McKewon Monday Rewind: Husker defense has a ways to go

[Danimal]

When did we make a good hire? When Solich threw friendship aside and called Monte Kiffen for a name on who would be a good DC. You know what's depressing?

Yes, I do know what's depressing - watching highlights of the 2012 conference title game and last year's Wisconsin game. You remember those, don't you?

We have to beat Wisconsin and Iowa to get to Indy. Two teams that run the ball.

We have to beat Ohio State to win the conference title. A team that has a punishing offensive line and running backs, year in and year out.

What part of this doesn't make sense to you? We have a guy who can stop the run. Let's give him some time to sort out the secondary play...

Your post makes no sense. Where did I support the '12 defense or say we don't need a good run defense? Please show me where I did that. I've said a bunch times on these boards that even if Bo stayed we had to bring in a legit DC. We need to have a guy like Chizik. The point I made was that back in '03 we did the smart thing and threw friendship out the window to just make the best DC hire we could, and back then Bo's defense did work fine. The rest of our DC hires haven't focused on quality enough, they've been crony hires. As far as our run defense goes what quality rushing attack have we stopped? Wiscy had Clement out and was actually rated on the low side when we played them this year. Purdue and NW had their moderately mobile qb's run well on us. Yearby for Miami was pretty productive against us, ran for just over 7yds a pop and 125 total. Our rush defense is alright, nothing great,it wouldn't be rated as high if teams didn't opt to go at our struggling pass-D so much.

 

[Scratchtown]

When did we make a good hire? When Solich threw friendship aside and called Monte Kiffen for a name on who would be a good DC. You know what's depressing?

We have a guy who can stop the run.

Do we? I can't say that with any clarity, because this defense has yet to be tested. I posted numbers last week, but we've played bottom tier running teams all year. Mr Ground N Pound Wisconsin is 76th in the nation in rushing yards per carry, MSU 82nd. These are not numbers you associate with these teams. Wisconsin led the nation last year (second the year prior), MSU was 19th. It's been a very bad year for Big Ten rushing..

Or its been a really good year for big 10 rush defenses. Depends how you spin it to fit your message

 

[KCBuc]

I will be interested to see if they can get some DEs that get pressure on the QB. It may make his defense palatable. I'd be in favor of getting someone else but it wont happen. Keep hoping they get some JUCOs who are ready to play.

 

[Bowfin]

But I like this guy. Is he a Top 5, Top 10, Top 15 DC in the country? Possibly not.

Possibly not???...

13th in Rushing Defense

82nd in Sacks

85th in Scoring Defense

93rd in First Downs Allowed

95th in Total Defense.

112th in Turnovers Gained

124th in Passing Yards Allowed

I would say that looks more like a

"Probably not..."

 

[Bowfin]

Bo was relatively embarrassing in the games that mattered

Purdue scored 55 points on Nebraska...so would that be filed under "relatively embarrassing in games that don't matter"?

Anyhow, Banker has six more years to show he's got better stuff than Bo, so let's see how this all plays out.

 

[NWHuskerfan]

Mike Leach fired his D-coordinator last year and brought in a new guy. The Cougars are balling big time and one of the main reasons is a much better defense. Defense wins football games.

 

[brophog]

But I like this guy. Is he a Top 5, Top 10, Top 15 DC in the country? Possibly not.

Possibly not???...
13th in Rushing Defense

82nd in Sacks

85th in Scoring Defense

93rd in First Downs Allowed

95th in Total Defense.

112th in Turnovers Gained

124th in Passing Yards Allowed

I would say that looks more like a

"Probably not..."

So you're saying there's a chance...

 

[Bowfin]

So you're saying there's a chance...

Yes.

If Banker can hold Rutgers and Iowa scoreless and to -875 yards total offense, then yes, there is a slight chance his defense could finish in the top half. If all other teams score in the triple digits against each other for their remaining games, a top ten finish could be the result.

 

[Mierin]

So you're saying there's a chance...

Yes.

If Banker can hold Rutgers and Iowa scoreless and to -875 yards total offense, then yes, there is a slight chance his defense could finish in the top half. If all other teams score in the triple digits against each other for their remaining games, a top ten finish could be the result.

The question wasn't "Will Nebraska end up in the top 5-15 in major defensive categories for the 2015 season." It was is he a top 5-15 defensive coordinator.

IMO, still probably not.

 

[zoogs]

Yes, probably not. That said, it doesn't take one of the nation's premier defensive minds to make it work (though that's obviously ideal, if you can get it). And as we've learned, having one of those guys is only one piece to the puzzle if everything else isn't there.

I guess what I'm saying is if Banker is the guy Riley trusts to get the job done, it could be a productive team. If it's not and Riley never sees fit to make a change, that'll be on Riley.

 

[Enhance]

I won't argue with anyone that Banker is better than BP, BP was better than Banker, or say that Banker has necessarily done a good enough job this year to bestow confidence for next season.

However, clearly, what we were doing under BP the last few seasons wasn't good enough in it's own way. If some really want to point out whose was worse then I guess that's their right, but it's fearfully futile.

Banker's defense has been rattled with injuries at key spots; now, is that justification enough for their poor performances? In my opinion, no. However, I do think it's ambitious for anyone to think he needs to go after this season or say "he sucks." He's not an idiot. I want to give him a chance to do something different here. It could take some time to build and it could take hitting the recruiting trail hard. As a fan, I'm willing to wait and be patient to see if it can come to fruition.

 

[alwayshusking]

I'm highly skeptical of Banker but we need better players on the whole over there. When Pelini had good players he looked like a genius. He didn't look like a genius in recent years due to lack of talent/depth. The only position I think we have acceptable talent/depth right now is DT.

Hopefully Riley's recruiting and roster management can bring that talent level/depth up to where it needs to be.

 

[olddominionhusker]

Did Banker ever have a highly ranked defense while at OSU? What was his best defensive year while there?

 

[Huskerzoo]

EVERY FREAKING GAME MATTERS!

When you start pretending like only certain games matter...you start losing to Illinois and Purdue.

Let me guess...last year the Iowa game "didn't matter" but this year it will? Now all of a sudden "we have to beat Iowa to get to Indy" when last year, it didn't matter.

You don't get to the conference champion game by just winning the games that "matter" because the moment you lose a game...that turns into a game that "mattered"

How nice would it be right now to have won that games that "didn't matter", you know, Illinois and purdue...along with a game that "did matter" Wisconsin (I am guessing that one mattered, right?). Did Northwestern matter, I don't know.

Iowa should be like the unwanted, red headed, stepchild that gets curb stomped as we walk by them. It shouldn't be a game that "matters". We shouldn't be worried about beating anyone unless it's a top tier team.

We have very little say in if they win their games that aren't against us. It takes two teams to make a game matter.

 

[GOAT]

If we keep Banker, we're in for many more defensive letdowns. Really makes me wonder what our record would be right now if we had a legit DC.