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All-Conference
LINCOLN - As Nebraska seniors Stewart Bradley and Jay Moore rehashed the Huskers' defensive problems from Saturday, both mentioned something unusual as a possible cause.
NU's Adam Carriker reaches out for Kansas quarterback Adam Barmann as KU's Cesar Rodriguez holds Carriker back. Barmann was not sacked in 54 pass attempts.
It was too loud.
Some defensive calls and checks got lost in translation or were never fully heard above the din of 85,069 at Memorial Stadium. Kansas took advantage of NU being affected by its own crowd to roll up 574 total yards.
"We should have had better communication out there," Moore said. "There were a lot of communication errors between the defense, and that really just got guys on different pages. When you've got guys in different defenses, execution's obviously not going to be right."
Moore said: "I think the crowd noise had a lot to do with it." Bradley said: "Communication's always easier on the road," because the home crowd is always quieter for its offense.
Bradley said NU had situations where a lineman or linebacker didn't hear a call to stunt, and both ended up in the same gap. In coverage, he said, defenders were passing off receivers to other defenders who weren't hearing that they were supposed to pick them up.
"We didn't communicate the best," Bradley said. "And we had a scheme where we had a lot of checks and stuff based on what they were running."
Moore didn't dispute that it would seem to be an unlikely problem. Especially for a defense that starts six seniors and five juniors, with a half-dozen of those being returning starters who have played their share of games in Memorial Stadium.
"It happens every home game, or even away games, where you just don't hear calls," Moore said. "Unfortunately, when we were on the wrong page, they got big plays out of it. I don't know if it was a lack of focus or what it was, but it was just a little too much miscommunication.
"We've got some veteran guys out there, so it is kind of rare that it happens. But we'll definitely get it cleared up this week. I know we can't afford to have another game like that."
Nebraska returned to practice Tuesday with plenty to work on after the 39-32 overtime win Saturday night. The 574 yards were the sixth most ever allowed by the Huskers, and came from a KU team starting its backup quarterback and ranking in the lower half of the Big 12 in scoring and total offense.
In recent years, it would stand as one of the more disappointing efforts coming against a non-Top 25 opponent. Bradley even used the word "horrible" in his description.
"I mean, you guys saw it," he said. "We all know what it was. It wasn't our best performance and we all didn't play up to our potential. But you can't dwell on it. As athletes, you've got to have short memories."
Bradley said the Huskers' confidence wasn't shaken after watching the game film. They saw mistakes that were correctable. They were relieved to win with a subpar performance.
"If you go watch the film and the D-line are getting driven back 3 yards, the linebackers just can't keep up with their backs and the receivers are running over everybody, then there's not much you can do," Bradley said. "But if it's communication and assignment errors, then you know that you can put it on yourself. The Nebraska defense beat the Nebraska defense, really."
Kansas, however, seemed to be having its way in the fourth quarter with back-to-back scoring drives of 11 plays for 88 yards and 11 plays for 81 yards. After converting once on fourth down in overtime, the Jayhawks were stopped on fourth-and-5 from the 9-yard line as quarterback Adam Barmann threw incomplete.
Moore said limiting KU to 16 yards on eight overtime plays at least was a positive finish.
"I think we were just able to put things in the past and make some plays," Moore said. "A lot of guys were saying stuff, you know, 'We're out here messing up too much. We've got to put an end to this right now. We've got to make a stand here if we want to win this game.' Guys were up to the test and got it done."
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said he feels good about the Huskers rebounding against Iowa State. The Cyclones feature some of the best skill-position players NU will see in the Big 12 North.
"The great thing about this team, about these kids, is they're very resilient," Callahan said. "They can shift mindsets pretty quickly. They can shift their emphasis quickly as well. That's been a trademark of this football team since I've been here, so I expect them to improve. They'll go to work hard today with the intent to get better."
source
NU's Adam Carriker reaches out for Kansas quarterback Adam Barmann as KU's Cesar Rodriguez holds Carriker back. Barmann was not sacked in 54 pass attempts.
It was too loud.
Some defensive calls and checks got lost in translation or were never fully heard above the din of 85,069 at Memorial Stadium. Kansas took advantage of NU being affected by its own crowd to roll up 574 total yards.
"We should have had better communication out there," Moore said. "There were a lot of communication errors between the defense, and that really just got guys on different pages. When you've got guys in different defenses, execution's obviously not going to be right."
Moore said: "I think the crowd noise had a lot to do with it." Bradley said: "Communication's always easier on the road," because the home crowd is always quieter for its offense.
Bradley said NU had situations where a lineman or linebacker didn't hear a call to stunt, and both ended up in the same gap. In coverage, he said, defenders were passing off receivers to other defenders who weren't hearing that they were supposed to pick them up.
"We didn't communicate the best," Bradley said. "And we had a scheme where we had a lot of checks and stuff based on what they were running."
Moore didn't dispute that it would seem to be an unlikely problem. Especially for a defense that starts six seniors and five juniors, with a half-dozen of those being returning starters who have played their share of games in Memorial Stadium.
"It happens every home game, or even away games, where you just don't hear calls," Moore said. "Unfortunately, when we were on the wrong page, they got big plays out of it. I don't know if it was a lack of focus or what it was, but it was just a little too much miscommunication.
"We've got some veteran guys out there, so it is kind of rare that it happens. But we'll definitely get it cleared up this week. I know we can't afford to have another game like that."
Nebraska returned to practice Tuesday with plenty to work on after the 39-32 overtime win Saturday night. The 574 yards were the sixth most ever allowed by the Huskers, and came from a KU team starting its backup quarterback and ranking in the lower half of the Big 12 in scoring and total offense.
In recent years, it would stand as one of the more disappointing efforts coming against a non-Top 25 opponent. Bradley even used the word "horrible" in his description.
"I mean, you guys saw it," he said. "We all know what it was. It wasn't our best performance and we all didn't play up to our potential. But you can't dwell on it. As athletes, you've got to have short memories."
Bradley said the Huskers' confidence wasn't shaken after watching the game film. They saw mistakes that were correctable. They were relieved to win with a subpar performance.
"If you go watch the film and the D-line are getting driven back 3 yards, the linebackers just can't keep up with their backs and the receivers are running over everybody, then there's not much you can do," Bradley said. "But if it's communication and assignment errors, then you know that you can put it on yourself. The Nebraska defense beat the Nebraska defense, really."
Kansas, however, seemed to be having its way in the fourth quarter with back-to-back scoring drives of 11 plays for 88 yards and 11 plays for 81 yards. After converting once on fourth down in overtime, the Jayhawks were stopped on fourth-and-5 from the 9-yard line as quarterback Adam Barmann threw incomplete.
Moore said limiting KU to 16 yards on eight overtime plays at least was a positive finish.
"I think we were just able to put things in the past and make some plays," Moore said. "A lot of guys were saying stuff, you know, 'We're out here messing up too much. We've got to put an end to this right now. We've got to make a stand here if we want to win this game.' Guys were up to the test and got it done."
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said he feels good about the Huskers rebounding against Iowa State. The Cyclones feature some of the best skill-position players NU will see in the Big 12 North.
"The great thing about this team, about these kids, is they're very resilient," Callahan said. "They can shift mindsets pretty quickly. They can shift their emphasis quickly as well. That's been a trademark of this football team since I've been here, so I expect them to improve. They'll go to work hard today with the intent to get better."
source
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