I must be missing something, please help me!

[HuskerT]

OK, I think we're all in agreement that our secondary is terrible right now. I also think we would all agree that Bo didn't all of a sudden forget how to coach defense. So what the heck is going on? Based off the end of last season we had a pretty good idea that the main returning players in our secondary would be Dennard & Evans at the corners with Cassidy & Osbourne at the safety spots. I know Dennard getting hurt changed some things around, but he's been back for two games now and I might have missed it, but I think I'm still yet to see that combination of players on the field at the same time. What happened? You'd think the emergence of Stafford would have only enhanced an already established secondary. Is Osbourne in the dog house for some reason? Did Evans forget how to play corner? Wouldn't Stafford help us more at Linebacker he's probably about the same size as David? Why does everything seam out of whack? Please help me make sense of it because I'm honestly starting to lose sleep over it.

 

[irieboy8]

your guess is as good as mine... but the spin lately is that they are extremely young

[shyndy]

some of the same guys last year and no one talked about them being young then

[Hammerhead]

some of the same guys last year and no one talked about them being young then

 

We still had Prince, Gomes, and Hagg last year.

[bournehusker]

I think issues on defense stem from a myriad of problems. First and foremost is that players have to ultimately play. Pelini cant play the game for them. Ive seen a defense that either gives up or doesnt play with fire. That said I think coaching is a big part of that. I think Bo spends more time right now with the team rather than just the defense. Maybe that is going to have to change. Also i think coach JP has too much responsibility. He is one of our best coaches and when your the special teams coord., the recruiting coordinator and the dline coach that is a ton. I think we need to reevaluate the coaching responsibilities. I think Bo needs to be more involved with the defense and carl needs to be more involved with the dline again to help out papuchis. But this is all speculation cause i dont sit in on practices either. I think the backfield is seeing a transition in coaching philosophies as is the linebacking corps. Its like year one all over again. Another issue is the big 10. We are not used to playing the defense we mostly line up in now in this new league. We rarely had more than one linebacker on the field last year and had 3 total studs in the secondary behind the best linebacker in the big 10 and maybe anywhere. Now the weakness of the linebacker position is showing up and the secondary is all young. You add this all up and it is what we see on the field.

[hskrfan4life]

If the secondary would cover we would see our defense get immensely better. In example, things such as coverage sacks. We just need players to stick to em like glue!

[da skers]

I think issues on defense stem from a myriad of problems. First and foremost is that players have to ultimately play. Pelini cant play the game for them. Ive seen a defense that either gives up or doesnt play with fire. That said I think coaching is a big part of that. I think Bo spends more time right now with the team rather than just the defense. Maybe that is going to have to change. Also i think coach JP has too much responsibility. He is one of our best coaches and when your the special teams coord., the recruiting coordinator and the dline coach that is a ton. I think we need to reevaluate the coaching responsibilities. I think Bo needs to be more involved with the defense and carl needs to be more involved with the dline again to help out papuchis. But this is all speculation cause i dont sit in on practices either. I think the backfield is seeing a transition in coaching philosophies as is the linebacking corps. Its like year one all over again. Another issue is the big 10. We are not used to playing the defense we mostly line up in now in this new league. We rarely had more than one linebacker on the field last year and had 3 total studs in the secondary behind the best linebacker in the big 10 and maybe anywhere. Now the weakness of the linebacker position is showing up and the secondary is all young. You add this all up and it is what we see on the field.

Els runs most of the special teams stuff. But I was concerned with JP handling the recruiting duties because he's such a good recruiter. That's probably one job Barney could have done.

[HuskerTD]

In summer when I heard Bo had transitioned to more of a 50/50 split with offense and defense I had this bad feeling in my stomach about it but the reports out of camp were how great the defense was so I just shrugged it off. Well now we see what happens when you have a new coach in the secondary and Bo putting in less time at defense. It is not pretty. You can say its other things but Bo recruited most of these guys and we have 3 NFL guys in the defense as of today but stafford maybe others will also. No reason for the defense to look this bad. Don't know if the ship can be righted this year but I sure hope going forward Bo puts the same time in the defense as in prior years. This is not a knock on Bo, just a lesson learned from a fairly new head coach about the do and don'ts and one is his bread and butter which is defense. JMHO.

[HuskerT]

In summer when I heard Bo had transitioned to more of a 50/50 split with offense and defense I had this bad feeling in my stomach about it but the reports out of camp were how great the defense was so I just shrugged it off. Well now we see what happens when you have a new coach in the secondary and Bo putting in less time at defense. It is not pretty. You can say its other things but Bo recruited most of these guys and we have 3 NFL guys in the defense as of today but stafford maybe others will also. No reason for the defense to look this bad. Don't know if the ship can be righted this year but I sure hope going forward Bo puts the same time in the defense as in prior years. This is not a knock on Bo, just a lesson learned from a fairly new head coach about the do and don'ts and one is his bread and butter which is defense. JMHO.

