Defensive Scheme

[Mavric]

That's the thing about Suh making the entire unit better. When you have a guy that's going to require a double-team on every single play, setting up one-on-one matchups for your other 3 DL's, and you know for a fact this is going to be the case on every single play, it just opens up a whole realm of possibilities for your defensive playcalling. Then you throw in the fact that the double-team for that one particular player was usually not enough anyway, and you get what we had in '09.

I remember thinking we were enjoying the luxury of being able to slow play our ends because we had Suh to be a one-man wrecking crew on the pass rush. Then he left and we're still slow playing our ends and getting no pass rush so that has obviously been the philosophy all along. I don't see any variation.

Many bemoan their perception that Bo's defense can't work without elite talent. I'm not so sure this has been proven yet as I think we've actually had below-average talent on the defensive side the last couple years. (Generally speaking, of course. Lavonte David and probably a few others being the exceptions.) I'd like to think we are getting back to where we have very good - elite is probably hoping for too much for now - talent on that side but I'd even settle for slightly-above-average for a little bit yet and see if that doesn't make a big difference.

I think the below average talent has been confounded with injuries. Crick and Baker get hurt, and I can't keep up with all the injuries from young guys that get hurt before they even play. Now VV has a concussion. It is time for the NU DL to get on a lucky streak regarding injuries.

True. We haven't had a lot of margin for error and injuries haven't helped. Although injuries did get Lavonte David on the field faster.

Hopefully the pendulum will swing back in our favor on that front.

 

[flatwaterfan]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

 

[SouthLincoln Husker]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

Some kids are just football smart and get it right away and others just never do. They may be smart kids, but they can not pick up the Xs & Os In HS, they compete with a few good players and now in college, they are all good and several are great.

As far as defense, we have not had a great safety since Brown. Like offense, you need great QB on defense. This means high football IQ.

 

[Count 'Bility]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

Some kids are just football smart and get it right away and others just never do. They may be smart kids, but they can not pick up the Xs & Os In HS, they compete with a few good players and now in college, they are all good and several are great.

As far as defense, we have not had a great safety since Brown. Like offense, you need great QB on defense. This means high football IQ.

:blink:

Bullocks, Bullocks, O'Hanlon, Asante, Gomes, Hagg?

 

[ZRod]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

Some kids are just football smart and get it right away and others just never do. They may be smart kids, but they can not pick up the Xs & Os In HS, they compete with a few good players and now in college, they are all good and several are great.

As far as defense, we have not had a great safety since Brown. Like offense, you need great QB on defense. This means high football IQ.

:blink:

Bullocks, Bullocks, O'Hanlon, Asante, Gomes, Hagg?

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

 

[Mavric]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

Some kids are just football smart and get it right away and others just never do. They may be smart kids, but they can not pick up the Xs & Os In HS, they compete with a few good players and now in college, they are all good and several are great.

As far as defense, we have not had a great safety since Brown. Like offense, you need great QB on defense. This means high football IQ.

:blink:

Bullocks, Bullocks, O'Hanlon, Asante, Gomes, Hagg?

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

The thing about safety play is I'm not sure any of us understands the scheme enough to really know who's fault it is. They are often the guy chasing after the play but that might only be because they are the last line of defense. How does anyone know that it wasn't someone else who blew their assignment so bad that they're not even close and the safety is trying to cover for them but can't get there.

 

[ZRod]

The thing about safety play is I'm not sure any of us understands the scheme enough to really know who's fault it is. They are often the guy chasing after the play but that might only be because they are the last line of defense. How does anyone know that it wasn't someone else who blew their assignment so bad that they're not even close and the safety is trying to cover for them but can't get there.

Even if it was his fault he played pretty well the entire game I think and was really good for the whole year. People are just dumb sometimes.

 

[Mavric]

The thing about safety play is I'm not sure any of us understands the scheme enough to really know who's fault it is. They are often the guy chasing after the play but that might only be because they are the last line of defense. How does anyone know that it wasn't someone else who blew their assignment so bad that they're not even close and the safety is trying to cover for them but can't get there.

Even if it was his fault he played pretty well the entire game I think and was really good for the whole year. People are just dumb sometimes.

True. I also should have added that it depends on what the call was on a specific play. Perhaps the safety was exactly where he was supposed to be.

 

[ZRod]

The thing about safety play is I'm not sure any of us understands the scheme enough to really know who's fault it is. They are often the guy chasing after the play but that might only be because they are the last line of defense. How does anyone know that it wasn't someone else who blew their assignment so bad that they're not even close and the safety is trying to cover for them but can't get there.

Even if it was his fault he played pretty well the entire game I think and was really good for the whole year. People are just dumb sometimes.

True. I also should have added that it depends on what the call was on a specific play. Perhaps the safety was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Yeah, I wish I could remember what Bo said. Some people were saying he was actually playing it correctly the LB or whoever had the coverage screwed up. All I know for sure is Bo was pretty disappointed that people were remembering him for that one play and not his overall body of work.

 

[MichiganDad3]

One thing that disturbs me a bit was a previous article that talked about our players learning level '1' base defense vs being able to progress to level's 2 and 3. Some of those guys are redshirt Jr's and Sr's. You would think they would be know what they were doing by the time they were Jr's and Sr and would be at the top level.... So is that a coaching issue or is it too complicated/responsibility specific.

Bo has to find a way to get young players on the field. Assuming everyone redshirts, that is 17 scholarships per year. That leaves 8.5 seniors on defense per year. You need at least 3 times that many recruits to field 11 good players. Sophomores and Juniors have to be major contributors for NU to compete. Beck does it on offense, Bo should do it on defense, even if it means simplifying the scheme.

 

[zoogs]

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

That'd be pretty unfair. We miss the hell out of Matty, have ever since he left. O'Hanlon and Hagg were totally underrated during their time here, and left big voids.

 

[AFhusker]

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

That'd be pretty unfair. We miss the hell out of Matty, have ever since he left. O'Hanlon and Hagg were totally underrated during their time here, and left big voids.

O'Hanlon was worthless until the OU game. He had a great last half of his Sr. season, but to say anything else is untrue. He was a big problem for most of his career here.

 

[AFhusker]

As for a defensive scheme, how about we try not sucking as a start? Last year was every bit of an embarassment that 2007 was. It was just an easier schedule than 2007 was or it would have been a lot worse.

 

[clyde40]

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

That'd be pretty unfair. We miss the hell out of Matty, have ever since he left. O'Hanlon and Hagg were totally underrated during their time here, and left big voids.

O'Hanlon was worthless until the OU game. He had a great last half of his Sr. season, but to say anything else is untrue. He was a big problem for most of his career here.

That's a bit of a stretch to say that. He was pretty off and on but I wouldn't say he was a problem.

 

[AFhusker]

you know somebody is going to bring up the VAtech game now...

That'd be pretty unfair. We miss the hell out of Matty, have ever since he left. O'Hanlon and Hagg were totally underrated during their time here, and left big voids.

O'Hanlon was worthless until the OU game. He had a great last half of his Sr. season, but to say anything else is untrue. He was a big problem for most of his career here.

That's a bit of a stretch to say that. He was pretty off and on but I wouldn't say he was a problem.

By problem I meant slow and couldn't tackle. Which is what we are used to all of last year. The blown coverage in the VT game was pretty much par for the course for him until the OU game. But he shoudln't have had a chance to blow an easy coverage if Bo had the balls to go for it on 4th and 1 at the VT 40 when Helu was averaging 6 ypc. Coaching lost that game just as much as Matt's boneheaded fall for a play fake in cover 2 in that situation.