SB Nation - B.J. Raji

ACC Championship Preview

BirdGT — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:18 -0000

I don't really feel like breaking down Clemson too terribly much for the preview this week. I wanna look into what it takes to make it to the ACC Title. Here are some trends since 2005 that I'm gonna break down even further.

Battle of the Techs
The Coastal Division Champion has emerged from the Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech 5 straight years. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are the only two Coastal teams with winning records against ACC opponents since 2005. They are also the only two Coastal teams with winning records against the Atlantic. Both teams sport an impressive 11-4 record against Atlantic foes since '05. Combining VT and GT's records makes the rest of the Coastal seem even more inept as the Tech combo have a 59-21 ACC regular season record since 2005 versus the other four are an abysmal 58-102. Bringing out the old chart of ACC Coastal division races, we can see that no other Coastal teams have really contended for the Division crown outside of Miami in 2005 and UVA in 2006. Otherwise, the Division has been a two horse race since its inception.

Eb and Flow of the Atlantic
The Atlantic has had four different champions in five years. That's pretty impressive. The only other I-A division to replicate this feat from 2005-2009 was the MAC Eastern Division. Needless to say, there's a good bit of parity and depth in the Atlantic as opposed to the Coastal.

ACC Scoring Offense/Defense vs. Winning
One of the positive trends about ACC Division Champions is that no ACC Division Champion has ever scored less than their ACC opponents for the year. The closest call was BC in 2008. They scored 206 points in ACC regular season play and gave up 204 points. There were 28 different teams that have allowed more points than they've scored since 2005 in ACC regular season competition.

Concerning defenses, the ACC has been notoriously stifling until this year. The average ACC offense scored 22.0 points/game from 2005-2008 in conference play. In 2009, ACC offenses upped the conference scoring average to 26.8 points per team per game. Bad defenses? Maybe. Better offenses? Definitely.

The ACCCG is chalk full o' Ballers
I'm a pretty big NFL fan and I like to see GT players succeed at the next level. Fellow NFL fans should watch the ACCCG 'cause eight players have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft following ACC division championship seasons. B.J. Raji and Matt Ryan from the 2008 and 2007 Boston College Eagles. Calvin Johnson from the 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Ernie Sims, Kameron Wimbley, Broderick Bunkley, and Antonio Cromartie from the 2005 Florida State Seminoles. And Duane Brown from the 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies. I wouldn't be surprised if there are three or more NFL first rounders playing in Saturday's game.

2006 ACCCG Ghosts
Personally, I hope the guys that are redshirt juniors and seniors are talking up this game to the younger guys. 2006 sucked big time. We went down to Jacksonville after an embarrassing loss to Georgie and further embarrassed ourselves and the conference with the greatest display of offensive futility since this. Pat Nix put the final nail in his coffin after having a break out year. Thankfully, Miami "stole" him from us.

Two guys on our current squad played against Wake Forest: Robert Hall and Cord Howard. I hope they're telling everyone that the last thing Georgia Tech fans want is a loss on Saturday. I guess if there's one good thing that will come from Saturday it will be the fact that no one has to go back to Tampa if they lose.

Predictions:
Winfield: 28-17 Jackets win in epic rain soaked fashion!
Dane: 24-21 Good guys chuck oranges in Tampa!
Bird: 35-34 GT doesn't cover the spread but earns first ever BCS birth. F Clemson.

Q&A with BC Interruption: Wake Forest vs. Boston College

MRickman84 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:41:42 -0000

We are happy to have BC Interruption as a part of SB Nation now. With their great coverage of BC sports and a smart but fun style, the guys are a perfect fit for the network. If you haven't yet, check out their site and you will find our answers to their questions as well.

BSD: After last week's performance there has been plenty of media attention regarding BC's quarterback situation. Tell us a little about the strengths/weaknesses of each of the candidates. Will more than one of them likely see snaps on Saturday?

BCI: The answer the second half of your question first. Yes, more than one of the BC quarterbacks will see snaps on Saturday. Don’t be surprised if three (or more!) quarterbacks take snaps on Saturday. Spaziani seems to have shown his hand a little and at this point, all indications are that Dave Shinskie will start this Saturday. Justin Tuggle will also play. The wildcard will be true freshman Michael Marscovetra, who may also see the field this weekend.

As for the strengths/weaknesses of each candidate, if you ask Spaziani, all three candidates have done little to separate themselves from the pack. This seems to be the reason why we are now three games into the season and a starter has yet to emerge. Early on, Tuggle seems to be making better decisions and has the best ability to run with the ball. Shinskie has looked rusty, particularly in the Clemson game, but has a bit stronger arm. Some say that Marscovetra has the best arm of the bunch, but he is the youngest and most unproven of the bunch.

To be honest, it won’t matter who we throw under center on Saturday if the offensive line doesn’t step up their game.

BSD: It seems that BC's defense has been stout for the past several years. What are the strongest areas of the D this season? Has the run defense been able to at least partially counteract the loss of B.J. Raji?

BCI: The strength is in the secondary. Safeties Wes Davis and Marcellus Bowman have been solid contributors to the Eagles secondary. Corners Roderick Rollins (Sr.) and DeLeon Gause (Jr.) have also been solid. Behind these guys is a wealth of talent including Jim Noel, Okechukwu Okoroha, and Donnie Fletcher. The Eagles led the country in interceptions last year (26), and the secondary has been equally as strong this year, ranking #5 in pass defense.

The surprise has been in the linebacking corps. With the losses of Mark Herzlich, Mike McLaughlin and Will Thompson, the Eagles have had to rely on a very young linebacking corps early. Freshman Luke Kuechly has played very well through three games, filling in for the injured McLaughlin. McLaughlin returns to the field this weekend, but I would expect both Kuechly and McLaughlin to share the workload at MLB.

While it is hard to replace nearly 800 pounds at defensive tackle in B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, so far the Eagles front four have held serve. For the Northeastern and Kent State games, the Eagles held our opponents to under 100 yards rushing. At Clemson, we held Spiller & co. to 151 yards on the ground.

BSD: It feels like Rich Gunnell has been at BC for 8 years, especially after the dagger he delivered to Wake Forest late in the game last year. Is he the primary deep threat this season? What other receivers should we keep an eye on?

BCI: Gunnell is still the primary deep threat for the Eagles, but he isn’t the only threat in the receiving corps. Keep an eye on Justin Jarvis and Colin Larmond, Jr. RS Freshman Clyde Lee has also been a pleasant surprise. He’s a burner and has averaged 10.7 yards per catch. Clarence Megwa, returning from a nasty broken leg injury suffered last year at Clemson, is also a solid contributor in the group of Eagle receivers.

The tough part about evaluating the receivers, quite frankly, is that they haven’t seen the ball much. Given the offensive line struggles and the dismal offensive performance at Clemson, the Eagles offense hasn’t been able to get these guys the ball much. Of the group, only Gunnell and Larmond Jr. has eclipsed 100 yards on the season through 3 games.

BSD: How do you feel the crowd will be this weekend? Is the general tone of the BC fanbase optimistic for the remainder of the season?

BCI: The game is currently close to (and should) sell out because it is Boston College’s Parents’ Weekend. This is good news that most of the seats will be filled on Saturday but it probably won't be one of the loudest crowds ever at Alumni Stadium. Many of those fans might be those parents who just come to one game a year or this might be their first game ever. Also as a result, the students might not be quite as game ready as they would otherwise be for a 2:00 game.

As for the general tone of the fanbase, even though we are three weeks in, I still don’t think anyone really knows what the Eagles have. Particularly so on offense. The coaching staff’s indecision on a starting QB has certainly contributed to this feeling. This weekend’s game will be a huge litmus test in terms of finding out exactly what we have. If the Deacons simply blow the Eagles out of the water on Saturday, with tough games against Florida State, Virginia Tech and NC State coming up, I fear that the wheels will fall off the Eagles bandwagon.

BSD: What concerns you the most about facing Wake Forest?

BCI: Misdirection plays. Wake always has a play or two against BC that looks like it’s going right until some speedster comes down the left side with the ball for a 30 yard gain. Those plays worry me. If BC can keep Wake from getting a few big plays, BC will come out on top.

BSD: How has the new coaching staff graded out so far? Which changes in strategy have been welcomed and which ones are many of the fans questioning?

BCI: I have to cop out on this one and give Coach Spaziani and the Eagles coaching staff an incomplete here. The Eagles have beaten the teams they were supposed to beat and suffered a humiliating defense at Clemson (humiliating, at least on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe a bit on special teams too. Why you actually kick to Spiller? We have no idea). This week is the Eagles new coaching staff’s first test. Can they rebound from the loss to Clemson and have the young Eagles ready on Sunday? Will the offensive line come to play? Will we continue to be conservative with the offensive playcalling? Still a lot of unanswered questions on this test so we really can’t grade the job this coaching staff has done quite yet.

BSD: For Wake fans making the trip to Chestnut Hill, what hometown digs are must-visits? (restaurants, bars, etc)

BCI: For starters know that most of the action will take place in Cleveland Circle. The BC dive bar of choice is MaryAnn’s in Cleveland Circle, but I can’t imagine that would be any fun for Wake Forest fans to go to. In the Circle, there are some good bar/restaurants to check out (Roggie’s / Cityside) as well as choice of two solid pizza places (Presto's or Pino's). Finally, no trip is complete without attempting the Godzilla burger challenge at Eagle’s Deli. When on campus, both Shea Field and the Mods (an area of modular apartments for the senior class that is home to some of the best pre-game tailgates) are fun scenes to experience.

BSD: The last few games between Wake and BC have been very entertaining and meaningful in the overall ACC race. Any predictions?

BCI: The past few years’ Wake-BC games have always gone down to the wire and have had some very strange and wild finishes. I don’t expect this year to be any different. Riley Skinner has struggled in his three games against the Eagles, posting a 3:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. I’ll predict these struggles continue for Skinner on Saturday. Of course we’re biased, but I think with the game at home, the Eagles will do just enough on offense and the defense will remain stout, possibly turning a Wake Forest turnover into points. Eagles win 23-21.

Comparing the Online Recruiting Ranking Services

Buck Bravo — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:00:11 -0000

Rivals, Scout, and ESPN all provide ranking systems for recruits headed to Division 1 football programs. Often, ratings of individual players will vary greatly from one service to another. In an attempt to determine which service most accurately projects the future performance of players, let's take a look at the ratings that were given to the 2009 NFL first round draft picks back when they were being recruited for college football:

PICK

NAME

COLLEGE

TEAM

RIVALS

STARS

SCOUT

STARS

ESPN

RATING

Matthew Stafford

Georgia

Jason Smith

Baylor

Tyson Jackson

LSU

Aaron Curry

OLB

Wake Forest

Mark Sanchez

USC

Andre Smith

Alabama

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Maryland

Virginia

Boston College

Texas Tech

Penn State

Georgia

Texas

Ohio State

OLB

USC

Northern Illinois

Kansas State

Tennessee

Missouri

Oklahoma State

California

Florida

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Illinois

OLB

USC

Donald Brown

Connecticut

Louisville

North Carolina

Rutgers

Ohio State

Missouri

ESPN did not start ranking recruits until 2006, so players from before that time have no ranking. Despite this limitation, let's look at the trend lines for the different services:

While Scout may have had the most 5 star rankings for recruits who ultimately became first round NFL draft choices, Rivals had the best trendline for accurately ranking future NFL talent. A more comprehensive analysis looking at later rounds and previous years would best determine which service best analyzes talent. If I were retired or writing for TDG full time, I'd be eager to put such a report together for later this week. For now, the first round of the 2009 NFL draft will have to suffice.

'Nole Your Enemy- The Shrinking Boston College Defense

FSUncensored — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:57:36 -0000

We continue our " 'Nole Your Enemy" Series with Boston College. We started with South Florida (Offense, Defense) and continued with BYU's Offense and Defense. Yesterday we previewed BC's Offense. Today we'll look at their defense, and particularly how they will defend the Seminole Offense

Boston College's defense was excellent last year, not just in the ACC, but on a national level. They were easily one of the top 5 defenses in the country, and one of the best in the latter part of this decade. BC was loaded with experienced, smart, very talented players and they were very well coached. Let's take a look at where they ranked against other ACC teams:

Obviously, the lower the number, the better. Florida had the Nation's best defense, and they posted a -0.567. BC had a -0.547, which by this measure, placed them as the 2nd best defensive unit in the nation.

So BC's defense was really, really good. But why was Boston College so good on defense? How did they do it? And more importantly, can they do it again this year against the 'Noles? Let's find out...

Boston College stopped the run and the pass...

As you can see, BC had the conference's best defense and the best run defense. But they also led the nation in interceptions with 26!

Boston College's defense was huge. Literally.

Most elite defenses had a front 7 (4 defensive linemen and three linebackers, or three defensive linemen and four linebackers) weighing in at over 1830lbs last year. BC was one of only two teams to come in at over 1900lbs! (BC was 1902lbs, 'Bama was 1920). Basically, dominated 1st and 2nd down with their huge defensive line and linebacking corps, which allowed their secondary to focus almost solely on the pass. The created 2nd and 8+ and 3rd and 5+ situations more consistent than almost anybody else, and of course, interceptions come in those situations because the defense knows what the offense will do (pass). If you're interested in reading 5,000 words on why defensive size matters, Click Here.

And when BC got teams into those highly favorable (for the defense) situations, Defensive Coordinator Frank Spaziani went to work. This is an excellent article explaining how: http://clempsonfootball.blogspot.com/2009/07/bc-spazianis-3-5-3-defense.html And they produced excellent results (see above, or watch any game).

But BC's defense wasn't only huge and physically mature, they were very talented... We're talking about multiple elite NFL prospects at the most important positions. Let's go to the tape!