I was thinking the same thing because I remember Bo saying he would be giving more responsibility to Carl, but you have to imagine that he would have thrown that out the window by now. I keep hearing coaches say that they haven't had an opportunity to get Courtney Osbourne in the game, what does that really mean? Have they not noticed wr's running wide open and getting deep on our secondary, you'd think he'd be worth a shot. I don't get it.

[HuskerBCS]

In summer when I heard Bo had transitioned to more of a 50/50 split with offense and defense I had this bad feeling in my stomach about it but the reports out of camp were how great the defense was so I just shrugged it off. Well now we see what happens when you have a new coach in the secondary and Bo putting in less time at defense. It is not pretty. You can say its other things but Bo recruited most of these guys and we have 3 NFL guys in the defense as of today but stafford maybe others will also. No reason for the defense to look this bad. Don't know if the ship can be righted this year but I sure hope going forward Bo puts the same time in the defense as in prior years. This is not a knock on Bo, just a lesson learned from a fairly new head coach about the do and don'ts and one is his bread and butter which is defense. JMHO.

 

So you think Bo should spend most of his time with the defense and neglect the rest of the team? I don't really understand this line of thinking. Bo Pelini is the HEAD COACH. His job is to oversee the whole team. There is a reason we have a defensive coordinator named Carl Pelini on the coaching staff. He is the one who is supposed to spend the most time with the defense. If Bo is supposed to spend the majority of his time with the defense then we might as well hire a different head coach and make Bo the defensive coordinator.

 

IMO, Bo still spends too much time with the defense. I can't tell you how many times I watch games and see Bo near the benches talking with the defense (with his headset off). He is not paying attention to the game or what our offense is doing and probably doesn't even know the plays that are being called during these stretches.

[da skers]

In summer when I heard Bo had transitioned to more of a 50/50 split with offense and defense I had this bad feeling in my stomach about it but the reports out of camp were how great the defense was so I just shrugged it off. Well now we see what happens when you have a new coach in the secondary and Bo putting in less time at defense. It is not pretty. You can say its other things but Bo recruited most of these guys and we have 3 NFL guys in the defense as of today but stafford maybe others will also. No reason for the defense to look this bad. Don't know if the ship can be righted this year but I sure hope going forward Bo puts the same time in the defense as in prior years. This is not a knock on Bo, just a lesson learned from a fairly new head coach about the do and don'ts and one is his bread and butter which is defense. JMHO.

Its not 50/50 but yes he's spent more time with the offense this year than in the past.

[HuskerTD]

In summer when I heard Bo had transitioned to more of a 50/50 split with offense and defense I had this bad feeling in my stomach about it but the reports out of camp were how great the defense was so I just shrugged it off. Well now we see what happens when you have a new coach in the secondary and Bo putting in less time at defense. It is not pretty. You can say its other things but Bo recruited most of these guys and we have 3 NFL guys in the defense as of today but stafford maybe others will also. No reason for the defense to look this bad. Don't know if the ship can be righted this year but I sure hope going forward Bo puts the same time in the defense as in prior years. This is not a knock on Bo, just a lesson learned from a fairly new head coach about the do and don'ts and one is his bread and butter which is defense. JMHO.

So you think Bo should spend most of his time with the defense and neglect the rest of the team? I don't really understand this line of thinking. Bo Pelini is the HEAD COACH. His job is to oversee the whole team. There is a reason we have a defensive coordinator named Carl Pelini on the coaching staff. He is the one who is supposed to spend the most time with the defense. If Bo is supposed to spend the majority of his time with the defense then we might as well hire a different head coach and make Bo the defensive coordinator. IMO, Bo still spends too much time with the defense. I can't tell you how many times I watch games and see Bo near the benches talking with the defense (with his headset off). He is not paying attention to the game or what our offense is doing and probably doesn't even know the plays that are being called during these stretches.

Disagree with ya, there are many head coaches that spent a lot their time on one side of the ball (offense/defense) and the reason many of them were hired. Bo's head coaching was fine the previous seasons and he focused on the defense right? Doesn't mean he can't be a head coach. But you stick with what your are good at. To think Bo was brought here to only be a head coach and let the defensive coaches make the decision's is a little naive imo.

[HuskerBCS]

Disagree with ya, Bo's head coaching was fine the previous seasons and he focused on the defense right? To think Bo was brought here to only be a head coach and let the defensive coaches make the decision's is a little naive imo.

