The Mobile QB Conundrum

MLB 51 said:
We don't have the speed at LB to run a 1-gap.
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What about the younger guys? (serious question as i don't follow recruiting all that much and don't know what we've got in the cupboard at LB) Or maybe we convert a safety to LB? We pretty much don't have the talent at either level to be successful in either style of defense is pretty much what it boils down to. Which is worse? At least a 1-gap defense may create a turnover once in a while or rattle a QB from getting hit a few times... Hopefully some of the young D-linemen are as good as we think they are and we'll be in better shape next year.

Watching our run defense for the past couple years has been depressing.

 
beanman said:
Bye Bye Big XII said:
I think to combat this, we should turn the offside penalty off, and move our D line up to right in front of the QB. 100% of the time, it'll work 100% of the time.

In all seriousness though, numerous times tonight we got pressure. Numerous times we weren't able to make the play.

It's not the scheme, it's the execution.
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We don't have the players to execute the scheme. We have the least physical and slowest defensive line I can remember in the last 20 years at Nebraska.
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I agree 100%. Our DL is just awful. My only hope is that we can somehow patch together a decent unit, and defense overall, by season's end. But right now, well I'll just say it is not looking good.

 
Our Dline is not suited for this scheme. We need to drop the 2-gap and just play straight up and attack or a slanting scheme with twists...As for the LBs, we NEED speed, we need to get back to having 215-225 lb backers that can run like no other and have them blitz frequently. Our DBs are not as bad as they look and would benefit from a better Dline.

 
Did we watch the same game here? I don't think the mobile QB was our problem he only had 53 yards and didn't score any touchdowns on the ground. Yes he sustained some drives with his legs but that's not what won the game for UCLA and that's going to happen with any quality QB. You can't have a superman defense and stop everything they throw at you. Poor tackling and fundamentals are what cost us this game on the defensive side. Far to many people trying to make arm tackles, lunging at guys with their head down, and going under blocks to try to get to a ball carrier running outside are what killed us.

Really the D adjusted well and kept us in the game in the second half it was just being on the field too long because of the safety and poor play calling that killed us in the 4th quarter.

 
ZRod said:
Did we watch the same game here? I don't think the mobile QB was our problem he only had 53 yards and didn't score any touchdowns on the ground. Yes he sustained some drives with his legs but that's not what won the game for UCLA and that's going to happen with any quality QB. You can't have a superman defense and stop everything they throw at you. Poor tackling and fundamentals are what cost us this game on the defensive side. Far to many people trying to make arm tackles, lunging at guys with their head down, and going under blocks to try to get to a ball carrier running outside are what killed us.

Really the D adjusted well and kept us in the game in the second half it was just being on the field too long because of the safety and poor play calling that killed us in the 4th quarter.
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This is the best analysis of the day! The defense did a fair job in the 2nd half after they made adjustments. The poor field position hampered the offense as well as defensive adjustments UCLA made at halftime. Our D was a tired bunch by the end of the 3rd Qtr. This also wasn't the weak sister type of UCLA team that Sparky was putting on the field. Mora has toughened them. I'm not saying we have a great D....they may not even be good at a lot of positions.

 
ZRod said:
Did we watch the same game here? I don't think the mobile QB was our problem he only had 53 yards and didn't score any touchdowns on the ground. Yes he sustained some drives with his legs but that's not what won the game for UCLA and that's going to happen with any quality QB. You can't have a superman defense and stop everything they throw at you. Poor tackling and fundamentals are what cost us this game on the defensive side. Far to many people trying to make arm tackles, lunging at guys with their head down, and going under blocks to try to get to a ball carrier running outside are what killed us.

