Why i believe our defense will be much better...

[KMAC_ATTACK]

I've tried to be rational and not just a hater/band wagon type of guy....What we saw last year from our defense imo was missing one huge intangible - COACHING.

I think we have some talent especially in our secondary. It may not be the great one Coach Ash had the last time he was here, but, there's some legit talent at our corner positions and i think one or two of our current safety prospects are going to emerge. My guess would be obviously Sims, i think he will be a star and maybe Michael O'Connell at the strong spot.

But, imo our defense looked out of place, out coached, out prepared - we just didnt look that good and that cannot all be placed at the players feet. Our defense used a ton of timeouts because the d-call came in late and then the frantic switches would occur and everyone in the seats would be pointing to someone that was wide open usually on a crossing route. That's a result of not making adjustments and allowing the offense to dictate the game.

In Coach Burnham, we have someone who focuses on discipline, responsibility, and aggressiveness. Can you imagine how excited the likes of Johnson, Benton and Banks are to have this guy coming in to run this defense. They have to be stoked about the type of coach he is, his results and the style he brings to the table. One other thing to consider, USF had one of the top 30 defenses this year and here's what i really like.....They didn't build this defense with a bunch of 4-5 star guys. This is truly a defense built on similar players to ours 2-3* guys.

Look at USF recruiting classes since 2005 not a lot of 4-5* on defensive side of the ball:
USF Commit List for 2010

Want to look at coaching - the best defensive lineman in the big east last year was George Selvie - he was a 2* OL recruit!!!!

The one thing i see in this staff that i will be honest, i didnt see in Coach C's staff is major div 1 resumes and very good teachers of the game. This may not seem like much, but imo it is very important. This staff will never have the luxury while at ISU that they don't know which 4-5* player is better. They will be getting raw athletes that need to be coached and the results can be very good to great. I hate to say this, but, thats one thing EIU does very well, they coach the talent they have and make them better - That my friends is the essence of coaching.

For Coach Burnham, having been at FSU, SC, and USF - he's seen every type of gadget play, gadget offense there is and he can counteract that with his experience. I see this staff really putting that stamp on this defense and teaching it what to do and when to do it. I think our defense will be better prepared and disciplined this fall and that will have a direct effect on the results. I expect a much improved defense. Am i expecting a top 30 defense - not at all. However, there were some really nice bowl games involving teams with defenses ranked in the 60's!!!!!

Good Luck to Coaches Burnham, Ash, Burnham, and Bray - the success of this team may be most impacted by the success of your defensive unit!!!!!

[ajk4st8]

I hope that logic is right.

I guess in 3-4 years we will know!

[Wesley]

6-6........

[ISUonthemove]

I agree. Our defensive players were not as bad as the stats showed. Poor, poor coaching had a lot to do with it. The Colorado game proved it. PERIOD.

This coaching staff now, in terms of experience and success, is far more superior to the last. And I am cautiously optimistic about our redshirt players this year.

Like someone stated earlier, we won't face as many great offenses like last year.

[cyman1189]

why i think our defense will be better------> there is no where to go but up really

[sdillon500]

I'm not holding out too much hope for the defense next year, but I agree with the original poster that we have a lot to look forward to in the next few years. The best ISU defensive squads I've seen in my lifetime were on the field in 2004 and 2005. If you go back and look at the playmakers from those years, they weren't that highly regarded coming into school. Ash did a great job of coaching up the secondary.

DeAndre Jackson came in as a 3* athlete. LaMarcus Hicks came in as a 2* DB (Not to mention 2* Brent Curvey). Those guys were all over the field in 04-05. This shows me that a group of so-called "subpar" athletes can gel as a defense if taught proper fundamentals & good schemes. Our new defensive coaches seem like good teachers of the game. Let's hope they can coach up our current players

[SwirlingFloater]

Our defense made most of the QBs we faced last year look like Heisman candidates. Completion percentage against us was off the charts (67.4%) along with giving up 8.9 yards per pass attempt. I am not blaming our corners and safeties; it was a team effort to be that futile. Giving up 4.8 yards per rushing attempt meant that we weren’t forcing anyone to pass either. I agree that coaching was the biggest factor. Our players are capable of doing so much better with the proper schemes and coaching.