 

This is where I disagree with you. I don't think Bo's head coaching has been fine the previous seasons. Bo concentrated on the defense while our offense was about as bad as Ive ever seen it at Nebraska. Bo was brought in to fix the defense, yes, but Im pretty sure he also knows that he is in charge of the entire team. This means he better be able to coach EVERYTHING. There is a reason we have offensive and defensive coordinators. And nobody ever said that you would just let your defensive or offensive coordinators make the decisions for you. Bo should be making ALL the decisions. The other coaches are there to coach fundamentals, bounce ideas off, and call the plays (which Bo should have ultimate rule over).

 

Look at it this way....If Bo is the head coach and he spends 90% of his time with the defense along with our defensive coordinator. Then you have Tim Beck, the offensive coordinator, concentrating on the offense by himself. He is basically in control of the same percentage of the team as Bo, 50%. Why shouldn't we just make Bo Pelini and Tim Beck Co-Head Coaches? They would both be doing the same amount for the team. This also make Carl Pelini's role diminish considering he probably just does what Bo tells him to.

[HuskerTD]

Disagree with ya, Bo's head coaching was fine the previous seasons and he focused on the defense right? To think Bo was brought here to only be a head coach and let the defensive coaches make the decision's is a little naive imo.

This is where I disagree with you. I don't think Bo's head coaching has been fine the previous seasons. Bo concentrated on the defense while our offense was about as bad as Ive ever seen it at Nebraska. Bo was brought in to fix the defense, yes, but Im pretty sure he also knows that he is in charge of the entire team. This means he better be able to coach EVERYTHING. There is a reason we have offensive and defensive coordinators. And nobody ever said that you would just let your defensive or offensive coordinators make the decisions for you. Bo should be making ALL the decisions. The other coaches are there to coach fundamentals, bounce ideas off, and call the plays (which Bo should have ultimate rule over). Look at it this way....If Bo is the head coach and he spends 90% of his time with the defense along with our defensive coordinator. Then you have Tim Beck, the offensive coordinator, concentrating on the offense by himself. He is basically in control of the same percentage of the team as Bo, 50%. Why shouldn't we just make Bo Pelini and Tim Beck Co-Head Coaches? They would both be doing the same amount for the team. This also make Carl Pelini's role diminish considering he probably just does what Bo tells him to.

 

Let me think, why don't schools who need a offense coordinator hire a defense coordinator as the offense coordinator? Serioulsy you think Bo should be spending his time running the offense? Sorry Bo got this job because of his ability to coach a defense. Thus you hire someone to run the offense and over see it and focus more time on defense than on offense since that is where your time is best used.

[HuskerBCS]

Disagree with ya, Bo's head coaching was fine the previous seasons and he focused on the defense right? To think Bo was brought here to only be a head coach and let the defensive coaches make the decision's is a little naive imo.

This is where I disagree with you. I don't think Bo's head coaching has been fine the previous seasons. Bo concentrated on the defense while our offense was about as bad as Ive ever seen it at Nebraska. Bo was brought in to fix the defense, yes, but Im pretty sure he also knows that he is in charge of the entire team. This means he better be able to coach EVERYTHING. There is a reason we have offensive and defensive coordinators. And nobody ever said that you would just let your defensive or offensive coordinators make the decisions for you. Bo should be making ALL the decisions. The other coaches are there to coach fundamentals, bounce ideas off, and call the plays (which Bo should have ultimate rule over). Look at it this way....If Bo is the head coach and he spends 90% of his time with the defense along with our defensive coordinator. Then you have Tim Beck, the offensive coordinator, concentrating on the offense by himself. He is basically in control of the same percentage of the team as Bo, 50%. Why shouldn't we just make Bo Pelini and Tim Beck Co-Head Coaches? They would both be doing the same amount for the team. This also make Carl Pelini's role diminish considering he probably just does what Bo tells him to.

 

Let me think, why don't schools who need a offense coordinator hire a defense coordinator as the offense coordinator? Serioulsy you think Bo should be spending his time running the offense? Sorry Bo got this job because of his ability to coach a defense. Thus you hire someone to run the offense and over see it and focus more time on defense than on offense since that is where your time is best used.

 

Schools dont need only an offensive coordinator or a defensive coordinator. They need a guy who does it all....aka the Head Coach. I think its so funny that people think Bo can just run one side of the ball because "thats what he knows best" and then delegate the other side of the ball. Bo may have got this job because he knows defense but he had also better know how to coach offense if we want to have a top tier program. If he doesn't know offense, he better learn, or maybe we should have hired someone different. If people think Bo spending the majority of his time with the defense the last couple years has worked, then your definition of working and my definition are way different because our offense has sucked since Bo got here. Seriously though....what is the point of having Carl Pelini as your defensive coordinator if Bo is just gonna run the defense? Why not call yourself Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, get rid of Carl Pelini, and bring in another offensive mind to help with the offense.