Monday, August 2, 2010

Five burning questions about Florida's defense

In three days, the post-Tim Tebow era of Florida football begins as the Gators begin their preprations for their September 4 season opener with Miami of Ohio. Here are five burning questions about the defense that have to be answered before the Gators take the field for game one.

1. WILL THIS BE A TRANSITION YEAR FOR THE FLORIDA DEFENSE?: Any time you lose an outstanding coordinator such as Charlie Strong, there is going to be a certain amount of transition. Charlie had his way of doing things and it was quite successful. Due to his extensive pro background, Teryl Austin's way of doing things will be different, so there is going to be a certain amount of transition but judging from what we saw this spring, it's hard to imagine there will be too many bumps in the road. Austin has the benefit of working with Dan McCarney (defensive line) and Chuck Heater (co-defensive coordinator/safeties), coaches who are grounded in the college game and who know Florida's personnel inside and out. Austin isn't very vocal but he has a way of getting his point across. Don't expect any wholesale changes but look for a gradual integration of his new ideas to go with some of the old ones, and look for McCarney and Heater to perhaps have a little more input into the way things are done. Also, watch at how the linebackers respond to D.J. Durkin, another new staffer. In the spring, I really liked the energy I saw from this position.


2. ARE THE GATORS MOVING FROM A 4-3 TO A 3-4 BASE DEFENSE?: With teams like Alabama going from a power-I to a spread without changing personnel, it puts a tremendous amount of heat on opposing coordinators to have the right personnel in the game at all times. That's why you're seeing more and more teams gravitate to a 3-4 base using strong, fast, athletic guys on the outside who are as comfortable with their hand on the ground as a defensive end as they are playing in coverage as a linebacker. Timeouts are precious and you can't burn one every time a team shifts from a conventional formation to something exotic so you better have the players in the game who can handle multiple responsibilities.  I believe one of the reasons Urban Meyer hired Teryl Austin from the Arizona Cardinals was his familiarity with adjusting the 3-4 to go against any formation or scheme. In the NFL, you've got a 47-man roster so it's impossible to make wholesale substitutions. Therefore, you better have a scheme and personnel that can adapt on the fly. The Gators will still run their share of 4-3 this year, but I think by midseason, we'll see more 3-4 than 4-3.

3. WHO'S GOING TO PLAY THE CORNER OPPOSITE JANORIS JENKINS?: Judging by what I saw in the spring, I think we'll see a lot of Moses Jenkins and Jeremy Brown. Moses Jenkins is an experienced and valuable special teamer without a lot of experience on the field with the defensive unit while Brown has missed two seasons  because of a back injury. Before he was hurt, Brown was ahead of Janoris Jenkins on the depth chart (spring of 2008) and Janoris went on to  start at corner for a national championship team. Moses Jenkins is that big corner (6-2, 188) that you need to go against the big wide receivers that are so abundant in the SEC like A.J. Green, Julio Jones and Alshon Jeffery. Moses is also a senior and I would love to see him rewarded for his patience by turning the opportunity for playing time into a stellar season. I've got similar feelings about Brown, who has to be so frustrated that he's been unable to contribute his first two years on campus. If he can stay healthy, he's got a chance to be really good. Watch out for freshmen Jaylen Watkins and Joshua Shaw. Although they often looked like a lost ball in the tall grass during the spring, they've had the entire summer to get used to the scheme and speed of the athletes they'll be defending in the college game.

4. WILL THE GATORS FIND A WAY TO GET JON BOSTIC AND JELANI JENKINS ON THE FIELD AT THE SAME TIME?: If and when the Gators are in a 3-4, we'll see a lot of Jenkins and Bostic on the field at the same time. Jenkins has such speed that in the 3-4, he could slide to the outside and stay with tight ends and most running backs. Bostic is a beast against the run, so he's going to be on the field a lot. Bostic is a prototypical middle linebacker but he has the range to play the weak side, too. Jelani Jenkins is a plug and play guy. Plug him in and he'll find a place to play.  I like Florida's situation at linebacker with Brandon Hicks, A.J. Jones and Lorenzo Edwards providing veteran leadership for youngsters with speed and talent such as Neiron Ball, Michael Taylor, Darrin Kitchens and Gideon Ajagbe.


5. CAN RONALD POWELL BE AN IMPACT PLAYER FROM DAY ONE?: I saw Lawrence Taylor in high school and then watched him make an almost effortless transition from defensive tackle to defensive end as a freshman at North Carolina. When I see the film on Ronald Powell, I see a player of comparable size (6-4, 248) and speed along with that instinctive ability to find the football and destroy whoever has it. Powell is the perfect fit for that hybrid end/linebacker that the Gators will need to run the 3-4. I think Powell and William Green are going to be perfect fits for that role and I think they will provide the kind of pass rush that will make life hell for opposing quarterbacks. Even though there is tremendous pressure on him to produce from the beginning, I think Powell has the right skills and mindset to make it happen instantly.

No comments:

Post a Comment