Looking ahead to 2020

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#326      
I’m excited for next year. Still really worried about the DB’s but we’ll see what happens. RB will be interesting to say the least. But they really don’t matter that much.

Hm. Neither position concerns me. Certainly not RB, which has no stand alone value. Beason is a bit of a concern but how much will depend on camp.

The real concern is the look of the offense from a design stand point. Luke Ford could get wasted pretty quickly in Rod’s system as is which would....not be good.
 
#327      
Hm. Neither position concerns me. Certainly not RB, which has no stand alone value. Beason is a bit of a concern but how much will depend on camp.

The real concern is the look of the offense from a design stand point. Luke Ford could get wasted pretty quickly in Rod’s system as is which would....not be good.
I get your confidence. But to me the play of Martin and brown today showed me a lot of problems still exist within the secondary. And I know we were missing beason and Adams but I still think we lack difference makers. Hell even Hobbs was challenged the last couple weeks and got exposed a little. RB doesn’t bother me as much but I still lack to see a 3 down back outside of brown and maybe love.
 
#328      
I get your confidence. But to me the play of Martin and brown today showed me a lot of problems still exist within the secondary. And I know we were missing beason and Adams but I still think we lack difference makers. Hell even Hobbs was challenged the last couple weeks and got exposed a little. RB doesn’t bother me as much but I still lack to see a 3 down back outside of brown and maybe love.

Wouldn’t worry about Quan.
 
#329      

Deleted member 746648

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I know we were missing beason and Adams but I still think we lack difference makers.
I'm not sure we necessarily NEED more difference makers to be successful. I think adding more depth is what this defense needs more than anything.
 
#330      
If we can get normal progression from a player of his age and developmental level, there is one specific player on that side of the ball that could take the defense from “Eh” to “Wow” very quickly. 2020 quickly.
Please divulge to us. And I just mean that we saw how thin we were by the end of the year. Really think Sydney brown didn’t play all that great this year for the hype.
 
#331      

Deleted member 654622

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If we can get normal progression from a player of his age and developmental level, there is one specific player on that side of the ball that could take the defense from “Eh” to “Wow” very quickly. 2020 quickly.
Calvin Avery is my guy for this IF award
 
#332      
I get your confidence. But to me the play of Martin and brown today showed me a lot of problems still exist within the secondary. And I know we were missing beason and Adams but I still think we lack difference makers. Hell even Hobbs was challenged the last couple weeks and got exposed a little. RB doesn’t bother me as much but I still lack to see a 3 down back outside of brown and maybe love.

a lot of this game from a lack of pressure. The front 4 is my only concern, right now
 
#333      
a lot of this game from a lack of pressure. The front 4 is my only concern, right now
Watch the defensive breakdown on Twitter. The front four really wasn’t that bad imo. Hobbs, brown and Martin were really bad. The front four wasn’t amazing but def went the problem.
 
#334      
Watch the defensive breakdown on Twitter. The front four really wasn’t that bad imo. Hobbs, brown and Martin were really bad. The front four wasn’t amazing but def went the problem.

The front four did not do what is needed to beat Chase Garbers. As outlined last week, Garbers is pretty good when he’s got forward motion in the pocket or specifically moving to the right. He uses the pocket well but when you get him off his spot, his mechanics disappear and the ball goes every which way but there. Today, we very rarely moved him off his spot.

Odd. We got the A and B in the first couple drives and it worked and then we just stopped. Not sure why but we also did things in the back half that we don’t typically see from Lovie on Saturdays. A lot of Cover 3 today. That’s unusual.
 
#335      
I get really tired of the idea our defense only survived because they lucked into turnovers, or talking about how bad they’ll be if they all the sudden stop turning people over.


Forcing turnovers CAN be your defensive identity. Forcing fumbles, tip drills, strips, batted balls, and getting 11 hats to the ball to be in position to finish those turnovers are attributes and skills of a defense. We don’t just luck into being top 5 in the country in turnovers forced. Teams that don’t finish the 50/50 balls aren’t unlucky, they aren’t hustling to the ball and being around the play.
 
#336      
The front four did not do what is needed to beat Chase Garbers. As outlined last week, Garbers is pretty good when he’s got forward motion in the pocket or specifically moving to the right. He uses the pocket well but when you get him off his spot, his mechanics disappear and the ball goes every which way but there. Today, we very rarely moved him off his spot.

Odd. We got the A and B in the first couple drives and it worked and then we just stopped. Not sure why but we also did things in the back half that we don’t typically see from Lovie on Saturdays. A lot of Cover 3 today. That’s unusual.

I need to watch the game back because I was kind of half watching half working. Was is cover 3 or man free? Why did we go away from pressure? We ran some cover two and Cal ran two perfect smash concepts. We fought hard but man it was not our best game.
 
