McKewon: Trying to bridge the gap on defense

[lo country]

I brought this up once before but Gary Barnnett (former Buff coach) mentioned that he's noticed that teams that run a spread style of offense have softer defenses due to practicing against these finesse offenses in practice all week. The offense spreads you out...the defense plays patty cake...is it any wonder we get crushed on the ground?

 

Sadly, this makes perfect sense. The whole "attack where they are not" mentality of the spread leaves most of our D in one on one situations. Couple this with our "match play" DB's and it is a recipe for disaster. I remember Crouch saying in that style you have to be able to put hands on your guy as soon as they touch the ball, hang on and wait for the Cavalry. Unfortunately, guys gets a step on their "match" and pursuit is so far off that it often times isn't there until 15 yrds down the field.

 

As it is all finesse, we are probably taught to almost "ride the block" to the perceived area the ball is going. It could be the reason for the consistent dance of the bears we see with our DL. The whole "which way did he go, which way did he go". I would like to see us simply line up hat on hat and do the gap control that Ruud spoke of in an interview.

 

We need to get physically and mentally tougher. When we get called out by NDSU and SDSU we have issues.

 

 

Brian Shawn ‏@BShawn1728 Sep

Wow, #SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier says that #NDSU is much more physical on defense that Nebraska... Yeah, the Cornhuskers...

 

2. By now, you’ve probably heard about or read the comments out of North Dakota State’s 20-0 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday. Zach Zenner, the SDSU running back who chopped through Nebraska’s defense for 202 yards last week, was held to four yards on eight carries by NDSU’s defense. The Bison also had seven sacks of SDSU. It was a dominant performance, which led Fargo sportswriter Jeff Kolpack to write that maybe Nebraska should send the Blackshirts to Fargo because “the FCS junior varsity Bison showed the FBS Big Ten Huskers how to play real defense.” That was followed with a quote from Bison linebacker Grant Olson saying that from watching film the previous week, it didn’t look like Nebraska’s defense played hard against SDSU, and the Jackrabbits looked like the more physical team. Ordinarily that would be pretty hot stuff in Lincoln Land, bulletin board material for the locker room and the corner bar. But these days around Husker football, I wonder if it will even register a shrug.

http://sports.omaha.com/2013/09/29/last-call-sunday-night-2/#.UkoJmShU5So

 

So yea, I think we have fallen from relevance and need a serious adjustment. That stuff is flat out embarrassing.

[zoogs]

One would think that practicing all the time against an up-tempo, spread the field offense would help a defense be ready to face the same kind of thing on Saturdays.

 

Plus, in what world is our run, run, run offense of the past three years more "finesse" than Shawn Watson's 2009 attack that produced Bo's best defense?

 

Football fans have this constant, irrational need to see something 'masculine'. I dunno mans.

[TheSker]

Ordinarily that would be pretty hot stuff in Lincoln Land, bulletin board material for the locker room and the corner bar.

We already have scoreboard

[lo country]

One would think that practicing all the time against an up-tempo, spread the field offense would help a defense be ready to face the same kind of thing on Saturdays.

 

Plus, in what world is our run, run, run offense of the past three years more "finesse" than Shawn Watson's 2009 attack that produced Bo's best defense?

 

Football fans have this constant, irrational need to see something 'masculine'. I dunno mans.

 

I would agree, BUT the O we have seen this year, IMO is a far cry from a well oiled machine. Look at UCLA for example. We had like 8 3 and outs. Stupid penalties, fumbles etc...... I think if we are going 1 vs 1 we might be getting a false sense of security. Bo also says that we need to translate practice to games. This is frustrating because I have to believe that the D is doing the right things in practice. The staff has got to be completely befuddled.

 

<img class="UMSRatingIcon" id="ums_img_tooltip" />

[True2tRA]

I didn't like in Bo's pressed today how he kind of assumed that outside voices want him to "simplify" by just keeping the defense in "one" look. He says he threw more and more at the guys to challenge them. Clearly at times it was too much. Again, too complicated.

 

Come on Bo. This is the kind of extremes I'm talking about. Nobody with an ounce of logic is saying to trim your defense down to "one" thing. But you don't throw the whole book at them either. I'm beginning to think there is no middle ground with you Bo. It seems that way in almost all circumstances with you, and not just your football team.

