Sun Belt Predictions

[MetryCajun]

_ Agreed. You do have to remember though, the D was playing really well at times early on in the season when it was healthy. They went to Illinois and shut down a Heisman candidate in Juice Williams in the narrow loss and only gave up one offensive touchdown to Illinois. The D kept the Cajuns in that game and allowed them to almost get the victory. After the injuries hit, it was just not the same as we had so much youth that had to prematurely step up and try to fill in for starters. I think this is why so many have high hopes for this D. I think the athleticism on D will be the best we've had since I've been watching Cajun football and if the D-line can step up and get to the QB, I think this D could be one of the SBC's best this year and certainly next year as they return almost everybody once again.

I think you could possibly compare this year's cajun team to last year's FIU team. That team was very limited on offense as they didn't have a fantastic run or pass game although they were talented as various positions. Their D was not a shut down D but was very solid nonetheless. They had a nice year and made some serious noise in the SBC. I think we can be that kind of team if we stay healthy. There is a lot to be said for a team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes offensively even if it loses some firepower and plays solid D and Special teams just keeping the field position game in their favor. You don't have to be spectacular to be a good team, just solid. _

Illinois was the only game last year were the D was good. The rest of the year they were horrible. Yes, injuries played a big part but we have not put 3 or 4 good defensive games together since the Stokley era. Other than Zanders none of these guys have been consistent producers at the D1A level. Like you I am hopefull for continued player development and less injuries, but I have a hard time getting excited about a unit that has been roadkill for the last 15 years.
For us to be succesfull this year we will have to win some high scoring games.

[CajunZ1]

_ Illinois was the only game last year were the D was good. _

Thanks Burkhalter...

[zephyr]

_ Illinois was the only game last year were the D was good. The rest of the year they were horrible. Yes, injuries played a big part but we have not put 3 or 4 good defensive games together since the Stokley era. Other than Zanders none of these guys have been consistent producers at the D1A level. Like you I am hopefull for continued player development and less injuries, but I have a hard time getting excited about a unit that has been roadkill for the last 15 years.
For us to be succesfull this year we will have to win some high scoring games. _

Well, again, the D was not very good because of the injuries. This kind of makes it hard to play good D when your starters and immediate backups are ALL banged up. Sooner or later, there will be a drop in production. The D also played well in other games like ASU, FIU and early on against ULM. Had you seen a healthy D, I think you would have seen them come arouind through the year and have much better stats.

Also, Zanders is not the only consistent producer. Grant Fleming was on pace to have about 80 tackles and possibly lead the D in INT's and sacks until he got hurt, all after a good freshman year. Gerron Blount has started all 3 years he has been here and our CB's are pretty good Cover Corners.

[zephyr]

_ Thanks Burkhalter... _

Burkhalter sucked anyway. He wasn't even going to start last year and he would have played sparingly. There was nothing uglier than watching that guy backpedal into zone coverage just cringing every step thinking he was going to fall on his butt. He was terrible.

[MetryCajun]

_ Well, again, the D was not very good because of the injuries. This kind of makes it hard to play good D when your starters and immediate backups are ALL banged up. Sooner or later, there will be a drop in production. The D also played well in other games like ASU, FIU and early on against ULM. Had you seen a healthy D, I think you would have seen them come arouind through the year and have much better stats.

Also, Zanders is not the only consistent producer. Grant Fleming was on pace to have about 80 tackles and possibly lead the D in INT's and sacks until he got hurt, all after a good freshman year. Gerron Blount has started all 3 years he has been here and our CB's are pretty good Cover Corners. _

In some things perspective is needed. We have been watching a putrid defense for 15 years. All of us are praying that we can at least hold our own at the point of attack. We want it so bad we sometimes see thing that are not there. Take Brooks for example. He was horrible in the USM game and was getting killed at the beginning of the ILL game. He then started to come around and got hurt. Is he a good player? I say the jury is out. Same could be said for almost all of our guys on D.

Last year the only guys making a consistent impact were Zanders and McCoy. None of the other guys(even when healthy) were what I call playmakers. Not saying it cannot be done, but after 15 years it will take more than a few quarters of good play to make me a believer.

