The importance of speed in modern defenses

[Jkl0802]

I’ve seen many posters recently post thoughts that speed is critically important in the version of defensive football being played today. And although other posters also seem to link speed and size to achieve the best of both worlds, Let’s try to keep this post focused on the importance of SPEED. If speed truly is a critical component of today’s calculus for a secondary player in the SEC, what do we think about the Auburn Secondary’s 40 times In the Combine:

Dan Thomas, safety, 4.51
Noah Igbinoghene 4.48
Javaris Davis: 4.39

Those are 3 pretty fast players. It seems that since Auburn can not recruit the 6.0 to 6.2 foot cover guys that are big and relatively fast, they have prioritized speed in their secondary. Perhaps there is truth to the old saying, “the one thing you can not coach is speed” and Auburn’s tactic is to recruit speed and then add weight, and teach how to play.

So what do you think, has speed become the end all be all in recruiting secondary guys in the SEC?

 

[B1GTide]

I think it is more important in the secondary than at receiver. You have to have speed to make up ground while the ball is in the air - closing speed.

Defensive positions are primarily reactive so speed and quickness are very important.

 

[CajunCrimson]

And you focused on Auburn as your case study, why?

 

[Jkl0802]

And you focused on Auburn as your case study, why?

Only because AL.COM had the secondary results from the NFL combine as their lead story on the sports page. The 3 Auburn players seemed to have really good times, but I didn’t hear their names mentioned Throughout the year as really good players.

obviously speed is not the only factor that determines success or we would be recruiting track guys....leading me to question the value of speed. As BIG stated, quickness too, and I suspect others will add size, but size usually means folks who are not as quick and fast (unless you get the Julio Jones type freaks which are few and far between).

PS - and I think Xavier McKinney and Shyheim Carter will go before all 3 of the Auburn guys with fast times.

 

[AUDub]

PS - and I think Xavier McKinney and Shyheim Carter will go before all 3 of the Auburn guys with fast times.

Probably, but Noah has an outside shot at landing in the first round with Derrick. In a sense, he's still a bit of a project at corner, still learning the position (was recruited to Auburn as a slot receiver), but his measurables are off the charts and he'll get serious looks by teams on the back end of the first round.

 

[The Ols]

I’ve seen many posters recently post thoughts that speed is critically important in the version of defensive football being played today. And although other posters also seem to link speed and size to achieve the best of both worlds, Let’s try to keep this post focused on the importance of SPEED. If speed truly is a critical component of today’s calculus for a secondary player in the SEC, what do we think about the Auburn Secondary’s 40 times In the Combine:

Dan Thomas, safety, 4.51
Noah Igbinoghene 4.48
Javaris Davis: 4.39

Those are 3 pretty fast players. It seems that since Auburn can not recruit the 6.0 to 6.2 foot cover guys that are big and relatively fast, they have prioritized speed in their secondary. Perhaps there is truth to the old saying, “the one thing you can not coach is speed” and Auburn’s tactic is to recruit speed and then add weight, and teach how to play.

So what do you think, has speed become the end all be all in recruiting secondary guys in the SEC?

Were they any good??? Why the boogs??? LOL!!!
EDIT....I need to read all the way through before posting...about the 10th time I've done this...my bad!!!

 

[AUDub]

Were they any good??? Why the boogs??? LOL!!!
EDIT....I need to read all the way through before posting...about the 10th time I've done this...my bad!!!

Noah was unquestionably our best cover corner, and did a damn fine job given his limited experience at the position. Didn't get too many picks, but broke up a lot of passes and didn't get burned much. Made a few mistakes, but his athleticism allowed him to overcome them most of the time. Also an asset in the run game, a good tackler and not afraid of contact at all, a big plus for a corner. Also a very good kick returner.

Daniel Thomas wasn't known for his speed, but he was a big hitter and turnover machine. Had a bad tendency to lose his assignment at times. Typical D1 SS.

Javaris Davis is an undersized, but twitchy and speedy cover corner. May make a good slot guy at the next level.

 

[The Ols]

Noah was unquestionably our best cover corner, and did a damn fine job given his limited experience at the position. Didn't get too many picks, but broke up a lot of passes and didn't get burned much. Made a few mistakes, but his athleticism allowed him to overcome them most of the time. Also an asset in the run game, a good tackler and not afraid of contact at all, a big plus for a corner. Also a very good kick returner.

Daniel Thomas wasn't known for his speed, but he was a big hitter and turnover machine. Had a bad tendency to lose his assignment at times. Typical D1 SS.

Javaris Davis is an undersized, but twitchy and speedy cover corner. May make a good slot guy at the next level.

Thx Dub! Well they play on Sundays? I'm assuming so if they were at the combine...

 

[AUDub]

Thx Dub! Well they play on Sundays? I'm assuming so if they were at the combine...

Noah will probably be drafted somewhere in the 20-40 range.

DT will probably be a late round pick and is a depth guy and special teamer at the next level.

Javaris is looking at being a UDFA, and probably needs some more time developing before he's an NFL level player.

 

[gtgilbert]

I think it is more important in the secondary than at receiver. You have to have speed to make up ground while the ball is in the air - closing speed.

Defensive positions are primarily reactive so speed and quickness are very important.

Agreed and would add that it's always been very, very important in the secondary. We've had a lot of our DBs moonlight at track. Teague did, Tony Brown, Humphries, Averrett, and others were all speed guys.

It does take more than just speed, but speed is critical.

I think the real evolution has been more at ILB. As offenses have not only stretched the field vertically with speed, but also horizontally, ILBs have had to cover more ground, more quickly, so guys like Mosely, Foster and now Moses who are smaller than the old school LBs but significantly faster are the norm.

