Opposing coaches size up the Cornhuskers:

Abdullah the Butcher

Abdullah the Butcher

Banned
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-coaches-talk-anonymously-about-conference-foes-2014#sthash.yBP21eiP.dpuf

They hadnt been what they wanted to be on defense, considering Bo Pelini is a defensive coach. Where theyve been a little disappointing is defensive consistency. For John Papuchis, his first defensive coordinator gig is Nebraska. Thats a big job. Its not like he started at a springboard place. Nebraskas still Nebraska.

They were pretty young on defense last year, so maybe another year will have Bos defense where he wants it.

Having Randy Gregory back will help. He is an absolute stud. Hes so explosive and fast for his size. Hes physical, can cover, just a smart player. Doesnt really have a weakness.

Bo was on the perceived hot seat but they are always solid. There hasnt really been a dropoff. Theyve been consistent, even with their starting quarterback out all year.

They couldnt do everything they wanted to last year because even when Taylor Martinez came back against UCLA, he wasnt the same and they couldnt run him very much.

Last year they lost a guard (Spencer Long) to injury. He was really good.

This year they should have more options with Tommy Armstrong, whom I know they are high on.

Ameer Abdullah just gets it done, whatever they need. It will be interesting to see how much they try to run the option with Armstrong and Abdullah, because they did that some last year but that was maybe in part because the quarterback was inexperienced.

They have enough to win the division, no doubt. Their offensive line will be young but it will be talented.
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Mike Welch on 97.3 (Drop the Mike drive time show) here in Lincoln said last week that if you remove the month of September, the 2013 defense was top 15 (like 11 or 13 or something - can't remember) in the country last year, including the bowl game.

Take away the games when they were running around with no clue (UCLA, Wyoming, SDSU), once the defense seemed to get it, they played pretty well.

So that's kinda nice, especially since we have some of the big cogs in that 2013 defensive wheel back this year.

It'd be nice to see the defense start out running, instead of having to learn on the job again like it seems they've done most years. If they can shut down Miami & Fresno State, they'll have a good shot at ending the season pretty highly ranked as a defense.

 
knapplc said:
It'd be nice to see the defense start out running, instead of having to learn on the job again like it seems they've done most years. If they can shut down Miami & Fresno State, they'll have a good shot at ending the season pretty highly ranked as a defense.
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I'm optimistic about the defense this year, but it's exceedingly important that they knock the rust off quickly (and that rust is the only issue). They can mess around and make mistakes against FAU and McNeese St, but then it's time to buckle down and play well for Fresno/Miami and then conference play. I think the Blackshirts will be very good this year, but a key issue happens early on: can they pick up more or less where they left off last year?

 
LukeinNE said:
knapplc said:
It'd be nice to see the defense start out running, instead of having to learn on the job again like it seems they've done most years. If they can shut down Miami & Fresno State, they'll have a good shot at ending the season pretty highly ranked as a defense.
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I'm optimistic about the defense this year, but it's exceedingly important that they knock the rust off quickly (and that rust is the only issue). They can mess around and make mistakes against FAU and McNeese St, but then it's time to buckle down and play well for Fresno/Miami and then conference play. I think the Blackshirts will be very good this year, but a key issue happens early on: can they pick up more or less where they left off last year?
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I believe they can. I'm concerned more about special teams and O-Line than I am our defense, to be honest--I fully expect that they should be a Top 20 unit.

But if our O-Line doesn't gel, that's going to cause a lot of heartburn, as we'll be giving offenses a short field over and over again. Only defense that I saw rise above that was the '09 team, and even that could only go so far.

 
matthew_m_g said:
I believe they can. I'm concerned more about special teams and O-Line than I am our defense, to be honest--I fully expect that they should be a Top 20 unit.
But if our O-Line doesn't gel, that's going to cause a lot of heartburn, as we'll be giving offenses a short field over and over again. Only defense that I saw rise above that was the '09 team, and even that could only go so far.
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I share your concern for special teams. Our punt return unit was a long, long way from being average last year, and that had every bit as much to do with our constantly terrible field position as 3 and outs and turnovers did. I'm inclined to give our offensive line the benefit of the doubt. Our 2 deep was almost completely taken out by injuries last year, and we still had a competent running game at season's end. Somewhat like the secondary, I feel like maybe we've gotten that unit figured out and we're at a place where we can call up the next guy and have that guy be serviceable.

My other concern is quarterback, which I think is the question mark in the offense this year. No matter who it is, we need to have a legitimate passing threat who isn't a turnover machine. TA wasn't that next year, though I thought he did well considering the circumstances he was tossed into. He'll need to make a jump this year, though.

 
For some reason, i seem to be in the minority of someone who is super optimistic.

This offseason seemed to be a wakeup call for Bo.

I know the stuff on Twitter seems small or insignificant, but i think it shows that Bo is finally listening to others and trying to make changes.

Look at this recruiting class for 2015...

Seems to me like these guys are finally hitting their stride.

I am not saying we are going to win 12 games, but i dont think 11 is out of the question.

Wisconsin lost a ton from last years team.

Michigan State is good but i also think we always play them VERY tough and close.

Miami doesnt have a QB

Fresno State has a new guy.

I just have a ton of hope that this defense is going to be VERY good.

