From what I see, Withers has almost completely scrapped his preferred 3-4 defense in favor of the 4-2-5. We all know that was Mickey ' s predominant alignnment. However, Mickey ' s defenses were better, even last year when the pass D sucked the run D was still very good.
Yesterday, the Dukes were shredded by a second year program and a 2nd string QB to boot. Very discouraging.

The offense is slowly getting better with reliance on short passes as an extension of the running game. The defense has had one good game all year.
What is the fix? Wide tackle 6? Amoeba? Sneaking a 12th defender on the field?

We need to recruit better linemen... but our admin sucks and JB hates winning. They're responsible for everything bad, right?

Damn... these boards are almost unreadable these days. Thought I'd save everyone the time and get it over with for this thread too.

Seriously though... may have to try some folks out at new positions. This defense is about as bad as I've seen. Definitely the worst JMU defense I've witnessed with my own eyes.

I actually think at this point it's probably lack of talent. Steele and Marlowe have had disappointing seasons (I'm sure injuries and a new system doesn't help) and the only guys who seem to really ball are Lee and Moreland (who got hurt in the first half). A lot of these guys look lost out there...we try to blame it on the coaching, but maybe they just aren't any good. Even though Mickey's teams were always able to mostly contain the run, pass protection had been an issue since 2010.

I think you're right ADAD... doesn't look like the skill sets are there. Anyone know how many underclassmen we play on D?

Yeah, I think acquiring better talent on defense is a needed focus of future recruiting. The current personnel just aren't getting it done.
I'm not sure what our sack total is for the season, but we're always almost sacking the QB, but not completely finishing.
I've never seen so many missed tackles in a JMU season. They're trying, but usually just getting flat out beat.

From a guy that was a sprinter and a sprint/speed coach for over 20 years (USATF certified coach), I see a lack of speed on the defense. Many of the teams that the Dukes have played this season have had skill players on offense that our guys are just a step behind when trying to cover and/or run them down. That is why it is so important with this team that they make sure tackles close to the line of scrimmage before it becomes a "foot race" in the secondary. The D line and linebackers need to do a better job of not letting plays get by them. I sometimes wonder if the D line gets gassed since our offense seems to either score in 2-3 minutes or go 3 and out. I haven't really paid attention to whether or not any fresh D linemen are being rotated in periodically.

Sage Harold is very good. Dean Marlowe is very good. Gage Steele is pretty good. These are proven players.

The D line as a unit is not strong, but most of that is the dramatic drop off after Harold, Moseley, and Lee. Those guys can't play 90 snaps a game and the subs just aren't good enough. I believe Gates, Stinnie, Urquhart, and Robinson are all Freshmen that aren't ready for PT.

The D should be better even if that means they are only average for a FCS team.

(10-26-2014 04:59 PM)Potomac Wrote:  Yeah, I think acquiring better talent on defense is a needed focus of future recruiting.

For what it's worth, that appears to be an acknowledged need. So far so good, 4 2-stars on defense, 1 2-star & 1 3-star on offense.

https://rivals.yahoo.com/jamesmadison/fo...adison-196

(10-26-2014 04:32 PM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  I actually think at this point it's probably lack of talent. Steele and Marlowe have had disappointing seasons (I'm sure injuries and a new system doesn't help) and the only guys who seem to really ball are Lee and Moreland (who got hurt in the first half). A lot of these guys look lost out there...we try to blame it on the coaching, but maybe they just aren't any good. Even though Mickey's teams were always able to mostly contain the run, pass protection had been an issue since 2010.

-And BS targeting calls.

-I'd put Harold up there with Lee.

-I think the biggest factor has been coaching. The 3-4 that they put in during the Spring, practiced all of Summer camp, and stubbornly stuck with most of Sept and even have run some in Oct, just was a bad idea. That is definitely coaching. If they had practiced a 4-3 or 4-2-5 all Spring, all Summer, and all the 1st half of the season we'd be seeing a much better defense, be 6-2 instead of 5-3, and a have more comfortable wins with a closer loss to VU and not quite as big a blowout to UMD. Have a DC in his early 30's that tried to implement a defense that he ran in Div III ball that just didn't work. And Withers was the one who hired him to run the 3-4..

As BDK mentioned I think the 3-4 that was in use the first part of the season is a main reason why the defense looks a bit out of sync from time to time.

You really need to have special lineman to run it well and JMU simply does not have those kinda guys. I was talking with a guy at the Lehigh game who played with Coach Whithers at AP St and he said that the 3-4 JMU was running wasn't going to work because the Dukes did not have the proper sort of talent to run it on the D line. Think we have seen this to be true as the D has shifted to a more normal 4-3 or 4-2-5 in the last few games.

I also wonder how much some of these targeting calls is affecting the tackling? Seems that any seriously hard hit happens and everyone is looking for a flag. I am all for player safety but I think it has gone too far and affected the game in a negative way. I saw a play at UNCC where Marlowe was ready to make a big hit on a guy and sorta pulled up at the last second. had to be thinking about the targeting suspension he got last week. Think this sorta thing leads to some of the bad tackling that we all see. Although tackling is bad on all levels, NFL included. Nobody seems to try and wrap anyone up anymore.