#337      
I need to watch the game back because I was kind of half watching half working. Was is cover 3 or man free? Why did we go away from pressure? We ran some cover two and Cal ran two perfect smash concepts. We fought hard but man it was not our best game.

I didn't focus on it a lot, but when I did I saw Cover 3 quite a bit.
 
#338      
I get really tired of the idea our defense only survived because they lucked into turnovers, or talking about how bad they’ll be if they all the sudden stop turning people over.


Forcing turnovers CAN be your defensive identity. Forcing fumbles, tip drills, strips, batted balls, and getting 11 hats to the ball to be in position to finish those turnovers are attributes and skills of a defense. We don’t just luck into being top 5 in the country in turnovers forced. Teams that don’t finish the 50/50 balls aren’t unlucky, they aren’t hustling to the ball and being around the play.

Stealing bases in baseball is good, but the team that steals the most bases isn't always the most successful team. Stealing the ball in basketball is good but, again, it doesn't necessarily lead to a win.
The point is that many fans would like to see a better all-around defensive scheme and performance. Interceptions and fumble-recoveries can be an enjoyable component of that, but they should not be a stand-alone goal. If we want to win more games, the team needs to implement and execute a more dependable overall defense.
 
#339      
I need to watch the game back because I was kind of half watching half working. Was is cover 3 or man free? Why did we go away from pressure? We ran some cover two and Cal ran two perfect smash concepts. We fought hard but man it was not our best game.

Cover 3 early, free late but I also need to watch it back next week. One throw in the 3rd was definitely man free. Mixed in our Cover 4/Quarters. We did different things, Garbers simply had too much time to diagnose what was happening.

Couldn’t tell you why we got away from pressure.
 
#340      
Cover 3 early, free late but I also need to watch it back next week. One throw in the 3rd was definitely man free. Mixed in our Cover 4/Quarters. We did different things, Garbers simply had too much time to diagnose what was happening.

Couldn’t tell you why we got away from pressure.

Re-watching the first half now. Man i missed a lot. Guess I can't do two things at once. Twangers is right, Cover 3, Man Free (pressure), and I don't know how much Quarters we played through the first half. Our Corners were playing very aggressive at LOS. Seems more Cover 2 than Quarters.
 
#342      

Deleted member 654622

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The bowl game showed exactly what I have been posting my fear is for next year. If we don't get pressure from the front four, we will continue to get carved up on D. Worse of all, I do not see it getting fixed until the 2021 season. Unless of course we somehow land an immediate eligible pass rusher in the transfer portal. Which I cant see us getting that lucky again with the portal
 
#343      
We have seen problems in the secondary before. We missed Green and Adams. It seems like a ripple effect when they are out. DLine, needs pressure off the edges next season. Lets hope we can get a player or two or that Gay and Carney have senior years where they play like it. Gay did play better later than he did earlier.
 
#344      
Much like hoops, I’m not sure there is much if any reason for optimism given the track record at IL for the staff that is in place.

It’s hard to prognosticate on what next year will look like given injuries, the transfer portal, etc., but just judging off the performance of Lovie and Co. in their years here I expect to beat completely underwhelmed by what we see on the field.
 
#347      
Any idea what Stoker and Casey Washington appear to be fighting about via Twitter?

Can you post screenshots? I just looked and can’t find any conversation, granted I do not have a Twitter account so I’m not sure mentions/replies are accessible.
 
#348      

Deleted member 654622

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Can you post screenshots? I just looked and can’t find any conversation, granted I do not have a Twitter account so I’m not sure mentions/replies are accessible.

Casey's original tweet was taken down, but I am pretty sure I saw it earlier in my thread. I thought it was just a comment about going to work to not having that feeling of a bowl loss again

I am not sure what it going on, but I dont think it is a good look for AHS...
 
#349      
The team needs to try to improve in various ways, but one very correctable problem (which has existed during each of Lovie's four seasons as head coach) is penalties committed. In the NCAA statistics for Fewest Penalties Per Game, our Big Ten West competitors had national rankings as follows: Minnesota - 5th, Iowa- 7th, Purdue - 11th, Wisconsin - 12th, Nebraska - 23rd, and Northwestern - 34th (which is bad for them; they usually are ranked much higher). The Illini come in at around 93-94.

This shows deficient coaching. It wasn't quite as annoying when so many new guys were playing 2-3 seasons ago and making mistakes; but now it is inexcusable that a veteran team would be consistently shooting itself in the foot this way. This has to change if the Illini want to effectively make progress in the Big Ten West (and elsewhere).
 
#350      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
I get really tired of the idea our defense only survived because they lucked into turnovers, or talking about how bad they’ll be if they all the sudden stop turning people over.
I agree that not all turnovers are luck, but a significant number are. And the Illini D is bad when they don't get them. Turnovers can be part of the identity but when you don't get them (like yesterday) that shouldn't mean that you automatically lose. You have to be able to line up and physically stop them.
 
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