Billyball

I don't think honestly it is as much philosophy as it is ability to get to the qb with our d line. Obviously when we had Suh, we got to the qb. Without him we don't. Oversimplification, granted but basically the case. Ask the qbs we played last year if the d line got to the qb ? Indeed this is the biggest reason we are in the lower half of D1 in red zone defense, while last season we were number one. Our improvement on offense has been offset by a big drop off in the D. We badly need elite DL players, but they are hard to come by.

One thing that sticks out about Martinez is how easily he gets out of the pocket when he wants to, no DL ever get a hand on him and there is a 0% chance any DL is going to catch him from behind. There were a couple of times on Saturday when he scrambled a bit and most QB's would have been grabbed from behind from the DE, but his first step is SO FREAKING FAST, they just have no shot. He's fun to watch, let's hope his confidence keeps growing this weekend. I've seen Smith run down WR and RB from behind. Not saying he can catch TM, but he does have some deceptive speed. Hopefully he is near fully healed by Saturday. While Aldon Smith is an outstanding player and will probably give every team you guys play fits, if his arm doesn't reach Martinez, he's not catching him, one step and he's full speed. Smith is a fabulous player, but he's not running down Martinez from behind at any point. Though I am sure he is fast for his size, he will never run down TMfrom behind IF TMis full out. He might very well smack TM hard with an angle or if TM is trying to throw. Two guys I noticed in the film last night on espnu was another DE named smith and a player named Sams. they seemed right at home in the Ou backfield. Hesitating against that bunch is asking for trouble. Get a play and whether it is run or pass get it off quickly.

I'm hoping but not expecting us to get some pressure on gabbert. He. Doesn't run or throw well in panic mode. I also hope some of his high hard passes down the middle are deflected and picked off. For TM, I worry about him coughing up the ball if he gets smacked hard. Mu, did seem to have some hitters for a change. TM has thrived on big holes and outrunning the D and few square hits. If met in the hole by a LB, I fear a fumble. If either qb has a career night, that team will surely win. I am hopiing it's a wash and we win with better RB play and special teams.

Don't forget Asante, Dillard, and O'Hanlon to graduation as well as injuries to Fisher and Compton (still not back 100%). Our defense also tends to start slow. I have a feeling we will have a good defensive showing on Saturday. I get this feeling too, mostly because of how well we played in the 2nd half vs OSU. Had we kept giving up all those yards and points in the 2nd half, then I'd say our D's confidence would be wavering quite a bit, which would spell disaster vs Mizzou. But, that's not the case. The Blackshirts stepped up in a big way against arguably the best offense in the conference, so there's no reason they shouldn't hit the ground running against the Tigers. OSU's offense >>>>> MU's offense and our D is WAY better suited to defend MU's D than OSU's. I would say that OSU has a better big play offense. I am not certain after watching the OU game that our D will be any better against the tiggers than it was in the poor performance at osu Gabbert is very accurate and I have no reason to believe we can pressure him without bringing five or six. That would leave five targets mostly one on one for a quick throw and good chance for yac. If we go with four DL and drop seven, I fear that the receivers will have hours to come open, or a rb will pop the middle for 10 yards. A gambling blitzing D is I believe our best shot, but not without peril. I fear we will have to win another shootout against a somewhat better, not great defense.

Ironic for sure. Before the season if you would have told me I would be most worried about our D against misery, I would have given you chapter and verse why that was not the case. Sadly our D is not elite, not good, more likely a little below average. I think OUs defense is just about average, but a little stronger than ours overall. If we go to the 3-3-5, I think Misery will run worse than they did against ou. If we play three or four up front, I don't see us getting pressure on Gabby. Ou never got him to hurry and covered the short stuff really well, but were devastated when receivers faked a stop and then took off on their route deep in the middle.g No D back can stop an accurate qb if you give him five or six seconds with five targets. They are now good enough to find and hit the open man. In the Illinois game I thoght Gabbert had happy feet. I didn't see that against ou. J I think the best shot is a myriad of blitzes with a lot of movement before the snap to disguise. Hope to get to Gabbert or the rb on their slow developing running plays behind the Los. Get him hit a couple times and restore the happy feet or cause a turnover. Sure you might give up a big play, but otherwise you will be nibbled to death by a duck IMO. Our straight up D has neither the speed or strength to get it done.

