The 2010 Goal Line Offense: Interesting Trends

I’ve said that we might as well have the DL play run on neutral downs to conserve energy b/c Landry throws so quickly. On 3rd and long, then they can pin their ears back. Our DL has been consistently getting to the QB within about 3 secs during practices and scrimmages and that is going against our 1st team OL. Jimbo has been talking about our 275 lb. DEs have the speed and athleticism to play LB. I think it is just coach speak but a couple to have 4.5 – 4.6 speed. This year we have 8 guys we can rotate at DT whereas last year we only had about 3. There isn’t much diff. between 1st team and 4th team except older guys versus younger ones. I think only 1 of the 8 would be a true freshman (Timmy Jernigan), and I include him b/c he appears to be shredding our OL in practice. FSU led the nation in sacks last year, only lost 1 man to graduation, and with added size, improved speed, and depth, the Nole DL looks to be insanely good. There is a reason our DL ranks No. 1 in the country link. We still don’t even have any seniors on the DL depth chart no matter how deep you go.

To give you a feel for the quality of depth, one of our 300+ DT’s has 4.9 speed, 5.04 shuttle, played his senior year in LB in HS.

What Stample did at the ESPN combine, however, might become stuff of legend. He benched 185 lbs 32 times. The next best competitor did it 29 times, and none of the other 200 competitors bested 25 reps. Stample ran a 4.90 laser timed 40-yard dash time, which was better than 125 other combine entrants, including many skill position players. His 30" vert is also really good for a 300+ lb man. But it is that 3-cone drill time that is so jaw dropping. 7.65 seconds at 299 lbs. 16 players went through that test of speed, agility, and change of direction between 7.63 and 7.68 seconds. Two WRs, 6 defensive backs, 3 running backs, two quarterbacks, 2 linebackers, and one man over 225 lbs (Stample). That’s insane.

This kid will not break into the 4-deep at either DT spot, will have to take a RS this year, and will have to fight for PT next year because we don’t lose anyone to graduation. The grain of salt is that when he played LB he was 280-285 lbs and was 299 at the combine. Now he is probably between 302 and 305 lbs. The two points I am making are that our bigguns are not sloths and we now have quality depth.

I would much rather have OU run the ball than have Landry throwing quick passes. This will be the best DL Ou faces all year and possibly the best overall D even if you make it to the MNC. Our O has ended the season ranked in the top 10 (adjusted for SOS) each of the past two seasons, only lost 3 starters from last year, and our D has been giving the O all sorts of fits from Spring camp through present. Yes, one of the guys we lost was Ponder who was taken 13th overall in the NFL draft, but he is replaced by EJ Manuel who was the No. 1 rated dual-threat QB in the country coming out of HS. EJ has significant game experience due to Ponder’s injuries, was the Gator Bowl MVP as a freshman, and has been voted preseason 1st team all-conference by he coaches—many of whom have seen him in action. The grain of salt here is that in he has thrown 6 TDs and 10 INTs in his career (6 INTs from his fresh. yr.), some question his decision making and recognition of defenses, and fear he might turn the ball over. I don’t think anyone expects him to turn into Jacory Harris of the former football program known as the ‘Canes. Now we call them ’Da Who?’ Last year most of EJ’s reps came against VT in the ACCCG, which he started, and in the Chick-Fil-A bowl against USCe, which he took over in the 1st qtr. He completed 70% of his passes and had a 153.3 QB rating. He isn’t a 1st rd draft choice yet, but this is the first year he has had a spring camp (due to past injuries) and most think he’ll be alright. Obviously the league’s coaches think so and Jimbo devotes a lot of time to developing QBs. I didn’t mean to get off on our O, just to say that the D has been making it look bad, which hasn’t happened in past years.