B.J. Raji- Defensive Tackle

B.J. Raji Inside Look (via gridironvids)

DT BJ Raji Highlights Boston College 2008 (via DraftParty)

Raji is one of the most impressive defensive tackle prospects to come out of college in a while. At 335lbs+ and cat quick, he destroyed everyone in his path. Raji made FSU's All-American Guard Rodney Hudson look terrible, to say nothing of what he did to The 'Nole's highly regarded (by some, not by us) Center Ryan McMahon. He was selected 9th overall in the NFL draft. Yes, BC had a top 10 pick playing defensive tackle. If Raji had played in the 2007 season (missed a lot because of Academics and other stuff), he might have been a top 5 overall selection. But that's not the only guy Boston College had in the middle...

Ron Brace- Nose Guard

DT Ron Brace Highlights BC vs Vandy 2008 (via DraftParty)

Brace was bigger and slower, but he was a load at 340lbs. You can see the problems he caused from his video. He was selected in the 2nd round of the NFL draft, #40 overall, by the New England Patriots- who have a great track record drafting defensive linemen (if you had any doubts as to his skill level, that should help to assuage them).

So Boston College had two excellent NFL prospects, who were seniors, playing defensive tackle, weighing at least a combined 670lbs (and possibly more). How rare is that? It hasn't happened in over half a decade:

Teams with 2 defensive tackles taken in 1st and 2nd round (or 2 1st rounders) of same draft:

2001 Georgia Richard Seymour (1st) and Marcus Stroud (1st)
2001 Texas Casey Hampton (1st) and Shaun Rogers (2nd)
2002 Tennessee John Henderson (1st) and Albert Haynesworth (1st)
2003 Penn State Jimmy Kennedy (1st) and Tony Adams (2nd)

So I think we can all agree that this is a pretty rare pairing. What did this pairing do for BC schematically?

It allowed them to shrink the field. College offensive lines couldn't handle the interior of BC's defensive line. As you can see on the videos, these two not only effectively held their ground, but they literally drove their offensive counterpart several yards into the backfield. Running against the middle of BC's defense was not an option, so teams were forced to run wider. Boston College wasn't dumb, however, and they knew teams would try to run wide on them. What did they do to compensate? Align wider, of course, with their linebackers and ends. BC knew they some of their players weren't that fast (not all- some were very fast), but they were very strong and big. By aligning them wider, they were able to minimize any disadvantage their lack of speed posed. Their defensive ends and linebackers were strong enough to fight through blocks to get back to and help out with the interior runs. So it worked very well.

BC's DT duo was also devastatingly effective because of their duplicity. Against one good defensive tackle, it's fairly common practice to handle him by double-teaming. But that didn't work against BC because you can't effectively double team two defensive tackles (4 guys blocking two means that there are only 6 blockers left to block the other 9 defenders- assuming the QB is not a blocker). And if teams did not try to double both, the non-double teamed defensive tackle would simply blow the play up in the backfield.

And despite their size, they were also very good against the pass. Because of their sheer power, Raji and Brace pushed the opposing pass protectors back into the quarterback. There was no pocket against BC. It simply did not exist. BC's ends weren't great, but they looked pretty good because the opposing quarterback could not step up. "The worse place for a pass rusher is behind the quarterback"_ Bill Belicheck. BC's guys were never behind the quarterback. It was impossible to over-run the play because the QB had to backpedal so far. We saw great examples of this last year against Notre Dame and of course, the FSU game. BC's defensive tackles allowed BC to defend only half the field, because the QB would inevitably leave the non-existent pocket and scramble to one side of the field or another. BC would simply defend that side of the field. And it wasn't if the escape routes were sharp or direct- no, they were long and loopy because of the pressure asserted up the middle. That long, loopy pocket escape allowed BC's defense time to re-position. If the QB could make a throw across his body, to the opposite side of the field while on the run, BC would let him have it. They knew that a play like that more often ends in disaster for the offense than a bust by the defense.

Okay,s o you get the point that BC had NFL players at the two most important defensive positions, but a lot of people will tell you that those two weren't even BC's best defensive player. Linebacker Mark Herzlich actually won the ACC's defensive player of the year award. Video? Absolutely:

Mark Herzlich vs. Virginia Tech (via AloDraft)

DraftParty: LB Mark Herzlich Highlights Boston College vs Vanderbilt 2008 (via DraftParty)

Mark Herzlich vs. Wake Forest (via AloDraft)

Herzlich was 6'4" 245lbs and he could move. He played like he had stolen Barry Bonds' roids and taken them all at once, and he was arguably the best linebacker in the country, though he didn't get as much praise as the USC or Florida guys. His draft evaluation was really, really high, easily a top 20 pick. Herzlich being a stand up guy, however, decided to come back and play out his senior season as defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani took over the head coaching position. Tragically, he came down with Ewing's Sarcoma (Cancer) this off-season. He can't play football this year and I won't speculate on his ability to ever play again. The important thing for Mark is that he gets better. Currently undergoing Chemo, he's said to be in good spirits.

I hate to be cold about this, but losing Herzlich is absolutely huge for Boston College. Think about this, Boston College basically lost three elite NFL prospects off its defense in a single season. No team lost more on the defensive side (except arguably USC).

BC plays a read and react defense under defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani (now the head coach), which means they rarely blitz. Spaziani is highly thought of as a defensive coordinator and is very detail oriented. He has always done a nice job of adapting his scheme to his personnel. And this year he has quite the task on his hands with the loss of his 3 best players (by far). BC returns only 5 starters on defense, and none of those 5 are projected NFL selections. To say that the talent has dropped off would be a huge understatement. It's highly doubtful that BC's defense will come close to what it did last season. Let's see what they bring back...

Defensive Line & Linebackers (The "Front 7")

Gone are the big boys we discussed above. BC doesn't have the ability to replace them. The best of this group is tackle Damik Scafe (6-3, 293, Jr.). He played a bit last year and will probably play in the NFL eventually, though he's an obvious dropoff from last year. The other tackle is tackle Kaleb Ramsey (6-3, 256, Soph.) Young and obviously not very strong, he's a major liability and most teams will be able to run on him.

While BC has major questions at tackle, they are considerable better off at defensive end. Austin Giles (6-3, 283, Sr.) will battle Alex Albright 6'2" 250 could also get the nod. At the other end, Jim Ramella (6-4, 243, Sr.) is a very solid player. These guys are good, but not great, and won't come close to having the impact that the two interior guys had last year. In fact, they could regress as teams focus on them and not the interior guys.

At linebacker, the Eagles are a mess. They lost Herzlich and he obviously isn't replacable. They also lost Robert Francois (6'2" 255), and Middle Linebacker Mike McLaughlin (6'0" 252) will try to return from tearing his Achilles back in March, but even if he does come back, he'll be quite rusty. Trying to replace Herzlich is sophomore Dominick LeGrande 6'2" 200 (yes, 200). He's not ready, but has to play anyways because of Herzlich's absence. LeGrande played safety last year. Sophomore Will Thompson (6'1" 235) will replace McLaughlin if he can't go. He has impressed people but is not as good as the guy he will be asked to replace. At the other position will be one of two redshirt freshmen in 6'3" 217lb Nick Clancy or 6'3" 222lb Alexander Disanzo.

These guys are much smaller, much less experienced, much less talented, and much younger. There's a huge dropoff for BC's defensive line and linebackers.

So BC's front-7 did weigh 1902lbs. This year, they will weigh in at 1711bs. That's a huge dropoff of 191lbs! No team in the country that I could find had this significant a dropoff, and nobody else was even close. That's to say nothing of the talent they lost (regardless of size), which they can't replace this season.

So 1711lbs combined in their front 7. Why does this matter? FSU's run game destroys small front 7's.

There are two ways to stop FSU's running game and not get burned by the bubble screen (a pass FSU throws exceptionally well) Essentially, the bubble screen is a tool to make sure that the offense plays 7 in the box and not 8. If the defense cheats and brings extra men against the run, we throw the bubble to keep them honest. :

The first is to have a huge, disciplined front 7, that is difficult to cut block. One that takes good angles and doesn't allow cutbacks. This allows teams to play straight upon the receivers, also maintaining deep coverage. Or...
Play 8 in the box and play zero coverage-press man against each receiver. Virginia Tech did this and they were eventually burned deep. This requires excellent athletes in the secondary,

As we'll see in a second, BC does not have the option to play number two. They have to hope their front-7 can stop the run. What did other front 7's do against FSU's run game?

Wake 1838lbs, 27 rushes for 103 yards. Wake was very big.They were able to play the bubble straight up, which worked very well. They also had 4 seniors on defense drafted in the first 4 rounds.

Florida 1835lbs, 29 rushes for 137 Big and supremely talented, our rushing success came primarily in garbage time.

Miami 1785lbs, 54 rushes, 281 yards. There is a pretty big drop off from UF to Miami (55lbs). Remember here that our rushing success came primarily on reverses and Ponder running, most of which was a result of Miami's idiotic plan to defense our attack. We bubbled them to death when they went 8 or 9 in the box.

Georgia Tech 1772lbs (I think they were lighter because of major injuries, correct?). 31 rushes, 228 yards. Remember that GTech was missing 2 key linebackers and a safety. Still, this is a big drop in weight from the 3 schools over 1835lbs.

Virginia Tech 1766lbs, 34 rushes, 123 yards. Poor numbers. Explanation? Yes. VT played 8 in the box and manned up on the wide receivers. If you're puzzled, remember what happened: the only thing open was the deep ball. They saturated the running lanes and pressed FSU's wideouts. Eventually, FSU burned them deep.

Clemson 1760lbs, 34 rushes, 281 yards Light front 7? Check. Depending solely on speed to stop the run? Check. Cutbacks? Check.

NC State 1757lbs, 42 rushes, 162 yards These numbers aren't amazing, but much of this game was us trying to control the clock while battling holding penalties. They also include lost sack yardage (which isn't a run play). Light front 7? Check. Depending solely on speed to stop the run? Check. Cutbacks? Check.

Maryland 1755lbs, 41 rushes, 172 yards Maryland struggled all game in choosing to defend the bubble or the run.

Colorado 1755lbs, 45 rushes, 259 yards The smallest front we played AND they decided to stop the bubble. Running wild was the obvious result.

BC is 44lbs lighter than any front-7 FSU played last season. From the Biggest to the Smallest.Every offensive linemen is back for FSU, and three are All-America candidates (even if 'Nole fans know their center is overrated). The 'Nole line is extremely quick and very intelligent. They will not struggle to block BC's tiny front -7. FSU is great against small quick teams because their linemen are athletes, not maulers. They are excellent blockers on the 2nd level (where the linebackers are).

Suffice to say, BC will not be able to widen everyone out this year like they did last season. I'm not trying to be mean here, but these guys went from the best front-7 FSU played, to one of the worst.

Secondary

Remember all those interceptions? Kiss them goodbye. BC's secondary was allowed to play pass first, second, and last. Now? They'll have to use one of the secondary members (a safety) in run support. The burden on the secondary should be significantly increased. Were those defensive backs really that good? Or were they the beneficiaries of a great front-7 that put opposing offenses in tough situations? I think it's the latter. None of the BC secondary guys are likely all-conference candidates or NFL players (none are projected to go in the 2010 or 2011 draft). Let's have a look:

At Safety, BC should be okay with Free Safety Wes Davis and Strong Safety Marcellus Bowman. Davis is a 6'2" 215 Junior who produced 60 tackles, 3 tfl, 2 INT, 6 pass breakups last year. He's a decent player in coverage and in run suppot, but as with most of these guys, I expect him to get exposed because he now has to play run and pass (can't play 25 yards off the ball). Davis will be hung out to dry all by himself because Bowman, a 6'2" 217lb Senior will be called upon to help stop the run. Again, the loss of the great front-7 guys (both expected and unexpected) is going to put tremendous pressure on this secondary.

At corner, BC has similar problems. They return the experienced Roderick Rollins, a 6-0, 188-pound senior. Rollins has had the benefit of a lot of help from his safeties in his career and that help won't be there this year. He's decently physical, but can he turn and run after the initial bump coverage? We shall see. At the other corner spot is rising sophomore Donnie Fletcher (6'1" 188lbs). Fletcher is another big corner. They also have the experienced Deleon Gause 5'11" 174lb, a Junior who has good physical skills, but is inconsistent.

BC's secondary plays extremely physical, which is great when they have the help of safeties who aren't pre-occupied with stopping the run. But without safety help, if the corners can't run and run, they will be burned for long TD's. Wes Davis will have to prove that he can cover the deep middle instead of a deep half (now that Bowman will play down in the box).

So, some Final Thoughts? BC's defense was the ACC's best and easily top 5 nationally. They beat FSU up last year. FSU had the youngest offensive line in the country and were destroyed by an ultra-talented and experienced set of defensive linemen and linebackers. But BC lost more talent in one off-season to graduation, injuries, and tragic diseases, than they've had come through their program in the previous decade. No team can simply replace what BC lost, but some could come close. BC isn't one of those programs. I feel bad for these guys because their off-season was truly very unlucky. I expect BC's defense to go from the tops in the conference to the bottom 3rd. There's simply not much depth and little talent. Neither team should be more distracted than the other for this game, as they both have good opponents before and after. I have full confidence that Frank Spaziani will come up with good game plan after good game plan, but his ability to get creative will be severely hampered because his defense will face far fewer obvious passing situations. He's also never been a blitz guy, and he'll definitely need to blitz FSU to get pressure, because FSU's offensive line can handle BC's 3 or 4 man rush. When he blitzes, can their secondary handle the single coverage responsibilities against FSU's wideouts? I doubt it. I expect FSU to run the ball very well on BC, force BC to make adjustments that they really don't want to do, and then FSU will exploit them down the field. This isn't a slam dunk game for FSU by any means, and I'd be shocked to see FSU as a double digit favorite, but researching this piece made me realize just how good BC's defense was last season, and just how much talent they lost.

