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Improved pass rush?

TheHuskeRed

Sophomore
Dec 9, 2006
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For those who follow it closer than I, what does it look like for improving our pass rush next year? Have to admit I’m clueless regarding what it will take to have our defense crank up the pressure on the opposition, especially in obvious passing downs. Been one of if not THE most frustrating things for me to watch over the past decade.
 
Too early.
Possible packages from our back eight, if you will. lBs should play a much much larger role starting this year.
But, we will be young, but much more athletic
 
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For those who follow it closer than I, what does it look like for improving our pass rush next year? Have to admit I’m clueless regarding what it will take to have our defense crank up the pressure on the opposition, especially in obvious passing downs. Been one of if not THE most frustrating things for me to watch over the past decade.
I think our Dline has been told to not give up contain so they kind of just stand there playing patty cake with the Oline. Our Dline needs to be more active and take chances here and there. They're not good at maintaining contain anyway even though that's what they seem to prioritize. Having a more active Dline will take the pressure off the pass rushing specialist and allow them to get through more often.
 
For those who follow it closer than I, what does it look like for improving our pass rush next year? Have to admit I’m clueless regarding what it will take to have our defense crank up the pressure on the opposition, especially in obvious passing downs. Been one of if not THE most frustrating things for me to watch over the past decade.

It doesn’t look good.
 
I think our Dline has been told to not give up contain so they kind of just stand there playing patty cake with the Oline. Our Dline needs to be more active and take chances here and there. They're not good at maintaining contain anyway even though that's what they seem to prioritize. Having a more active Dline will take the pressure off the pass rushing specialist and allow them to get through more often.
K
Davis led all tackles in sacks, with eight.He finished seventh in sacks amongst D linemen, with six D ends having more than him.
Where we lacked was our OLB sacks, that changes this coming year.
 
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I think our Dline has been told to not give up contain so they kind of just stand there playing patty cake with the Oline. Our Dline needs to be more active and take chances here and there. They're not good at maintaining contain anyway even though that's what they seem to prioritize. Having a more active Dline will take the pressure off the pass rushing specialist and allow them to get through more often.

This, however, they've seem to play Patty Cake over the last 4 DCs.
 
Can we even have a true rush end under this staff? Everyone at end is flirting with or tipping 300 pounds right now. People are already writing Wildeman off. Well when a kids use to playing @ 245 and you move him to the 290 range, dont you think you could lose a lot of athleticism?

and it’s not a 3-4 thing. Lots of teams run a 3-4 with lean speedy ends. We just saw one tonight in the 49ers. Busa, Ford, Armstead, all way lighter then our d-ends. Our D-ends are just 3rd DTs. This Husker D is based on LB to put pressure on the QB. But unless you have great LBs, that ain’t happening. They can’t carry the total load at pressure. There is absolutely no reason to keep all our ends @ 290+. In the end this is what’s going to either cost Chinander his job or he’s going to figure it out. Cause the mold of a DE isn’t 290 or more only. Not in today’s game. DT sacks are coverage sacks not initial pressure
 
Can we even have a true rush end under this staff? Everyone at end is flirting with or tipping 300 pounds right now. People are already writing Wildeman off. Well when a kids use to playing @ 245 and you move him to the 290 range, dont you think you could lose a lot of athleticism?

and it’s not a 3-4 thing. Lots of teams run a 3-4 with lean speedy ends. We just saw one tonight in the 49ers. Busa, Ford, Armstead, all way lighter then our d-ends. Our D-ends are just 3rd DTs. This Husker D is based on LB to put pressure on the QB. But unless you have great LBs, that ain’t happening. They can’t carry the total load at pressure. There is absolutely no reason to keep all our ends @ 290+. In the end this is what’s going to either cost Chinander his job or he’s going to figure it out. Cause the mold of a DE isn’t 290 or more only. Not in today’s game. DT sacks are coverage sacks not initial pressure
Niners run a 4-3 with 3-4 personnel. And Armstead is close to 300. Dee Ford is their only true 3-4 OLB playing end. Bosa is slightly bigger and is just a freak of nature anyway.
 
