This year's defense

[Count 'Bility]

It was not a scoring fest for miami. 31 points and 7 were meaningless. They scored tds on the first possession of each half. 24-21 going to the fourth is not exactly a scoring fest. And i wouldnt say the offense bailed the defense out. The defense bailed itself out with an int in the redzone, a scoop and score, and another pick that lead to the door slammer, as well as holding them to a field goal on a 1st and goal situation when it seemed a meltdown was imminent. Pretty obvious the defense did its own work.

[TheSker]

Our offense bailed us out big time.

Defense actually did a good job of getting turnovers......and Gregory is getting some recognition for his efforts.

[tmfr15]

Agree to disagree I guess. There is nothing that defense wanted more than to keep Miami out of the end zone on that last possesion. We weren't just laying down and letting them have it because time was running out. Fact was.... we couldn't stop them all night. The turnovers were a stroke of luck, plain and simple.

 

They got the ball first.... and scored. That was when we had all the momentum and the full advantage of a stoked up crowd to mess up their offense.

 

We scored to start the third quarter and had all the momentum. They got it and went right down and scored.

 

On the Miami drive that ended with the fumble, scoop and score.... they had the ball at their own 28 and drove to our 43 where they had 1st-and-10. If the ruling on the field would have been that the runner's knee was down. Or that the runner's forward progress was stopped. They would have scored.

 

How do I know? Because they threw an interception that was wiped out by penalty. And did we rally to force a punt after that... NOPE. They drove it down to our six yard line and kicked a field goal. Randy Gregory had a sack on that series that was huge for us.... but they still scored. And even with them facing 3rd-and-goal from the 16-yard line, given our lack of sucess in stopping their pass game... I was very nervous about a demoralizing conversion and touchdown.

[JJ Husker]

Defense is already far better now than they were at this point last year, and by the end of last year, they were scary good.

I agree that this years group is ahead of the curve compared to last year and I think they will get better (with some adjustments at LB) and will be just fine. BUT, last years D was never "scary good". Yes they looked better towards the end but please, let's keep it real.

[VectorVictor]

I think most of the problems have been because of the linebackers, but Santos had a good game his best of the season and if Roach gets more playing time ahead of bando the defense will be fine

 

That's a mighty big 'if', especially with this staff. Just sayin', they tend to stick with kids in positions longer than they should.

 

Plus, what is up with Zaire? I thought he was the second coming...and we've seen jack and squat from him on the field. Is he hurt and I just whiffed on the info?

[deedsker]

 

 

I think most of the problems have been because of the linebackers, but Santos had a good game his best of the season and if Roach gets more playing time ahead of bando the defense will be fine

That's a mighty big 'if', especially with this staff. Just sayin', they tend to stick with kids in positions longer than they should.

 

Plus, what is up with Zaire? I thought he was the second coming...and we've seen jack and squat from him on the field. Is he hurt and I just whiffed on the info?

He is the first linebacker off the field on nickle packages, so...he is almost never on the field. Crying shame really.

[Count 'Bility]

Agree to disagree I guess. There is nothing that defense wanted more than to keep Miami out of the end zone on that last possesion. We weren't just laying down and letting them have it because time was running out. Fact was.... we couldn't stop them all night. The turnovers were a stroke of luck, plain and simple.

 

They got the ball first.... and scored. That was when we had all the momentum and the full advantage of a stoked up crowd to mess up their offense.

 

We scored to start the third quarter and had all the momentum. They got it and went right down and scored.

 

On the Miami drive that ended with the fumble, scoop and score.... they had the ball at their own 28 and drove to our 43 where they had 1st-and-10. If the ruling on the field would have been that the runner's knee was down. Or that the runner's forward progress was stopped. They would have scored.

 

How do I know? Because they threw an interception that was wiped out by penalty. And did we rally to force a punt after that... NOPE. They drove it down to our six yard line and kicked a field goal. Randy Gregory had a sack on that series that was huge for us.... but they still scored. And even with them facing 3rd-and-goal from the 16-yard line, given our lack of sucess in stopping their pass game... I was very nervous about a demoralizing conversion and touchdown.