Really the D adjusted well and kept us in the game in the second half it was just being on the field too long because of the safety and poor play calling that killed us in the 4th quarter.
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I am no expert at breaking down a defense, I don't think our D adjusted well at all. Their RB ran around us the entire second half. They made plays when then needed them. some questions/observations:

  1. If a two-gap defensive scheme is to engage and protect the gaps, then why would we start a full yard off the ball. It seems to me that giving up a yard right at the snap just gives the offense time to fire off the ball and move into position. Why not engage and protect right at the point of the snap?
  2. We knew we were playing a very mobile qb but I didn't see us spying him. Did I miss that?
  3. what in the world has happened to Meredith?? He showed so much promise his sophmore year. He seems to have regressed since then.

  • our defensive slowness reminds me of our mid 70's and late 80's teams. Good against inferior teams, and exposed against good ones.
  • our tackles play way too high at the point of attack. Especially Rome.
  • after last year's defensive showing, and the first two games this year, Bo needs to swallow his pride and make some sweeping changes in scheme. This one does not work with the horses we are able to recruit.

 
TJ Alum Husker said:
ZRod said:
Did we watch the same game here? I don't think the mobile QB was our problem he only had 53 yards and didn't score any touchdowns on the ground. Yes he sustained some drives with his legs but that's not what won the game for UCLA and that's going to happen with any quality QB. You can't have a superman defense and stop everything they throw at you. Poor tackling and fundamentals are what cost us this game on the defensive side. Far to many people trying to make arm tackles, lunging at guys with their head down, and going under blocks to try to get to a ball carrier running outside are what killed us.

Really the D adjusted well and kept us in the game in the second half it was just being on the field too long because of the safety and poor play calling that killed us in the 4th quarter.
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I am no expert at breaking down a defense, I don't think our D adjusted well at all. Their RB ran around us the entire second half. They made plays when then needed them. some questions/observations:

  1. If a two-gap defensive scheme is to engage and protect the gaps, then why would we start a full yard off the ball. It seems to me that giving up a yard right at the snap just gives the offense time to fire off the ball and move into position. Why not engage and protect right at the point of the snap?
  2. We knew we were playing a very mobile qb but I didn't see us spying him. Did I miss that?
  3. what in the world has happened to Meredith?? He showed so much promise his sophmore year. He seems to have regressed since then.

  • our defensive slowness reminds me of our mid 70's and late 80's teams. Good against inferior teams, and exposed against good ones.
  • our tackles play way too high at the point of attack. Especially Rome.
  • after last year's defensive showing, and the first two games this year, Bo needs to swallow his pride and make some sweeping changes in scheme. This one does not work with the horses we are able to recruit.
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Agreed 100%. I watched Martin when he was in. He was at the LOS every play. Obviously that is acceptable or Kaz or Bo would have had him shift back. We are S-L-O-W on the DL and at LB. UCLA was hitting the edge and we had no hope to catch them. I was embarrassed for our DL and LB's trying to chase them down. Bo won't swallow his pride. See not hiring Mike Stoops as DC. Our fundamentals are horrible. Missed tackles, arm tackles poor pursuit angles etc.... As McBride stated in his article, to paraphrase, "If you don't have a stellar DL, look out" (in ref to the 2 gap)

 
Last year it seemed like our mush rush would leave gaps and the QB would just run through it. One thing I've seen good DE's do is push the pocket on the edge just enough to seal off the outside. When the QB runs to the gap, the DE is able to spin back to the inside and tackle them from behind before he can take off. I think it is just a matter of technique using leverage and shifting their weight properly. It looks like they are strong enough to push the pocket but are out of position. The o-lineman will let them push too far so the DE is too far upfield. If he tries to spin back, he'll be a yard or so away from making the tackle. It appears that the DE did his job since he didn't lose outside containment but in reality his responsibility is also to make it difficult to go to the inside. I don't know what is going on with the DT's but I'm starting to appreciate what a beast like Suh can provide. We're probably just lacking size, strength and athleticism at the DT position. Someone commented that we looked smaller and slower than UCLA in the game thread. I had the same thought. In general when pass rushing, shouldn't the strategy be to shed blocks? If you're tied up with an o-lineman you aren't going to tackle anyone. I was trying to figure out if that is how our defense is designed such that the D-line is supposed to occupy the o-line and the linebackers are responsible for tackling an escaping quarterback (or a rb draw play). If that is how it's designed, I can see the problem. A quarterback like Robinson or Miller is going to start with 3 - 5 yards separation when he escapes the pocket and can easily juke to elude a slower linebacker. If a DT gets an o-lineman off balance and leaves him behind, it's not like the o-lineman is going to block a linebacker and prevent him from making a tackle. I don't see our d-line doing this.

