Where did you get the notion that the UK DL were ordered to go 1/2 speed in the BW game. That's crazy.
Matt Elam has lost weight!
- Thread starter TuckyFB
- Start date
Where did you get the notion that the UK DL were ordered to go 1/2 speed in the BW game. That's crazy.
The truth is that Elam will be highly criticized no matter how he plays. The vast majority of fans have only a superficial knowledge of the game......just enough to think they know what's happening but often don't.
Elam could play lights out and go 2-3rd round of the draft and people would still say he played bad b/c all they know is that "DL is supposed to cause pressure, get sacks, and make TFL."
Elam could play lights out and go 2-3rd round of the draft and people would still say he played bad b/c all they know is that "DL is supposed to cause pressure, get sacks, and make TFL."
Yep.
His job is to move the LOS back and he did his job 90% of the time last season.
By watching it! They wouldn't even pursue rb and the qb after they where past the los. They engaged the olineman straight up with very little twisting or stunting. I know for a fact the dlineman are taught to pursue the play not stand at the Los and watch.
They went full speed. There were rules to back off and not hit the QB. They probably also had rules to not go low and stay off each other's knees. But that's about it. Other than that they went 100%. The defense was generic so there weren't much blitzes or twists but the pursuit was all out.
Pursuit better not have been all out. Numerous times we did not pursue the plays down field. I seriously doubt stoops would teach not going after the play.
I don't think half speed is the words I used. I said 50 percent which includes stunting twisting and pursuit. If all you do is engage the lineman until the play is past you then you are not going 100 percent.
Having been in the locker toms during many, many Spring games, I have heard 3 different coaches say, "this game is for the fans. Make it look good. Don't go for kill shots and don't get hurt. But have fun."
I've said this for yrs in the Lair. The amount of information you can get from a Spring game is very little. But it never stops media and fans from blowing it way out.
So, me personally I don't know what Stoops told them but I know that I can't get much information out of the Spring game.....and I'm one of the more knowledgeable posters on here.
I've said this for yrs in the Lair. The amount of information you can get from a Spring game is very little. But it never stops media and fans from blowing it way out.
So, me personally I don't know what Stoops told them but I know that I can't get much information out of the Spring game.....and I'm one of the more knowledgeable posters on here.
I was at the spring game and I agree with you,, the d linemen were NOT going full speed. What the coaches told the players I don't know but I am sure that wasn't their best effort!
I am "judging" by what I have seen since he arrived on campus.
No, but he was still listed at 360# in the spring roster. Stoops has said he has lost weight but won't say how much.
You have made some confusing comments in this thread. Typically, in these scrimmages the QB is off limits and neither the defense or the offense is allowed the run the whole package. But what you are allowed to run, you run at full speed. In other words, the defenses was denied some stunts and blitzes but other than that it was football. If the defense was told to play at "half speed" there should have been about 70 more points on the board.
Peace
I remember when the depth chart came out and people jumped all over elam calling him lazy,not motivated, didnt care ect. Also criticizing stoops and coaching staff on not developing guys ect.. Interestingly most of them have NOT responded to this news. You guys could in the very least acknowledge that he has put in a great summer.. Compliment him on getting in shape.. Whether he plays to your expectations doesn't take away the fact that he put in the work to change his body...
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Once again I never said half speed. I said at 50 percent then I clarified what I meant by that to another poster. If you think teams go all out during spring games then I have a car you should buy.
Most schools compete every day, and when there is a limited number of full contact practices allowed, the kids are expected to really compete. Surely you think kids are trying to earn and keep jobs - I mean no way anyone on the UK front 7 doesn't have to earn his place.
Noted. Congrats. At least it shows commitment.
The team needs Elam to not be subbed off for sucking wind.
It is a good sign.
Now win.
Well the picture shows a much lighter Elam than last year. My guess is that the 360 was a farce last year and he was probably 380+. I would say he was 360 at start of camp this spring and has lost significant weight since then. Someone said stoops said he was 330ish now but I'm dubious on that one... 340-350 going off the picture.
Could be. There is no doubt that Matt's weight has been a hot button issue since his first day on campus and it has been pretty hard to get a true reading of his status. FWIW, Jen whatshername of the Herald Leader first reported that Stoop's said he lost weight (but would not say how much) then less than 24 hours (?) later said he had lost 30 pounds (but quoted no source).
Anyway, if Elam can get down to a true 330# it should have a significant impact on, not just conditioning, but his actual playing technique as well. I think he is literally "too big" to do some things correctly. All JMO.
Peace
You are taking what I said and drawing your own conclusions. I'm not going to explain myself anymore.
Just what is his role? From what I have seen his role is at the snap of the ball is to stand straight up making him easier to block. Lineman just stand between Elam and the running back and he is blocked. If his duties is to not rush the QB then he is useless. If you don't have pressure up the middle the 3-4 defense won't stop any SEC offense.
Correct....Elam actually played pretty well last season for a sophomore. Some fans here are clueless.
