I understand most us us don't really know what going on behind the scenes and it's way too soon to panic, but was hoping to see more immediate help from the portal on the defensive side of the ball. I know there is still another round in May, but it would have been nice to have them here for the Spring. Right now I am having visions of "Air Raid" defense syndrom where are going to be in a lot of high scoring games.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

Surface level, yes, I am worried about the defense we currently have. However; I'm sure there are many things going on behind the scenes and moves being made. There is along time before the season starts and still time for many things to happen before then so I'm sure they'll continue to find ways to plug holes

[El Paso Eagle]

40 minutes ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

Surface level, yes, I am worried about the defense we currently have. However; I'm sure there are many things going on behind the scenes and moves being made. There is along time before the season starts and still time for many things to happen before then so I'm sure they'll continue to find ways to plug holes

Agree. After Spring ball there will be another wave of transfers. Hopefully this will allow the staff to take a look at how our players transition to the new defense and have a better understanding where we need to add help.

[97and03]

I think we are all justifiably terrified of what might happen on D. We are losing some key guys from a terrible defense and the replacements aren’t overwhelming. The defensive coaches are woefully inexperienced and we didn’t bring in an experienced DC to lead them. I am particularly worried about the secondary, as Jennings wasn’t impressive the first time here and the CB coach is the DC who will be busy designing a new defensive scheme. Not to mention we might lose our best CB with no current replacement or obvious depth. 

[DeepGreen]

Remember the phrase I coined years ago, "Defense Wins Championships".   Well, I could have coined that phrase!!

[SilverEagle]

48 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

Remember the phrase I coined years ago, "Defense Wins Championships".   Well, I could have coined that phrase!!

It's a good thing for the Cowboys that the phrase isn't "perfect kicking wins Championships"

[jtm0097]

We are losing 4 starters on defense KD Davis, DeShawn Gaddie, Quinn Whitlock, and Sean Thomas-Faulkner. 

Potential Replacements:

Jordan Brown or Kevin Wood at LB

Phil Hill at S

Nick Nakwassah at S

Lorenzo Thompson at CB?

Not sure who will replace Faulkner, Whitlock, or Gaddie. Granted we will be running a 3-3-5, so the positions will change up a little bit. Phil Hill (UNLV) and Nick Nakwassah (Central Arkansas) started prior to getting hurt.

Damon Youngblood is another guy that we just signed. He should compete for playing time in the secondary.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by jtm0097

[97and03]

7 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

We are losing 4 starters on defense KD Davis, DeShawn Gaddie, Quinn Whitlock, and Sean Thomas-Faulkner. 

Potential Replacements:

Jordan Brown or Kevin Wood at LB

Phil Hill at S

Nick Nakwassah at S

Lorenzo Thompson at CB?

Not sure who will replace Faulkner, Whitlock, or Gaddie. Granted we will be running a 3-3-5, so the positions will change up a little bit. Phil Hill (UNLV) and Nick Nakwassah (Central Arkansas) prior to getting hurt on the roster as well. 

Damon Youngblood is another guy that we just signed. He should compete for playing time in the secondary.

 

At LB keep in mind that we don’t know if we need another true LB or if it will be a hybrid pass rusher like in the last defensive scheme. If we have three true LBs, that makes us a little thin there. Wood and Brown are solid and experienced but we recruited that third LB spot to be an edge rusher primarily who had some LB responsibility.

[jtm0097]

11 minutes ago, 97and03 said:

At LB keep in mind that we don’t know if we need another true LB or if it will be a hybrid pass rusher like in the last defensive scheme. If we have three true LBs, that makes us a little thin there. Wood and Brown are solid and experienced but we recruited that third LB spot to be an edge rusher primarily who had some LB responsibility.

Nixon is another returning starter at LB. So Nixon, Brown, and Wood should all be able to contribute next year. Carson Kropp was a special teams guy, but he has decent size and played some at Oklahoma St.

Hopefully some of the guys from the 20 and 21 class can contribute at LB as well. A few names that come to mind are Ethan Wesloski, Jax Van Zandt, and Chris Wright. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by jtm0097

[Mike Jackson]

I have been worried about our defense since Mac's team started to decline after the Heart of Dallas Bowl.  🤷🏽‍♂️.   My preference has always been ,if forced to choose just one, to have a dynamic playmaking defense and an just an efficient offense.   You can scheme matchups on offense that favor your best players but on defense you are only as strong as your weakest link.  You need at least one great athlete at all 3 levels of the defense to really play game controlling defense.   On offense just give me an efficient QB and at least 3 good OL out of 5 and an really good OC should be able to cook up plays hitting those weak links on the defense.   You may not be able to get into the top 15 of the AP poll playing that way but you can win some G5 conference championships and bowl games for sure.

[glick1980]

Yes - need more playmakers at all levels on defense.

[UNTLifer]

3 hours ago, jtm0097 said:

We are losing 4 starters on defense KD Davis, DeShawn Gaddie, Quinn Whitlock, and Sean Thomas-Faulkner. 

Potential Replacements:

Jordan Brown or Kevin Wood at LB

Phil Hill at S

Nick Nakwassah at S

Lorenzo Thompson at CB?

Not sure who will replace Faulkner, Whitlock, or Gaddie. Granted we will be running a 3-3-5, so the positions will change up a little bit. Phil Hill (UNLV) and Nick Nakwassah (Central Arkansas) started prior to getting hurt.

Damon Youngblood is another guy that we just signed. He should compete for playing time in the secondary.

