***The Nebraska Defense - Blackshirts 2020***

NUance said:
I didn't miss the third column.  I created it.  It's from the LINKed source of data.  I compiled the data and put the third column there so people could see the W-L result of Husker teams with various YPC gained and given up.   

Frost hasn't merely been tweaking a position or two on offense.  He, or rather, his staff have retooled the S&C program, and upgraded our lineman recruiting efforts on both sides of the ball.  The thing is, neither of these—S&C or recruiting—make an overnight impact.  There just aren't too many lineman ready to start in the Big 10 during their frosh or soph years.  Similarly with S&C, one year under Duval certainly helps.  But really it probably takes a couple of years to achieve maximum performance.  

So what can we expect for this year? 

Offense:  Our offensive line should be better than ever.  It has to be, right?  I mean, we didn't lose much to graduation, guys are healed up, and we have a class of Frost's 2019 recruits coming out of their redshirt year.  Hopefully, Martinez will up his game after last year's sophomore jinx.  Not sure what to expect from the RB room.  We'll certainly miss Mo Wash a bit.  But it's not like he carried the whole run game on his shoulders.    

Defense:  There's a bit more room for concern here.  We lost a lot of talent to graduation.  Three gus with NFL potential on the D-line alone.  I think our poor run defense last season might have been due largely to the linebacking corps.  I'm hoping this year's LBs are better run stoppers.  For me the 2020 Blackshirts are just a huge question mark.  Time will tell, I guess.          

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Offensively: I bolded what I agree with most and most pumped on.  When's the last time we had consistent O-line depth potentially to leverage?  Great if a starting 5 is clear, even better if there's guys behind them who can step in for reps and give them a breather and still able to push agenda on offense without much fall off.

Defensively:  I dont know what to think about what we lost.  Tons of experience, athletic potential in terms of stats and measurables, but there were so many occasions last year where it just felt like the D line did not impose a presence at all.  Perhaps this is due to the defensive style and linebackers need to have more of an impact, but it seemed like there weren't many instances of a guy on D line simply making a play because he was a superior athlete and in the right position.  

 
If they can get them to play the way they did against Iowa in the second half last year, we'll be in the mix for the B1G West. We were stuffing the line, stringing out their stretch runs, and getting just enough pressure on the QB to affect their passing, the last drive notwithstanding. 

I saw fire, gumption, and want-to where I hadn't in several other games. Hopefully, that's the corner they needed to turn, because we'll absolutely win games with that kind of effort.

 
It appears we line up in 4 and a few 5 man front defensive looks quite often.  Maybe the reality is we are not truly a 3-4 defense in that sense.  I think you have got to recruit super well at the nose tackle (middle guard back in the day).  A real big, strong guy to take on double teams and just clog the OL (center & guards).   

It has been quite a few years since NU has really had a true nose type that I recall.  

 
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SFW said:
Every top Big Ten rushing defense with the exception of Wisconsin runs a 4-3. 
 

Chinanders 3-4 is not going get it done in the B10.
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That's a pretty small and carefully selected sample size. The best rush defenses by YPC allowed in the SEC are both 3-4, Florida and Georgia. The only decent defenses in the Big 12 (TCU, Iowa State, and Baylor) run 3 man fronts. Chinander may be an issue, but the 3-4 defense itself isn't. I don't agree with a lot of the Chins hate, but I get it because our defense has had some terrible games.

What is it about the 4-3 that people think would magically make us better at stopping the run? Saying "4 guys to eat up blockers instead of 3" is a gross oversimplification. We almost always have 4 or 5 on the line,  and guys like Alex Davis/Garrett Nelson are as big as 4-3 DEs. We've just sucked at filling gaps, and that's a fundamental part of every defense. The 4-3 doesn't fix our issue there. A new coach might, but this would be more on Ruud/Dewitt than Chins - and they let Dewitt go. Most of the issues I've seen don't look like scheme issues - this isn't Bo asking our relatively nonathletic LBs to catch Melvin Gordon starting flat footed when he has a head of steam on a jet sweep. It's guys just losing leverage or overrunning their assignments. There have absolutely been some questionable defensive playcalls, but I don't think that's been the biggest issue for run D.

 
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