If we are fortunate enough to win Sat night, my guess is that we will be playing OU in the CCG. If that is the case, I would suggest a healthy respect for a very good football team. They are multiples. Better than Texas this year although from observation not in the same class as Oregon.

Actually after watching Texas three times now and Missouri w OU, Illinois and. Most of the ATM game, I believe misery is much better and faster on D than this year's Texas squad. They are nothing like osu on D. Perhaps if they overun the play Martinez will get away for a long td. However, they seem to get to the ball carrier quickly. TM is not at his best breaking tackles and then going for a long gain, so if they contact him, he is likely going down. Now if helu or burk get in space and break a tackle they might go all the way. We have to be balanced, but watching the MU D, TM won't have long to make up his mind and if he makes a mistake they will pick it off. Osu would be a powerhouse if they were not so soft on D. If we can execute on the first couple series and have the tigers beginning to doubt, I think we can pull this off. If we turn it over early, I'm afraid we'll have the same problem. Should be a great game in Lincoln.

I don't think there is any comparison of the OSU defense to that of Misery. Indeed I think this year the are much better than Texas and that will be an obstacle. I couldn't tell how much that Aldon Smith guy who was coming back from injury played, but I did see him make an interception and run it back a long way in a play that turned things around big time. I don't know how accurate this guys projections are but if even close to accurate, he is a beast.http://walterfootball.com/draft2012.php They are obviously very fast on D. The new back OU was using quite a bit seemed lightening fast and had great moves, but along with Murray didn't get a lot going. Landry had a lot of pressure and though he made a lot of plays, he was obviously hurried. It will likely be by far the most pressure TM has seen. If they over pursue and he gets some easy big plays, we may be fine. If they are successful in putting a spy on TM and frustrating him, I look for some turnovers. I could be wrong because I've only watched two of Misery's games. Illinois and OU, along with part of their blowout at ATM. But IMO they are by far the best defense we have seen. As fast as Texas, but More disciplined. I think we can win if we have less than two turnovers and have some success throwing the ball. I hope those calling for a blowout are correct, but I just don't see it . My guess is we'll have to score more than thirty. It might be a lot tougher than 51 at OSU. Can't wait for Saturday, and some rain would't be bad either.

Great post. I too worried about TM getting it done against the better teams. He answered a lot of critics last night!! My biggest concern next Saturday which is a huge switch is not the offense but the D. What an opportunity we have though if the D can bring their A game. Watching the OU game, misery looks faster than I thought they were. On the road though it's going to be loud and disruptive for their O. GBR

Get ready for the a$$kickin. This could get ugly

I hope I don't hear one more thing about Bo's great defense. WE suck on D.

Yeah and if he pulled that s*** in the NFL he would be about a hundred grand lighter inn the wallet. Only Miami condones that crap

I suggest you turn on your TV and you will find that Tejas' defense is not worth a dam, yet they shut us down. The clowns are running and throwing all over TU. I doubt the clones could do that to osu. We may soon have even the biggest sunshine pumpers facing reality. So after ISU, & TTech beat us last year it was a fluke that we finished strong? Looks more and more to me that we were SUHlicious in that stretch and we are not dominant on D this year and exposed on O. I hope the men in red prove these thoughts wrong starting in a half hour or so

I suggest you turn on your TV and you will find that Tejas' defense is not worth a dam, yet they shut us down. The clowns are running and throwing all over TU. I doubt the clones could do that to osu. We may soon have even the biggest sunshine pumpers facing reality.

If we lose and misery wins today, the fat lady might as well have finished her song. Might as well start the bus for a long trip to next season in the big ten.

