Bend but don't break

These can certainly be considered excuses, but the combination of youth/talent, a new scheme and a new coordinator are more often than not going to be a very difficult transition for any team.

That said, I don't think there's any denying Nebraska's transition to, and execution of, the 3-4 defense has been an utter disaster through two games.

 
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To me, I don't really see much as far as a struggle to transition.  The players seem to be lined up as they are instructed to do and there doesn't seem to be a lot of confusion about who is supposed to go where.

By far the biggest issue is our DC's stubborn refusal to get out of his base personnel package and go to a Nickel or Dime package against 4- and 5- wide receiver sets like 99% of other DC's do because it only makes sense to put better cover guys out there against teams that are going to pass.

 
I know it's only two games in, but those stats make this D look like a$$.  We are last or close in a lot of categories.  I'm thinking teams coming up are noticeably better than Oregon or Oregon is going to be this years sleeper.....Hoping that Riley was as mad/shocked/disappointed/pissed as the pressers lead one to believe and that it lights a fire.  And that the D found a scheme and personnel to make it fit.

 
Mavric said:
To me, I don't really see much as far as a struggle to transition.  The players seem to be lined up as they are instructed to do and there doesn't seem to be a lot of confusion about who is supposed to go where.

By far the biggest issue is our DC's stubborn refusal to get out of his base personnel package and go to a Nickel or Dime package against 4- and 5- wide receiver sets like 99% of other DC's do because it only makes sense to put better cover guys out there against teams that are going to pass.
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No doubt.  In today's world, it's all about the match ups.  Thus far, we do not appear to be trying to match up, but weather the storm and score on every more point.  Great if we do.  Oregon if we dont

 
Mavric said:
To me, I don't really see much as far as a struggle to transition.  The players seem to be lined up as they are instructed to do and there doesn't seem to be a lot of confusion about who is supposed to go where.

By far the biggest issue is our DC's stubborn refusal to get out of his base personnel package and go to a Nickel or Dime package against 4- and 5- wide receiver sets like 99% of other DC's do because it only makes sense to put better cover guys out there against teams that are going to pass.
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As a disclaimer, I don't break down much game film week to week or have uber-knowledge of schemes.

My uninformed eye test walked away thinking the defense isn't playing good assignment football. Receivers ran wide open in areas of the field and made several uncontested big plays. Some of that goes to Oregon's credit, but some of it also just looked like the players didn't know who they were supposed to be covering. I also saw several instances of linebackers having to redirect some teammates to get on the right guys. I didn't see a lot of that, but some. 

I think we all expected some growing pains, but it leads me to think two things. Either Diaco has no faith in the players' ability to execute in different packages, or he truly believes the formations he has the players in are in their best interests. Maybe it's a combination of both. But, there has to be some reason he's playing them the way he's playing them, and I don't think it boils down to bone idleness. (I'm not suggesting that's what you're saying, of course.)

 
Enhance said:
My uninformed eye test walked away thinking the defense isn't playing good assignment football. Receivers ran wide open in areas of the field and made several uncontested big plays. Some of that goes to Oregon's credit, but some of it also just looked like the players didn't know who they were supposed to be covering. I also saw several instances of linebackers having to redirect some teammates to get on the right guys. I didn't see a lot of that, but some. 
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Usually when they had receivers running free it was because we were trying to cover them with linebackers who were poorly positioned to start with and couldn't keep up.

Because we refuse to run a Nickel package out there.

 
To make it work, we need more speed in the LB position IMHO.  Too often we had LBs covering slot receivers - not a good match up.  We also need those same LBs to rush the QB as the DL gums up the middle. But if no speed at LB, they aren't going to get to the QB in time.  Remember D Williams - 2004 - Bo's one year as our DC.  He was a speed rusher, QB sacker from the OLB position.  Let the OL be distracted by our DL and rush someone like Williams and you can create some havoc in the backfield.  But we aren't doing that.  No blitz package has been revealed - maybe he's saving it for Wisc (I hope).  So our bend and don't break bends all of the way into the end zone.

 
There have definitely been some alignment issues that have been pointed out by various people.

Many of these are when the other team has stacked WRs.  They may have three WRs and we only have maybe two defenders.

 
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Let's walk through one of the plays that had WRs running free.  It starts at the 20:10 mark of the video below.

We are in our base package with Gifford on the slot at the top.  We appear to be running a variant of the Tampa 2 coverage that Tony Dungy (I think) made famous for the Bucs.  Usually the two safeties have deep halves with the corners playing flats.  But the thing that made the Tampa 2 distinctive is that the MIKE would have to retreat to the deep middle to help with that zone.  

