DEPTH CHART ANALYSIS: Week 2

Sorry this post is a little late. Blame the mothership and its technical support issues, which prevented me from accessing the HTML code I needed until just recently.

The second official depth chart for the 2013 season was unveiled Tuesday. Have a look:

By way of analysis, I'll hit the high points for each major position grouping.

Offense

The only change here is Keenan Taylor switching places with Boston Stiverson, which merely acknowledges the latter's status as likely injured, based on rumors and his failure to appear once in the North Dakota State game.

As for the "OR" between Torell Miller and Kyle Klein, and between Jack Cantele and Matthew McCrane, I think we can consider those settled. Miller started and Klein did not play, and the same with Cantele and McCrane.

As for the tight ends, nothing seems to have been resolved. Andre McDonald played first, but appeared to miss some key blocks and didn't see the field after that. The only catch belonged to Zach Trujillo. The battle continues.

Defense

Curiously, Kip Daily drew the start over Dorrian Roberts in the 4-3 alignment, even though the latter is listed higher on the depth chart. Maybe they were trying to go big to stop the run. Fat lot of help that turned out to be.

Roberts played more and was much more impressive. He led the secondary in tackles, broke up several passes, and appeared to be a physical hitter and tackler. Daily seemed to struggle with decision making and speed.

Can anyone tell me what's up with the linebackers? None of the second-string guys, all of whom are faster than the starters, saw the field, not even on special teams. I simply can't figure that out.

Experience isn't that important, and it's not like Blake Slaughter and Tre Walker weren't missing tackles left and right anyway. Why not let Dakorey Johnson and Mike Moore miss tackles instead and learn?

The defensive line played out like we expected, although Chris Brown and Valentino Coleman barely saw the field, and Demonte Hood got trucked by a quarterback. Let's hope Travis Britz is not too hurt, because we need him.

Laton Dowling looked woefully inadequate at defensive end, and the others aren't too much to write home about, either. I think the coaches seriously need to consider burning a redshirt or two at this position to have a pass rush.

Special Teams

Cantele handled all kickoffs and Krause handled all punts. The latter needs to improve his hang time. The punt return by North Dakota State was partially due to its insufficiency.

As for returns, maybe Sean Snyder needs to think about some faster upbacks, such as Deante Burton and Judah Jones, instead of the lumbering Dowling and Zach Nemechek. Every other team we play is going to do that, too.