August 30th, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Run D: C
August 30th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^
and a dramatic drop off on defense with the starters out.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:49 PM ^
It wasn't just the personnel, we also really called off the dogs and went very vanilla. They're a dink and dunk team and we were content to let them do that. Some of the runs up the middle were mildly concerning in the second half, but otherwise, it was simply a case of changing the game plan from getting after them to keeping things in front and making them go the length of the field in small chunks.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
Run defense has me slightly concerned but they were going up against an offensive line with a lot of experience, so at least it's slightly warranted.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^
Everyone started freaking out about garbage time D, but when the game was still mildly contested and the D cared App State couldn't do a damn thing. I think they're going to be just fine
August 30th, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
Not only was our second team Defense in, but they stopped revealing anything to Notre Dame by reverting back to a non-aggressive denfensive stance. I thought the first 2 and a half quarters, the defense was actually quite dominating.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:38 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^
it reminds me of mattison's first year. alot of high risk high reward calls. you'll win some you will lose some, I think that was some of the early big runs. late it was the backups playing base d, so not terribly worried about that.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:28 PM ^
wow...I tihnk I interenet burped...
August 30th, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^
it reminds me of mattison's first year. alot of high risk high reward calls. you'll win some you will lose some, I think that was some of the early big runs. late it was the backups playing base d, so not terribly worried about that.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^
it reminds me of mattison's first year. alot of high risk high reward calls. you'll win some you will lose some, I think that was some of the early big runs. late it was the backups playing base d, so not terribly worried about that.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:28 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^
Third team defense has to get their shit together. Jeez.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^
5 more wins and we are bowl eligible
August 30th, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^
Middle of the DL seemed like a weakness and JMFR at MLB still seems like a giant ?, but overall VERY encouraged.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
W. Henry and the App St QB disagree
August 30th, 2014 at 4:46 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^
It wasn't so much on the interior DL as the LBs. Ryan and Bolden struggled to plug the right hole a lot of times and gave up cut back lanes when they were too aggressive. I'll take LBs so free to flow that they get overly aggressive than LBs eating blocks any day, because the former problem is pretty easy to coach up.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^
Not too worried overall about the D. Pass D was very good.
In the first half App State had one 27 yard run and that was it running.
They only started moving the ball when it was 42-0, and at that point I saw a D-Line including Charlton, Mone and Wormley, and this was on their first scoring drive. I know we rotate but they only really started moving the ball when we put our 2nd and 3rd string in. I'll be more worried next week if ND gashes us.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:35 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
some hits that dislodged the ball when it might have been caught. How many times did we see that last year?
August 30th, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
I think the run defense needs a bit of work, but on the whole the D played very well today. Liked some of the hits we put on their receivers, definitely more physical than last year.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^
Appalachian State ran a total of 69 plays for a total of 280 yards, which is good for 4.06 yards per play, but much of this came in the second half when our starters were out. With the starters in, we actually held them to something more on the order of 2.64 yards play, so there is that.
Of note, Appalachian State had only 63 yards rushing on 14 attempts at halftime, which was about 4.5 yards per rush. They gained 90 yards on the ground in the second half on 24 further rushing plays, so 3.75 yards per play. The run defense got statistically a tad more firm as the game wore on, but there were a couple substantial runs mixed in there.
August 30th, 2014 at 11:19 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^
We looked great while the game was still competitive. Great. Just that one big run up the gut that was just a rock-paper-scissors luck call on our blitz. I'll take a couple of those every game if it means we're aggressive and physical.
Second and third units looked like garbage, but hopefully we don't have to see too much of it this season.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^
The only guy who stood out in a negative way was Glasgow to me. I like the aggressive coverage, and I wonder how the safeties looked deep beyond this given that most of the TV shots were so tight.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 6:46 PM ^
That's unpossible. He's a technician.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:39 PM ^
is much better than a middle of the Sun Belt Offense, we'll be challenged better next week, but we already knew that..
We were agressive and tackled well early in the game when it mattered. I like what I saw, nice to see positive contributions early from Wormley and Charlton.
Peppers last tackle was special, his speed turned an 8 yard gain into 2.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:42 PM ^
Good time to get their feet wet. Wanted a shut out, but the reality is that PT for 2nd & 3rd string is more important than first string reps.
- Clark did some good things.
- Peppers is very important and not easily replaceable.
- DL is good, but not yet great.
- Mattison probably didn't reveal everything. Which is very wise.
- Special teams isn't defense, but I think ST will be greatly improved this year, both in going after their punts, and in returning punts and kickoffs.
- I don't recall a ton of plays with Bolden. Or Ross.
- Waiting to see how things go with Ryan.
- Will really want to see the UFR.
- The secondary is the real strength.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:46 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:46 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 3:47 PM ^
Enjoyed the Dline. My 2 "flash guys" from last year Wormley and Henry did well. Pipkins very quiet (did he play?) Jake Ryan very quiet. First team secondary looked solid but again their QB was quite bad so hard to judge. Check back in 7 days for an honest assessment.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:52 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 3:51 PM ^
It's hard to say how much the coaches told them to avoid the big play latter. I thought they played well early against the run and pass. Next week will tell more. I think we will have a lockdown defense for sure by the end of the year.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^
I am concerned with the rush defense. I loved the back 7. They forced zero turnovers, but if they keep playing like that the turnovers will come.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^
There is some potential OMG PAIN on this D. They were a little inconsistent but expect the front 6-7 to get better as more experience comes. Things like JMFR as MLB - he'll find his groove at some point - his football IQ is too high not to. The DBs were blanketing WRs all day. Significant depth all-around - should help with exhaustion, etc... in B1G season.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
Did not get a good read on Ryan. Anyone else have educated thoughts on our use of Ryan/his play?
It seemed like some of those long runs were on the LBs.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^
August 30th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
All spring and summer, we heard how tough the competition for each position was going to be. I did not expect to see such a dramatic dropoff when we put in the second or third team D, and it was disappointing to see them lacking aggression when they did see the field. One would hope that when they saw the field, the second and third team D would be salivating at the prospect of being able to show the coaches that they should see more playing time. They showed the opposite. Apart from that, I thought the D was great. Even though it was App St, that team returned an O line with a LOT of experience, a QB who completed 71% of his passes last year and a 1,000 yard rusher. Our first team D just shut them down!
August 30th, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
That was my primary take on it as well; what happened to the quality depth on the line and at linebacker?
Safety play was also sub-stellar, but not a liability. The one safety PI call was on a non-catchable ball.
August 30th, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 4:37 PM ^
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August 30th, 2014 at 5:07 PM ^
I noticed that Frank Clark was lined up at LB to blitz on a couple of the earlier long runs by App State. I couldn't tell if he missed his gap or someone else did, but it seemed like lining him up there at a minimum gave away where the pressure was coming from (since it makes little sense to have Clark drop into coverage).
Aside from that, I felt pretty good about the defense. Clark brought some nice pressure, Wormley did some work, and the secondary looked great until late in the game.