(06-17-2023, 09:48 AM)Bullseye Wrote: This is the continuation of the Offensive version of this Dead Zone questionnaire, this time with a defensive focus.

1.  Coaching:  Unlike the offensive side of the ball, I am not comfortable with the defensive side.  It's my understanding Mike Caldwell is a first time defensive coordinator.  Thus far, I am not overly thrilled with the defense's performance under him.  But in fairness, I don't know how much of that is attributable to him and his schemes/adjustments, how much of that is attributable to a lack of talent, etc.

Question:  How would you grade Caldwell's performance as defensive coordinator thus far?

2.  Defensive line:  While we seem to have decent to good players across the front three, I think it's fair to say there are no dominators along the front.  Free agent signee Roy Robertson Harris was not a starter in Chicago, but has developed into a good starter here.  Late in the year, he had flashes of dominance, but not enough consistency to put him in the Pro Bowl.  NT DaVon Hamilton earned a new 4 (?) year  deal from the team this off season.  Foley Fatukasi was signed as a FA last offseason.  Adam Gotsis is a decent rotational player, and the loss of Fred Smoot will be filled by rookie 4th round pick Tyler Lacy.

Question:  Does anyone along the DL develop into a Pro Bowl calibeber player?

3.  Linebackers:  The team drafted three (3) linebackers last year to man their newly installed 3-4 scheme.  Travon Walker was the first overall pick last year and transitioned from a down DL to an outside LB.  While he had his moments, he made much less of an impact than the guy drafted right below him, who is now in Detroit.  However, many expect him to make a leap forward this year now that he's had a year in his new position.  The team's 2nd draft pick last year was LB Devon Lloyd.  After a fast start, Lloyd's productivity fell off, reportedly due to several factors.  By his own recent admission, his conditioning wasn't up to par.  He also reportedly did not have a full command of the playbook.  From one perspective, that is encouraging, because early on, despite those shortcomings, he flashed enough playmaing ability to earns defenive rookie of the month awards for September before fading.  Now that he has a better idea of what it takes to play well in this league, the potential for him having a big improvement in 2023 seems high.  The third rookie at LB was 3rd round pick Chad Muma.  I was initially excited about him, too, but he didn't have the same impact Lloyd had.  But the coaches played Muma when Lloud got benched later in the year.  But the team was not totally devoid of veteran leadership at LB.  Former first round pick Josh Allen had a good but uneven year.  Like he did in his year under Urban Meyer, he had a big game, then go weeks without making a huge impact.  Going into the final year of his contract, he needss to have a big year with consistent impact.  Oluakon provided the veteran leadership from ILB and performed well.  Shaquille Quarterman came off of the bench to provide spot play, and he provided the hit that helped turn the first Tennessee game around by forcing a Derrick Henry Fumble.  The team did not stop there, and added more rookies with Ventrell Miller and Yasir Abdullah in the middle rounds of the draft.  While many panned the Miller pick, many observers seem excited over the Abdullah additon.

Question:  What do you expect out of the LB corps this year?  Which of last year's rookie LBs will make the biggest leap in performance?

Sub question:  What do you think of Abdullah so far?  If you are a Gator fan, what are your thoughts on Ventrell Miller?

4.  Secondary:  While they showed improvement ver te course of the year, I believe this to be the weak spot of the defense.  Tyson Campbell is the best of this unit and he played well all year.  I think he is on his way to becoming one of the better CBs in team history.  Right now, I'd probably rank him about 5th, behind Ramsey, Rashean Mathis, Aaron Beasley and Brian Williams.  At the other CB spot, Shaquil Griffin was a disaster.  He was benched for the year just after the second Colts' game and never returned to the lineup.  Darious Williams eventually replaced him and he improved the level of play at LCB, but given his diminutive size, I question if he is truly the longer term answer at the position.  The demotion of Griffin and the promotion of Williams meant Tre Herndon stuck around.  But after he performed well in the aftermath of the Ramsey trade, he has since been underwhelming at nickel.  Safety appears to be in decent hands with Andre Cisco and Rayshawn Jenkins.  Cisco is entering his 3rd year and appears poised to have a big year, coming into camp more muscular than he had been.  Jenkins was the hero of the Dallas and Tennessee games late in the year, and he could eventually find himself in Jaguars lore for his contributions.  The 3rd S who has gained popularity is Wyoming S Andrew Wingard.  His play has improved and he has provided two memorable quotes.  I think the only thing that potentially threatens his spot on the roster at this point is the league's de-emphasis of special teams.  The draft brought a couple of rookies, though the expectation was that CB would be addressed much earlier in the draft than the 6th round pick they used on the Rutgers kid.  They also added a S in Antonio Johnson out of Texas A &M who went two rounds lower than expected.

Question:  Do you anticipate the team signing a player to strengthen the secondary?

Sub question:  Who will be the surprise contributor in the secondary?

1. I would grade him out with a C. As a first time coordinator last year I think he had his work cut out for him. Baalke did a lot of work over there through free agency and the draft to try and bolster it out and I think we should hopefully see some better things out of them as a squad in 2023. I don't expect a massive jump up in performance but I think we'll be looking back later on this year or next year with giving Caldwell a better overall grade. Expectations should be higher with Walker and Lloyd. I also think our schedule is favorable and I think our offense could get this team in a position with multiple leads throughout the year the forces our opponents to abandon balance and become one dimensional. 

2. I don't think so. This scheme doesn't really enable guys to flash too much in the pass rushing department. We don't really see a lot of anything intriguing anymore with the Pro-Bowl. I would be thrilled to see All-Pro votes thrown around at any of our players though. Especially on defense. 

3. I expect the LB corps as a whole to step up BIG TIME in 2023. Starting with Allen and Walker on the outside and Lloyd inside. I don't think Muma needs to see the field if Lloyd is doing his job. I am excited about Abdullah. Has Hasaan Riddick written all over him. Would like to see Caldwell get creative early and often with him out there. I am a Bulldogs fan but Miller seems like a run defending middle linebacker and I think he's a guy they probably look towards in 2024 to replace Oloukon at some point. We'll have to create cap space to resign guys like Lawrence and Ridley more than likely. 

4. I don't think they'll sign anybody else really. The closest opportunity to add onto it was maybe trading for Baker out of Arizona but that didn't have much body to it I guess. Maybe smoke and mirrors back in April. I think the surprise contributor will be that CB out or Rutgers. I could see him making splash plays this preseason and earning a spot as an outside CB for depth that plays here and there.

---