In retrospect... please explain our defense?

Yeah, we saw holding on a few plays, but still no excuse for the same thing happening again and again and again. You can't blame a lack of talent when far lesser teams had far better defensive results against Wiscy this season. You can't blame the cold because we have played in cold weather before. It is coaching, plain and simple. We were unprepared and could not adjust. You could put eleven high school kids out there from Gretna or Elkhorn, well coached and disciplined, and they would have had better results.

Wiscy was just putting helmet to helmet and we ran into them... it is amazing on how many of those plays one of their blockers ties up two of our defenders. Just idiotic. Completely idiotic.

 
Hayseed said:
Normally we get penetration but didn't seem to get much last night. Our receivers were being held most of the night and the announcers even made a point of saying that's just how they were gonna call it. Makes me wonder if our D linemen were being held and SGT. Schultz was officiating. Maybe our guys are lizards and can't play in cold weather. Who knows? If they had passed a bunch to the decoy receivers who were drawing our CB to the inside then you could say they schemed to pull us out of position, but 46 passing yards. Regardless, I don't think this happens with someone like LaVonte David at LB.
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Oh, we got penetration all right... three quarters worth.

 
Kernal said:
Hayseed said:
Normally we get penetration but didn't seem to get much last night. Our receivers were being held most of the night and the announcers even made a point of saying that's just how they were gonna call it. Makes me wonder if our D linemen were being held and SGT. Schultz was officiating. Maybe our guys are lizards and can't play in cold weather. Who knows? If they had passed a bunch to the decoy receivers who were drawing our CB to the inside then you could say they schemed to pull us out of position, but 46 passing yards. Regardless, I don't think this happens with someone like LaVonte David at LB.
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Oh, we got penetration all right... three quarters worth.
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Ya, with a sandpaper condom and no lube.

 
Love these kinds of threads. The answer to this question (which, I assume, is why the meltdown?) is pretty complicated, and delves into all aspects of the game, but as has been mentioned:

Reason #1: Bo Pelini is not a very good HEAD coach.

Assistant? Sure, one of the best, but head coaches of real significance simply don't EVER do some of the things he does. The abrasive, screaming at friends and foes on the sidelines, Leakgate, the way he treats 'his kids' in public. The whole package screams unprofessionalism, and is the antithesis of everything Osborne worked to build.

Reason #2: Scheme.

It's good vs. spread and zone read teams, but horrible against teams with a big O-line and a Langford, Ball, Gordon or Miller running behind. You can't 2-gap against Wisconsin's giants; they'll push you around all day. Pelini simply doesn't seem willing or able to change things up. Against teams like Wisconsin, you gotta shoot gaps with DL and blitz the other gaps; change up fronts, slant/stunt. I've coached for a number of years, and if you ask any kid what their favorite thing to do is, the number one answer will be 'blitz.' Gordon might have gotten us once or twice, but after we get a few TFL's, they would have went to the passing game, which is obviously not their strong suit. The fact Pelini didn't change and start filling gaps is a testament to the need for change. We beat (9) teams when we out-athlete them, but we won't out-athlete Wisconsin, OSU, MSU, or even McNeese State.

Reason #3: Effort

Pretty easy to see the drop-off in effort as a whole after Gordon leaped over Cooper's bone-headed dive tackle attempt, and we were STILL WINNING. Even after that, we were still in the game, and heads were dropped, guys weren't trying, and running lanes became runways. Wisconsin, down 14, didn't do that, because they have a coach that builds them up and teaches them how to face adversity instead of screaming in their face. After the 3rd or 4th long run, a good coach would have taken all 11 off the field and let them watch their hungrier back-ups do a better job than they were.

I've been in Pelini's camp since the beginning, but this is it. Nebraska football is no longer respected, and a lot of it can be laid at the feet of Mark Pelini. Say what you want about Callahan - giving up 70 points and whatnot, but under his tenure, Nebraska never became part of a National record that won't be broken any time soon. Or ever. Think about that - we'll always be known as the team that gave up 408 yards...to ONE GUY.

 
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Jeremy said:
Love these kinds of threads. The answer to this question (which, I assume, is why the meltdown?) is pretty complicated, and delves into all aspects of the game, but as has been mentioned:

Reason #1: Bo Pelini is not a very good HEAD coach.