For more on BC, see: BC Interruption or Eagle in Atlanta

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ACC Roundtable: Pre-Season Edition

FSUncensored — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:43:30 -0000

Welcome readers of CBS Sports!

The Atlantic Coast Conference was quite the enigma in 2008. The ACC had 10 bowl teams and yet had no teams in the top 10 at seasons end. The ACC had the best non-conference performance among the BCS conferences, and yet nobody seemed to notice. Why is this?

The ACC isn't sexy. America loves sexy and in college football, offense is sexy. The ACC, on the other hand, is a defensive conference. Six of the ACC's head coaches have a background on the defensive side of the ball. Compare that to the Big 12, where only three of the head coaches have a defensive background. Head coach personalities are often reflected in the play of their teams, and that is the case with the ACC. The ACC was the best defensive conference in 2008, but again, few noticed. 5 ACC teams had a top 20 defense in 2008, and all but two had a defense in the top half of college football. No other conference came close. Wake Forest featured 4 Defensive NFL draft picks in the first 4 rounds, including the #4 overall pick in linbebacker Aaron Curry. That same Wake Forest team beat media darling Ole Miss and surprising Baylor out of conference, yet received little publicity for doing so with a 4-4 record in conference.

The ACC's style is downright boring. The majority of ACC coaches are very conservative. They punt. They play the field position game. They don't run wide-open offenses. The ACC has the lowest average margin of victory of all the major conferences. The games are all close, because all the teams are talented. There are no off-weeks in the ACC. Teams who overlook an opponent lost to that opponent more often than not. In many ways, the ACC resembles the NFL. People enjoy NFL football, but there isn't a higher-scoring alternative played on Sundays. As Tony Barnhart writes, the NFL loves the ACC. Over the last 5 years, the ACC has the most first round picks on defense.

And while the ACC plays great defense, they also have some talent on the offensive side of the ball. Most don't realize the good offense being played because of the defensive nature of the conference. 4 of the first 9 draft choices last year were from the ACC and 3 of those were offensive players. The last two 1st round QB's chosen from the ACC have been big time hits (Matt Ryan and Phillip RIvers), in no small part because of the excellent defenses they faced in the ACC.

In 2009 though, the ACC might put a few more points on the scoreboard, and catch the eyes of some voters who ignored the conference last year, as more offensive-minded coaches gain control, and young quarterbacks become experienced veterans. Inside, we preview the ACC with the help of some of the best writers who cover the ACC, in this first edition of the ACC Roundtable!

We asked each writer three question sets about their team.

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?
The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?
Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

Atlantic Division

Boston College won the ACC Atlantic last year by virtue of a tiebreaker over FSU and Maryland.

ATLANTIC	CONF. W-L	OVERALL W-L
Florida State	5-3	9-4
Boston College*	5-3	9-5
Maryland	4-4	8-5
Wake Forest	4-4	8-5
Clemson	4-4	7-6
North Carolina State	4-4	6-7

Talk about parity! The entire Atlantic division was bowl eligible, and every team was within 1 game of playing for the conference championship. This year, things look to be slightly more spread out, as several teams seem poised to take a big step forwards or backwards.

Forget the ACC writer's picks. Let's have a look at the current vegas odds:

9/4 Florida State
7/2 Clemson
7/2 North Carolina State
6/1 Wake Forest
9/1 Maryland
21/1 Boston College

There's a wide divide between the top three and the next two, and then a huge gap between everyone and Boston College. So let's start with Boston College.

Boston College

Boston College has a new head coach in Frank Spaziani this season after their head coach (Jeff Jagodzinski) left the team to pursue NFL opportunities. Spaziani was the Eagle's excellent defensive coordinator.

In 2008, Boston College had arguably the best defense in the nation (with USC and UF having legitimate claims as well). BC had two monsters in the middle. Over 650lbs of defensive tackle tandem in B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, who would be selected in rounds 1 and 2 of the NFL draft, respectively. They also had a Butkus Award Finalist in linebacker Mark Herzlich, a certain 1st round pick had he elected to leave school. Tragically, he decided to return to school and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer this off-season. Not many schools have three or four early round draft choice types on defense, but BC had just that in 2008, and they rode that defense to the ACC championship game. Boston College notched an incredible 26 interceptions, which led the nation. They did this by dominating 1st and 2nd down with their huge defensive line and linebacking corps, which allowed their secondary to focus almost solely on the pass. Interceptions come on 3rd and long and BC was great at forcing opposing offenses into 3rd and long. This year, BC returns only 5 starters on defense, and none of those 5 are projected NFL selections. To say that the talent has dropped off would be a huge understatement. It's highly doubtful that BC's defense will come close to what it did last season, and the burden on the secondary should be significantly increased. Were those defensive backs really that good? Or were they the beneficiaries of a great front-7 that out opposing offenses in tough situations? BC hopes for the former but Vegas seems to think it is the latter.

On offense, BC was not great, but they weren't as bad as some might believe. Consider that they had to face the excellent defenses of Virgina Tech (twice), North Carolina, Clemson, Wake Forest, and Florida State, and their numbers look a bit better. They have either the best or second-best offensive line in the ACC, led by Center Matt Tenannt and Left Tackle Anthony Costanzo, both of whom should eventually be first day draft choices. The wide receivers are experienced and are led by Rich Gunnell. The major question is quarterback, which our BC writers discuss below.

Your Boston College writers are Brian and Jeff of BC Interruption, one of the leading Boston College websites.

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

BC will likely be better on the offensive side of the ball and worse on the defense side. Overall, this is probably a net loss. Unfortunately, this will show in the Eagles' final record. Notre Dame has a better chance of beating the Eagles this year (the game in South Bend). Our game against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is nearly a sure loss, and it's difficult to find definite wins on our ACC schedule. A record of 9-3 (5-3 ACC) is likely a best, best case scenario with anywhere from 6-6 to 8-4 a possibility. In all liklihood the Eagles won't surpass their 2008 win total.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

I don't know if you can call it an injury per se, but obviously the biggest void for the Eagles to fill this season is in the linebacking corps with the loss of All-American Linebacker Mark Herzlich. Add to this the uncertainty of when Middle Linebacker Mike McLaughlin will return from tearing his Achilles back in March, and the Eagles will need newcomers to step up at linebacker. The Eagles will look to sophomores Dominick LeGrande and Will Thompson to fill the holes left by Herzlich and McLaughlin. Spaziani will likely also rotate in redshirt freshmen Alex DiSanzo and Nick Clancy as well as senior Kevin Distaso. Of that group, however, only Will Thompson has significant experience as he played behind Robert Francois. These Eagles will hopefully step up, but it would be unreasonable to expect them to completely fill the void left by Herzlich and McLaughlin.

Incumbent starting quarterback Dominique Davis leaving for academic reasons might actually be a blessing in disguise. This allowed the Eagles to go out and recruit another quarterback in Dave Shinskie, who appears to be the front-runner for the starting position. Also, where Jeff Jagodzinski and Steve Logan favored more of the duel-threat style quarterback (Davis and Tuggle), early it appears Frank Spaziani and OC Gary Tranquill favor more of the traditional, pro-style quarterback (Shinskie, Marscovetra, Rettig, Bordner).

Less importantly, it would have been nice to see WR Clarence Megwa back in pads during the Eagles opening practices, however Megwa injured his right hand and has had to sit out of practice. If Megwa can get back on the field, he will join a talented wide receiving corps that has the potential to be one of the better units in the conference (provided the starting QB can get them the ball). Still, we are glad Megwa is back and has recovered from a fairly gruesome broken leg injury suffered vs. Clemson last season. Again, if the QB can get the receivers the ball, I would expect big things from seniors Rich Gunnell, Clarence Megwa and Justin Jarvis. Hopefully, Ifeanyi Momah will step up and serve as more than a goal-line, possession receiver.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

Without a doubt, the preseason focus is on the starting quarterback position. We will only go as far as our starting quarterback will take us. Right now, the candidates are trying to shake off the rust in practice as no QB has any FBS game experience.

The Eagles proved last year that they could make noise in the ACC simply by having a competent, game-managing quarterback. If David Shinskie (or Tuggle/Marscovetra) can manage the game and not lose games a la Chris Crane, the Eagles will likely live up to or slightly surpass their preseason expectations. However, the starting quarterback will have to step up their game and be even better than Crane was last season if Eagles fans expect the team to overachieve this season. There are too many questions on the defensive side of the ball this season. To overachieve, BC will have to win the games they won last year with defense (Notre Dame, Virginia Tech round 1, Florida State) with their offense.

Boston College seems to always exceed expectations. Losing their highly regarded head coach and their three best players from a season ago make Boston College a major longshot to win the division this season. Very few teams have the ability to replace the players BC lost, and the Eagles aren't in that group of teams. Bowl Eligibility should be considered a major victory for the Eagles.

Key Note: Boston College's defensive line and linebackers are 160lbs lighter this year than last year (1902 to 1742). BC was huge in the front-7 in 2008, and this is a major drop-off.

Prediction: 5-7 (2-6 ACC) BC's off-season was rather devastating and will be too much to overcome.

Maryland Terrapins

Maryland was quite the enigma in 2008. They beat bowl teams in Nevada, North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Cal, yet lost to middle Tennessee State and were shut out by Virginia! They do return their quarterback a running back, but their offensive line and wide receivers are major question marks. They return just 4 starters on defense, and are switching from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3 scheme, despite having a serious lack of depth along the defensive line.

Your Maryland writer is Ben Broman, of the excellent Maryland website Testudo Times:

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

Short version: They'll be better, but the record won't be.

There's a lot to like about Maryland this year - a game-seasoned, fifth-year senior QB; a deep, talented stable of RBs with a frontline All-ACC starter; nine (yes, nine) game-ready WRs; a likely improved secondary; and leaders returning from the linebacking corps. The new defense, instilled by former UMass head coach Don Brown, has been getting rave reviews and has torn through the offense without fail so far, utilizing surprise blitzes and press coverage. While the defensive line has been getting a bad rap in the media, the new scheme will take a lot of pressure off them, and the projected starters all either have experience or were highly touted out of HS. There's only one problem, but it's a sizable one: the offensive line. The group is talented, but very, very young, which could render all those skill players moot, particularly early on as they adapt to playing when it counts.

By the end of the year, I'm fairly confident that the line will have gelled together and the weak spots will have been shored up, meaning this team will be a bear to play late in the season. At that point, there's no doubt in my mind this year's Maryland will be better than last year's. They might even be better already. But last year's Maryland overachieved a little, winning in spite of a constant prevent defense; so while they may win head-to-head, besting 8 wins may be tough to do, especially in an improved ACC.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

Injuries have been quiet in College Park this off-season. The only major player lost was probable starting DT Dion Armstrong. He left the team due to academic ineligibility and fitness problems, but no one was really counting on his presence come September (these issues had been known for awhile). He'll be replaced by redshirt freshman A.J. Francis and true freshman Zach Kerr. Both should be able to do an adequate job in filling that hole - both are as talented as Armstrong, and very underrated.

There are a few other newcomers who could contribute, notably PK Nick Ferrara, G Pete White, LBs Darin Drakeford and Avery Murray, and RBs Caleb Porzel and D.J. Adams. Ferrara is a scholarship kicker, so you'd expect him to be the starter. White is a massive, talented guard, a position that doesn't have a lot of depth. Both Drakeford and Murray enrolled in the spring to get a head start, and, because there's not a lot of depth at LB, could find themselves backups. Neither Porzel nor Adams are needed, but they're two of the most skilled and athletic players Maryland's brought in a long time, and have been impressing Ralph Friedgen in practice. Friedgen's known to be quick to burn RB redshirts, so the best of the two may see the field.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

Unquestionably, the offensive line. As I've already said, they're the one huge weakness. If they can show that they're better than what people are saying, even if that only ends up being average, I'll be very confident about this team. If I had to single out one guy, I'd say LG Lamar Young - he's very talented, but reportedly has some issues with attitude, an issue a group this young doesn't need to deal with.

While he wasn't always incredibly productive, teams had to pay a ton of attention to wide receiver Darious Heyward-Bey. That won't be the case in 2009 as Bey is gone to the NFL (#7 overall choice.)

This Maryland team should take a step back. Their over/under for wins in vegas is 6, and there are 9/2 odds available if you are brave enough to project the Terps to win more than 6 games. Like Boston College, bowl eligibility should be considered a major victory for this team. They lost a bunch. The opening game at Cal is very likely to be a loss, probably of the blowout variety. They then get two very winnable games against James Madison and Middle Tennessee State, but Maryland should be big underdogs in 5 of their final 9 games. To be bowl eligible, they will need to win against Rutgers, Virginia, at Duke, & Boston College, or pull a big upset for each of those they lose.

This is Maryland, so anything crazy is possible, but poor line play on both offense and defense, combined with a lack of quality depth should keep the Terps home during Bowl Season. The Terps cannot sustain any injuries, particularly on defense. Projection: 5-7 (3-5 ACC)

Wake Forest

Wake Forest had one of the best defenses in the nation last season, as profiled above. How they replace the departed defensive players and the play of their offensive line are the major issues facing the Deacons this year.

The best site for Wake Forest coverage is undoubtedly Blogger So Dear, the brainchild of Martin Rickman.

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

Wake Forest probably won't be better than last year, but they do have some chance. A program like Wake Forest can't replace 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round NFL draft choices on defense in one season, but they do have a 4-year starter at quarterback and stable of runningbacks. Vegas odds indicate it's very likely that Wake wins 7 games or fewer, but finishing 4-4 in conference play is doable, even if the team won't be as good, probably because of easier games against Boston College and Maryland.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

Wake has been lucky this off-season and hasn't suffered any major injuries of note.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

The offensive line. All five starters return from a group that was horrible last year, albeit somewhat because of injury. Wake must get their running game in order so that QB Riley Skinner doesn't have to force so many passes.

