Why is our secondary horrible?

[notredomer23]

11-24 135 MSU
11-24 121 GT
17-32 144 PSU
13-22 85 UM
52-102- 485 Season

those are the overall stats from this season of the opposing QBs. Anything but horrible. Take out Lambert and put in McNeil and Wooden and put in Gray(if he was healthy), Imagine how good our secondary would be. Why is everyone saying our secondary is horrible. Thats about 53% passing and about 121 yards a game, much much better than last season.

 

[Junkhead]

Pass D has been pretty good, except in the red zone. Until the run D shuts someone down, it'll be hard to see the progess of the Pass D. Purdue should be a test for the secondary.

 

[loomis41973]

I think the sum of our problems equals 42.

 

[notredomer23]

I think the sum of our problems equals 42.

agreed, but they are starting for a reason so if the they are starting, that must mean the people behind them arent that great either or injured. you have to say zibby hasnt really done anything great, but he hasnt done and anything wrong. Walls is a straight up Baller. i made a mistake the overall completions are 39 for 85 for 472 yards. I was reading the wrong stats. So thats not even 50%! not bad.

 

[loomis41973]

Yeah, Zibby hasn't really impressed last year or so far this year. He's just OK...... and quite a bit overrated.

 

[goldandblue]

What happened to him (zibby)?

 

[Wham]

I think he lost his zip when he almost got his head knocked off last year. He has never been the same since. He looks like he is proteciting his neck every time he tries to tackle.

 

[johnnd05]

I think he lost his zip when he almost got his head knocked off last year. He has never been the same since. He looks like he is proteciting his neck every time he tries to tackle.

Nice point. And excellent first post, by the way. Welcome to the board.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

We really don't know how good or bad our secondary is...Teams are just running over our defense..They don't have to pass the ball..We will get a better idea this upcoming game against Pudure

 

[Domendomer]

Linebackers and ends have poor technique and can't shed a block. They stand too tall and I'm not sure they know what their assignment really is. They are easily hook blocked, which is a near impossible block from the offensive standpoint, but it works against ND every time. There is absolutely no pursuit or pass coverage or swarming to the ball from the linebackers. They are the problem with the D. Everything else on D has improved. The defense does not know how to tackle. They have no technique. Looks like a coaching problem. Maybe not enough reps at practice. They need to take it out full speed on the walk-ons. Where's Rudy?

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

They look slow, they lack aggressiveness, and they don't tackle w/ ferocity. For what our D should look like, check out Cincinnati w/ their 2 and 3 star recruits.

 

[Domendomer]

So how do you fix the problem? And what is the source of the problem?

 

[johnnd05]

Well, we'll see how the secondary does next weekend against "basketball on grass". We haven't exactly played pass-happy teams thus far.

 

[goldandblue]

Maybe zibby will make some plays this week!

 

[Sureal]

Linebackers and ends have poor technique and can't shed a block. They stand too tall and I'm not sure they know what their assignment really is. They are easily hook blocked, which is a near impossible block from the offensive standpoint, but it works against ND every time. There is absolutely no pursuit or pass coverage or swarming to the ball from the linebackers. They are the problem with the D. Everything else on D has improved. The defense does not know how to tackle. They have no technique. Looks like a coaching problem. Maybe not enough reps at practice. They need to take it out full speed on the walk-ons. Where's Rudy?

Bingo!!! Show him what he's won Johnny!!!

You hit it right on the head. All day I was screaming at the tv "Get off your bleeping block!!!" That is why we get jacked up. Our ends can contain to save their lives. We are either too small or not strong enough it seems like to shed...

 

[patman1868]

I think that one reason the secodary looks so bad is the lack of a effective pass rush. It seems like the quarterback has all day to throw and that gives the WR's plenty of time to get open. Darrin Walls has done a good job covering his man despite this, but lambert and wooden have not, they are not that great of corners to begin with though. Hopefully the lack of pass rush will change with the emergence of Kerry Neal, and Brain Smith. Hopefully their pass rush can force the opposing QB's into making some rushed and bad throws, and that would help take some of the pressure of the secondary.