Assistant? Sure, one of the best, but head coaches of real significance simply don't EVER do some of the things he does. The abrasive, screaming at friends and foes on the sidelines, Leakgate, the way he treats 'his kids' in public. The whole package screams unprofessionalism, and is the antithesis of everything Osborne worked to build.

Reason #2: Scheme.

It's good vs. spread and zone read teams, but horrible against teams with a big O-line and a Langford, Ball, Gordon or Miller running behind. You can't 2-gap against Wisconsin's giants; they'll push you around all day. Pelini simply doesn't seem willing or able to change things up. Against teams like Wisconsin, you gotta shoot gaps with DL and blitz the other gaps; change up fronts, slant/stunt. I've coached for a number of years, and if you ask any kid what their favorite thing to do is, the number one answer will be 'blitz.' Gordon might have gotten us once or twice, but after we get a few TFL's, they would have went to the passing game, which is obviously not their strong suit. The fact Pelini didn't change and start filling gaps is a testament to the need for change. We beat (9) teams when we out-athlete them, but we won't out-athlete Wisconsin, OSU, MSU, or even McNeese State.

Reason #3: Effort

Pretty easy to see the drop-off in effort as a whole after Gordon leaped over Cooper's bone-headed dive tackle attempt, and we were STILL WINNING. Even after that, we were still in the game, and heads were dropped, guys weren't trying, and running lanes became runways. Wisconsin, down 14, didn't do that, because they have a coach that builds them up and teaches them how to face adversity instead of screaming in their face. After the 3rd or 4th long run, a good coach would have taken all 11 off the field and let them watch their hungrier back-ups do a better job than they were.

I've been in Pelini's camp since the beginning, but this is it. Nebraska football is no longer respected, and a lot of it can be laid at the feet of Mark Pelini. Say what you want about Callahan - giving up 70 points and whatnot, but under his tenure, Nebraska never became part of a National record that won't be broken any time soon. Or ever. Think about that - we'll always be known as the team that gave up 408 yards...to ONE GUY.
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I think this is a really important and overlooked point. Even after Gordon fumbled for what seemed like the 90th time, their coaches were giving him positive criticism, keeping his head in it. And he went out there and made up for it.

 
I would also like to point out that I know a lot of coaches. Some of them are 'my system' guys, and their system is the best in the world; they live and die by it. Most of them aren't very good coaches - good coaches change and adapt (Tom Osborne, 1980, 1993). Pelini is absolutely a 'my system' guy. If he isn't replaced, don't expect anything to change, fellow fans.

 
Zaimejs said:
This thread turned pretty ugly.... I was hoping for more of an analysis. But... okay. We'll go here.
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LOL
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For me, I'm not a defensive guy. I think it's up to Pelini and Paps to explain it. All I know is that when I see B1G defenses like Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and lately Minnesota & Iowa, I see a physical and disciplined front 7. They don't look like they have more talent than us. They look like they have toughness, some quickness here and there, they're big and strong, solid tacklers and built to attack the run for four quarters every week. Sometimes it doesn't go perfectly for them but they are committed to it. They get set and ready to go every snap without the wasted pre-snap movement and alignment calls from the sideline. At times they get beat on pass plays which can happen to any team. It happens. But it's still tough to run on them up the middle or outside because they are geared up for it. It's physical Midwestern football. We don't resemble anything like that. Compared to that we look like jitterbugs and confused lightweights.

Don't know if that helps at all, but I don't see why we can't have that same philosophy and approach as those other styles.

 
Addison Mode said:
Zaimejs said:
This thread turned pretty ugly.... I was hoping for more of an analysis. But... okay. We'll go here.
Click to expand...
LOL
default_laugh.png


For me, I'm not a defensive guy. I think it's up to Pelini and Paps to explain it. All I know is that when I see B1G defenses like Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and lately Minnesota & Iowa, I see a physical and disciplined front 7. They don't look like they have more talent than us. They look like they have toughness, some quickness here and there, they're big and strong, solid tacklers and built to attack the run for four quarters every week. Sometimes it doesn't go perfectly for them but they are committed to it. They get set and ready to go every snap without the wasted pre-snap movement and alignment calls from the sideline. At times they get beat on pass plays which can happen to any team. It happens. But it's still tough to run on them up the middle or outside because they are geared up for it. It's physical Midwestern football. We don't resemble anything like that. Compared to that we look like jitterbugs and confused lightweights.