Expect Wake's defense to take a step back this season. Like Boston College, they depended largely on takeaways and those probably won't be there in the same quantity that they were last season. Only 4 starters back on defense puts extra pressure on the offense to win some early games. The game against Stanford should be particularly telling, as the Cardinal can really put up the points. If the offense can carry this team early, they have a shot to reach 8 wins. If the offense struggles, or the defense is worse than expected, Wake will be watching bowl season from their couch. Wake will likely be favored in 7 of their games, and 7 wins seems about right for this squad, as they pull off one upset and drop one game they should win, and take a minor step back from their fantastic 2008 season. Projection: 7-5, (3-5 ACC)

North Carolina State Wolfpack

The 'Pack almost had two different seasons in 2008. WIth and without quarterback Russel Wilson:

Wilson had an incredible 17-1 TD/ INT ratio last year.

via Dr. Saturday

They also were the only team in the conference that featured an offense that was significantly better than their defense (Georgia Tech an FSU also had offenses which were better than their defenses, but not close to the huge discrepancy the Wolfpack had).

With that in mind, we turn to James C. of the sarcastically named Yet Another NC State Sports Blog

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

Yes, State will be better this year, and yes, it will show up in the record. The reasons are simple: a capable backup quarterback for Russell Wilson and eight home games on the schedule.

State faltered last season when forced to call upon the quarterbacks on the depth chart behind Wilson. Both Harrison Beck and Daniel Evans were turnover machines; to a person, every State fan that I've talked to knew the PapaJohns.com Bowl was over the moment it was announced Wilson wouldn't return for the second half. Forget the fact that State was up by 11...the game was over at that point.

This season should be different, however. Six-foot-six redshirt freshman QB Mike Glennon -- the best looking quarterback prospect State has had on campus since Philip Rivers -- throws a crisp ball with a quick release and, per teammates, is deceptively quick in the pocket. He's an unknown commodity at this point, but he continues to impress Tom O'Brien in practice. He's made more than one allusion to Matt Ryan when speaking of the young Glennon.

With eight home games and two games against FCS opponents (a last- second change to the schedule required picking up a second FCS opponent), State's record is almost guaranteed to be better this season. Out of conference, I see State going 3-1 against its two FCS foes and South Carolina and Pitt. Going .500 over the remaining conference slate would still put the Pack at 7-5 and into a bowl bid.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

I don't think the ceiling for the Pack is as high as it was before losing All-Conference linebacker Nate Irving. Irving was the driving force behind State's defense last season when healthy, and he stood to be one of the league's best defenders before a car accident put him out of commission for the year. I don't know that any one player on State's roster can replace Irving, but Dwayne Maddox and Terrell Manning are two youngsters that could potentially make some noise in his place.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

State needs a running game. Bad. If Russell Wilson is to remain healthy for the full 12 games, State's running game has to step up and take some pressure off him. While the sight of Wilson scrambling is a nightmarish one for opposing defenses, it also puts the collective hearts of Wolfpack fans in their throats, hoping and praying this isn't the run that puts him out of commission for the rest of the year. So two units must step their games up in '09 -- the running backs and the offensive line. I'm a believer that everything on offense flows through the play of the OL, so if that comes together then I think everything else will fall into place. But bottom line -- State needs a two-pronged attack on offense to succeed this season.

Where I might've gotten brave in predicting nine or maybe even 10 wins prior to Irving's injury, I'm now thinking State will finish the regular season 8-4. That would be a solid step up and set the table for 2010 to be a tremendous season.

While NC State's offense was really a tale of two seasons, their defense was not. State's defense was just bad last season- definitely in the bottom half of the country. WIthout Irving, can they really be better? The signs of improvement at the end of last season were likely a product of playing two bad offenses (Wake and Duke), and two really sloppy offenses (Miami and North Carolina- combined 9 turnovers).

I applaud James for not being a homer in his evaluation and am torn between 8-4 and 7-5. There's a real chance State can start 7-0, but again, it depends on the offense taking a small step forward and the defense taking a big step forward. With Irving, I'd have said 8-4, but without Irving, I expect the 'Pack to lose 4 of their final 5 games, after starting 5-1, as they end up 7-5 (4-4 ACC).

Clemson

There are two fine Clemson websites out there for Clemson fans. First, Block-C (formerly Danny Ford is God), and ClempsonFootball.

Back on June 4th, I wrote this on why Clemson could win the Atlantic Division. It did not go over well with many 'Nole fans.

Clemson to win the ACC +1000 Hold on Noles fans. Let me explain! Where is the value in football? Along the lines and on defense. Quarterbacks are sexy. Linemen are not. This guy will never be on the cover of GQ:

via www.nflgridirongab.com

But he'll be paid millions upon millions of dollars because he weighs as much as a small elephant yet has the feet to win dancing with the stars.

Clemson's recruiting classes in 05-07 ranked 15th, 13th, and 16th nationally. Clemson has 15 starters from those 3 classes. That's 15 physically mature grown men who were very talented to begin with.

And Clemson isn't sexy. They lost their best wide receiver (Aaron kelley) and the 2nd leading all-time rusher in James Davis. They also lost their quarterback. Similar to UGA, people are writing Clemson off because they lost their recognizable players. They did not, however, lose their best players, and that's what I care about.

The Tigers were widely picked to dominate the ACC last year and flopped so poorly that their coach was fired. Clemson was as overhyped last year as they are underhyped this year. To understand why, let's review what happened to Clemson. They got smoked by an Alabama team who nobody realized was elite until much later in the season, then they suffered huge injuries to both lines, particularly on the offensive line where they had 9 different guys start a game! Their QB had serious personality issues, and he was a pocket passer type who suddenly had no pocket. They were 3-1, but then lost three very close games @ Maryland, @ Wake Forest, and against Georgia Tech by an average of less than a field goal. Know what I call that? Bad luck, and it's proven that everyone wins about half of their games decided by 7 points or less. Winning or losing a huge percentage of those is truly, variance. Clemson was 1-4 in games decided by less than a touchdown. If they had gone 3-2, they'd probably be ranked in the top 15 to start this year.

So, did anything good come of their season? You bet. First, they got an excellent defensive coordinator in Kevin Steele to replace an already excellent defensive coordinator in Vic Koenig. Steele was at FSU forever, is considered one of the best defensive coordinators in America, and knows FSU's defensive scheme inside and out. Second, Clemson already played excellent defense last year. They were the 4th best defense in the country. Their points per game numbers don't show it because the offense set them up in horrible field position after horrible field position, but that ultra comprehensive system (linked above) shows their true performance level. Clemson will, have a defense that is in the conversation for "best in America", and I expect as many as 7 of these defenders to eventually be drafted in the first 3 or 4 rounds of the NFL draft. Finally, they got a lot of guys experience on the offensive line. Much like FSU, their offensive linemen took their lumps last year and will be much better this year. Clemson's OLine is probably more talented than FSU's, though I am not prepared to call them better. They received far less press because they didn't become so inexperienced until later in the season (brought on by injuries), while the Noles were very young from day one and got a lot of preseason press. This year, they bring back all 5 of their main starters and these guys are very talented and experienced.

At receiver, they return 2 of the top 3, and also have Dye (high 4* Junior), Jones (high 4* soph), McNeal 5* frosh, and Rendrick T aylor (Unproven, but a a greg jones/ cornelious ingram type athlete at tight end). Jamie Harper (another high 4* RB) is more than capable of replacing James Davis at running back to go with CJ Spiller. And at QB, they have Willie Korn and Kyle Parker (5* and 4* respectively). Both are very talented players and the chance is that one WILL play pretty well. Plus, Clemson's staff won't ask them to do much at all. Behind a very talented line, and a great running game (likely), they will be asked to manage the game, throw play action passes, and make plays with their legs. It's been proven that if you play NFL style ball (ultra conservative, defense, field position) in the ACC, you’ve been successful. Eventually, that’ll stop because teams like FSU or Miami will just be better than folks and will play offense AND defense, but for my money, not this year.

What about the schedule? Clemson starts off @ GT on a Thursday night, but they play Middle Tennessee state before that, so it's effectively a bye week, they then get BC at home, go @ Maryland, get a bye week, play Wake Forest at home, then travel to Miami. They then come home and get Coastal Carolina (a bye week) before hosting FSU. FSU hasn't won at Clemson since before Chris Rix! They then play @ NCST, and finish at home with Virginia.

Clemson gets de facto bye weeks before their two most difficult games, and draw Virginia out of the Coastal, which is HUGE.

Playing at home, getting a bye week before FSU, and getting to play UVA gives Clemson a shot to win the division.

Clemson 2009 looks to be similar to Ole Miss 2008. In 2007, Ole Miss:

*Went 0-3 in games decided by 4 points or less (the bad luck factor) (Like Clemson)
*Was loaded with talent from a coach who was a great recruiter (like Clemson)
* Fell way short of expectations (like Clemson)
* Fired their coach. (Like Clemson)

In 2008, Ole Miss team:

* Returned 16 starters from those elite recruiting classes, including 9 on defense. (Clemson returns 15, including 8 or 9 on defense)
* Had an elite defense, especially their defensive line. (Much like Clemson)
* Had a new coach to energize the program, including quality coordinators. (Like Clemson)
* Brought back an offensive line comprised almost entirely of talented upperclassmen (Like Clemson)
* Had a distinct lack of name skill-position talent (Like Clemson, except spiller)

And won the cotton bowl.

The point of this exercise is that just because you haven't heard of the talent on a squad doesn't mean that the talent is not there. Sometimes all it can take is a new coach or a lack of really bad luck to allow that talent to shine through. Ole Miss won games with excellent defense, and a 5* QB who had tons of time behind a talented and more experienced OLine, despite Jevan Snead being a first time starter.

Since I wrote that, a few things have happened to Clemson. They have remained mostly healthy, and named baseball star Kyle Parker their starting quarterback. The defense should againbe among the nation's best as they return almost everyone, including maybe the Nation's best defensive line. Playing at home against FSU, getting a bye week before the 'Noles (and a de facto bye week before Georgia Tech), and getting to play UVA (2 tough games against the Coastal Division) gives Clemson a shot to win the division.

The key will come down to how Clemson plays in 4 key ACC games. @ Georgia Tech, @ Miami, v. Florida State, and @ NC State. Provided they stay healthy on the offensive line, the offense should be improved.

Projection: 9-3 (5-3 ACC).

Florida State

FSU is covered here extensively. The Seminole offense was the best in the conference last year, and the defense was above average in the conference and top 25 nationally.

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

FSU should be significantly better this season, but their record might not reflect it. FSU plays the toughest schedule in the nation, per Phil Steele and numerous other sources.

Sep. 7	Miami-FL	8, ESPN
Sep. 12	Jacksonville St.	6, ESPN360.com
Sep. 19	at BYU	7, VERSUS
Sep. 26	South Florida	TBA
Oct. 3	at Boston College	TBA
Oct. 10	Georgia Tech	TBA
Oct. 22	at North Carolina	8, ESPN
Oct. 31	NC State	TBA
Nov. 7	at Clemson	TBA
Nov. 14	at Wake Forest	TBA
Nov. 21	Maryland	TBA
Nov. 28	at Florida	3:30, CBS

It's doubtful any team would run through that slate unscathed, including the National Championship favorites. The 2009 FSU team would likely win 1 or 2 more games against last year's schedule. Against this current schedule, it is anyone's guess.

FSU lost fullbacks Seddrick Holloway and Marcus Sims to attrition, but neither projected to be a serious contributor as FSU moves to more two tight-end sets and away from the fullback.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

The interior of the defensive line. FSU's run defense was horrible last season.

The defense cannot allow opposing offenses to hold onto the ball forever like some did last season. Getting the ball back to the offense will be key for FSU, as the offense will wear out opposing defenses.

Projection: FSU goes 9-3, 6-2 in the ACC, losing to UF, Clemson, and one other team in conference.

Coastal Division

Vegas says 4 teams have a legit shot to win this division: Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina. Duke and Virginia do not and neither have a legitimate chance to make a bowl game.

Let's start in reverse order, with VTech up first.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech won the ACC last year and have won the Coastal division for almost every year it has existed. We have two ACC writers: GobblerCountry and College Game Balls. Take it away boys:

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

GC: We'll be better and it will show in our record. He people over-hyping the Hokies this preseason forget that they're a team that lost four games last season. Tech may not win the ACC this year, but they won't lose four regular season games, either.

The talent on the offense has improved by leaps and bounds. It's just up to our offensive coordinator to utilize that talent. Other than quarterback, I think this team has better talent across the board than the 1999 team. But that team had a true difference-maker at quarterback.

If Tyrod Taylor turns into anything resembling a difference-maker, we'll be a special team.

CGB: If we aren't better, then I want my proverbial money back. 2008 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Hokies and lo and behold we win ten games (again), the ACC and the Orange Bowl. The only key players missing from ‘08 in ‘09 are DE Orion Martin, CB Macho Harris, LBs Purnell Sturdivant, Brent Warren and sigh QB Sean Glennon. With Bud Foster in charge I have faith we'll be able to overcome the losses on defense and the offense will be able to do more than enough to win ACC games.

As for our record, I am calling for us to win 11 games which is one better than last year. That's assuming we make it to and win the ACC Championship. That's why our trip to Atlanta is so crucial. And I'm not talking about the game versus Alabama, but our return trip against Georgia Tech. That's the must win game on our schedule.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

GC: We lost our returning leading rusher, battering ram and bell cow in Darren Evans. Without him, the Hokies no longer have someone they can rely on in short-yardage situations.

The newcomers expected to have an impact are led by Ryan Williams, who I expect to get the bulk of the carries by the middle of the season. Williams' debut is the most anticipated by Hokie fans since that of Kevin Jones. He's supposed to be a home run hitter who can break any play for six points.