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Niners run a 4-3 with 3-4 personnel. And Armstead is close to 300. Dee Ford is their only true 3-4 OLB playing end. Bosa is slightly bigger and is just a freak of nature anyway.
Yeah Armstead is the only one close to that size at end but he’s also 6’8. Only End close to that height for us is maybe Ty. And Ty is the only one I think can carrying the weight and still be a monster at end. But note, Armstead is a lot taller then our ends and lighter.
 
Yeah Armstead is the only one close to that size at end but he’s also 6’8. Only End close to that height for us is maybe Ty. And Ty is the only one I think can carrying the weight and still be a monster at end. But note, Armstead is a lot taller then our ends and lighter.

Bottom line is the 49rs D Line is built for speed and athleticism first and foremost.
 
I've mentioned this before, our line had more sacks than our LBs did, when looking at wiscy, where their LBs had more sacks.
I believe we've been covering a hole in our defense in our LBs with our D line, and while KDavis led the nation as a tackle with 8 sacks, our LBs stunk.
You dance with who you brought, but saying its the D lines lack of pressures and sacks in my mind is the wrong way of looking at it.
 
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The fact is, too much is made of needing edge rushers like a Grant Wistrom in order to have a pass rush. Sure that would be great but it isn't necessary. Now, you DO need a bare minimum of talent from at least one or two lineman for rushing the passer, but you do not have to have an All American there to get it done.

Why? Because, like all things in football everything is tied to everything. If the D line sucks, the linebackers and safeties cannot do their jobs properly. If the linebackers and safeties suck, even if you have a solid front 3 or 4, they will have to compensate for that and will not be effective. If the corners suck it means your pass rush had better have an All American who can get in the QB's grill or else you are toast. The fact is, a good pass rush demands that all elements of a defense are clicking.

I think our D Line will be worse this year. And I do not see how our linebackers will improve all that much. So I think this year's defense will be maybe even a little worse than last year. So we better have that offense up and humming or we will see a fourth straight losing season. And the wheels will start to come off of the Frost bandwagon.

I will support Frost no matter if that happens. But many others won't.
 
The fact is, too much is made of needing edge rushers like a Grant Wistrom in order to have a pass rush. Sure that would be great but it isn't necessary. Now, you DO need a bare minimum of talent from at least one or two lineman for rushing the passer, but you do not have to have an All American there to get it done.

Why? Because, like all things in football everything is tied to everything. If the D line sucks, the linebackers and safeties cannot do their jobs properly. If the linebackers and safeties suck, even if you have a solid front 3 or 4, they will have to compensate for that and will not be effective. If the corners suck it means your pass rush had better have an All American who can get in the QB's grill or else you are toast. The fact is, a good pass rush demands that all elements of a defense are clicking.

I think our D Line will be worse this year. And I do not see how our linebackers will improve all that much. So I think this year's defense will be maybe even a little worse than last year. So we better have that offense up and humming or we will see a fourth straight losing season. And the wheels will start to come off of the Frost bandwagon.

I will support Frost no matter if that happens. But many others won't.
I think another losing season will test the patience of most fans.
 
The fact is, too much is made of needing edge rushers like a Grant Wistrom in order to have a pass rush. Sure that would be great but it isn't necessary. Now, you DO need a bare minimum of talent from at least one or two lineman for rushing the passer, but you do not have to have an All American there to get it done.

Why? Because, like all things in football everything is tied to everything. If the D line sucks, the linebackers and safeties cannot do their jobs properly. If the linebackers and safeties suck, even if you have a solid front 3 or 4, they will have to compensate for that and will not be effective. If the corners suck it means your pass rush had better have an All American who can get in the QB's grill or else you are toast. The fact is, a good pass rush demands that all elements of a defense are clicking.

I think our D Line will be worse this year. And I do not see how our linebackers will improve all that much. So I think this year's defense will be maybe even a little worse than last year. So we better have that offense up and humming or we will see a fourth straight losing season. And the wheels will start to come off of the Frost bandwagon.

