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Robbins and Kuhar?

Deeringfish

Deeringfish

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Jun 23, 2008
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Any body know any thing about the current status of CJ and Greg?

I think both are older guys. I know CJ is a 6th year and Greg must be a fifth year. I had pretty high hopes for them coming into the program but injuries held them back. If they have recovered they could be very dominant in the middle. It would be great if they could rise up and take control.

Have they made any progress?
 
Deeringfish said:
Any body know any thing about the current status of CJ and Greg?

I think both are older guys. I know CJ is a 6th year and Greg must be a fifth year. I had pretty high hopes for them coming into the program but injuries held them back. If they have recovered they could be very dominant in the middle. It would be great if they could rise up and take control.

Have they made any progress?
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Both are reportedly healthy, though have had trouble staying healthy to this point. Fortunately, we don't NEED either because I think Lancaster and Thompson could both be quite good. Another guy who is supposedly healthy now is Fred Wyatt, who we haven't seen yet but has the size to help inside.
 
I have it on good authority that Kuhar is an absolute freak in the weight room. Strongest man alive was my sources exact words, which was a hyperbole, but a good sign none the less.
 
So I hear a lot of guys saying we should have really outstanding production in the middle this season.

Will NU have the push to disrupt in the backfield or just consistently hold the line?

If we have control in the middle how does this play into Walker and the LBs game?
 
Deeringfish said:
So I hear a lot of guys saying we should have really outstanding production in the middle this season.

Will NU have the push to disrupt in the backfield or just consistently hold the line?

If we have control in the middle how does this play into Walker and the LBs game?
Click to expand...
I think Walker will greatly benefit like Tim McGarigle did playing behind Coefield and Castillo. Additionally, Walker is just plain better than McGarigle (sorry, Tim love you, but it's true). That said, I think the middle of our defense will be phenomenally strong. This will force the opposing offenses defense to use outside runs, off tackles, sweeps, stretch plays... That means we'll need to be able to have our DEs set the edge on the outside. If they can't do that, then we're going to have issues (see what Illinois and Mikel Leshoure did at Wrigley Field).
 
Deeringfish said:
So I hear a lot of guys saying we should have really outstanding production in the middle this season.

Will NU have the push to disrupt in the backfield or just consistently hold the line?

If we have control in the middle how does this play into Walker and the LBs game?
Click to expand...

Hank's scheme is almost entirely about containing the offense while opportunistically making plays. That's what a cover-4 is all about, though I will say that he's gotten more aggressive over his NU tenure as his personnel has gotten better.

Walker should be "clean" more often than not based on our DTs' ability. That said, it also means that more plays will be "spilled" outside so our DEs have to step up and maintain responsibility to allow the OLBs and SAFs to successfully fill in the run game.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
Hank's scheme is almost entirely about containing the offense while opportunistically making plays. That's what a cover-4 is all about, though I will say that he's gotten more aggressive over his NU tenure as his personnel has gotten better.

Walker should be "clean" more often than not based on our DTs' ability. That said, it also means that more plays will be "spilled" outside so our DEs have to step up and maintain responsibility to allow the OLBs and SAFs to successfully fill in the run game.
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That's what I said, but far better.
 
shakes3858 said:
I think Walker will greatly benefit like Tim McGarigle did playing behind Coefield and Castillo. Additionally, Walker is just plain better than McGarigle (sorry, Tim love you, but it's true). That said, I think the middle of our defense will be phenomenally strong. This will force the opposing offenses defense to use outside runs, off tackles, sweeps, stretch plays... That means we'll need to be able to have our DEs set the edge on the outside. If they can't do that, then we're going to have issues (see what Illinois and Mikel Leshoure did at Wrigley Field).
Click to expand...

The Illini took advantage of Nate Williams' tendency to guess and overcommit in the Wrigley Field game, not outside runs (at least as the game wore on; they took direct aim at our DEs out the gates, then found a weakness in our defense). Most of Leshoure's big runs were on inside counters where Leshoure would "press" the tackle on one side of the line only to run straight at the backside guard. This took advantage of the "bubble" in an even-front defense and Williams' tendency to put himself out of position.
 
shakes3858 said:
I think Walker will greatly benefit like Tim McGarigle did playing behind Coefield and Castillo. Additionally, Walker is just plain better than McGarigle (sorry, Tim love you, but it's true). That said, I think the middle of our defense will be phenomenally strong. This will force the opposing offenses defense to use outside runs, off tackles, sweeps, stretch plays... That means we'll need to be able to have our DEs set the edge on the outside. If they can't do that, then we're going to have issues (see what Illinois and Mikel Leshoure did at Wrigley Field).
Click to expand...

Our DTs will not be the issue. Our DE play will be. Hell ... the success of the entire defense will hinge on our DE play...especially on 1st and 2nd down. How much will Robbins help on the edge opposite Odenigbo? How effective will Odenigbo and Washington be when not in "pin your ears back" mode? How much will Gaziano contribute? Will Goens play as Fitz has suggested? How much will Hank have to/choose to make scheme adjustments to make up for less than effective DE play?

I think we'll be OK in 3rd down passing situations, and I look for Fitz to go jumbo with Robbins on the edge if Washington and/or Odenigbo aren't effective in defending the run. No way we even compete with Iowa or Wisconsin or MSU without DEs that can effectively defend the run.