I am not as concerned about the league or the refs as I am our team's ability at this point. We'll know more tomorrow and have most of the answers next weekend. If we lose to osu and misery beats ou, we won't have to worry about playing in the ccg and likely lose to misery as well. If we win and misery loses, it shapes up pretty good for us but we still have to win next weekend. That is indeed why they go ahead and play these games and not go by what fans decide will happen.

Should be "we're good enough to win FOR SURE" b/c that's a fact vs any team we face. And I'm almost tempted to say "we should win FOR SURE." I'm not sure after watching Oregon last night that we are good enough to win this game. Perhaps it was their best performance ever, but I was impressed. Even against a poor D at KSU, we never looked anything like that well oiled machine. It seemed like they were totally in sync and had been performing at a high level for years while we look like a team of newcomers after three weeks of spring practice. There was simply no comparison. If the oakie lite d is slow we might beat them if we don't become a turnover machine, but well likely have to score 30 or more, a tall order.

Fan expectations are such that it will be very hard to meet them. The constant mention of a NCG as an expectation, for a team that has been mediocre for most of a decade shows the problem. Like until last week, (some posts immediately after the loss were about our new path to the MNC) most believed the hype and thought our program was the best in the country. I think one special defense led by perhaps the greatest DT in a couple decades in college ball is to blame. Bo's boast that "we'll be five times better on defense next year" without Suh was total hubris. The future of being competitive in the big 10 is reasonably bright, because the talent level is way below that of the SEC and the big 12/10 south. Quite simply put we have a better chance of winning our division fairly often and the conference on more rare occasions. Our program in the new world of recruiting cannot compete with the elite talent of the Texas and Oklahomas. You line up 2 3 & 4 * s against a roster of 4 & 5 *s and the % of games/championships you win goes way down. Outside of Ohio State, you don't have the top recruits in big numbers in the big 10. It will be unlikely for a very long time for anyone other than OSU to play in a NCG from the big ten. We can have a good program, a winning program, but will not have the pipeline to have an elite team. The media bought into our Big Red is back hype based on the performance (Suh's) in the last two games last season. Our running offense based on TM's speed increased that enthusiasm this year. I am not convinced that the zone read with T Magic is going to be a successful scheme against good teams. No great wide receivers or tight ends will want to come to Lincoln. Once the template to stop it is obvious, we'll have to change the offense. If Martinez can become a Tebow type Qb so that his passing is adequate to keep a defense guessing and get some Percy Havins like receivers, then there is a shot at having an offense that will work. TM and two good, not elite running backs will not get it done. In addition the entire offense being dependent on a qb who has blazing speed but runs upright is dicey. Who takes over that offense if when he goes down. I think Bo is totally unsure and not committed to an offensive philosophy. That is not a slam of Bo, just an observation. Wats huge playbook is full of passing plays and it was pretty well shelved for the zone read. When we ran into trouble, Lee a sr. Qb was sent in. Though Bo has said he is not sure that was the right thing to do, i would expect if we fall behind either osu or Missouri, you will see a similar switch. So for the team and prospects deciding where they would fit in best...it is a huge question mark. We have no offensive philosophy that the staff and all the players have confidence in, unlike in the defensive side. Until we develop that offense that we are confident in and stick to it and fine tune it, we will not be an elite program IMO. Though it may seem too pessimistic, there is more to football than a ncg. If your enjoyment is soley focused on the MNC, I truly think you will be much happier becoming a fan of a few programs down south that are much more likely to be in the discussion frequently. The Husker fans can have a great season in the big ten competing for a spot in the ccg and hoping to occasionally win it. Can't wait to travel to a Rose Bowl. For those expecting top 10 ratings and NCGs as a routine, I suspect you will be disappointed.

I would rather Misery was coming in this weekend rather than the team going to Stillwater. While they are all important, beating misery is the top priority to have the head to head advantage in the north. I am somewhat concerned that osu might put up a lot of points on our D. Their skill players are much better than Texas. I worry that a second defeat will take the starch out of this team and the wheels might come off. I think our D is better suited to stop misery's spread than osu. But if coming off two straight losses, I worry more about the game. Lose them both then it's pretty much over for this year. But they don't pick schedules so GBR.

