Husker defense has really improved this year...

[red rover 70]

Score Defense- 21
Rush Defense- 21
Pass Defense- 66
Total Defense- 33
Pass Defended- 12

Turnover Margin- t1

Riley and the Defensive staff is get it done!
Great job Blackshirts!

 

[Cornicator]

Defense is much more athletic than its been in years. That's the biggest factor.

And the loss of Greg McMullen was addition by subtraction on the DL.

 

[red rover 70]

Defense is much more athletic than its been in years. That's the biggest factor.

And the loss of Greg McMullen was addition by subtraction on the DL.

OK Corn, here is my question to you...
Will we see us play more 3-4 then 4-3 to match Oregon's athletes?

 

[red rover 70]

...I say yes.

 

[Cornicator]

OK Corn, here is my question to you...
Will we see us play more 3-4 then 4-3 to match Oregon's athletes?

They've been showing multiple looks all season with 3, 4, and even 5 man fronts. I think we will see a ton of variation. You can do that when your back 7 is athletic and versatile.

Coincidentally, you can't do that when your safeties are Harvey Jackson and Corey Cooper or you're starting Thad Randle at DT.

 

[red rover 70]

They've been showing multiple looks all season with 3, 4, and even 5 man fronts. I think we will see a ton of variation. You can do that when your back 7 is athletic and versatile.

Coincidentally, you can't do that when your safeties are Harvey Jackson and Corey Cooper or you're starting Thad Randle at DT.

+1

..AND BINGO IS HIS NAME O!

 

[red rover 70]

I want to throw this out here...
I've been really hard on Ross and he has really played well the past two games. He might not be the perfect player against Oregon but I gotta give the man some props!

 

[DudznSudz]

Yeah I too have been really impressed so far. Granted, we aren't playing extremely talented teams yet, and Oregon is going to test the hell out of us (they looked great beating the stuffing out of Virginia). But, things I've noticed:

We still haven't been doing a great job of pressuring quarterbacks, but honestly, the fact that our D line is not a flaming dumpster fire is a miracle. At their best, they're stopping the run completely, on passing downs Dzuris gets in for a second, and they look completely competent. That's all I could have hoped for. I'm also noticing that the linebackers, just as I suspected, are so deep and talented that they are really helping even out the problems that could have been issues up front.

The defensive backfield looks night and day different. I think its the athletes and the scheme finally setting in, but they look great.

Things I don't like:

Offensive sputtering. Why did it take three quarters to start curb-stomping Wyoming? We can't do that against Oregon or they will blow us out, and the only other tough game we could possibly win this year, Wisconsin, has a next-level defense. The offense has to be humming right out of the gate or we'll have problems.

Penalties! WTF guys? Gerry handing the ball to the Wyoming QB (he wasn't being polite), shoving players after plays are blown dead, etc. That has to stop.

Punting: The rest of Special Teams is actually fine, but Caleb Lightbourne has got to figure his job out. Short, shallow punts are going to screw us over, every time.

Last but not least, freak athlete that he is, Armstrong is just not the kind of quarterback you want in this system. You can totally see it and I can't wait until next year when Tanner Lee or Patrick O'Brien starts. We'll be a very, very dangerous team in 2017. I'm sticking with my 8-4 prediction, but even if we don't beat Oregon, 9-3 or 10-2 is looking a lot more realistic! GBR!

 

[Cornicator]

Yeah

Offensive sputtering. Why did it take three quarters to start curb-stomping Wyoming? We can't do that against Oregon or they will blow us out, and the only other tough game we could possibly win this year, Wisconsin, has a next-level defense. The offense has to be humming right out of the gate or we'll have problems.

Penalties! WTF guys? Gerry handing the ball to the Wyoming QB (he wasn't being polite), shoving players after plays are blown dead, etc. That has to stop.

!

Honestly, I think these two factors are related. However, the Mountain West Conference crew during the Wyoming game was terrible. They were seriously going out of their way to call back side penalities away from the play. Hell, even that Gerry penalty should've been off setting. What the QB did was worse.

 

[headcard]

If we can get through this week with similar rankings, we could end up with a pretty highly ranked D, as OSU is the only other really prolific offense we will see.

 

[headcard]

Yeah I too have been really impressed so far. Granted, we aren't playing extremely talented teams yet, and Oregon is going to test the hell out of us (they looked great beating the stuffing out of Virginia). But, things I've noticed:

We still haven't been doing a great job of pressuring quarterbacks, but honestly, the fact that our D line is not a flaming dumpster fire is a miracle. At their best, they're stopping the run completely, on passing downs Dzuris gets in for a second, and they look completely competent. That's all I could have hoped for. I'm also noticing that the linebackers, just as I suspected, are so deep and talented that they are really helping even out the problems that could have been issues up front.

