Defensive Coordinator

[HuskerShark]

Ya this was a really bad d this year. Its remarkable that we played so well in a few games. The real measuring stick is the 9 senior starters we are losing. Are any going to get drafted? I say no, maybe Baker late.

 

I would say that Baker and Caveman have the best chances at getting drafted. Maybe Compton, but I doubt it. Maybe Stafford, but I doubt that one too.

[The Dude]

I think Stoops is kind of overrated, I don't think he would have done much to improve the defense. He just would have been a name to sell recruits.

 

I would like to see Bo do less micromanaging though, and concentrate more on being the head coach. I'm in favor of hiring someone to take over the defense, I don't think Papuchis is the guy, though. He seems like a great guy, and is a good recruiter, but whether or not he's qualified to be a real defensive coordinator at a school like this is an open question.

 

A question we all know the answer to, if we're being honest with ourselves.

[LumberJackSker]

I really do not think the defense is a coaching problem, I think Bo knows what to do, but does not have the talent level he needs. Vicious cycle with recruiting. Not good enough to get the best, not bad enough for some to want to come and fix the problem.

 

Some say we will be worse next year on the Dline, some say better. Bo said he should have burned some of the Defensive red shirts this year, but like all of us hind sight is a lot better. That is what drove me nuts this year, thinking we had young studs on the sidelines that could help us, but saving them for growth and development so we can have them 4 years of playing time. I would have rather seen some of them get their feet wet and have a clue of what next year brings.

 

I think the team played about as well as it could today, and in honesty think they did pretty good, until we went away from the run. But who knows.

 

We have a long off season, hopefully things will get figured out by spring. Praying the recruiting picks up for the Dline and Oline.. Although at times the Oline looked good as did the Dline. Which makes believe it is recruiting and depth, more so than coaching. Need to get to work either way.

 

But thinking Bo is not running the D seems silly to me. P is learning, hopefully he will improve over the next year which will allow Bo to concentrate on the things he needs to.

+1

 

I agree 100% with this.

Agree also, but would add that no other coaches would have been able to do any better with the amount of injuries we had on Defense.

and the lack of DT talent

What? shouldnt he have adjusted the system to fit the players he had on the field? i know there was a lack of talent on the field but come on guys OSU put 63 on this team UCF held them to 31 and UAB held them to 29 is the talent on this years defense really THAT BAD i dont think you can explain this years struggles a way by just saying its because of injuries or lack of talent some of the blame has to go on the coaches

[FriendlyLurker2007]

simplify the d line scheme..dont have to be rocket scientist or suh to play on the line lol :moreinteresting

[skersfan]

Most likely a higher motivation to stomp on Nebraska, than the other two. Beatings have down the road affects. I am sure that was the seed being planted.

 

Lack of talent on player and staff side. Not saying the staff can not do the job, just not ready yet. Therefore Bo does more than he should be doing, be it his choice or matter of fact.

 

Another year and we will see if there is improvement.

 

Also on the recruiting deal, Bo was the current MNC DC going into kids homes. First year maybe a mulligan, after that you have to get the job done, no excuses. If that is the problem, it is on the Head Coach no one else.

 

What worries me, some on here say what is coming is not as good as what is leaving, and the reason they did not burn the shirt. That worries quite a bit. Hopefully they will develop over the next 8 months and be ready, but if after four years we could not have this years class ready, I highly doubt we will see great improvement that quickly.

 

I doubt we really see what Bo is made of until 2014 if he lets a backup play QB next year. He does have the NFL mentality normally it seems. Experience over athletic ability.

[zoogs]

I don't know what to think about coaches. I've seen people opine in the past, before JP was a DC, that he was considered an average coach and a good recruiter. But his recruiting importance to the staff might be overstated. So, could the staff be getting more mileage from that spot? I think it is possible, but what do I know? JP appears to be pretty highly thought of by Bo, but it does remain my opinion that if we could get a guy here who can DC under BO and be a truly ace recruiting asset, that'd be great.

[HuskerFowler]

Most likely a higher motivation to stomp on Nebraska, than the other two. Beatings have down the road affects. I am sure that was the seed being planted.

 

Lack of talent on player and staff side. Not saying the staff can not do the job, just not ready yet. Therefore Bo does more than he should be doing, be it his choice or matter of fact.

 

Another year and we will see if there is improvement.

