Will the defense be better next year?

[IndyHusker]

Speed is a major issue with the defense, but i think the bigger issue is the lack of offense. Past teams have always had a ball control offense to help them stay off the field and stay well rested, which is huge with defense, makes them look so much better. IMO scheme and talent are kinda secondary when youve gotta play so much and when you have sucess your offense turns the ball over or goes three and out on a regular basis. I think a good example of that was the colts and pats game, pats defense looked awsome, and they are very good, but they played half as much as the colts defense. I'm not saying you dont need good players to have a good defense, im just saying that even the best of defenses can look suspect when forced to play the majority of the game.

[formerfan]

Speed is a major issue with the defense, but i think the bigger issue is the lack of offense. Past teams have always had a ball control offense to help them stay off the field and stay well rested, which is huge with defense, makes them look so much better. IMO scheme and talent are kinda secondary when youve gotta play so much and when you have sucess your offense turns the ball over or goes three and out on a regular basis. I think a good example of that was the colts and pats game, pats defense looked awsome, and they are very good, but they played half as much as the colts defense. I'm not saying you dont need good players to have a good defense, im just saying that even the best of defenses can look suspect when forced to play the majority of the game.

Great point! The O let the D down many times last year.

[formerfan]

I guess for your lb's to effectively pass the rusher, your D-cord would have to mix in a blitz or two in his package.

 

Coz-worthless has yet to set a gameplan that includes a good blitz.

I believe when it was all said and done we blitzed more this year than last. I can't remember where I read that. It clearly wasn't as effective though. I think Hollowell and Williams had a lot to do with it.

Yep, we did blitz more this year. Not very effective though when slow LB's are blitzing and getting picked up easily and the front 4 isn't getting thru. The great Bill Belicheck could have sent the blitz last year and it wouldn't have been effective.

 

I'm sure the coaches will be blamed when we lose and luck will be blamed when we start to win.

Again, its the D coaches who need to find playmakers at lb. In the 90's, with the exception of Farley, guys like Dumas, Stewart, McFarlin, Beler, Shaw, E. Johnson, J. Williams, etc were not lb's. The coaches found the guys to make the plays, they formed gameplans around the players, and they put guys in position to make plays.

 

Remember Warfield in the Fiesta Bowl against UF? They put him in late in the 2nd qtr as a lb to blitz, and he got to Wuerffle (sp?), even though he was a 3rd string Frosh.

 

Im sure that there were one or two guys on that team that could have been passing down/blitz specialists that could have played lb, if the coaches would be capable of finding him, that is.

[DaveH]

Speed is a major issue with the defense, but i think the bigger issue is the lack of offense. Past teams have always had a ball control offense to help them stay off the field and stay well rested, which is huge with defense, makes them look so much better. IMO scheme and talent are kinda secondary when youve gotta play so much and when you have sucess your offense turns the ball over or goes three and out on a regular basis. I think a good example of that was the colts and pats game, pats defense looked awsome, and they are very good, but they played half as much as the colts defense. I'm not saying you dont need good players to have a good defense, im just saying that even the best of defenses can look suspect when forced to play the majority of the game.

That's true. The offense put a lot on the defenses shoulders this past year. Hopefully that will change this year.

[Blackshirt34]

If the offense can stay on the field longer and sustain long drives, that will help keep the defense off the field and keep them fresh which will help them when they are on the field.

[Eric the Red]

Front four are key

[Blackshirt34]

I agree, if the big guys up front improve, which was another thread i believe, the lb's and secondary will have an easier time getting to the ball, especially with the improved team speed. These will both make our defense better than last year and the year before.

[rawhide]

The 70's were the 70's, 80's= 80's, 90's etc. Those great D's werent just about LB's or D-line. They had it all. The 90's with out a doubt had some of the greatest D ever, especially TEAM SPEED. Tomich, Wistrom, Peters', etc. Not just LB's or Dline or CB,SS or whatever.

 

This year with the JUCO's IMO the D becomes more effective with pressure from several points. The line and LB speed. The D backs are the big question and the Jucos and Frosh may have to be men right away. Doesnt matter. The D will be better and the O wont fold as quick IMHO Damn aint I brave, nah just another fan with optimism!!!

 

 

[IrishAZ]

Here's my take on the speed thing - and in my normal idiom, I prefer to think that natural talent isn't the sum of a team's (or even a player's) capability.

 

Speed is just the mechanism - the true goal is position. Being in the right place at the right time is what you want in the end. All speed does is compensate for poor position or make getting into good position easier.

 

I mean, how many times have you seen a team look slow against one opponent, but fast against another? Did the team slow down or is there that huge a disparity between the two opponents?

 

Most major Div IA players are on a par with each other in terms of flat speed. I mean, how often do you see teams with DB's that run 5.5's or LBs that run 6.0's? Athletes at this level have some degree of parity

 

And flat speed isn't all that great an indicator of performance either. There are a lot of other skills required for any position on either side of the ball to be successful. A fast RB that runs with his head down or can't follow a block is of no use at all. A fast guy that's not alert or can't read a formation or hasn't studied film or doesn't know where the nickle-back is or doesn't know whether he's supposed to take the RB out of the backfield or spy the QB can't defend anyone even if he had 3.4 speed.

 

Not to mention, the physics don't quite work out. Comparing two athletes - one with 4.4 speed and another with 5.0 speed - in a flat race amounts to less than 3 feet of separation between them over 40 yards.

 

That seems like plenty of space for a good QB to get the ball in there or enough for a RB to break away, but not really. 3 feet is only about the length of a 6' man's arm.

 

Scheme calling and coaching can provide that positional edge - if you scout an opponent well and learn tendancies, you can put your guys where they need to be. That's the end result you want.

 

There's also quickness and reflex to consider. Reaction times are delayed by indecision. And indecision comes from...ta da!...poor preparation which is the responsibility of the coaching staff to correct.

 

Preparation removes the hesitation, and hesitation slows defenses down. So a well prepared defense "looks" faster on the field and, in a way, actually is.

 

IRISH!

[Lucky3000]

Phil Dillard's going to be an instant impacter here at Nebraska. I think we should let him prove himself in the spring, then unleash him during the fall. He knows how to get to the ball carrier and make plays.

[oviedol55]

Phil Dillard won't be here in the spring, but I agree, he should be an instant impact. It'll be good competition between him and Dontrell for starting MLB.

[Blackshirt34]

Dontrell is a promising young LB recruit as well, and hopefully will provide us with the start to an athletic LB corp like UM has done with its LB's.

[Utah_Husker]

I think a big part of this years D will be which player will step up to lead the team. The JUCO players will hopefully play a big part in filling the gaps left by graduation and leaving for the NFL.

I agree totally. While I put a lot of the blame for our defensive implosion last year on the coaches, I think we really missed Williams. Not only was he a fantastic player, he was firey and a real leader on the field. No one really stepped up and played that role this last year.

[Pedro Guerrero]

I think a big part of this years D will be which player will step up to lead the team.  The JUCO players will hopefully play a big part in filling the gaps left by graduation and leaving for the NFL.

I agree totally. While I put a lot of the blame for our defensive implosion last year on the coaches, I think we really missed Williams. Not only was he a fantastic player, he was firey and a real leader on the field. No one really stepped up and played that role this last year.

Sievers tried but he just wasn't very good at OLB. You would of thought Ruud being a Senior that he would of stepped up. I believe he always said his play did his leading. Which is fine but ever so often he could of spoke up. IMO

[Blackshirt34]

Recent Nebraska teams have lacked a vocal leader, but had several that led by example, hopefully this year's class will produce several players that will step up and lead the huskers into the future.