04.17.16
by

Deloatch Could Make Impact At Defensive End

Matt Rhule hits on some key points postgame.

The hard numbers coming out of Saturday’s Cherry and White Game were three touchdown passes by P.J. Walker in the White’s 35-25win over the Cherry.

That’s important, because Walker is going to have a big year and the Owls are going to crush Army and Stony Brook in their first two games. With a four-year starter like Walker at quarterback, I also like their chances against anybody Penn State uses at quarterback in the third, which leads us to the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey likes to say).

Putting pressure on that PSU quarterback is going be more important and a guy like Romond Deloatch could hold that key.

Romond Deloatch, Temple football,

When we last saw Romond Deloatch, he was walking off the field in disgust following the Toledo game.

Three years ago, Matt Rhule dipped into Charlie Strong’s playbook when he decided to discipline wide receiver Romond Deloatch for missing a team meeting. As a punishment, Rhule put Deloatch on defense.

The only punishing done that day, though, was by Deloatch, who had what is believed to be a team-high seven sacks in a scrimmage. The move was reminiscent of Strong, then the Louisville head coach, who punished a quarterback named Marcus Smith by putting him at defensive end in a practice four years ago.

sked

The difference, though, was Strong kept Smith at end and he became a first-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Rhule, having made his point, put Deloatch back at starting wide receiver for Temple. Rhule and the defensive coaches filed away that sophomore performance and now Deloatch is back at defensive end in Saturday’s annual spring game. Quarterback P.J. Walker’s White team beat Deloatch’s Cherry team, 35-25, but the score in these games are never has important as the personnel moves and Deloatch’s is certainly one of the most unusual in Temple history.

At times, Deloatch appeared unblockable, but because the quarterback was not “live” there were no stats kept on sacks. Like Smith, though, Deloatch’s long arms, leaping ability, first step to the quarterback and lean frame (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), make him an intriguing weapon at defensive end. At the very least, the experiment will continue into the fall and Deloatch could be a specialty pass rusher in third-and-long situations. Either way, if Deloatch is able to disrupt things there are a whole lot of talented guys on that DL that can contribute to collapsing the pocket, too.

If he gets seven sacks in the opener against Army, and seven more against Stony Brook, the PSU quarterback—whoever he is—might be wise to take out an insurance policy.

Tuesday: 5 Things We’ve Learned This Spring

Thursday: The Real Key to the Season

Saturday: Opponents Spring Games

19 thoughts on “Deloatch Could Make Impact At Defensive End”

  1. It was enlightening that Coach Rhule and offensive coordinator both said that Jahad will be used in the slot. This site’s been calling for that since the end of last season. In speaking to them they both recognized that when Jahad was beat up by ND, the team’s fortune changed. They also recognize that with Jager and Armstead they have competent running backs and that with Jahad in the slot, the team will be hard to defend..

    Reply

    • Two years ago, we wrote until we were blue in the face (after yesterday’s beautiful weather, now sunburned in the face) that they get out of the five wides and using a fullback occasionally and going to play-action; they did that and succeeded. After Toledo (even during game week), we wrote that they were taking this too much like a vacation and only this week Rhule acknowledged that. January, Feb and March we railed that Jahad would be a more effective weapon in the slot and now they are coming around. All signs of progress. Where is that guy who wrote two years ago if Rhule followed the advice of a blog he wanted him fired?
      It’s not following our advice; it’s common football sense.
      As far as Jahad, it’s a shell game. The more explosives you can get under those shells, the deader the bad guys are. Jahad is going to be a nice weapon now that Ryquell and Jager are ready to roll.

      Reply

      • Yeah, he’ll be in the slot some of the time but unless I see Gardner or Armstead display the same explosive big play threat that Jahad demonstrated carrying the ball last year, I’m not completely buying it. I still think jahad is going to line up in the backfield and have 15 carries.

  2. I doubt that Rhule makes his decisions from this blog, but i do think he’s growing as a coach and sees the same things in his team as we do. it’s not hard to see that Jager & Amstead r gonna be beasts so its smart to play Jahad in the slot. now i do think a lot of the suggestions on this site r on point but lets not act like everyone was correct. i remember the Khalif Herbin is our savior suggestion a few years ago.

    But 2 move forward, i’m really excited about this season. i want Houston again in the AAC championship game to get some revenge. my only concern about this year is the OL. Other than that, this team is reloaded and ready 2 go.

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    • the only people who said Khalif Herbin was a savior were his teammates who made him the No. 1 draft choice in the C and W game. My opinion on him never changed. I thought he could be a good punt returner and he was until he started getting concussions after the Del. State touchdown. We usually are right, often before St. Matt. Still looking for the guy who said he wanted Matt fired if he were to follow the advice of this blog. Disappeared.

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      • what i remember about Herbin is that he kept dropping the punts. Rhule turned to Christopher to just catch the ball.

