Husker Linebackers Will Be Asked To Do Everything

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
“I always tell the outside backers, assignmentwise, you shouldn’t have many missed assignments,” he said Wednesday. “We’re pretty simple at outside backer.”

Don’t mistake that for Dewitt saying the position is easy to play, though. Figuring out the assignment on any given play should be straightforward. Carrying out said assignment? That’s another story entirely.

“You may be a true defensive end at one play and the very next play you may be lining up and playing man on (the) No. 2 (receiver) to the field,” he explained. “The very next play you may be in space like a true Mike or Will linebacker. Or you may be in one of the hardest positions in football — a six technique on a tight end. That’s hard.

“A skill set from being a corner to a defensive end to a linebacker, all within three plays, that’s the skill set and that’s different. We’ve got to develop that.”
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LJS

 
suh_fan93 said:
Essentially making versatility part of something they teach these guys.   :thumbs   Love it.
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And it's a big change to what we've done not only during most of Riley's tenure but I think all of Bo's tenure. All of those defenses, in terms of outside rushers (DE or OLB), have been very formation strength oriented. 

It's become more a positionless game and these coaches totally get that, on both sides of the ball. Teams that want to be very stagnant in having certain positions doing only certain things will be left in the dust. Hybrid style schemes are here to stay. We don't have the most complex schemes on either side, but they are cutting edge.

 
This absolutely drove me nuts last year.  I have no idea what we were trying to accomplish.  Our LBs simply ran headlong into their gap, regardless of what the offense was doing.  

It's the main reason why our LBs "played poorly" last year - they weren't being asked to try to make plays.  They were running into a certain gap.  Why?

And yet, Barry sounded like a guy who took a look at his new playbook and started sitting in on meetings under his new coaching staff and felt unshackled. At the very least, he’s champing at the bit to play with what he sees as more freedom within Erik Chinander’s defensive system.

“Last year playing linebacker we did have the downhill mentality but not, I guess, a ‘make the play mentality,’” the junior said. “As inside linebackers (in Chinander’s defense), we're making the plays. We’re going to the ball. Our gaps are in relation to the ball, which will allow us to not waste ourselves and allow us to bonus to the ball.”

“I’m not going to the 'C' gap when the ball is all the way to the opposite 'D' gap. It will allow me to make that play, allow other inside linebackers to make that play.”
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LJS

 
Mavric said:
This absolutely drove me nuts last year.  I have no idea what we were trying to accomplish.  Our LBs simply ran headlong into their gap, regardless of what the offense was doing.  

It's the main reason why our LBs "played poorly" last year - they weren't being asked to try to make plays.  They were running into a certain gap.  Why?

LJS
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Does anyone do that? What we did last year?

Seems like it'd take the opposing coaches 10 mins to figure out in film, and it probably did.

 
Mavric said:
This absolutely drove me nuts last year.  I have no idea what we were trying to accomplish.  Our LBs simply ran headlong into their gap, regardless of what the offense was doing.  

It's the main reason why our LBs "played poorly" last year - they weren't being asked to try to make plays.  They were running into a certain gap.  Why?

LJS
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But, but 'the bend don't break defense'!!!   :sarcasm   So glad Diaco is long gone...

 
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Mavric said:
It's the main reason why our LBs "played poorly" last year - they weren't being asked to try to make plays.  They were running into a certain gap.  Why?
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Notice there is a change after about the second or third game. Early in the season there was a lot of over purusuing, bad run fits, poor gap control. Then it was like they were told to go the other extreme...never leave your gap, never rally to the football, never gang tackle. Of course that meant if the primary tackler failed it went for 65, the defense had no redundancy at that point.

I agree it was frustrating to watch, and probably more frustrating to play. 

 
Mavric said:
This absolutely drove me nuts last year.  I have no idea what we were trying to accomplish.  Our LBs simply ran headlong into their gap, regardless of what the offense was doing.  

It's the main reason why our LBs "played poorly" last year - they weren't being asked to try to make plays.  They were running into a certain gap.  Why?

LJS
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The strain Mav, the strain.  Can't you see it?

 
Ruud says he likes Avery Robert's potential but right now he's too slow and not in good enough shape.

 
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