Defensive Play Discussion

We played zone all game. Crossing routes kill us every game and today Minnesota had that 10 yard turn and stop route open all game and there wasn't a defender within 5 yards of him.

The D-Line is alright, our secondary is utter trash.

 
PaulCrewe said:
The questions are

1. why get abused in the zone for so long, especially after playing man the majority of the Purdue game against FAR better WRs.  He did it against PSU as well again a team with FAR better WRs.  I'm sure the Cam ejection spooked him a little, but that WR crew had nothing that should scare you

2.  Why so many 1st and 2nd downs did he opt to only have two true DL in the game?  Again, you only had one thing to worry about today, Ibrehim.  Expecting Payne and Tannor to hold an edge is a big bite to chew,

3.  Against a group of OLinemen that have been thrown together pretty much due to opt outs and current Covid concerns, does one not get creative and aggressive with his rushes and blitz packages.
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Minnesota had a good gameplan.  They went with 4 and 5 wide and spread the defense.  Then they threw slants and crosses against our zone for nice gains.  Had we played man, they would have had bigger gains with the pass.  That's what the modern passing game looks like and it's successful when done right.  It doesn't help that our guys are 10 yards off of the LOS giving away easy yards.  It doesn't help that being 10 yards off the LOS also doesn't disrupt their timing or throw them off of their routes.  It doesn't help that our DC rushed four guys ad nauseam and didn't put pressure on the QB via twists, blitzes, dogs, etc.  Then with the defense spread out, that created running lanes and empty space for their backs.  On the other side, we didn't do any of that.

The defense didn't lose today's game.  Nobody wins a lot of games with 17 points and barely over 300 yards of offense.  Wanna take pressure off of our QB?  Do what Minnesota did with what Nebraska does well.  Spread the field and run Martinez.  Mix in a few throws DOWNFIELD to keep them honest.  Give Wondale and McCaffrey the ball with room to operate.  Why McCaffrey is on the bench is beyond me.  We have two playmakers on the team and leaving one on the bench is nuts.  Put him in the slot.  Put him in at wideout.  Get him on the field and give him the damn ball.  

 
Thought the Defense played fairly well.  especially given the fact that they got little to no help from our offense.  Turnovers again killed us, the right tackle got burnt like toast on more then one occasion.  I know he is a redshirt freshman but its time to grow up some.  either that or put a tight end over there to help him.  in this game, the Defense just didn't have one more stop in them.  they played well on the day, a few busts here and there so would give the Defense a B or even B+.  now the offense was truly offensive and they get a D at best.

 
southernoregonhusker said:
Mix in a few throws DOWNFIELD to keep them honest. 
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We do and can’t hit them. That was demonstrated today.  Opponents know that too. And that makes easier to defend the rest of our offense.  
Get a better quarterback and a good running back game and a lot of what ails us goes away.   

 
Decoy73 said:
We do and can’t hit them. That was demonstrated today.  Opponents know that too. And that makes easier to defend the rest of our offense.  
Get a better quarterback and a good running back game and a lot of what ails us goes away.   
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You don't necessarily have to complete those throws to keep them honest.  Today, Martinez ran at will on runs that went north/south.  Not so well on east/west runs.   Unfortunately Frost is hardheaded and continues to run and throw the ball sideways leaving us behind the chains...especially with runs with Mills  Being behind the chains forces us to pass and you've explained how that worked.  Needing to complete passes and keeping the defense honest are two different things. 

Now imagine us running what Minnesota did today.  Spread the field and run Martinez.  Run Wondale.  Run Luke.  Throw the occasional bomb, but also throw slants and crossing/rub routes.  Throw balls off of play action to the tightends.  That would have been much more successful than Frost's usual gameplan of running east/west and putting our guys in a position where they have to complete a 9-10  yard pass just to get first down.  

 
Decoy73 said:
We haven't completed those throws all season.  Or last season.  Clearly, opposing teams aren't worried about it.
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They're not?  I don't seem to remember too many teams stacking 8 in the box.  I didn't see it today.  Did you?  The point that I tried to make is you have to take an occasional shot while doing what Nebraska does best which is running the football.  If you don't throw the ball down the field, the defense will put 8 in the box and the running game will be moot.

BTW, those passes were completed last week against Slump Buster:  Bob Diaco.

 
southernoregonhusker said:
They're not?  I don't seem to remember too many teams stacking 8 in the box.  I didn't see it today.  Did you?  The point that I tried to make is you have to take an occasional shot while doing what Nebraska does best which is running the football.  If you don't throw the ball down the field, the defense will put 8 in the box and the running game will be moot.

BTW, those passes were completed last week against Slump Buster:  Bob Diaco.
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It's not so much that they're stacking the box all the time, but mostly defending the short passes too.  I get what you're saying about opening up the field, but our quarterbacks can't consistently make those long throws.  Imagine if AMart completes the wheel route to Wandale, Austin Allen over the middle and Oliver Martin in the end zone?  Then the game does look a lot different.  

 
Defense wasn’t too bad. But there were several plays where one player lost discipline and took himself out of the play. Do they coach Honas that way? He  runs right into the nearest open hole instead of trying to read where their RB is going. If he just strung it out just another yard and he would have closed the gap. Williams on their 2nd Q TD forgot to look at the TE at all. CTB’s targeting was tough, but we saw Doman, Williams and others change their trajectory to lead with their shoulder....so it’s not impossible.

It’s kind of unlucky. Many teams have one player goof up, but doesn’t hurt them. Our mistakes result in TD’s,

 
krc1995 said:
What you all think about bringing Lovie in? 
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He’d be fine but the issues we have on defense aren’t getting solved even if we bring in Venables. This team needs athletic edge rushers to get to the QB in obvious passing situations. Until we get that- no coaching, technique, scheme, or staff changes will make a large difference. We need ATHLETES. 

 
seaofred92 said:
He’d be fine but the issues we have on defense aren’t getting solved even if we bring in Venables. This team needs athletic edge rushers to get to the QB in obvious passing situations. Until we get that- no coaching, technique, scheme, or staff changes will make a large difference. We need ATHLETES. 
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Also think we need better and more consistent inside linebacker play.

 
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SECHusker said:
Also think we need better and more consistent inside linebacker play.
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Yes- but this area has improved substantially this year (better athletes with instinct- shocker) and I’m hoping it takes another jump next year. Reimer has the tools to be a really really good ILB.

 
krc1995 said:
What you all think about bringing Lovie in? 
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In honesty.. I think Chin's defense is the only real improving group. D-line was much better, backers were more active and greatly improved, d-backs were solid.. Not sure defense is the side Frost should be looking at. The offense has been and remains the biggest let down. Bring in a proven offensive line coach, a proven running backs coach and assist Chin's with a defensive focus through recruiting. Chin's has shown he is isn't tied to a single philosophy and is willing to adjust. He showed multiple 4 man fronts even in the dime and dropping into zone. 

The offense is a bigger concern than defense IMO.

 
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