 

At safety, I would like to see some of the youngsters like Dillion Williams and Harold West get a shot.  They were both highly regarded coming out of high school.  I think with Hill committing, Nakwaasah recovering from injury, and Crosby returning after getting a lot of playing time, we could be alright.  At corner, Texada will return and then we can pick between Patrick Smith, Thompson, Davis, Wilson, and whoever else we bring in.  I think a change in scheme will help immensely.

[Okiefan]

3 hours ago, jtm0097 said:

Nixon is another returning starter at LB. So Nixon, Brown, and Wood should all be able to contribute next year. Carson Kropp was a special teams guy, but he has decent size and played some at Oklahoma St.

Hopefully some of the guys from the 20 and 21 class can contribute at LB as well. A few names that come to mind are Ethan Wesloski, Jax Van Zandt, and Chris Wright. 

In my opinion, If you look at the Iowa State scheme they have a true Mike linebacker that stays in the box for a true run fit responsibility. It looks like the Sam and Will backers are more flexible to blitz, cover, and fit. I think we have the backers to play the scheme. I see Nixon, Brown, and Wood as flex guys that can play Will/Sam as that is mainly what they have already done. Kropp and Wesloski would be good fits for Mike. Iowa State played a guy at 250 at Mike this year. Its good to have a number of experienced guys at LB that have been cover guys in the old scheme. Bennett played his hybrid "Devil" more like a DE at UNT then he did at Baylor or Arizona State. This Iowa State scheme allows more rush lanes and concepts to get to the QB. Excited to see it in action. 

[DentonLurker]

Maybe I’m naive, but I expect to see a much-improved defense with the Iowa State influence. Any coaches who have been instrumental in stopping the offenses in the Big XII have seen a lot more talent on the other side of the ball than they’ll see here.

Edited January 18, 2023 by DentonLurker

[Side.Show.Joe]

This won't be popular, but.... The Leach coaching tree has a reputation for fielding weak defenses. So, it is fair to be concerned until we see evidence that staff will contradict the stigma. We have added a few defensive players, but more are certainly needed. 

[El Paso Eagle]

1 hour ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

This won't be popular, but.... The Leach coaching tree has a reputation for fielding weak defenses. So, it is fair to be concerned until we see evidence that staff will contradict the stigma. We have added a few defensive players, but more are certainly needed. 

[wardly]

20 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

Maybe I’m naive, but I expect to see a much-improved defense with the Iowa State influence. Any coaches who have been instrumental in stopping the offenses in the Big XII have seen a lot more talent on the other side of the ball than they’ll see here.

In order to have a much improved defense we need much improved players. Replacing starters from a terrible defense with existing players who couldn't make the starting rotation won't get us to where we need to be.

[cousin oliver]

16 hours ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

This won't be popular, but.... The Leach coaching tree has a reputation for fielding weak defenses. So, it is fair to be concerned until we see evidence that staff will contradict the stigma. We have added a few defensive players, but more are certainly needed. 

That's sort of my concern with Caponi.  Can he recruit?  He certainly can coach but will he be able to land the athletes needed to succeed?

[DentonLurker]

21 minutes ago, wardly said:

In order to have a much improved defense we need much improved players.

I get that too. I think coaches who develop players make a bigger difference than players who walk on campus with all the accolades. I think they will recruit better talent over time too. I just think coaching makes the immediate difference. Just my 2 cents.

[Glory to the Green]

I’m not concerned.  The coaches will go through Spring and see what issues/positions need to be addressed.  To my untrained eye, the secondary seems like it might require the most attention. I only say it because of 3-3-5. We’ll see. I’m excited. 

[southsideguy]

Didn't we expect this to happen with SL not being let go at the end of the pervious season.  We would have had a year to get ready and now it is a fire drill to get ready for next season. WB did us no favors on keeping him on the extra year.

[peanuts104]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:06 AM, El Paso Eagle said:

I understand most us us don't really know what going on behind the scenes and it's way too soon to panic, but was hoping to see more immediate help from the portal on the defensive side of the ball. I know there is still another round in May, but it would have been nice to have them here for the Spring. Right now I am having visions of "Air Raid" defense syndrom where are going to be in a lot of high scoring games.

I've always been worried about the defense, even under a good coordinator like Bennett. And to be VERY clear, I know some people have said that Bennett wasn't good. I say, if you look at the defensive turnaround, they are dumb. And also, as a head coach, he played the closest bowl game since Seth played Army in his first year. 

That is the historical knowledge I have. I have no idea how this new staff will do anything. I just hope it is less tumultuous and we can not have chaos all the time.

Edited January 20, 2023 by peanuts104

[GrayEagle]

On 1/18/2023 at 9:34 AM, DeepGreen said:

Remember the phrase I coined years ago, "Defense Wins Championships".   Well, I could have coined that phrase!!

I guess that the reason that you didn't coin it is back then was that the same player played both offense and defense.  It wasn't until 1949 that the two platoon system came into effect.

[Graddean]

In 1953, the rules went back to one platoon.  One substitute per down with two allowed on a punting situation.  The rules were changed to again allow two platoon football beginning in 1964.  John David Crow was a running back on offense and linebacker on defense for A&M.

[jtm0097]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:06 AM, El Paso Eagle said:

I understand most us us don't really know what going on behind the scenes and it's way too soon to panic, but was hoping to see more immediate help from the portal on the defensive side of the ball. I know there is still another round in May, but it would have been nice to have them here for the Spring. Right now I am having visions of "Air Raid" defense syndrom where are going to be in a lot of high scoring games.

@El Paso Eagle