Secondary Issues

[punisher]

If it wasn't for sterling Moore our games would be getting out of hand because our secondary is below average..Ryan Smith is a lost puppy who happened to catch a int that was more like a kick return so it covered for all the immature mistakes he made and everyone else is just out there.I'm tired of seeing Banjo get excited after making a tackles after a gain of 20. We need playmakers!! i'm a big supporter of the mustangs but I hope that #16,23,and 20 arent all we have to offer..

[Junior]

disagree on 23

[mrydel]

Our safeties are very good on run support and have me praising our front "9" rather than our front 7. But they do seem to lack a little in pass protection. Lots of over the middle receivers open including tight ends that are the safeties' responsibility. But for now, they way we have been stopping the run is much more important in that it can make the opposition become more one dimensional and then you can dictate the game a little better. I am looking forward to seeing how we match up now that we will be in our conference play. UAB looked pretty good against a mediocre Tennessee but an SEC team. Our victory against them might be an indication we are ready to compete in CUSA for the Championship.

That all said, the secondary needs Moore until we can get reinforcements next year.

[sbsmith]

The pressure the front 7 generates should cover up the secondary's coverage issues.

[punisher]

I agree...I guess with my cousin being bob sanders I tend to look at his and many other players agression and the way they play the game causing a bias..I dont expect them to look like Sanders, but I do want to see agressiveness and some big plays. I feel with after this game despite the concerns we should still win or finish second in the conference..

[RGV Pony]

I agree...I guess with my cousin being bob sanders I tend to look at his and many other players agression and the way they play the game causing a bias..I dont expect them to look like Sanders, but I do want to see agressiveness and some big plays. I feel with after this game despite the concerns we should still win or finish second in the conference..

really wish your cousin could stay healthy. Having that perspective, wouldnt you also say that without Bullett at times or Bethea things would get out of hand because J Lacey is a lost puppy?

[jimhagle]

When you lose 2 key corners due to grades anyone's secondary would be compromised. But we are hanging in there pretty tough so far considering our inexperience.

[WorldlyStang]

It is easy to say that our secondary is shaky, but considering what we lost from last year and grades, I think we can cut these guys soom slack. Two of them teams we have faced so far were far superior when it comes to the depth of talent.

[davidpaul123]

I think the safeties have done a nice job. Banjo is a leader on that defense and Ryan Smith has done a nice job thus far with a huge play in the UAB game causing the fumble and leads the secondary in interceptions.

[smuuth]

Aren't you glad we aren't UT with the "issues" they have with QB, RB, WR, OL, SPECIAL TEAMS and schemes and tackling on defense! We are so fortunate!

[Junior]

smith looked lost in the tech game, but i think he has improved each week. he seems to be in the right place at the right time.

[Stallion]

I think Banjo is a sure tackler at Safety. What's the knock on a Safety making a tackle downfield-he made a big one Friday Nite downfield in the open field thank god. We've had teams where the Safeties couldn't make those tackles. BTW Banjo also had a great open field tackle behind or at the line of scrimmage too. I think Banjo is real quality. In general I think this is one of the best tackling defenses we've had in awhile. We used to have weekly tackling threads-none this year

[cutter]

If it wasn't for sterling Moore our games would be getting out of hand because our secondary is below average..Ryan Smith is a lost puppy who happened to catch a int that was more like a kick return so it covered for all the immature mistakes he made and everyone else is just out there.I'm tired of seeing Banjo get excited after making a tackles after a gain of 20. We need playmakers!! i'm a big supporter of the mustangs but I hope that #16,23,and 20 arent all we have to offer..

I think, we all agree that quality, depth, and maturity are all in the process of being built into this team/program. It doesn't seem to be a lot of benefit in slamming the efforts of the kids we have as the process is developing. We can all see that we have a few outstanding players, but all of the kids are playing as a team. Appreciate the monumental growth the program has already seen, and have a little patience. My thoughts, anyway.

[Stallion]

actually Banjo had 2 Tackles for loss which is very nice for a Safety

[ponyte]

Guess I am the odd man out. I thought the secondary made significant progress against a top ranked foe Friday. The secondary supports the front 7 as well as anyone in the nation. Friday, they made strides to improve on coverage. Before we go Medieval on the secondary, one of the over the middle big plays to the TE was against man and the backer jumped all over the play action. That wasn't the secondary's responsibility. And a great call by TCU. The TD over the middle in the second half was also in man when a much bigger receiver had time to make a double move and physical move downfield. They ain't # 5 in the nation for nothing and that kind of move against a smaller defender is Hades to defend. Given time any secondary can look less than stellar.

All in all, we made progress. The problem was a very athletic, very large TCU O line that set up good gains early in the downs and put pressure on the D in the later downs. 2nd and 3 or 4 after a 6 or 7 yard gain with a strong up the run is one heck of a tough situation to call a D. And we had way too many 3rd and 2 (the absolute hardest situation to call a D as the run and pass are options) to have consistent stops. That wasn't because our D didn't ;pay well, they did. That is because TCU was good enough to put themselves in much better situations.