Excel
All-American
Husker fans aren't really in a great position to criticize another team's receiving corps.
Nebraska's brightest star is a guy with 400 yards and two TD's...yea I get it you don't pass much but still. Damn.
Your opponents...the South Carolina Gamecocks
- Thread starter killer cacti
- Start date
Nebraska's brightest star is a guy with 400 yards and two TD's...yea I get it you don't pass much but still. Damn.
This makes no sense. Why would we load the box when you have 5 WR on the field?
If you guys put 5 WRs on the field, you'll spread us out, and if you then go over the middle of the field, it's going to come down to our ability to cover your short routes, but we won't do that by loading the box. We'll do it (or try to) with Pelini's zone match-up scheme that was built to stop short passes in spread offenses. You're not going to get us to drop LBs back to support safeties, because we don't use LBs to help out our safeties in coverage - if anything, our safeties are used to support our LBs.
If you're hoping that going to 5 wide is going to get a favorable matchup with TE on LB, or WR on LB, I wouldn't count on it. LaVonte David can run like a safety. You'd be better off looking to get a favorable matchup against our nickelback or dimeback. That's how Northwestern beat us.
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walksalone
Heisman Trophy Winner
I wasn't the one claiming how stellar our receiving corp was. Most of our guys spent the year trying to catch passes with "hulk hands". K. Bell is a bright spot, but he's still a freshman...
How does this discussion have anything to do with Nebraska's receiving corps? It's about how SC's receiving corps matches up with Nebraska's secondary.
I don't know much about SC's receiving corps, but I know even less about the logic behind these SC fans telling us we need to load the box no matter what in order to defend against them.
walksalone
Heisman Trophy Winner
Herc, they're lulling us into a false sense of security. They want us to load the box when they go 5 wide....
These Gamecock fans, they are a shifty bunch...
USC2001
Walk-on
Hey guys, loving this board. True class. I just came over to scout but can't help but put my two cents in. First of all, I haven't seen Nebraska play but maybe once early in the season so everything I know about NU is coming from reading these posts.
As far as stopping SC offense, it really comes down to getting penetration up the middle and creating disruption with your DTs. Teams that have stout DTs make us look really bad because it screws the zone read to hell. Blitzing won't be effective because SS will spread out 5 wide if you start doing that and will hit you with WR screens and take his 7 yards all day. If you can sit back in a base defense and get penetration up the middle with your DTs you'll make us look really bad (which has happened a few times).
I know there has been some debate about not having to double #1 Alshon Jeffery, but it would be silly not to since there is no real threat from the other WRs. Which is why EVERYONE does. I don't care who's covering him, the guy has unbelievable ball skills and is a beast of a man. He's going to catch it in 1on1 more times than not just due to his shear size and athletic ability. At a minimum you'll cheat a safety over to help and it won't hurt you much.
As for the SC D, if your guys are not able to protect your QB its going to be really tough to do much offensively. NU may not be a passing team, but if you let SC completely take that part of the game away with their front 4 (which they are capable of and want to do) it will be very difficult to consistently run it. That's how you beat SC by giving the QB time to sit back and hit a few passes as needed. That really frustrates our defense and keeps the LBs honest.
So, in short. If your DTs are stout and can be disruptive you'll probably keep us under 14 pts. And, if you can buy your qb enough time to hit a few passes you'll be able to run the ball more effectively, eventually wear us down and score some points. So, how are your DTs and your pass protection?
Looking forward to the chat over the next few weeks and hope its a great game!
As far as stopping SC offense, it really comes down to getting penetration up the middle and creating disruption with your DTs. Teams that have stout DTs make us look really bad because it screws the zone read to hell. Blitzing won't be effective because SS will spread out 5 wide if you start doing that and will hit you with WR screens and take his 7 yards all day. If you can sit back in a base defense and get penetration up the middle with your DTs you'll make us look really bad (which has happened a few times).
