Progression, Continuation, or Regression? Noles Defensive Secondary

FrankDNole — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:06:46 -0000

Every day while catching up on my daily Nole must reads, I very often wonder to myself, "Are my 2009 Noles going to be better than last year’s team?"

So far we have analyzed, discussed, and you have voted on whether the Defensive Line, and the Receivers and Tight End will be better, the same, or worse than last years equivalent unit. Today we will take a look at the Defensive Secondary to determine if this unit has progressed, remains stagnant, or has regressed, in comparison to last years secondary unit.

Mickey Andrews’ secondary lost two solid players with the departures of cornerback Tony Carter and rover Myron Rolle who combined to start 85 games during their careers at FSU. In 2008, this secondary was the 6th best passing defense in the nation.

The two senior starters that return in this position group are cornerback Patrick Robinson and safety Jamie Robinson, who are expected to be the veteran leaders in the secondary.

Patrick Robinson will be looking to add to his seven career interceptions, six of which came in 2007. Outside of Patrick Robinson, the current Seminole secondary has combined for ONLY one career interception, that coming from Jamie Robinson. All last year the entire FSU defense combined for only 9 interceptions, and only one was returned for a touchdown which was Neefy Moffett’s exhausting rumble and tumble of 18 yards. Of those 9 interceptions, only 6 picks were made by secondary players.

Tony Carter-2

Kenny Ingram-1

Darius McClure-1

Jaime Robinson-1

Patrick Robinson-1

This season, there will be some familiar faces, but in different places, as former cornerback Korey Mangum will move to rover to get the first crack at replacing Myron Rolle, and former cornerback Terrance Parks has been working at both rover and safety.

To his credit, Mickey Andrews realized that we had a problem in the secondary, and that problem would have continued to exist with the players remaining on the roster. The coaching staff did some very good recruiting and brought in some talented youngsters to beef up the secondary. The new players expected to compete, or at least push the veterans on the practice field, include Greg Reid and Xavier Rhodes at corners, and Gerald Demps, Jajuan Harley, and Justin Bright at safeties. However, do not be too surprised if there are some changes made as to what position these players actually line up at.

The two cornerback positions are known as the FCB and BCB. For those who may not be familiar with the difference between these two, here is a easy way to remember courtesy of FSUn. The BCB is boundary corner, who typically plays the short side of the field all alone, while the FCB is the field side (wide side), and who typically gets help from the safety.

The competition at the field corner position between Ochuko Jenije and Dionte Allen should intensify with the arrival of Greg Reid. FSUncensored projects Reid surpassing Allen as Jenije’s backup almost immediately, and many feel he could possibly be in the starting lineup very quickly.

Now let’s take a look last years starters and this years projected secondary.

2008 FCB=Tony Carter started all 13 games and he is gone. Carter=25 Tot Tck, 2 Tck for loss, 2 int, 4 passes broken up, and 1 FR.

2009 PROJECTED FCB=Ochuko Jenije, Greg Reid, and Dionte Allen

2008 BCB=Korey Mangum started 5 of the first 6 games, then Patrick Robinson started the last 7 games for 8 total starts.

2009 PROJECTED BCB=Patrick Robinson and A J Alexander

2008 ROVER=Myron Rolle started 12 games and Kenny Ingram started the one against MD when Rolle was interviewing for the Rhodes. As previously stated, Rolleis gone and so is Ingram (Tot Tck=22, 3.5 Tck for loss, Sck=1, Int=1, PBU=5)

2009 PROJECTED ROVER=Korey Mangum, Nick Moody, and Terrance Parks

2008 SAFETY=Darius McClure started 7 and Jamie Robinson started 6. McClure (Tot tck=25, 1.5 Tck for loss, 1 Int, and 1 PBU) is gone.

2009 PROJECTED SAFETY=Jamie Robinson and Terrance Park

OTHERS WHO CONTRIBUTED IN 2008 AND ARE NOW GONE=Michael Ray Garvin, Rod Roberts, Roosevelt Lawson.

OTHERS WHO MAY CONTRIBUTE IN 2009=Many expect Greg Reid to make a immediated impact. Also, Xavier Rhodes, Gerald Demps, Jajuan Harley, and Justin Bright. These players have all been discussed in depth here at TN, so I will not discuss their upsides or weaknesses in this story.

