UTs Secondary This Year

#1
GenNeyland9

GenNeyland9

Keeper of The Game Maxims
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#1
Okay, so let me preface this by saying that I know our secondary is experienced, "talented" (whatever the hell that means--that word is obviously used too much) and is generally regarded as the strength of the D this year.

That being said, does anyone really think our secondary will be anything more than it usually is, which is decent at best? As long as I can remember (which doesn't include the Bobby Majors, Tim Priest, etc. great secondaries from the past), UT's secondary and pass defense has always been the weak spot of the defense. Granted, part of that may come from Chavis's insistence on stopping the run first, but "blown coverages," sloppy tackling, and an inability to make interceptions or just flat out cover people one-on-one always seem to permeate our secondary play.

I do think that Wade, Fellows, Hefney, Stewart, Johnson, and Morley are all very capable, and they're all back from last year, but we still weren't stellar against the pass last season.

Is the secondary really going to step up and shut people down this year, or will it be the same old story as always?
 
#2
#2
(GenNeyland9 @ Aug 9 said:
Is the secondary really going to step up and shut people down this year, or will it be the same old story as always?
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I expect the same old story as always.
 
#3
#3
I think we have a great shot at having one of the best secondary's in the nation, but will we step up to the challenge
 
#4
#4
(tmodaniel @ Aug 9 said:
I think we have a great shot at having one of the best secondary's in the nation, but will we step up to the challenge
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In the past 35 years, UT has never had the best secondary in the nation. Our secondary constantly gives wide receivers too big of a cushion. As a whole, our secondary also usually doesn't tackle all that well.
 
#5
#5
(Vol423 @ Aug 9 said:
In the past 35 years, UT has never had the best secondary in the nation. Our secondary constantly gives wide receivers too big of a cushion. As a whole, our secondary also usually doesn't tackle all that well.
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Yeah. Doesn't it always seem that everyone else's wide receivers are always wide open, and by contrast ours always have to struggle to find open space and make plays?
 
#6
#6
I think if our D can produce 2002 passing defense stats, this team will see tons of wins.

156 pass yards/game
48.7% opposition completion

And the D as a whole: 17.5 points per game
 
#7
#7
coaching. get the guy that does css games and other tv work as the DB coach. He played at UT in the early 80s.
 
#8
#8
(LetMeStay @ Aug 9 said:
coaching. get the guy that does css games and other tv work as the DB coach. He played at UT in the early 80s.
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Terrence Cleveland? He was a receiver at UT, I think.
 
#9
#9
I think no matter the experience they have, the secondary is still at a disadvantage because they have two cornerbacks playing at safety. Jason Allen converted very well to safety, but Antwan Stewart did not, and I think Hefney is much better as a corner. I'd like to see Morley starting at one of the safety positions and maybe moving Stewart or Hefney back to the corner.
 
#10
#10
(JAllen18MVP @ Aug 9 said:
I think no matter the experience they have, the secondary is still at a disadvantage because they have two cornerbacks playing at safety. Jason Allen converted very well to safety, but Antwan Stewart did not, and I think Hefney is much better as a corner. I'd like to see Morley starting at one of the safety positions and maybe moving Stewart or Hefney back to the corner.
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I didn't think Antwan Stewart was that bad at safety. He was pretty much the only guy on defense that showed up to play against Vandy. He may not be a superstar next year, but I think he'll be pretty solid. It sounds like Morley would be a liability on the field, so I say keep Stewart on the field.
 
#11
#11
(JAllen18MVP @ Aug 9 said:
I think no matter the experience they have, the secondary is still at a disadvantage because they have two cornerbacks playing at safety. Jason Allen converted very well to safety, but Antwan Stewart did not, and I think Hefney is much better as a corner. I'd like to see Morley starting at one of the safety positions and maybe moving Stewart or Hefney back to the corner.
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I like the idea, but also chew on this: I think safety is an easier position to overcome a height/size disadvantage than corner. Morley is 6'2", Stewart is 6'0", and Hefney is 5'9". Hefney played rather well in run support, and had 6 passes deflected at FS, which is solid. Wade is only 6'0", but his speed more than makes up for his height disadvantage. I was incredibly surprised that Inky played so well at 5'9". I wouldn't mind seeing:

CB Morley
CB Wade
SS Stewart
FS Hefney

Inky and Fellows would fill in at CB at various times, and when they do, Morley could shift to SS. The main problem with that is lack of depth at safety.
 