I will support Frost no matter if that happens. But many others won't.
Looking at our jucos, and our HS recruits at LB, I can see a nice improvement coming at LB, it's more a learning curve with a much higher ceiling in my mind.
The D line will have more opportunity to make plays with this improvement, as it wasn't just our backers getting to the qb that was a problem, look no further than the Indy game, and also minny.
Those two games were showcases of poor LB play, but I think some are placing them at the feet of the D line.
We were exposed iin our weak play,and some troubles at safety compounded that weakness.

So, while our D line takes a step back, shoring up those other two areas will make it appear less noticeable if at all noticeable.
 
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I think another losing season will test the patience of most fans.
Probably. So, so much is going to come down to whether or not Martinez improves. And if he doesn't improve, does Frost go with Luke instead? Or maybe Vedral. Because if Martinez does not improve and Frost sticks with him anyway our offense will be just as inconsistent as last year. I am not 100% sold on the idea that the issues with our vertical passing game all had to do with poor wide receiver play. I think those guys were open more than we think, but Martinez was reluctant to pull the trigger because he did not trust his arm. So how healthy is Martinez really?

And since I see our defense not being much better than last year, if our offense doesn't improve it is going to be rinse, cycle, repeat.
 
Probably. So, so much is going to come down to whether or not Martinez improves. And if he doesn't improve, does Frost go with Luke instead? Or maybe Vedral. Because if Martinez does not improve and Frost sticks with him anyway our offense will be just as inconsistent as last year. I am not 100% sold on the idea that the issues with our vertical passing game all had to do with poor wide receiver play. I think those guys were open more than we think, but Martinez was reluctant to pull the trigger because he did not trust his arm. So how healthy is Martinez really?

And since I see our defense not being much better than last year, if our offense doesn't improve it is going to be rinse, cycle, repeat.
I agree. A lot depends on the play of the quarterback. If that doesn’t improve significantly, we’ll probably have similar results as last year.
 
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The fact is, too much is made of needing edge rushers like a Grant Wistrom in order to have a pass rush. Sure that would be great but it isn't necessary. Now, you DO need a bare minimum of talent from at least one or two lineman for rushing the passer, but you do not have to have an All American there to get it done.

Why? Because, like all things in football everything is tied to everything. If the D line sucks, the linebackers and safeties cannot do their jobs properly. If the linebackers and safeties suck, even if you have a solid front 3 or 4, they will have to compensate for that and will not be effective. If the corners suck it means your pass rush had better have an All American who can get in the QB's grill or else you are toast. The fact is, a good pass rush demands that all elements of a defense are clicking.

I think our D Line will be worse this year. And I do not see how our linebackers will improve all that much. So I think this year's defense will be maybe even a little worse than last year. So we better have that offense up and humming or we will see a fourth straight losing season. And the wheels will start to come off of the Frost bandwagon.

I will support Frost no matter if that happens. But many others won't.
I agree with most of your post but I'm optimistic that we well get better linebacker and safety play. IMO, our defense played better at the end of the year as we closed out our 2nd year with the same system and DC in place. I'm hopeful we can start out the year strong and maintain a gradual improvement in the level of play.
 
I agree with most of your post but I'm optimistic that we well get better linebacker and safety play. IMO, our defense played better at the end of the year as we closed out our 2nd year with the same system and DC in place. I'm hopeful we can start out the year strong and maintain a gradual improvement in the level of play.
I certainly hope you are correct. I just hope we don't fall off too much on the defensive line with Kahlil and Daniels gone.
 
I certainly hope you are correct. I just hope we don't fall off too much on the defensive line with Kahlil and Daniels gone.
We need that NT play badly. Whether its Ty, one of the jucos, with Damien and a sign or showing of the polar bear, we have numbers, a possible rotation there, but likely slip in quality.
Replacing the twins, same situation.

If a few guys step up, we should be close to last year, new guys, new opportunities, plus youth with growing and learning.
 
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Looking at our jucos, and our HS recruits at LB, I can see a nice improvement coming at LB, it's more a learning curve with a much higher ceiling in my mind.
The D line will have more opportunity to make plays with this improvement, as it wasn't just our backers getting to the qb that was a problem, look no further than the Indy game, and also minny.
Those two games were showcases of poor LB play, but I think some are placing them at the feet of the D line.
We were exposed iin our weak play,and some troubles at safety compounded that weakness.