Meredith should cut his hair or get a better fitting helmet. He's constantly pushing it back up because it's getting pushed down over his eyes. There's probably a reason old-time coaches insisted their players be clean cut.

 
We could have really used a guy like Josh Banderas out there at LB with his 110 meter hurdle track speed.

and

We could have really used a guy like Vincent Valentine out there at DT to plug, push, and stop the run.

Hopefully the future is brighter.

 
NebraskaHarry said:
We could have really used a guy like Josh Banderas out there at LB with his 110 meter hurdle track speed.

and

We could have really used a guy like Vincent Valentine out there at DT to plug, push, and stop the run.

Hopefully the future is brighter.
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That's the only reason I'm willing to cut Bo some slack for a few more years. After that if things don't pan out I'm going to be calling for a change. We just don't have the players now to be a great team on that side of the ball. On offense we're much much closer to being there but continue to piss it down our leg every time the pressure is on.

 
I am absolutely totally baffled by our defensive scheme up front.

If we go against a mobile QB, he either has all day to make a play or if one person gets loose to get at him, all he has to do is get away from that one guy and he is gone because everyone else on the line is dancing with the O line.

You want to know why Martinez is rushed to throw many times (even though it's better than last year)? It's because the d line is shooting gaps and getting in his face FAST.

If Nebraska never plays a 2 gap system again I would be very happy.

 
Here's one to ponder.........................we have a top 3 mobile QB in the B1G in Taylor Martinez. The guy has great straight line speed even if he lacks some of the lateral speed and tackle breaking greatness. Still he's fast as hell and you have to account for him. So why in gods name, with our defense going up against him every week in practice, can't our defense be prepared for a mobile QB?! It makes no sense to me and if anyone is willing to clue me in here I'm all ears. I'm also fairly confused to what Kaz is even teaching this defensive line? I thought he said they were going to be more aggressive, head butt the offensive line, and drive them back. Not play patty cake with them like we seen last year.........................................I've seen zero of that coach speak show up on the field so far? I'd be afraid to blitz too knowing that our LB's can't get there in time to make the blitz effective, our defensive lineman can't get off blocks quick enough to even catch up with anyone if they'd want to, and by the time our secondary sees what's happening the ball carrier is already 15 yards up field and they have to run back to stop him. That's not the DB's fault, it all falls on the defensive players up front and the coaches that put them in position to fail.

 
ZRod said:
Did we watch the same game here? I don't think the mobile QB was our problem he only had 53 yards and didn't score any touchdowns on the ground.
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Fair enough - he rushed for 53 yards, as opposed to 75, 100, or 125, or some other number that would have made it seem more subjectively substantial to anyone.

I'm going to go back to my secondary point about Bo claiming that we needed to make a specific transition from defending spread offenses to power offenses. So let's talk rush defense then.

Let's say we're in more of a 4-3 look. If we're playing Whaley and Fisher it's just...it's just sad out there. I hate saying that - I really do. But it's the truth. So whether we're talking specifically about a mobile QB running wild, or stopping a more traditional ground game, how can we possibly do it with the scheme/personnel combo we have on the field?

Again, the point is - what exactly have we transitioned to? Ohio State and Michigan are not the stereotypical big, slow, smash-mouth style of Penn State or Iowa. And they're the teams we need to beat. We have transitioned to nothing that works.

 
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