[SwirlingFloater]

I guess I could also say that I agree with KMAC because I don't think our defense could be any worse than last year.

[CysMyGuy]

Our defense made most of the QBs we faced last year look like Heisman candidates.

Well - several of them were, but I get your point.

[tysforcy]

...no more Wayne Bolt...that's why!

[Al_4_State]

I'm not holding out too much hope for the defense next year, but I agree with the original poster that we have a lot to look forward to in the next few years. The best ISU defensive squads I've seen in my lifetime were on the field in 2004 and 2005. If you go back and look at the playmakers from those years, they weren't that highly regarded coming into school. Ash did a great job of coaching up the secondary.

DeAndre Jackson came in as a 3* athlete. LaMarcus Hicks came in as a 2* DB (Not to mention 2* Brent Curvey). Those guys were all over the field in 04-05. This shows me that a group of so-called "subpar" athletes can gel as a defense if taught proper fundamentals & good schemes. Our new defensive coaches seem like good teachers of the game. Let's hope they can coach up our current players

This goes to what I've felt for a long time, and that was that Skladany was pretty good at improving players, and initial game plans. It was later game adjustments (or lack thereof) that got him in trouble, and that may have been more on Mac. Once we had that 2 TD lead, watch out. Sometimes it seemed like him and Mac were TRYING to lose.

[SwirlingFloater]

Well - several of them were, but I get your point.

We definitely faced some good QBs, but most teams were able to throw on us at will:

SDSU: 23 of 37 passing - 62% completions (5 INT)
Kent State: 10 of 22 passing - 45% completions (3 TD)
Iowa: 9 of 19 - passing - 47% completions (2 INT)
UNLV: 15 of 21 passing - 71% completions (3 TD)
Kansas: 18 of 26 passing - 69% completions (3TD, 1 INT)
Baylor: 22 of 25 passing - 88% completions (2 TD)
Nebraska: 27 of 37 passing - 73% completions (1 TD)
Texas A & M: 31 of 39 passing - 79.5% completions (4 TD)
OSU: 21 of 29 passing - 69% completions (5 TD, 1 INT)
CU: 24 of 37 passing - 65% completions (4 TD, 1 INT)
Mizzou: 32 of 40 - 80% completions (2 TD, 1 INT)
Kansas State: 17 of 31 passing - 55% completions (4 TD)

I think we are pretty fortunate we didn't have Texas and OU on the schedule last year considering these passing numbers we gave up.

[CycloneErik]

We definitely faced some good QBs, but most teams were able to throw on us at will:

SDSU: 23 of 37 passing - 62% completions (5 INT)
Kent State: 10 of 22 passing - 45% completions (3 TD)
Iowa: 9 of 19 - passing - 47% completions (2 INT)
UNLV: 15 of 21 passing - 71% completions (3 TD)
Kansas: 18 of 26 passing - 69% completions (3TD, 1 INT)
Baylor: 22 of 25 passing - 88% completions (2 TD)
Nebraska: 27 of 37 passing - 73% completions (1 TD)
Texas A & M: 31 of 39 passing - 79.5% completions (4 TD)
OSU: 21 of 29 passing - 69% completions (5 TD, 1 INT)
CU: 24 of 37 passing - 65% completions (4 TD, 1 INT)
Mizzou: 32 of 40 - 80% completions (2 TD, 1 INT)
Kansas State: 17 of 31 passing - 55% completions (4 TD)

I think we are pretty fortunate we didn't have Texas and OU on the schedule last year considering these passing numbers we gave up.

Those are like video game numbers. Ugh, that's disturbing.

[CYdTracked]

I find it ironic how everyone right now can so easily criticize and be down on our BB team and our new staff and FB team hasn't even played 1 snap yet and the attitude towards our 2-10 team last year is mostly positive.

[cycloneman003]

I find it ironic how everyone right now can so easily criticize and be down on our BB team and our new staff and FB team hasn't even played 1 snap yet and the attitude towards our 2-10 team last year is mostly positive.

its very simple travman... we arent witnessing the FB team suck right now, therefore we have optimism. we are current witnessing the MBB team suck it up, so therefore we are down on them.

as soon as basketball is over, there will be a lot of optimism for next year's team. thats just the way it goes.