Having reviewed the Gopher’s offensive performance yesterday, let’s take a look the defensive performance versus Northern Illinois and wrap this week up as week 2 approaches.  The defense looks to be vastly improved over last year, but in my opinion will still have a tougher time with top tier opponents.  There has definitely been an infusion of talent, and Ted Roof’s defensive scheme slowed an NIU running attack that featured a running back with 1200 yards rushing last year.  Let’s break things down:

The defense looked much better against the run than last year.  NIU was held to 72 yards rushing on 31 attempts.  Eric Small is no longer small, and Garrett Brown helped plug up the middle.  Simoni Lawrence appears to be the real deal as a hybrid linebacker/defensive back.  After watching his bone-crushing blow force a fumble near the line of scrimmage, I’m no longer concerned about his size at 205 pounds.  He also demonstrated exceptional athleticism and strength by catching and hurling the ball carrier to the ground in the open field.

I was particularly impressed with the performance of Tramaine Brock.  Brock was not only a fast and fundamentally sound tackler, but he had an instinctive ability to break for the ball or the intended receiver.  That tendency cannot be coached.  He reminds me of Tyrone Carter when he was a Gopher, but with better size and speed.

Giving up 326 yards passing to NIU is troubling.  However, if you take away the 143 yards from Ryan Collado’s two blown pass coverages, the Gopher defense would have allowed a respectable 183 yards passing.  Would’ve…could’ve…should’ve…didn’t.  The bottom line is that blown coverages resulting in big plays lose games, and the Gophers nearly lost due to these two mistakes.  Unless NIU receiver Nathan Palmer is the second coming of Randy Moss, I hope Collado sticks to special teams and does not play one-on-one coverage the rest of this season.  On a positive note, Traye Simmons looks to be a solid cornerback.  He didn’t make a “Big Play,” but he kept up with receivers and made a few tackles.  The pass rush had some bright moments, including a big sack by Willie VanDeSteeg.  I would have liked to see Chandler Harnish of NIU under a more consistently intense pass rush.

Overall, the Gophers have definitely improved from last year.  Ted Roof’s defense stopped the run, and with the exception of two big plays defended the pass quite well.  The offense, as expected, was effective.  Sid Hartman is a legend on the Twin Cities sports scene, but I have to disagree with his analysis that the incoming recruits were not a big factor as mentioned in this article.  In my opinion, three JUCOs from last year’s recruiting class made a difference in the outcome of the game.  If Tramaine Brock, Traye Simmons and Simoni Lawrence had not been on defense, would we still have won the game?  I’m not sure.  What I am sure of is that the 2008 Gophers are better than the 2007 Gophers, which bodes well for the future.