#13
#13
(kptvol @ Aug 9 said:
I didn't think Antwan Stewart was that bad at safety. He was pretty much the only guy on defense that showed up to play against Vandy. He may not be a superstar next year, but I think he'll be pretty solid. It sounds like Morley would be a liability on the field, so I say keep Stewart on the field.
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Well, I didn't mean it to come out like that. I'm not saying that he's bad, but I think he lost a lot in the transition. Wasn't there a lot of talk before he got injured that he was a better cornerback than Jason Allen?
 
#14
#14
(LetMeStay @ Aug 9 said:
does charles davis ring a bell?
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Sure, take a guy with no SEC (or any?) coaching experience, put him into a tradition rich, competitive school at DB coach. Nice call!
 
#15
#15
(JAllen18MVP @ Aug 9 said:
Well, I didn't mean it to come out like that. I'm not saying that he's bad, but I think he lost a lot in the transition. Wasn't there a lot of talk before he got injured that he was a better cornerback than Jason Allen?
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Yes, I remember a lot of talk that he would be a huge star because of how well he played as a FR.
 
#16
#16
(VolinArizona @ Aug 9 said:
I like the idea, but also chew on this: I think safety is an easier position to overcome a height/size disadvantage than corner. Morley is 6'2", Stewart is 6'0", and Hefney is 5'9". Hefney played rather well in run support, and had 6 passes deflected at FS, which is solid. Wade is only 6'0", but his speed more than makes up for his height disadvantage. I was incredibly surprised that Inky played so well at 5'9". I wouldn't mind seeing:

CB Morley
CB Wade
SS Stewart
FS Hefney

Inky and Fellows would fill in at CB at various times, and when they do, Morley could shift to SS. The main problem with that is lack of depth at safety.
Click to expand...

I thought safeties were traditionally bigger and more physical than corners. Actually, I think there was a lot of debate over whether or not Hefney had the size to play safety.
 
#17
#17
(VolinArizona @ Aug 9 said:
Sure, take a guy with no SEC (or any?) coaching experience, put him into a tradition rich, competitive school at DB coach. Nice call!
Click to expand...

i wasnt sure if charles davis was the guy i'm thinking about but i think it is. i think most of us can agree that larry slade should be replaced.
 
#18
#18
(kptvol @ Aug 9 said:
I thought safeties were traditionally bigger and more physical than corners. Actually, I think there was a lot of debate over whether or not Hefney had the size to play safety.
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It's more of how I view the positions. Then again, I'm not a coach nor a scout, so I could be way off. It just seems that you'd want speed and height at corner, where you're in man more often than a safety. Safeties generally get to passes as they arrive, so a guy with 5'10" height has a running straight line start to jump. Ehhh, I didn't explain that well.
 
#19
#19
(LetMeStay @ Aug 9 said:
i wasnt sure if charles davis was the guy i'm thinking about but i think it is. i think most of us can agree that larry slade should be replaced.
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I would agree on Slade. :)
 
#20
#20
As long as we quit letting people convert on 3rd and very long, it will be an improvement!!!
 
#21
#21
The problem with our secondary in the past was this. We might have a couple good players out there, but we always had a couple of weak links. But I think this year will be different. Johnson and Wade were first year starters last year, and did good. They will be a year wiser this year; I think both will do really well this year. If you count the one returned to the one yd. line Wade had two TD.'s last year. Plus they have some depth this year with Morley ready to step in if someone goes down.
 
#22
#22
we've had spots of talent in the Defensive backfield, guys like allen, grant, wilson etc....but i would agree that we have rarely had two great safeties or two great DB's on the field at the same time.

i think what makes this year a bit different is that these guys weren't terrible last year, and they are all coming back and should be even better with another year's experience. plus i think they may have more to gain by the competition we will be playing this year. O/t Cal and Florida, the other teams on our schedule shouldn't be lighting it up offensively, well at least airing it out anyway. (remember, when UF was in it's hay day, they were making a lot of defensive backs look bad, not just ours.)

where i think they could get exposed a bit is last year, you had a GREAT front 7 that could stop the run and get pressure on the qb, if that is lacking this year with the 6 "new" guys up front, that could make them look worse than they may really be.

