GAMECOCKBOY
09-15-2006, 11:18 PM
September 13, 2006
Nix not content with state of USC defense
Scott Hood
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
Talk about it in The Insiders Forum
Jeff Manning contributed to this story
Over the first two games this season the South Carolina defense recorded its first road SEC shutout in a decade and allowed just one touchdown and 16 points to the talented Georgia offense.
If you had to rate those performances, it would be reasonable to assert they were fairly good.
It's still not good enough for defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix.
Expectations from Nix and head coach Steve Spurrier were lofty coming into the season and, despite the fact only one starter returned from last season's senior-laden unit, remain high.
By all accounts, the defense has played at a faster pace and exhibited superior speed and quickness and work ethic than last seasaon.
Nevertheless, while the statistics show the Gamecocks are fifth in the SEC and 39th in the nation in total defense (274.0 ypg), Nix makes it clear he's looking for something better from his players as the 2006 season moves along.
"Not good enough, not good enough at all," Nix responded when asked for his opinion on how well the Gamecocks' defense has performed so far in 2006.
"We have made some improvement, but not enough. The secondary has really played better but as a defensive unit we really did not get the job done (in the Georgia loss). We have to play better and play together. We are working hard to make some changes."
The unique challenge for the Gamecocks defense this week is limiting Wofford's accomplished option running attack, which is averaging 284.0 yards per game. Conversely, the Terriers' passing game is virtually nonexistent.
"Certainly, I'm pleased with the defense," USC head coach Spurrier said. "We did give up some rushing yards to Georgia, and we gave up a bunch of them to them last year, too. We need to stop the run this week. We need to try to force Wofford to throw the ball. If they get running up and down the field, we could be in for a long night."
Wofford has attempted a scant 23 passes in its first two games, completing 14 for 173 total yards.
Defending the option properly takes extraordinary discipline from the entire defense, Nix pointed out.
"It's surely going to test us to see if we can play our assignments and responsibilities," Nix said. "It's another challenge. Every week is a challenge and Wofford is the next one."
While the entire defense has played reasonably well, the secondary has especially shined with five interceptions. Opponents are completing just 40 percent (18-for-45) of their throws against USC.
Safety Chris Hampton and cornerback Fred Bennett pace USC with two interceptions each.
Nix credits the early success of the secondary to an aggressive, physical and ball-hawking style of play.
"They've really tackled better and been more physical," Nix said. "We just have to get the other guys on the defense playing the way our secondary is right now. Those guys want to play and they've done better."
One of the most important differences between last season's defense and this season is that linemen and linebackers are making most of the tackles. Rover Ko Simpson, who departed early for the NFL, led the 2005 defense with 103 tackles, 34 more than Lance Laury (69 tackles) in second place.
Nix has stressed to his players since last spring that Simpson's feat would not be repeated this season.
He wanted the front seven to make the majority of the tackles and so far that strategy appears to be working. Only one of the top five tacklers through two games is a defensive back (Chris Hampton, tied for third with 7 tackles).
Secondary coach Ron Cooper sees a distinct difference in the way the front seven are currently swarming to the ball and making plays.
"The guys are doing a good job up front in playing," Cooper said. "Coach Nix has put together the changes and scheme that has allowed our guys to make plays up front. We are making plays at linebacker and (the defensive backs) have stepped up and made plays. They haven't broken though on us as much, so that's real good."
Spurrier identified freshman defensive end Eric Norwood Tuesday as someone who could see increased playing time this week. Norwood finished second on the Gamecocks with five tackles against Georgia.
Norwood is third overall on USC with seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack.
That's good, Nix says. But, like the whole defense, not good enough for the hard-charging freshman from Acworth, Ga.
Norwood trails Marvin Sapp (15 tackles) and Jasper Brinkley (15 tackles) for the team high in tackles after two games.
Nix doesn't mince words when he describes the high standards.
"(Norwood) has done a couple of good things. But we expect more," Nix said. "We expect more out of all of our guys. We expect more out of (Jasper Brinkley), we expect more out of (Marvin) Sapp, and we expect more out of (Rodney) Paulk. I expect more out of all of them. They have not met our expectations."
While USC surrendered one touchdown and three field goals to Georgia, Nix is concerned more about hte fact the Gamecocks gave up 198 rushing on 39 attempts, an average of 5.1 yards per carry.