So, while our D line takes a step back, shoring up those other two areas will make it appear less noticeable if at all noticeable.

So, without the gooblygook language and with a space after a comma, you are saying our D was terrible last year and it has the potential to be equally terrible this year. It is all potential to the upside, right?
 
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On the pass rush, NU needs someone who "can get there", preferably in a hurry. One or ideally two of those guys would help enormously, as that opens up things for the guys who can "get there", but need a little help. Think of the sacks Crick got because the opposing line had to account for Suh.
As for the players who are up for a good amount of time on the field, I remember the shock of horror when Barry Turner went down in 2008. Pierre Allen stepped in as a RS Sophomore and performed well with 52 tackles, fourth on the team. So we don't know yet who (if anyone) might step up and perform above expectations. Stille has played meaningful snaps since his RS freshman year. Deontre played as a true freshman. Damion needs a couch to 5K program, but if he can improve his fitness he can be a valuable space eater in the middle. Add Green, Ty, Rogers and Wildeman, plus Riley (NC > JUCO > NU) who was brought to add immediate depth at DE.
I would think the big issue will be determining who plays at NT. Damion of course. Green and Ty are the obvious other candidates, IMO, but those guys can also play at end.
 
So, without the gooblygook language and with a space after a comma, you are saying our D was terrible last year and it has the potential to be equally terrible this year. It is all potential to the upside, right?
After your comments? No comment
 
On the pass rush, NU needs someone who "can get there", preferably in a hurry. One or ideally two of those guys would help enormously, as that opens up things for the guys who can "get there", but need a little help. Think of the sacks Crick got because the opposing line had to account for Suh.
As for the players who are up for a good amount of time on the field, I remember the shock of horror when Barry Turner went down in 2008. Pierre Allen stepped in as a RS Sophomore and performed well with 52 tackles, fourth on the team. So we don't know yet who (if anyone) might step up and perform above expectations. Stille has played meaningful snaps since his RS freshman year. Deontre played as a true freshman. Damion needs a couch to 5K program, but if he can improve his fitness he can be a valuable space eater in the middle. Add Green, Ty, Rogers and Wildeman, plus Riley (NC > JUCO > NU) who was brought to add immediate depth at DE.
I would think the big issue will be determining who plays at NT. Damion of course. Green and Ty are the obvious other candidates, IMO, but those guys can also play at end.



My wishlist, Starting NT Deontre Thomas, DE Ty Robinson, DE Stille, OLB Blaise Gunnerson or Jimari or Niko (raise to the occasion)
On the pass rush, NU needs someone who "can get there", preferably in a hurry. One or ideally two of those guys would help enormously, as that opens up things for the guys who can "get there", but need a little help. Think of the sacks Crick got because the opposing line had to account for Suh.
As for the players who are up for a good amount of time on the field, I remember the shock of horror when Barry Turner went down in 2008. Pierre Allen stepped in as a RS Sophomore and performed well with 52 tackles, fourth on the team. So we don't know yet who (if anyone) might step up and perform above expectations. Stille has played meaningful snaps since his RS freshman year. Deontre played as a true freshman. Damion needs a couch to 5K program, but if he can improve his fitness he can be a valuable space eater in the middle. Add Green, Ty, Rogers and Wildeman, plus Riley (NC > JUCO > NU) who was brought to add immediate depth at DE.
I would think the big issue will be determining who plays at NT. Damion of course. Green and Ty are the obvious other candidates, IMO, but those guys can also play at end.

I would think Deontre Thomas could play NT too, Ty is a natural DE for this system. Hoping one of the new guys breaks out and ends up starting at the OLB edge position.
 
I would think Deontre Thomas could play NT too, Ty is a natural DE for this system. Hoping one of the new guys breaks out and ends up starting at the OLB edge position.
If Ty can secure a starting DE position, Green and Deontre can possibly back up at both DE and NT, with Damion also playing at NT. But here's hoping that Daniels can get in real playing shape. He is a space eater.
 