 

Also on the recruiting deal, Bo was the current MNC DC going into kids homes. First year maybe a mulligan, after that you have to get the job done, no excuses. If that is the problem, it is on the Head Coach no one else.

 

What worries me, some on here say what is coming is not as good as what is leaving, and the reason they did not burn the shirt. That worries quite a bit. Hopefully they will develop over the next 8 months and be ready, but if after four years we could not have this years class ready, I highly doubt we will see great improvement that quickly.

 

I doubt we really see what Bo is made of until 2014 if he lets a backup play QB next year. He does have the NFL mentality normally it seems. Experience over athletic ability.

 

I dont think anyone is saying that, especially not from the guy playing on the scout team that i have talked to personally. We have LBs here and coming that were offered by Notre Dame USC OU OSU, and dline guys offered by the big boys as well. We have recruited well the last few years, how fast they develop is anyones guess however, and will be the wild card going into next season. I know they have put alot more emphasis on bringing the younger guys along this year instead of just ignoring them on scout team until the offseason, and i know the young guys have been learning and studying hard, knowing they are all going to get their shot next year. The coaches obviously know everyone on the D is going to be new, and they know they need to get them up to speed quickly, and it sounds like they have a bit of a jump start. So i guess we can just hope they develop a little faster. The good thing is the guys we are going to be relying on have the size and speed required to play right now they just need to get the mental side down and play and get experience playing together. There will be growing pains, thats for sure, but i think the playmaking ability will over rule that, especially later in the season and our offense will save our butts.

 

He said the scout team d has been quite a thorn in the side of our offense this year. Im optimistic just hearing things coming out from practices like that, let alone hearing it from someone living it everyday.

[Joe_5700]

I just looked up some stats. Below are the worst 8 defensive performances in yards allowed in NU history. IMO there is much more than a talent issue, although I believe the best talent on the defensive side of the ball sits on the bench. Oklahoma (1956) 656 UCLA (2012) 653 Wisconsin (2012) 640 Notre Dame (1948) 620 Washington (1991) 618 Ball State (2007) 610 Missouri (2007) 606 Georgia (2012) 589

 

Yards are one thing... What about the 2007 Oklahoma State game? They were up on us 38-0 at the half.

[Count 'Bility]

I just looked up some stats. Below are the worst 8 defensive performances in yards allowed in NU history. IMO there is much more than a talent issue, although I believe the best talent on the defensive side of the ball sits on the bench. Oklahoma (1956) 656 UCLA (2012) 653 Wisconsin (2012) 640 Notre Dame (1948) 620 Washington (1991) 618 Ball State (2007) 610 Missouri (2007) 606 Georgia (2012) 589

 

Yards are one thing... What about the 2007 Oklahoma State game? They were up on us 38-0 at the half.

What about Missouri 2007? they were up 14-0 in 4 minutes.

[junior4949]

I really do not think the defense is a coaching problem, I think Bo knows what to do, but does not have the talent level he needs. Vicious cycle with recruiting. Not good enough to get the best, not bad enough for some to want to come and fix the problem.

 

Some say we will be worse next year on the Dline, some say better. Bo said he should have burned some of the Defensive red shirts this year, but like all of us hind sight is a lot better. That is what drove me nuts this year, thinking we had young studs on the sidelines that could help us, but saving them for growth and development so we can have them 4 years of playing time. I would have rather seen some of them get their feet wet and have a clue of what next year brings.

 

I think the team played about as well as it could today, and in honesty think they did pretty good, until we went away from the run. But who knows.

 

We have a long off season, hopefully things will get figured out by spring. Praying the recruiting picks up for the Dline and Oline.. Although at times the Oline looked good as did the Dline. Which makes believe it is recruiting and depth, more so than coaching. Need to get to work either way.

 

But thinking Bo is not running the D seems silly to me. P is learning, hopefully he will improve over the next year which will allow Bo to concentrate on the things he needs to.

+1

 

I agree 100% with this.

