Stopping running QBs...why all the difficulty?

It's the drugs, man.

You asked why, though? I dunno...prob the same reasons Frazier, Frost, Crouch, Michael Vick, Robinson, Miller, The SC kid, Brad Smith (dammit) Vince Young, ect...were difficult to contain. Those guy bring an added element that's hard to defend. That's why they're in such high demand.

Still, that doesn't mean we don't need to improve dramatically if we want to win the next two games. Both opponents feature guys who are dangerous on the run.

 
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Bo's difficulties stopping mobile QBs at Nebraska started before he was head coach, during the 2003 year with his so-called "vaunted" defense.

 
Most teams struggle with dual threat QB's. I don't see why people seem to think this is a Nebraska only issue...Connor Shaw ran for near 100 on Georgia, which isn't a slouch on D.

There are maybe 5 teams that really stop the QB run, Alabama being probably the best at it.

 
Maxconvert said:
Coach: What was the quarterback doing in this play?LB: I'm not sure

Coach: He should have been the 3rd thing in your progression.

LB: I'll be sure to add that into my progression (next time I see this formation which is 1 out of 100s that I encounter during a season).

Coach: You didn't execute.
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Exactly. The obvious problem is that a coach who thrives on and is passionate about defensive complexity, expects his players to have the same interest, intellectual expertise, and passion to do the same. There are always players out there who have the mind of a coach and end up going into coaching after they get done playing ,but most players don't have that perspective. Of course if you ask Bo why the QB ran for 70 yards or found a wide open tight end streaking down the field, he would immediately explain the schematic breakdown. Expecting players to carry the same expertise is a recipe for disaster a lot of the times. And if a player is struggling to get down all the various reads, then has to deal with a new formation or motion that he hasn't seen on film, well you can imagine the time he's going to waste trying to figure out what's going on. The great ones can make up for that delay with their athleticism, otherwise it's time lost.
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I was thinking that it might become absurd to expect anyone to know what the right progressions are for every situation. That includes the coach. If the player gets it wrong the coach can always say that the player didn't execute the scheme properly. I don't think our players are lacking in smarts, it's just unreasonable for anyone to know the progressions and execute them in real time, if it is too complex. I'd like to know more details about exactly what Bo is trying to do to see if it is that complex.

As a fan I want to know the schematic breakdown that allowed the QB to run for 70 yards or found a wide open tight end streaking down the field. I'll probably still throw stuff at the TV but at least I can aim at a specific player- or coach. Just kidding, I'm more interested in seeing how we adjust to stop it the next time.

:lol:

 
Whether it's an excuse or not, a lot was made last year about us having defensive personnel recruited to the Big 12 and forced to "fit" into a B!G mold. So we recruited aggressively valuing speed (at a somewhat cost of size).

Then this year with 3 senior linebackers and young, fast freshman poised to spell them...........what happens? One plays well and gets hurt, and the others are evidently not deemed sufficiently schooled to contribute.

Short answer...........personnel match-up issues.................

 
huskerdude171 said:
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I paused the video and looked at it frame by frame. The DE took 1 step, kind of paused at the LOS and then pursued the running back. He took 1 step in the wrong direction before he realized VY still had the ball. That was all he needed. I never understood why the DE wouldn't just always make a beeline to the quarterback, especially an elusive one. I think he could have been within a yard of him at about the time VY pulled the ball. If he doesn't pull the ball, smack him down anyway but the point is to stop him before he can get moving north south. It doesn't seem any different from the traditional option. One person takes the quarterback and someone else takes the running back. Teams were effective at stopping our option when they did this. It was when they only had 1 defender trying to cover both where they got torched.

 
A lot of good info being thrown around on this subject.

It is correct that NU and everyone in the country pretty much has trouble stopping the running QB.

I think most of the problem is not that our defense is that slow or unathletic, but that it just goes against what BP wants to do philisophically on defense. He doesn't really want to commit to stopping the mobile QB, bucause in his defensive mind it makes his defense too weak in other areas.

He has seen his defense work against mobile QB's and he thinks he can make it work. He just can't admit to himself that he doesne't hav Suh or even Crick clogging up the middle and putting pressure on the QB from the middle.

I do think part of the problem is that he looks at defense from a d-back perspective. He needs to check his ego and change a few things to try and slow down these guys better.

 
If the practice reports are correct then we are seeing a partial scheme shift of personnel. I admit this has me sorta excited as it seems sound and makes sense in trying to stop DT QB's. We will be going to more Nickel/Dime to add speed to our defense. Take out a slower LB or two for faster S/CB.

 
Comish said:
Whether it's an excuse or not, a lot was made last year about us having defensive personnel recruited to the Big 12 and forced to "fit" into a B!G mold. So we recruited aggressively valuing speed (at a somewhat cost of size).
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I'm not trying to "burn you," but I want to point out that this doesn't make any sense.

What type of offense do you typically see in the Big XII? At least, with the dominant ones? Bo himself said it was spread offenses.

Are you saying that we intended to recruit big, powerful, and less-slow linebackers in our 2008 & 2009 recruiting classes for the Big XII spread offenses? Because that's just not an accurate picture.

 
BartonHusker said:
If the practice reports are correct then we are seeing a partial scheme shift of personnel. I admit this has me sorta excited as it seems sound and makes sense in trying to stop DT QB's. We will be going to more Nickel/Dime to add speed to our defense. Take out a slower LB or two for faster S/CB.
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Funny, I think that is essentially what ndobny was proposing with his 3-4 Peso.

 
BartonHusker said:
If the practice reports are correct then we are seeing a partial scheme shift of personnel. I admit this has me sorta excited as it seems sound and makes sense in trying to stop DT QB's. We will be going to more Nickel/Dime to add speed to our defense. Take out a slower LB or two for faster S/CB.
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I agree they need to make a commitment to shutting down the running game and running QBs. Again it goes against BP's philosophy. Its not that he is against stopping the run, its just that it is not #1 priority. Limiting big plays is his priority, in particular big pass plays. They still have given up a few though. Personally I am still a Run the Ball, Stop the Run person myself. BP is definitely a run the ball guy but stopping the run is not #1 to him.

 
Man to man straight across. McBride style bitches. the other 6-8 are rushing the backfield and raising holy hell. Me may give up a long play or 3, but we're not gonna get picked apart for 500 yards and 7 td's. Just attack. Throw all thinking aside, put the speed on the field, turn'em loose so they can enjoy playing defense and just frikin go.

 
Bingo, those D's of the early/mid 90's just flew to the ball with speed in the secondary and linebackers spots. Our LB's were basically hard hitting safeties.

 
BartonHusker said:
If the practice reports are correct then we are seeing a partial scheme shift of personnel. I admit this has me sorta excited as it seems sound and makes sense in trying to stop DT QB's. We will be going to more Nickel/Dime to add speed to our defense. Take out a slower LB or two for faster S/CB.
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Isn't this basically the same thing we heard after the UCLA game?

 
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