Where's the pressure?

[Moiraine]

I guess I just want a defense that scares people. You see whoever the ESPN/ABC sideline reporter walking off the field, interviewing the opposing QB or RB, and the guy looking like he's been in a fairly serious car accident. Just a lost, scared, disheveled look in his eye, that he's been hit by something, but he's still trying to comprehend what it is...

 

This. I was fun back in the day when the game got to the point where the QB got scared due to the D.

[lo country]

Every defense struggles with mobile QBs--not just Nebraska's.

 

True enough. Let's just be the 1st ones to figure out how to counter it without selling the ranch. Interior Dlineman have zero chance of running them down. Even great DEs (which we REALLY don't have) can't hack that and not one alive is gonna run down a DRob or Tmart.

 

I still think some SuperD, J. Willams, T. Farley guys blitzing at warp 7 is our best chance. Go for it Bo!!

 

I still wonder why Bo has not unleashed the beast since 2003. Super D was a freak. Imagine SJB in that role. Taller and about the same weight. Would shock the OC's in conference for sure. Imagine a guy with that size and speed forcing the QB into pressure and pursuit. If he even gets away............

 

I wish I could find the article prior to the 2009 season that SUH said that Bo had figured out a way to stop the spread. And he did. New OC schemes to go against week end and week out took more of a toll than I had thought. Looking back at the talent in 2009/2010 was night and day different from what we fielded in 2011. We basically had a team with little depth and less experience that had been recruited to go against the spread type O in the Big XII, not he highly mobile QB's og the B1G or their huge a$$ O lines. Another year under his belt, a vastly more experienced, improved (coaches comments) and talent should equal at least one more win. Throw in a better throwing Martinez and we gain another win.

 

Bo has said it time and time again and I should no longer be surprised. In HIS system, the guy who knows plays over the guy who doesn't. Plain and simple. If I think back the past few years, there was always "that guy" who was the "better" athlete who rode the pine over a "smarter" player. That won't change again this year. I really hope some of the younger guys finally "get" this as we need them on the field. IMO, Joseph will be the biggest positive we see this year. Bo's system simply works when all 11 guys are in the right place at the right time. One guys misses an assignment or a read and it sucks. I think the addition of Koz will help as he knows the B1G and has shown the ability to get D lineman to the next level.

 

An improved secondary will pay immense dividends like we saw in 2010. Coverage sacks will increase. Knocking receivers on their a$$ at the LOS will limit downfield blockers on designed plays and broken plays. It will also allow more one on one coverage to free up a blitzer.

 

These are Bo's guys, his staff, his team. I think the guys finally get what is expected of them. I think that, at least off season comments, the players are finally ready to step up and hold themselves and each other accountable. I am looking forward to it starting.

 

Again, Bo, give me some SUPER D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[True2tRA]

In Bo's system a sufficient four man rush is vital to success. Four men, and only four, have to be able to apply pressure so the other 7 can succeed. The timing of this defense is everything, but once a play is extended due to lack of pressure, the whole timing of the defense is thrown off. Right place, right time is the key. Bo seems to refuse to change his ways, even when his front four are not able to apply pressure all season long. I would hope he would learn at some point that without Glenn Dorsey or Ndamukong Suh up front, he may have to alter his scheme a bit. Maybe sacrifice a fifth man away from coverage for the sake of the defense. Instead it seems we just continually ask four men to be the key to the entire scheme. Unfortunately those front four haven't gotten it done. Not without having a man named "Suh" in the middle.

[zoogs]

I wonder, from an X's and O's standpoint, if you could explain what kind of scheme would be better suited to rely less on timing and react better to plays being extended and breaking down.

