why is the defense so bad now?

BigRedBuster said:
I saw that.  I think, a number of Mathis's tackles were on inside runs.  Where were the interior linemen for those?  Seemed like they were being pushed around all over the place and the edges were having to crash inside to stop inside runs.
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We seemed to get pushed around in the interior on many occasions.

 
Is Hausman wearing #15?  I thought he was 16 but I didn't realize Heinrich went out for a play and 15 came in.  NW completed a longer pass down the seem and he chased him down to make a tackle.  I want an apology from whoever told me Muaga Clements would be 1st in

 
MyBloodIsRed16 said:
Is Hausman wearing #15?  I thought he was 16 but I didn't realize Heinrich went out for a play and 15 came in.  NW completed a longer pass down the seem and he chased him down to make a tackle.  I want an apology from whoever told me Muaga Clements would be 1st in
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Hausman was 15 and went in when Henrich got dinged for a bit.  EMC was 5 and was in at the end of the 1st when Riemer was dinged for a bit.

 
BaytownHusker said:
Linebacker play was terrible. There were a few plays where our 2 middle backers ran straight into the line of scrimmage where there wasn't even a play lol. 

Nickle was missing tackles left and right. 

Zone coverage was horrid, but that's what happens when you have 0 pass rush.
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The LBs did not fit well at all in the run game, but I'm wondering if some of that was on the DL. I don't know what techniques we're using, but this isn't the first time they've seen split zone and we didn't have these problems last year. There were a few times the LBs tried to fit and then their own DL ended up in their face, whether they were just being manhandled or thought they should be taking that gap I couldn't say without a re-watch. I need to buy some more alcohol before I'm ready for that.

 
Husker in WI said:
The LBs did not fit well at all in the run game, but I'm wondering if some of that was on the DL. I don't know what techniques we're using, but this isn't the first time they've seen split zone and we didn't have these problems last year. There were a few times the LBs tried to fit and then their own DL ended up in their face, whether they were just being manhandled or thought they should be taking that gap I couldn't say without a re-watch. I need to buy some more alcohol before I'm ready for that.
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I'm no expert on it.  But, after rewatching it.  It appeared to me that sometimes an LB was supposed to fill a hole. But, the hole wasn't there because the O lineman pushed the D lineman into it...making a hole in a different spot which, the LB didn't adjust for.

 
Husker in WI said:
The LBs did not fit well at all in the run game, but I'm wondering if some of that was on the DL. I don't know what techniques we're using, but this isn't the first time they've seen split zone and we didn't have these problems last year. There were a few times the LBs tried to fit and then their own DL ended up in their face, whether they were just being manhandled or thought they should be taking that gap I couldn't say without a re-watch. I need to buy some more alcohol before I'm ready for that.
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there was one play where Reimer had an o-linemen coming at him and instead of taking him on he dipped to his left and go sealed off and the RB just ran through a huge hole.  If Reimer just takes him on and stalls him for a second the RB at least has to make a decision.  I wouldn't have been mad if he just went to the ground and made a pile.  at least that way there is a chance the RB just trips and falls.  

 
Anyone saying the Defense wasn't good last year is insane. The defense was very good, and that is without true difference makers, although I thought Damion was very disruptive. This year is really simple. You have no one on the interior of the line that can play at a very high level. Ty Robinson (and I have said this before) is fat, and has eaten himself out of being explosive at the point of attack. Nash just sucks ( been saying that since he signed). Drew is really small. Wynn has been a bust his entire career, Weaver and Buckley are wastes of scholarships, and Feist is just a glorified back up talent. The D-line has been poorly managed since Frost took over, and I am not a fan of Dawson. I think he is the proven weak link of this staff. He cannot recruit, and Nebraska should always prioritize their line coaches. 

S&C has failed the lines too. Frost has been shell shocked by our lines being pushed around in 18 that the philosophy has been to put too much mass on those guys so nobody pushes us around. 

The bad line play exposed the truth about Heinrich which is he can be a liability in an open hole. He just isn't as athletic as you'd want, but good line play would cover up that deficiency. I am not too worried about the secondary, because I think time fixes that spot. Young, talented guys who are eager only get better. 

I do not know how the d-line issue gets fixed. If Nebraska is to survive somehow this season, the offense is going to have to commit to being like the rest of the BIG, and that is eating up chunks of clock every possession. Limit the other teams snaps like they do to you, and let your defense rest for 20-30 actual minutes. Frost is an idiot and goes against this philosophy and yet it is the one that continues to kick his a$$. 

 
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I would like to see some blitz packages for Gifford or Kolarvic.  Nobody else is getting to the QB.  Force a quick throw at least.  I was pretty surprised we got zero rush.  At least last year guys were getting pressure but just got there late.  Against NW I don't think their QB even got sped up at all.  

 
Vince R. said:
Anyone saying the Defense wasn't good last year is insane. The defense was very good, and that is without true difference makers, although I thought Damion was very disruptive. This year is really simple. You have no one on the interior of the line that can play at a very high level. Ty Robinson (and I have said this before) is fat, and has eaten himself out of being explosive at the point of attack. Nash just sucks ( been saying that since he signed). Drew is really small. Wynn has been a bust his entire career, Weaver and Buckley are wastes of scholarships, and Feist is just a glorified back up talent. The D-line has been poorly managed since Frost took over, and I am not a fan of Dawson. I think he is the proven weak link of this staff. He cannot recruit, and Nebraska should always prioritize their line coaches. 