CGB: As far as the Hokies are concerned these two questions go hand-in-hand. At the beginning of camp Darren Evans, our only returning running back with any major carries, tore his ACL and was zonked for the year. Ryan Williams, David Wilson, Josh Oglesby and Tony Gregory are grinding it out in camp to see who is going to carry the rock come Bama time. They have a whopping 38 collegiate carries among them, 100% belonging to practice-killa-game-chilla Oglesby.

Williams and Wilson are the big play threats missing from the backfield over the past couple of seasons and because of the hype surrounding their recruitment most Hokies want to see them leading the ground attack. So far replacing Evans has gone as well as filling out a TPS Report. Williams is a me-ist and Oglesby and Wilson suffered their own nagging injuries. Ultimately, they'll get their yards but none of these guys are going to punish defenses like Evans did.

Both Sergio Render (Phil Steele #1 guard) and Jason Worilds (Preseason ACC 1st Team) had off-season shoulder surgery that forced them to miss spring ball. They're both healthy and practicing, but worth keeping an eye on.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

GC: Just like every other year for the Hokies, it's the offensive line. They gave up the more sacks than any other ACC team even though they had a mobile quarterback under center for most of their games. The run blocking came along by the end of last year when Tech rolled up big rushing numbers against BC and Cincinnati. Hopefully that momentum can continue into 2009 and we can get better pass blocking.

CGB: Tyrod Taylor, our young but seasoned receivers Danny Coale, Jarrett Boykin, Dyrell Roberts, our offensive line, whoever replaces Darren Evans at running back and finally the entire offensive coaching staff Billy Hite, Curt Newsome and Bryan Stinespring need to get their act in check if we are going to make some national noise. Yes I am that frustrated with our offense over the last four seasons. The only offensive player I left off the list is TE Greg Boone because he catches balls, knocks defenders on their butt and takes snaps out of the Wild Turkey. He does it all excellently and if necessary he should be called on to gain our tough yards.

Projection: 9-3 (6-2 ACC). The Hokies hopes for a national title are unrealistic. They are in the group of very good but not elite ACC teams. They'll be recognized as the best ACC team, but that's because of their schedule- they avoid FSU and Clemson (the Atlantic's two best teams), and their road games are @ Duke, @ East Carolina, @ Maryland, and @ Virginia (only one of those teams should make a bowl game). Virginia Tech isn't significantly better than abut 4 other ACC teams, but their ACC schedule is far and away the easiest of any ACC team, with all of their tough games coming at home (except Georgia Tech).

Georgia Tech Yellowjackets

Georgia Tech surprised everyone last year under new Head Coach Paul Johnson. They have an excellent offensive attack that forces the defense to be very disciplined and defend every inch of the field. This is a team that put up 40+ on Georgia and 30+ on a number of other good defenses.

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

Your writers are Winfield Featherson, Bird, and Dane, of From The Rumble Seat

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

Our team will definitely be better in all aspects offensively - QB play, running backs, wide receivers, and line play. Historically, Paul Johnson's teams always increase their production in both the passing and the running game during his second year as head coach. Our defense will have a gaping hole on the defensive line (except for standout end Derrick Morgan) but it will be greatly strengthened by a strong corps of linebackers and a veteran secondary.

Despite improvements in all positions minus the D-line, the ACC makes for a helluva conference slate alongside three SEC OOC games. It's possible that GT's record may not improve on last year's 9 wins but the team will improve by leaps and bounds. However, anything short of 9 wins would be a big disappointment for a majority of the optimistic Yellow Jacket faithful.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

First off, a majority of our injuries were minor and not season-threatening. The major set back was obviously Jaybo Shaw, our competent backup to Josh Nesbitt. He'll be succeeded by a lot of raw redshirt and true freshmen if CPJ decides to put a medical redshirt on Shaw. Roddie Jones' wrist injury set him back as far as contact drills go but it shouldn't limit his playing time and overall effectiveness. And hopefully all of our LB's will be good as gold come Jacksonville State though Kyle Jackson continues to have problems with his foot.

The best newcomer is definitely going to be Jarrard Tarrant. He had his assault charges dropped against him in February that kept him off the 2008 squad. Tarrant brings speed to the secondary and competency at punt returns - a HUGE PROBLEM for GT since Gailey's tenure. Look for Tarrant to play a key role on defense and in the field position battle.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

With Jaybo Shaw out, Tevin Washington and David Sims must prove themselves as comparable backups. This will be trial by fire as they will certainly be used in games. The kicking game, though minor in Paul Johnson's system, must stay strong. Scott Blair will probably be limited to only PAT's which will keep his leg from dying half way through the season. Various questions also surround our defensive line as we lost multiple players to the NFL.

Prediction: 8-4 (5-3 ACC). GTech's schedule is very tough, with road games at Miami and Florida State. 9-3 would not surprise me.

Miami Hurricanes

A young Miami team went 7-6 last season behind an emerging offense and a poor defense. They then fired their offensive coordinator. Go figure. See the diagram above (under FSU) and look at how bad Miami's run defense was. Allowing 5 yards per rush attempt won't win many games. If Miami is to contend for the coastal division championship, they must shore up their run defense issues.

On offense, Miami has new coordinator Mark Wjipple, who will run a pro-style offense with lots of passes to the tight ends and running backs, QB Jacorry Harriss, RB's Cooper and James, and a ton of talented receivers including Aldarious Johnson and LaRon Byrd. Miami's only question on offense is their offensive line, which played poorly in 2008. If they are better, Miami will challenge FSU and Georgia Tech for the conference's top offense (and possibly for the division).

Unlike Virginia Tech, Miami plays both Clemson and FSU. They also play Oklahoma. But Miami is also very talented and if they beat the Hokies in Blacksburg, they have a shot at the division. Prediction: Miami will be a better team in 2009, but their record will again be 7-5 (4-4 ACC) due to a tough schedule.

For much more in-depth canes coverage, visit 7thFloorBlog.com

North Carolia Tarheels

North Carolina is doing a great rebuilding job under Butch Davis, who is bringing renewed energy to Chapel Hill, along with a big increase in talent.

On offense, Carolina lost all of their receivers (including two NFL guys), and their offensive line is very shaky. They go return their quarterback in T.J. Yates and a variety of solid runners, led by Shawn Droughn. Can they replace their lost wide receivers? Doubtful, but if the O-Line gels quickly they could use their running game to make up the difference.

Carolina had one of the better defenses in the nation last year, and should again excel on that side of the ball. They boast a huge front-7 which is excellent at stopping the run, allowing the secondary to play the pass.

Projection: 8-4 (4-4 ACC) UNC runs their weak non-conference slate with easy, wins at home against Duke and Virginia, and taking two of: @ GTech, FSU, @ Virginia Tech, Miami, @ Boston College, and @ NCST.

Virginia

Your writer is Brendan of From Old Virginia. Take it away, Brendan:

Will your team be better than last year? Why? Will their record reflect this? Why?

I think I will be surprised if the answers to these questions aren't a unanimous yes, except for maybe from the reigning ACC champs. It's that time of year. Yes, we will be better, and it has everything to do with the offensive side of the ball. We have a new coordinator who is almost guaranteed to be an improvement because the old one couldn't have been much worse. We have two (semi-)new quarterbacks, practically a whole new set of receivers, a new playbook with a new system, and hopefully a new and improved Mikell Simpson to carry the ball.

But what's new isn't half of why I'm looking forward to seeing the offense. It has more to do with what's older, and more experienced: the offensive line. A new and inexperienced line is a surefire formula for underachieving; ours spent nearly all of last season learning to play together and gelling as a unit, and four of five starters return. There's the right mix of new blood and experience on this offense to really open some eyes this year.

The ACC has been racked hard by injuries in the off-season. Which players did your team lose and how will they replace them if at all? On the flip side, who are the newcomers expected to step up, if any?

Oh God - this question is here just for the sake of jinxing things, I just know it. Hopefully the football gods are not listening right at this moment, but Virginia hasn't had any significant, season-ending health issues - yet. Transfers and academic losses include defensive ends Andrew Devlin (formerly a tight end) and Kevin Crawford, tight end Rod Wheeler, and safety Rico Bell. There's also two freshman offensive linemen who didn't make it to the fall: Cody Wallace and Morgan Moses.

None were expected to start this year, and several of those wouldn't even have been on the two-deep. The depth at defensive end took a major hit though, and there will be some true freshmen who have to step up. Will Hill, our lone early enrollee, will be one, and there will probably be others. Most of the above losses are losses for good - these aren't like Jameel Sewell who had to spend a year getting eligible. The exceptions are Wallace and Moses, the freshmen. Wallace is probably a longshot at best to return, but Moses will begin his prep school career shortly and Virginia fans will be following it closely because Moses is three-hundred-thirty-twelve pounds of major-league talent.

As far as newcomers go, as with any team there will be plenty of former backups moving into a starting role. But there are three freshmen expected to make a major impact. WR Tim Smith is a tremendous talent as well as a true freshman and will be on the field from Day 1. In the backfield, redshirt frosh Torrey Mack is expected to share the load at running back, and classmate Steve Greer is a projected starter at inside linebacker. If you had to name three UVA freshmen to watch out for, it's far and away those three.

Which returning player (or position group ) must step their game up in order for your team to overachieve?

I'll take this to mean, which player was a regular last year and needs to improve his game? Imaginary players are well-known to be fatal to coaching careers (original question posed was poorly phrased), and anyway we have basically an entire linebacking corps that is new to the starting gig. But new starters always need to step it up. Two players come to mind. On defense, there's DE Matt Conrath. He showed a lot of promise last year as a freshman and played very well as freshmen go. But the brand-new linebacking corps needs help from both front and back if they're going to be successful. With Clint Sintim gone, we need a pass rush threat, and Conrath is the guy everyone's looking at to consistently provide it. The defensive line needs to be huge to take pressure off the linebackers, and it starts with Conrath.

On offense, Mikell Simpson had a terrific 2007 - just ask Maryland. But he was having a really awful 2008 until it was cut short by a broken collarbone. He's now in an offense tailor-made to his talents. He's always been at his best in space, and excels when he's the target of screen passes and such. The offense will get him the ball with room to run - he must take advantage.

I expect UVA to narrowly miss out on a bowl game, going 5-7 (2-6 ACC). If they spring an upset against TCU, Maryland, or Georgia Tech, the Cavs will be bowling. But that also assumes they don't have any letdowns, which is probably unrealistic, so 5-7 it is.

Duke

The Blue Devils lost a ton from the surprising 2008 team. No team lost more letterman than Duke. Duke should continue to have one of the worst offenses in the country, and will be horrible running the ball. The defense should be slightly below average, which for Duke, is acceptable. Prediction: 2-10 (0-8). This is a major rebuilding year for Duke despite the recognizeable name at quarterback.

General ACC

Brandon Rink-On of http://ontheb-rink.com/blog answered the questions for us from a different perspective. Enjoy:

Every team believes they are a little better going into the season, but who will make the most improvement from season-to-season this year in the ACC? Georgia Tech? I don't know-last season was pretty good for
them. Clemson? Well, there are just too many unknowns there. My pick is Miami. They were a lot better team than they showed(or were coached) last season and should be more impressive this season. The
Canes will be led by a nasty defense that will wreak havoc on the Coastal. And the new offensive scheme has to be better than whatever their previous OC Turner was doing(which was?).

In the record, it will not quite translate into a division title, but they will be in contention(which is more than you can say for the last few years).

Virginia Tech is an easy one with the loss of one Darren Evans and key newcomer in Ryan Williams, but another team has caught my eye in the offseason. Let's say my team is Clemson, they lose two offensive
lineman, Barry Humphries to transfer and J.K. Jay to a back injury, and have a couple guys dinged up like their only real returning WR in Jacoby Ford. The starting five on the line is pretty solid for the Tigers, but

Back to Basics: A Detailed Look at Defensive Line Play

TrueCubbie — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:07:58 -0000

Like offensive lineman, defensive lineman typically don't attract much attention from the casual fan, seen as the brutes up front that simply run into each other over and over. As FSUn demonstrated so nicely in his recent piece, offensive line play is a coordinated series of movements based on real time interpretation of the defensive front. Without an understanding or appreciation the subtleties required to play on the offensive and defensive line, it's understandable why many overlook these players during the game, except when they make a significant error.

In this piece, we take a closer look at the subtleties of defensive line play, providing an understanding of what really goes on down in the trenches and some important things to look for when evaluating recruits.

Image from here.

Continue reading this thread to learn more about what is some of the most exciting play on the football field.

If you can't control the line of scrimmage your chances of winning a football game significantly decrease. A dominating defensive line, or even lineman, will impact the outcome of a game. If a quarterback has no time to throw the ball, if the running back can't turn the corner, if the offensive line can't control the line of scrimmage, it's over. In this article, we will take a look at some of the basics about defensive line play followed by a discussion about effective line play.

In general, most teams will use 3 or 4 defensive linemen in their base defensive fronts. When announcers and coaches talk about a 3-4 front or 4-3 front, the first number refers to the number of true defensive lineman. The second number refers to the number of linebackers. Occasionally, teams will go to a five man defensive lineman front, but I would say this is exceedingly rare as most teams will walk line backers up to the line of scrimmage to load the line. A four man front typically includes two defensive tackles and two defensive ends. The three man front is a little more flexible, but will generally include a pure nose tackle, a defensive end and a defensive tackle. In a 3-4 scheme, a line backer typically walks up as the fourth defensive lineman. Again, this is a very basic discussion about basic alignment and the schemes and personnel will vary from team to team.

The Basics: Techniques and Gaps

Before getting into the details of defensive line play one must have an understanding of alignment. The image below illustrates the typical numbering system that is used to identify the position of the defensive lineman:

It's not the clearest image but it is probably the most comprehensive one that I could find. The circles represent offensive linemen, with the center being the filled in circle. The letters define the "gaps" between the offensive linemen. The numbers, also referred to as the "technique," identify the locations at which the defensive players line up. For example, a "0" technique is lined up directly on the center, the "1" technique is on the inside shoulder, meaning the side closest to the center, of the guard. You will frequently hear commentators say that a player lined up in the 3 technique or 1 technique; the above image illustrates to what they are referring. Many teams will use the numbering schems in play calling. For example, when I played, the initial part of the play call referred to the base front. If the coach called "431," it meant we were using a 4 man front with the strong side tackle in the 3 technique and the weak side tackle in the 1 technique. Strength refers to the balance of the offense and generally identifies which side of the offense has more players or the tight end or the best player or however the defense identifies strength for their particular scheme.

