The Defense

[ForkEmBucky]

I think they deserve a thread. I don't know for sure where I want to start. Certainly, tOSU had a better offensive line, and NW was on the road after a tough loss. Has to be noted that our guys had a week off to prepare. Borland goes without saying.

But. It was really nice to see the upperclassman who have worked so hard, put on such an impressive show. NW certainly was not ready for the team speed. The QBs got gunned down multiple times, and you could sense that they had no idea how fast a healthy Ethan Armstrong with a full year of recovery and training really plays. All the guys took great angles of pursuit. Warren Herring continues to play well in his rotation. Hemer and Muldoon obviously outclassed NW's line, and Beau Allen looks more and more NFL ready. Shelton shut his man down, and that hasn't happened at UW in a long time, at least not in that fashion.

The future looks bright. Shelton, obviously. But Caputo and Hammond look promising. Leon Jacobs and Vince Biegel could be straight up legends if they work hard. Then you have to look at the guys we haven't even seen. Obasi. James. Zagzebski has some nagging injuries so we haven't seen him as much as I'd like.

All they have to do is bust their asses and work with the system. They still have a shot this year at being good enough to dismantle teams at ASU or tOSU's level. I said they had a lot to learn, and the D is doing its part.

 

[Doctor Krieger]

It will be key for Herring,Gilbert, and Landisch to step up next year up the middle. We'll be fine on the outside with the young dbs and our OLBs look promising.

Hopefully the 4-star JUCO DE, Joe Keels can step in and play right away. He had offers from Bama, USC, Penn St, Nebraska and many more.

Overall, I just love the direction Aranda is taking the defense...so much more fun to watch and is extremely effective with the right personnel. I hope we can keep him around for a few more years.

 

[wiskyisgood12]

Honestly, I thought the defense would face a few more growing pains than it has. One of the things about this coaching staff is they do a really good job of instilling confidence.

Borland is a good fit for this defense, or really any defense. I do worry about losing Beau Allen in the middle, he's looking NFL ready, which is great, but I don't think Warren Herring is big enough to hold up at the nose by himself next year. I love what we have waiting in the wings on defense with guys like Jacobs, Biegel, Obasih, James etc.

I love where this defense is going, and I think it could get even better. I still think there are some holes in the personnel that need to get fixed, but I have no doubt that they will get fixed

 

[ForkEmBucky]

 

[wiskyisgood12]

Hard to really criticize the defense when they lose it's leader. Even then, they played great. The game got to 42-17 before we allowed Illinois to score their "garbage points" when you know, guys aren't playing with the same intensity.

I wouldn't call it a great defensive effort, but I don't think it was a poor effort either.

 

[Smart]

Yeah, when Borland left the game, Illinois had negative yards. The CB play was a little disconcerting, but other than that, I thought everyone played decently. It also sounded like the defense was also really pissed with their performance and was hyper-motivated. Expect them to come out and dominate Iowa out of the bye.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

It was probably good for them to learn how to play without him. It's awesome how high their expectations are now. They want to be the best.

 

[Doctor Krieger]

Jean and Hilary definitely struggled...not sure how much of that was from losing the qb or the defense or just a lack of skill.

Shelton continues to impress.

There was little pass rush....get Biegel in there more on passing downs. Kelly is subpar (even though he had a sack)

 

[wiskyisgood12]

Jean and Hilary definitely struggled...not sure how much of that was from losing the qb or the defense or just a lack of skill.

Shelton continues to impress.

There was little pass rush....get Biegel in there more on passing downs. Kelly is subpar (even though he had a sack)

The coverage issues are definitely on Jean and Hillary, but it's hard to hold up when the pass rush isn't as effective without Borland

I thought the same thing about Biegel, why not use him similarly to how Borland was used his freshman year? Bring him in during passing situations and let him go to work.