"They have to play more physical and play smarter," Nix said. "We can not continue to give up the run and expect to win. That is just not something we can do. Stopping the run is important. (Georgia) was able to run the ball anywhere they wanted and that is something that we have to stop."
With Wofford expected to run the ball over 80 percent of the time Saturday (105 of the Terrier's 128 plays this season have been running plays) with an occasional pass mixed in, stopping the Terriers' ground game is critical.
"They're averaging about 300 (yards) a game running the football," Nix said. "We are going to have to work hard to stop them. And we still have a lot of young guys we're trying to factor in. We're making improvements but not enough."
Besides concerning himself with stopping Wofford's option attack, Nix must find an adequate replacement for defensive tackle Marque Hall, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Georgia loss and is out for the season.
Nix intends to give at least three different defrnsive linemen a look in that quest - Stanley Doughty, Lemuel Jeanpierre, and Joel Reaves.
Sort of a defensive lineman by commmittee approach, if you will.
With the season underway, Nix spent little time concerning himself with the loss of Hall and more on finding someone who can fill his large shoes.
"Marque has done some good things for us but we have to play the guys who are healthy and can play," Nix said. "You can't worry about who gets hurt. You have to play the guys you've got. I coach the guys that are out here. As coaches that is what we have to do. We need everyone to play better and come together. You can't worry about who you don't have."
With several freshman playing well – Norwood, Paulk, Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook are the top four – can USC's defense get even younger than it already is?
You bet, Nix says.
"(The freshman) are all going to have a chance to contribute," Nix said. "They will all play and some of them may come in and start. That is an opportunity you have when you come to Carolina. We don't have a lot of proven all-SEC players yet. We just need to play better as a team. Play our assignments and play together."
While the secondary will likely have less of an impact on Saturday's game than the first two contests since Wofford relies so heavily on the run, Cooper is generally pleased with the way the secondary has performed this season.
"The guys have done everything that we've asked," Cooper said. "I think that a defense overall is only as good as your secondary and your guys upfront. We have had a decent pass rush and we have had some pretty good containment of the quarterback. Coach Nix has done some things with the scheme, and mixed in some zone blitz stuff that has helped us out."
Nix not content with state of USC defense
Scott Hood
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
Talk about it in The Insiders Forum
Jeff Manning contributed to this story
Over the first two games this season the South Carolina defense recorded its first road SEC shutout in a decade and allowed just one touchdown and 16 points to the talented Georgia offense.
If you had to rate those performances, it would be reasonable to assert they were fairly good.
It's still not good enough for defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix.
Expectations from Nix and head coach Steve Spurrier were lofty coming into the season and, despite the fact only one starter returned from last season's senior-laden unit, remain high.
By all accounts, the defense has played at a faster pace and exhibited superior speed and quickness and work ethic than last seasaon.
Nevertheless, while the statistics show the Gamecocks are fifth in the SEC and 39th in the nation in total defense (274.0 ypg), Nix makes it clear he's looking for something better from his players as the 2006 season moves along.
"Not good enough, not good enough at all," Nix responded when asked for his opinion on how well the Gamecocks' defense has performed so far in 2006.
"We have made some improvement, but not enough. The secondary has really played better but as a defensive unit we really did not get the job done (in the Georgia loss). We have to play better and play together. We are working hard to make some changes."
The unique challenge for the Gamecocks defense this week is limiting Wofford's accomplished option running attack, which is averaging 284.0 yards per game. Conversely, the Terriers' passing game is virtually nonexistent.
"Certainly, I'm pleased with the defense," USC head coach Spurrier said. "We did give up some rushing yards to Georgia, and we gave up a bunch of them to them last year, too. We need to stop the run this week. We need to try to force Wofford to throw the ball. If they get running up and down the field, we could be in for a long night."
Wofford has attempted a scant 23 passes in its first two games, completing 14 for 173 total yards.
Defending the option properly takes extraordinary discipline from the entire defense, Nix pointed out.
"It's surely going to test us to see if we can play our assignments and responsibilities," Nix said. "It's another challenge. Every week is a challenge and Wofford is the next one."
While the entire defense has played reasonably well, the secondary has especially shined with five interceptions. Opponents are completing just 40 percent (18-for-45) of their throws against USC.
