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Some thoughts on this defense.
BroadcastingDawg
Member Posts: 1,355
Ryan Bowman is fucking horrific. As are most of our D ends thus far... but he's stood out for being especially crap. The guy is a senior and I was swear to God to you guys on every successful Hawaii run the replay shows Bowman biting super hard to a run on the inside... a cut is made to the exterior by the RB and he's washed hard to the inside losing total containment on the exterior. He is THE reason why runs that bounced outside worked so well for Hawaii today. Where is he on the pass rush? They double teamed Tryon the entire game and left Bowman for the majority of the 1-on-1's... he didn't move the offensive line an inch... stood straight up all day and looked like utter crap. Only DE I was actually impressed with today was Myles Rice who got in on exactly one play. He set the edge... forced the run inside... and then tackled the back from the back side. The only really positive play from this position group all day.
Where the hell has Levi Onwuzarike been? He has 5 total tackles on the season. 5... The guy was projected as a first rounder by some people and just hasn't shown up. No tackles for loss. No sacks. A complete and utter disappointment thus far as a Junior and there's no excuse. What the fuck is going on with him? No leadership and it's a problem on this defense. Against an offense like Hawaii, one where we defended them an awful lot like we defend WSU, we need at defensive tackle to get pressure from the inside... to disrupt rushing 3... and Levi is supposed to be that guy. Tuli hasn't been anything special... we're used to watching anchors in Gaines, Shelton and Vea... Tuli has been far from the typical standard. His strength and balance have looked like a real issue to me thus far and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see Taimani get the majority of the NT reps with Bandes or Fatui getting some look.
Kyler Manu and Brandon Wellington are really struggling instinctively. Linebackers of UW past have been great assisting in the run game... plugging holes in the run game and not giving up ground at the LOS... well I saw Manu out of position, off balance, and getting blown out of the play in run defense a whole hell of a lot. And I didn't notice Wellington doing much at all today... did you? Where was he? He did come close to a sack early in the game but didn't make much noise for the rest of the game. In terms of pass defense, Hawaii plays a style of offense that forces the linebackers to fill the gaps in the zone to take away passing lanes. Manu FINALLY figured it out in the 4th quarter where he faked up near the LOS and tricked the QB.... he then fell back in coverage and tipped the ball for an interception. It took 3... near 4 full quarters for him to make an adjustment while our DB's were getting torched for 3 straight drives because the linebackers were playing undisciplined ball and biting on EVERY read option move that the Hawaii QB showed. They're also not very fast... I've been noticing our ability to make tackles in the flat for a loss whether its a QB or RB has been an issue.
Myles Bryant has saved this defense. Molden has shown flashes but looked pretty bad at times in today's game. It's pretty clear that teams are picking on Kyler Gordon. It's clear that he's a good athlete, but he's not a technician at the corner position which makes me think he'd be better served playing safety instead of being left on an island. Hawaii threw slant after slant after slant on the kid and he was about 2 for 15 defending it. I actually don't understand what he was doing out there. Hawaii wasn't throwing it far down the field... everything was a slant in space or a curl underneath... so why was he turning his hips and biting on this weird idea that Hawaii was going to take a shot every play? It was so strange... and I'm surprised the coaching staffs didn't tell him to just not respect the deep ball until Hawaii shows it. Instead, it made him look like crap out there and I was screaming at my TV saying holy fuck... take a risk on one play where you cut off the damn route and you'll get a pick 6!!! I thought Keith Taylor was OK... Dom Hampton struggled in his limited action, and Trent McDuffie really impressed me during his limited time. I think there is an embarrassment of riches at the position, but sadly, and inexcusably, they haven't figured out the right personal groupings in the secondary.
If I had my way I'd go:
SS: Myles Bryant
FS: Kyler Gordon
CB1: Keith Taylor
CB2: Trent McDuffie
Slot: Elijah Molden
We can't blitz for shit. Like at all... We must have ran, what? 15 clear blitzes from the backers or corners and ended up with 1 sack? Against fucking Hawaii? Not good. Myles Bryant is good... everyone else, oof. Manu and Wellington might as well just sit in coverage because asking them to penetrate the backfield is like asking Sark not to have a 5th of vodka before a game. It just isn't going to happen. They sent Molden on a lot of corner blitzes today... Hawaii had a clear plan for it and he was engulfed by the left tackle every time. The issue with that? You just removed a pass defender from a defense that was getting torched... They need to figure out a way to get pressure or it's gonna get ugly. The Hawaii QB had all day back there.
Where the hell has Levi Onwuzarike been? He has 5 total tackles on the season. 5... The guy was projected as a first rounder by some people and just hasn't shown up. No tackles for loss. No sacks. A complete and utter disappointment thus far as a Junior and there's no excuse. What the fuck is going on with him? No leadership and it's a problem on this defense. Against an offense like Hawaii, one where we defended them an awful lot like we defend WSU, we need at defensive tackle to get pressure from the inside... to disrupt rushing 3... and Levi is supposed to be that guy. Tuli hasn't been anything special... we're used to watching anchors in Gaines, Shelton and Vea... Tuli has been far from the typical standard. His strength and balance have looked like a real issue to me thus far and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see Taimani get the majority of the NT reps with Bandes or Fatui getting some look.
