"Successful Scrimmage Closes the Week"

[UCFProf]

http://www.ucfknights.com/news/2016/8/20/football-knights-watch-aug-20.aspx
Long runs by QBs and Killins. At least 3 QBs played. Griffin: one-handed defender makes a one-handed interceptions like he did in his final high school game (made ESPN top 10 back in 2013).

 

[pittstoner74]

Hope the offense stays consistent ( consistently good).

 

[firm_bizzle]

50 points in 2 quarters???

I just got a chubby.

 

[SublimeKnight]

50 points in 2 quarters???

I just got a chubby.

Then I realized it was against our defense.

 

[Ucfmikes]

It's OK that Killins had a long TD. That's to be expected. However, long runs by Dinovo, and very long runs by Taj and Holman either tell me that our offense is really clicking or our defense isn't. If it was a second team defense then we are really lacking depth.

 

[firm_bizzle]

It's OK that Killins had a long TD. That's to be expected. However, long runs by Dinovo, and very long runs by Taj and Holman either tell me that our offense is really clicking or our defense isn't. If it was a second team defense then we are really lacking depth.

Apparently our defense has been playing well all pre-season.

 

[UCFProf]

It's OK that Killins had a long TD. That's to be expected. However, long runs by Dinovo, and very long runs by Taj and Holman either tell me that our offense is really clicking or our defense isn't. If it was a second team defense then we are really lacking depth.

Yes, and more worrisome is that my impression was that even the 2nd team offense did well against the 1st team defense. Or am I wrong? I know it was a closed scrimmage, so... Also, would expect offense would be behind early, and despite spring practice, there were a lot of frosh who needed to integrated into the scheme -- many will see serious playing time it seems.

 

[Knight_Light]

Scrimmage was 1's vs 2's/3's on both sides of the ball.

 

[Ucfmikes]

Well, the offense has always been the center of attention. We will just outscore everyone and throw in a few defensive turnovers to win. I don't care if the future holds 50-40 wins. We haven't won a game since about November or December 2014.

 

[SCKnight]

I watched the highlight video they put out on twitter and was thinking "wow, looks like the tackling has not gotten much better". I hope that is just because the offense was confusing them...

 

[UCFProf]

I watched the highlight video they put out on twitter and was thinking "wow, looks like the tackling has not gotten much better". I hope that is just because the offense was confusing them...

One of our defenders mentioned how much better shape and more endurance they had from practicing against a no-huddle, spread offense. Also, not going 3 and out and tossing so many INTs will give them more breathers. Lastly, a gambling defense is more likely to get us off the field one way or the other.

 

[Flem3000]

I watched the highlight video they put out on twitter and was thinking "wow, looks like the tackling has not gotten much better". I hope that is just because the offense was confusing them...

Have you watched any preseason NFL? No one tackles anymore...

 

[Central Floridave]

I hear Zombie Nation. Football season nears...

 

[ucf_71127]

Offense is suppose to shine in this system. Do you think you will watch an Oregon practice and come away thinking, "wow, their defense is very strong and tackles well"? No!

Also, they showed a highlight from practice, do you think they will show 4yd gains with a solid tackle? No, they will show the highlights of the offense racking up yards and breaking tackles.

Like someone else mentioned, the #1 offense was going against the #2 defense. Who do you expect to win? The #2 defense should and will miss a lot of tackles (as proven with our injury plagued team last year, starting a 2nd team). Unlike what may have been mentioned, Frost said the #1 defense has been looking good (against #2 offense).

We will be a completely different team this year: a new offense and hopefully a healthy roster = 6 wins and a bowl.

 

[SublimeKnight]

15 wins or bust!

 

[SCKnight]

Offense is suppose to shine in this system. Do you think you will watch an Oregon practice and come away thinking, "wow, their defense is very strong and tackles well"? No!

I ALWAYS expect to come away from any practice and say "that defense knows how to tackle". Why would there be any expectation for sorry tackling just because your offense is explosive? These things are not mutually exclusive. I don't care what your offense is. There should be no excuse for a poor defense.

 

[ucf_71127]

I ALWAYS expect to come away from any practice and say "that defense knows how to tackle". Why would there be any expectation for sorry tackling just because your offense is explosive? These things are not mutually exclusive. I don't care what your offense is. There should be no excuse for a poor defense.

Perhaps that's the difference with a GOL team and an explosive offense (Frost system).
You may come away from a GOL scrimmage and think the defense can tackle. 3 up the middle plays, pretty easy to tackle.
I still think if you were to go to an Oregon practice, your first thoughts would be about an explosive offense, not "the defense tackles well".

THIS DOES NOT MEAN you don't have expectations. I expect a defender to tackle, just like I expect the QB to throw a spiral! But I'm not going to leave a practice thinking how a QB can throw a spiral. Those are expectations, things that go unsaid.

I agree with you, there are probable reasons for concern with the defense.
There are two sides of a coin. When the offense breaks lots of long runs it can mean great offensive play or crappy defensive play.

