“Talent” What does the term entail ?

Anything that causes someone to be great....so D) All of the above, plus many more you didn't list.

However, you cannot overcome lack of speed and quickness. Those are critical. The top 5-10 teams are also the fastest out there.

 

I thought it was a biblical term that represents the amount earned as income or a cash payment for services. Kind of like the NIL has made things today. What goes around comes around.

 

People use it as a crutch

We have a top 10 talented D based on recruiting

We are at or near the bottom of FBS in terms of results

Even if the talent is overrated it’s impossible for us to be the least talented defense in the country.

 

It's all about the star gazers... Lol. It's not the talent on the defensive side of the ball... not when our DBs are lined up beyond the 8 yards for a first down all the time. That's on the coaches.

We might not have the DTs to go full 4-3 base but that will be changing after the 2023 class is signed and delivered.

The entire defensive scheme... it's antiquated/dysfunctional and the way we're lining up on secondary won't stop a high school football team's passing game.

Can we please stop with these "talent" threads. The stars/talent averages out to be just as inaccurate to small degree for all teams equally. That means it's a wash.

The better question would if we have the RIGHT kind of players on our defense to make it more effective in the run and passing game.

One thing is for sure we need all the DTs that we're recruiting and then some, because if we don't get pressure on the QB then he has all day long to pass the ball and even with an NFL quality secondary we lose that fight. It all starts up front with a 4-3 base defense.

 

all of the above. Talented players need to be able to identify what's happening in an instant and have the athletic ability to execute your role on a consistent basis.

 

It’s not individual talent per se. Mimosa rush means db are left out to dry. Db then back off and give a cushion not to get burned… and when they play bump and run awe see what happens.
Our linebackers are a weakness in coverage. I love Miller… but he can’t cover a RB or TE. Safeties are playing up in order to help..
And that does not take into account mental talent… guys not making mental mistakes, blowing coverages, filling the wrong gap, etc..

 

It’s not athleticism in this case. We have a ton of great athletes on that side of the ball. But most of our players are playing out of their natural position and many are undersized for what we are asking them to do. On paper it looks like we scored big in recruiting but schematically speaking Todd set us back 2 cycles. We were giving the green light for anybody & everybody to commit and figuring out where to line ‘em up later.

 

Nah re: the intangibles. You don't need any instinct or comprehension.

 

I can believe that we do not have the talent to be a "shut down" or elite defense this year like Georgia. I can believe that there are individuals that are not the profile we want in a particular position. However, I struggle to understand how we are sooo bad at defending the pass and defending third down. The defense made Jayden Daniels look like a Heisman contender, and he is a limited, middle of the road SEC starter.

Let me put this another way...South Carolina ranks 56th nationally in yards per game. Florida ranks 102nd (and this is before we play Ga.). If we ranked near (behind, but close, even,) South Carolina, I could better understand the issues of the first year in a system, personnel fits, etc. Do those that think it is just a matter of top end talent believe that we need an infusion of talent to draw even with South Carolina? I have got to believe that the talent of our current players is not being maximized.

 

Totally agree!

 

Okay, time to put on my Professor's hat and go all educated. IMO, the game of football is rather simple. It is blocking and tackling, with the chance for turnovers. In the beginning, there is the ball, where, except for the QB, the stoutest players are located close to. The bigger your opponent is, the bigger you should be, unless you have enough stoutness but a bit more quickness. If we go to the defense, there are one-gap and two-gap tackles. A one-gap is a guy with some quickness to get around a slower player in front of him. The idea is that once you get past them, you can disrupt the ball carrier (usually the QB or RB) enough to change the trajectory of the play. But if you are not quick enough, and you are merely on one side of the blocker, then the other side of the blocker is in play by the offense.