Hopefully at the team gets more comfortable with the revamped D things will improve. Big test this weekend. Glad it is a home game!!

Brian

(10-27-2014 11:34 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  As BDK mentioned I think the 3-4 that was in use the first part of the season is a main reason why the defense looks a bit out of sync from time to time.

You really need to have special lineman to run it well and JMU simply does not have those kinda guys. I was talking with a guy at the Lehigh game who played with Coach Whithers at AP St and he said that the 3-4 JMU was running wasn't going to work because the Dukes did not have the proper sort of talent to run it on the D line. Think we have seen this to be true as the D has shifted to a more normal 4-3 or 4-2-5 in the last few games.

I also wonder how much some of these targeting calls is affecting the tackling? Seems that any seriously hard hit happens and everyone is looking for a flag. I am all for player safety but I think it has gone too far and affected the game in a negative way. I saw a play at UNCC where Marlowe was ready to make a big hit on a guy and sorta pulled up at the last second. had to be thinking about the targeting suspension he got last week. Think this sorta thing leads to some of the bad tackling that we all see. Although tackling is bad on all levels, NFL included. Nobody seems to try and wrap anyone up anymore.

Hopefully at the team gets more comfortable with the revamped D things will improve. Big test this weekend. Glad it is a home game!!

Brian

Actually, I think our tackling is much better than it was the first four games. At the beginning of the season, we didn't even try to wrap players up, we simply threw our bodies at them. This was especially true for the secondary. I'm not saying its great now, but much improved.

Peak is getting picked on at safety and Marlowe is vastly overrated. I'm not a big fan of Hawkins ... yet. He can play but I don't think he should be in the middle at this stage. He'd be better suited for the outside. I think Reynolds and Moreland are doing a good job and Harold and Lee flash but we could use some more consistency from both of them. Mosley is OK but I expected him to turn into an all conference player and it hasn't really happened.

(10-27-2014 05:32 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  Peak is getting picked on at safety and Marlowe is vastly overrated. I'm not a big fan of Hawkins ... yet. He can play but I don't think he should be in the middle at this stage. He'd be better suited for the outside. I think Reynolds and Moreland are doing a good job and Harold and Lee flash but we could use some more consistency from both of them. Mosley is OK but I expected him to turn into an all conference player and it hasn't really happened.

I agree with that assessment for the most part. It almost seems to me that everything Marlowe did as a Fr/So was better (coverage, tackling, reaction) than he has been as a Jr/Sr. I am sure it has a lot to do with how he has been used the last 2 season but something has been different with him the last 2 seasons. I just expect a lot more out of Marlowe than I am seeing. Marlowe -- most overated on Defense, Tapley -- most overated on Offense.

I have been reasonably pleased with the play of Woodyard and Reynolds at CB --- and Mooreland is a play-maker. I think Peak will be fine, safety is a hard position for a Fr. to settle in at.

(10-28-2014 09:22 AM)ShadyP Wrote:  

(10-27-2014 05:32 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  Peak is getting picked on at safety and Marlowe is vastly overrated. I'm not a big fan of Hawkins ... yet. He can play but I don't think he should be in the middle at this stage. He'd be better suited for the outside. I think Reynolds and Moreland are doing a good job and Harold and Lee flash but we could use some more consistency from both of them. Mosley is OK but I expected him to turn into an all conference player and it hasn't really happened.

I agree with that assessment for the most part. It almost seems to me that everything Marlowe did as a Fr/So was better (coverage, tackling, reaction) than he has been as a Jr/Sr. I am sure it has a lot to do with how he has been used the last 2 season but something has been different with him the last 2 seasons. I just expect a lot more out of Marlowe than I am seeing. Marlowe -- most overated on Defense, Tapley -- most overated on Offense.

I have been reasonably pleased with the play of Woodyard and Reynolds at CB --- and Mooreland is a play-maker. I think Peak will be fine, safety is a hard position for a Fr. to settle in at.

Speaking of Reynolds, it sure looked like he was in-bounds on that first catch he made. Glad to see he came right back and got that one a few plays later.

(10-27-2014 05:32 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  Peak is getting picked on at safety and Marlowe is vastly overrated. I'm not a big fan of Hawkins ... yet. He can play but I don't think he should be in the middle at this stage. He'd be better suited for the outside. I think Reynolds and Moreland are doing a good job and Harold and Lee flash but we could use some more consistency from both of them. Mosley is OK but I expected him to turn into an all conference player and it hasn't really happened.

Marlowe is not overated but was a all american when asked to work from the hash. Withers is moving him around to much for me trying to "make" him a playmaker. Hawkins will put on 15-20 pounds and will be a stud next year. He was suppose to be at Marshall but his size didnt please a lot of the staff. Peak is going to be good also in years to come.

I don't think we'll see too much 4-2-5 today. If so, Stony Brook will pound the Dukes in between the tackles.
4-3 should be the predominant personnel package and since Jacques went down, Till has been the guy subbing for the nickel.
Can Till step up? I don't know. He came in with a lot of fanfare but hasn't really impressed with his play on the field. IMO, he plays too soft for the LB position.

We'll see if Withers gambles on run blitzes in an attempt to put Stony Brook in 3rd and long situations. Their QB is not good and JMU will win if they can force him into passing.