Safety Chris Hampton and cornerback Fred Bennett pace USC with two interceptions each.
Nix credits the early success of the secondary to an aggressive, physical and ball-hawking style of play.
"They've really tackled better and been more physical," Nix said. "We just have to get the other guys on the defense playing the way our secondary is right now. Those guys want to play and they've done better."
One of the most important differences between last season's defense and this season is that linemen and linebackers are making most of the tackles. Rover Ko Simpson, who departed early for the NFL, led the 2005 defense with 103 tackles, 34 more than Lance Laury (69 tackles) in second place.
Nix has stressed to his players since last spring that Simpson's feat would not be repeated this season.
He wanted the front seven to make the majority of the tackles and so far that strategy appears to be working. Only one of the top five tacklers through two games is a defensive back (Chris Hampton, tied for third with 7 tackles).
Secondary coach Ron Cooper sees a distinct difference in the way the front seven are currently swarming to the ball and making plays.
"The guys are doing a good job up front in playing," Cooper said. "Coach Nix has put together the changes and scheme that has allowed our guys to make plays up front. We are making plays at linebacker and (the defensive backs) have stepped up and made plays. They haven't broken though on us as much, so that's real good."
Spurrier identified freshman defensive end Eric Norwood Tuesday as someone who could see increased playing time this week. Norwood finished second on the Gamecocks with five tackles against Georgia.
Norwood is third overall on USC with seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack.
That's good, Nix says. But, like the whole defense, not good enough for the hard-charging freshman from Acworth, Ga.
Norwood trails Marvin Sapp (15 tackles) and Jasper Brinkley (15 tackles) for the team high in tackles after two games.
Nix doesn't mince words when he describes the high standards.
"(Norwood) has done a couple of good things. But we expect more," Nix said. "We expect more out of all of our guys. We expect more out of (Jasper Brinkley), we expect more out of (Marvin) Sapp, and we expect more out of (Rodney) Paulk. I expect more out of all of them. They have not met our expectations."
While USC surrendered one touchdown and three field goals to Georgia, Nix is concerned more about hte fact the Gamecocks gave up 198 rushing on 39 attempts, an average of 5.1 yards per carry.
"They have to play more physical and play smarter," Nix said. "We can not continue to give up the run and expect to win. That is just not something we can do. Stopping the run is important. (Georgia) was able to run the ball anywhere they wanted and that is something that we have to stop."
With Wofford expected to run the ball over 80 percent of the time Saturday (105 of the Terrier's 128 plays this season have been running plays) with an occasional pass mixed in, stopping the Terriers' ground game is critical.
"They're averaging about 300 (yards) a game running the football," Nix said. "We are going to have to work hard to stop them. And we still have a lot of young guys we're trying to factor in. We're making improvements but not enough."
Besides concerning himself with stopping Wofford's option attack, Nix must find an adequate replacement for defensive tackle Marque Hall, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Georgia loss and is out for the season.
Nix intends to give at least three different defrnsive linemen a look in that quest - Stanley Doughty, Lemuel Jeanpierre, and Joel Reaves.
Sort of a defensive lineman by commmittee approach, if you will.
With the season underway, Nix spent little time concerning himself with the loss of Hall and more on finding someone who can fill his large shoes.
"Marque has done some good things for us but we have to play the guys who are healthy and can play," Nix said. "You can't worry about who gets hurt. You have to play the guys you've got. I coach the guys that are out here. As coaches that is what we have to do. We need everyone to play better and come together. You can't worry about who you don't have."
With several freshman playing well – Norwood, Paulk, Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook are the top four – can USC's defense get even younger than it already is?
You bet, Nix says.
"(The freshman) are all going to have a chance to contribute," Nix said. "They will all play and some of them may come in and start. That is an opportunity you have when you come to Carolina. We don't have a lot of proven all-SEC players yet. We just need to play better as a team. Play our assignments and play together."
While the secondary will likely have less of an impact on Saturday's game than the first two contests since Wofford relies so heavily on the run, Cooper is generally pleased with the way the secondary has performed this season.
"The guys have done everything that we've asked," Cooper said. "I think that a defense overall is only as good as your secondary and your guys upfront. We have had a decent pass rush and we have had some pretty good containment of the quarterback. Coach Nix has done some things with the scheme, and mixed in some zone blitz stuff that has helped us out."