 

Please Bo, for the sake of your team, you have got to start learning. You build upon things. The key is you have to start somewhere. You take a concept, you establish an understanding amongst your team. You practice it, you repeat it over and over. This creates a level of comfort with the scenario. Comfort in the system creates confidence. With a young team this is vital. When ou see your team has grasped it, you build another level. PROGRESS.

 

You might only argue that he has not had time to start over. That he has only realized these problems 4 games into,this season and he hasn't had time to right them. Well excuse me, but this word FIX has been thrown around for a lot longer Han just this year. Also, if you didn't recognize in spring and fall that your guys were struggling within the scheme, well then you're not the guru you and your supporters claim you are.

[HuskerShark]

I brought this up once before but Gary Barnnett (former Buff coach) mentioned that he's noticed that teams that run a spread style of offense have softer defenses due to practicing against these finesse offenses in practice all week. The offense spreads you out...the defense plays patty cake...is it any wonder we get crushed on the ground?

 

Sadly, this makes perfect sense. The whole "attack where they are not" mentality of the spread leaves most of our D in one on one situations. Couple this with our "match play" DB's and it is a recipe for disaster. I remember Crouch saying in that style you have to be able to put hands on your guy as soon as they touch the ball, hang on and wait for the Cavalry. Unfortunately, guys gets a step on their "match" and pursuit is so far off that it often times isn't there until 15 yrds down the field.

 

As it is all finesse, we are probably taught to almost "ride the block" to the perceived area the ball is going. It could be the reason for the consistent dance of the bears we see with our DL. The whole "which way did he go, which way did he go". I would like to see us simply line up hat on hat and do the gap control that Ruud spoke of in an interview.

 

We need to get physically and mentally tougher. When we get called out by NDSU and SDSU we have issues.

 

 

Brian Shawn ‏@BShawn1728 Sep

Wow, #SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier says that #NDSU is much more physical on defense that Nebraska... Yeah, the Cornhuskers...

 

2. By now, you’ve probably heard about or read the comments out of North Dakota State’s 20-0 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday. Zach Zenner, the SDSU running back who chopped through Nebraska’s defense for 202 yards last week, was held to four yards on eight carries by NDSU’s defense. The Bison also had seven sacks of SDSU. It was a dominant performance, which led Fargo sportswriter Jeff Kolpack to write that maybe Nebraska should send the Blackshirts to Fargo because “the FCS junior varsity Bison showed the FBS Big Ten Huskers how to play real defense.” That was followed with a quote from Bison linebacker Grant Olson saying that from watching film the previous week, it didn’t look like Nebraska’s defense played hard against SDSU, and the Jackrabbits looked like the more physical team. Ordinarily that would be pretty hot stuff in Lincoln Land, bulletin board material for the locker room and the corner bar. But these days around Husker football, I wonder if it will even register a shrug.

http://sports.omaha....2/#.UkoJmShU5So

 

So yea, I think we have fallen from relevance and need a serious adjustment. That stuff is flat out embarrassing.

 

If this and other quotes like this are not hung up in the locker room right now, someone needs slapped. If hearing and reading that doesn't motivate the defensive players to kick it into gear, then there is a serious mentality issue.

[lo country]

I didn't like in Bo's pressed today how he kind of assumed that outside voices want him to "simplify" by just keeping the defense in "one" look. He says he threw more and more at the guys to challenge them. Clearly at times it was too much. Again, too complicated.

 

Come on Bo. This is the kind of extremes I'm talking about. Nobody with an ounce of logic is saying to trim your defense down to "one" thing. But you don't throw the whole book at them either. I'm beginning to think there is no middle ground with you Bo. It seems that way in almost all circumstances with you, and not just your football team.

 

Please Bo, for the sake of your team, you have got to start learning. You build upon things. The key is you have to start somewhere. You take a concept, you establish an understanding amongst your team. You practice it, you repeat it over and over. This creates a level of comfort with the scenario. Comfort in the system creates confidence. With a young team this is vital. When ou see your team has grasped it, you build another level. PROGRESS.