I know there has been some debate about not having to double #1 Alshon Jeffery, but it would be silly not to since there is no real threat from the other WRs. Which is why EVERYONE does. I don't care who's covering him, the guy has unbelievable ball skills and is a beast of a man. He's going to catch it in 1on1 more times than not just due to his shear size and athletic ability. At a minimum you'll cheat a safety over to help and it won't hurt you much.
As for the SC D, if your guys are not able to protect your QB its going to be really tough to do much offensively. NU may not be a passing team, but if you let SC completely take that part of the game away with their front 4 (which they are capable of and want to do) it will be very difficult to consistently run it. That's how you beat SC by giving the QB time to sit back and hit a few passes as needed. That really frustrates our defense and keeps the LBs honest.
So, in short. If your DTs are stout and can be disruptive you'll probably keep us under 14 pts. And, if you can buy your qb enough time to hit a few passes you'll be able to run the ball more effectively, eventually wear us down and score some points. So, how are your DTs and your pass protection?
Looking forward to the chat over the next few weeks and hope its a great game!
Mierin
Assistant Coach
walksalone
Heisman Trophy Winner
Ratt Mhule
Heisman Trophy Winner
If Dennard played one on one with Blackmon, he will play one on one with Jeffrey. He is that confident in his abilities.
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Talking about our DTs is a bit tricky, since I have no idea what's going to show up for the bowl game. We were so beat up the last few weeks of the season we were depending on significant contributions from the 4-deep. If we can get healthy, our DTs might be able to do their job (which isn't to make plays so much as it is to suck up blockers and allow Lavonte David/Will Compton to make plays).
If the game comes down to our pass protection, I don't like our chances. However, we don't really use a pocket passing game. We rely on quick passes out of the shotgun or pistol that negate pass pressure from the DL, and then we rely heavily on playaction. And on good days, we rely on the fact that our QB is uber fast.
And Po is right, Dennard will take care of Alshon for the most part. If the coaches feel it's necessary, they'll bracket Alshon like they did BJ Cunningham and Marvin McNutt.
If the game comes down to our pass protection, I don't like our chances. However, we don't really use a pocket passing game. We rely on quick passes out of the shotgun or pistol that negate pass pressure from the DL, and then we rely heavily on playaction. And on good days, we rely on the fact that our QB is uber fast.
And Po is right, Dennard will take care of Alshon for the most part. If the coaches feel it's necessary, they'll bracket Alshon like they did BJ Cunningham and Marvin McNutt.
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USC2001
Walk-on
Arky rolled Wilson out the whole game and mostly took our Dline out of play. I suspect we'll see a lot of that in your game plan which will probably be very effective considering your qbs wheels. If he's got daylight he can run or if someone comes open he'll have time to drop it off.
USC2001
Walk-on
Dennard may be able to play Alshon tough, but the point is I don't think he'll need to do it by himself. Bracketing, cheating or playing double really won't hurt you too much so the risk/reward favors covering him up. Alshon's not going to take a game over, but if he's in single coverage they WILL throw it to him and even if he only catches one or two they usually are big plays. If he's in coverage with help we won't even try him. So most teams just go ahead and take him out of the equation and make us earn it running the ball.
walksalone
Heisman Trophy Winner
I've been a fan of AJ since last years 'Bama game, but he's not on the same level of Blackmon. If Fonzie can cover Blackmon, I think he'll be ok covering AJ.
My guess is that when USC comes out in pro sets with 2 or 3 WRs, you'll see them bracket Jeffrey. When they come out in 5 wide, you'll probably see Denard 1 on 1 with AJ.
Like most every game, though, the game will be decided in the trenches. The team that has more success running the ball will likely be the winner.
Like most every game, though, the game will be decided in the trenches. The team that has more success running the ball will likely be the winner.
walksalone
Heisman Trophy Winner
I concur.
I think what makes the difference in all this, is Rex. If he has a good game, we'll win.