 

[Ucfmikes]

Perhaps that's the difference with a GOL team and an explosive offense (Frost system).
You may come away from a GOL scrimmage and think the defense can tackle. 3 up the middle plays, pretty easy to tackle.
I still think if you were to go to an Oregon practice, your first thoughts would be about an explosive offense, not "the defense tackles well".

THIS DOES NOT MEAN you don't have expectations. I expect a defender to tackle, just like I expect the QB to throw a spiral! But I'm not going to leave a practice thinking how a QB can throw a spiral. Those are expectations, things that go unsaid.

I agree with you, there are probable reasons for concern with the defense.
There are two sides of a coin. When the offense breaks lots of long runs it can mean great offensive play or crappy defensive play.

I think it's a combination of both, but after last year and some additional key
loses, I'm doubting that our defense is going to go from terrible tacking to great tackling. There will be big plays given up due to this. They are still young.

I predict a gambling defense and a lot of blitzes.

By the way, I'm betting 2 interceptions retuned for TDs by Shaquille Griffin in 2016. Book it!

 

[UCFProf]

I think it's a combination of both, but after last year and some additional key
loses, I'm doubting that our defense is going to go from terrible tacking to great tackling. There will be big plays given up due to this. They are still young.

I predict a gambling defense and a lot of blitzes.

By the way, I'm betting 2 interceptions retuned for TDs by Shaquille Griffin in 2016. Book it!

Or his brother.

 

[80'sKnight]

It really is funny hearing some talk about defense. Did you not realize who we hired as HC?

edit-
if 50 points by the offense is true, then that would have made us 10-2 last year.

even if the nay-sayers are right lets cut it down to 42 points- 6-6.

28 points by the offense 2-10

all better than last year.

if we only play offense 2 quarters.

 

[pittstoner74]

It really is funny hearing some talk about defense. Did you not realize who we hired as HC?

edit-
if 50 points by the offense is true, then that would have made us 10-2 last year.

even if the nay-sayers are right lets cut it down to 42 points- 6-6.

28 points by the offense 2-10

all better than last year.

if we only play offense 2 quarters.

Yes a former NFL DB.

 

[UCFProf]

Yes a former NFL DB.

He switched from leading Nebraska to the national championship over to defense in the pros. That's determination! So many others have tried and failed. I believe he also coached on defense early on.

 

[Knight_Light]

I think it's a combination of both, but after last year and some additional key
loses, I'm doubting that our defense is going to go from terrible tacking to great tackling. There will be big plays given up due to this. They are still young.

I predict a gambling defense and a lot of blitzes.

By the way, I'm betting 2 interceptions retuned for TDs by Shaquille Griffin in 2016. Book it!

Because challenge was lack of experienced quality depth on D last year (let alone being on the field for a long time because of poor UCF offensive performance) and how most of the players on the roster were recruited for a 4-3 defense, not a 3-4.

Finding quality depth of 6-8 LB's this year will be tough...especially in a 3-4 scheme and it might take 2-3 years to build up that quality depth.

 

[KnightVision82]

Does anybody on this board remember the games the last time our head coach was an offensive coordinator? With Coach K we usually scored up in the 40s for most games and had many see-saw battles. How many people watch Orlando Predators games?

Make sure you take your heart medicine before entering the stadium. This will be more important than Zika prevention!

 

[UCFProf]

Because challenge was lack of experienced quality depth on D last year (let alone being on the field for a long time because of poor UCF offensive performance) and how most of the players on the roster were recruited for a 4-3 defense, not a 3-4.

Also, it was UCF's defense that was keeping us in all the early games, even against good teams. The defense was not ranking poorly at all nationally even halfway through when we were holding opponents in the teens and low twenties. And a lot of that scoring was after turnovers.

As far as the 3-4, it may have come at the right time. The D line's cupboard was bare and we have a zillion linebackers. We have one great veteran returning on the line. Whether a pass rushing defender is down or upright doesn't make a lot of difference. And when we give up 500 yards and 35 points, we may still be in some of those games.

 

[SCKnight]

Perhaps that's the difference with a GOL team and an explosive offense (Frost system).
You may come away from a GOL scrimmage and think the defense can tackle. 3 up the middle plays, pretty easy to tackle.
I still think if you were to go to an Oregon practice, your first thoughts would be about an explosive offense, not "the defense tackles well".

THIS DOES NOT MEAN you don't have expectations. I expect a defender to tackle, just like I expect the QB to throw a spiral! But I'm not going to leave a practice thinking how a QB can throw a spiral. Those are expectations, things that go unsaid.

I agree with you, there are probable reasons for concern with the defense.
There are two sides of a coin. When the offense breaks lots of long runs it can mean great offensive play or crappy defensive play.

No. I expect that when they are in position to make a tackle, that they make it. I expect that they understand what the right pursuit angle is to keep a play from going the distance. I expect that they wrap up a player to bring him down, not try to hit him so hard that they will either miss or make an ESPN top 10 play. Fundamentals of tackling do not change based upon the offensive or defensive scheme. When I see a highlight where a guy breaks off a 65 yard TD run and two players in perfect position to stop them or at least slow them miss completely then I have concerns. I saw a bunch of that last year. I saw some of that in the highlights.