In this play, we have Kalu clear up on the line to run a safety blitz.  So that leaves Eric Lee and Aaron Williams to split the deep halves of the field with Gifford playing flats.  Their QB sees the obvious mismatch with only one DB to cover the two WRs at the top and checks to throw there.  As you can easily see in the replay, both Weber and Barry know from the start that they are supposed to run with the inside receiver to their side.  It's just that Barry has no hope of keeping up, especially coming from where he was lined up.

So there doesn't seem to be any confusion on this play.  Even a backup LB know where he was supposed to go on a pretty complicated coverage call.  He was just put in a position where he had no hope of actually doing what was asked of him.




 
2 minutes ago, Mavric said:

Let's walk through one of the plays that had WRs running free.  It starts at the 20:10 mark of the video below.

We are in our base package with Gifford on the slot at the top.  We appear to be running a variant of the Tampa 2 coverage that Tony Dungy (I think) made famous for the Bucs.  Usually the two safeties have deep halves with the corners playing flats.  But the thing that made the Tampa 2 distinctive is that the MIKE would have to retreat to the deep middle to help with that zone.  

In this play, we have Kalu clear up on the line to run a safety blitz.  So that leaves Eric Lee and Aaron Williams to split the deep halves of the field with Gifford playing flats.  Their QB sees the obvious mismatch with only one DB to cover the two WRs at the top and checks to throw there.  As you can easily see in the replay, both Weber and Barry know from the start that they are supposed to run with the inside receiver to their side.  It's just that Barry has no hope of keeping up, especially coming from where he was lined up.

So there doesn't seem to be any confusion on this play.  Even a backup LB know where he was supposed to go on a pretty complicated coverage call.  He was just put in a position where he had no hope of actually doing what was asked of him.

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When that play happened, Benning tweeted that Gifford can't allow the slot WR to get a free release.  Gifford has to force the slot WR to change direction at the LOS before handing off the slot WR to the LB in the zone coverage.  It was going to be a tough matchup for Barry anyway, and it sounds like Gifford could have helped him out.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
When that play happened, Benning tweeted that Gifford can't allow the slot WR to get a free release.  Gifford has to force the slot WR to change direction at the LOS before handing off the slot WR to the LB in the zone coverage.  It was going to be a tough matchup for Barry anyway, and it sounds like Gifford could have helped him out.
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Gifford definitely COULD have helped him out.

Whether he's been coached to do that or not is a different question.

 
6 minutes ago, Mavric said:

Let's walk through one of the plays that had WRs running free.  It starts at the 20:10 mark of the video below.

We are in our base package with Gifford on the slot at the top.  We appear to be running a variant of the Tampa 2 coverage that Tony Dungy (I think) made famous for the Bucs.  Usually the two safeties have deep halves with the corners playing flats.  But the thing that made the Tampa 2 distinctive is that the MIKE would have to retreat to the deep middle to help with that zone.  

In this play, we have Kalu clear up on the line to run a safety blitz.  So that leaves Eric Lee and Aaron Williams to split the deep halves of the field with Gifford playing flats.  Their QB sees the obvious mismatch with only one DB to cover the two WRs at the top and checks to throw there.  As you can easily see in the replay, both Weber and Barry know from the start that they are supposed to run with the inside receiver to their side.  It's just that Barry has no hope of keeping up, especially coming from where he was lined up.

So there doesn't seem to be any confusion on this play.  Even a backup LB know where he was supposed to go on a pretty complicated coverage call.  He was just put in a position where he had no hope of actually doing what was asked of him.

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Good Lord....on that play, we actually end up with two LBs covering both WRs on that side of the field while the DBs are taken totally out of the coverage.

 
Mavric said:
Gifford definitely COULD have helped him out.

Whether he's been coached to do that or not is a different question.
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Agreed that is a different question.  Who knows is he has been coached to do so.

I looked at the play again, and all of the LB's bailed out in coverage on a 3rd and 3 play.  If the slot WR wasn't so wide open, the RB slipped through the d-linemen and was sitting WIDE OPEN  at the first down line.  Must have been a complete bust or lack of execution, or it was an awful defensive call.

 
Mavric said:
To me, I don't really see much as far as a struggle to transition.  The players seem to be lined up as they are instructed to do and there doesn't seem to be a lot of confusion about who is supposed to go where.

By far the biggest issue is our DC's stubborn refusal to get out of his base personnel package and go to a Nickel or Dime package against 4- and 5- wide receiver sets like 99% of other DC's do because it only makes sense to put better cover guys out there against teams that are going to pass.
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Riley talked about the secondary not covering their route responsibilities at his PC today, so it sounds like confusion about who goes where.

 
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