Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Champs Sports Bowl: Notre Dame Secondary vs. Florida State Receivers

All right Irish fans, stop shuddering.

Gray isn't as bad as his highlight (or lowlight) reel may lead you to believe. Let me just clarify that as long as E.J. Manuel isn't lobbing the ball Gray's way, he's not as bad as you may think.

Somewhere between last year and this year, Gray forgot how to locate the ball in the air. As long as he keeps things in front of him he's good, even better than good.

Gray was fourth on the team in tackles and ahead of every linebacker not named Te'o. He was tied for the team lead in interceptions (with Blanton) and even had a pick in that forgettable Michigan game.

Gray is an excellent tackler in space, and his best games this year were against some of Notre Dame's better opponents.

In the big win over Michigan State, Gray had 10 tackles (7 unassisted) and was awarded the game ball. Against USC, Gray had 12 tackles (7 unassisted), and against Stanford he had six tackles (5 unassisted).

Lining up across from Gray will be the Seminoles' fourth leading receiver, the 5'11", 175-pound Bert Reed. Reed caught 28 passes for 357 yards and four touchdowns this year. Reed has been battling a hamstring injury, but did practice last week.

If Reed is unable to go he'll be replaced by true freshman Rashad Greene, who was second on the team in receiving. Greene's stats of 33 catches for 497 yards and six touchdowns are actually better than Reed's.

So if Reed is not able to go, he'll be replaced by Greene without the Seminoles missing a beat.

The one thing that concerns me is that Gray struggles with speed, and both Reed and? Greene have been timed around 4.42 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That?could cause Gray to give too large of a cushion.

?

ADVANTAGE: Reed or Greene, Florida State

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/993195-champs-sports-bowl-notre-dame-secondary-vs-florida-state-receivers

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