What did we learn: Illinois

[Red Five]

4 minutes ago, man eating mastodon said:

That part I don't get,there will be a  time when Nebraska is  going to  need the defense to win  a game if the  offense  sputters,why not build it  so they can?? Agree they need a talent upgrade  but the defensive  philosophy don't make sense to me. 

 

Agree.  They should strive to have the best defense in the country.  Will they? Probably not. But that should be the goal, instead of planning on giving up 30/game and assuming the offense will score 40.

[TheSker]

2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

But that should be the goal, instead of planning on giving up 30/game and assuming the offense will score 40.

I don't think that is their philosophy or goal.

[ColoradoHusk]

Just now, JJ Husker said:

....and when we get some jimmies and joes on the defensive side, we’ll actually start making some stops when the other team is in 3rd and long. Really, with this offense, that’s all we have to do. Stay even or win on turnovers and get a few critical stops. We won’t regularly hold anybody below 21-28 but we won’t need to.

Yep. Henrich from Burke is a TFL machine.  I know it won’t be like his HS film for him in college, but that guy is amazing at knifing through the LOS and making the tackle.

 

Chinander is in a tough spot on 3rd and longs. He has no good pass rusher, so he either has to try and play coverage, or sends blitzes who don’t always get home. 

[Undone]

In the first half our linebackers were terrible. All of them. Even Barry.

 

We really need two linebackers and a couple of safeties that can actually not get beat by the other team's athletes in space, especially on third & longs. 

 

It's unbelievable how good our team would have been this season if we would have just had, say, Northwestern or Purdue's defense. 

[B.B. Hemingway]

12 minutes ago, man eating mastodon said:

That part I don't get,there will be a  time when Nebraska is  going to  need the defense to win  a game if the  offense  sputters,why not build it  so they can?? Agree they need a talent upgrade  but the defensive  philosophy don't make sense to me. 

 

4 minutes ago, Red Five said:

 

Agree.  They should strive to have the best defense in the country.  Will they? Probably not. But that should be the goal, instead of planning on giving up 30/game and assuming the offense will score 40.

 

 

This is where it'd be best for Husker fans to get into advanced metrics. Because of the offense we run, the defense will probably be better than the traditional statistics will show.

[JJ Husker]

2 minutes ago, man eating mastodon said:

That part I don't get,there will be a  time when Nebraska is  going to  need the defense to win  a game if the  offense  sputters,why not build it  so they can?? Agree they need a talent upgrade  but the defensive  philosophy don't make sense to me. 

I really think what we’re seeing this year has a lot more to do with a lack of talent than it does with Chin or his scheme. I still don’t think our defense is headed towards Bama or Michigan or the McBride years but I do think it will get much much better with an infusion of talent and some consistency of scheme and coaching. Our whole team, but particularly our defense, has been in virtual constant upheaval for quite a few years. I trust Frost enough to think he knows what he’s doing on that side of the ball. And currently the game just doesn’t favor defenses like it may have in the past. I love smothering defense but I just don’t think it is very realistic to expect it anymore. Certainly it hasn’t looked too good this year but I really think it’s going to improve and be more than serviceable within about 3 years. Only one or two difference makers on that side of the ball will make a huge impact.

[ColoradoHusk]

I learned that AJ Bush is a darn good running QB. He is big, fast, and has some moves. Now, I wouldn’t want him as NU’s starting QB, but he could have been a decent backup in this offense. But, judging by his transfer history, he was always looking for greener pastures. At least he had 1 year as a starting QB in college. 

[Red Five]

10 minutes ago, B.B. Hemingway said:

 

 

 

This is where it'd be best for Husker fans to get into advanced metrics. Because of the offense we run, the defense will probably be better than the traditional statistics will show.

 

I get our total yards will be higher due to a quick tempo offense, so yards/play is the better metric. Before today we were 93rd. That’s terrible.  

[ColoradoHusk]

6 minutes ago, Red Five said:

 

I get our total yards will be higher due to a quick tempo offense, so yards/play is the better metric. Before today we were 93rd. That’s terrible.  

Yes, it’s terrible, but that should improve with better talent and depth.

 

Also, maybe Diaco was doing his best to make chicken salad out of chicken s#!t. 

[ColoradoHusk]

With Lightbourn being benched for kickoff duties, NU now has 2 special teams guys on scholarships who don’t sniff the field.  #Rileyed 

[Moiraine]

1 minute ago, ColoradoHusk said:

With Lightbourn being benched for kickoff duties, NU now has 2 special teams guys on scholarships who don’t sniff the field. 

 

 

It's possible it was the wind but the KO were a lot shorter today.

[The Dude]

The results of this 3-4 experiment have been not very good so far.  Not the magic bullet many were seemingly hoping for.

[Undone]

9 minutes ago, Red Five said:

 

I get our total yards will be higher due to a quick tempo offense, so yards/play is the better metric. Before today we were 93rd. That’s terrible.  

 

Allowing the long third down conversions and not pressuring the quarterback - while not exactly objective to measure - has to greatly improve next season or we won't even win the West.

[ColoradoHusk]

Just now, Moiraine said:

 

 

It's possible it was the wind but the KO were a lot shorter today.

It was pretty windy, and yes Pickering doesn’t kick it as deep as Lightbourn. However, Lightbourn has clearly shown he just can’t contribute in games. 

[Undone]

4 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

With Lightbourn being benched for kickoff duties, NU now has 2 special teams guys on scholarships who don’t sniff the field.  #Rileyed 

 

Ha, this is a great observation. Pretty frustrating!