NCAAbbs

Tommy has said he hasn't had a defensive line like this since he has been here. Also we are getting Winston Bowens and Jackson back at linebacker as well. Stopping the rush will be the most improved part of our team.

I really hope so.

You know around this time in the last couple years I remember how West would say he didn't think Memphis was where we should be and he needs folks to step up, and he was probably right.

This year he has said we are doing good and he is showing optimism...it makes you wonder if we're in for a team a lot better than some expect.

I am really optimistic and I really hope we are playing for the c-usa championship...we need it.

I think personally our secondary will be our biggest improvement. Walton coached several top db groups before, and he has enough talent/experience to do that here.

Our Dline has gotten no better the past 3 years at
a)getting a pash rush
b)stuffing the inside run
(Best DL in West era was Traveco Lucas, Eric Taylor, Albert Means, LaVale Washington in 2003)

I love our guys, but I have my reservations about how effective they can be. They lack size and are not the most physical group out there. I hope I am wrong.

I like reading your posts and most are pretty accurate. However, I whole heartedly disagree with the highlighted section. Right now our starters on the defensive line have very good size. The tackles: Freddie Barnett 300+ and Clinton McDonald 285 backed up by Tim McGee 300+, Brandon Douglas 290+, Joel McLeod 300+, Charlie Bryant 300+. We have some size at ends with Jada Brown and Corey Mills both over 265, Greg Terrell at 250+, Tommy Walker at 270, Demetrius Culpepper at around 245. Compare those with most BCS schools and we have really improved the talent and size. Plus Barnett, McGee, McLeod, Brown, Mills, Walker, and even Culpepper all had BCS offers and talent. And you weren't talking about the linebacking core, but I think you would be hard pressed to find many middle linebackers as stout as Bowens at 6'0 250+.

If you read between the lines last night, Tommy was hinting around that Walton has lit a fire under the DBs and has gotten them playing a lot more physical.

What bothers me is the fact the a former DE (Josh Weaver) is now one of our second string safeties. Let us remember that he didn't play safety until a week ago or so.
How bad do your backup safeties have to be for DE to beat them out in less than a week? I don't care who you are, that is pathetic.

Josh is not the starting safety, at this time, he is working as backup, but if you listen to what Tommy says, Josh is really fast, weighs in the 210 range and hits like a ton of bricks hitting you, what Tommy is saying is that Josh is a good enough athletic that while completing recovery on his shoulder, he will be put in the safety spot, and this is also a means of keeping him away from the line of scrimmage to allow some more time for the shoulder to recover...

The way I understood it, he is the 3rd level, in case we have an injury. Recall, he was considered small for DE, but an overachiever and was about the only guy who got any pressure on the QBs last year. He was moved to LB in the Spring, but got very little time due to the injury, so he probably won't beat out the experienced LBs and get much PT. Also, we have more DEs so he won't go back there. He might be used in blitz packages as a hybrid LB/S. I imagine they are just trying to find a way to get him on the field.

This makes me think more along the lines of, "How thin/bad were we at DE that we had a guy weighing less than 220 playing that position." Be glad that we've got a healthy front 7 on defense and we finally have competitive size.

I quess it is all how you look at it. We have a VERY good athlete in Weave, who runs a sub 4.5. He was used at DE when he first got here because depth and talent was low, but got bumped from that position, so moved to LB. After last season, that makes a HUGE amount of sense. However, because of the depth this year, but more importantly who is coming in next year, he is moved to another position. (He is still a backup LB is there are problems this year). If he isn't on the DL and isn't a LB, that only leaves DB. He isn't fast enough for CB, so Safety it is. It is about getting the most talent on the field at one time. In addition, it is also about unleashing hell on the opponent and inflicting as much damage as possible. He hits like he is mad at somebody, make sure he is on the field!!!

All that to say, apparently you look at it as glass half empty. I like my glass half full approach. Now as to which one is more accurate, we will have to see if he can develop into a very good safety.

I do hope the thread title is correct, and we are pleasantly surprised by this year's defense.

If our defense could have just stopped a couple of teams last year, we could easily have won a couple or three more games. Hey, we're undefeated as of today. Let's extend this run as long as possible.

Josh's parents tailgate with my group when they make it to town for games. His father has told me that Josh has a hard time putting on weight. He just won't eat enough to gain the kind of weight he needs to play DE at the D1 level. He has perfect size to be a safety. Plus he is very physical due to his experince as a DE. He is too good of an athlete to leave him on the bench.

I asked someone close to the situation about Tim Walton. Not to sound like Boss Man( jk Boss Man, u r allright with me)
but MY GUY says Walton tells the DBs to " hit a mfer in the face" every play.

Thats what Im talking about--

I know Tommy really likes Weaver and he wasn't bad as a 210lb DE. He may be a great athlete and he has tons of upside. Personally, I would redshirt him to develop him fully as a strong safety ( i think he is still eligible to be redshirted).
However, it is really bad that he can step into a position that he has NEVER played in college or high school and be able to bypass people on the depth chart in one week.

Always has to be a negative Nancy in every thread--

He is tall, fast and hits like a truck. Add to that, he has a good football mind (plans to go into coaching when his playing career is done). Sounds like the kind of guy you want sitting on the bench.

I do hope that he is on EVERY special teams coverage team.


I will be honest that our team sounds very much like the 2003 team (something that has lacked for a couple of years) when I talked with them at Fan Fest. It is just that now they are A LOT bigger!

well, so far I am surprised


rankName G Att Yards Avg. TD Att/G Yards/G
90 Memphis 3 96 507 5.28 7 3 2.00 169.00

I think that is an improvement from where we ended last year.

8-5 versus 7-6 is the only improvement that matters...

I'll take 8-5 right now.

Winston Bowens was all over the field Saturday playing extremely well.