GOUNUII
 
Last edited:
gocatsgo2003 said:
The Illini took advantage of Nate Williams' tendency to guess and overcommit in the Wrigley Field game, not outside runs (at least as the game wore on; they took direct aim at our DEs out the gates, then found a weakness in our defense). Most of Leshoure's big runs were on inside counters where Leshoure would "press" the tackle on one side of the line only to run straight at the backside guard. This took advantage of the "bubble" in an even-front defense and Williams' tendency to put himself out of position.
Click to expand...
Ok... I said it a little worse (winkysmileyface)
 
GOUNUII said:
Our DTs will not be the issue. Our DE play will be. Hell ... the success of the entire defense will hinge on our DE play...especially on 1st and 2nd down. How much will Robbins help on the edge opposite Odenigbo? How effective will Odenigbo and Washington be when not in "pin your ears back" mode? How much will Gaziano contribute? Will Goens play as Fitz has suggested? How much will Hank have to/choose to make scheme adjustments to make up for less than effective DE play?

I think we'll be OK in 3rd down passing situations, and I look for Fitz to go jumbo with Robbins on the edge if Washington and/or Odenigbo aren't effective in defending the run. No way we even compete with Iowa or Wisconsin or MSU without DEs that cannot effectively defend the run.

GOUNUII
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Unless Odenigbo/Washington/Gaziano/Goens have a truly awful camp. I don't think you'll see Robbins on the edge nearly as much as is talked about here. Even then, it will likely only be in clear "run downs" not first or second down.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
The Illini took advantage of Nate Williams' tendency to guess and overcommit in the Wrigley Field game, not outside runs (at least as the game wore on; they took direct aim at our DEs out the gates, then found a weakness in our defense). Most of Leshoure's big runs were on inside counters where Leshoure would "press" the tackle on one side of the line only to run straight at the backside guard. This took advantage of the "bubble" in an even-front defense and Williams' tendency to put himself out of position.
Click to expand...
Williams used to drive me crazy with that. Prater too, but to a lesser degree.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
Unless Odenigbo/Washington/Gaziano/Goens have a truly awful camp. I don't think you'll see Robbins on the edge nearly as much as is talked about here. Even then, it will likely only be in clear "run downs" not first or second down.
Click to expand...

Ouch!!!! That's asking a lot of those 4 guys. Hope they are up to the task.

GOUNUII
 
GOUNUII said:
Ouch!!!! That's asking a lot of those 4 guys. Hope they are up to the task.

GOUNUII
Click to expand...

It is? Paraphrasing a bit, I just said "unless those four guys are absolutely dreadful, I don't think you see Robbins playing much at DE unless it's a clear run down." I didn't say that I expect them to have a terrible camp.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
It is? Paraphrasing a bit, I just said "unless those four guys are absolutely dreadful, I don't think you see Robbins playing much at DE unless it's a clear run down." I didn't say that I expect them to have a terrible camp.
Click to expand...
OK .. On second thought there's a big difference between dreadful and effective. My point is that a 4 man rotation of Odenigbo, Washington, Gaziano and Goens has a lot of question marks. I hope they are up to the task of effectively defending the run against the run heavy better teams on our schedule. If they are less than effective, even if also better than dreadful, we could be struggling to achieve bowl eligibility.

GOUNUII
 
GOUNUII said:
OK .. On second thought there's a big difference between dreadful and effective. My point is that a 4 man rotation of Odenigbo, Washington, Gaziano and Goens has a lot of question marks. I hope they are up to the task of effectively defending the run against the run heavy better teams on our schedule. If they are less than effective, even if also better than dreadful, we could be struggling to achieve bowl eligibility.

GOUNUII
Click to expand...

I don't think the play of our DEs would be enough to knock multiple games off of our hypothetical win total. The DTs should be extremely strong, as is our LB corps and the DBs. If the DEs can perform even just at an "acceptable" level, this has the makings of an extremely stout defense.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
I don't think the play of our DEs would be enough to knock multiple games off of our hypothetical win total. The DTs should be extremely strong, as is our LB corps and the DBs. If the DEs can perform even just at an "acceptable" level, this has the makings of an extremely stout defense.
Click to expand...

I think acceptable and effective are synonymous in this discussion. So what happens if the DE play against the run is better than dreadful, but less than acceptable? I fear that opposing offenses with run heavy ability will exploit this group. If you're Hank and you don't like our DE run defense match ups that day, what do you do to combat the opponent's advantage?

GOUNUII
 
GOUNUII said:
I think acceptable and effective are synonymous in this discussion. So what happens if the DE play against the run is better than dreadful, but less than acceptable? I fear that opposing offenses with run heavy ability will exploit this group. If you're Hank and you don't like our DE run defense match ups that day, what do you do to combat the opponent's advantage?

GOUNUII
Click to expand...

It is very difficult to focus exclusively on DEs with the run game because there are a litany of ways a defensive coordinator can cover for shortcomings there against the run. For instance, LBs and DBs can be instructed to either scrape or fill early, you can slant your DL, etc.
 
Wow, I clicked on this thread only to find that an actual football discussion has broken out. Good stuff here.

Would love to see Ifeadi translate his monster summer workout numbers onto the field as an every down DE. With JT and Lanny destroying the middle trenches, hopefully IO and X will be very effective on the outside.
 
Ben Johnson will play well against Michigan this year! It will be an epic game played out in the stadium of wrassler's mind!
 
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