[True2tRA]

I like a single safety look for Nebraska. A rover was always a great thing in McBrides' schemes. We play way too much two deep soft coverage. Not only do we play soft at safety, but I always thought aggressive CB play benefited Bo's scheme. Yes, you might get beat by the "big one" every once in a while, but it was much better than allowing opposing offenses to "dink and dunk" for five yards a play on a thirteen minute drive. Those long drives killed our team. Too many 3rd down conversions, and it allowed the opposing QB to find a rhythm. Tight coverage puts all the pressure on the QB to make a perfect pass. We gave away far too much with CB's playing 15 yards off the football. You can't fault our LB'ers much as far as scheme goes. Lavonte David did all he could considering he was doing both spying and zone coverage on a given play. Our LB'ers were simply too slow to keep up with the crossing routes that were thrown at us. More aggressive safeties, and tight man to man on the outside would have limited those short routes from turning into big plays. Instead the safeties were often coming up from thirty yards off the ball to make the tackle. The LB'ers had been beaten and the opposing WR's had too much green before they ran into the next level of our defense. We have to trust our CB's. It turns out, when you trust them, you find guys like Prince Amukamura turned out to be. McBride left his CB's on an island a lot! It worked out pretty well as you could see. Even against the Fun n' Gun Florida we played aggressive man to man defense. Defensive line seems to be our biggest downfall as far as X's and O's. Our ends need to get up field faster and force the QB to step up. This read and react stuff is clearly not working though. This defense lacks aggression.

[True2tRA]

Maybe a 4-2-5 like Southern Miss runs. That would be cool.

[bshirt]

In Bo's system a sufficient four man rush is vital to success. Four men, and only four, have to be able to apply pressure so the other 7 can succeed. The timing of this defense is everything, but once a play is extended due to lack of pressure, the whole timing of the defense is thrown off. Right place, right time is the key. Bo seems to refuse to change his ways, even when his front four are not able to apply pressure all season long. I would hope he would learn at some point that without Glenn Dorsey or Ndamukong Suh up front, he may have to alter his scheme a bit. Maybe sacrifice a fifth man away from coverage for the sake of the defense. Instead it seems we just continually ask four men to be the key to the entire scheme. Unfortunately those front four haven't gotten it done. Not without having a man named "Suh" in the middle.

 

 

I would think so too. I mean, our DEs have been essentially non-existent for many years. Besides Suh & Crick we've had very little production from the DTs too. Yes, Bo is a hard-core wizard at setting up the defense to stop the pass but no coverage, now matter how great, can hold up forever due to zero pressure.

 

C'mon Bo, at least on 3rd and longs....shoot somebody at their qb that runs like a scalded dog.

[Moiraine]

It seems like we did a lot less corner blitzing last year than we had in previous years. Or when we did use it, it was timed horribly.

[lo country]

I still blame much of the DB last year on Raymond. I still liked the context of his "look at them comment" referring to talent. As stated above, by numerous folks, Bo has a knack of playing less talented kids over kids who know the system. BUT Raymond was the coach over the revolving door of DB's, changed their "technique", had them plating 15 yrds off the LOS on 3rd and short etc..... If Bo allowed this (seemed to change later in year regarding more physical play) then bad on Bo. I still wonder if Raymond leaving was a mutual event.

 

Physical DB is and was the key to Bo's D. Throw the timing off, get the receivers out of the play and allow the DL to work. As one poster mentioned playing between 15-20 yrds off the LOS won't work and neither will attempting to play in coverage like a sandlot game for 20 seconds. I don't care who your DB's are. Good luck.

 

I can't recall if Bo has ever had a "dominant" DE since he has been HC. No DE push, big problems.

 

I would love to see a stand up rush end or a spinner used more often. SUPER D was a beast. Bring it back BO!

[NUance]

It seems like we did a lot less corner blitzing last year than we had in previous years. Or when we did use it, it was timed horribly.

Yeah, I've thought this for a couple of years now. I wouldn't want to see too much blitzing. We'd get burned doing it on a regular basis. But mix in just enough blitzing and stunting to keep the QB on his toes. Keep him looking over his shoulder. And not let them their OC plan on having 3 seconds or so to let a play develop.

