Silver Lining? Will the UCLA game finally be the game that forces us to make the necessary changes that we need?

[The Duke]

i think a big problem with this game was that they just out-played us. our defense was embarrassing, but they did make a few key stops and out offense had its chances to win this for us (like some of us expected would have to happen this season). but ucla just played with more intensity and passion than we did. they played with a reckless abandon, our defense needs that.

 

finally, why go up the gut on 3rd and 1 when we were beating them consistently on the outside. let ameer do what he is best at.

I think the way you described UCLA's defense last night was spot on. That is exactly how they played, with "reckless abandon." It so reminded me of our stout defenses of the 90's where we knew we were blitzing, the other team knew we were blitzing. Those teams back then had the mindset that if you scored on us or completed a first down on us then well... good for you, but if you didn't then it was usually a pretty good outcome for us.

[The Duke]

Someone said something about scheme. Scheme has nothing to do with missed tackles, period! If you have your arms on someone, you must make a tackle.

 

If you can't tackle, you can't win!

i totally agree with you. If a team is struggling, best way to fix it is to first coach up quality fundamentals, and then build on top of that.

[The Duke]

Agreed except

 

2) Will Pelini and Beck become more committed to some of type of running game?

I don't care if it's a commitment to a zone-read game, power football (ISO, Power-O, Counter), or true triple option, but we need to find a solid running game that works for the players we currently have in the program right now, and we have to stay committed to it, and build some play-action passes off of those base runs. Taylor Martinez is much for comfortable throwing play-action passes then he is drop back passes because of the fact that the window he is trying to throw into is much larger. It provides him more of a safety net if you will even if he doesn't throw the ball perfectly.

Just leave it alone, at least for right now. First game was overall excellent ..... no droppies, no false starts, no picks, etc.

 

Hopefully freak UCLA performance. Hiccup

I agree that they shouldn't tinker around too much with this year's offensive package. Overall changes should start during the bowl practices and working into spring & summer.

 

However I do think during these next two weeks that they need to narrow down what type of running game or running style this team runs best. If it's zone-read...go with it! If it's power football...go with it! Choose one of those two that they do best, add in some counters, screens, and draws and stay committed to it if it's working.

[ladyhawke]

As painful and as embarrassing as last night was for our Huskers, could the silver lining be that this will finally get the coaches attention that CHANGES ARE NEEDED...on both sides of the ball?

 

1) Will Pelini find some humility and start tinkering with the defense? Will he move us away from using a two-gap scheme to more of a one-gap scheme so that our front four can play more aggressive and not have to think so much before and during a given play?

I sure hope so. Everyone watch Alabama's defense under Nick Saban. They are running a one-gap Cover 1 mostly man-to-man defense with Robber coverage underneath, which acts like a Cover 2 defense except it is harder for the opposing quarterback to make that read pre-snap. The one-gap allows the defensive front four to only have to be in charge of one-gap, meaning they can play much more aggressively off the ball then a two-gap defender. Will Pelini switch Nebraska's defense? Maybe after the UCLA performance I hope so, but you never know with Bo.

 

2) Will Pelini and Beck become more committed to some of type of running game?

I don't care if it's a commitment to a zone-read game, power football (ISO, Power-O, Counter), or true triple option, but we need to find a solid running game that works for the players we currently have in the program right now, and we have to stay committed to it, and build some play-action passes off of those base runs. Taylor Martinez is much for comfortable throwing play-action passes then he is drop back passes because of the fact that the window he is trying to throw into is much larger. It provides him more of a safety net if you will even if he doesn't throw the ball perfectly.

 

3) Was this the wake-up call game that our coaches needed so that we can turn this program around?

I honestly do think this game will have a lasting effect on how Pelini's tenure plays out at Nebraska. I think our performance against UCLA shook Bo to his core, and that he will try to make some major changes to this team. What those changes will be is anyone's guess? But my point is, Nebraska has been down this road before.

 

Remember Osborne switched from a balanced offensive attack in the 1970's to the iconic option offense in 1980. Nebraska and Osborne didn't make the switch from his 5-2 defense to the 4-3 defense until 1992. In the book "A Salute to Nebraska's Tom Osborne" Osborne is quoted as saying they made the switch once they proved they could stop the run with the 4-3. He said, "We recruited people who could cover man-to-man, went to smaller, quicker defensive people up front and made the switch away from the 5-2 defense for the first time in almost 30 years." Osborne continued by saying, "When you can pressure on defense, get the ball back to your offense, you can do a lot of things with the offense."