If the front 7 can stop the run, and put teams in to bad situations (obvious passing situaitons, 3rd and long etc...), then obviously, our secondary, even in average years, will be better.

just like on offense, it all starts up front.

But i would agree, i don't think we have a "shut down" guy in our backfeild. I think we have 4 good players, not great players.
 
#23
#23
(GenNeyland9 @ Aug 9 said:
Okay, so let me preface this by saying that I know our secondary is experienced, "talented" (whatever the hell that means--that word is obviously used too much) and is generally regarded as the strength of the D this year.

That being said, does anyone really think our secondary will be anything more than it usually is, which is decent at best? As long as I can remember (which doesn't include the Bobby Majors, Tim Priest, etc. great secondaries from the past), UT's secondary and pass defense has always been the weak spot of the defense. Granted, part of that may come from Chavis's insistence on stopping the run first, but "blown coverages," sloppy tackling, and an inability to make interceptions or just flat out cover people one-on-one always seem to permeate our secondary play.

I do think that Wade, Fellows, Hefney, Stewart, Johnson, and Morley are all very capable, and they're all back from last year, but we still weren't stellar against the pass last season.

Is the secondary really going to step up and shut people down this year, or will it be the same old story as always?
Click to expand...
I agree its been the week link of our defence for alot of years loosing our front seven has been giving me bad dreams.
 
#24
#24
(jakez4ut @ Aug 9 said:
we've had spots of talent in the Defensive backfield, guys like allen, grant, wilson etc....but i would agree that we have rarely had two great safeties or two great DB's on the field at the same time.

i think what makes this year a bit different is that these guys weren't terrible last year, and they are all coming back and should be even better with another year's experience. plus i think they may have more to gain by the competition we will be playing this year. O/t Cal and Florida, the other teams on our schedule shouldn't be lighting it up offensively, well at least airing it out anyway. (remember, when UF was in it's hay day, they were making a lot of defensive backs look bad, not just ours.)

where i think they could get exposed a bit is last year, you had a GREAT front 7 that could stop the run and get pressure on the qb, if that is lacking this year with the 6 "new" guys up front, that could make them look worse than they may really be.

If the front 7 can stop the run, and put teams in to bad situations (obvious passing situaitons, 3rd and long etc...), then obviously, our secondary, even in average years, will be better.

just like on offense, it all starts up front.

But i would agree, i don't think we have a "shut down" guy in our backfeild. I think we have 4 good players, not great players.
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I haven't seen Florida light it up like they did in the 90's since......the 90's.

They may be better than last year, maybe not. But if they're going to be lighting it up this year, they'll have to be A WHOLE LOT better than last year.
 
#25
#25
How come everybody is saying that the db's have always been our weakness?

Dow you guys not remember how solid the db's were around 02 and 03?

R. Baker and G. Wilson at Safety and Greer and Allen on the corner...who are ALL in the NFL right now.

Antwan Stewart got hyped up after his freshman year because he got a couple lucky int's. That didnt stop him from helping just about every SEC wr polish up their highlight tapes. Stewart is an awful corner and is lucky that the coaching staff thinks highly of him because he works hard. Before he had the quickness to play the corner but no instincts. Now after messing up his knee...he has neither. He's decent at safety but Morley is way better and will continue to get better as he gets more game experience.

Inky Johnson was/is the best corner on the team. His position is locked up. J. Wade is so much improved from last year that the sky is the limit for him this season. If he gets a few pbu's and a few picks throughout the season... he'll be looking at an all american year. Very exciting. Heffney is the most important DB on the team. His move from corner to safety was huge for us and he will only get better. He is solid. Morley should be the ss and R.Fellows will be the utility guy. Expect him at safety, corner, nickleback...whereever he is needed.

I, for one, am very excited for the DB's this season. Inky is simply a lockdown corner, probably the most underappreciated players on the team last year. He's the reason J.Wade got those opportunities to pick off balls because Inky had his side locked down. Hop he gets the accolades he deserves this year. If J Wade can finally reach the potential that everyone knows he can reach, that will be a flat out scary combo for teams to avoid. And with that being the case... you should want the most freakishly athletic guy running around causing chaos and closing on deep balls. That guy is Morley. Heffney is also a good tackler and solid in coverage and should be the leader of the group.
 
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