You will also hear that specific players are responsible for a specific "gap." The gaps are identified by the letters between the offensive players: A gap is between the guard and center, the B gap is between the guard and tackle and so on. Depending on the scheme, a player may be responsible for collapsing a specific gap, blitzing through a gap or occupying a gap. Most defensive line schemes will have the defensive tackles lined up in the 3 and 1 technique. Again, this varies depending on the type of personnel a team has. For example, with a BJ Raj like player, you may have that individual line up in the 0-technique, shaded to the strong side of the play with the intention of occupying the A-gap requiring a block from both the center and guard. I can't tell you how hard it is to play center with a guy right on top of the ball.

Stunts

Stunts refer to predefined movements of the defensive line. Defensive linemen do not simply go straight ahead on every play. Sometimes they will play straight up and try to maintain their responsibility. On many occasions, a defensive coordinator will call for a specific stunt, making it more difficult for the offensive line to block. These stunts can be done as an entire defensive line with every player crashing to he weak or strong side, or it could be limited to the tackles or individual players. Stunts will change the specific gap responsibilities of the lineman as well as the backers behind them. Often a stunt will be used in combination with a blitz, using the stunt to pull a lineman away or distract the lineman from the linebacker that is now blitzing.

For example, here is a play in which all of the lineman pinch towards the center. This may be used in short yardage situations.

Here is another one in which only the tackles pinch:

And here is an example of a "loop" or "twist" play:

Here is an example of a play that demonstrates a stunt with the linemen combined with a linebacker blitz:

This play demonstrates some sophisticated line play. Look how far the Right defensive end (the one on the left side of the page) is expected to crash down the line. The purpose of this is to pull the offensive tackle toward the center, with the hopes of him turning his shoulders toward the crashing lineman, making it almost impossible for him to pick up either linebacker blitzing from the outside. The whole purpose of this play, if you look at the lineman alone, is to pull the offensive line to their right with the hope of leaving the left tackle alone to block two blitzing linebackers. Defensive lineman do a lot of dirty work to allow the linebackers to play free behind them. A good defensive lineman should be very difficult to block one on one. If a defensive lineman is able to occupy more than one offensive lineman, you are decreasing the number of players available to block the linebackers.

Stance

A lineman's stance is exceedingly important in football. Offensive lineman need to be well balanced and not tip off which direction they are likely to step first; they have to be able to move in all directions from a set position. Defensive lineman take a more aggressive stance as they are trying to accelerate off the ball. Here is an example of a typical defensive end stance. This is also referred to as a three point stance. Notice how the player has his head up, has most of his weight on his down hand and has his free hand up.

Photo from here.

Having the free hand is important for getting the hand forward on the initial movement. The player above, Mark Anderson of the Chicago Bears, is in a bit of an exaggerated stance. He is primarily a pass rush specialist and his weight is a little more forward than you would want, but he demonstrates a lot of the principles of a good three point stance. Here is an excellent picture of Jason Taylor demonstrating a more balanced stance.

Photo from here.

A good lineman will not tip off the direction of his initial movement from his stance. Clearly, in a pass rush situation a player will take a more aggressive sprinting stance to get up the field. As I mentioned previously, it is important for a defensive lineman to keep his hands forward or in a good position to fire forward. By getting the hands firing forward on the initial move it prevents the offensive lineman from engaging. You will see a lot of offensive and defensive lineman working on what is called "hand play". Here is a video of Julius Pepper's training session. Notice how much of the work out includes hand strength and that explosion out of the stance, getting the hands forward and the body extended. Here is a video that highlights our own Everette Brown. Take a minute to not only watch Everette's athletic ability, but look at the different stances of our entire defensive line, watch the way they move, watch their hands, watch how the explode out of their stances. Look at the different stances that Everette takes, it changes depending on the situation. This may be getting into the minutia, but I think this is where some of the most exciting plays in football happen.

For comparison sake, here is an example of a good offensive lineman's stance:

Photo from here.

Balanced and head up. Notice how his weight isn't placed on his front hand. If you were to swipe that down hand out from underneath the player, his stance shouldn't budge. It may seem that too much time is being spent on a lineman's stance, but it is key to their success. If you give anything away or are out of control because you don't have a good stance, you will not be successful.

Reading Blocks

Typically, you can tell what kind of play the offense is going to run based on the initial step/movement of the offensive line. Part of being a successful defensive lineman is having the ability to react to that initial step, reading the play before it fully develops. Here is a video of USC's defensive line drills. Watch the explosion the players have with the hands, engaging the pads. At the end of the video they show some basic rip/swim moves that players use to shed blocks. Listen carefully to the coach as he gets on his players about keeping the offensive players away from them.

As the offensive and defensive player engage, the defensive player should get some sense of how the offensive lineman is trying to block him, meaning is he trying to hook him, is he trying to drive straight up field, is he settling into pass protection, is he pulling? The defensive lineman has to counter those moves. Imagine yourself as the defensive lineman. Now imagine that the offensive player is trying to pin/hook your left shoulder and drive you to your right. As a defensive lineman, your objective is to extend your left arm and drive the offensive player back into the hole he is trying to create. As a defensive end, if the offense is trying to seal the outside and get around you, you have to fight the offensive lineman and cause the play to move lateral, forcing it further outside while maintaining good leverage to get back inside if needed. I have tried to find good videos on this but I haven't as of yet. But I hope this demonstrates the importance of extending the arms and taking control of the offensive lineman. You will also note that a lot of defensive lineman are wearing smaller and smaller jerseys, having a large part of their arms exposed. This is to give the offensive lineman the least amount of jersey to hold; it's not to show off their biceps. Yes, offensive linemen hold on every single play.

A key block to read is that of the pulling offensive lineman. Defensive lineman are taught to get in the "hip pocket" of the pulling offensive lineman. If you are lined up in the three technique and the guard pulls, follow him as he will take you to the play. Easier said than done as the tackle or center is crashing down on your legs to cut you and prevent you from doing so. Keeping your legs is also a key part of reading blocks. Getting cut makes you useless. Recognizing that a player is trying to cut block you before he gets into your legs is a difficult skill as it happens so fast.

Pass Rush Moves

Watching the battle that develops between defensive ends and offensive tackles through a game is one of the most exciting parts of a football game. One could equate it to a pitcher trying to set up a batter to chase a pitch out of the zone. There are a variety of moves that are utilized by defensive linemen to get past their offensive opponent: swim move, rip move and bull rush. Here is a nice video from Mac Brown illustrating a couple of these moves. There are multiple variations on all of these moves.

There is the pure speed rush in which a defensive end basically tries to run past the tackle. You will see an end use this a few times in a row, getting the tackle to be extremely nervous about being beat to the outside. The tackle will try to set deeper and deeper and start to turn his shoulders outside. As soon as that happens and if the end recognizes that anxiety, he will use a spin move or rip move to come underneath the tackle. Defensive tackles will typically use more of bull rush technique as they have limited space with which to work. A really important part of a pass rush is recognizing if you're not going to get to the quarterback. If you're not, then you have to get your hands up, particularly on quick drops.

Here is a nice video of Simeon Rice demonstrating the spin move back to the inside. Here is a series of clips of Julius Peppers. Another outstanding video of our own Everette Brown. Here is one of BJ Raji's highlight tapes. The first two highlights demonstrate the classic bull rush move. One of the greatest pass rushers ever: Reggie White.

This is a video from Elite Football Academy showing multiple players using a variety of pass rush moves. It's a nice demonstration of the various moves players will use. Here is Jared Allen explaining a good pass rush stance and initial movement and here he is explaining the speed rush.

And last but not least this is an excellent video of the NFL's elite pass rushers explaining how they get it done. It illustrates the hand play and importance of the initial move off the ball. (By the way, I typed my baseball analogy before watching this video)

Positions

Classically, there are two defensive line positions: tackle and end. Unfortunately, the readers at TNation are way to sophisticated and well read to recognize that is an over simplification. One could argue that the following positions are represented on the defensive line: strong side end, weak side end, defensive tackle and nose guard. Within those positions, one could break it down even further into run and pass specialists. It is no longer surprising to watch groups of linemen run on and off the field depending on the down and distance. Some teams will flip flop there defensive line from play to play depending on the strength of the play or line up their best defensive end on the weakest tackle or line up their best defensive end on the right side of the defense. The last option typically results in the end rushing from the blindside of the quarterback as most quarterbacks are right handed. This is the reason that left tackles in the NFL get paid so much. A bad left tackle will get a quarterback seriously injured.

In general, a strong side defensive end is the leverage point of the defense. He cannot allow his outside shoulder to get pinned and allow an offense to turn the corner. In general, defensive ends are responsible for containing an offense and stretching plays laterally. Typically, again depending on the scheme, the strong side end is your larger/stronger end as he is playing at the point of attack. The strong side end will typically line up on the inside shoulder of the tight end, again this depends on scheme. He must be able to handle double teams and disrupt the outside of the line, allowing the strong side and middle linebackers to run free behind him. On passing plays, he must disrupt the tight end's release of the line.

Your weak side end is typically where you see your speed and where you will see your one on one match ups. Again, the weak side end must maintain leverage at the point of attack and contain the quarterback. It takes a lot of discipline to play on the weakside of the ball as it is easy to start chasing plays down to early or getting caught inside (see the Boston College game) and allowing teams to reverse the field to the outside. It is imperative that the weak side end stay at home until he is absolutely sure that the play is not a reverse.

Your nose tackle or nose guard is a special breed of player. They need to clog up space, occupy blockers and be disruptive: think BJ Raji. The nose guard will be your largest player on the line. A successful nose guard will allow the middle line backer to roam free behind the line of scrimmage. If you get to the point that your interior lineman are successfully blocked one on one, a team will run all over you and your line backers will be miserable. This position is about power, aggressive behavior and being down right nasty.

Defensive tackles are becoming more and more specialized, meaning they are pass or run specialists. Again, the key to being a successful defensive tackle is being disruptive.

For a more detailed discussion, I would like to share our own CaStauch's take on our defense from a few months ago:

The 43 under- one gap scheme denotes particular responsibilities to each player. Concurrently, each of these responsibilities are themselves the foundation their teammates responsibilities: each position reflexively impacts and allows each other position to function. Starting from strongside and going to weakside, with respect to the defense's point of view of the offense (in that the strongside of the defense lines up opposite the strongside of the offense, usually the one with a Tight End), the first position to analyze is the Strongside Defensive end. The SDE lines up on the outside shoulder of offensive tackle to his side. His position is important because it cuts off the angle from which the offensive tackle can move without resistance. This is the form of protection that he bestows upon the LB behind him: because of the angle of his lineup, the OT cannot easily block down on the second level LB without either going through the SDE or amidst the congested middle of the line. In order to make the former as difficult as possible, the SDE must possess some method of holding his ground. Most naturally, this would imply weight. Usually SDE's range from 270-285 pounds. E.J. Wilson, of UNC (Coached by John Blake, one of the foremost DL minds in the collegiate game) weighs in at 280 lbs. Tyson Jackson at LSU clocks in at 285. Southern Cal's SDE, on the other hand, weighed in this past season at 6'6" 275 lbs.

In addition to weight, the SDE needs some form of body composition that utilizes this girth. There are two options. The first, is two evenly distribute the weight in a lankier frame, like USC's Moore. A longer body implies longer limbs. This, in combination with the greater amount of space that a longer body eats up, allows the SDE to control the line of scrimmage by dictating the movement of the OL with his longer arms. Another model for this method is Carlos Dunlap from UF. If you were with us earlier in the season, you may remember my piece on spatial and temporal playmakers (http://www.tomahawknation.com/2008/11/23/668913/strategy-session-did-the-d). A lankier SDE is an example of such a spatial constriction: his control of his opponent and longer frame shortens the negative space between him, his opposite OL, and the next D-Lineman, thus constricting the space in which the offense has to exploit.

The second option for an SDE to utilize his size is a stockier frame to produce leverage. This requires a slightly heavier player, like UNC's to exasperate the adequate leverage over what is no doubt a much taller OL.

The moral of the story for the SDE is that his job is to be a clogger. He prevents the Linebackers behind him from being blocked by the OL and TE opposite him. His angle of deployment, that on the outside shoulder of the OT and inside shoulder of the TE, along with his girth and size, allow him to do this. FSU has suffered the lack of an SDE for much of this decade. Our SDE this past season? Neefy Moffett. As admirable he performed at times, his size (256 lbs) preventing him from consistently manning the clogger role needed. Behind him, we have Kevin McNeil and Everette Dawkins, both of whom may be able to weigh in at the necessary weight (at least 275). We're also recruiting a bevy of diversity at this position, including David Perry (6"6 240) and Darious Cummings (6'2 260) both in their junior years.

Next in line is maybe the most integral man in the 43 under front, the Nose Tackle. He lines up in the gap between the center and guard on the SDE's side. More than any other, his role is singularly that as a clogger. It is imperative that his physical presence prevents either the Center and Guard to a) defend him 1 on 1, freeing up one of the blockers, and b) bypassing the NT to the Mike or Will LBs behind him. To meet this responsibility, the NT, like the SDE, has choices. Either actually clog the middle of the line with his immense girth (this is the popular approach within the NFL and was clearly illustrated by B.J. Raji and Boston College), or prove to be strong enough and have enough of a competent knowledge of technique and leverage that the same goal is accomplished. The latter is more likely for FSU: not only is it easier to teach technique and develop strength on top of necessary bulk, but we've one of the better technical NT coaches in the country. Coming in at a mere 262 lbs, Coach Haggins turned Brod Bunkley into a chiseled 290 lb NT worthy of first round draft pick and pro bowl consideration. Southern Cal's analog was Averall Spicer, 6'2" and 295. Last year, we played with Budd Thacker, who weighed in at 275, and Paul Griffin, at 280 (doubtful). This was the most direct reason for our porous run defense.

