[NU Sports] on the defensive backs

[Brad Wilson]

As a Jerry Brown basher of the past I am not especially willing to back down on that. 

I agree the pass rush helps hugely. As does better players - Smith, McManis, Phillips and Mabin are the best secondary I can remember since '96. Phillips is really more of a linebacker playiing safety but with two very good cover corners, NU can afford that

But it seems to me there has been a significant change in the defensive back philosophy. In the past, I was infuriated by the stand-there-and-watch-the-receiver catch-the-ball of the past. Or the 10-yard cushion of the past, which I concede still exists a little under Hankwitz.

Now, though, the d-backs seem to me to be much more aggressive, finding the ball and breaking to the ball, and the emphasis has switched to NOT letting the receiver catch the ball. 

I suggest that under Hankwitz Penn State would not have won that awful 2005 game -- the coverage would have stopped those last 2 big passes. 

Since the common thread under the let-them-catch-it regime was Brown, I conclude the difference this year is Hankwitz, not a shift in the Brown philosophy. 

I agree with Eric: Hankwitz for God! (Well, behind Fitz).

Brad Wilson

 "Happy are those who see beauty in the modest spots where others see nothing." -- Camille Pissaro 


"Quis ipsos custodes custodiet?" -- Juvenal