I expect improvement at linebacker, slight drop-off on the defensive line and about the same in the secondary. Have to see how it goes. What the defense needs in addition to experience, is for the offense to also do its' job.
 
The hand wringing about the Defensive Line is overblown in my opinion. I think people are discounting the value of position coaching and scheme consistency. There is also added value in the fact that every player in the 3-deep was actually targeted and recruited to play in the 3-4. That hasn't happened to a full group of defensive linemen at Nebraska since the 2016 season.

Nebraska's defense will continue to ride or die based on the play of the linebacking corp. That position group has been a mess for the last 5 seasons. Bo's focus on the Peso lessened the importance of that position. It meant the roster numbers for that positions grouping were very low when Riley arrived. Riley's staff then focused on 2 seasons of recruiting 4-3 backers with no outside pass rush emphasis. This became further problematic when they decided on the scheme shift to the 3-4.

This left Frost and staff with a whole lot of shit at the backer position. Now, Nebraska's biggest issue relates to the lack of versatility for the linebackers.

OLB - Caleb Tannor is still undersized and really struggles vs. the run or in pursuit. He's really a one trick pony who needs to gain a ton of strength to fight off blocks.

ILB - Honas is pretty good in pursuit, and even a decent blitzer, but he's asked to cover in this scheme and is often overmatched.

ILB - Colin Miller is decent in coverage, but really struggles as a tackler in the open field.

OLB - Domann is your best pass rusher off the edge. This is problematic though because he's also your best coverage option vs. a Tight end or running back. The Huskers are a bit damned if they do or damned if they don't with him.

I expect the secondary to be even better in 2020, and I think the Defensive line will be much better than people anticipate. But in order for Nebraska to see noticeable and stark improvement defensively, the Linebackers need to completely overhaul everything.


On a side note, dudes like Mo Barry and Alex Davis are simply NOT athletic enough to be impactful starters in the Big Ten. I do honestly believe Frost and staff has raised the bar from an athleticism standpoint in their last two recruiting cycles.
 
The hand wringing about the Defensive Line is overblown in my opinion. I think people are discounting the value of position coaching and scheme consistency. There is also added value in the fact that every player in the 3-deep was actually targeted and recruited to play in the 3-4. That hasn't happened to a full group of defensive linemen at Nebraska since the 2016 season.

Nebraska's defense will continue to ride or die based on the play of the linebacking corp. That position group has been a mess for the last 5 seasons. Bo's focus on the Peso lessened the importance of that position. It meant the roster numbers for that positions grouping were very low when Riley arrived. Riley's staff then focused on 2 seasons of recruiting 4-3 backers with no outside pass rush emphasis. This became further problematic when they decided on the scheme shift to the 3-4.

This left Frost and staff with a whole lot of shit at the backer position. Now, Nebraska's biggest issue relates to the lack of versatility for the linebackers.

OLB - Caleb Tannor is still undersized and really struggles vs. the run or in pursuit. He's really a one trick pony who needs to gain a ton of strength to fight off blocks.

ILB - Honas is pretty good in pursuit, and even a decent blitzer, but he's asked to cover in this scheme and is often overmatched.

ILB - Colin Miller is decent in coverage, but really struggles as a tackler in the open field.

OLB - Domann is your best pass rusher off the edge. This is problematic though because he's also your best coverage option vs. a Tight end or running back. The Huskers are a bit damned if they do or damned if they don't with him.

I expect the secondary to be even better in 2020, and I think the Defensive line will be much better than people anticipate. But in order for Nebraska to see noticeable and stark improvement defensively, the Linebackers need to completely overhaul everything.


On a side note, dudes like Mo Barry and Alex Davis are simply NOT athletic enough to be impactful starters in the Big Ten. I do honestly believe Frost and staff has raised the bar from an athleticism standpoint in their last two recruiting cycles.
Thanks for the informative take. Tannor was highly regarded coming into the program, but the light bulb hasn't come on yet for him. As you've described our ILBs, between the two of them we have a pretty good LB (but of course it doesn't work that way). Jojo has a good nose for the FB, decent athlete and would be elite with better athleticism. I think Mauga can be a more athletic version of Jojo at ILB.
 