 

You might only argue that he has not had time to start over. That he has only realized these problems 4 games into,this season and he hasn't had time to right them. Well excuse me, but this word FIX has been thrown around for a lot longer Han just this year. Also, if you didn't recognize in spring and fall that your guys were struggling within the scheme, well then you're not the guru you and your supporters claim you are.

 

When has our O looked the most fluid this year? IMO, SDSU. Granted it was a FCS school, BUT it flowed from one play to the next. No penalties, no "too many guys in the backfield" etc..... The O played in a way to support the D. Sustained drives to eat the clock, give the D a breather and allow them to be coached "in game". According to Beck it was a pared down O. Instead of practicing 15 things 5 times, Beck says they practiced 5 things 15 times. After UCLA Beck even said I watched film and realized I called things we only ran 3 times all week.

 

Simple doesn't mean easy. It doesn't mean worse. Try it Bo. It worked with the O.

<img class="UMSRatingIcon" id="ums_img_tooltip" />

[HuskerShark]

I didn't like in Bo's pressed today how he kind of assumed that outside voices want him to "simplify" by just keeping the defense in "one" look. He says he threw more and more at the guys to challenge them. Clearly at times it was too much. Again, too complicated.

 

Come on Bo. This is the kind of extremes I'm talking about. Nobody with an ounce of logic is saying to trim your defense down to "one" thing. But you don't throw the whole book at them either. I'm beginning to think there is no middle ground with you Bo. It seems that way in almost all circumstances with you, and not just your football team.

 

Please Bo, for the sake of your team, you have got to start learning. You build upon things. The key is you have to start somewhere. You take a concept, you establish an understanding amongst your team. You practice it, you repeat it over and over. This creates a level of comfort with the scenario. Comfort in the system creates confidence. With a young team this is vital. When ou see your team has grasped it, you build another level. PROGRESS.

 

You might only argue that he has not had time to start over. That he has only realized these problems 4 games into,this season and he hasn't had time to right them. Well excuse me, but this word FIX has been thrown around for a lot longer Han just this year. Also, if you didn't recognize in spring and fall that your guys were struggling within the scheme, well then you're not the guru you and your supporters claim you are.

 

In 2008 when he first got here people asked him to do the same thing half way through the season and dumb down the defense. He refused to do so, and what resulted was one of the best defenses I've ever seen. So who knows what's going to happen...

[lo country]

I didn't like in Bo's pressed today how he kind of assumed that outside voices want him to "simplify" by just keeping the defense in "one" look. He says he threw more and more at the guys to challenge them. Clearly at times it was too much. Again, too complicated.

 

Come on Bo. This is the kind of extremes I'm talking about. Nobody with an ounce of logic is saying to trim your defense down to "one" thing. But you don't throw the whole book at them either. I'm beginning to think there is no middle ground with you Bo. It seems that way in almost all circumstances with you, and not just your football team.

 

Please Bo, for the sake of your team, you have got to start learning. You build upon things. The key is you have to start somewhere. You take a concept, you establish an understanding amongst your team. You practice it, you repeat it over and over. This creates a level of comfort with the scenario. Comfort in the system creates confidence. With a young team this is vital. When ou see your team has grasped it, you build another level. PROGRESS.

 

You might only argue that he has not had time to start over. That he has only realized these problems 4 games into,this season and he hasn't had time to right them. Well excuse me, but this word FIX has been thrown around for a lot longer Han just this year. Also, if you didn't recognize in spring and fall that your guys were struggling within the scheme, well then you're not the guru you and your supporters claim you are.

 

In 2008 when he first got here people asked him to do the same thing half way through the season and dumb down the defense. He refused to do so, and what resulted was one of the best defenses I've ever seen. So who knows what's going to happen...

It is almost the complete opposite of 2009. Our O was pathetic. Bo had, IIRC, made the O go completely into a shell. No mistakes, no TO's, play smart, simplify, let the D do the heavy lifting. It worked. It now might be time for Bo to tell Paps (or himself) simplify, no mistakes, just keep them from scoring every possession, let the O do its thing. Put the guys in a simplified, hat on hat, see ball get ball mentality. Like TA said to the D after SDSU took the lead, "Don't worry, we got this".

