Defense Concerns 2022 - Poll

[TGHusker]

As we all know, the defense under Chin has improved each of his 4 years and has proven to be the strength of the team- the strongest leg on the 3 legged stool of D, O, ST. 

We are losing our super seniors, CTB, and Daniels - all huge losses.  Hopefully we gain back Will Honas back to the linebacking crew - which will figure to be the strength of the D - again. 

With these losses, it is imperative that Frost fix ST and that the O improve red zone scoring.

 

So, what concerns do you the most going into next season with our D.

I have listed the following:

Lack of a Rush End producing sacks/QB hurries

Interior Line Play: Loss of Daniels at Defensive Tackle

Linebacker play

DB Play - replacing multi-year starters

Overall Run Game

Overall Passing Game

 

[The Dude]

Pass rusher for the 8th year in a row.

[TGHusker]

1 minute ago, The Dude said:

Pass rusher for the 8th year in a row.

Yes - I agree. That is my main concern.  If you get pressure on the QB, you take pressure off of the cover guys.  

[thexyz]

Rush Ends

Yes

Tuioti

[Husker in WI]

I'm a little worried about the run defense because we lose key players at each level - Daniels gummed things up inside, Jojo was incredibly reliable on the edge, and Deontai was underrated cleaning things up. But biggest concern has to be pass rusher.

 

Is there anywhere that tracks hurries for college football? I thought Tannor played the run well and the coaches said he was doing a better job rushing the passer than his sack numbers indicate, but either way I don't think he makes a huge leap at this point. Nelson can overpower guys at times but isn't going to be a constant threat. 

 

An issue that have been more bad luck than anything coachable is just dropping the INTs we should've had. We missed 3 easy INTs against Iowa and they got points each time. Get the entire back 8 on the jugs machines for a while, particularly Reimer - he should've had 4 or 5 picks.

[BigRedBuster]

I said I was most worried about run defense because that encompasses all of the front 7.  We lose some key players here and it will be interesting to see how they are replaced.  If we don't have a strong run D, it doesn't matter if we are strong against the pass.

 

I'm perfectly fine with the 3-4.

 

Most confident in Tuioti.  

[84HuskerLaw]

I know many don’t agree but I see Dawson and Fisher as our best by a good margin.  Chin is good as well.  Tuioti is Ok and Rudd is getting better with experience.  I don’t think I’d get rid of any without a top 5 nationally guy.  
 

Defense is losing some guys so depth could be a ? In ‘22 but stay the course.  If we get offense and ST fixed, we will be ok.  I don’t see the D being quite as solid this fall but will get us 8 wins with a comparable offense and kicking units.  

[MyBloodIsRed16]

1 hour ago, Husker in WI said:

I'm a little worried about the run defense because we lose key players at each level - Daniels gummed things up inside, Jojo was incredibly reliable on the edge, and Deontai was underrated cleaning things up. But biggest concern has to be pass rusher.

 

Is there anywhere that tracks hurries for college football? I thought Tannor played the run well and the coaches said he was doing a better job rushing the passer than his sack numbers indicate, but either way I don't think he makes a huge leap at this point. Nelson can overpower guys at times but isn't going to be a constant threat. 

 

An issue that have been more bad luck than anything coachable is just dropping the INTs we should've had. We missed 3 easy INTs against Iowa and they got points each time. Get the entire back 8 on the jugs machines for a while, particularly Reimer - he should've had 4 or 5 picks.

I think he had a pretty good year.  He was around the qb a lot more than he was last year.  If he can make a jump he has the potential to be a lot more productive.  Gunnerson didn't look terrible but he needs to put on weight and stay healthy.  Robinson and Rodgers played really well this year as well.  Just need to stay healthy.  Then you have Riley if he can continue to get reps he could probably do pretty well inside.  He's huge.

[TGHusker]

1 hour ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

I know many don’t agree but I see Dawson and Fisher as our best by a good margin.  Chin is good as well.  Tuioti is Ok and Rudd is getting better with experience.  I don’t think I’d get rid of any without a top 5 nationally guy.  
 

Defense is losing some guys so depth could be a ? In ‘22 but stay the course.  If we get offense and ST fixed, we will be ok.  I don’t see the D being quite as solid this fall but will get us 8 wins with a comparable offense and kicking units.  

I think the LB group as a whole played the most consistently and were the strength of the team.  Actually, I feel good about all 3 levels in regards to coaching.  My biggest concern is the lack of a true pass rusher upfront.  So, I don't know if Tuioti didn't have the players to work with or if the 3-4 just makes it difficult to be consistently good at that task.  

[Dogs In A Pile]

Where is the choice for no concerns, none at all?

[ActualCornHusker]

The biggest loss by far will be Jojo. 

 

2nd biggest loss is primarily depth on DL. I really like Ty & Casey, it'll just be about young guys developing

[JoseyWales]

I am worried about the defense as a whole. Depended a lot on the 6th yr super seniors, and was still just above average. The curse of a bend but don't break defense.

 

By the end of year I think they were just burned up, banged up, and tired, and i can see the same thing happening this year breaking in a new offense. Will they be able to hold up?

 

New starters on every level... a lot to ask.

[BigRedBuster]

26 minutes ago, JoseyWales said:

I am worried about the defense as a whole. Depended a lot on the 6th yr super seniors, and was still just above average. The curse of a bend but don't break defense.

 

By the end of year I think they were just burned up, banged up, and tired, and i can see the same thing happening this year breaking in a new offense. Will they be able to hold up?

 

New starters on every level... a lot to ask.

Just about average. 

[ActualCornHusker]

9 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Just about average. 

 

Truly unbelievable. This defense produced the best results we've had from a defensive unit in probably a decade and gave the team a chance to win every single game, but they were average 

[JoseyWales]

1 hour ago, ActualCornHusker said:

 

Truly unbelievable. This defense produced the best results we've had from a defensive unit in probably a decade and gave the team a chance to win every single game, but they were average 

 

here's the rankings- Big Ten/NCAA- 130 teams ranked- avg would be an NCAA ranking of 65

 

points- 22.7 9th/37th

Total Defense- 366.0 8th/52

Rushing defense- 146.9 8th/58

Passing Defense-219.1 9th/42

Sacks- 22  10th/98th

Interceptions 10   6th/52nd

Opp. 3rd down Conversions 39.2%  10th/71st

Opp. 4th down Conversions   31.6    2nd/5th

Red Zone defense  11th/61st

                                    8th/53

 

There is no denying that last years defense was the best in a long time. you could even take out the special team and offensive points given up and they would rank 3rd in points, if you don't do it for every team at about 17.3 points per game.

 

The defense played extremely hard and kept us in games but look at the numbers and they were just above average