funandgun

October 16th, 2010 at 7:05 PM ^

He looked much, much better than Obi.  I did think he made the defense better.  Not good, but better.  Hopefully he keeps developing.  He had a very nice hit late in the game.

Bronco Joe

October 16th, 2010 at 8:27 PM ^

Remember, Floyd's a sophomore, leading the secondary. The only upper classman out there is Rogers. Thank GOODNESS that at a minimum he does grab the guy and hold on.

I'll take our defense holding the other team to under 400 yards every week - we're going to win most of those types of match ups. In another year or two, that secondary is going to be lights out. Alabama, ND, O$U, and Nebraska should enjoy this year and next as much as possible, because in 2012 they are all going to look foolish. 

Mannix

October 16th, 2010 at 7:06 PM ^

Did a fine job pressing and filling holes. He is a big upgrade over Ezeh. I have to believe the D coaches were just hoping Ezeh would 'get it'.



Mouton actually looked worse today because he over pursued on plays where he was the will/ backside B.

MinorRage

October 16th, 2010 at 7:06 PM ^

he seemed to be at least a little more aggressive against the run, and no worse against the pass. The few plays Obi was out there, I noticed and not because of good play. I think Obi seems like a great kid, but it is time some other guys get a shot at LB and I think Demens held up fairly well.

Haxel Rose

October 16th, 2010 at 7:07 PM ^

particularly on the first play of the game and that big third down towards the end. 

 

But there were a couple times he got burned on pass plays...but still, 10X better than Ezeh. Remember the play where that pulling guard pancaked the S**T out of Ezeh?? Even the commentators were laughing at him

HermosaBlue

October 16th, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^

Ezeh got folded like a napkin by Iowa's OL for the half drive he was in there.

Demens was running downhill and filling gaps all day long.  

The "Enigmatic Kenny Demens" is your new starter at MLB.

Pray For Mojo

October 16th, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^

If the big knock on him was his pass coverage - I can only recall one instance this game where it appeared to be a big liability.  Otherwise I thought he performed very well overall and attacked the correct gaps consistently.  For a guy who had his first major playing time I optimisticly think he may have claimed the mike spot for this year and the next.   

bronxblue

October 16th, 2010 at 7:13 PM ^

Kenny played well for a first-time starter, and you hope he can improve as he becomes more comfortable in the system.  I hold no ill will toward Ezeh, but Demens looks like a better option going forward.

MrVociferous

October 16th, 2010 at 8:01 PM ^

I'm guessing they put in Ezeh for a series to see how he would do vs Iowa.  I would imagine that if two guys are competing for a job, it would be nice to have an apples to apples comparision for the coaches to make decisions off of.  Considering I didn't see much of Ezeh after that, I think the coaches saw all they needed to see.

SysMark

October 16th, 2010 at 7:17 PM ^

Demens is going to be a significant upgrade and could help make for a better defense the rest of the year.  Things will steadily improve on the D

Greg McMurtry

October 16th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^

For those referencing the early TD where the WR came across the middle, that play is on Avery. His responsibility is the flat in zone, but instead he chased a WR and vacated his zone. Watch the play again. Brian referenced this same thing happening vs Indiana.

Slippery Rock …

October 16th, 2010 at 9:25 PM ^

I was about to make the same point.  We dropped back in zone that play, and the WR didn't get the ball untill he had crossed his zone.  That being said, Even if Avery had been in the flat, that was going to be a catch regardless.  It was a short crossing route thrown in the weak part of the zone, nothing short of a DL in Stanzi's face before the WR crossed Demens would make that an incompletion.  The YAC leading to the TD is another story, though.

Go for 2

October 16th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^

He filled gaps, read plays and did an excellent job at this strength which was the run.  If Mike Martin was out there for the whole game he would have looked even better.  He is not Ray Lewis, so he will not be taking deep zones or covering seam routes.  But neither was Obi, so frankly this is a massive upgrade.

I think the coaching staff gave Obi the opportunity to get it.   He is a senior, he deserved it and we hadn't lost games.  The bloom will eventually come off the rose.

HermosaBlue

October 16th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^

Obi also had a chance to show something today.  He didn't last a whole drive before getting pulled for Demens.

While I agree the senior gets the shot, his performance to date has been sorely lacking, and his benching in favor of Demens is wholly justified.  

Now we just need Fitzgerald to step up, especially if Mouton's injury turns out to be more serious than it looked.

tasnyder01

October 16th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^

While I agree that Demens is a better player, I would say this caveat:

We still gave up 38 to Iowa.  That's a lot of points, even with the great field position they had.

However, now that there is a decent amount of PT for Demens, could someone that can actually make a diary (has more than 100 points, unlike myself) get the film on this kid?  We've all been clamoring for him for so long that it would be nice to see how he plays and what he can/can't do.  I'm sure this would be a very nice read for people since we're all such big fans of his and want to know through definative evidence what he is capable of.

Steve in PA

October 16th, 2010 at 7:31 PM ^

With Demens in, the D seemed to be more physical or agressive.  Almost like the players knew there was an upgrade.  I'm cleaning up my capture of the game right now, but I would say that he was an upgrade.

Now if we just had a safety or two on the bench...

umaz1

October 16th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^

Demens is a major upgrade. Ezeh got completely blown up again after our first two 3 and out stops. He went back in and gave up a TD.  It was pretty much all Demens from there. He has to be the starter going forward. 

macdaddy

October 16th, 2010 at 8:07 PM ^

it's pretty clear who the starter will be for the rest of the year. Demens had a very solid game. There's definitely room for improvement but he's way better than Ezeh.

mgoblue52

October 16th, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^

Demens was involved in each of the three plays of the first defensive series.  They tried Obi for a series early, so I watched him carefully, and saw him get blasted by Iowa's lineman as their RB got a solid gain.

briangoblue

October 16th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^

nice to see Demens out there forcing the action instead of reading and "accepting a block," as the UFR has so often accused Ezeh of doing. Stick with him and get him ready for next year when the D will return to respectability (I hope). 

jmscher

October 16th, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^

Demens seems to be better than ezeh but still looked like he made a few errors. Only a minor improvement going forward I think this year with demens but I think really bodes well for next year. Kid is only a sophomore and has really nice potential down the road.

jmblue

October 16th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^

He looked solid.  He did get burned on a couple pass plays, but overall showed pretty good instincts.  If only Mouton hadn't decided to be "bad Jonas" this week alongside him.

maddogcody

October 18th, 2010 at 6:18 AM ^

I liked what Demens brought to the defense. While he isn't the fastest LB on the team, he can certainly bring the wood. I think Ezeh will be an adequate backup for Demens the rest of this season. Hopefully Demens will improve with more playing time.