Defensive Issues - Who's more at fault?

Who's 'more' at fault for the persistent poor performances?

  • Chin's Scheme

    Votes: 31 32.0%

  • Personnel

    Votes: 66 68.0%
  • Total voters
    97
It's easy to forget the first 3.5 quarters of the game when you lose, but let's not go overboard.

I watched a team and presumably a coaching staff that dialed things up on both sides of the ball. The offense was clicking and the playcalling had Northwestern off-balance. The defense tackled far better, got legitimate pressure far more often, and having forced Northwestern to go pure pass happy, they did a decent job of bend-don't-break. Even saddled with a pick-six fumble, the defense had put the team in the position to win.

Then in the last few minutes, with victory in sight and the two touchdown lead perhaps too much of a cushion, the young team still learning how to win played too tight against a home team playing with urgency. (I had the pleasure of watching virtually the same game last night when my San Francisco 49ers should have beaten the Packers)

It's a mental breakdown. It happens with young teams. The personnel and scheme that put you up 28 -14 is still legit. We just got the yips against a more disciplined team. That doesn't mean you burn down the whole thing. There was a lot that was working Saturday, and we all knew it. Let's not pretend we're a 4-3 switch or new defensive coordinator away from winning that game. Or the next game. 

 
Has Cam Taylor not been performing well when the ball is not thrown his way? It seems like when it has been the limited amount of times this season, he's been in their hip pocket. Perhaps I'm missing some plays with my rose glasses on, but that kid shows a lot of promise and tenacity. Much more than another anointed corner... 

Also, what were the reasons that Chin is on the field? As another mentioned, I think him being in the box could help quite a bit. 

 
knapplc said:
It's likely not just the Jimmy's & Joe's, and it's likely not just the coaching. Some of it likely has to do with stuff like, for fifth-year seniors, Chinander is their fourth defensive coordinator.

We need a stable coaching staff, several years of solid recruiting, and guys brought in to match the system we want to run. 





 
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Guy Chamberlin said:
It's easy to forget the first 3.5 quarters of the game when you lose, but let's not go overboard.

I watched a team and presumably a coaching staff that dialed things up on both sides of the ball. The offense was clicking and the playcalling had Northwestern off-balance. The defense tackled far better, got legitimate pressure far more often, and having forced Northwestern to go pure pass happy, they did a decent job of bend-don't-break. Even saddled with a pick-six fumble, the defense had put the team in the position to win.
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Definitely agree with this.

My one caveat is that my biggest complaint is that we kept forcing AWilliams into man coverage all game.  It hadn't been hurting us as badly as it did late but it was obvious before we got there and it was really killing us.  Yet we still didn't adjust.

 
Mavric said:
I hope this is geared toward giving the NW kid credit and not throwing any of our guys under the bus more than really thinking we shouldn't have done anything different.
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Eh, he was giving Nagel credit when the questions kept coming up about him.  He also did not leave it at that, and alluded towards our guys (secondary) not making a play, whether in zone or man.  He made sure to note the defense tried different things (against him/their passing game).  And his true point was about our guys not making a play.

 
Mavric said:
Definitely agree with this.

My one caveat is that my biggest complaint is that we kept forcing AWilliams into man coverage all game.  It hadn't been hurting us as badly as it did late but it was obvious before we got there and it was really killing us.  Yet we still didn't adjust.
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We didn't have much choice. He was already the 3rd string player for that grouping. Reed and Smith were both hurt. 

They tried to cover the deficiencies in coverage by blitzing with 6 or 7. The Pass rush simply wasn't quick enough.

 
Blackshirt316 said:
We didn't have much choice. He was already the 3rd string player for that grouping. Reed and Smith were both hurt. 

They tried to cover the deficiencies in coverage by blitzing with 6 or 7. The Pass rush simply wasn't quick enough.
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We absolutely had a choice.  He was basically playing the Nickel spot.  We could have had Eric Lee or Cam Taylor or someone else there.  It didn't have to be a safety.