 

Lean on the strength of the team right now, get Beck to dial it down to slow it down. Eat the clock, let the D rest, get coached during the game etc.......

 

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

[EZ-E]

We just flat out can't put ourselves in a numbers disadvantage. We have one guy on our DL that demands a double team each play. We don't have two.

 

If I were Bo, I'd simply put my safeties closer to the LOS and force a college QB to beat our secondary. On obvious passing downs, sure play two-high, but damn, we can't rely on 5 guys up front to beat six anymore. Especially when the offense can easily option one DE off with the zone read.

[I am I]

derp

[HuskerShark]

I didn't like in Bo's pressed today how he kind of assumed that outside voices want him to "simplify" by just keeping the defense in "one" look. He says he threw more and more at the guys to challenge them. Clearly at times it was too much. Again, too complicated.

 

Come on Bo. This is the kind of extremes I'm talking about. Nobody with an ounce of logic is saying to trim your defense down to "one" thing. But you don't throw the whole book at them either. I'm beginning to think there is no middle ground with you Bo. It seems that way in almost all circumstances with you, and not just your football team.

 

Please Bo, for the sake of your team, you have got to start learning. You build upon things. The key is you have to start somewhere. You take a concept, you establish an understanding amongst your team. You practice it, you repeat it over and over. This creates a level of comfort with the scenario. Comfort in the system creates confidence. With a young team this is vital. When ou see your team has grasped it, you build another level. PROGRESS.

 

You might only argue that he has not had time to start over. That he has only realized these problems 4 games into,this season and he hasn't had time to right them. Well excuse me, but this word FIX has been thrown around for a lot longer Han just this year. Also, if you didn't recognize in spring and fall that your guys were struggling within the scheme, well then you're not the guru you and your supporters claim you are.

 

In 2008 when he first got here people asked him to do the same thing half way through the season and dumb down the defense. He refused to do so, and what resulted was one of the best defenses I've ever seen. So who knows what's going to happen...

It is almost the complete opposite of 2009. Our O was pathetic. Bo had, IIRC, made the O go completely into a shell. No mistakes, no TO's, play smart, simplify, let the D do the heavy lifting. It worked. It now might be time for Bo to tell Paps (or himself) simplify, no mistakes, just keep them from scoring every possession, let the O do its thing. Put the guys in a simplified, hat on hat, see ball get ball mentality. Like TA said to the D after SDSU took the lead, "Don't worry, we got this".

 

Lean on the strength of the team right now, get Beck to dial it down to slow it down. Eat the clock, let the D rest, get coached during the game etc.......

 

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

 

Bo's end goal is not to "just stop the other team from scoring every possession." And you're also leaving out the fact that our offense can be awfully Jekyll and Hyde at times. It's not like we're Texas A&M and can literally score every single possession against any defense in the nation...

 

I agree that the scheme needs to change though. Just read what EZ said a couple posts up. Defending the run is a numbers game - one that we consistently lose, which is why we suck at defending the run.

[True2tRA]

We just flat out can't put ourselves in a numbers disadvantage. We have one guy on our DL that demands a double team each play. We don't have two.

 

If I were Bo, I'd simply put my safeties closer to the LOS and force a college QB to beat our secondary. On obvious passing downs, sure play two-high, but damn, we can't rely on 5 guys up front to beat six anymore. Especially when the offense can easily option one DE off with the zone read.

 

I agree about the safeties, but I still think the single most important thing is to scrap this so called "fallacy two gap" blah blah blah....and let these front four attack the gaps and get pressure. I know it will amount to some plays in the opponents favor, especially mobile QB's. But I assure you, an attacking defense will create more plays in their own favor. You have to get in that QBs head and put the pressure on them to make decisions quickly.

[True2tRA]

Attacking gaps can work great in the run game too. Penetration is the enemy of all offenses. I want to see a Blackshirt squad that makes a living in the opponents backfield again.

[Foppa]

I brought this up once before but Gary Barnnett (former Buff coach) mentioned that he's noticed that teams that run a spread style of offense have softer defenses due to practicing against these finesse offenses in practice all week. The offense spreads you out...the defense plays patty cake...is it any wonder we get crushed on the ground?

 

No one +1'd you...but I thought you deserved it. Nice post.