The future, however, looks bright if not tenuous. Moses McCray is expected to play at ~305, and will add that impressive bulk with the mechanical muscle memory imbued from wrestling in high school that will make learning the technical skills much easier. Behind him, Jaccobi McDaniel should start at 280 but gain weight steadily from there, and every coach that has witnessed his domination at the last two All Star games has come away incredibly impressed with his technical ability already.

The Strongside Defensive End and Nose Tackle serve as the foundation upon which the 43 under front is built. They are the necessary brick and mortar that enables the next two pieces, the Defensive Tackle and
Weakside Defensive End, to perform as disrupters that cut the spatial and temporal advantages inherent in the Offense.

The Defensive Tackle lines up on the outside shoulder of the Guard on the weak side. His position, labeled a Three Technique affords him the luxury of a one on one matchup with the Guard. Shielded both by the
body of the Guard with whom he’s matched up, and his Nose Tackle’s clogging responsibility tying up the center, it is the Coach’s responsibility to recruit and develop a player that accentuates this disruptive potential. Here, Florida State has traditionally excelled. Darnell Dockett, arguably the MVP of the Cardinals late season surge,
exemplifies this most clearly, as does Travis Johnson. Southern Cal’s Fili Moala weighs in at 6’2" 290, and possesses the necessary fast-twitch acceleration and understanding of technique and leverage to consistently beat the OG he’s opposite and disrupt the play

Florida State’s answer to this need is Justin Mincey. So as long as he develops mentally (stays eligible) and physically (fills out), Justin is potentially the next in a long line of first round picks produced by Coach Haggins. His width and length, at 6’5", allows him to control and dictate the contact with the likely shorter and slower OG. His speed isn’t gone to waste; shielded by his angle and the NT, he is provided an ample two gaps worth of protection with which to work.

Alongside him, the Weakside Defensive End also serves as a disruptor. He deploys on the outside shoulder of the left tackle, and the inherent disruptive qualities and unrivaled spatial isolation are the reasons Left Tackles
are paid more than any position in Football. While the DT is also matched up against a single blocker, he is not awarded the space with which to work like the WDE. As such, he is the principle source of pass rush in this scheme. His size and physique must illustrate this principle goal: normally between 250 and 260 lbs, allowing him not to sacrifice speed and agility with which he can attack an environment (one blocker and nearly ~30 yards of space) that is unrivaled by any other frontal configuration. While Souther Cal has Everson Griffin, FSU counters with Everette Brown and now Markus White. For all of our struggles these past seasons in fielding satisfactory SDEs and NTs, the WDE position has not been a source of angst, at least personnel wise (schematically however, has caused some frustration, but that is the seed of another article for another day).

Final Thoughts

If you have made it this far, congratulations and thanks for reading. Defensive line play is one of the most exciting parts of football. Hopefully this article provides you with a basic frame work with which to watch the line play and to think about the recruiting process. It takes time to develop into an outstanding defensive lineman, but there are basic skills required. Acceleration, explosiveness and body type are key. When watching recruiting videos, watch for the way a kid comes off the ball, what does he do with his hands, how does he shed blocks, does he stay low, what is his first movement off the ball, does his head pop up or does he move across the line. I would argue that shuttle times and agility are more important for defensive lineman than 40 yard times. Strength is key and a kid has to have the right frame to develop his body to endure the punishment of playing on the line. There has been an evolution in the style of play at each position on the line. As CaStauch nicely stated, "Each position has a specific responsibility and players must be recruited that can fill these roles as best as they can. There cannot be any square peg in round hole recruiting here."

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about our defensive line and defensive line play in general. Clearly, a lot of this article is a gross simplification of defensive line technique, but a summary of some points that I find important.

And don't forget that Florida State has a history of developing some of the best defensive linemen in the country, many of whom go on to play in the NFL:

Photo from here.

Go NOLES!

NightLink: Will the Packers Be In the Mix in 2009?

Dane Noble — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:57:22 -0000

This was the first year in ages that I missed the NFL draft, and today I have been having a crash-review of all of the hoopla. A ton of stories came from the draft, and we have several new Bears players that we hope will make a solid contribution to the 2009 season.

But, one thing in particular jumped out in my mind, and I haven't been able to quite figure it out... Did the Packers just get good?

All around the NFL world, the Bears and the Vikings have been said to have the best shot at winning the NFC North. And with the 6-10 Packers and 0-16 Lions last year, how could anyone argue that either could make a run in 2009?

But what keeps popping up in my mind is how good, really good, the Packers could be this year. Already having a roster made up of Aaron Rogers, Ryan Grant, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Aaron Kampman, Nick Barnett, AJ Hawk , and the additions of BJ Raji and Clay Matthews in this year's draft, the Packers might try and sneak up on some folks this year.

With the 3rd easiest schedule in 2009 (games against the Bengals, Browns, Lions, Bucs, 49ers), the Pack could feasibly win 9 or 10 games... maybe more. I don't know how good the Packers will be, but I do know that game #1 on September 13th might be a little more important than we think.

How did the Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft Fare Against the Real Thing?

Chris Thorman — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:00:13 -0000

Team	Actual Selection	AP Selection	Reach
Detroit Lions - UCrawford	1 Matthew Stafford	LB Aaron Curry	-3
St. Louis Rams - Lanier63	2 Jason Smith	OT Jason Smith	0
Kansas City Chiefs - TonyG88	3 Tyson Jackson	OT Eugene Monroe	-5
Seattle Seahawks - mikvogel	4 Aaron Curry	DT B.J. Raji	-5
Cleveland Browns - HIV2Elway	5 Mark Sanchez	WR Michael Crabtree	-5
Cincinnati Bengals - mistamic	6 Andre Smith	OT Andre Smith	0
Oakland Raiders - mushin	7 Darrius Heyward-Bey	WR Jeremy Maclin	-12
Jacksonville Jaguars - DThomasReigns	8 Eugene Monroe	WR Percy Harvin	-14
Green Bay Packers - JasonM	9 B.J. Raji	DE/OLB Everette Brown	-34
San Francisco 49ers - Harry Feltersnatch	10 Michael Crabtree	QB Matt Stafford	+9
Buffalo Bills - ArrowDread	11 Aaron Maybin	LB Rey Maualuga	-27
Denver Broncos - Keyser Sose	12 Knowshon Moreno	DE Brian Orakpo	-1
Washington Redskins - Official Arrowhead Pride Parade	13 Brian Orakpo	T Michael Oher	-10
New Orleans Saints - cmpotter	14 Malcolm Jenkins	CB Vontae Davis	-11
Houston Texans - ChiefsDude	15 Brian Cushing	CB Malcolm Jenkins	+1
San Diego Chargers - Helmets	16 Larry English	DE Tyson Jackson	+13
New York Jets - NJChief	17 Josh Freeman	QB Mark Sanchez	+12
Chicago Bears - Holmeslice	18 Robert Ayers	QB Josh Freeman	+1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - madtheory	19 Jeremy Maclin	DT Peria Jerry	-4
Detroit Lions - UCrawford	20 Brandon Pettigrew	DE Aaron Maybin	+9
Philadelphia Eagles - Chiefsfan717	21 Alex Mack	TE Brandon Pettigrew	+1
Minnesota Vikings - kcsno56	22 Percy Harvin	WR Hakeem Nicks	-5
New England Patriots - connerman	23 Michael Oher	RB Chris Wells	-8
Atlanta Falcons - RedNose	24 Peria Jerry	LB Clay Matthews	-2
Miami Dolphins - shraggyj	25 Vontae Davis	LB Brian Cushing	+10
Baltimore Ravens - Ben S	26 Clay Matthews	CB Alphonso Smith	-11
Indianapolis Colts - craig in calgary	27 Donald Brown	LB James Laurinaitis	-8
Philadelphia Eagles - Chiefsfan717	28 Eric Wood	OT Eben Britton	-11
New York Giants - ChiefsFan90s	29 Hakeem Nicks	WR Darrius Heyward-Bay	+22
Tennessee Titans - Lvl.99	30 Kenny Britt	C Alex Mack	+9
Arizona Cardinals - THE_TRUTH	31 Chris Wells	RB Knowshon Moreno	+19
Pittsburgh Steelers - McWhirt33	32 Evander Hood	CB/S Sean Smith

As you can imagine, there weren't very many picks by the Arrowhead Pride faithful that were right on in this past weekend's NFL draft. Lots of inexplicable drops to the second round by first round prospects threw our whole mock draft out of whack.

Here is how to read the chart. Basically, the closer to zero the better, with a negative number meaning the AP mock drafter "reached" for that pick compared to where the player fell in the actual draft. A positive number means good value was had for that pick. I subtracted the real draft position from AP's draft position to get these numbers.

Basically, negative is bad and positive is good. The second round is after the jump.

Here are some stats on the AP Mock Draft v. the real thing:

Right on

Four people got their picks dead on - Lanier63 (#2 overall, OT Jason Smith to the Rams), mistamic (#6 overall, OT Andre Smith to the Bengals), ChiefsFan90s (#45 overall, LB Clint Sintim to the Giants) and ChiefsFan717 (#53 overall, RB LeSean McCoy to the Eagles). Not too shabby in this draft.

Biggest Reaches

Our main man THE_TRUTH was in a league of his own with this one. His selection of C A.Q. Shipley with the #63 pick in our mock ended up coming far too early. Shipley ended up going in the 7th round with the #236 pick. That comes to a reach factor of -173. We still love him though.

DThomasReigns was next up on the reach list. Oklahoma G Duke Robinson fell all the way to the 27th pick of the 5th rounder. The reach factor ended up being -124.

The next three big reaches before the numbers dropped off were ChiefsFan90s selecting OT Herman Johnson at #60 (reach of -107), RedNose selecting CB Victor Harris (reach of -102) and 808NanZ808 taking OL Fenuki Tupa at #59 (reach of -100).

Non-reaches

Not including those who nailed their picks, we only had seven commenters who did not end up reaching for their mock draft picks. They are Holmeslice (CB Malcolm Jenkins at #15), Chiefsfan717 (TE Branden Pettigrew at #21), JasonM (DT Ron Brace at #41), PSUkegreen (WR Mohammed Massaquoi at #52), Lanier63 (DT Evander Hood at #35) and finally saskwatch (DT Fili Moala at #61). Nice work fellas.

We'll do it again next year

Many thanks to everyone who participated this year. Every pick came in on time and the write ups were excellent. For those interested in last year's mock draft v. the real thing, stag was nice enough to do that post back in August.

Click over for the second round results and grade the draft in the poll below.

Pick	Team	Actual Selection	AP Selection	Reach
1(33)	Detroit Lions - UCrawford	33 Louis Delmas	CB Darius Butler	-8
2(34)	New England Patriots (From Kansas City) - connerman	34 Patrick Chung	DE Robert Ayers	+16
3(35)	St. Louis Rams - Lanier63	35 James Laurinaitis	DT Evander Hood	+3
4(36)	Cleveland Browns - HIV2Elway	36 Brian Robiskie	DE Connor Barwin	-10
5(37)	Seattle Seahawks - mikvogel	37 Alphonso Smith	OT William Beatty	-23
6(38)	Cincinnati Bengals - mistamic	38 Rey Maualuga	C Max Unger	-11
7(39)	Jacksonville Jaguars - DThomasReigns	39 Eben Britton	G Duke Robinson	-124
8(40)	Oakland Raiders - mushin	40 Ron Brace	T Phil Loadholt	-14
9(41)	Green Bay Packers - JasonM	41 Darius Butler	DT Ron Brace	+1
10(42)	Buffalo Bills - ArrowDread	42 Jairus Byrd	DE Michael Johnson	-28
11(43)	San Francisco 49ers - Harry Feltersnatch	43 Everette Brown	DE/LB Larry English	+27
12(44)	Miami Dolphins (From Washington) - shraggyj	44 Pat White	WR Kenny Britt	+14
13(45)	New York Giants (From New Orleans) - ChiefsFan90s	45 Clint Sintim	LB Clint Sintim	0
14(46)	Houston Texans - ChiefsDude	46 Connor Barwin	FS Louis Delmas	+13
15(47)	New England Patriots (From San Diego) - connerman	47 Michael Mitchell	DE/OLB Paul Kruger	-10
16(48)	Denver Broncos (From Texans) - Keyser Sose	48 Darcel McBath	RB Donald Brown	+21
17(49)	Chicago Bears - Holmeslice	49 Max Unger	C Jonathan Luigs	-57
18(50)	Cleveland Browns (From Tampa Bay) - HIV2Elway	50 Mohamed Massaquoi	RB Shonn Green	-15
19(51)	Dallas Cowboys - chiefsfan1384	51 Andy Levitre	SS William Moore	-4
20(52)	New York Jets - PSUkegreen	52 David Veikune	WR Mohamed Massaquoi	+2
21(53)	Philadelphia Eagles - Chiefsfan717	53 LeSean McCoy	RB LeSean McCoy	0
22(54)	Minnesota Vikings - kcsno56	54 Phil Loadholt	C Eric Wood	+26
23(55)	Atlanta Falcons - RedNose	55 William Moore	CB Victor Harris	-102
24(56)	Miami Dolphins - shraggyj	56 Fili Moala	CB Jarius Byrd	+14
25(57)	Baltimore Ravens - Ben S	57 Paul Kruger	WR Brian Robiskie	+21
26(58)	New England Patriots - connerman	58 Sebastian Vollmer	DL Jarron Gilbert	-10
27(59)	Carolina Panthers - 808NaNz808	59 Sherrod Martin	OL Fenuki Tupou	-100
28(60)	New York Giants - ChiefsFan90s	60 William Beatty	OT Herman Johnson	-107
29(61)	Indianapolis Colts - saskwatch	61 Sean Smith	DT Fili Moala	+5
30(62)	Tennessee Titans - Lvl.99	62 Sen'Derrick Marks	LB Cody Brown	-1
31(63)	Arizona Cardinals - THE_TRUTH	63 Cody Brown	C A.Q. Shipley	-173
32(64)	Pittsburgh Steelers - McWhirt33	64 Richard Quinn	OT T.J. Lang	-45

Poll

Grade the Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft.