[DestinCajun]

_ In some things perspective is needed. We have been watching a putrid defense for 15 years. All of us are praying that we can at least hold our own at the point of attack. We want it so bad we sometimes see thing that are not there. Take Brooks for example. He was horrible in the USM game and was getting killed at the beginning of the ILL game. He then started to come around and got hurt. Is he a good player? I say the jury is out. Same could be said for almost all of our guys on D.

Last year the only guys making a consistent impact were Zanders and McCoy. None of the other guys(even when healthy) were what I call playmakers. Not saying it cannot be done, but after 15 years it will take more than a few quarters of good play to make me a believer. _

Perspective is very important as is the criterion used to evaluate. I saw the Cajuns play good defense in the ULM game, the FIU game, the Kent State game, the MTU game and in the ASU game in addition to the Illinois game (which I actually didn't see).

Zanders and McCoy were impact players but practically everyone else was hurt or out with injuries at one time or another in '08. Aurienne, Bentley, Fleming, Brooks and Blount can be impact players for us. Lance Kelly could be an impact player on defense this season. What the DL can do in '09 is the biggest question mark but we have returnees at the position and added some depth so there's reason to be optimistic about how they can perform.

[zephyr]

_ In some things perspective is needed. We have been watching a putrid defense for 15 years. All of us are praying that we can at least hold our own at the point of attack. We want it so bad we sometimes see thing that are not there. Take Brooks for example. He was horrible in the USM game and was getting killed at the beginning of the ILL game. He then started to come around and got hurt. Is he a good player? I say the jury is out. Same could be said for almost all of our guys on D.

Last year the only guys making a consistent impact were Zanders and McCoy. None of the other guys(even when healthy) were what I call playmakers. Not saying it cannot be done, but after 15 years it will take more than a few quarters of good play to make me a believer. _

I didn't realize that you watched Brooks' play that in depth last year for two road games but OK. I would say that what I saw of him was solid play in the middle. However, what i will disagree with mostly is that Fleming, Blount, Bentley all were consistent producers on D. I think that Fleming is our best defensive player overall. In fact, until he got hurt, he was on pace to have over 80 tackles while lead the team in sacks and interceptions as well. To me, that's pretty consistent. I understand what you are saying about the playmakers but with that said, I don't think that McCoy was any more of a playmaker than many of the other guys if you are going by stats. Isn't being a playmaker creating things on D? (interceptions, causing/recovering fumbles, pass breakups, sacks etc..)The fact is, not many people have made any real plays in recent years which is why we've been fairly terrible on D but if healthy, I believe that our best lineup in the LB corp is with Brooks in the middle, Zanders on the strong side and Fleming on the weak side with the constant insertion of McCoy and Washington in passing downs and special packages.

[zephyr]

_ Perspective is very important as is the criterion used to evaluate. I saw the Cajuns play good defense in the ULM game, the FIU game, the Kent State game, the MTU game and in the ASU game in addition to the Illinois game (which I actually didn't see).

Zanders and McCoy were impact players but practically everyone else was hurt or out with injuries at one time or another in '08. Aurienne, Bentley, Fleming, Brooks and Blount can be impact players for us. Lance Kelly could be an impact player on defense this season. What the DL can do in '09 is the biggest question mark but we have returnees at the position and added some depth so there's reason to be optimistic about how they can perform. _

While I think there may be a day that Kelley becomes an impact player, I don't see him taking over the SS spot ahead of Richard as I believe Richard will be a special player for us for the next 3 years.

[zephyr]

_ Illinois was the only game last year were the D was good. The rest of the year they were horrible. Yes, injuries played a big part but we have not put 3 or 4 good defensive games together since the Stokley era. Other than Zanders none of these guys have been consistent producers at the D1A level. Like you I am hopefull for continued player development and less injuries, but I have a hard time getting excited about a unit that has been roadkill for the last 15 years.
For us to be succesfull this year we will have to win some high scoring games. _

The FIU and ASU games were well played on D. We won that ASU game with our D to be honest. They held when they had to and they were in Leonard's face ALL game long. They put McGuire in a position that allowed him to succeed and help us win. I agree that we will really never know how good the D would have been due to the injuries we incurred starting with NT.

Like I said in the above post, Fleming has been a consistent performer in his brief time here so I disagree that Zanders is the only performer. I also think that Blount has been consistent as well.