Preseason all-SBC teams

[jcountry]

I don't see how Brinson and Vildor will hurt the chances of anyone else on defense being all Sun Belt. Both of those guys are going to get fewer balls thrown their way this season, and defensive selections aren't as stat-driven (else how does Raymond Johnson make first team?)

Now that Brison and Vildor are getting so much attention, i sure hope we have been nailing down our short pass coverage. That was not great last year.

[eaglewraith]

Now that Brison and Vildor are getting so much attention, i sure hope we have been nailing down our short pass coverage. That was not great last year.

That's the defense by design.

You give up the short passes and deny big plays.

Short passes don't work as well once the field compresses as well. It's not often a team will go down the field with 10 pass plays and score.

[half-n-half]

I don't see how Brinson and Vildor will hurt the chances of anyone else on defense being all Sun Belt. Both of those guys are going to get fewer balls thrown their way this season, and defensive selections aren't as stat-driven (else how does Raymond Johnson make first team?)

1. You are comparing an interior lineman vs a DB. That’s apples and oranges. No the DL spots aren’t as stat based

2. These are still humans making selections so there is plenty of room for bias. And I definitely think there would be some that would say they already have Vildor and Brinson on the first team so it’s going to take a standout year for another DB on this roster to get all conference as well. You also have other upperclassmen from other teams that are already established and are going to get the nod if it’s even close. I definitely think Duncan could be all conference at some point but this year won’t be that point.

Your last point about Brinson and Vildor I disagree with though. Yes when a team has 1 standout CB you try and stay away from his side of the field but it’s impossible to stay away from both sides of the field. Yes OC’s are going to have to be careful and they are going to have to scheme to try and get other matchups open but they can’t be throwing to the outside any less than they did last season. Otherwise playing defense for us is probably going to be really easy.

[pete4256]

Another thing to consider about Duncan is that he’s still a work in progress. While he’s got the size and athleticism to be real good, he had long stretches in which he played stiff and tentatively. That was to be expected of a freshman, of course.

In that way, he reminds me of a young Antwione Williams (if AW was a S). He’ll probably grow into the position like AW grew into a monster at LB. But all-conference is still an optimistic projection for him, IMO.

Remember that neither Matt Dobson nor Antwione Williams were first-team All-SBC players (for some reason).

[Buzz Killington]

Teams don't throw away from DBs. That's giving them too much credit.

And as good as our DBs are, they are prone to lapses as well. Turn on the ULM and Troy tape if you want to see it.