Can We Finally Start Giving the Defense Some Credit?

MNVCGUY

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I know we have not beaten any great teams but the defense has been playing really well all season and has kicked it into a higher gear during conference play. Rossi has done an amazing job since he took over.

Winfield is playing like an All-American and we are getting contributions from guys all over the defense. We are also consistently getting to the QB and making them uncomfortable which has not been the case around here for quite some time.

Our D is not going to be confused with the top units from around the country but they are playing really solid football and deserve far more credit then they have been getting.

Leading up to this game we had fans all over talking about how we were going to struggle with Maryland's playmakers and the D shut them down, the same way they shut down Purdue (with the exception of 2 late scores in garbage time), Illinois, Nebraska, and Rutgers.

4 tough tests left in the regular season but I have confidence in our defense to rise to the challenge and do enough to give our offense a chance to score enough points to earn the W.

Bring on November! Go Gophers!
 

d has been great. love the turnovers. the ball is the program.
 

I know we have not beaten any great teams but the defense has been playing really well all season and has kicked it into a higher gear during conference play. Rossi has done an amazing job since he took over.

Winfield is playing like an All-American and we are getting contributions from guys all over the defense. We are also consistently getting to the QB and making them uncomfortable which has not been the case around here for quite some time.

Our D is not going to be confused with the top units from around the country but they are playing really solid football and deserve far more credit then they have been getting.

Leading up to this game we had fans all over talking about how we were going to struggle with Maryland's playmakers and the D shut them down, the same way they shut down Purdue (with the exception of 2 late scores in garbage time), Illinois, Nebraska, and Rutgers.

4 tough tests left in the regular season but I have confidence in our defense to rise to the challenge and do enough to give our offense a chance to score enough points to earn the W.

Bring on November! Go Gophers!

Well said!
 

Antonine Winfield playing like a first round pick. Highly graded and a big time playmaker. All American for sure.
 

Rossi deserves a significant raise as well.


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Yes raises and extensions all around. This is the year to do it. When will this team have both the offensive and defensive talent and the health to boot!
 

I don't agree with your premise. Defense has played well. Offense didn't help them in the non-con games.
 

It's hard for me to understand the "identity" of the defense.
We don't dominate the D-line or have huge size there.

I'm not a defensive expert, but we appear to just be very sound schematically and each kid does their job. Add Winfield with some play making ability, and that's what we have.
 

Oh, and shout-out to Howden who made a nice tackle on a break-away run to prevent a TD.

Howden had his worst game against MD last year and must had been largely confused by Robb Smith.
He's been very good with Rossi ever since.
I hope he's enjoying the ride after a rough freshman-walk-on season.
 



It's hard for me to understand the "identity" of the defense.
We don't dominate the D-line or have huge size there.

I'm not a defensive expert, but we appear to just be very sound schematically and each kid does their job. Add Winfield with some play making ability, and that's what we have.

I looks to me like the D line, especially interior, is being coached to own their gaps first and keep the linebackers clean, and not necessarily "dominate" in a flashy sense. On pass plays, pressure on the QB probably comes from the ends and/or blitzing players instead of interior lineman. This allows the defensive playmakers (linebackers and safeties) to fly around and make plays in space. It also reduces the big plays that Smith's defense got torched on over and over. I love it.
 

I looks to me like the D line, especially interior, is being coached to own their gaps first and keep the linebackers clean, and not necessarily "dominate" in a flashy sense. On pass plays, pressure on the QB probably comes from the ends and/or blitzing players instead of interior lineman. This allows the defensive playmakers (linebackers and safeties) to fly around and make plays in space. It also reduces the big plays that Smith's defense got torched on over and over. I love it.

What urban Meyer preached when he broke down Illinois against Wisconsin. The d line is playing gaps and letting the next level make plays while not giving up the homerun.
 

Defense up to 23rd in SP+, pretty impressive rise up the rankings as the season has gone on.


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Durr and St Juste are outstanding in coverage.

Williamson has been really good in his role.

Rossi has all but eliminated giving up the big plays, which Purdue, Illinois, Md and NE are all capable of getting.
 



You force a team to string a bunch of plays together to score you up the odds of them shooting themselves in the foot.
 

Antonine Winfield playing like a first round pick. Highly graded and a big time playmaker. All American for sure.

Exactly. We had posters here question if he was a good tackler. I hope they have been watching him play this season.
 

It's hard for me to understand the "identity" of the defense.
We don't dominate the D-line or have huge size there.

I'm not a defensive expert, but we appear to just be very sound schematically and each kid does their job. Add Winfield with some play making ability, and that's what we have.

I think the secondary is the identity of the defense. They just keep making plays and have made every QB we have faces this year look completely pedestrian.
 

Durr and St Juste are outstanding in coverage.

Williamson has been really good in his role.

Rossi has all but eliminated giving up the big plays, which Purdue, Illinois, Md and NE are all capable of getting.

I thought B Oliver played great when he was in the game. His speed reminded me of SEC linebackers.
 

Durr and St Juste are outstanding in coverage.

Williamson has been really good in his role.

Rossi has all but eliminated giving up the big plays, which Purdue, Illinois, Md and NE are all capable of getting.

Yep, those teams are not great teams but they have offenses that are capable of gashing you for big plays. They showed a stat on Maryland being one of the best in the country at creating big plays on offense.

Defense has done an outstanding job since the Purdue game last year of making teams work to score points against us.
 

The defense will get more credit nationally when we settle up with the upcoming three teams. Until then we'll be on the back burner.
 




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