Now to the two-gap tackle. His primary job is to eat up space, like he is a sumo wrestler. The blocker wants to move him away from his spot but instead he remains where he is parked. That way if the run is on either side of him, he merely reaches to that side and tackles the ball carrier. Obviously to do this takes strength and bulk. There is a phrase that coaches and fans use that is called "a big backside", meaning their butt muscles are REALLY pronounced. These are the biggest muscles on our bodies. Got big ones and you can do some assertive things. And if it were a separate kind of defense, we would be talking about the stoutest of players known as a nose guard, who gets double-teamed (the center and one of the guards) on every play. If you are going to be playing two against one, you have to have a DAMN big and strong guy in the nose position or you are going to fail BIG. It is what it is. And to that, they are kind of like women's breasts (we are talking about nature and not plastic surgery), you are born with them and if you don't have them, you don't have them. And so, football coaches are always looking for the Mae Wests and not the Gisele Bundchens, as much as you lust after lithe, angular beings.

Once you move away from the spot of the ball, the game of football changes from a game of sumo wrestlers to one of speed and quickness. Obviously if you can get a combination of size and speed (think Kyle Pitts and Julio Jones) you are in prime position, although obviously these are outliers. You have to parse out what is better, more stout and less speedy or less stout and more speedy. And so, an offensive guard is a stout player but usually not speedy, a tackle is much more agile/speedy and not as stout and the tight end is either the slowest receiver on a play or the least-stoutest blocker. But if they are agile enough and stout enough, they are a valuable weapon to use. And then once you get to the slot/flanker and wide receiver, they get much less stout and much more fast. I am reminded of the old gladiator contests, where you could either be big and strong or you could be smallish but much faster. Your life depended on those traits.

Now, obviously there are counters to these aspects above, but the "closer to the ball, stouter the player" is still in play. Therefore, the middle linebackers need to be the stoutest and the outside backers less so but require more speed. And the defensive ends are speedier than the tackles, but they have to be stout enough. Otherwise, they can get blocked out of the way with ease. And the safeties are faster than the linebackers but usually much less bulky (remember the gladiators). And finally, the cornerbacks are almost pure speed and agility (mainly in the hips) because they are so far away from the ball hike and usually not that key to stopping the run but they HAVE to read and react to the pass and receiver. And that is pretty much the game of football.

Now to your question, what does "a lack of talent" mean? Not that it is all encompassing, but what it mainly means is that a player on any place on the field is not either sufficiently stout enough (close to the ball) or speedy/quick enough (further away) to counter your opponent. In high school, you are seeing potential football players and not fully developed ones. Plenty (actually mainly) of times what you are able to do in high school has nothing to do with what you can do in college. Probably THE most errors are on the lines. They play against football midgets and can do just about anything they want with impunity. They don't have that luxury in college. In fact, almost no HS players are prepared to play college ball on the line. They have to get MUCH more stout. And so, you have to look at the young product and project them into the future. Kind of like buying young thoroughbred horses. Or even young plow horses.

If I may opine, what we have are a lot of are players who just did not grow into the position that they were recruited to become. Call them "tweeners", meaning they are not stout enough to play closer to the ball nor speedy/quick enough to play further away. And to further complicate things, a HS player may have great instincts to play inside but because they are not big enough, don't have the acumen to play further away. They don't translate their skills to a different position. And what we also have are small players who had speed in HS but were placed in stouter positions and so they had to bulk up. And besides their lack of acumen at the new position, they have lost the speed they need to play less-stout in the new position (maybe Burney and Black fits this, as well as Dean). And so I would say, you play the averages (and go up against the big boys of recruiting) and sign the elites (knowing a few won't pan out for some reason) or you hope for a diamond-in-the-rough (see Trask and also possibly Dexter and Watson). Too many of the latter and definitely few of the former are on this team. Thanks Dumbo for the parting gift.

Does this help?

 

Blaming Grantham is no longer legit. His defenses are far better than the current one. I'm not assigning blame to Toney, mind you. Jes' saying.

 

We need more ball-playin’ Jessies.

 

What a fun read!
You either have way too much free time or have a natural gift of gab…
Probably both - I like it

 

Yeah, too much time and a busy mind.

It is a gift....maybe.

 

It’s questionable whether have a top 10 defense based on recruiting. We have 3 consensus 5 stars, several 4 stars and a few 3 stars. However, I agree they seem to be playing below their ability.