This article is just mind-bottling! Link
“OK. When you’re on offense and you’re trying to practice certain things and the defensive practice is set up to where you can’t because of the way they line up or because of the defensive looks that they give you. When you’re trying to practice the option or the zone read and they’re not allowing you to do that because of what they’re practicing.
"You have to curtail some of the things offensively when you approach practice. Otherwise, you’re not going to get any work done. So when it’s really heavy preparation on the defensive side, you can struggle offensively. I haven’t seen it yet, but certainly Riley is a balanced guy.”
Q: Why did the defense struggle so much against the run?
“Poor tackling. It’s a combination of things, but we really didn’t practice tackling. I thought they struggled a lot when it came to tackling. Not to say that the scheme was really, really hard, but it required a tremendous amount of study. So with that, you have to have the proper amount of time in the classroom. When you’re dealing with college, it’s different. These kids have a lot on their plate. ...
"The defensive scheme that Nebraska had wasn’t as simple as a 4-3 Cover 4. It was very, very difficult and it required a lot of study. And it was constantly changing. So it was really hard, not only as a player, but as a coach.
"I’m not creating any excuses for those players. I thought the coaches gave them the opportunity to put themselves into winning positions. There were a lot of mistakes made on the field. And when you combine those mistakes with poor tackling, at the end of the day, that’s gonna catch up with you.”
So you handicap your offense by not allowing them to practice how they're going to play in the game because you're too focused on your defensive game plan? Yet, you don't bother to practice TACKLING? And you make the D so complicated that your guys can't possibly grasp it in your allotted practice time? WTF?!?
“OK. When you’re on offense and you’re trying to practice certain things and the defensive practice is set up to where you can’t because of the way they line up or because of the defensive looks that they give you. When you’re trying to practice the option or the zone read and they’re not allowing you to do that because of what they’re practicing.
"You have to curtail some of the things offensively when you approach practice. Otherwise, you’re not going to get any work done. So when it’s really heavy preparation on the defensive side, you can struggle offensively. I haven’t seen it yet, but certainly Riley is a balanced guy.”
Q: Why did the defense struggle so much against the run?
“Poor tackling. It’s a combination of things, but we really didn’t practice tackling. I thought they struggled a lot when it came to tackling. Not to say that the scheme was really, really hard, but it required a tremendous amount of study. So with that, you have to have the proper amount of time in the classroom. When you’re dealing with college, it’s different. These kids have a lot on their plate. ...
"The defensive scheme that Nebraska had wasn’t as simple as a 4-3 Cover 4. It was very, very difficult and it required a lot of study. And it was constantly changing. So it was really hard, not only as a player, but as a coach.
"I’m not creating any excuses for those players. I thought the coaches gave them the opportunity to put themselves into winning positions. There were a lot of mistakes made on the field. And when you combine those mistakes with poor tackling, at the end of the day, that’s gonna catch up with you.”
So you handicap your offense by not allowing them to practice how they're going to play in the game because you're too focused on your defensive game plan? Yet, you don't bother to practice TACKLING? And you make the D so complicated that your guys can't possibly grasp it in your allotted practice time? WTF?!?