You will probably take some crap for your remarks and I certainly will for agreeing with you. But I think it IS a legit question. Stoops has a solid resume on the defensive side of the ball but until the last couple of years was a 4-3 guy. That scheme often uses a 1 tech NT but I think that 1st year at UK they played a lot of balanced front in their 4 man lines. Actually, I'm not sure there is a 3-4 guru on the staff and, yes, that can make a difference in teaching and experience with the scheme
Anyway, I have simply not seen Elam consistently do the things most here seem to think IS his "role", e.g., control 2 gaps, demand a double team, collapse the middle, etc. Truth be told there are damn few NTs that can do that. Furthermore, the double team block is simply not the factor today as it was the with the power run offenses of the 60s and 70s. You see zone or combo blocks off DLs but seldom see true double teams. Furthermore, a down block by the play side OG effectively seals the NT off from the play side (obviously you must otherwise account for the play side ILB).
Always hard to tell techniques from the sideline TV angles but, FWIW, it has been my observation that Elam has been most effective when he moves over to a 2 or 2i technique but has only 1 gap responsibility. All JMO.
Peace
Teams don't show everything they have but yes players go full speed whenever they scrimmage. Sure there's an uptick in a real game but any DL that doesn't chase the ball and hustle in a spring game isn't making their coach happy - that's just the way it is. They aren't told to just take it easy, esp when they are a weak unit to begin with - they are trying to, and need to, get better every day.
Regardless of what his true weight was last year, if he's 30 lbs lighter this year you'll see a much different player.
A guy like Elam (a nose tackle) hopefully can do the following:
-immovable - the offense wants to push you around and open holes for the running game. Imagine a defensive lineman that you can't move....standing right in the middle where you want to run most of the time. It can really change an offense.
-change numbers - "if" he can be immovable enough to draw a double team block, then he shifts numbers in the box. For example let's say the offense has 7 blockers staring at 7 box defensemen. If Elam can draw a double team then the defense now has a man free. This is HUGE. In an ideal world he would command a double team every time....but he doesn't have to.....nor will he.
-disruptive - he can already be disruptive by just being immobile, however if he can force OL in a negative direction.....either backwards or an unwanted motion side/side.....this is huge. However, this takes talent and technique. Be sure to read about technique later.
-wall. Elam is 6'7".....with a nice wingspan. He's also really thick. Most QBs we face will be in the 6' to 6'3" range.....just having a guy that big in the middle could be a big plus.
-enable variable blitzes. Notice I didn't say who will do the blitzing. "If" he can plug the middle and/or draw double teams then there are now gaps and free defensive players to can either make plays or have lanes to blitz. In essence he frees up others to make plays. This means that he won't get huge numbers of tackles or sacks.
Now, onto technique. Technique for linemen is BEYOND HUGE. There are usually 2 main reasons why the vast, vast majority of good linemen are upperclassmen. The first reason is physical maturity. The 2nd is technique. In football, an upperclass veteran with sound technique will typically eat the lunch of a poor technical underclassmen......regardless of how "talented" they may be.
A guy like Elam probably didn't have to use technique much in HS. He probably just dominated based off size and talent alone. But now he has to play catch up in order to compete. This isn't an isolated problem. This is one that is actually the most common. Technique just usually isn't mastered in HS much of the time.
Now, what is Elam supposed to do? At the snap, he's supposed to punch out and hold the OC/OG at arm's length. As he holds him, he performs a "gap peek". Basically he peers around the OL to read where the play is going. Then, he has attempts to disengage and pursue the play.......or he continues to hold the point of attack to allow others to make the play. Now, those with good technique will perform this so quickly that they don't lose ground. Typically those with poor technique (usually underclassmen) will lose some ground in the process. Occasionally you will see NT's explode so violently off the line that they shove the middle of the line back into the QB's face. This usually happens with more elite NT's (with good technique) or when the talent disparity between OL and DL is large. For example, you'll see Bama NT's do it a lot but not super often with other teams.
And, on a side note, you can occasionally have guys explode out and overrun the play.....think Ware last yr. There were many times last yr where aware would explode upfield so fast and allow the RB or mobile QB to escape easily underneath. The OL just laughs when this happens. They know he can't make the play, so they'll let him blow past whenever he does it. This is a technique and discipline issue that usually improves with time. This is one of the reasons why we were torched by mobile QBs recently.
Now, onto Elam "standing straight up". This happens for several reasons. First is just plain poor conditioning....which is well documented. When people get tired they don't squat and get low as much. You see this in every sport....like the defensive stance in basketball. The 2nd is poor technique. Elam hasn't learned how to gain leverage. He hasn't learned how to play low. He hasn't used how to use his height/length as a strength. Which brings us to #3. Because he doesn't know how to use his height as an advantage, it's used against him. The OC/OGs that he is going up against are mostly 6'1" to 6'4". They are shorter/lower and likely has the leverage just based on height alone. Now understand that the vast majority of OL that he goes up against are going to be upperclassmen who are going to be stronger with better technique. He's just gonna be pushed up until he learns to compensate.
As far as Elam's play thus far. He's done ok. Not stellar, not poor. If not for injury he wouldn't have played a ton last yr. The staff knew he wasn't ready to start but unfortunately didn't have a choice. He "appears" to have the chops to be a good 2-down NT....but like any other position he must learn to play his position.