So there you have it. The biggest question I have is not if Carter and Rolle can be replaced as defensive backs, but rather who will fill Rolle's shoes in run support. Rolle, while in my opinion was just average in his pass coverage ability, he was very good in run support and a tackling machine. Rolle was second on the team in unassisted tackles with 40, and only Derek Nicholson's 44 solo's were better, and Rolle was third on the team in total tackles with 62. Even though I said I considered him just average in his ability to cover, he was second on the team with 5 passes broken up behind Korey Mangum's 7.

If I were to compare and rate each of the positions individually, I would rate them something like this.

FCB=STAGNATION only because Reid is expected to be taking over soon. Otherwise, I would have said REGRESSION because the experience and leadership Carter provided will be missed, and while he was not Mr. Interception, he was a dependable and a very serviceable corner.

BCB=PROGRESSION. I expect Patrick Robinson to be avoided by the opposing teams QB and I believe he will regain his 2007 form and numbers.

ROVER=REGRESSION. Even though I should rate this position on coverage ability only, I can not help but feel that Rolle's run support will be missed terribly. Our rover has traditionally been our last line of defense on break away runs. Hopefully the LB corp be better equipped to stop the run, and that will depend on if the defensive line does a better job of freeing them up. However the LB play will be discussed in the near future and the D-Line has already been covered. This is the secondary position that concerns me the most, especially when you factor in the loss of Ingram.

SAFETY=STAGNANT.

Therefore as of today, based on my averages of the 4 positions for this unit,

MY BOTTOM LINE FOR THE SECONDARY=STAGNATION.

What is your bottom line? Please vote now.

Poll

2009 FSU DEFENSIVE SECONDARY-PROGRESSION, CONTINUATION, OR REGRESSION? Please read the story before voting. Poll closes Wednesday August 5 at 2:53 AM

PROGRESSION

112 votes

CONTINUATION

98 votes

REGRESSION

55 votes

265 votes | Poll has closed

Some Random Football Related Notes

Ben Broman — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:49:55 -0000

File this under things I didn't really know existed: Edwin Williams earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week. (I knew about Edwin, not the OLOTW). I give him major props, he earned it. Edwin is one of the most overlooked centers in the ACC - maybe even the ACC. He's a team leader and a great blocker to boot.

Everybody probably knows by now that Myron Rolle, FSU's All-American safety, will miss the start of the game because he's interviewing for the Rhodes scholarship. FSU's other safety, senior Darius McClure, is also hurt:

After senior S Darius McClure came up with his first career interception early in the fourth quarter, he and LB Toddrick Verdell celebrated with a chest bump.

But McClure landed awkwardly and injured his left knee, perhaps tearing his ACL. A MRI exam is planned for today, but the worst diagnosis is feared by his teammates.

If McClure is out as it seems, FSU will be without its starting safeties, at least for the kickoff, on Saturday. Junior Myron Rolle will be in Birmingham, Ala., that day competing for a Rhodes Scholarship and will then jet to College Park, Md., for some of the game.

Terrible way to get hurt. However, it appears that the middle of the field may be open early - if Da'Rel or Davin can get to the second level, the secondary will be weak. I also expect lots of post routes to DHB.

Another note from the same article: it appears the five (yes, five) FSU wideouts who were suspended for getting into a brawl (one that Bobby Bowden called "unavoidable" - yeah, right) will be back against Maryland. There may be a sliver of hope, though:

Although Reed and Surrency have been suspended for other reasons this season (Reed twice), Bowden said if it's up to him, he'll have the players back as the Seminoles prepare for Saturday's game at No. 22 Maryland.

"To me it makes a lot of difference of who attacked who," he said. "I hope they're back. I guess it's all according to how they come out in that (police) report."

Police are expected to be done sifting through more than two dozen conflicting statements and make arrests if appropriate. (A female bystander was struck by a chair and whoever threw it could face a felony charge, not just a misdemeanor for fighting.) Bowden, who has in the past been criticized for not acting swiftly or harshly enough to off-the-field problems, said his players should understand the repercussions of such an incident.

There's a chance that a few of the players may be arrested, but it's slightly infuriating that Bowden refuses to keep players suspended for more than a week. Generally, the third time a player does something wrong, it's time to suspend him for more than a week.

Lastly, a quick weather update for Saturday: according to the Weather Channel, it's looking like it'll be partly cloudy with lows around 30. Not bad. I'd actually prefer more cold, wind, and generally crappy weather for this game - bring on the snow. It's time for some real football.

SB Nation - Darius McClure