Kyler Manu and Brandon Wellington are really struggling instinctively. Linebackers of UW past have been great assisting in the run game... plugging holes in the run game and not giving up ground at the LOS... well I saw Manu out of position, off balance, and getting blown out of the play in run defense a whole hell of a lot. And I didn't notice Wellington doing much at all today... did you? Where was he? He did come close to a sack early in the game but didn't make much noise for the rest of the game. In terms of pass defense, Hawaii plays a style of offense that forces the linebackers to fill the gaps in the zone to take away passing lanes. Manu FINALLY figured it out in the 4th quarter where he faked up near the LOS and tricked the QB.... he then fell back in coverage and tipped the ball for an interception. It took 3... near 4 full quarters for him to make an adjustment while our DB's were getting torched for 3 straight drives because the linebackers were playing undisciplined ball and biting on EVERY read option move that the Hawaii QB showed. They're also not very fast... I've been noticing our ability to make tackles in the flat for a loss whether its a QB or RB has been an issue.
Myles Bryant has saved this defense. Molden has shown flashes but looked pretty bad at times in today's game. It's pretty clear that teams are picking on Kyler Gordon. It's clear that he's a good athlete, but he's not a technician at the corner position which makes me think he'd be better served playing safety instead of being left on an island. Hawaii threw slant after slant after slant on the kid and he was about 2 for 15 defending it. I actually don't understand what he was doing out there. Hawaii wasn't throwing it far down the field... everything was a slant in space or a curl underneath... so why was he turning his hips and biting on this weird idea that Hawaii was going to take a shot every play? It was so strange... and I'm surprised the coaching staffs didn't tell him to just not respect the deep ball until Hawaii shows it. Instead, it made him look like crap out there and I was screaming at my TV saying holy fuck... take a risk on one play where you cut off the damn route and you'll get a pick 6!!! I thought Keith Taylor was OK... Dom Hampton struggled in his limited action, and Trent McDuffie really impressed me during his limited time. I think there is an embarrassment of riches at the position, but sadly, and inexcusably, they haven't figured out the right personal groupings in the secondary.
If I had my way I'd go:
SS: Myles Bryant
FS: Kyler Gordon
CB1: Keith Taylor
CB2: Trent McDuffie
Slot: Elijah Molden
We can't blitz for shit. Like at all... We must have ran, what? 15 clear blitzes from the backers or corners and ended up with 1 sack? Against fucking Hawaii? Not good. Myles Bryant is good... everyone else, oof. Manu and Wellington might as well just sit in coverage because asking them to penetrate the backfield is like asking Sark not to have a 5th of vodka before a game. It just isn't going to happen. They sent Molden on a lot of corner blitzes today... Hawaii had a clear plan for it and he was engulfed by the left tackle every time. The issue with that? You just removed a pass defender from a defense that was getting torched... They need to figure out a way to get pressure or it's gonna get ugly. The Hawaii QB had all day back there.
Comments
I almost choked to death when they reviewed Tryon for the potential helmet shot which would have made him sit out for the 1st half at Prove.. Can you imagine your 3 DE's of Bowman, Ngata and Rice next week at BYU. They'd run for 300 yards. Out of need (and ineffectiveness) they should consider putting Benning back out there. I'm not sure he played 25 snaps today. He is definitely behind behind Bronson/Levi/Tuli and by the end of the year will be behind Taimani as well (think he's running neck and neck with him right now).
What is Moss going to run for with Utah? The non #9 side can't hold the edge on runs = 4/5 yard gains, and want to dive inside on every pass play where they get swallowed up and/or allows the QB to get outside to run or have all year to make a throw.
That said, when they tried to do exotic things against Cal last week, we lost contain and couldn't chase down Garbers.
Other players as well.
Lazy
Interior DL: Levi & Bronson with Tuli and Taimani is doing just fine. It’s not Greg Gaines and Virta Via but they can be fine.
Strong Edge: Potato can’t pass rush or cover at all but he can hold the edge and point of attack. No one else has shown the ability to do so. Potato needs to be moved to strong side DE/edge. Tyron is still playing soft and slow and Bowman is strictly a pass rusher.
Weak side OLB/DL: by default this is Tryon. It’s not because he is good, it’s because there is no one else. Don’t twist Tryon looks like a legit football player, he just doesn’t play like one yet. Bowman and Rice will still get plenty of fill time both strong and weak side.
ILB: Wellington is less athletic than beer gut Cort Dennison was and probably still is today. Manu isn’t good but he is the least of the problems. Latu is already good but runs the risk of being played too much when too young and stunting his growth with injuries like the depth depleted UW teams of Sark and Ty.
Manu, like it or not, is the established ILB. The other one should be Latu shaded towards Tryon to help with better edge/run contain on his side. Wellington and Ngata rotate in as needed or when we want to let the other team run for 7+ yards.
I liked Taylor more inside against Hawai (to counter run and shoot or otherwise). Taylor should be used over the top of potato as both a guy that can cover the TE or shift to strong side slot/flat in zone coverage, but provides much needed athleticism to the second level of the defense closer to the LOS. If potato is doing his traditional role of hold up the OL and contain taylor should have an easier time when called on in run support or to tackle in the flat.
It’s not perfect, but it’s the best position lineup I see.
No one expects him to be Vita already
He obviously has potential.
Potential means fuckall on Gameday, He’s not playing special now because he might a year or two from now.