As far as the defensive backfield goes, last year 3 of our 4 CBs saw their first action against OU and were trying to play zone heavy Stoops schemes in contrast to man heavy schemes they played under Bowden/Andrews. Of the 2-deep at CB, Reid was a soph., Rhodes was a fresh., Joyner who backed up Reid was a fresh., and Harris who played nickel and backed up Rhodes was JUCO transfer who only had a fall camp due to grades. The OU game was the 1st game they played together (unless you count Samford). A true recipe for disaster and we all saw what happened.

The unit played much better as the season went on, as they learned Stoops’s schemes, and as he was able to install more. You’re familiar with Reid. Rhodes made 2nd-team all-conference as a fresh. and was named conference defensive rookie of the year. (Contrast to Reid who only made all-conference honorable mention as a soph.) Joyner was the USA today defensive player of the yr. coming out of HS, added about 15-20 lbs of good weight and has moved back to his natural position at safety and locked down the starting job. Bearing in mind that the ACC is not filled with passing attacks of OSUs, aTms, UTs, and TTechs and that Harris was a backup/nickel back, he put up these numbers:

  * 4 INTs (tied with Rhodes for most in ’10),
   * 2 FF
   * 5 BU,
   * 9 PD,
   * 33 Solo Tackles,
   * 8 Assisted Tackles,
    
    That’s ridiculous for someone who isn’t a starter.

.
Here is a 14-sec. sample of Harris’s work: link
It is an amazing one-handed pick. There is a reason the rest of our DBs say he is the best CB on the team and Mark Stoops refers to him as a starter even though he is a backup. There is a battle for the run-stop SS between the two guys who started at saefty last year-Juniors Nick Moody and Terrence Parks. I prefer Moody b/c he is a harder hitter, better run-stopper, and tends to keep the play in front of him when in coverage. Last year, Parks broke his coverage early several times—for example, leaving his man when the QB scrambles b4 the QB crosses the LOS—leaving his man or zone wide open down the field for big plays and TDs. As a safety in a Stoops D, he should never let a guy get behind him IMO. Both had their share of mistakes in their first year under Stoops’s system and which gets the nod will likely depend upon which picks up their mental game, plays their assignment, and is more disciplined. Right now, Stoops has labelled them co-starters rather than 1-2. The final note about safeties is that last year all of our backups were freshmen, whereas this year they are juniors and sophs. (not to mention freshmen like 5* Karlos Williams and Tyler Hunter who was downgraded to 4* by ESPN due to a back injury his junior year that threatened his career. Consensus was that Karlos was the No. 1 or 2 HS safety in the country last year.) There is now a lot more depth and experience in the DB, the guys have had a season to play together and learn Stoops’s D, and everyone is back.

The talent level on the Nole defense is as good as the elite Ds in CFB. Whether the Nole D will play as well as those others depends on how well they listen to Stoops and how disciplined they are. All of the reports on our D are only full of praise; not so when Jimbo talks about the O (which might have something to do with how well the D is playing).

As far as playing aggressively goes, traditionally under Bowden/Andrews. Under Stoops it is not by design, just old habits that he needs to break them of. Stoops didn’t blitz much last year and didn’t need to. He would prefer coverage sacks. I don’t think Mark is that much different than Bob when it comes to teaching assignments, containment, and so forth. In year 2, I’m not sure what to expect. Stoops took our D from the 107th spot to the 41st spot in year 1. Pretty good considering the number of freshman and new schemes. We’ll see whether he can take it to the next level.

I haven’t said our D is going to make your O look ugly and I don’t expect that. You guys put up plenty of points on everyone you play. I hope our guys are not sucking wind like they were last year. Our 1st 4 or 5 games are against teams that run this hurry up, fast-snap no huddle offense. Without a doubt, OU runs it better than any of them. I would think that Stoops is preparing and conditioning our guys for that esp. since OU is not the only team who will run like that. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on the field but I do not expect this D to vaguely resemble the one you saw a year ago. All things considered, Reid and the SS/run-stop safety are, comparatively speaking, the weakest spots on the D. If you can attack and exploit those positions, you are doing just what you should.