Our defense is missing an critical component..

[huskerfan333157]

and that is a LEADER. I dont see a leader out there on defense, I know people will say compton but I just dont see it from him. Someone needs to grab the bull by the horn and take charge of that defense. Who is going to be vocal? Who is going to motivate the rest of the defense? All of our offensive players improved yet it seems like none of our defensive players improved, if youre a leader you will hold your fellow teammates accountable and will motivate them to do hard work in the offseason to improve themselves and to come together as a unit. It seems to me that is what is lacking on the defense. Hopefully someone will step in that leadership role on defense!

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I think (and hope) Eric Martin will be that guy

[The Dude]

I've no problems with Compton's leadership. Not even a little bit.

 

 

The only thing the defense is missing is an elite defensive tackle. It can still be a very good defense without one, and I'm sure it will be a very good defense this year. But it won't be a great defense without a great defensive tackle, or two.

[B.B. Hemingway]

Will Compton

 

(Insert name of greatest leader) couldn't have helped Whaley make those tackles, or help our D stop the QB run....

[DTrain2020]

You lost me at an

[The Dude]

It gets interesting reading the OP in Jason Peter's nasally voice. hmmm. . .

[Enhance]

I don't think it's leadership. Compton, Stafford, Meredith, Steinkuhler...all those guys are experienced and some of them are multi-year starters. I believe our problem (as much as I don't like to say it) is talent and depth - we just don't have a lot especially along the defensive line. We don't have many explosive or dynamic players along the line. This was painfully obvious last year and, despite the extenuating circumstances, was prevalent in Saturday's game.

 

Maybe the lack of film, the generic preparation and constant quarterback shuffling really masked what is a talented defensive line. I don't know. But right now, I'm inclined to think it's more of a talent issue.

[Count 'Bility]

The thing that has me excited about this group after yesterday is how Bo basically made a bunch of excuses for them. That's never happened. He's always been the "we did some good things but have a lot to work on" no matter how good the performance was. This time he paraded out the reasons we looked sloppy at times and I believe they are legitimate reasons. He even admitted in post game on ABC that he feels they showed the guys too much and that they were unsure about the basics and that SO Miss was more conventional than they expected. So I have confidence it will get better. We saw flashes of brilliance but as bad as it seemed, we only gave up 13 points and only 100 yards in the second half when the game was still in question for the most part.

[tschu]

It gets interesting reading the OP in Jason Peter's nasally voice. hmmm. . .

Oh god. Perfect lol

[RexIsMyDogg]

I think (and hope) Eric Martin will be that guy

 

Agreed. He needs to be the beast this year we all know he can be. As Matt Kemp says, he needs to "let beast mode off its leash."

[deedsker]

When push comes to shove, we gave up 13 points on defense and only 3 after half. Hopefully things will be fixed.

[Polarhusker]

and that is a LEADER. I dont see a leader out there on defense, I know people will say compton but I just dont see it from him. Someone needs to grab the bull by the horn and take charge of that defense. Who is going to be vocal? Who is going to motivate the rest of the defense? All of our offensive players improved yet it seems like none of our defensive players improved, if youre a leader you will hold your fellow teammates accountable and will motivate them to do hard work in the offseason to improve themselves and to come together as a unit. It seems to me that is what is lacking on the defense. Hopefully someone will step in that leadership role on defense!

 

Man that's A lot of speculation on your part.

[huskerfan333157]

When push comes to shove, we gave up 13 points on defense and only 3 after half. Hopefully things will be fixed.

 

Southern Miss had plenty of miss opportunities. The screen pass that could have gone for a td if it wasnt dropped and their wr's dropped quite a few balls as well.

[Treand3]

When push comes to shove, we gave up 13 points on defense and only 3 after half. Hopefully things will be fixed.

 

Southern Miss had plenty of miss opportunities. The screen pass that could have gone for a td if it wasnt dropped and their wr's dropped quite a few balls as well.

 

I was pretty upset with how open that play was.

[Enhance]

I would also like to ask how people on here come to the conclusion we have no leaders? The same claims have been made here for years, most noticeably on the offense. What gives? Are you watching the sidelines every play? Do you have a camera/mic strapped to half the defense? Leadership can only take you so far - at the end of every play it comes down to whether or not you did the job you were supposed to. Leadership/motivation isn't always the end-all-be-all to playing good football, not that anyone here is really suggesting it.

 

The point is there's far more to this game than psychology. I'm not saying sports psychology isn't important, because it is, but sometimes a player just isn't very good and that has little to do with pscyhology.