Bengal Roar
Active member
Start at the end when trying to evaluate ISU Commentary by Jay Heater
On Friday, the Idaho State football team is going to take the practice field and it will be time to start evaluating personnel. The coaches won’t be the only ones doing it. Certainly, the fans and media will be trying to figure out if the Bengals can take a step forward in 2010.
I look at a few positions immediately when I try to determine whether a football team will have success.
The first? No, not quarterback.
Give me a defensive end who can come around the corner and put pressure on a quarterback, and hold his own as a run defender, and a team has a huge piece of the winning puzzle.
We all know, though, that every college coach in America is searching for such a guy. Andre Carter, who had 11 sacks for the Washington Redskins last season, was an amazing college defensive end. Teams would not run to his side and if a quarterback was going to roll out, it always would be away from Carter.
Think of what that does for the defense. The opponents have to account for such an impact player with a second body, leaving less weapons. Now if a linebacker blitzes, there’s nobody home.
When you can’t pressure with your defensive line, then you must blitz, and now the defense becomes short-handed.
The second spot I assess is cornerback. If you don’t have a pretty good set of corners, you’re toast. There is nothing more discouraging for a defense than to play near shutout ball for 30 minutes, only to be down two touchdowns because a wide receiver broke free for 80- and 75-yard touchdown catches.
I then look at offense, and see what a team has at quarterback. Is the guy going to turn over the ball? Will he miss that wide open target on that one opportunity for a big play? Can he feel the pressure in the pocket or does he allow himself to be blind-sided? Is he a leader?
Fourth, I like to see if a team has a fast wide out who can score from anywhere on the field. Big plays — touchdowns of 50 yards or more — kill the opponents. It keeps the defense from filling up the box and it puts defensive backs on their heels.
Next in line it’s back to the defensive side. Does the team have a 350-pound anchor in the center of the line? Nothing is more demoralizing to a defense than having the opponent run five yards a clip right up the gut. In today’s football, you need to have an immovable object.
I then move to special teams. Does the team have a solid punter? I have seen many very good football teams turn into bad ones because the punter stunk. It’s not just the obvious long and high, either. Can the guy follow instructions, such as kicking away from the All-American return man? Does he kick the ball into the end zone from 35 yards out? Completing my own personal top 10, I look to see if the team has quality at ... long snapper, punt returner , center and running back.
I have talked mostly about individuals. When I look at units, I start by looking at the offensive line. A quality offensive line can make an average quarterback or running back a whole lot better. A bad offensive line ... well, you’ve seen that one.
The rest? Well, it all fits together, so let’s get started.
On Friday, the Idaho State football team is going to take the practice field and it will be time to start evaluating personnel. The coaches won’t be the only ones doing it. Certainly, the fans and media will be trying to figure out if the Bengals can take a step forward in 2010.
I look at a few positions immediately when I try to determine whether a football team will have success.
The first? No, not quarterback.
Give me a defensive end who can come around the corner and put pressure on a quarterback, and hold his own as a run defender, and a team has a huge piece of the winning puzzle.
We all know, though, that every college coach in America is searching for such a guy. Andre Carter, who had 11 sacks for the Washington Redskins last season, was an amazing college defensive end. Teams would not run to his side and if a quarterback was going to roll out, it always would be away from Carter.
Think of what that does for the defense. The opponents have to account for such an impact player with a second body, leaving less weapons. Now if a linebacker blitzes, there’s nobody home.
When you can’t pressure with your defensive line, then you must blitz, and now the defense becomes short-handed.
The second spot I assess is cornerback. If you don’t have a pretty good set of corners, you’re toast. There is nothing more discouraging for a defense than to play near shutout ball for 30 minutes, only to be down two touchdowns because a wide receiver broke free for 80- and 75-yard touchdown catches.
I then look at offense, and see what a team has at quarterback. Is the guy going to turn over the ball? Will he miss that wide open target on that one opportunity for a big play? Can he feel the pressure in the pocket or does he allow himself to be blind-sided? Is he a leader?
Fourth, I like to see if a team has a fast wide out who can score from anywhere on the field. Big plays — touchdowns of 50 yards or more — kill the opponents. It keeps the defense from filling up the box and it puts defensive backs on their heels.
Next in line it’s back to the defensive side. Does the team have a 350-pound anchor in the center of the line? Nothing is more demoralizing to a defense than having the opponent run five yards a clip right up the gut. In today’s football, you need to have an immovable object.
I then move to special teams. Does the team have a solid punter? I have seen many very good football teams turn into bad ones because the punter stunk. It’s not just the obvious long and high, either. Can the guy follow instructions, such as kicking away from the All-American return man? Does he kick the ball into the end zone from 35 yards out? Completing my own personal top 10, I look to see if the team has quality at ... long snapper, punt returner , center and running back.
I have talked mostly about individuals. When I look at units, I start by looking at the offensive line. A quality offensive line can make an average quarterback or running back a whole lot better. A bad offensive line ... well, you’ve seen that one.
The rest? Well, it all fits together, so let’s get started.