 

[B1GTide]

Agreed and would add that it's always been very, very important in the secondary. We've had a lot of our DBs moonlight at track. Teague did, Tony Brown, Humphries, Averrett, and others were all speed guys.

It does take more than just speed, but speed is critical.

I think the real evolution has been more at ILB. As offenses have not only stretched the field vertically with speed, but also horizontally, ILBs have had to cover more ground, more quickly, so guys like Mosely, Foster and now Moses who are smaller than the old school LBs but significantly faster are the norm.

Yep, LBers are asked to drop back in pass coverage so much now that they need speed like never before.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Speed is important but at this level of play it starts to matter how fast you can reach peak speed. Quickness is also very important as well, so much so that in some situations quickness can be superior to speed. It sounds like our new S&C guys are well versed in all of these concepts. I am very excited to see what they can do with our roster.

 

[AUDub]

Yep, LBers are asked to drop back in pass coverage so much now that they need speed like never before.

You easily see it in the guys we recruit these days. The crown jewel of our recruiting class last year was a 6'0 200 pound OLB. 10 years ago he would have been a safety.

And most defenses these days play with 5 DBs on the field at all times, so those hybrid guys are extremely important. I would go so far as to say the 4-2-5 is basically our base package now.

 

[B1GTide]

You easily see it in the guys we recruit these days. The crown jewel of our recruiting class last year was a 6'0 200 pound OLB. 10 years ago he would have been a safety.

And most defenses these days play with 5 DBs on the field at all times, so those hybrid guys are extremely important. I would go so far as to say the 4-2-5 is basically our base package now.

That OLB could only be on the field on passing downs, though. Can't hold the edge against the run at 200 lbs. Just not possible. But could be a menace as a pass rusher or in coverage.

 

[OceanDweller]

There is something to be said about speed its not all just this guy runs a 4.5, 4.4, 4.6 etc. There is burst speed. I killed it at burst speed which helped in college lacrosse. I am crazy quick for 5-10 seconds and perfected it. Heck, I can probably keep up with most college guys and am now 38 and 5'9 200 with a little gut. Those very same guys can run circles around me but for 5-10 plays I would do pretty darn good. Just like you can't measure a players in game aptitude by watching him practice, you can't judge a players closing time by his 40 time. Completely different imesurables. Good example, like at Wills at right tackle. Could have been an epic player that helped us win NC. He jumped off sides at least 5 times in the last two years "mostly inside the 10" twice of wich probably cost us 14 points and were swing games AU, LSU, and Clemson.

 

[OceanDweller]

That OLB could only be on the field on passing downs, though. Can't hold the edge against the run at 200 lbs. Just not possible. But could be a menace as a pass rusher or in coverage.

You can hold the edge against the run at 200#'s easily its a matter of angles, timing, and technique wrapping up. That said, most Rb's these days are 210 5'11 and not 6'5 240... so it really depends on the RB your tackeling. All the more reason for us to really switch up Najee next year. I would even like to see him rotate from dual rb to the slot some, imagine covering that.

 

[OceanDweller]

Also kind of wish we would stay in the two deep saftey packages more when playing tough games. Heck 40 points is too much for us to give up and its not from being run on.

 

[B1GTide]

You can hold the edge against the run at 200#'s easily its a matter of angles, timing, and technique wrapping up. That said, most Rb's these days are 210 5'11 and not 6'5 240... so it really depends on the RB your tackeling. All the more reason for us to really switch up Najee next year. I would even like to see him rotate from dual rb to the slot some, imagine covering that.

Not in the SEC or the B1G. These are NFL players blocking the edge on those run plays, and they weigh 300+ pounds.

 

[The Ols]

There is something to be said about speed its not all just this guy runs a 4.5, 4.4, 4.6 etc. There is burst speed. I killed it at burst speed which helped in college lacrosse. I am crazy quick for 5-10 seconds and perfected it. Heck, I can probably keep up with most college guys and am now 38 and 5'9 200 with a little gut. Those very same guys can run circles around me but for 5-10 plays I would do pretty darn good. Just like you can't measure a players in game aptitude by watching him practice, you can't judge a players closing time by his 40 time. Completely different imesurables. Good example, like at Wills at right tackle. Could have been an epic player that helped us win NC. He jumped off sides at least 5 times in the last two years "mostly inside the 10" twice of wich probably cost us 14 points and were swing games AU, LSU, and Clemson.

You chose to pick on the guy that's in position to be the #1 OL drafted this year...He's about to make more money in a signing bonus than any of us will ever see. I see where you're coming from, but meh...

...and I'd love to see you run around him for 4-5 seconds...😂

 

[CB4]

No question that speed/closing speed is a necessity now more than ever in the back of the defense in terms of coverage. And for the most part we (Bama) have had decent speed in the secondary in nickel and dime coverage packages. Our biggest outage at times was getting them “on the ground” when the opponent made the catch or coming up on the edge in run support.

So many times the last two years, we’ve been in position to stop a runner/receiver after a short gain only to them either break free or “power” for additional crucial yardage. It happened numerous times in our two loses last year.

Speed is a definite need. But we also need guys that “when they get there they arrive with a bad attitude” and put their rear ends on the ground. A five yard out when contact is made can’t continue to turn into a five yard out with ten additional yards because of the player in coverage can’t wrap up.

Which brings me to another thing: for the life of me, I can’t understand some projections of Diggs in the first round. Yes he is a decent cover guy and has the “measurables”. But at least to me, especially in run support, it was “hang on and wait for the calvary to arrive” when it came to tackling.

My hope is that combination of the new S&C/Performance guys and greater focus by our staff on tackling fundamentals improves this going forward.