 

[UCFProf]

When I see a highlight where a guy breaks off a 65 yard TD run and two players in perfect position to stop them or at least slow them miss completely then I have concerns. I saw a bunch of that last year. I saw some of that in the highlights.

The defense played fine the first four games. UCF gave up 23.25 points per game, and much of that was from offensive turnovers and an exhausted defense from a hopeless offense. The remainder of the season averaged well over 40 points given up.

 

[ucf_71127]

No. I expect that when they are in position to make a tackle, that they make it. I expect that they understand what the right pursuit angle is to keep a play from going the distance. I expect that they wrap up a player to bring him down, not try to hit him so hard that they will either miss or make an ESPN top 10 play. Fundamentals of tackling do not change based upon the offensive or defensive scheme. When I see a highlight where a guy breaks off a 65 yard TD run and two players in perfect position to stop them or at least slow them miss completely then I have concerns. I saw a bunch of that last year. I saw some of that in the highlights.

Last year is over and I wouldn't judge a team by a highlight.
"2 players in perfect position to stop them" and "I saw some of that in the highlight"

I saw 3 missed tackles in the whole highlight video. TJ mutcherson, Ritchie grant, nevelle clarke all had missed tackles. If you want to complain about 2 freshman and a transfer, go ahead. Our 2nd team defense isn't ready to play a whole game. But in select situations you will see some of them. Keep complaining if it makes you feel better

 

[SCKnight]

Last year is over and I wouldn't judge a team by a highlight.
"2 players in perfect position to stop them" and "I saw some of that in the highlight"

I saw 3 missed tackles in the whole highlight video. TJ mutcherson, Ritchie grant, nevelle clarke all had missed tackles. If you want to complain about 2 freshman and a transfer, go ahead. Our 2nd team defense isn't ready to play a whole game. But in select situations you will see some of them. Keep complaining if it makes you feel better

I am not "complaining" I am making an observation. I watched a 30 second highlight reel and my initial impression was not that the offensive highlights were good (because they did not show much), but that there were a number of missed tackles. That was a particular issue last season and is something historically UCF has done well. I don't look to see who did what. It could have been coach Frost that missed the tackle and I would not know or care. Fundamentals are important. I love that we have an explosive offense but if we can't play defense it will be another long season.

 

[mattropolis]

Offense is suppose to shine in this system. Do you think you will watch an Oregon practice and come away thinking, "wow, their defense is very strong and tackles well"? No!

Also, they showed a highlight from practice, do you think they will show 4yd gains with a solid tackle? No, they will show the highlights of the offense racking up yards and breaking tackles.

Like someone else mentioned, the #1 offense was going against the #2 defense. Who do you expect to win? The #2 defense should and will miss a lot of tackles (as proven with our injury plagued team last year, starting a 2nd team). Unlike what may have been mentioned, Frost said the #1 defense has been looking good (against #2 offense).

We will be a completely different team this year: a new offense and hopefully a healthy roster = 6 wins and a bowl.

Why can't our defense be good? Other than a few blips we've had solid, if not above average, defense for the last decade. Why does instituting a new offense mean your defense has to get worse. To me, it speaks to the staffs inability to coach defense. Now we haven't even hit the field yet so I'll reserve judgement on our team until I see 4 games played.

 

[EngAlum98]

My concern for our defense is they haven't been practicing against the styles of offense they will face this season. Throw in some misdirection like our conference foes like to do and you have a recipe for failure. But hey, can't be worse than last season right?

 

[Ucfmikes]

My concern for our defense is they haven't been practicing against the styles of offense they will face this season. Throw in some misdirection like our conference foes like to do and you have a recipe for failure. But hey, can't be worse than last season right?

That's why teams like Stanford have historically given Oregon's defense fits. They pounded and ran straight at them with hard nose, smash mouth football. Look for a lot of traditional big offensive line teams like Michigan. Cinci, Maryland, etc. to exploit that.

 

[Ucfmikes]

Last year is over and I wouldn't judge a team by a highlight.
"2 players in perfect position to stop them" and "I saw some of that in the highlight"

I saw 3 missed tackles in the whole highlight video. TJ mutcherson, Ritchie grant, nevelle clarke all had missed tackles. If you want to complain about 2 freshman and a transfer, go ahead. Our 2nd team defense isn't ready to play a whole game. But in select situations you will see some of them. Keep complaining if it makes you feel better

Last year was a myriad of missed tackles, big plays, but mostly poor angles. A lot of young guys who just weren't big or strong enough. That's why I'm worried about Rucker, etc.

That 93 yarder against Stanford was a perfect example of poor angles and being out of postion. It killed me to see that live.

 

[UCFProf]

That's why teams like Stanford have historically given Oregon's defense fits. They pounded and ran straight at them with hard nose, smash mouth football. Look for a lot of traditional big offensive line teams like Michigan. Cinci, Maryland, etc. to exploit that.

Didn't UConn have big lines, too, a couple years ago?

 

[Ucfmikes]

Didn't UConn have big lines, too, a couple years ago?

Yes, them too. Northern schools do often have that mentality