S&C has failed the lines too. Frost has been shell shocked by our lines being pushed around in 18 that the philosophy has been to put too much mass on those guys so nobody pushes us around. 

The bad line play exposed the truth about Heinrich which is he can be a liability in an open hole. He just isn't as athletic as you'd want, but good line play would cover up that deficiency. I am not too worried about the secondary, because I think time fixes that spot. Young, talented guys who are eager only get better. 

I do not know how the d-line issue gets fixed. If Nebraska is to survive somehow this season, the offense is going to have to commit to being like the rest of the BIG, and that is eating up chunks of clock every possession. Limit the other teams snaps like they do to you, and let your defense rest for 20-30 actual minutes. Frost is an idiot and goes against this philosophy and yet it is the one that continues to kick his a$$. 
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I mean ... setting aside the fact that most of the guys you are complaining about were in the same spots last year...

We were OK on defense last year.  Good is a relative term but I'm not sure we were much above average.  

We were #47 in yards allowed per game.  We were #41 in yards per play allowed.  And we didn't face the most vaunted offenses, other than Ohio State short maybe their best receiver.  For every Oklahoma (#18) and Purdue (#33) there was an Iowa (#121), Northwestern (#116), Illinois (#112), and Minnesota (#98). 

We were #73 in 3rd down conversion percentage allowed.  We were #101 in sacks.  We were #104 in takeaways.

We were slightly better in scoring defense (#36), probably because we did do a good job at not allowing TDs in the red zone (#20). 

But I don't think it takes insanity to say we were more of a mixed bag than good.

 
Mavric said:
I mean ... setting aside the fact that most of the guys you are complaining about were in the same spots last year...

We were OK on defense last year.  Good is a relative term but I'm not sure we were much above average.  

We were #47 in yards allowed per game.  We were #41 in yards per play allowed.  And we didn't face the most vaunted offenses, other than Ohio State short maybe their best receiver.  For every Oklahoma (#18) and Purdue (#33) there was an Iowa (#121), Northwestern (#116), Illinois (#112), and Minnesota (#98). 

We were #73 in 3rd down conversion percentage allowed.  We were #101 in sacks.  We were #104 in takeaways.

We were slightly better in scoring defense (#36), probably because we did do a good job at not allowing TDs in the red zone (#20). 

But I don't think it takes insanity to say we were more of a mixed bag than good.
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Well, your numbers are great and all, but do they tell the entire story Mav? Do they tell 50 percent of the story? No. They don't. They tell 33.3% of the story. The defense was the only thing keeping that team in games. The defense that got no rest, no help from special teams, and had to hold on short fields to keep the games from getting out of hand. If the team had a pulse on offense last year or special teams, those numbers increase big time. I don't care about the opposing offenses so much as I care about our offensive efficiency, finishing out drives, turnovers, and numerous 30 second drives that deplete defenses. Eventually, when the other team gets more possessions, and better starting field position, your numbers cannot trend up. Our defense was pretty salty for all the things it had to endure. 

My complaints about the guys on the D-line is that they are not good. Ty Robinson is the only exception and he has been ruined by S&C. When he gets to the NFL, they will have him take 35-40 lbs off and you will see the high 4 star player he once was. 

 
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Vince R. said:
Anyone saying the Defense wasn't good last year is insane. The defense was very good, and that is without true difference makers, although I thought Damion was very disruptive. This year is really simple. You have no one on the interior of the line that can play at a very high level. Ty Robinson (and I have said this before) is fat, and has eaten himself out of being explosive at the point of attack. Nash just sucks ( been saying that since he signed). Drew is really small. Wynn has been a bust his entire career, Weaver and Buckley are wastes of scholarships, and Feist is just a glorified back up talent. The D-line has been poorly managed since Frost took over, and I am not a fan of Dawson. I think he is the proven weak link of this staff. He cannot recruit, and Nebraska should always prioritize their line coaches. 

S&C has failed the lines too. Frost has been shell shocked by our lines being pushed around in 18 that the philosophy has been to put too much mass on those guys so nobody pushes us around. 

The bad line play exposed the truth about Heinrich which is he can be a liability in an open hole. He just isn't as athletic as you'd want, but good line play would cover up that deficiency. I am not too worried about the secondary, because I think time fixes that spot. Young, talented guys who are eager only get better. 

I do not know how the d-line issue gets fixed. If Nebraska is to survive somehow this season, the offense is going to have to commit to being like the rest of the BIG, and that is eating up chunks of clock every possession. Limit the other teams snaps like they do to you, and let your defense rest for 20-30 actual minutes. Frost is an idiot and goes against this philosophy and yet it is the one that continues to kick his a$$. 
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Great post!

 
It always seemed to take 2-3 of our guys to bring down one of theirs. That’s my not so hot take 

 
The Dude said:
Chinander's best season as a coordinator was last year when we were 47th in total defense.

For comparison the defense that got Mark Banker fired was 33rd.

Maybe it's as simple as Chinander being one of the worst defensive coordinators in school history and it's just not as obvious as it should be because our expectations are so ridiculously low.
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I've been saying this throughout his tenure??? Never been sold on him, ever. Not even last year when i was berated for refusing to admit that he had "proven" himself and that it was "obvious" he was a top DC and I was just in denial.  I said the defense would take a step backwards this year and again was told I was wrong. Defensive play is way too inconsistent to have success.

 
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