Defensive Fundamentals

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KS HUSKER

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....are lacking severely! I posted this on another thead but are defenders are very bad at simply breaking down and wrapping, especially McKeon. Everytime, not just sometimes, everytime he is one on one with a RB he stands straight up and lunges. All it takes by a RB is a simple fake and #13 looks really bad. Also, Ruud is the "softest" LB that has earned a Blackshirt in along time. He's a jersey "grabber", afraid of the collision. I hate to bash on our players and coaches because I know the hard work and time they have been putting in, but if we want to play at a high level, then it is apparent to me that some changes need to be done. Phillip and Lance must play!! They are better tacklers, bring more speed, and are much more physical LB's. This will not correct everything but it's a place to start. Please let me know if I'm wrong on this or do you see the samething. Thanks.

 
KS HUSKER said:
....are lacking severely! I posted this on another thead but are defenders are very bad at simply breaking down and wrapping, especially McKeon. Everytime, not just sometimes, everytime he is one on one with a RB he stands straight up and lunges. All it takes by a RB is a simple fake and #13 looks really bad. Also, Ruud is the "softest" LB that has earned a Blackshirt in along time. He's a jersey "grabber", afraid of the collision. I hate to bash on our players and coaches because I know the hard work and time they have been putting in, but if we want to play at a high level, then it is apparent to me that some changes need to be done. Phillip and Lance must play!! They are better tacklers, bring more speed, and are much more physical LB's. This will not correct everything but it's a place to start. Please let me know if I'm wrong on this or do you see the samething. Thanks.
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They play soft. That is for sure. We better figure out how to wrap some onre up or it will be a long season .

 
When USC defenders tackle, we went down immediatley! If we managed to breakdown and make the hit, the SoCal RB's always went for another 2-3 yards after contact. Very bad!

 
you know guys, i was one of the first to say, before the season began, i was extremely nervous about our defensive front 4, so the result of this game came as no surprise for me.

everyone is bitching about the LB play, but the guys up front got their asses handed to them all night long on defense. these guys, for the most part, are NOT battle proven players with much experience playing together. they may just have learned a few things from this game and i think they will get better as the season progresses.....i think the glass is half full here, not half empty. they didn't provide much help for the backers, period.

as far as poor tackling, our LBs are to blame for that type of play, you can bet your a$$ that basic tackling fundamentals were taught by Coz and his crew, i just don't buy the fact that this is all the coaches fault.

finally, in case you were not listening, the fact was brought up over and over regarding how physical and athletic this whole SC team appeared in pregame warm ups. we were outclassed in athletic ability as well.

 
This was really the only big problem I had with the game. The defense, especially in the LB positions, have shown an alarming lack of fundamentals and execution. USC deserves credit for being an incredibly good team (far better than I thought they would be), but that doesn't excuse the lack of fundamentals and execution for us.

Edit - And yeah, I agree with Hunter's assessment. When I say USC deserves credit, that's not only for how they play, but for how athletic and powerful their players are. Our guys just can't compete with that for an entire game.

 
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No question USC has far superior talent than the Huskers but the tackling was very alarming to me. There were times when a play could have been made but we have are head down, we are standing vertical (instead of knees bent, and pads square to the oppenents number and ready to get horizontal and lay the hit). Again, you know damn good and well that Coz and Company teach these things but why do our LB's and some of our DB's continue to do the samething over and over again is beyond me. And yes our Def. Line got blown up last night but the LB's had a chance to make it a 4-7 yard run and then do just what I talked about and there goes SoCal for another 10-15 yards. The D-Line is young and unproven and will develop (God I hope) but our LB's our SUPPOSED to be the veteran group that can make plays and a certain couple players (#13 and #51) can't do it. Octavian, Brandenburgh, and Dillard do make mistakes also but they seem to be the players that make a play that we need also. Those three also bring a more physical presence and speed to the defensive unit.

 
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