A

12 votes

B

27 votes

C

45 votes

D

59 votes

F

66 votes

209 votes | Poll has closed

Where Gonzo Talks About the First Day of the NFL Draft

Gonzo — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:32:50 -0000

"I'm no football expert, but I know what I hate. . .and I don't hate this."
-C. Montgomery Burns, American entrepreneur (sort of)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the first day of the NFL draft has come and gone in pretty much record time. The first round only lasted three hours and forty-two minutes, the fastest since the league went to 32 teams by a long shot. Our Beloved Purple did quite well for themselves, if you ask me. The Cleveland Browns were thwarted in their quest to acquire every pick in the sixth round of the draft, the Broncos had five selections in the first two rounds and somehow found a way to not take Rey Maualuga with any of them, and Al Davis. . .well, he's still Al Davis, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

In the interest of equal time, since we already had a story with a picture of Minnesota's first round pick in it, you'll see to your right a picture of Minnesota's second round draft pick, Oklahoma offensive tackle Philip Loadholt. As you can see, Loadholt is rather large, standing in at 6'8" and tipping the scales at 335 pounds. Most importantly, he has a very good chance of pushing Ryan Cook out of the starting lineup, which is something that I think we're all looking forward to. I know I am.

Drafting a tackle to play tackle. Crazy, isn't it?

So, yes, I love the Loadholt pick. I'm also coming around on the Percy Harvin pick, and will have something more extensive on it here shortly. What I have to say about it right now is that if Brad Childress went down to Gainesville this past week, had a heart-to-heart with Harvin, and decided he was worth the risk. . .well, then, he's be worth the risk. What I'm interested in is to see how the Vikings will utilize him in the context of their offense. You don't take a guy like a Percy Harvin without having some idea of how you'd like to use him. Yes, yes, I know he got busted for pot before the Combine. But, after the pick was made, a couple of things occurred to me. . .

1) The last wide receiver we drafted in the first round with "character issues" was that Moss fellow back in 1998. That seemed to work relatively well. I'd rather my receivers have "character issues" than "watching the ball bounce off your face mask rather than catching it" issues. (See also: Williamson, Troy)

2) Last season, we sent a first round selection and two third round selections to the Kansas City Chiefs to acquire a guy that, before that, was basically an alcoholic that had picked up two DUI convictions in the span of five months. That seems to be working okay thus far.

3) Harvin isn't the first guy in the history of NFL. . .or even *gasp* in college. . .that has smoked marijuana. He won't be the last. I don't like it, and I don't endorse it, but I'm not going to crucify him for it, either.

So, yes, all in all I think the Vikings have done well for themselves on Day One of the draft, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what transpires tomorrow. I'm also happy that Day Two has the more "traditional" draft start time of 9 AM Central rather than having to wait until 3 PM.

Some of my other observations from Day One of the 2009 Draft from around the league.

--If, at any point in my tenure as the head guy at this site, the words "Good job, Al Davis" or any variant thereof come across my keyboard, please have somebody track me down and just pummel me with a heavy, blunt object until I lose consciousness. I mean, seriously. . .it's not even the Heyward-Bey pick that kills me, although I personally think it was awful. They took a guy in Round Two. . .and, frankly, I can't even remember the guy's name. . .that Mel Kiper had rated as the seventy-third best safety in this year's draft. Really, it might have been the biggest reach in the history of the draft, and I can say that without exaggeration.

I'm going to hang out by my phone tomorrow, in case the Raiders would like to draft me at some point. I've been working out.

--As far as the NFC North, the two teams that did have Day One selections had some good and some bad. B.J. Raji was a good pick for the Packers at #9, and he should help ease their transition to the 3-4 defense. LB Clay Matthews, on the other hand? Doesn't worry or impress me in the least. I am glad, however, that the Packers had to give up as much as they did to get a guy that, frankly, isn't that good.

The Lions did a good job. . .as well they should have, what with three of the first 33 picks at their disposal. I can't believe that Matthew Stafford is going to get almost $42 million in guaranteed cash, but that's where we are in the NFL these days. (Rookie wage scale, anyone?) They also got the best tight end in the draft in Brandon Pettigrew. Their pick of Louis Delmas at the top of Round Two is a bit of a head-scratcher, particularly when they could have used an offensive lineman, but he was one of the top-rated safeties in the draft, so I suppose it could have been worse.

The Bears? No Day One picks. Makes the analysis very easy.

--I really don't know how Rey Maualuga not only went behind both his USC linebacker teammates, but fell out of the first round entirely. Maybe he was night putting with the daughter of the dean or something, I don't know. The Bengals got themselves a very nice steal at the top of the second round.

We'll have more observations from the draft tomorrow as the draft moves along. Until then, I hope you enjoyed the double-barrelled coverage that we had of Day One, and we'll be back for more fun and excitement tomorrow. Have a good one, ladies and gentlemen!

The Chiefs Selection of DE Tyson Jackson was the First of Many Day One Surprises

Chris Thorman — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:23:41 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

Wake Forest's Aaron Curry, who was selected as the fourth overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks during the first round of the NFL Draft, holds up a jersey with NFL commissioner Roger Godell, at Radio City Music Hall, on Saturday, April 25, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Browse more photos »

So did this draft blow up mock drafts forever or what? People will be saying for a long time in the mock draft universe, "Remember 2009?"

While the first two picks of the draft went as expected, with Detroit taking QB Matthew Stafford and the Rams taking OT Jason Smith, the Kansas City Chiefs put the first of many spins on this draft when they selected LSU DE Tyson Jackson.

Rumors of the Chiefs' preference for Jackson had spiked late before the draft but I don't know how many peopel took them that seriously. I know I didn't. Jackson was a mid to late round prospect by most people's draft boards.

40% of you approved of the Chiefs' selection of Jackson. 36% didn't approve and 22% weren't sure. I suspect, judging from recent comments on here, that the approval rating would shoot up a bit if we re-cast those votes.

The selection of Jackson, while a "reach" by most accounts, had Scott Pioli written all over it. This draft is very weak on defensive ends and Jackson was Pioli's #1 guy, mock drafts and experts be damned.If we trust Pioli, or we at least want to to give him a chance, we need to see if Tyson Jackson develops into a special player.

As far as what we can expect from Jackson in Kansas City, Scott Pioli drew comparisons from another player, Cowboys' defensive tackle Russell Maryland. He was selected #1 overall by the Cowboys in a rare trade up from #4 in the 1991 NFL draft. Pioli had this to say today about Maryland and his defensive role:

I remember Coach Johnson a long time ago in conversations Bill and I had had with him and in separate conversations about Russell Maryland. That year they were due to pick the fourth spot overall and they traded up from four to one to get Russell Maryland, a player who played in the league for 10 years, had only 24 and a half sacks over the course of his career and only went to one Pro Bowl. But Coach Johnson talked about the importance of Russell Maryland – again, different positions – how he allowed him to play the defense they wanted to play and what an important component he was even though he didn’t rack up sacks or only went to one Pro Bowl. What he was as a player in a very key position allowed the defense to be what the defense was.

I think we'll have to be patient with Tyson Jackson and not expect a huge impact from him, at least initially. Remember Chiefs fans...The Right 53.

Here's what Mocking the Draft had to say about Jackson:

6’4, 295 pounds | Defensive end | Louisiana State

Strengths: Jackson is a big, powerful defensive end who specializes in stopping the run. Could easily play as a three-technique tackle in a 4-3 or a five-technique end in a 3-4. Has played both at LSU, so he has some versatility. Has the strength to shed blocks quickly and get into the backfield. Better as a pass rusher on the inside. Does a really nice job getting his hands up to bat down passes. Knows how to play off the cut block nicely.

Weaknesses: Doesn’t have great athleticism or speed. A little slow off the line of scrimmage. Doesn’t close very quickly. Needs to be coached up in his pass rush moves. Really only uses his strength to get to a quarterback. Comes out of his stance too high, which allows blockers to control his frame. Not asked to stunt a lot, which is puzzling.

Final word: A versatile player who could help a team looking for a run-stopping end, especially one that runs a 3-4 defense. Very similar to Chris Canty of the Cowboys. Jackson improved his play as a senior, improving across the board statistically. But that still leaves a disappointing junior season in question, particularly since he lined up next to Glen Dorsey. A second-team all-conference player as a senior.

We'll have more on Jackson tomorrow morning, after we ~~sober~~ rest up. The draft is just now ending at 9 PM, which means for those that starting boozing at pick #1, Al Davis is probably making sense to you by now.

Speaking of Al Davis, I just want to link to DJ's FanPost about the ridiculousness that is the Oakland Raider's franchise. This is honestly the first time I've felt bad for Raiders fans. I mean, I always felt bad for them in a rivalry sort of way but man, Darrius Heyward-Bey at #7 overall? How do you reconcile that with your fandom? Then picking a safety that ESPN doesn't even have film on? I know one thing. I don't feel depressed about Tyson Jackson. In fact, I'm quite excited.

Thoughts on a bizarro world first day of the 2009 NFL Draft? We'll be posting more tonight I'm sure and we'll be back early tomorrow morning with more draft coverage.

Remember, rounds 3-7 start tomorrow at 9 AM central time. The full results of the first two rounds are after the jump.

Round 1			Round 2
Player	Pos.	Team	Player	Pos.	Team
1 Matthew Stafford	QB	Lions	1 Louis Delmas	S	Lions
2 Jason Smith	OT	Rams	2 Patrick Chung	S	Patriots
3 Tyson Jackson	DE	Chiefs	3 James Laurinaitis	ILB	Rams
4 Aaron Curry	OLB	Seahawks	4 Brian Robiskie	WR	Browns
5 Mark Sanchez	QB	Jets	5 Alphonso Smith	DB	Broncos
6 Andre Smith	OT	Bengals	6 Rey Maualuga	ILB	Bengals
7 Darrius Heyward-Bey	WR	Raiders	7 Eben Britton	OT	Jaguars
8 Eugene Monroe	OT	Jaguars	8 Ron Brace	DT	Patriots
9 B.J. Raji	DT	Packers	9 Darius Butler	DB	Patriots
10 Michael Crabtree	WR	49ers	10 Jairus Byrd	DB	Bills
11 Aaron Maybin	DE	Bills	11 Everette Brown	DE	Panthers
12 Knowshon Moreno	RB	Broncos	12 Pat White	WR	Dolphins
13 Brian Orakpo	DE	Redskins	13 Clint Sintim	OLB	Giants
14 Malcolm Jenkins	DB	Saints	14 Connor Barwin	DE	Texans
15 Brian Cushing	OLB	Texans	15 Michael Mitchell	DB	Raiders
16 Larry English	DE	Chargers	16 Darcel McBath	S	Broncos
17 Josh Freeman	QB	Buccaneers	17 Max Unger	C	Seahawks
18 Robert Ayers	DE	Broncos	18 Mohamed Massaquoi	WR	Browns
19 Jeremy Maclin	WR	Eagles	19 Andrew Levitre	OG	Bills
20 Brandon Pettigrew	TE	Lions	20 David Veikune	DE	Browns
21 Alex Mack	C	Browns	21 LeSean McCoy	RB	Eagles
22 Percy Harvin	WR	Vikings	22 Phil Loadholt	OT	Vikings
23 Michael Oher	OT	Ravens	23 William Moore	S	Falcons
24 Peria Jerry	DT	Falcons	24 Fili Moala	DT	Colts
25 Vontae Davis	DB	Dolphins	25 Paul Kruger	OLB	Ravens
26 Clay Matthews	OLB	Packers	26 Sebastian Vollmer	OT	Patriots
27 Donald Brown	RB	Colts	27 Sherrod Martin	DB	Panthers
28 Eric Wood	C	Bills	28 William Beatty	OT	Giants
29 Hakeem Nicks	WR	Giants	29 Sean Smith	DB	Dolphins
30 Kenny Britt	WR	Titans	30 Sen'Derrick Marks	DT	Titans
31 Chris Wells	RB	Cardinals	31 Cody Brown	OLB	Cardinals
32 Evander Hood	DT	Steelers	32 Richard Quinn	TE	Broncos

SB Nation - B.J. Raji

ACC Championship Preview

Q&A with BC Interruption: Wake Forest vs. Boston College

Comparing the Online Recruiting Ranking Services

'Nole Your Enemy- The Shrinking Boston College Defense

Boston College stopped the run and the pass...

Boston College's defense was huge. Literally.

B.J. Raji- Defensive Tackle

Ron Brace- Nose Guard

Defensive Line & Linebackers (The "Front 7")

Secondary

ACC Roundtable: Pre-Season Edition

Atlantic Division

Boston College

Maryland Terrapins

Wake Forest

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Clemson

Florida State

Coastal Division

Georgia Tech Yellowjackets

Miami Hurricanes

North Carolia Tarheels

Virginia

Duke

General ACC

Back to Basics: A Detailed Look at Defensive Line Play

NightLink: Will the Packers Be In the Mix in 2009?

How did the Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft Fare Against the Real Thing?

Grade the Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft.

A

B

C

D

F

Where Gonzo Talks About the First Day of the NFL Draft

The Chiefs Selection of DE Tyson Jackson was the First of Many Day One Surprises

Round 1

Round 2