 

[goldandblue]

Yeah pass rush has a lot to do with the secondary looking bad. It doesn't matter if you had Trevor Laws back there passing, if he has long enough he'll make some completions. How many sacks have we made this year? Not near enough.

 

[WaveDomer]

It doesn't help

It doesn't help

It doesn't help when your offense is not moving the ball and keeping you off the field. It also doesn't help when you are constantly defending field position. Both physically and mentally it has to be draining.

 

[Epitome]

Even with a lack of pass rush the secondary has been pretty stout. That's a testament to them. As for Zibby I think he has played extremely well. Just because he hasn't had a big interception doesn't mean he is playing bad. Go through the game film and tell me how many times you have seen any of our opponents throw his way. That means that his area of containment is taken care of. I wouldn't be surprised if he is grading out at about 95% every Sunday during film review.

 

[goldandblue]

That's a good thought on top of that, the teams we've played haven't passed much so that takes away opportunities for zibby to make some big plays.

 

[johnnd05]

I saw today that our pass defense is ranked #5 in the nation. Not bad, but once again let's wait and see how we do this weekend playing basketball on grass before we crown 'em.

 

[Sureal]

IMO the pass defense isn't that bad. It's the dog-gone run defense that stinks...
Like I said earlier "GET OFF YOUR BLOCKS!!!"

 

[SouthieND04]

A better question might be when hasn't our secondary been horrible? Actually, they might have improved from last year, at least at a casual glance. Don't know if there's proof for it.

 

[johnnd05]

A better question might be when hasn't our secondary been horrible? Actually, they might have improved from last year, at least at a casual glance. Don't know if there's proof for it.

That's actually the question ND23 was asking: i.e., he meant to be asking something like "Why do people keep saying our secondary is horrible (when their numbers are so-and-so good, etc.)?". Sort of like somebody saying to you that Matt Leinart isn't an asshat and you responding, "Why ISN'T Leinart an asshat?"

 

[Wham]

IMO the pass defense isn't that bad. It's the dog-gone run defense that stinks...
Like I said earlier "GET OFF YOUR BLOCKS!!!"

Poor technique. Not enough live reps at practice maybe? Run defense stinks because the only ones that can tackle are the d linemen. They have no support. Zero. None.

johnnd05 says nd #5 in pass defense, but this is a deceptive stat for the following:
1. Offenses don't have to pass against ND because defense can't tackle.
2. ND has faced power teams so far, not passing teams
3. Secondary allows 3 and long completions all the time. They can't cover when it counts.

Wavedomers post seems very accurate. I'll add that I think the punter this week totally crushed ND's psyche. Normally, a punter's mistake can be overcome, but not when your team's confidence is hanging on a string. He singlehandedly destroyed momentum and added to frustration.

Nothing wrong with the pass rush. This defensive line is the hardest working I have seen in a long time. They just need help.

Domendomer's post is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[piyachi]

Wham I think you're partially correct, in that teams can run on us so why bother passing....

BUT It's the safer choice for a reason - Walls and Zibby don't get much attention because they really do lock down that side of the field. Really the only glaring weakness on our D is Wooden/Lambert, as evidenced by the fact that BRUTON got the most tackles on the team against MSU. In other words, he is out there cleaning up their mess. The reason he had the pick on that ball in the endzone was because the corner had outrun the receiver and didn't bother to look up for the ball.

I don't think our secondary stinks, I'd say it's average to above average even with that glaring hole on the left side. Zibby takes a lot of flak because he gets too much hype, he is an ok cover guy, a big hitter (or used to be), and a fantastic punt returner. Once we have Gray/McNeil fighting for that left spot we could really have something special in the secondary ('specially given Corwin's experience as a DB and DB coach).

I can't wait to see Harrison Smith use that speed to have a 5+ int season.

 

[Wham]

Wham I think you're partially correct, in that teams can run on us so why bother passing....
.

What part of my analysis is incorrect?