    • seems like we are in a strange cycle, we used to be big, strong, and powerful at the line of scrimmage but often lacked game breakers at the skill positions.., now we have quality and depth at the skill positions but are soft & small on both sides of the line of scrimmage…,

      the OL we have this year has yet to master zone blocking and drop back pass protection..,

      hard to coach technique from a golf cart.., strong signal to the beginning of the end to a long successful coaching career.., truly unfortunate

      the 2015 Spring Game showed more intensity and think the overall team talent level was higher..,

      we need Army and Stony Brook to get our sh@# together.., whoever made the 2016 schedule obviously knew the master plan

      Reply

    • Well the coaching staff should have made decisions based on this blog because it’s been more right than wrong. Had the coaching staff heeded those who write here during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the team would have had winning records because the team would not have been running that horrendous Satterfield offense. Last season, had the coaches listened, they wouldn’t have treated the bowl game asa vacation so please give this blog credit especially since those who write at Pravda tore the blog apart because it had the temerity to suggest certain schemes and strategies, that later were implemented. And as far as Herbin goes, he was used in one game and while he did have a fumble, he still was better than Christopher, who couldn’t gain one yard most of the time in punt returns and fumbled during the Memphis game at one of the game’s most critical times. Besides, Herbin got hurt and never had a sustained chance to succeed. So if I were a coach I would read this blog regularly.

      Reply

      • I’m just happy that Matt has 1) scrapped the empty backfields (check); 2) put in a fullback (check); 3) gone heavy on the play action (check); 4) admitted the approach was wrong prior to Toledo (check) and 5) is considering our suggestion to put Jahad in the slot (check). I don’t care whether he got these ideas from this blog or the back of a Wheaties box. It’s not Rocket Science. It’s football and these are all common sense solutions that make the team better. He’s definitely getting better as a head coach as he goes along and I applaud him for it.

  3. The team speed is off the charts,, maybe the fastest Temple team I’ve eer seen. Great quote from P.J. about needing guys like Leon Johnson to be really into it. Brian Carter, Leon Johnson, Jovhan Fair are big talented guys who need to complement McGowan and Dawkins. On defense, a lot depends on getting Webb and Dioubate up to speed in the summer and in the classroom. Going to summer sessions and playing Army and Stony Brook should build confidence.

    Reply

    • hard to understand guys who are 6’5″, 320, four years in the program and not really into it.., maybe those guys are wasting a scholarship? half in and half out is a cancer waiting for other to join…, cancelling practice, and not allowing certain guys to practice is draconian and necessary…, scholarships have value and we should not let any single player diminish that value…,

      both lines remain issues, offense is between the ears and technique; defense is physical size and injury

      the summer is monumental, Army and Stony Brook are godsends

      Reply

  4. About DeLoatch at D end. That will work only if the tackle or linebacker fills the hole DeLoatch will leave by speed rushing up the field. The quicker QBs in the league will take advantage of the situation as will opposing coaches by having the receivers run routes on the side of the field opposite DeLoatch. Recall the Jets after Klecko left. With Klecko, Gastineau could rush up the field knowing that Klecko would take care of the QB. Once Klecko was gone, Gastineau, who could not play the run, was done. I hope the coaches recognize this and scheme accordingly.

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  5. John, don’t be so hard on Christopher. He made very few mistakes and was one of the truly steady guys on the team you could count on. When he fumbled the time you refer to, my reaction watching was, oh no, not Christopher, he never screws up. It was like, oh good Christopher has it and he won’t make a mistake. But it was the circumstance at the moment that made it so bad and memorable. And wasn’t his lousy punt return record because he was told to be safe and not to return them? Getting the O-linemen’s heads into it will hopefully happen, but getting the D-linemen bigger is not so easy at this point. Hopefully their quickness will make up for it, along with the backers coming up to stop the run. We’ll see.

    Reply

    • I like John, but I would no more use him as my punt returner than I would Riley Cooper. There were other options (Nate L. Smith of the current team, for one) between Herbin and just giving up a play.

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    • I wasn’t attacking Christopher at all. I apologize if anyone thinks I was attacking him. My complaint was with the the coaches who put him in a position he was ill-suited for and could not succeed in. Punt returners have to have quick feet and super acceleration to succeed and he didn’t possess those attributes. There were other kids on the team though that did it it was coaching error not to use them there.

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      • I don’t think anyone was taking it as a slight on JC. Let’s face it. He was a relatively slow possession receiver. Temple fans expect guys with explosive moves in the open field (Paul Loughran, Bobby Mizia, Anthony Young, Delano Green) returning punts and flipping the field. We spent the entire 2014 season fair catching, basically. We might as well have put up one arm for a fair catch and have the blocking back on the return wave a white flag. This year, we have options (Chandler, Ali, Thomas, Simpson, Nate L. Smith etc., etc.)

  6. I could be wrong but I thought I remembered that Temple’s other returners were fumbling the ball instead of making clean catches and Christopher was sure handed and did a good job receiving punts, even if he wasn’t quick to return. Why the coaches didn’t try other guys, I don’t know. I do remember him making so many great receptions as receiver and often at key moments of the games. He was steady and concentrated and that’s what I liked about him. But you all are right they need to get some yards on returns instead of giving up a down, so to speak.

    Reply

    • Nate L. Smith got one chance to return it and gained 21 yards against Memphis. He handled the punt flawlessly and gained 19 more yards than JC averaged. Why they didn’t give this kid JC’s returns before that, I’ll never know.

      Reply

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