Maybe the Kalu pick because it was a bad decision, bad throw, and on 4th down, so it's kinda irrelevant whether or not the pick was made cuz the receiver was blanketed by two defenders, but the other two were OUR GUYS MAKING TREMENDOUS PLAYS. This is one thing that just pisses me off, and I'm not just jumpin on you TMFR. This is just a notion I see a lot and it just upsets. When we lose is cuz we suck and when we win it's still cuz we suck and the other team let us. Why cant it ever be something that our guys do well? Why does the other team always just have to suck or give it away for us to succeed? Turnovers are also known as TAKEAWAYS for a reason. Yeah, we let them move the ball on us. But damn it, when push come to shove our guys made plays to stop drives. Takeaways. Sacks and TFLs in the red zone. It aint 1995 anymore. You dont just shut down offenses these days 3 and out after 3 and out. I hate sayin this, but it really is kind of a bend dont break philosophy against offenses with the speed and athletic ability of Miami. Eliminate the big daggers and make em drive. Sometimes they'll win and sometimes they wont. Bottom line is it's about points. And we had 41 to their 24 in the time that actually mattered.

[jsneb83]

 

 

Agree to disagree I guess. There is nothing that defense wanted more than to keep Miami out of the end zone on that last possesion. We weren't just laying down and letting them have it because time was running out. Fact was.... we couldn't stop them all night. The turnovers were a stroke of luck, plain and simple.

 

They got the ball first.... and scored. That was when we had all the momentum and the full advantage of a stoked up crowd to mess up their offense.

 

We scored to start the third quarter and had all the momentum. They got it and went right down and scored.

 

On the Miami drive that ended with the fumble, scoop and score.... they had the ball at their own 28 and drove to our 43 where they had 1st-and-10. If the ruling on the field would have been that the runner's knee was down. Or that the runner's forward progress was stopped. They would have scored.

 

How do I know? Because they threw an interception that was wiped out by penalty. And did we rally to force a punt after that... NOPE. They drove it down to our six yard line and kicked a field goal. Randy Gregory had a sack on that series that was huge for us.... but they still scored. And even with them facing 3rd-and-goal from the 16-yard line, given our lack of sucess in stopping their pass game... I was very nervous about a demoralizing conversion and touchdown.

Maybe the Kalu pick because it was a bad decision, bad throw, and on 4th down, so it's kinda irrelevant whether or not the pick was made cuz the receiver was blanketed by two defenders, but the other two were OUR GUYS MAKING TREMENDOUS PLAYS. This is one thing that just pisses me off, and I'm not just jumpin on you TMFR. This is just a notion I see a lot and it just upsets. When we lose is cuz we suck and when we win it's still cuz we suck and the other team let us. Why cant it ever be something that our guys do well? Why does the other team always just have to suck or give it away for us to succeed? Turnovers are also known as TAKEAWAYS for a reason. Yeah, we let them move the ball on us. But damn it, when push come to shove our guys made plays to stop drives. Takeaways. Sacks and TFLs in the red zone. It aint 1995 anymore. You dont just shut down offenses these days 3 and out after 3 and out. I hate sayin this, but it really is kind of a bend dont break philosophy against offenses with the speed and athletic ability of Miami. Eliminate the big daggers and make em drive. Sometimes they'll win and sometimes they wont. Bottom line is it's about points. And we had 41 to their 24 in the time that actually mattered.

You could say that, if you also think that TA's INT was also luck for Miami, which he probably doesn't.

[Danimal]

It seems like this year's defense will be a work in progress and have it's ups and downs this season. I really like the front 4, but there is a lack of depth. The same can be said for the secondary.

