2024 Blackshirts

[Nebfanatic]

Eh, defense is ok to solid on a good week.  Those calling for white to be fired are morons but this defense has vastly underperformed compared to expectations.

as I’ve stated multiples times, we’ve greatly benefited from a cakewalk of a schedule in terms of offenses we’ve faced. 
 

1. we got torched in the passing game against Wisconsin. Many of those we know they are throwing and we still get torched. Thank god the offense was humming, finally, on Saturday, but some of those quick scores by wiscy late were simply inexcusable. I think we gave up over 400 yards to an offense that just canned their coordinator and we were bailed out early by missed field goals

2. USC not only passed all over us, they ran right thru us 

3. UCLA did whatever they wanted to do for  the vast majority  of that game 

Outside of Indiana, UCLa and USC our run defense has been great. But this defensive staff needs a 2nd look in the off-season.  We have guys in the secondary getting nfl draft praise and they were dreadful this year. Our linebackers are still some of the slowest in the conference.  Our 3rd down conversion defense is middle of the pack.  What does this line look like with nash and Ty moving on?  

i am incredibly optimistic about some of the younger guys for sure.  But I’m not gonna get caught up in the much deserved positivity of this past Saturday and say this defense has been stellar all year 

4th in the country against the run. Great pass rush rate and sack rate. Like I said it's not perfect but I'm not sure what more you could actually expect at this point. We don't have the most talented defense in the country and even rosters with some of the most talent give up huge games week to week. It's the nature of college football today. 

 

[gossamorharpy]

4th in the country against the run. Great pass rush rate and sack rate. Like I said it's not perfect but I'm not sure what more you could actually expect at this point. We don't have the most talented defense in the country and even rosters with some of the most talent give up huge games week to week. It's the nature of college football today. 

I want a slight tweak in our defensive philosophy. I want more turnovers, I want a significant improvement in our 3rd down defense.  I want our secondary gambling a bit more and staying closer to receivers for added chances at turnovers and tip balls.

Defense way better than frosty and Riley era for sure, but I’d like to see them take a significant step forward in the aggressiveness department. Partly why I’m so harsh is I expected that this year with all the returning talent 

 

[Husker in WI]

I want a slight tweak in our defensive philosophy. I want more turnovers, I want a significant improvement in our 3rd down defense.  I want our secondary gambling a bit more and staying closer to receivers for added chances at turnovers and tip balls.

Defense way better than frosty and Riley era for sure, but I’d like to see them take a significant step forward in the aggressiveness department. Partly why I’m so harsh is I expected that this year with all the returning talent 

If you mean the same thing by "philosophy shift" and "aggressiveness," I don't think those will fix turnovers. You can preach it all week and maybe find better ways to emphasize it, but if there were defensive playcalls that just led to more turnovers teams would do that. We've just got to make plays on the ball, the opportunities are there. We just need some dudes who have a knack for taking the ball away, that's not an issue of playcall IMO. 

3rd down defense I agree needs to be better and playcalls/aggressiveness is a huge part of that. But I think we're actually getting punished when we're aggressive on 3rd downs - I would also love for our DBs to stay closer to receivers but that's the trick, isn't it? White needs to figure something out, but if you're asking to blitz and play man every 3rd down that's how UCLA beat us.

 

[Mavric]

4th in the country against the run. Great pass rush rate and sack rate. Like I said it's not perfect but I'm not sure what more you could actually expect at this point. We don't have the most talented defense in the country and even rosters with some of the most talent give up huge games week to week. It's the nature of college football today. 

I'm not sure where you're getting 4th in the country against the run.  We are 21st in rushing yards allowed per game.  But we are also 13th in fewest rushing attempts faced per game.  So we've benefitted from teams not really trying to run against us.  We are 25th in yards allowed per attempt, which is good but probably not great.

We are 66th is yards allowed passing per game.  But we are only 44th is passing attempts faced per game.  Which makes us 78th in yards allowed per attempt.  We are 104th is passer rating allowed.  And 110th in completion percentage allowed.

So we are fairly decent against the run.  But below average to bad against the pass.  So I think it's fair to call a defense that had a ton of guys back from last year at least a bit disappointing.

 

[runningblind]

I'm not sure where you're getting 4th in the country against the run.  We are 21st in rushing yards allowed per game.  But we are also 13th in fewest rushing attempts faced per game.  So we've benefitted from teams not really trying to run against us.  We are 25th in yards allowed per attempt, which is good but probably not great.

We are 66th is yards allowed passing per game.  But we are only 44th is passing attempts faced per game.  Which makes us 78th in yards allowed per attempt.  We are 104th is passer rating allowed.  And 110th in completion percentage allowed.

So we are fairly decent against the run.  But below average to bad against the pass.  So I think it's fair to call a defense that had a ton of guys back from last year at least a bit disappointing.

It is also worth noting recent trends.  Over the last 5 games we are right around 140 ypg, which would be good for 60th in the country.  We started well (against the easier part of the schedule) and have been less effective of late in conference. 

 

[gossamorharpy]

I'm not sure where you're getting 4th in the country against the run.  We are 21st in rushing yards allowed per game.  But we are also 13th in fewest rushing attempts faced per game.  So we've benefitted from teams not really trying to run against us.  We are 25th in yards allowed per attempt, which is good but probably not great.

We are 66th is yards allowed passing per game.  But we are only 44th is passing attempts faced per game.  Which makes us 78th in yards allowed per attempt.  We are 104th is passer rating allowed.  And 110th in completion percentage allowed.

So we are fairly decent against the run.  But below average to bad against the pass.  So I think it's fair to call a defense that had a ton of guys back from last year at least a bit disappointing.