No offense but I can't understand our fans worrying about ranked teams staying ranked and assuming we will beat them and be rushed to the top of the polls. We LOST worse than the score to an unranked team that lost twice with one coming to a not very talented ucla team. We are unlikely to sweep our next two opponents. The offense was exposed by not just Texas but also sdsu. Texas has a terrible offense. OSU has a very good offense. We could be down a bunch before you know it down there. I don't think their defense is too good but if they have speed equal to sdsu, they can take away the run. Missouri for a change has a good defense. I don't think we can run crazy on them. The good news is that I think their offense plays to our strength. I predict it will be a close game and if we don't control our fumblitis, we'll be on the short end of a low scoring game. I don't think misery can beat ou, but I am only concerned now that we will win either game. If we lose them both there will be a post on here worrying about what our opponents do in other games and how that will allow us to win the ccg and go to a bcs bowl. We are far from a great team, may not even be a really good team. "Just win baby" should be all we worry about at this point.

Where we dropped to after yesterday's whuppin by an unranked opponent is the least of our problems right now. We were obviously way overrated. Now we have to see if somewhere in the teens is about right or we drop. Off the map or climb back. Before I can join the koolaid brigade, I will have to see this team beat two ranked teams in succession. Right now I doubt their ability to do so. Okie state is light years better on offense than Texas. We seem to have a fair to good defense, but certainly nothing like last years Suh led bunch. Unless things change, OSU will hang tw or three TDs on us before we get settled in. Then our passing game will not be able to keep up. Their defense is not good but all they have to do is follow the sdsu and tejas playbook and shut down Martinez. I no longer feel good about the Missouri game because though I think Gabbert can be rattled, I think they will be the best D we face this year in regular season. If that is the case, they won't have to score many points. The season rests on the next two games. Playinng as we did in two out of our last three performances will result in a loss against either osu or mu. Lose em both and though we might go 9-3 pr 8-4 we will be seen as a big joke. Dems the facts. Thus far this year we have not beaten a ranked team and after all the shortcomings last night I don't see our chances as great in sweeping the next two.

The good news we held Texas passing game down in our loss. The bad news is okie lite is tons better on O than Texas. If we are not lucky we'll be down big and heaving the ball all over the field in desperation again.

The single biggest mistake for me was believing that this was anything more than a decent football team. This offense is not going to be able to prevail on the ground against teams with speed on D. And we are not going to attract top recievers with speed that can catch the ball if they think they are blockers. We convinced ourselves two years in a row that we had a great QB, and the thing that we had was a qb in a system that could excel against weaker competition. Any team with speed on D can make us throw. We are a turnover machine. The Pelinis are hard working coaches but are not geniuses or miracle workers. The good news .. We have a pretty good schedule the rest of the way. We are going to lose more games, but several of our remaing opponents probably don't have the speed so the run game will work. I do not see us winning the North or going to a BCS bowl. On to the Big 10.

1). Our running offense with TMart depends on poor team speed on defense. It looks to be a gimmick that was exposed much like Robinson/Michigan against fast defenses. We'll have trouble with others on our schedule. 2) Our passing game sucks, just as it did in most games last year, save the bowl, the miracle in Columbia. 3) We have terrible receivers and are going to have trouble recruiting elite receivers in this offense. 4). Suh was more important than the staff or fans admitted. 5). We had the media fooled, but they will be off our wagon big time now. The important thing is how the team comes back. Don't give me that "Bo will have them ready" crap. I think much of this staff and players have been sharing the coference and ncs koolaid with a lot of our fans. They have to be shaken. The D will see a much better offense the next two weeks and Okie Lite will be pumped. Watching Misery Bslap ATM after they had scored 30 against Ark and OSU, makes me think they are better on D than Texas. It will be a chore to keep the wheels on. Lose one or both of these next two games, we will limp to the big ten.

Except Misery's defense looks fast. Unless we can learn to throw and CATCH the ball between now and then, it will look like today. Unfortunately we will have to use our run game with T mart against okie lite and then face Misery having to throw. not Good