2007 Football Schedule Analysis Part III: The Defense
This is Part III of an ongoing series of posts detailing my analysis of the 2007 UVA Football Schedule.
My analysis of the defense is going to be significantly more simplistic. I'll cover the defensive line, the linebackers and the secondary. I'm not knowledgeable enough about the secondary to go too in-depth into the corners versus the safeties. Maybe I'll get a guest writer to take care of that. There are also a lot less concerns at most of the positions than there are on the offensive side of the ball.
Linemen
I must admit, I'm excited about the defensive linemen this year. Something about having Chris Long anchoring one end of the line and Jeffrey Fitzgerald anchoring the other end. Our depth isn't terrific on the line, but we do have enough options that we'll be able to spell the starters from time to time and keep them fresh. Not that they'll want to be spelled!
If Long and Fitz have progressed at all since last year, the d-line is going to be very formidable.
Linebackers
Groh is a linebackers kinda guy. He's had an emphasis of one kind or another on the linebacker position ever since he arrived at U.Va.. He managed to bring in solid LB recruits like Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham very early in his career. But there have always been problems of one kind or another with the recruits he's brought in. Whether it was their health, their depth or their speed, they haven't met the standards Groh wanted.
Now, with Mike London leading the defense, Groh may have his best overall linebacker unit he's ever had. The starters this year will be familiar names - they're the same as the starters last year: Jon Copper and Antonio Appleby at inside linebacker and Clint Sintim and Jermaine Dias at outside linebacker.
If we can assume that they're all improved from last year, that's a great start as it is. But add into that the fact that we'll have a terrific crop of backups, including some redshirt freshmen that can bring some much-needed speed to the defense.
As with the linemen, this is going to be a formidable unit.
Secondary
And now we get to the questions on the defensive side of the ball.
The only starter that the defensive unit lost from 2006 was Marcus Hamilton. Drafted by the Bucs, he was a solid, steady presence in the secondary. So who will take his place? Unfortunately, I don't know. Our secondary is young and inexperienced. It will definitely be the weak point of the defense. And opponents will definitely try to exploit it.
Mike Brown's injury at cornerback lessened our depth at the position. Chris Cook and Vic Hall will hopefully be able to handle the load. Safety Byron Glaspy remains one of my favorite players on the team - he's an engineering student like I was (or at least he was when he joined the team) - and feel-good story Nate Lyles will handle the other safety spot.
That's definitely some solid talent we've got listed there. It's just very unproven. This should be an interesting group to watch over the next season.
Summary
The defense was a very solid unit last year. If they had an offense that stayed on the field for more than 3 plays at a time, they could have been in the top 15 in the nation in most important statistics.
This year, they return almost the same starters, a year more experienced, and several new (and helpful) names on the 2 deep. We can expect, at least, similar results from last year. I'm hoping for something significantly better though, and I'm sure Groh and London are as well.
Up Next: The Coaches