The offense will be more consistent... with Taylor it was either dynamic or a trainwreck.. i think this team with Tommy Arm-so-strong will be CONSISTENT... he throws a nice deep ball... Ameer has people scared.. O line has some excellent depth.

 
LukeinNE said:
knapplc said:
It'd be nice to see the defense start out running, instead of having to learn on the job again like it seems they've done most years. If they can shut down Miami & Fresno State, they'll have a good shot at ending the season pretty highly ranked as a defense.
Click to expand...
I'm optimistic about the defense this year, but it's exceedingly important that they knock the rust off quickly (and that rust is the only issue). They can mess around and make mistakes against FAU and McNeese St, but then it's time to buckle down and play well for Fresno/Miami and then conference play. I think the Blackshirts will be very good this year, but a key issue happens early on: can they pick up more or less where they left off last year?
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I'm very optimistic on our Defense based on what Knapp pointed out. For the first snap of the season last year, we had 11 guys who were sophomores or younger in the from 7 two deep. I don't think any of them had significant playing time at all. Heck, with that young of group, it took a little bit for the coaches to plug players into the right positions.

Now, pretty much all of those guys are back with significant experience going against some pretty decent competition at the end of the year. Those guys now had the off season to get better now that they know what it takes to be successful at this level.

I would be more concerned about special teams if our coaches hadn't said there would be changes there.

 
Minnesota_husker said:
This offseason seemed to be a wakeup call for Bo.

I know the stuff on Twitter seems small or insignificant, but i think it shows that Bo is finally listening to others and trying to make changes.
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Year 7 wakeup call?
default_hmmph.gif


Minnesota_husker said:
Look at this recruiting class for 2015...
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The 2015 class doesn't look much different than Bo's previous classes. What am I missing?

 
knapplc said:
Mike Welch on 97.3 (Drop the Mike drive time show) here in Lincoln said last week that if you remove the month of September, the 2013 defense was top 15 (like 11 or 13 or something - can't remember) in the country last year, including the bowl game.

Take away the games when they were running around with no clue (UCLA, Wyoming, SDSU), once the defense seemed to get it, they played pretty well.

So that's kinda nice, especially since we have some of the big cogs in that 2013 defensive wheel back this year.

It'd be nice to see the defense start out running, instead of having to learn on the job again like it seems they've done most years. If they can shut down Miami & Fresno State, they'll have a good shot at ending the season pretty highly ranked as a defense.
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The coaches have mentioned already that they want to allow the defense to play faster with less thinking. We've all been praying for that for a long time right? Although it is just off season coach speak, it is the first time I've ever really heard them talking about altering their approach on defense. Usually we hear more about the scheme and trying to bring players up to speed. That, or guys just aren't "getting it" , was the popular excuse.

I know we hear a lot of what we want to hear in the final stretch before the season starts, but if what we are hearing this past few weeks is any true indication if these coaches evolving and changing, adapting, then I'm excited to see it because many if the things they've said have been precisely the things I've wanted to hear for quite some time now.

 
Minnesota_husker said:
For some reason, i seem to be in the minority of someone who is super optimistic.

This offseason seemed to be a wakeup call for Bo.

I know the stuff on Twitter seems small or insignificant, but i think it shows that Bo is finally listening to others and trying to make changes.

Look at this recruiting class for 2015...

Seems to me like these guys are finally hitting their stride.

I am not saying we are going to win 12 games, but i dont think 11 is out of the question.

Wisconsin lost a ton from last years team.

Michigan State is good but i also think we always play them VERY tough and close.

Miami doesnt have a QB

Fresno State has a new guy.

I just have a ton of hope that this defense is going to be VERY good.

The offense will be more consistent... with Taylor it was either dynamic or a trainwreck.. i think this team with Tommy Arm-so-strong will be CONSISTENT... he throws a nice deep ball... Ameer has people scared.. O line has some excellent depth.
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I didn't want to come right out and at it since I'm the guy always preaching about setting ourselves up for failure with these high expectations, but I think I'm in the same boat as you. I really think this season is the start of it all, we may hiccup along the way, but its gonna be like watching an entirely different team. I've always said it wasn't losing that bothered me, but the way we lose. I can still see Nebraska losing a game here or there's,nut it will be a hard fought game. A consistent effort from each player. That's my hope anyways. If we lose, it's because the opponent was the better team, not because we were our own worst enemy. It will only get better from here IMO. Obviously, I agree with you about the QB position this season also. Having consistency will be huge back there, but the leadership will be amazing too. Armstrong will make plenty of big plays, but if we are down, he's a guy I trust to rally the team around him and make those around him better.

 
re Nebraska quotes: I can see why coaches would say those things. Especially since they are just little snippets taken out of context. I can't really say I disagree with any of them.

I looked through the other teams' quote, trying to find a quote that may have come from Pelini. I could see him saying something like this: (About Minnesota:) “They are a tough crew. It’s a slugfest. They are built much like Iowa. They are very physical, fundamentally sound. I have a lot of respect for the coaching staff for the way they prepare their kids, especially on the defensive back end where they are physical.”…

 
I absolutely believe that this is, across all positions, the deepest team we have had since Bo took over.

I'm excited.

 
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