The defensive backfield looks night and day different. I think its the athletes and the scheme finally setting in, but they look great.

Things I don't like:

Offensive sputtering. Why did it take three quarters to start curb-stomping Wyoming? We can't do that against Oregon or they will blow us out, and the only other tough game we could possibly win this year, Wisconsin, has a next-level defense. The offense has to be humming right out of the gate or we'll have problems.

Penalties! WTF guys? Gerry handing the ball to the Wyoming QB (he wasn't being polite), shoving players after plays are blown dead, etc. That has to stop.

Punting: The rest of Special Teams is actually fine, but Caleb Lightbourne has got to figure his job out. Short, shallow punts are going to screw us over, every time.

Last but not least, freak athlete that he is, Armstrong is just not the kind of quarterback you want in this system. You can totally see it and I can't wait until next year when Tanner Lee or Patrick O'Brien starts. We'll be a very, very dangerous team in 2017. I'm sticking with my 8-4 prediction, but even if we don't beat Oregon, 9-3 or 10-2 is looking a lot more realistic! GBR!

Agree about the punting and penalties. Punting could be a real issue this week, as they have a dynamic return man. I am also worried about our defensive communication, as it seems we have had alot of trouble getting lined up and ready to play and you can't have that against Oregon's tempo.

 

[GBRhuskers]

A little premature with this thread. We will learn a lot about this defense on Saturday.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

I like the improvement seen on defense so far this year. But let's face it, we have played two weaklings so far this year. Fresno State and Wyoming were both horrible teams last year. And nothing they showed me leads me to believe they were a real test for our defense. Are we better than last year on defense? Yes. And we have potential to get even better so there is hope.
But Oregon is the real deal on offense and I will feel much better about our defense if we can hold them to 24 points or fewer.
If our punting game still stinks and we continue with stupid penalties and our offense sputters around against Oregon we will lose big time. Our defense is improved but isn't good enough, against an offense like Oregon's, to overcome sloppy play overall.
The offense and special teams must play their part this week. If they do I think our defense may be good enough to slow Oregon down and give us the win.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

A little premature with this thread. We will learn a lot about this defense on Saturday.

Yep, I'm still in wait-and-see mode. Give me <28 pts and <375 yards and 2 TOs this Saturday, and I am definitely on board with the defense.

 

[hddude55]

Playing a flag football team this Saturday will greatly inflate those stats, win or lose. If you watched ASU and Texas Tech you see what happens when two flag football teams get together -- a ten hour game and tackle football minus the tackles.

 

[jlb321]

I think measuring QB sacks and hurries is becoming more and more difficult ... many offenses are such that the QB has to make very few reads and the ball is gone as soon as the QB plants his back foot. In many cases unless you have someone come completely free you aren't going to get to the QB even if you blitz. So do you risk bringing extra people and compromise your coverage knowing that unless things go perfectly you probably aren't going to get to the QB. Your front 4 needs to be good enough to get to the QB if the ball doesn't come out right away.

 

[chicolby]

Last but not least, freak athlete that he is, Armstrong is just not the kind of quarterback you want in this system. You can totally see it and I can't wait until next year when Tanner Lee or Patrick O'Brien starts. We'll be a very, very dangerous team in 2017. I'm sticking with my 8-4 prediction, but even if we don't beat Oregon, 9-3 or 10-2 is looking a lot more realistic! GBR!

Regarding this point about Armstrong, I found it very interesting that Langsdorf mentions Tommy's athleticism and run threat as a new advantage that they haven't had in the past when trying to beat Oregon. While I don't think the running QB is something they've had in the past, I do think the coaches are seeing the benefits in it.

Tommy brings a lot to the table and I, for one, am glad he's still here and I think if he continues to harness his talent and reduces mistakes, he can be a huge difference maker.

 

[nebcountry]

I like the improvement seen on defense so far this year. But let's face it, we have played two weaklings so far this year. Fresno State and Wyoming were both horrible teams last year. And nothing they showed me leads me to believe they were a real test for our defense. Are we better than last year on defense? Yes. And we have potential to get even better so there is hope.
But Oregon is the real deal on offense and I will feel much better about our defense if we can hold them to 24 points or fewer.
If our punting game still stinks and we continue with stupid penalties and our offense sputters around against Oregon we will lose big time. Our defense is improved but isn't good enough, against an offense like Oregon's, to overcome sloppy play overall.
The offense and special teams must play their part this week. If they do I think our defense may be good enough to slow Oregon down and give us the win.

