Injuries and Expectations

[Decked]

Which leg did Adam Taylor hurt? He missed most of his junior year with a torn ACL, and had to regain his starting job as a senior.

[Ratt Mhule]

We might need to look into a new strength and conditioning coach..

 

Or just recruit players with stronger ligaments...

[Abdullah the Butcher]

Redshirt freshman Adam Taylor was helped off the field during the scrimmage with what looked like an ankle injury. Pelini didnt have a status update on Taylor after the practice, but he was carted off the practice field.

 

During the live scrimmage period, quarterback Tommy Armstrong was down for an extended period after being hit by Corey Cooper. Armstrong walked off the field under his own power, and Pelini said after the practice that Armstrong got dinged but will be fine.

http://nebraska.247sports.com/Article/A-quick-rundown-of-news-and-notes-from-Saturdays-practice-30183581

[tschu]

The depth thing is pretty huge for several reasons.

1. You lose a starter. You lose your best guy. This is pretty straightforward.

2. Your backup is now the starter, which means you right there have a reduction in play quality

3. Your third-stringer is now the backup. Now, when this player comes into the game as will probably be necessary a certain amount of time, you have a reduction in quality here as well.

4. Given that you're already starting a backup, coaches may be reluctant to substitute as much as they would have, given this drop-off in quality of play already. So now you have a choice between either a) having your new starter be tired or b) bringing in someone who isn't as good at the job( your former 3rd string guy). Both options suck.

5. You lose leadership on the field.

6. Any injury at that position is now much more magnified. Depth is a buffer against injuries, but when your depth has already been compromised, you have no more buffer.

 

So basically what I am saying is that we shouldn't pretend that this is irrelevant, next guy up, etc etc.

 

Now I realize that our linebacker situation is somewhat fluid as far as switching guys around, but that adds another dimension where you have guys playing out of position all of a sudden. There are a lot of far-reaching effects. The depth itself will be more of an issue at safety.

[Scratchtown]

The depth thing is pretty huge for several reasons.

1. You lose a starter. You lose your best guy. This is pretty straightforward.

2. Your backup is now the starter, which means you right there have a reduction in play quality

3. Your third-stringer is now the backup. Now, when this player comes into the game as will probably be necessary a certain amount of time, you have a reduction in quality here as well.

4. Given that you're already starting a backup, coaches may be reluctant to substitute as much as they would have, given this drop-off in quality of play already. So now you have a choice between either a) having your new starter be tired or b) bringing in someone who isn't as good at the job. Both options suck.

5. You lose leadership on the field.

6. Any injury at that position is now much more magnified. Depth is a buffer against injuries, but when your depth has already been compromised, you have no more buffer.

 

So basically what I am saying is that we shouldn't pretend that this is irrelevant, next guy up, etc etc.

 

This is obvious, yes. The level of depth and capabilities of the back ups are less than the starter, yes. How far though? That is yet to be seen. Depending how you look at it, it could be a situation of "how to we get all these guys on the field?"

 

It really depends on if you look at the glass half full or half empty. Most of which I read, that the glass is half empty. Like some have said though, its a good thing it happened this early if it has to happen.

[Abdullah the Butcher]

Steven M. Sipple@HuskerExtraSip · Brandon Reilly, talented sophomore WR, also missed the practice and was limping slightly. Sort of got lost in shuffle. We'll check Monday

[tschu]

its a good thing it happened this early if it has to happen.

 

 

Very true.

[Mavric]

Steven M. Sipple@HuskerExtraSip · Brandon Reilly, talented sophomore WR, also missed the practice and was limping slightly. Sort of got lost in shuffle. We'll check Monday

Reports from a couple days ago was he had ice on a hamstring after practice.

[Hoosker]

[Mavric]

I'd feel a little better if the losses were a little more spread out, i.e., not all expected starters on defense. I think we have some depth so our starters should be OK but we're getting pretty thin coming off the bench now. At least, we don't know what we have coming off the bench because other than DT we don't have really any backups that have played.

OK. I take it back. Quit spreading them out.

[tschu]

 

+1, I just burst out laughing

[True2tRA]

MLB'er has been said repeatedly to be a very key spot on this defense, due to the knowledge needed to make the calls for the defense. The Nickel spot apparently is also a rocket science position in Bo's defense, the coaches have said it was a demanding position, plus you have to figure its tough since it takes years to finally 'get it'. Then you lose a starting safety which has also proven to be a huge responsibility. Is there a position on the defense that isn't insanely important? Probably not. But we did just lose starters at some of the real key spots. Then when you factor in how much knowledge of the scheme Bo demands. How each player is supposed to know and understand not only his responsibilities, but also the players around him. You take into account how hard it is to get on the field when you are young, or more importantly inexperienced in Bos scheme, there has to be a drop off whenever you lose a starter. We have a hard time preparing guys to play in this scheme by the time they are in their junior year, let alone preparing 3 new players in a couple weeks.

 

There's my sky is falling opinion on the whole deal. Still, I just want to see what happens when we take the field. Like someone else said, having a strong defensive line can really cover up some weaknesses behind that front.

[Scratchtown]

 

 

 

Any time you lose a starter the level of play is going to decrease. They are a starter because believe it or not, they are better than their backup. I know, weird, right? Just because you have bodies to throw out there doesn't mean they will be able to play up the level of the guy that was injured. Losing almost 30% of your projected starters, especially one at MLB which is one of the more important positions on the field is going to hurt...bad.

 

This is understood but not always is the level of play a severe drop off. The tone here seems to be a bit desperate and hurried. Like I have said earlier. Great DT play makes great LB's even if they aren't as talented. Seriously.

 

 

Communication between MLB and the rest of the defense are vital to Bo defenses succeeding. He has said as much. If you have someone in there not making the correct calls at the line of scrimmage, it could be very detrimental. That's where Rose had Banderas beat, the mental part of the game, which is why the defense played better down the stretch last season.

 

 

 

Yep, had him beat so much that he was sharing equal number of snaps with the #1's. Let's not make this into an even bigger loss with exaggeration.

 

This. Even Rose himself on his twitter was saying how he was trying to prove that he's an every down linebacker.

[Ratt Mhule]

 

 

 

Any time you lose a starter the level of play is going to decrease. They are a starter because believe it or not, they are better than their backup. I know, weird, right? Just because you have bodies to throw out there doesn't mean they will be able to play up the level of the guy that was injured. Losing almost 30% of your projected starters, especially one at MLB which is one of the more important positions on the field is going to hurt...bad.

 

This is understood but not always is the level of play a severe drop off. The tone here seems to be a bit desperate and hurried. Like I have said earlier. Great DT play makes great LB's even if they aren't as talented. Seriously.

 

 

Communication between MLB and the rest of the defense are vital to Bo defenses succeeding. He has said as much. If you have someone in there not making the correct calls at the line of scrimmage, it could be very detrimental. That's where Rose had Banderas beat, the mental part of the game, which is why the defense played better down the stretch last season.

 

 

 

Yep, had him beat so much that he was sharing equal number of snaps with the #1's. Let's not make this into an even bigger loss with exaggeration.

 

 

A week into preseason practice...

 

Im going by what I saw last year. When Rose started the latter half of the season, the defense played better than when Banderas started the first month or so.

 

I hope there is no drop off. I guess we will see three weeks from today

[TonyStalloni]

Is there a reason Trevor Roach isn't in the conversation at MLB? I expected him to get time at the position relieving Rose through the year. Now with Rose gone do we have a better option?