What happened to the defense?

[Leakfan12]

It was the strength early in the season but now their struggling. Good thing they played well in the beginning otherwise the Gators would've a losing record now.

 

[DRU2012]

You know, I'm surprised no one has focused on this before. I've been aware of it, lumping it in with "all the other problems", but it deserves closer scrutiny all on its own. Guys who were "stars", "stand outs" and "up-and-comers" have all seemed to have "backslid", devolved into "question marks"; the whole unit has gone from a strength to a weakness. How, and WHEN, exactly, did this happen?
There've been injuries, yes, but everyone has to weather injuries. We were supposed to have some depth, for one thing, and anyway our injury rate on defense has not been notably high.
There are similar questions regarding the O-line, but at least there the injuries HAVE been notable and forced changes that messed with both experience and blocking schemes. Even there, though, that was to be solved when we got those guys back; we did, it wasn't.
Who's in charge of the O-line, anyway? Oh yeah...
(Do you suppose we may have coaching problems at a number of levels?)

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

d-line hasnt been good but it hasnt all yr really and d-backs were pretty good getting the turnovers idk id say we're still pretty good for a rebuilding yr. even with losing our best players in jenkins and black we should we alright next yr with all the talent we got there in last yrs class

ahmad black is def raising his draft stock this yr tho

 

[Escambia94]

If we are going to lose Black and Jenkins, who are the big names left behind for next year? It's not Jeremy Brown, who got burned for a 5,328 yards in one game!

 

[DRU2012]

Meanwhile, this business of not playing freshmen (unless they absolutely HAVE to--when they're thrown into desperate situations, then yanked when predictably confused) means not only haven't we SEEN much of this much-ballyhooed "No. 1 recruiting class", but they're not getting the kind of "steadily eased into it" practice and game day reps that would make them at least closer to "ready" NEXT year.
Again, this is on the coach(es): not properly preparing this year's team, nor NEXT year's either.
(Also again: go back and check out Urban's "Plan To Win"...is there some point where he applies his own "Plan..."?!!)

 

[The Zooker]

I'm a "trenches" sort of guy so I always begin with scrutiny of the lines. Truth of the matter is that we don't have a good defensive line. Lemmens and Trattou do not provide a real threat of pass rush. In the middle, Jaye Howard is the only star we have. Omar Hunter is too fat to make spectacular plays. Terron Sanders and Brandon Antwine and Lawrence Marsh have been mediocre their entire careers. The freshmen look good but they are freshmen. Hopefully they are ready to take over next season. But the end result is that opposing quarterbacks have too much time to throw the ball and opposing running backs have too many holes to run through. UF is used to have at least two, typically three or even four stars on the line. Right now we only have one freak star -- Howard. And he's injured.

 

[The Zooker]

We had that string of defensive linemen getting in trouble and getting kicked off the team. Those were five star guys. The type of guys that scared away other recruits because they were afraid of not getting much playing time. So once we lost those superstars we are left with the lower tier guys who just really wanted to play for Florida or had the guts to compete for playing time. It leaves a talent void. The good news about that void is that you can recruit young stars out of high school with the genuine offer for early playing time. That's why we signed the greatest defensive line recruiting class in history this season. So in the end it could be a blessing in disguise. Suffer a little now for the greater good later.

 

[The Zooker]

Watch out next season though. If those young linemen continue to improve we could be very scary next season on defense. A bunch of young superstars blowing up offensive lines. Our lineback corp should be devastating too. A matured pair with Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins and then a young superstar like Ronald Powell or Chris Martin holding the other spot. Hopefully Will Hill will mature and not give up big plays. He could be the anchor for our secondary. Jeremy Brown should be more mature and grow into a shutdown corner. He has flashes of brilliance but still make rookie mistakes. Josh Evans and Matt Elam can fill in the other safety position. And we have a deep pool of young cornerbacks that can step in and handle the number two spot. As long as everybody continues to grow and become better I see us having a pretty awesome defense next season. We'd also be over the growing pains of having a brand new coordinator. Coach Austin will have a better sense of what it means to coach against SEC teams after experiencing it first hand.

