B1G postseason position rankings: DB

[Fuzzy Rumpton]

4. Minnesota (Preseason: 10): The biggest climber on our board, the Gophers made a major improvement in their secondary thanks to the breakout year by Michael Carter and the return of Troy Stoudermire at the other corner spot. Derrick Wells also made a major impact at safety as Minnesota went from having one of the worst pass defenses in the country in 2011 to the No. 23 pass efficiency defense in 2012.


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/71885/postseason-position-rankings-db

 

[GophersInIowa]

I like the comment about Iowa.

Micah Hyde was named the Big Ten defensive back of the year. This really happened. I looked it up again to make sure. Not that Hyde had a bad season. He just didn't really stand out nearly as much as guys like Dennard, Carter or Roby.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Our Pass defense numbers were certainly helped by the fact that in conference play teams rarely were forced to throw on us since the run defense was so bad. That being said there is no denying that the secondary as a whole had a great season. Big shoes to fill on the outside with Carter and Stoudermire gone but there are a number of options on the roster so hopefully some guys will step up at the CB spot next year. Been discussed here a few times that Wells will probably be one of those guys asked to man an outside spot.

 

[Iceland12]

The Gophers had a Pass Rush for the first time in years. That makes it a whole lot easier for a DB with some talent to stay with his coverage. Give a little credit where's it's due also. Teams didn't have a lot of success when they tried to throw the ball so that was another incentive to run it. Where they certainly found that success. Hope they can stuff up that middle next Fall.

Too bad that Carter and Stoudermire are gone.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The Gophers had a Pass Rush for the first time in years. That makes it a whole lot easier for a DB with some talent to stay with his coverage. Give a little credit where's it's due also. Teams didn't have a lot of success when they tried to throw the ball so that was another incentive to run it. Where they certainly found that success. Hope they can stuff up that middle next Fall.

Too bad that Carter and Stoudermire are gone.

The pass rush was not all that evident in conference play and in general teams (especially those in the Big Ten) look to run before they look to pass. Again our pass D was very solid this year and against Syracuse it was awesome but they were also not tested that much in conference play because in most cases teams had very few reasons to put the ball in the air against us.

 

[Iceland12]

Michigan for 2 and a half Quarters. Maybe 3 and a half. Iowa in the 2nd Half. Wisconsin in the First Half. They had what 4 or 5 sacks in that Half? Purdue in the 1st Half. Michigan State all game. Not horrible against Texas Tech either, Doege just got rid of the ball so quick. They did a bad job stopping the run very true, but saying that teams only ran the ball? Let's not get carried away.

Who knows how much better the Pass and Run Defenses would have been if the Offense could have kept them off the field a damn bit longer. All the above games would have been closer. The "D" just wasn't deep enough to stay on the field all the time.

By the way the response you quoted was saying that the Pass Rush should get some credit for the DB's success. You're the first person I've read that didn't think so.

To each his own.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Michigan for 2 and a half Quarters. Maybe 3 and a half. Iowa in the 2nd Half. Wisconsin in the First Half. They had what 4 or 5 sacks in that Half? Purdue in the 1st Half. Michigan State all game. Not horrible against Texas Tech either, Doege just got rid of the ball so quick. They did a bad job stopping the run very true, but saying that teams only ran the ball? Let's not get carried away.

Who knows how much better the Pass and Run Defenses would have been if the Offense could have kept them off the field a damn bit longer. All the above games would have been closer. The "D" just wasn't deep enough to stay on the field all the time.

By the way the response you quoted was saying that the Pass Rush should get some credit for the DB's success. You're the first person I've read that didn't think so.

To each his own.

Don't want to turn this into a pissing match, clearly the improved play from the D-Line helped the secondary have one of the best years we have had around here in a long time, the two units go hand in hand. My point was the pass rush was not dominant in Big Ten play, it was however far better than anything we have had around here for quite some time.

My whole point to this was that on a team that goes 2-6 and struggles to stop the run the secondary is not tested nearly as much as they would have been had the team actually been ahead and winning many games. For the most part Big Ten teams had nothing to fear from our offense so they could afford to be very safe and conservative with their offensive play calling.

Not trying to take anything away from the D because without their improved play we probably woudn't have won more than a game or two this past season given how inept the offense was for most of the year.

 

[Iceland12]

Don't want to turn this into a pissing match, clearly the improved play from the D-Line helped the secondary have one of the best years we have had around here in a long time, the two units go hand in hand. My point was the pass rush was not dominant in Big Ten play, it was however far better than anything we have had around here for quite some time.

My whole point to this was that on a team that goes 2-6 and struggles to stop the run the secondary is not tested nearly as much as they would have been had the team actually been ahead and winning many games. For the most part Big Ten teams had nothing to fear from our offense so they could afford to be very safe and conservative with their offensive play calling.

Not trying to take anything away from the D because without their improved play we probably woudn't have won more than a game or two this past season given how inept the offense was for most of the year.

Agreed; thanks.

 

[4four4]

4. Minnesota (Preseason: 10): The biggest climber on our board, the Gophers made a major improvement in their secondary thanks to the breakout year by Michael Carter and the return of Troy Stoudermire at the other corner spot. Derrick Wells also made a major impact at safety as Minnesota went from having one of the worst pass defenses in the country in 2011 to the No. 23 pass efficiency defense in 2012.


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/71885/postseason-position-rankings-db

After reading this paragraph Kill's staff can coach. Who knew.