Ezeh and Mouton
Largely lost in the earlier dramatics were Woolfolk's comments about Ezeh and Mouton. Lifting from the front page:
"Obi Ezeh (and Jonas Mouton) have gotten bigger in the offseason, but they're probably faster than they were before they added the weight. They're able to run with receivers deep, too. They 'look like supreme athletes out there.' Troy has confidence that they'll be able to put it all together this year, and be two of the best linebackers in the nation."
Other signs point in a similar, though less hyperbolic direction (Brian picks Mouton his breakout D player in HTTV, Magnus thinks Ezeh steps up at TtB). Assuming QB play improves no matter who starts, the senior LB story may be the most important development this camp
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:14 PM ^
is the successful usage of periods and commas. great editing!
Edit: I guess 10+ people didn't enjoy the reference to 5+ posts being created regarding a different sentence in the presser.August 3rd, 2010 at 11:35 PM ^
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:43 PM ^
and the D-Line lives up to expectations, I bet we see an overall improved defense regardless of safety play.
Building on what was discussed here previously (http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ezeh-and-mouton-0), I am going to tell you that if Mouton and Ezeh have breakout years, and our offense / defensive line live up to expectations (slight improvements from last year) - we're going to be a rock solid team, regardless of safety play.
Safeties cost us less games than the LBs last year:
- Iowa
- Purdue
Based on poor play from the linebackers, we lost:
- MSU (197 rushing yards allowed)
- PSU (166 rushing yards allowed)
- Illinois (337!!!!)
- Wisconsin (229)
- Ohio State (251!! - also poor QB play in this game from us)
You could make the argument that the PSU, Illinois (post Roundtree being caught), and Wisconsin games were losses regardless because we lost by 21-25 points. However, I think we win one of these games (Illinois) if we have a solid run defense.
Take it for what it's worth, but our run D cost us 5 games last year, and our defensive backfield only cost us 2. If our run D is improved greatly, but our defensive backfield is stagnant - we will be looking A LOT better in 2010. I'm not saying 10-2 or anything, but I think the standard of 7-5 might be a bit low.
Agree except that I don't think our run D - or our defense in general - should be blamed for the MSU loss. We held a pretty good offense to 20 points in regulation even as they possessed the ball for 35+ minutes. Our offense just plain didn't show up for the first three quarters.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^
These are encouraging words though. It'll give me something to look forward to at least.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^
...and then they happen.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
(I'd highly recommend a google search for "Murphy's Law" to anyone in need of a chuckle)
The D-Line is going to be unstoppable this year! If Mouton and Ezeh play up to their potential, we are going to have a very good front 7. I'm not worried so much about the secondary as most people. Woolfolk is a good corner and it sounds like J.T. Floyd is really coming along. We have J.T. Turner who was a 5 star in the mix as well. Kovacs played very well and will be playing a box safety where he really shines. Deep safety is a little concerning. Thomas Gordon please!!!
don't forget about him. i'm hoping he adds solid play as a frosh. even boubacar had flashes of good play as a frosh.
I think you're confusing the two Gordons--Thomas plays spur, not deep safety.
had a great quote, "the faster the player, the quicker he gets out of position sometimes". to me, both those guys were already athletic. i just hope they've learned how to play the game.
is their year: Both are seniors, and they have the experience and maturity to be leaders and play makers. If the talk about our secondary - Cam and JT in particular- is also accurate, we could be in for a happy-smiley season.