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

has dominique easely played at all this yr? he was only the MVP of the under armour game

 

[The Zooker]

has dominique easely played at all this yr? he was only the MVP of the under armour game

He's seen action in a few games. Mostly as a defensive end. He's not seeing more playing time because he played DT in high school but is a little undersized to be an SEC DT at the moment. So every once in awhile he'll get plugged into the DE rotation.

 

[The Zooker]

Surprise, surprise, Duke Lemmens and Justin Trattou graded out as "champions" this week according to Meyer. Things like this baffle me. All season we haven't been able to put a good pass rush on opposing quarterbacks. And yet our defensive ends grade out as "champions" every week. Just another reason why you can never trust an Urban Meyer press conference. I love some of the things Meyer has been able to do for our program. But it annoys me how he lacks any honesty with the press. The press is how we get our information on the program. Obviously you don't want to give away all your information. The opposition reads the press too. But you should at least be honest with your remarks when they are in regards to the past. Meyer has always lied and been dishonest about the past. I hate it.

 

[The Zooker]

The only thing I can think of to rationalize the DE situation is that Meyer believes in Trattou and Lemmens. He knows they don't have the physical tools to be star DE's in the SEC. But maybe if he keeps their hopes up they can use heart and determination to become star players. It's not unheard of in college. Emotion has a lot to do with ability. Look at former Georgia DE David Pollack for example. He's not a physical freak by any means. But he was a devastating DE because he had the drive and determination to do so. Maybe Meyer is just trying to pull that out of Trattou and Lemmens. But to say they are champions is not accurate. They will be lucky to earn a spot on practice squads in the NFL.

 

[The Zooker]

Again though, it pains me to say that about Trattou and Lemmens. They have lots of intangible aspects that one can only hope for in a college player. They just don't have the physical means to make that potential translate to on field success. They are great guys. Great leaders. But the all time great leaders of sports have had the ability to play consistently well above average. Results earn respect more than leadership in practice. That's just the truth of the matter. The young studs we have on the defensive line may respect Trattou and Lemmens for their attitude and heart. But they do not respect their play on the field. And I can't blame them. It the same reason why folks on the offensive line can't respect Mike Pouncey completely. He has game time issues of his own. Players want to look up to senior players that can talk the talk and walk the walk. The walk is more important than anything. Talk is cheap.

 

[Leakfan12]

I hope he puts the new guys because those two can't rush the QB.

 

[DRU2012]

Watch out next season though. If those young linemen continue to improve we could be very scary next season on defense. A bunch of young superstars blowing up offensive lines. Our lineback corp should be devastating too. A matured pair with Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins and then a young superstar like Ronald Powell or Chris Martin holding the other spot. Hopefully Will Hill will mature and not give up big plays. He could be the anchor for our secondary. Jeremy Brown should be more mature and grow into a shutdown corner. He has flashes of brilliance but still make rookie mistakes. Josh Evans and Matt Elam can fill in the other safety position. And we have a deep pool of young cornerbacks that can step in and handle the number two spot. As long as everybody continues to grow and become better I see us having a pretty awesome defense next season. We'd also be over the growing pains of having a brand new coordinator. Coach Austin will have a better sense of what it means to coach against SEC teams after experiencing it first hand.

As usual, I love your well-informed optimism, Zooker--but it's hard to hold onto even "plausible hopes for NEXT year" when I see all the other crap going on, as you yourself detail further on.

 

[DRU2012]

"...Meyer has always lied and been dishonest about the past." --Zooker

I'm sick of it. Bad enough to lie to yourselves--that'll lead to, well, the kind of deterioration to a program we're witnessing now, and eventually disaster (almost always the end result of a long sequence of mistakes and self-delusion)--but don't lie to us. Eventually it becomes obvious to too many people, and once you've broken trust with the fans, you've had it. You just won't get it back. Trouble is, by that time the program itself is in full disarray.
Now: all you said about the lines in general and Pouncey in particular is well taken, and I would take that last point re Pouncey and apply it further. When it comes to "Talkin the talk" versus "Walkin' the walk", on a certain level that goes for coaches as well: there comes a point in THAT disconnect where HE loses the trust and respect of the players. Exactly who's where with who, what and why can only be guessed at from where I'm sitting, but I believe it has become a valid issue--a dark warning regarding this program's future.