With the Florida State football team enjoying an open week, this is a good time to reflect on the first six games of the 2021 season and what comes next for the 2-4 Seminoles.
In the second of two Warchant Roundtable discussions, our staff today looks at some of the top questions and challenges facing the FSU defense now and in the future.
On Saturday, we focused on the offense.
Today's panel features managing editor Ira Schoffel, senior writer Corey Clark, director of original content Tom Lang and host/analyst Jeff Cameron.
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Q: Six games into the season, how would you evaluate Florida State's defense overall, compared to what you expected going into the year?
COREY: It's better than I thought it would be. That's not to say it's been great by any means, but when you go from one of the worst defenses in the country (by any statistical measure) to middle of the road, you've made some strides. And remember, this defense had 12 straight stops from the second half of the Louisville game to the second quarter of the Syracuse game. And then held UNC to just seven points over a two-quarter stretch. I would have never thought that possible back in August. So, yeah, it's certainly not a strength, it's not elite, but it's worlds better than last year's defense and has improved more than I thought it would.
JEFF: The secondary, which began the year as an unmitigated disaster, has shown signs recently of coming around. They've played with better technique and seem to have a greater understanding of their keys. We still see too much pre-snap confusion and communication issues. The hope, obviously, is that all of that gets cleaned up in the second half of the season. If so, this can become a group that avoids giving up the big play and, dare I dream, plays to its overall athleticism.
TOM: Taken as an 11-man unit, I think the defense has been solid. I won't soon forget the 3rd-and-17 against Notre Dame or that play to close out the night with Jacksonville State, but the Seminoles have been stout against the run and able to affect the passer. If the secondary continues an upward trend, they could be the reason the 2021 season takes a dramatically more positive turn.
IRA: It's probably a good thing we're answering this now and not a few weeks ago. After up-and-down performances against Notre Dame and Jacksonville State, the bottom seemed to fall out at Wake Forest and in the first half against Louisville. Too many long drives. Too many third-down conversions allowed. Too much confusion in key situations. But since halftime of the Louisville game, this has been a much more consistent unit. There were stretches where they were very good against Syracuse, and they were exceptional for a big chunk of the North Carolina game. If this is who they are now on defense, then that changes what we all believe is possible in the second half of this season.
Going position by position, the defensive front has been better than I expected -- I really, really like that group. The linebackers have probably been slightly better than I expected, although that's grading on a major curve. The cornerbacks have been about what I thought they would be, while the safeties overall have not lived up to what I expected. I do think they have found something with the switch of Jammie Robinson to safety and giving Kevin Knowles the starts at nickel, however, and that may help explain the improvement we've seen the last couple of weeks.
