My Biggest Coaching Gripe

Green P1 · October 18, 2009

Teams that are unable to put any semblance of pressure on the opposing QB don't win.

The only legitimate D1 defensive end(let alone one that has proven worthy of a "look" by NFL scouts) on this team is playing backup tackle. AK-47 has all the speed and heart in the world, but it is getting more and more painful to watch him get absolutely manhandled one on one passing situations. The other end(I can't spell his name and considering he's not stuck out once to me I won't look it up) looks the part of D1 end but gets zero push. Know who does get sporadic pressure? The out of position DT who's only on the field sporadically. Gilmore is 6"5, 260lbs, cat quick, and worthless at stopping the run up the gut. Put you're freaking playmakers in a posistion to freaking make some freaking plays.

eulessismore · October 18, 2009

Teams that are unable to put any semblance of pressure on the opposing QB don't win.
The only legitimate D1 defensive end(let alone one that has proven worthy of a "look" by NFL scouts) on this team is playing backup tackle. AK-47 has all the speed and heart in the world, but it is getting more and more painful to watch him get absolutely manhandled one on one passing situations. The other end(I can't spell his name and considering he's not stuck out once to me I won't look it up) looks the part of D1 end but gets zero push. Know who does get sporadic pressure? The out of position DT who's only on the field sporadically. Gilmore is 6"5, 260lbs, cat quick, and worthless at stopping the run up the gut. Put you're freaking playmakers in a posistion to freaking make some freaking plays.

I was noticing that lack of pressure on the qb tonight. I don't pretend to know what's wrong, but yes, we need to put more pressure on opposing qb's. The secondary can't stay in coverage long enough to overcome that lack of pressure.

NT03 · October 18, 2009

PRESEASON_TALK

I'll never say I know more about football than these coaches , but I don't see how they think that having Gilmore at DT is helping anything

Green P1 · October 18, 2009

PRESEASON_TALK
I'll never say I know more about football than these coaches , but I don't see how they think that having Gilmore at DT is helping anything

Right there with you. I argued with the mean green bloggers throughout camp, but they assured me that AK's speed and enthusiasm made him the better option at end. Not sure what the other guy has that's better than Gilmore.... it must be a secret.

LongJim · October 18, 2009

Teams that are unable to put any semblance of pressure on the opposing QB don't win.
The only legitimate D1 defensive end(let alone one that has proven worthy of a "look" by NFL scouts) on this team is playing backup tackle. AK-47 has all the speed and heart in the world, but it is getting more and more painful to watch him get absolutely manhandled one on one passing situations. The other end(I can't spell his name and considering he's not stuck out once to me I won't look it up) looks the part of D1 end but gets zero push. Know who does get sporadic pressure? The out of position DT who's only on the field sporadically. Gilmore is 6"5, 260lbs, cat quick, and worthless at stopping the run up the gut. Put you're freaking playmakers in a posistion to freaking make some freaking plays.

Good post. I understand wanting to get as much speed as possible in each position. That's good strategy if you are thin and need more playmakers, but it's a stopgap measure. The DL got manhandled last night, and although some will give a pass to the defensive coaches because they're "college coaches", the issue on that side of the ball is and (much as it is on the offensive side of the ball) a question of depth, and ability, which is being improved across the board, not a coaching issue. Easier to blame coaches, however.

Edited October 18, 2009 by LongJim

GrandGreen · October 18, 2009

Did anyone else notice the great play Gilmore made in pass defense on a fourth down play by FAU in the fourth quarter were he defended an over the middle pass about 6 yards from the line of scrimmage?

No doubt, the defense looked completely lost for most of the game. Part of that was due to a much better FAU offense than many realize. But I only remember Smith being hurried on a couple of plays the entire game. The overall defense looked like the Mendoza effort against Navy and SMU two years ago.

I don't know what the deal is with the coaching staff and Gilmore, but I think it goes deeper than game time performances. NT was devoid of dts last year, so I can kind of see him being played there for part of the year. Gilmore is a defensive end and I can't think of any logic to support the coaches reported contention that his best chance at the next level is at dt. I doubt that Gilmore has any chance at the next level but if he does it would be at de and why would this be factor in where he plays at NT anyway? Gilmore played a lot at dt last night and like the rest of the line was almost totally ineffective.

I also don't understand the fascination with Cantly at de, he also played a lot last night. He is a young player and hopefully as a bright future, but he appears to lack the quickness to be a de and certainly doesn't fit with the popular speed close to the ball theory being thrown around by the coaching staff. We won't see it, but it would be interested to see Gilmore at de and Cantly on the interior.

The biggest disappointment for me, however was not the defensive line partially because I have continued to think this is a weak unit despite the hype. I did think that the defensive backs were greatly improved and they were obviously taken advantage of last night. True, an invisible pass rush was a major part of the problem. Smith did make some great passes but there were too many plays were there was not a defensive back anywhere close to the play.

eulessismore · October 19, 2009

Did anyone else notice the great play Gilmore made in pass defense on a fourth down play by FAU in the fourth quarter were he defended an over the middle pass about 6 yards from the line of scrimmage?
No doubt, the defense looked completely lost for most of the game. Part of that was due to a much better FAU offense than many realize. But I only remember Smith being hurried on a couple of plays the entire game. The overall defense looked like the Mendoza effort against Navy and SMU two years ago.
I don't know what the deal is with the coaching staff and Gilmore, but I think it goes deeper than game time performances. NT was devoid of dts last year, so I can kind of see him being played there for part of the year. Gilmore is a defensive end and I can't think of any logic to support the coaches reported contention that his best chance at the next level is at dt. I doubt that Gilmore has any chance at the next level but if he does it would be at de and why would this be factor in where he plays at NT anyway? Gilmore played a lot at dt last night and like the rest of the line was almost totally ineffective.
I also don't understand the fascination with Cantly at de, he also played a lot last night. He is a young player and hopefully as a bright future, but he appears to lack the quickness to be a de and certainly doesn't fit with the popular speed close to the ball theory being thrown around by the coaching staff. We won't see it, but it would be interested to see Gilmore at de and Cantly on the interior.
The biggest disappointment for me, however was not the defensive line partially because I have continued to think this is a weak unit despite the hype. I did think that the defensive backs were greatly improved and they were obviously taken advantage of last night. True, an invisible pass rush was a major part of the problem. Smith did make some great passes but there were too many plays were there was not a defensive back anywhere close to the play.

You know, I've been wondering the same thing since last night's game. The manager where I work has known of Cantly since his son and Cantly played together at Arlington Lamar; he thinks Cantly is best at DE and that he gained weight too fast in his senior year, and should play at less than the 300 or so pounds or so listed in the roster. Still, his stats looked great when they played him as a nose tackle at Lamar for half a year. Still, this is Cantly's first year, and the coaches should be able to figure out where to use him for the next 3 and a half years, leading to an appropriate conditioning program. They need to figure out Gilmore sooner, because he's only here another half season, and he's been the only one putting ANY pressure on the opponents' passing game, as far as I can tell.