Agree also, but would add that no other coaches would have been able to do any better with the amount of injuries we had on Defense.

and the lack of DT talent

What? shouldnt he have adjusted the system to fit the players he had on the field? i know there was a lack of talent on the field but come on guys OSU put 63 on this team UCF held them to 31 and UAB held them to 29 is the talent on this years defense really THAT BAD i dont think you can explain this years struggles a way by just saying its because of injuries or lack of talent some of the blame has to go on the coaches

 

I don't think the talent was that bad. I see it as more of trying to pound a square peg through a round hole. We didn't have the DL to play a 2 gap, but we did it anyway. Watson looked like a pretty decent OC last night. It always helps when you have the kind of players you need for your scheme. We didn't have the kind of players we needed to run our scheme this year. Suh was a once in a generation type player that basically gave us unrealistic expectations going forward. Crick should have left a year earlier because he would have made a lot more money. We got pressure and hung with Georgia until they made corrections. The DL assignments need to be simplified, and we need more athletic LBs.

[Enhance]

Bo is the Defensive coordinator you're kidding yourself if you think Coach Pap does anything more than just agree with Bo and smile

That's exactly the problem for me, though. There are some coaches on this staff that probably shouldn't be in the position they're in at a university like Nebraska, specifically JP. He was a "defensive intern" at LSU for four years, then followed Bo here, where he went from special teams coordinator to defensive coordinator in five years. It took him five years to take over a head coordinating job at a premier division one football university. That's unreal.

 

Pelini for all intents and purposes is in charge of the defense. If that's true, then what's the point of JP, what is his role, and how does it contribute to the team's goals?

[StPaulHusker]

Just to put things into somewhat of a perspective, Wil Muschamp was a DC at age 31 AT LSU. Pap is a little older than that. Also, Muschamps FIRST HC job was at Florida. So to all the people that say Nebraska is not a place where you have 1st time HC or Coordinators should take a look at what goes on around at other places. We don't know what we have with Pap yet. I think next year will speak volumes.

[Enhance]

Just to put things into somewhat of a perspective, Wil Muschamp was a DC at age 31 AT LSU. Pap is a little older than that. Also, Muschamps FIRST HC job was at Florida. So to all the people that say Nebraska is not a place where you have 1st time HC or Coordinators should take a look at what goes on around at other places. We don't know what we have with Pap yet. I think next year will speak volumes.

That's a fair point, but Muschamp also coached under a significantly more knowledgeable head coach (Nick Saban) with a more experienced staff. Saban recruits coaches about as well as he recruits players. The man is a football genius. I trust his decision-making more than I do Pelini's.

 

I'm not saying JP is the only issue at Nebraska - the talent on the defense is a huge problem too. All I'm saying is there's little about his experience and the production from the units he has coached that lead me to believe he's a worthy DC. Time will tell, you're right, but Nebraska fans are not going to sit and wait for Pelini's staff to mature over the years. He's heading into year six - the time to experiment has pretty much gone out the window for a lot of people.

[Count 'Bility]

Bo is the Defensive coordinator you're kidding yourself if you think Coach Pap does anything more than just agree with Bo and smile

That's exactly the problem for me, though. There are some coaches on this staff that probably shouldn't be in the position they're in at a university like Nebraska, specifically JP. He was a "defensive intern" at LSU for four years, then followed Bo here, where he went from special teams coordinator to defensive coordinator in five years. It took him five years to take over a head coordinating job at a premier division one football university. That's unreal.

 

Pelini for all intents and purposes is in charge of the defense. If that's true, then what's the point of JP, what is his role, and how does it contribute to the team's goals?

Papuchis also had the title of DE coach, which basically amounted to him being the Assistant DL coach. For 2011, Carl "supposedly" took over full time DC duties so that Bo could put more time in with Beck in developing an offensive system, hence making Papuchis the DL coach exlusively. I put trust in Bo that he see's something in Papuchis. He's been with John for many years already. I trust that Bo is in a hell of a lot better position that any of us here to make that call.

[junior4949]

Bo is the Defensive coordinator you're kidding yourself if you think Coach Pap does anything more than just agree with Bo and smile

That's exactly the problem for me, though. There are some coaches on this staff that probably shouldn't be in the position they're in at a university like Nebraska, specifically JP. He was a "defensive intern" at LSU for four years, then followed Bo here, where he went from special teams coordinator to defensive coordinator in five years. It took him five years to take over a head coordinating job at a premier division one football university. That's unreal.

 

Pelini for all intents and purposes is in charge of the defense. If that's true, then what's the point of JP, what is his role, and how does it contribute to the team's goals?

 

I'm completely fine with Bo being DC if Pap is the recruiting guru that he's made out to be. TO was OC. What's the difference if the HC is also a OC or DC? I'm just not sold yet that Pap is this recruiting guru.