NUance
Assistant Coach
Held NW to 81 yds passing and no TDs. I'd say that's a pretty impressive performance by the Blackshirts.
Has our defense improved in the last two games?
- Thread starter Hayseed
- Start date
Huskerfan1985
Four-Star Recruit
If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that the D gives up 24 to NW, i would've counted it as a win. I'm not sure anyone can argue that D played well for most of the game and did their job. What we will see next week is an entirely different story.
StPaulHusker
Banned
Technically speaking, the defense has improved. Going into the Minnesota game, total defense was ranked #72 and 49 yards per game separated us from #30.
Going into this weekends game, we are ranked #70 and 37 yards now separate us from #30.
Going into this weekends game, we are ranked #70 and 37 yards now separate us from #30.
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
I think we're tackling better than last year.
I think we have better athletes in the game than last year.
When we blitz, we actually look kinda scary.
And with all the talk about Kellogg and Westerkamp and Abdullah's heroic fourth down conversion, I'm pretty sure that was our defense making a goal line stand after a totally demoralizing turnover.
I'm not sure what you can accurately extract from the last two games, but there appears to be a path to progress.
Don't know if the stats back it up. Just a gut feeling. They would really benefit from a better scheme, drawn up by better coaches.
I think we have better athletes in the game than last year.
When we blitz, we actually look kinda scary.
And with all the talk about Kellogg and Westerkamp and Abdullah's heroic fourth down conversion, I'm pretty sure that was our defense making a goal line stand after a totally demoralizing turnover.
I'm not sure what you can accurately extract from the last two games, but there appears to be a path to progress.
Don't know if the stats back it up. Just a gut feeling. They would really benefit from a better scheme, drawn up by better coaches.
BIG ERN
All-American
The bad:
---Their 3rd string RB had 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) and 3 TD's
The good:
---We held a mobile QB Colter to 3.7 ypc and only 81 total passing yards.
---Made some very big stops on the third downs
---Our offense had 4 turnovers and put us in some bad spots, but I felt the D responded well
So I think we made some improvements for sure. VV needs to play, and I still think Rose and Bando need to be on the field at the same time.
---Their 3rd string RB had 149 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) and 3 TD's
The good:
---We held a mobile QB Colter to 3.7 ypc and only 81 total passing yards.
---Made some very big stops on the third downs
---Our offense had 4 turnovers and put us in some bad spots, but I felt the D responded well
So I think we made some improvements for sure. VV needs to play, and I still think Rose and Bando need to be on the field at the same time.
StPaulHusker
Banned
Based on NCAA stats, if we can hold Michigan to 300 total yards, that should get us up to around the mid 50's range for total defense.
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
If we give up 500 yards and force 3 turnovers, we might still get the win.
That's probably more likely, and if it's a win I'll call it progress.
After the four INTs, NW took over on our 38, their 37, their 21 and our 7. They got a total of 2 first downs and 10 points off those four possessions. That's a pretty good job of stepping up by the Blackshirts.
I would definitely go for Rose and Bando as well but they have them at the same spot (MIKE) currently. They definitely seem to be our two best LBs at the moment, although the offenses we'll see over these last four game might get Anderson back in the mix more as well.
BIG ERN
All-American
Both have played well but I like the aggressiveness I've seen out of Rose. Similar to several of the young guys, he doesn't always do everything right, but he reacts quickly and attacks, which makes up for a lot.
True2tRA
Banned
I like seeing both Rose and Banderas there but Banderas showed he clearly understands his responsibilities a bit better. Rose was caught out of position in the wrong gap quite a few times against Northwestern. Still I like his size and physicality which is why I think the rotation works.
As far as the original question I would have to say yes the defense has improved. Maybe not as a consistent unit, but definitely have seen some individuals make some big steps forward.
Tell me Moss reads that NW QB and makes that interception five weeks ago. I doubt it. He has learned and he read that perfectly. He saw RG coming with backside pressure and he dropped into the passing lane beautifully. I'd say Ankrah has really made some progress lately as well. Banderas looks more comfortable out there. Ciante Evans is becoming more aggressive. Cooper has been pretty good all year but I'd say that last game was his best.
If we can get consistent play from the entire group, each man doing their job, I think we have something special happening here next year. As much as some of you would like to convince people that there is a talent issue here, you won't convince me. These guys are some damn talented athletic football players. If they get it put together mentally, LOOK OUT. Right now though, we are just seeing flashes here and there from individuals. At this point, I'm okay with that. We are young and still learning, but any progress is better than none.
As far as the original question I would have to say yes the defense has improved. Maybe not as a consistent unit, but definitely have seen some individuals make some big steps forward.
Tell me Moss reads that NW QB and makes that interception five weeks ago. I doubt it. He has learned and he read that perfectly. He saw RG coming with backside pressure and he dropped into the passing lane beautifully. I'd say Ankrah has really made some progress lately as well. Banderas looks more comfortable out there. Ciante Evans is becoming more aggressive. Cooper has been pretty good all year but I'd say that last game was his best.
If we can get consistent play from the entire group, each man doing their job, I think we have something special happening here next year. As much as some of you would like to convince people that there is a talent issue here, you won't convince me. These guys are some damn talented athletic football players. If they get it put together mentally, LOOK OUT. Right now though, we are just seeing flashes here and there from individuals. At this point, I'm okay with that. We are young and still learning, but any progress is better than none.
Count 'Bility
Banned
It's been talked about how Banderas spent a lot of time with Will Compton over the offseason to get a head start on the mental part of the game and it shows. The guys just seems to be a little more dialed in than everyone else.
I thought this as well watching but it was interesting to hear Blake Lawrence break down a couple plays on Big Red Wrap Up the other night. On the big zone read run right up the middle, the tackle started to block down which would usually mean outside zone and Rose jumped out. But then the tackle came back and blocked the DE out, opening up a huge gap in the middle which led to the big play. Pretty tricky scheme that was hard to see watching the play. I'll have to watch a little closer and see if that was the case other times.
Even with that, I think I'll still take the aggressiveness from Rose. He reminded me during the NW game of Levonte early on - wasn't always going to the right spot but was at least going at full speed. Not that he'll be that good but it's not a bad place to start from.
EZ-E
All-American
We are loaded with young talent at LB. Let's not forget that we also have guys like Courtney Love and Marcus Newby sitting on our bench with RS on.
The future is very bright on defense and I am very excited to see what our unit could be next year. Hopefully we can win out and get to Indy. That would be a dose of experience that would really benefit our young guns.
The future is very bright on defense and I am very excited to see what our unit could be next year. Hopefully we can win out and get to Indy. That would be a dose of experience that would really benefit our young guns.