Our defense is missing an critical component..

Enhance89 said:
I don't think it's leadership. Compton, Stafford, Meredith, Steinkuhler...all those guys are experienced and some of them are multi-year starters. I believe our problem (as much as I don't like to say it) is talent and depth - we just don't have a lot especially along the defensive line. We don't have many explosive or dynamic players along the line. This was painfully obvious last year and, despite the extenuating circumstances, was prevalent in Saturday's game.

Maybe the lack of film, the generic preparation and constant quarterback shuffling really masked what is a talented defensive line. I don't know. But right now, I'm inclined to think it's more of a talent issue.
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Yea that.

We did have 3 sacks, and 11 TFL's. I believe that is way ahead of last year. So there is some progress on the DL and they did alot of substitutions Saturday. It was mainly from the heat, but you really couldn't tell when the backups were in. There was no decline. The defense gave up 260 total yards, but only 108 in the second half. So very good adjustments at half time, which is a good sign.

 
I don't know what determines who a leader is but I thought Steinkuhler played well. I think it may be what Bo said....they prepared for too much and were surprised when S Miss came with a basic game plan. They settled down and did better in the second half. You could say they gave up a lot of yards to the running QB but that guy just ran out the clock and took away any chance S Miss had of getting back in the game. Hey running QB...thanks for running around and not throwing worth a damn.

 
I kinda agree that it's still early.

I kinda agree that the numbers against So. Miss. aren't as bad as one might think from just watching the game.

But....

....it's still disconcerting how Bo Pelini walked into Nebraska and turned a bunch of Bill Callahan recruits around 180 degrees. By his second season he had one of the great defenses in Husker history. The offense may have been struggling, but Bo's reputation as a defensive genius had been validated, and one would assume hotshot highschool defenders would be pointed to Nebraska where they would get all the honing and exposure they'd need in the NFL, where Pelini also had experience.

But we're entering our third year as a struggling, second-tier defense, with few to none of Bo Pelini recruits looking as good as Callahan's best, not looking cohesive as a unit, visibly shaky in the fundamentals, and not getting substantially better as the season goes on. Last year we talked about wake-up calls, but outside of Michigan State and their less mobile quarterback, the Husker defense never really woke up, raising the likelikhood that they just aren't the high level athletes needed to compete in major conference play.

How did this happen?

I don't have an answer. Genuinely interested in your theories.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
I kinda agree that it's still early.

I kinda agree that the numbers against So. Miss. aren't as bad as one might think from just watching the game.

But....

....it's still disconcerting how Bo Pelini walked into Nebraska and turned a bunch of Bill Callahan recruits around 180 degrees. By his second season he had one of the great defenses in Husker history. The offense may have been struggling, but Bo's reputation as a defensive genius had been validated, and one would assume hotshot highschool defenders would be pointed to Nebraska where they would get all the honing and exposure they'd need in the NFL, where Pelini also had experience.

But we're entering our third year as a struggling, second-tier defense, with few to none of Bo Pelini recruits looking as good as Callahan's best, not looking cohesive as a unit, visibly shaky in the fundamentals, and not getting substantially better as the season goes on. Last year we talked about wake-up calls, but outside of Michigan State and their less mobile quarterback, the Husker defense never really woke up, raising the likelikhood that they just aren't the high level athletes needed to compete in major conference play.

How did this happen?

I don't have an answer. Genuinely interested in your theories.
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I think Suh was so good that he skewed our perspective on Bo's progress of the defense. He was so disruptive that he made the rest of the D-line look better than they were. We also had a great secondary with many skill players. Some of these guys were Bo's recruits so we haven't done as bad picking up talent as some would think.

I belive our secondary will be much improved from last year. We just don't have another Suh so the D-line needs to improve as the year goes on. Most improvement is made from game 1 to game 2 so next week will be very interesting.

 
Norhusker said:
Guy Chamberlin said:
I kinda agree that it's still early.

I kinda agree that the numbers against So. Miss. aren't as bad as one might think from just watching the game.

But....

....it's still disconcerting how Bo Pelini walked into Nebraska and turned a bunch of Bill Callahan recruits around 180 degrees. By his second season he had one of the great defenses in Husker history. The offense may have been struggling, but Bo's reputation as a defensive genius had been validated, and one would assume hotshot highschool defenders would be pointed to Nebraska where they would get all the honing and exposure they'd need in the NFL, where Pelini also had experience.

But we're entering our third year as a struggling, second-tier defense, with few to none of Bo Pelini recruits looking as good as Callahan's best, not looking cohesive as a unit, visibly shaky in the fundamentals, and not getting substantially better as the season goes on. Last year we talked about wake-up calls, but outside of Michigan State and their less mobile quarterback, the Husker defense never really woke up, raising the likelikhood that they just aren't the high level athletes needed to compete in major conference play.

How did this happen?

I don't have an answer. Genuinely interested in your theories.
Click to expand...
I think Suh was so good that he skewed our perspective on Bo's progress of the defense. He was so disruptive that he made the rest of the D-line look better than they were. We also had a great secondary with many skill players. Some of these guys were Bo's recruits so we haven't done as bad picking up talent as some would think.

I belive our secondary will be much improved from last year. We just don't have another Suh so the D-line needs to improve as the year goes on. Most improvement is made from game 1 to game 2 so next week will be very interesting.
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This may very well be true, but Suh looked very amateur before being coached by Pelini. He was a highly touted recruit coming in that several people were willing to write off as a bust before Bo came here. Suh was a manchild, but he should thank Bo for everything he has now.

Baker Steinkuhler was a five star recruit. However, he was ranked this high as an OL rather than a DL. We were so thin at LB when Bo got here that I believe this is where he put a lot of emphasis. I believe we have some great DL. They are just very raw and young. As the season progresses, we should see more and more of them. At season's end, I think this defense is going to surprise many.

 
NEsker said:
HuskerShark said:
I am comfortable with Will Compton as the leader. The guy is tough as nails.

I was as dissatisfied with the defensive performance on Saturday as anybody, but what I saw were fixable things, maybe with exception of the D-Line. I can definitely see this defense growing into a formidable group by years end.
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I have to disagree. This group will not be formidable in 2012. They are brutally undisciplined. Overpursuit and out of control play made S. Miss look like world beaters on the ground. They struggle working off blocks in a very scary way.

If they can't shed blocks against this team, wait til teams like Wisconsin/Michigan take the field against our beloved team.

Overall, the defensive front continues to scare the hell out of me. The front 4 can't get any pressure on the QB, and the LB's are too slow to play against top notch athletes.

Hey, I hope you're right.....but I don't think you are. :hmmph
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You are spot on! This defense needs a whole lot of work.

 
It seems that a lot of the problems that our defense has is with the coaching. If you look at the past couple seasons there has been a lot of tension between Carl and Bo and then Pap gets his first year as DC and we get a new defensive line coach and a new d back coach this year. We have not had the coaching continuity and Bo has had to spend more time with the O like someone stated earlier, but from what is being talked about people are liking the coaching chemistry this year and if we can keep it intact we should see improvement. I also agree that the 2 gap doesn't seem to work near as well without elite DT's, but on the other hand what defensive scheme isn't better with NFL talent on the D line.

 
I can't believe how much negativity came out of a good win. The further removed from the S Miss game I get, the better I feel about the defense. I guess we will see tomorrow if we deserve the top 20 ranking or not, but I just can't see us not taking care of business.

 
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