 

Benning and Sharp had some good comments on why the defense may struggle this season. There are 4 reasons: LeRoy Alexander, Michael Rose-Ivey, Charles Jackson, and Avery Moss. Those are 4 starters/key contributors who possess a lot of talent who are missing from this year's D.

 

Hopefully guys can step up and improve through the rest of the year.

 

Ya, we have the defense you'd expect if you said a couple months ago that we'd be without all those guys. Plus Gregory has his knee, Coop has his hammy, and now Santos has a knee injury.

 

Hopefully we can find a way past MSU and use the bi-week to get healed-up some.

[tmfr15]

 

 

Agree to disagree I guess. There is nothing that defense wanted more than to keep Miami out of the end zone on that last possesion. We weren't just laying down and letting them have it because time was running out. Fact was.... we couldn't stop them all night. The turnovers were a stroke of luck, plain and simple.

 

They got the ball first.... and scored. That was when we had all the momentum and the full advantage of a stoked up crowd to mess up their offense.

 

We scored to start the third quarter and had all the momentum. They got it and went right down and scored.

 

On the Miami drive that ended with the fumble, scoop and score.... they had the ball at their own 28 and drove to our 43 where they had 1st-and-10. If the ruling on the field would have been that the runner's knee was down. Or that the runner's forward progress was stopped. They would have scored.

 

How do I know? Because they threw an interception that was wiped out by penalty. And did we rally to force a punt after that... NOPE. They drove it down to our six yard line and kicked a field goal. Randy Gregory had a sack on that series that was huge for us.... but they still scored. And even with them facing 3rd-and-goal from the 16-yard line, given our lack of sucess in stopping their pass game... I was very nervous about a demoralizing conversion and touchdown.

Maybe the Kalu pick because it was a bad decision, bad throw, and on 4th down, so it's kinda irrelevant whether or not the pick was made cuz the receiver was blanketed by two defenders, but the other two were OUR GUYS MAKING TREMENDOUS PLAYS. This is one thing that just pisses me off, and I'm not just jumpin on you TMFR. This is just a notion I see a lot and it just upsets. When we lose is cuz we suck and when we win it's still cuz we suck and the other team let us. Why cant it ever be something that our guys do well? Why does the other team always just have to suck or give it away for us to succeed? Turnovers are also known as TAKEAWAYS for a reason. Yeah, we let them move the ball on us. But damn it, when push come to shove our guys made plays to stop drives. Takeaways. Sacks and TFLs in the red zone. It aint 1995 anymore. You dont just shut down offenses these days 3 and out after 3 and out. I hate sayin this, but it really is kind of a bend dont break philosophy against offenses with the speed and athletic ability of Miami. Eliminate the big daggers and make em drive. Sometimes they'll win and sometimes they wont. Bottom line is it's about points. And we had 41 to their 24 in the time that actually mattered.

You could say that, if you also think that TA's INT was also luck for Miami, which he probably doesn't.

 

 

Turnovers are always a bit of luck, because they can't be game planned. You can work on techniques in practice such as ripping at the ball and you can call plays that disguise zone and man schemes, which Bo has done a pretty good job of at Nebraska. But at the end of the day, you have to count on the offense to make a mistake. Tommy's interception and fumble were as much on Tommy as they were a credit to Miami. The fumble by Johnson is a credit to our defense for getting the ball out of there, but they had to have the opportunity and Mitchell just happened to be in the right place at the right time to scoop and go to the house with it.

 

I understand what you are saying Count. I remember when people told me that, in our national title clash with Miami, we only won because they weren't as good as they had been in years prior. And that we only beat Florida that bad the next year because momentum took control and made us look better than we were and blah blah blah. The bottom line is that WE WON last Saturday and the Canes DID NOT. Yes, we made enough plays.

 

As far as our defensive projection for the rest of the year, based on this performance and others, FAU and McNeese... I am not feeling really good.

[Count 'Bility]

Yeah. We're cool. And I understand the notion of not relying on a turnover to stop someone. it's just my idea that regardless, it still stopped them.