Don't know if that helps at all, but I don't see why we can't have that same philosophy and approach as those other styles.
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But isn't that why Big teams rarely win championships? They beat the hell out of each other but usually are not the most talented. The old 70's style doesn't seem to be what the top teams are doing these days. I think it's more likely that the Wisconsin beatdowns have more to do with familiarity.....like playing Creighton in basketball.

 
One thing I alway like about Bo's ability is his way of rallying these teams after games like these. Sure in the past when we were getting beat down and behind by 20 or 30 or whatever, we can nitpick most guys not really going full bore and playing their hardest, but yet the very next game/week, them guys would come out ready to go, and most times than not, played a good game.

This is hard for me now. Becuase for the first time in 7 years yesterday, we saw a team quit with the lead. I've rewatched this thing twice now to analyze this point. I'm kind of a sports psychology buff. Im a guys that's always beleived there is so much more to football than pure talent and x's and o's. There's really no other sport in which shortcomings in talent and scheme can be completely overcame by sheer tenacity and want to. And I'm tellin you, once Daniel Davie got his ridiculous a$$-chewin (which I dont have a problem with by the way. Bo's consistent and that's how he is. These guys know this, and what Davie did was pretty knuckleheaded and unacceptable) the whole team aside from a player here and there pretty much threw in the towel. And we were still ahead 17-10. From that play to the very next offensive play, and what transpired from there on out, you could see the overall effort level and toughness totally plummet. I mean gone. No desire left whatsoever. And it's pretty obvious even. That's why sadly, I just dont expect much the rest of the year. Another win in these next two games will surprise me. I saw a team yesterday that finally packed it in on an overall philosophy and schemes that have proven to not work in critical moments time and time again. I saw some pretty talented guys who are much more talented that the last bunch that got stomped by Wisconsin basically phone it in with a "I didnt sign up for this sh#t" attitude.

It's time to embrace the reality that this era of Husker football may very well be over. And it happened by Nebraska getting out-Nebraska'd.

 
Hayseed said:
Addison Mode said:
Zaimejs said:
This thread turned pretty ugly.... I was hoping for more of an analysis. But... okay. We'll go here.
Click to expand...
LOL
default_laugh.png


For me, I'm not a defensive guy. I think it's up to Pelini and Paps to explain it. All I know is that when I see B1G defenses like Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and lately Minnesota & Iowa, I see a physical and disciplined front 7. They don't look like they have more talent than us. They look like they have toughness, some quickness here and there, they're big and strong, solid tacklers and built to attack the run for four quarters every week. Sometimes it doesn't go perfectly for them but they are committed to it. They get set and ready to go every snap without the wasted pre-snap movement and alignment calls from the sideline. At times they get beat on pass plays which can happen to any team. It happens. But it's still tough to run on them up the middle or outside because they are geared up for it. It's physical Midwestern football. We don't resemble anything like that. Compared to that we look like jitterbugs and confused lightweights.

Don't know if that helps at all, but I don't see why we can't have that same philosophy and approach as those other styles.
Click to expand...
But isn't that why Big teams rarely win championships? They beat the hell out of each other but usually are not the most talented. The old 70's style doesn't seem to be what the top teams are doing these days. I think it's more likely that the Wisconsin beatdowns have more to do with familiarity.....like playing Creighton in basketball.
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Sorta but not really. I watch a lot of SEC games and see the same style toughness. Except they just happen to be a little bigger, stronger and faster
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The defense looked defeated when we were still ahead. The offense looked defeated when we were still ahead. After regrouping at halftime we came out and looked even worse.

This is not about schemes and play calling and position coaches and coordinators. This is about inspiring young athletes to bring their best. Team chemistry is the single most important thing a head coach brings to the table. The Nebraska Cornhuskers look scared of a quality team and scared of their own coach. There's not a defensive alignment that would change the fact that all eleven players no longer had the will to tackle.

 
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