 

It is hard to pressure a defense with a two-gap defensive scheme when you don't have a sold defensive line. I've posted this a few weeks ago, and those that want to read the entire interview can find it here: http://hailvarsity.c...-talks-two-gap/ but recently Charlie McBride told HailVaristy.com that "(The two-gap player) has to be able to have great strength. You have to have good hand strength, good position and you have to be ready to play both of those gaps. The thing is with it, you can't make a mistake." He continued by saying, "When you're playing two-gap, of course, you're a team that reads. You're really not a terrific attacking team. The strength factor is huge. You have to be a really strong person to do that." He concluded by saying, "If you don't have a defensive line, you can go home."

 

I've no answers for you, but I'll definitely give you a +1 for the effort in your post!

Thanks Paul! I don't claim to have the answers, I mainly just have some ideas and suggestions like many other Husker fans do out there. The main point of the post was to offer a little context and to put things into perspective.

 

Do we currently have some issues and questions in the program? Yes, but the good thing is that many of these issues are correctable and can be fixed. The real questions are when will these issues be addressed? How will they be addressed? And what specifically will they focus on first?

 

I honestly think we are going to be ok as long as we don't look at what happened yesterday in Pasadena with the continuous mindset of "we just didn't execute" type of excuse. As long as the coaches are honest with themselves and admit that the status quo isn't working, and that changes do need to be implemented than I really do think Nebraska will be fine.

Great post. Perhaps a better mindset would be: "We're not executing. Why?' I would like for Bo & Co. to take an honest look as to why these kids are not executing. I would also like to see him rotate players more. I was thinking about this last night after the game: I think our defense was getting really tired towards the middle of the second quarter. At that point, I would've loved to have seen Bo send out a whole, new, fresh set of legs. If we had a rotation system like that, then maybe we could see which players fit which slots in a real game. A particular player might look great in practice but have an off day/night during actual play.

So, put in someone else. It's not a crime. It doesn't mean the player that left the game stinks. It just means that he wasn't at his best that particular day/night.

[VectorVictor]

Ladyhawke, that has been a criticism of Bo since day one--he rarely subs second team or third team players in during a blowout, and does not do near enough substitution.

 

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I agree with the takeaways presented in the thread here, and I'm watching to see if Bo and Co make changes or stick to the 'corporate line', if you will.

 

Let's not forget--we have a coach that was a former coordinator, and we knew going in to it that there would be rough spots while he matured. Bo has one of the best football minds, bar none. Sometimes, though, even the best minds need to realize that they are wrong and make adjustments accordingly--like what Dr. Tom did during the 70s and 80s.

 

I do hope that Bo has matured to where he makes the right decision and doesn't give in to hubris...

[junior4949]

The problem with Bo's defense is similar to the problems of Clownahan's offense. It's extremely difficult to learn which is why mostly veterans play and there's few substitutions. I don't mean to put down a former player, but it reminds me of why OHanlon was out there on the field for us. He wasn't an extremely athletically gifted guy, but he knew the defense inside and out. We're not going to win any NC's with OHanlon type athletes on defense. The defense needs to be simplified so we can get our speed onto the field. Terrell Farley wasn't exceptionally gifted scholastically speaking, but he was a very gifted athlete that played balls out. I find myself wondering if he'd have ever even sniffed the field if he'd been coached by Bo?

[Brouhaha]

The problem with Bo's defense is similar to the problems of Clownahan's offense. It's extremely difficult to learn which is why mostly veterans play and there's few substitutions. I don't mean to put down a former player, but it reminds me of why OHanlon was out there on the field for us. He wasn't an extremely athletically gifted guy, but he knew the defense inside and out. We're not going to win any NC's with OHanlon type athletes on defense. The defense needs to be simplified so we can get our speed onto the field. Terrell Farley wasn't exceptionally gifted scholastically speaking, but he was a very gifted athlete that played balls out. I find myself wondering if he'd have ever even sniffed the field if he'd been coached by Bo?

 

I actually don't agree with that. O'Hanlon was a very good all around defender (except Va Tech). He had 3 picks against Oklahoma, granted it was Landry Jones, but it was still really impressive. He was always in the right place. I wish we could have more O'Hanlon's on our team.