Stoked about the secondary.

[balds]

A lot of depth, talent and potential. Hopefully Wells is 100%, Thompson, Johnson, Murray (stud), coaches love Mcghee and Myrick, and it sounds like Travis is steadily improving. Not to mention, BBC sounds like he's on track for Sept.

Any first-hand reports from Spring practice?

 

[die hard gopher]

I would like to think that either RBs with Cobb, Kirkwood, Williams, Edwards and Jeff will be our best unit or the O-line with all 5 guys coming back but the DBs are definitely are safest bet for best position unit as they have been our strength the past 2 years.

 

[Spoofin]

We have talent at DB, but our DL needs to step up if the DBs are to look as good as last year. The DBs are very reliant on a good pass rush. I think our DEs are good, but we'll obviously need some push up the middle from new folks.

As for the DBs, Murray is the real deal. He was better at CB than Vareen last year and if he learns to turn his head back when the ball is in the air he can play on Sundays. We need Wells to be 100% or BBC to come back to form quickly to be close to as solid as Murray on the other side and neither of those things is a given.

 

[die hard gopher]

We have talent at DB, but our DL needs to step up if the DBs are to look as good as last year. The DBs are very reliant on a good pass rush. I think our DEs are good, but we'll obviously need some push up the middle from new folks.

As for the DBs, Murray is the real deal. He was better at CB than Vareen last year and if he learns to turn his head back when the ball is in the air he can play on Sundays. We need Wells to be 100% or BBC to come back to form quickly to be close to as solid as Murray on the other side and neither of those things is a given.

Theiren and Devondre will provide us with plenty pass rush. Ra'Shede only had 2 sacks last year anyways.

 

[Norsk_Gopher]

Sacks aren't everything

Theiren and Devondre will provide us with plenty pass rush. Ra'Shede only had 2 sacks last year anyways.

I am not too worried about the pass rush but Ra'Shede's impact is measured by more than such sacks or TFL's. He took pressure off of his teammates allowing them to succeed. Remember, he had 1 INT, 13 TFLs, and 8 pass breakups, plus his work on special teams. That said, I like many was a times disappointed by his play, but we need to remember he was they main focus for many teams blocking last year.

 

[Governor Sibley]

Rashede got all the ink, but we had a pretty nice rotation going at DL last year.

I'm hoping our OL improves. They disappointed me for much of last year.

We still don't match up that well with physical teams.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I'm especially excited about our safeties. They all played very well at the end of the season.

 

[die hard gopher]

I am not too worried about the pass rush but Ra'Shede's impact is measured by more than such sacks or TFL's. He took pressure off of his teammates allowing them to succeed. Remember, he had 1 INT, 13 TFLs, and 8 pass breakups, plus his work on special teams. That said, I like many was a times disappointed by his play, but we need to remember he was they main focus for many teams blocking last year.

i am only speaking from a pass rushing perspective. Yes i know his numbers and i would say he was the second most productive DT in the nation last year but he had very little to do with freeing up Theiren on the edge.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

There is nothing that helps pass rushing DEs more than disruptive DTs. The DTs collapse the pocket either forcing the QB to leave the pocket (making it impossible for a OT to block a DE) or taking away the option for a QB to simply step into the pocket and avoid the rush.

 

[STPGopher]

There is nothing that helps pass rushing DEs more than disruptive DTs. The DTs collapse the pocket either forcing the QB to leave the pocket (making it impossible for a OT to block a DE) or taking away the option for a QB to simply step into the pocket and avoid the rush.

+1 and often it means the QB's timing is thrown off, or he can't step into the throw.

 

[die hard gopher]

There is nothing that helps pass rushing DEs more than disruptive DTs. The DTs collapse the pocket either forcing the QB to leave the pocket (making it impossible for a OT to block a DE) or taking away the option for a QB to simply step into the pocket and avoid the rush.

It helps the blitzing LBs up the middle much more then it helps the DEs

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

Our secondary is really exciting, but the depth is what stands out to me.

At CB Wells was arguably our best player on the entire Defense before the injury so hopefully the surgery & time off have him back at 100% for his Senior season. Surprisingly BBC looked like our best corner last fall before his injury so with another year of study under his belt & presumably a full recovery, he could be really special. Then there's the development of Murray who may have developed into our best CB now. Throw in that Jalen Myrick is talented, got some play last year & the coaches really like him, & we look set for years to come. That's four guys that I'm comfortable putting on the field. It's been a long time since we had that kind of CB depth.

Same thing at Safety. Ced Thompson has been a quality player & seems ready to step up as a leader of our Defense this year. Antonio Johnson has also progressed nicely & is poised to shine now as an upper-classman. Like Johnson, Damarius Travis will also be an upper-classman this year & imo he passes the eyeball test of someone who could be playing at a helmet school. Levine adds quality depth & Duke McGhee (r-Fr) has been raved about by the staff as having NFL potential. Again, we go 4 deep with guys that I feel comfortable seeing on the field, plus the wild card in McGhee.

Exciting stuff!

 

[Spoofin]

At CB Wells was arguably our best player on the entire Defense before the injury

I disagree with the "CB" part of this statement. IMO, Wells has only looked elite at Safety. Maybe that is due to injury, but I have always felt his style fits S better than CB. Don't get me wrong, I expect him to be our #2 CB (behind Murray), assuming he his healthy, but am I the only one who wishes we could have left him at S? I get that the TEAM needed to move him, I just wish he could have stayed at S.

 

[diehard]

Our D will be improved across the board. Big step up at LB this year even with the losses. Even on the DL. When the new DTs master B1G level technique that rotation will be very good. Wish we had another incoming DB or two. I look for more scoring from the D this year. It will be helped by a large jump in the O's efficiency too. Our D should stay fresh.

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

I disagree with the "CB" part of this statement. IMO, Wells has only looked elite at Safety. Maybe that is due to injury, but I have always felt his style fits S better than CB. Don't get me wrong, I expect him to be our #2 CB (behind Murray), assuming he his healthy, but am I the only one who wishes we could have left him at S? I get that the TEAM needed to move him, I just wish he could have stayed at S.

He's not a prototype CB, but I think he's perfectly suited to the boundary corner & under/slot position in our nickel. That CB has to be able to play up on the line, make a lot of tackles & blitz effectively, with coverage be less critical than the field corner (Murray or BBC). It's almost like a hybrid Safety/CB position the way Claeys uses him. It's the same position that Ryan Collado looked good at his Sr year, btw.

 

[Spoofin]

He's not a prototype CB, but I think he's perfectly suited to the boundary corner & under/slot position in our nickel. That CB has to be able to play up on the line, make a lot of tackles & blitz effectively, with coverage be less critical than the field corner (Murray or BBC). It's almost like a hybrid Safety/CB position the way Claeys uses him. It's the same position that Ryan Collado looked good at his Sr year, btw.

I liked Collado. So overmatched as a Freshman and I felt bad for him that he was forced to play then. But, he worked hard, kept getting better, and became a great tackler if not a great CB.

Wells has way more talent and I agree he can be a (very) good CB, just thought I would mention I wish he would have been able to stay at S as I think he could have been elite there. Thanks for your post, good info that I suspect is spot on.