[knapplc]

The fumble was not pure luck. Roach specifically reached in and ripped that ball out. There's no way you can call that turnover "luck."

 

INTs are a product of either a poor throw by the QB or a great read by the defender. Kalu's pick was proper placement by the defensive staff (Papuchis ordered Kalu back there before the snap) and Kalu made a good play. You can say that pick was a poor throw by the QB, but if Kalu isn't there to make that read, that ball is on the money to the WR, and it becomes a matter of the DB breaking up the catch.

 

Santos' INT was a poorly-thrown ball and an athletic play by the LB.

 

There's a picture in the OWH photo set that shows the instant after Roach ripped the ball loose here:

 

http://odc.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=5002&p=5489

 

Hail Varsity has a pretty good shot of Santos efforting to make his INT. He had position on the TE and maybe Kaaya shouldn't have thrown this pass. But calling this "luck" doesn't do Santos justice.

 

http://hailvarsity.com/photos/football-game-photos/nggallery/galleries/fbg-nebraska-41-miami-31

 

I swear I saw a photo of Roach ripping that ball out. Maybe it was on someone's video?

[deedsker]

The fumble was not pure luck. Roach specifically reached in and ripped that ball out. There's no way you can call that turnover "luck."

 

INTs are a product of either a poor throw by the QB or a great read by the defender. Kalu's pick was proper placement by the defensive staff (Papuchis ordered Kalu back there before the snap) and Kalu made a good play. You can say that pick was a poor throw by the QB, but if Kalu isn't there to make that read, that ball is on the money to the WR, and it becomes a matter of the DB breaking up the catch.

 

Santos' INT was a poorly-thrown ball and an athletic play by the LB.

After rewatching the game, they were picking on Santos. They wanted that throw. Watford had been winning body positioning and jumps balls to that point. Kaaya threw that pass thinking Watford was just going to out position Santos. Santos got inside leverage after Watford turned up the field and this forced Watford to the sideline. Kaaya was trying to create a jump ball scenario, but Watford was forced too far to the sideline. Santos then made one heckuva catch.

[RedSavage]

 

 

 

If the way bando has played thus far and was really right there with Rose for the 1, our issues at linebacker are much more interesting than i thought. My other idea is the Rose injusry caused Bando to let complacency set in. And the Roach crawled up his back.

This is what I was thinking as well

I think the reality is, he is just not a superstar...He is just what he is, average.

He's literally Sean Fisher right now, great athlete with supposed huge amounts of potential but seems lost on the field and makes him play slow. Hopefully Bando can figure it out better and faster than fisher did, don't want another in-state super star to turn out to be average to below average.

 

I will take Bando over Fisher any day. Fisher was a smart player but he was anything but fast, which was his biggest downfall. Bando still has some learning to do but speed wise he is miles ahead of where Fisher ever was.

[admo]

 

The fumble was not pure luck. Roach specifically reached in and ripped that ball out. There's no way you can call that turnover "luck."

 

INTs are a product of either a poor throw by the QB or a great read by the defender. Kalu's pick was proper placement by the defensive staff (Papuchis ordered Kalu back there before the snap) and Kalu made a good play. You can say that pick was a poor throw by the QB, but if Kalu isn't there to make that read, that ball is on the money to the WR, and it becomes a matter of the DB breaking up the catch.

 

Santos' INT was a poorly-thrown ball and an athletic play by the LB.

After rewatching the game, they were picking on Santos. They wanted that throw. Watford had been winning body positioning and jumps balls to that point. Kaaya threw that pass thinking Watford was just going to out position Santos. Santos got inside leverage after Watford turned up the field and this forced Watford to the sideline. Kaaya was trying to create a jump ball scenario, but Watford was forced too far to the sideline. Santos then made one heckuva catch.

 

Nice breakdown. Do you suppose a better pass would have made a difference? A deeper throw for Watford to use his speed and run it down? My memory was that Santos was a step behind. But I could be wrong. Just wondering.