The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Real, sweeping changes HAVE to be made on the defensive side of the ball. THE SOONER THE BETTER!!! I would be on the phone with David Reeves TODAY. His Jasper team is terrible anyway, let an assistant finish their year out. I'm sure there are other great defensive minds out there. The pass rush has regressed with Nick Gentry leaving. Maybe Dilfer should have spent his $500,000 on a competent DC instead of an army of "quality control" guys. Mort will be fine.........not worried about the offense as long as the OL gets better.

We'll find out soon how Dilfer's mind works. Will his ego allow him to make changes? Will the entire season look like this? Are we going to have to be clubbed like baby seals for a couple of seasons before the problems are acknowledged and dealt with?

I think that Dilfer can be a successful head coach, but he needs to do some clear eyed analysis and problem solving. He was quickly nominated as the worst hire of the season when he was hired, and the publicity and articles local and national this week are going to be very ugly.

And Mark Ingram's hams need to be sizzling in his executive office chair.

Part of it is that there is a noticeable drop off in talent and experience across our Defense. The leader of our secondary transferred to Bama, our best pass rushing defensive end transferred to South Carolina. We are playing a ton of freshmen who need a year or two in a college strength training program. So thats part of it.

That said... It doesnt explain why Fish McWilliams is suddenly getting blown off the ball this year, or why Mac McWilliams is getting lost in coverage repeatedly when he was pretty much a lock down man corner previously.

(09-17-2023 10:20 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  Part of it is that there is a noticeable drop off in talent and experience across our Defense. The leader of our secondary transferred to Bama, our best pass rushing defensive end transferred to South Carolina. We are playing a ton of freshmen who need a year or two in a college strength training program. So thats part of it.

That said... It doesnt explain why Fish McWilliams is suddenly getting blown off the ball this year, or why Mac McWilliams is getting lost in coverage repeatedly when he was pretty much a lock down man corner previously.

We lost a lot yes, but our defense isn't like our OL which is almost entirely new and young. There are still players on defense that started and played multiple reps last year. Like you said, Fish, Mac, Miller Twins, Swoopes, Bratton, Fairbanks, Penn, Eason, Dempsey those are a ton of returners and some starters. It's just wild that they aren't as aggressive as they have been. Yeah its a new coach and a HS coach at that, but that makes you lose your aggression? They gotta see that his coaching style is not working.

(09-17-2023 10:25 AM)blazerblazer Wrote:  

(09-17-2023 10:20 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  Part of it is that there is a noticeable drop off in talent and experience across our Defense. The leader of our secondary transferred to Bama, our best pass rushing defensive end transferred to South Carolina. We are playing a ton of freshmen who need a year or two in a college strength training program. So thats part of it.

That said... It doesnt explain why Fish McWilliams is suddenly getting blown off the ball this year, or why Mac McWilliams is getting lost in coverage repeatedly when he was pretty much a lock down man corner previously.

We lost a lot yes, but our defense isn't like our OL which is almost entirely new and young. There are still players on defense that started and played multiple reps last year. Like you said, Fish, Mac, Miller Twins, Swoopes, Bratton, Fairbanks, Penn, Eason, Dempsey those are a ton of returners and some starters. It's just wild that they aren't as aggressive as they have been. Yeah its a new coach and a HS coach at that, but that makes you lose your aggression? They gotta see that his sensitive catering to Gen Z coaching style is not working.

FIFY

While we probably should’ve retained ONLY David Reeves and Blake Shrader from the previous staff, Probably should’ve hired Bryan Ellis as OC, too.

Spot on about Gentry. He was recruiting guys like Wright and Smith.

(09-17-2023 10:25 AM)blazerblazer Wrote:  

(09-17-2023 10:20 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  Part of it is that there is a noticeable drop off in talent and experience across our Defense. The leader of our secondary transferred to Bama, our best pass rushing defensive end transferred to South Carolina. We are playing a ton of freshmen who need a year or two in a college strength training program. So thats part of it.

That said... It doesnt explain why Fish McWilliams is suddenly getting blown off the ball this year, or why Mac McWilliams is getting lost in coverage repeatedly when he was pretty much a lock down man corner previously.

We lost a lot yes, but our defense isn't like our OL which is almost entirely new and young. There are still players on defense that started and played multiple reps last year. Like you said, Fish, Mac, Miller Twins, Swoopes, Bratton, Fairbanks, Penn, Eason, Dempsey those are a ton of returners and some starters. It's just wild that they aren't as aggressive as they have been. Yeah its a new coach and a HS coach at that, but that makes you lose your aggression? They gotta see that his coaching style is not working.

Yes. This. Exactly. We have returning talent that is not making an impact in this scheme c