[True2tRA]

The problem is, we don't even try to make it appear as though we are blitzing. McBride could make it look like we were going to send all 11 defenders after the Quarterback, but after the ball was snapped, we would back into a 3 or 4 man rush. As big of a defensive guru as you all think Bo is, Bo doesn't have anything on McBride. McBride's concepts and schemes blow Pelini out of the water. Deception is a huge part of the game. Anything you can do to get into the heads of the opposing QB and offensive line. The other thing McBride had was trust in his players. McBride would trust his players to do their jobs. If a guy got beat on a play, McBride would stick them right back in the same situation and trust them not to make the same mistake again. He allowed the players to learn through experience. GAME TIME EXPERIENCE. Pelini tries too hard to account for weak spots on the team instead of just allowing them to play. To me it only makes things worse. When a guy makes a mistake on Bo's defense, you can bet your ass he's coming off the field immediately so Bo can yell at him and jam his finger into the kid's chest. Why not instead allow the young man to face that challenge, take it head on and learn from it. It's a glaring problem in Bo's philosophy in my opinion. I hope he continues to learn from the mistakes he's making.

[dvdcrr]

I remember very well the defensive fronts of the 90's and how they got pressure from the edges and then up the middle later in the games. The Peter's brothers were strong and well conditioned. The defensive ends were extremely explosive and strong. The offensive teams now are better coached than they used to be largely and that would not be quite as effective now. They are much better now at checking to other plays to offset that pressure and catch you out of position. The defensive front with Suh and company was the best defensive front we have had at Nebraska I have seen. They could crunch a line up the middle, from the edges it didn't matter. And they did it with continual double teams. It was just man on man stay in your gap ass kicking. They could and did score crucial points. Its something to have a line than can control a game, it's something else to have a line that you can almost count on providing a touchdown per game. Coverage was excellent too something both those defenses had in common. If the quarterback doesn't have anywhere to go with the ball they hold it just a little longer and that helps the line. Bo flat knows defense.

[Hunter94]

The problem is, we don't even try to make it appear as though we are blitzing. McBride could make it look like we were going to send all 11 defenders after the Quarterback, but after the ball was snapped, we would back into a 3 or 4 man rush. As big of a defensive guru as you all think Bo is, Bo doesn't have anything on McBride. McBride's concepts and schemes blow Pelini out of the water. Deception is a huge part of the game. Anything you can do to get into the heads of the opposing QB and offensive line. The other thing McBride had was trust in his players. McBride would trust his players to do their jobs. If a guy got beat on a play, McBride would stick them right back in the same situation and trust them not to make the same mistake again. He allowed the players to learn through experience. GAME TIME EXPERIENCE. Pelini tries too hard to account for weak spots on the team instead of just allowing them to play. To me it only makes things worse. When a guy makes a mistake on Bo's defense, you can bet your ass he's coming off the field immediately so Bo can yell at him and jam his finger into the kid's chest. Why not instead allow the young man to face that challenge, take it head on and learn from it. It's a glaring problem in Bo's philosophy in my opinion. I hope he continues to learn from the mistakes he's making.

 

 

pretty much the truth here.....for all Bo's big schemes, he throws guys under the bus way too fast/much.......you can't get better sitting on the sidelines or playing scared of making a mistake and being pulled for it.........

[beanman]

I remember very well the defensive fronts of the 90's and how they got pressure from the edges and then up the middle later in the games. The Peter's brothers were strong and well conditioned. The defensive ends were extremely explosive and strong. The offensive teams now are better coached than they used to be largely and that would not be quite as effective now. They are much better now at checking to other plays to offset that pressure and catch you out of position. The defensive front with Suh and company was the best defensive front we have had at Nebraska I have seen. They could crunch a line up the middle, from the edges it didn't matter. And they did it with continual double teams. It was just man on man stay in your gap ass kicking. They could and did score crucial points. Its something to have a line than can control a game, it's something else to have a line that you can almost count on providing a touchdown per game. Coverage was excellent too something both those defenses had in common. If the quarterback doesn't have anywhere to go with the ball they hold it just a little longer and that helps the line. Bo flat knows defense.

 

Couldn't disagree more...The edges were a huge weakness with that front. Take Suh out of the equation and that defensive front would have stunk.

[True2tRA]

I also absolutely disagree. That defensive front doesn't even belong in the top ten defensive front fours in Nebraska history. No way, no how. Suh belongs in the top of the list of great Husker defensive linemen, but you take Suh off that line and it would not have been a force at all. Suh took so much attention and still nobody else really stepped up and blew you away.