We’re not even top 4 in the big ten lolol.  Indiana, Ohio state, Michigan, ucla, and Iowa rank better and some others on the list ahead of us depending on the stat 

 

[PasstheDamnBallGuy]

Ok so yes overall I think the expectation this year was that the defense with lots of talent coming back would be improved over what was a solid defense. I have a feeling the coaches also were counting on this defense to carry the team this year and they just weren't that level.  Before the year I thought LB was going to be an issue and secondary was going to be solid at the very least. I think we all know how those 2 positions turned out.

I do feel like the defense the past 2 years improved on issues we had for a while. We seem to get more pressure on the QB, 3rd down stops, and  the LBs are going to get absolutely abused in the passing game.  We have been searching for good safety play for a long time now and the search continues.  

 

[BigRedBuster]

It is also worth noting recent trends.  Over the last 5 games we are right around 140 ypg, which would be good for 60th in the country.  We started well (against the easier part of the schedule) and have been less effective of late in conference. 

So, we are supposed to not count our easier games while comparing to team’s stats that include their easier games?

 

[Mierin]

So, we are supposed to not count our easier games while comparing to team’s stats that include their easier games?

Have to agree with this. You have to take out every team's first 6 games if you're going to compare. And even then, the SEC schedules their worst opponent in the final 3 games.

 

[Nebfanatic]

I'm not sure where you're getting 4th in the country against the run.  We are 21st in rushing yards allowed per game.  But we are also 13th in fewest rushing attempts faced per game.  So we've benefitted from teams not really trying to run against us.  We are 25th in yards allowed per attempt, which is good but probably not great.

We are 66th is yards allowed passing per game.  But we are only 44th is passing attempts faced per game.  Which makes us 78th in yards allowed per attempt.  We are 104th is passer rating allowed.  And 110th in completion percentage allowed.

So we are fairly decent against the run.  But below average to bad against the pass.  So I think it's fair to call a defense that had a ton of guys back from last year at least a bit disappointing.

A tweet you posted 4 weeks ago that's probably no longer relevant 

 

[runningblind]

So, we are supposed to not count our easier games while comparing to team’s stats that include their easier games?

I'm saying if you take the entire year's stats at face value, you might miss the current state of things if they are trending in a different direction.  I only threw in the number for a relative comparison as I'm not able to compare for all 60 teams easily.  What this means is we've not been playing like the 25th ranked rush defense the last month, but lower.  This is how you can better gauge current matchups instead of just going off 3 months of numbers when a season has ebbs and flows and changes in competition level.

I don't see how looking at how we did against UTEP, CU (dead last in the NCAA), and N. Iowa is a useful comparison about how good we actually are. I want to know what is happening right now, so I know better what to expect when we face a top 15 one on Friday night. 

It seems people care about stats, rather than how we're playing right this second which is what I'm looking for.  What happened in September has little bearing on how we matchup with Iowa in November.

 

[Mierin]

I'm saying if you take the entire year's stats at face value, you might miss the current state of things if they are trending in a different direction.  I only threw in the number for a relative comparison as I'm not able to compare for all 60 teams easily.  What this means is we've not been playing like the 25th ranked rush defense the last month, but lower.  This is how you can better gauge current matchups instead of just going off 3 months of numbers when a season has ebbs and flows and changes in competition level.

I don't see how looking at how we did against UTEP, CU (dead last in the NCAA), and N. Iowa is a useful comparison about how good we actually are. I want to know what is happening right now, so I know better what to expect when we face a top 15 one on Friday night. 

It seems people care about stats, rather than how we're playing right this second which is what I'm looking for.  What happened in September has little bearing on how we matchup with Iowa in November.

The problem with your approach is all of the top defenses also played s#!tty opponents that made their stats look better. We probably are one of the top 25 rush defenses in reality, but we're not elite. The way you're looking at it isn't a good way to judge how good the defense is, because probably 90% of the teams you're comparing us too have let conference opponents rush for more on them.

 

[Hilltop]

If the defense would have taken a big step forward this year like many of you expected,  we would still be watching Satt stink on Saturdays for another year.... and Tony would be the top HC prospect going into the firing season.   It could be worse guys. 

 

[runningblind]

The problem with your approach is all of the top defenses also played s#!tty opponents that made their stats look better. We probably are one of the top 25 rush defenses in reality, but we're not elite. The way you're looking at it isn't a good way to judge how good the defense is, because probably 90% of the teams you're comparing us too have let conference opponents rush for more on them.

You're missing my point, I don't care about the overall stats and I am not comparing us to anyone else, the numbers were just a reference. I am simply looking at what we've given up the last 5 games to guage how we will do against Iowa. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

I'm saying if you take the entire year's stats at face value, you might miss the current state of things if they are trending in a different direction.  I only threw in the number for a relative comparison as I'm not able to compare for all 60 teams easily.  What this means is we've not been playing like the 25th ranked rush defense the last month, but lower.  This is how you can better gauge current matchups instead of just going off 3 months of numbers when a season has ebbs and flows and changes in competition level.

I don't see how looking at how we did against UTEP, CU (dead last in the NCAA), and N. Iowa is a useful comparison about how good we actually are. I want to know what is happening right now, so I know better what to expect when we face a top 15 one on Friday night. 

It seems people care about stats, rather than how we're playing right this second which is what I'm looking for.  What happened in September has little bearing on how we matchup with Iowa in November.

OK, going by your evaluation.  You use the 4 games we just lost.  Let's look at Iowa's losses.  Iowa is usually considered to have a very good run defense and this is who we play next.

UCLA 211 yards rushing

Mich St 212 yards rushing

OSU 203 yards rushing

ISU 204 yards rushing