 
Mavric said:
We absolutely had a choice.  He was basically playing the Nickel spot.  We could have had Eric Lee or Cam Taylor or someone else there.  It didn't have to be a safety.
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From what Chinander said yesterday, it sounds like this personnel change, especially in man coverage, is in effect immediately because of that.

 
TheSker said:
From what Chinander said yesterday, it sounds like this personnel change, especially in man coverage, is in effect immediately because of that.
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Which is great, but being able to make that change during the game could have been the difference. Obviously that wasn't the only thing that went wrong, but it was a huge factor. Pretty sure Thorson was immediately looking for Nagel anytime he saw it was man coverage, and if the guy in there can't get it done we have to make some kind of adjustment. It's a tough spot with injuries, but we have to have another option at some point when it's clearly not working.

 
Husker in WI said:
Which is great, but being able to make that change during the game could have been the difference. Obviously that wasn't the only thing that went wrong, but it was a huge factor. Pretty sure Thorson was immediately looking for Nagel anytime he saw it was man coverage, and if the guy in there can't get it done we have to make some kind of adjustment. It's a tough spot with injuries, but we have to have another option at some point when it's clearly not working.
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It really went wrong at the end of regulation and the staff is making adjustments because of it.

 
TheSker said:
Becoming a little bit of a broken record here.  You've posted this quote from Chins what.....half dozen times?

Frost has said the past few weeks that we need to get more quarterback pressure.

The quote is Chins philosophy and he's actually trying different things.

But there's a risk trade off.  

Our games have been mostly competitive.  We start taking unnecessary risks, the opponent pops off a couple of easy scores, and suddenly the games are not so competitive.

And even if Chins started trying "different" things, there's no repetitions or experience doing it.

I also had time to listen to the latest  DocTalk with Rob.  He referenced the UCF Auburn game and offered the thought that when talent and experience come together the scheme works fine.

He indicated this Husker defense lacks both.
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Very good listen, I really like Rob Z perspective on what is going on.  If you listen to the pod cast regularly he is pretty positive about what is going on down in Lincoln.  He also gave Thorson a lot of credit for the come back. 

He also talked about the penalties and basically said what I have been saying.  Nebraska is a known high penalty team so they tend to get a couple of really ticky tack calls every game.  He thought the roughing call against the Davis twin in the end zone was very ticky tack.  He also said they were holding the d-line terribly and there should have been at least a couple of holdings called against NW.  

 
He gave up 3 15+ yard gains in the 2nd quarter, including their first touchdown. He also gave up the 61 yard touchdown early in the 4th to cut the lead to 28-21. It was going wrong all game (when we were in man coverage), and if you think you'll need to call man down the stretch you have to get that fixed. Maybe he thought we would be able to stay in zone, maybe he thought NW hadn't picked up on it, but neither is excusable in my mind. Taylor was man to man on Nagel on at least once in the 3rd quarter, so it's not like he was completely unprepared to play. They had also completely given up on the run, so I don't see any reason to have a safety in there instead of a corner. I know Chinander pointed out the other failings on that play, but you can't say Williams did it right and the blame is entirely on the pass rush.

With that being said, I realize there are many reasons we lost. That just seems like one that could have and should have been addressed - I know Nagel is good, but you can't tell me A. Williams is the best option to put on him the entire game, especially when he'd racked up a lot of yards prior to the last 2 drives.

 
clyde40 said:
Personal, these upperclassmen were recruited for a 4-3 and some have now played in three different schemes. You also have to consider the lack of development and strength and conditioning over the last few years. This season has been a complete trainwreck, but the program needs some stability and time to purge so to speak before it can heal. 
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This ^^^ 1,000x.

It boggles my mind at how many people simply cannot grasp the situation at Nebraska and how dire it is.  It is getting better and I am seeing small increments of improvement each week but we're not there yet.

The point about these players playing in 3 different schemes in their time here is an excellent one.  And actually, the players on defense:

Redshirt seniors have played in Pelini, Banker, Diaco, and now Chinander's defense.  Four different schemes in five years.

True seniors have played in Banker, Diaco, and now Chinander's systems...3 different schemes in 4 years.  Good gravy...no wonder our defense is so terrible right now.

Great post Clyde.  :thumbs

 
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