We live in a NU-centric world as fans, but other teams out there are playing their cupcakes too. Not all the teams obviously, but it is a point to consider when comparing team stats. Same with Oregon, same with us, we're both playing our third games.

Hopefully our defense is ready for Oregon. Hurry up no huddle, we sub when they sub. We will see our weaknesses on D, scheme, readiness, and personnel wise. I haven't watched Oregon this year, but I've seen a few highlights. Their qb Prokup(?) can run the ball (servicable) and Freeman is averaging over 9 ypc. Prokup's comp% is around 70% with a 180+ qb rating. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we can hold Oregon under 30 points.

I still think we win the game. But we'll need to capitalize on our opportunities and put points on the board.

 

[WHCSC]

Score Defense- 21
Rush Defense- 21
Pass Defense- 66
Total Defense- 33
Pass Defended- 12

Turnover Margin- t1

Riley and the Defensive staff is get it done!
Great job Blackshirts!

I'm not sure of the ranking, but I'm concerned about our 3rd down passing defense.

 

[chicolby]

I actually hold no concern about holding Oregon to under 30. I think they will be north of 30. I just hope our offense scores more and I expect them to. I see a 42-38 type of score.

 

[6thdegree]

Still looking for that brutal pass rush. Lots of back and forth pushing at the line.

 

[GBRhuskers]

I'm not sure of the ranking, but I'm concerned about our 3rd down passing defense.

#33 in the country for 3rd down conversion. From the NCAA website, I don't believe there's a way to find the difference of pass v run, but teams are converting 28% (7 of 25) of the time as a total statistic. To me that seems to be pretty dang good.

6-14 against Fresno State and 1-5 against Wyoming, 3rd down pass defense? If accurate, that totals to 37% (7-19).

 

[Huskerpro]

Good thread.

I am concerned about our defense. The one hope I have is that Gerry will improve so much from the first game to the second that it adds another element to allow us to pressure the QB. Our front four still need to turn it up a notch.

 

[jlb321]

All speculation at this point. Will get a better idea after this week. One thing that concerned me watching the Wyoming game was the jet sweep action that went for big yards on a couple of occasions. Gonna see a lot of lateral movement from Oregon Our DEs are serviceable but a great deal is going to be asked of them. I hope they can hold up

 

[Tuco Ramirez]

The stats are good, but there is still plenty to be concerned about with the defense. The ability of the linebackers to defend the pass is near the top of my list, and that is something that will tested this week. I'd slow my roll before declaring how athletic we are.

 

[HuskerO]

While I don't think the running QB is something they've had in the past, I do think the coaches are seeing the benefits in it.

It'll be interesting to see how often MR and DL use this benefit. More than what we've seen the first 2 games or about the same amount?

 

[chicolby]

It'll be interesting to see how often MR and DL use this benefit. More than what we've seen the first 2 games or about the same amount?

My guess only - but I think they are not using it a ton in these early games as they don't want to wear Tommy out or subject him to any unnecessary injuries against a Fresno or Wyoming. I think he will be a bit more unleashed in games vs. Oregon, Wiscy, etc.

Certainly, they've had him on the loose a bit early on to make him feel more comfortable, but not to the extent that it's been overly relied upon.

 

[GBRhuskers]

All speculation at this point. Will get a better idea after this week. One thing that concerned me watching the Wyoming game was the jet sweep action that went for big yards on a couple of occasions. Gonna see a lot of lateral movement from Oregon Our DEs are serviceable but a great deal is going to be asked of them. I hope they can hold up

Here's a good video to watch. I'll look for some Oregon fly sweeps after this meeting.

 

[NorthWillRiseAgain]

They've been showing multiple looks all season with 3, 4, and even 5 man fronts. I think we will see a ton of variation. You can do that when your back 7 is athletic and versatile.

Coincidentally, you can't do that when your safeties are Harvey Jackson and Corey Cooper or you're starting Thad Randle at DT.

It's going to be hard to vary on d against Oregons tempo.

 

[chicolby]

Here's a good video to watch. I'll look for some Oregon fly sweeps after this meeting.

View embedded media

If 35 does a better job blocking (I'm not saying it's easy!) he would have stuck to the designed route and probably gained more yardage.

 

[jflores]

Its worth noting that nearly all teams, have played only a cake schedule so far.

Its not like all of D1 football has played Bama on the schedule and so their rankings are legit, and ours are not.

 

[GretnaShawn]

Here's a good video to watch. I'll look for some Oregon fly sweeps after this meeting.

View embedded media

Wyoming beat us on the fly sweep two or three times. Hope the defense gets that shored up before Saturday.