At the risk of stating the obvious, I have got to say that the CB play in our defense is the worst I've seen in my nearly 50 years as a Husker fan.
That's saying a lot as we routinely had guys getting beat in various decades because they were slow and not accustomed to playing offenses with quick WRs because we played in a run heavy conference. This always revealed itself in bowl games against the likes of FSU, Miami and others with skill players who we didn't match up with well. But they were tough and could tackle.
But for sheer lack of defense against the pass and inability to play the the run, this year has to be the most inept I've seen. The fact that I came out of my chair during the Purdue game because #21 actually filled on the edge and made a tackle is evidence of how low the bar has been set. I give him credit, he showed up and made plays in this game, but unfortunately, it's only after about 20 whiffs and 200 yards after contact that came in the first 7 games. Lee, Bootle and Jones haven't been impressive against the run either.
Which brings us to defending the pass. It seems our defense is predicated on two options. One is give 10 yards of cushion, allow the ball to be caught in front of us, miss the tackle and give up first downs; or play press coverage, let the guy beat you on a route of your choosing and then tackle him with the ball in the air to ensure it's not a touchdown or hope they drop it as they did at Purdue. Either these guys can't turn and run or can't turn their head to defend the pass or both, but it's as miserable a pass defense as I've ever seen. I give Jones something of a pass because of his injury, but if he's not ready, why put him in that vulnerable position on an island? My recollection is he got beat on every target to his side with maybe one exception.
I don't know if it's talent, skills, lack of coaching or all of the above, but I am stunned we can't find at least one guy to cover a wideout from a 120 man D1 roster. Sorry for the rant, but this is just unacceptable 7 games into a season with players who have been in the program two years or more. As Coach Riley says, good cornerbacks are gold and we have nothing remotely like it currently playing in our secondary. I don't care who's coaching next year, they need serious help at this position in the future.
That's saying a lot as we routinely had guys getting beat in various decades because they were slow and not accustomed to playing offenses with quick WRs because we played in a run heavy conference. This always revealed itself in bowl games against the likes of FSU, Miami and others with skill players who we didn't match up with well. But they were tough and could tackle.
But for sheer lack of defense against the pass and inability to play the the run, this year has to be the most inept I've seen. The fact that I came out of my chair during the Purdue game because #21 actually filled on the edge and made a tackle is evidence of how low the bar has been set. I give him credit, he showed up and made plays in this game, but unfortunately, it's only after about 20 whiffs and 200 yards after contact that came in the first 7 games. Lee, Bootle and Jones haven't been impressive against the run either.
Which brings us to defending the pass. It seems our defense is predicated on two options. One is give 10 yards of cushion, allow the ball to be caught in front of us, miss the tackle and give up first downs; or play press coverage, let the guy beat you on a route of your choosing and then tackle him with the ball in the air to ensure it's not a touchdown or hope they drop it as they did at Purdue. Either these guys can't turn and run or can't turn their head to defend the pass or both, but it's as miserable a pass defense as I've ever seen. I give Jones something of a pass because of his injury, but if he's not ready, why put him in that vulnerable position on an island? My recollection is he got beat on every target to his side with maybe one exception.
I don't know if it's talent, skills, lack of coaching or all of the above, but I am stunned we can't find at least one guy to cover a wideout from a 120 man D1 roster. Sorry for the rant, but this is just unacceptable 7 games into a season with players who have been in the program two years or more. As Coach Riley says, good cornerbacks are gold and we have nothing remotely like it currently playing in our secondary. I don't care who's coaching next year, they need serious help at this position in the future.
