251_Dreaux made several good points. With the Saban 3-4 (over/under, multiple)our D was missing a few very important thing. First you need an "on the field" coach at both levels. Cj handled the front 7 extreamly well but when VS went down we had nobody who was able to step up and make the on-field adjustments needed against a HUNH. You can't get them from the sideline when the game is in NASCAR mode. Second you must have complete trust that everyone will do their job. LC spent so much effort trying to jump other people's responsibility that he ended up hurting us at times by not being where he should have been. Third our D is at its best when we can blitz from anywhere on the field. To do that, the person calling those blitzes cannot be worried about covering for some DB that may or may not be where he is supposed to be. Our corners never had enough consistancy for the coaches to be able to unleash the dogs. Forth your DL has to have enough push on pass rush to make the QB watch them rather than be able to find the weak link in the secondary. Lastly the NT has to stuff the middle so the line cannot slip to the second level and catch the scraping LB. Not having that from the NT opens up cutback lanes (think Auburn).

The fix...The return of VS and more experience in the secondary. Better nose play. DePriest stepping up into Cj's shoes. Our two freshman DE's being a year further along and taking the DL as their own rather than being situational subs.

I will also suggest that the play of Dillon Lee will be critical next year. I think he would be the key to our HUNH and Nickle play next year.