Defensive Position Analysis

I have a little bit of downtime at work right now so I thought I would do some position analysis from watching 3 games on TV and the UCLA game in person. I will start with the Defensive backfield since that is where my bias lies.

CB: Scott Johnson was very pedestrian in the Northern Iowa game but has been very impressive since. He has been at least the equal of Ben Criddle in tackling ability and probably has been even better. Johnson doesn't have the greatest cover skills but both he and the coaching staff know this so they rarely have him on an island. During the UCLA and Wyoming games, Johnson has spent a lot of time playing the nickel. He has been outstanding in this role. He has been great in run support and his CB skills really shine as he covers inside receivers. His performance has really shown me why he held off Brandon Bradley in fall camp to be the starter.

Brandon Howard was the best guy in the secondary against Northern Iowa but has been the weakest since. Howard has the speed and quickness to be a great cover guy. From my perspective, he is really struggling with confidence right now. That needs to change quickly. Howard is very small and it shows in his tackling and run support. I think the fact that he lines so far off the line of scrimmage is only hurting the situation. His inability to be effective when coming up to make plays seems to have made him tentative. I would like to see the coaches give him a chance to slide up closer on occasions and do more press coverage. I think this may get him more to be more aggressive and will allow him to start making more plays and probably will help his run support as well. I know this opens up a bigger possibility for big plays but I think the risk could be worth it with our powerful offense, especially if this is done when we already have a big lead.

It is fun to watch Brandon Bradley get some meaningful time playing against UCLA and Wyoming. He just looks so smooth out there. It appears to me that he has been out of position on a couple of plays but not very often and he seems to have a nose for being around the ball which the other corners seem to lack. Bradley has shown the ability to tackle well and is very fluid in his movements. I look for him to jump a route sometime soon and take a pick to the house.

G. Pittman has obviously played less than the other 3 and it was too bad that he was hurt against Wyoming when he would have received a lot of playing time. From the little bit I saw against UCLA, he has a ton of upside. He has the speed, quickness and athleticism to be a standout CB. I also think he has some aggression, which is very important. It did seem to me that he was a little indecisive against UCLA, however. I don't know if this is because he hasn't mastered the position quite yet or if it was nerves from actually getting in the game. Either way, I would look for that indecision to be erased with a little more experience and G. Pittman to become a very good player and also a fan favorite.