Robb Smith Appreciation Thread

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I am expecting the defense to be better next year. DT is the one area that probably takes a step back. We should be better at every other position.
 


I am sadden that they did not make an effort to keep Jay Sawvel. But, Robb Smith is our guy on Defense now. He'd have to produce or I believe PJ would be looking for another Defensive Coordinator before too long.

Defense help win championships.
 

John Galt said:
I am expecting the defense to be better next year. DT is the one area that probably takes a step back. We should be better at every other position.
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I agree, and I think the team as a whole will be better next year. I don't see a huge step back at DT. OJ Smith and Gary Moore as starters, and Royal Silver and Malcom Robinson as backups could be solid.
 



Coach deserves credit tonight. Great effort out of the defense that I think ran out of gas a bit towards the end there but got it done.
 

I don't know if it is solely due to having better athletes, but the play of the DB's tonight just seemed different. Tighter coverage for the most part, closing on the ball really well, just more aggressive in general.

I am starting to come around to the idea that the coaches kept things extremely vanilla last year because of concerns over depth, and perceived lack of athletic ability/talent. It could well be that Smith's system works - IF you have the right athletes on the field, and I suspect the Gophers are simply a lot closer this year to having those athletes in place. Would still like to see a little more pressure from the front four, but you can't solve every problem overnight.
 

GopherNuts said:
Coach deserves credit tonight. Great effort out of the defense that I think ran out of gas a bit towards the end there but got it done.
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Yes. I’m not a Robb Smith fan, but this was one of the better defensive efforts in the last few years. Well done last night.


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Overall, an excellent defensive performance. The trouble with a low scoring game against an explosive offense is that you can control most of the game, but they can comeback and beat you with just a few big plays. We survived, but we really needed to finish off more of those scoring drives.


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Through the first half and into the second, it seemed as if the Gopher defense knew exactly what was coming at them. Gotta credit the coaching staff for that.

Team speed and tackling has been impressive so far. As SON said, some more pressure on the QB would be most welcome.

JTG
 

It's difficult to tell after just two games, but the addition of Smith in the middle of the D-line appears to anchor things. Richardson was banged up a little last year and he was (and still is) a very good football player, so maybe it's just having someone at 100% that's the difference. Having a healthy Winfield is also an obvious key to improved play.

Smith isn't the chess player that Claeys or Sawvel is, but sometimes you have to play checkers. We haven't played a really physical team yet, so it will be interesting to see how we perform in that situation.
 

I have to admit, I wasn't too impressed by Robb Smith last year, but I couldn't be more impressed so far this year. Props to him and the defensive staff.
 

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