Continuing from here, we now want to look at some:

Individual defensive player breakdowns

Last time we looked at the play-calling and position groups, but we can also take a quick look at some individual player numbers. We’ll start out with the defense. Keep in mind that these numbers aren’t adjusted for playing time.

Now we’ll look at some:

Defensive Line

I’m jumping the linebackers for now, because the ultra impressive part of the D right now, other than the DB’s, is the D-line.

But before getting to current players, let’s look at the two gold standards to compare them too:

Brandon Graham

He basically was our defense in 2008 and 2009 and the numbers reflect that. It is a bit unclear how to compare some of those early years to current players, as Brian’s standards may have changed a bit over time. Especially because he did a lot of his damage before we really knew how bad things can get on D. He basically was our D for two years.

And of course:

Mike Martin

The greatness there is somewhat hidden by the insane +25 game he had. Consistently positive, often in double digits. He was a beast too. Edged out Graham for career total +/- 247 to 229.

## The career top 5 DL are: 
## 1) Martin with 247
## 2) B. Graham with 229
## 3) Van Bergen with 163.5
## 4) Roh with 145
## 5) Glasgow with 113.5

He and Graham are so far out front of the pack it’s not funny, though I’m willing to bet that Woodley would have been on there if charts went back further. The comparison du jour for him on MGoBlog has been Glasgow - I don’t know think we have a clear comparison for Graham at the moment. Speaking of Glasgow:

Ryan Glasgow

I have to admit, even during the Hoke era, our D-line coaching has been outstanding. My goodness is that improvement impressive. Never one to make many mistakes, Glasgow has gone from steady to an absolute beast. The progress was clear last year but has been crazy this year.

There is a clear sign of a well-coached player. This reminds me a bit of:

Frank Clark

Very different type of player, but he definitely turned some serious talent into skill over time:

His progression is even more clear just looking at yearly averages:

Clearly, one thing we can’t complain about regarding the Hoke era was the D-line coaching. I hope he has learned from his off field mistakes.

I am not quite sure which of our currently linemen to go with next, how about:

Willy Henry

He’s been solid all 3 years, putting up a number of solid plus games. His real improvement has been cutting those minuses down each year. He is another guy who just seems to be on the verge of a huge breakout game. He’s really felt like a huge impact player for a while.

Now on to a whole group

Wormley, Hurst, and Charlton

I lump them together because they have been taking turns having breakout games this season. Wormley has been especially a stud because he’s been either crazy-good or solid but not as deeply involved - some pluses, almost no mistakes. All 3 have been impact players at different times this year and all clearly are a big part of the awesome breakout of our D-line. The level of talent on the D-line right now is bonkers. Any of these guys seem capable of putting up Graham-type numbers on any given week.

Alright, on to the last defensive group - individual LB graphs! Next time…. here or back to home