The hand wringing about the Defensive Line is overblown in my opinion. I think people are discounting the value of position coaching and scheme consistency. There is also added value in the fact that every player in the 3-deep was actually targeted and recruited to play in the 3-4. That hasn't happened to a full group of defensive linemen at Nebraska since the 2016 season.

Nebraska's defense will continue to ride or die based on the play of the linebacking corp. That position group has been a mess for the last 5 seasons. Bo's focus on the Peso lessened the importance of that position. It meant the roster numbers for that positions grouping were very low when Riley arrived. Riley's staff then focused on 2 seasons of recruiting 4-3 backers with no outside pass rush emphasis. This became further problematic when they decided on the scheme shift to the 3-4.

This left Frost and staff with a whole lot of shit at the backer position. Now, Nebraska's biggest issue relates to the lack of versatility for the linebackers.

OLB - Caleb Tannor is still undersized and really struggles vs. the run or in pursuit. He's really a one trick pony who needs to gain a ton of strength to fight off blocks.

ILB - Honas is pretty good in pursuit, and even a decent blitzer, but he's asked to cover in this scheme and is often overmatched.

ILB - Colin Miller is decent in coverage, but really struggles as a tackler in the open field.

OLB - Domann is your best pass rusher off the edge. This is problematic though because he's also your best coverage option vs. a Tight end or running back. The Huskers are a bit damned if they do or damned if they don't with him.

I expect the secondary to be even better in 2020, and I think the Defensive line will be much better than people anticipate. But in order for Nebraska to see noticeable and stark improvement defensively, the Linebackers need to completely overhaul everything.


On a side note, dudes like Mo Barry and Alex Davis are simply NOT athletic enough to be impactful starters in the Big Ten. I do honestly believe Frost and staff has raised the bar from an athleticism standpoint in their last two recruiting cycles.

It's not really that overblown. There are a ton of question marks still.

DT - We are definitely going to miss Darrion Daniels. We keep hearing that Damion could step up, but he is never is full shape. I think Robinson looked decent, but he is still young. Polar Bear and the other youngsters are all unproven.

DE - One of the Davis Twins will likely be drafted and the other played decent for us this year. Yes we get Deontre and Stille back, but I feel like both of them took a small step back last year for whatever reason. They will be decent, but there is a lot of youth again as the backups. Keem G. had a lot of hype, but he didn't show much. Here is hoping they step up.

The Davis twins and older Daniels are going to be huge losses. We are also operating with a lot of youth. Yes they do have huge upside, but they are unproven. Hopefully they come along, but we are unproven and are relying on these kids finally putting it together. I'll be a lot less concerned if they play well early.
 
I think we have starters with rotating NTs, but then we're inexperienced.
I think the quality drops some, but I'm not of the school of blaming the line after watching the LBs.
So, on the line, a drop back and thinner in proven talent, and at backer, much the same, except there's much upside there.
 
It's not really that overblown. There are a ton of question marks still.

DT - We are definitely going to miss Darrion Daniels. We keep hearing that Damion could step up, but he is never is full shape. I think Robinson looked decent, but he is still young. Polar Bear and the other youngsters are all unproven.

DE - One of the Davis Twins will likely be drafted and the other played decent for us this year. Yes we get Deontre and Stille back, but I feel like both of them took a small step back last year for whatever reason. They will be decent, but there is a lot of youth again as the backups. Keem G. had a lot of hype, but he didn't show much. Here is hoping they step up.

The Davis twins and older Daniels are going to be huge losses. We are also operating with a lot of youth. Yes they do have huge upside, but they are unproven. Hopefully they come along, but we are unproven and are relying on these kids finally putting it together. I'll be a lot less concerned if they play well early.
Damion needs to embrace the now and get in shape. He is a RS Junior and needs to be ready to start. We lose a ton of starter's snap, but Ben has been playing since he RS freshman year and Deontre played as a true freshman. Green was hyped but got to Lincoln late and wasn't going to be in the mix his first year. As Corn said, all of the guys on the roster were recruited into a 3-4. At some point, familiarity with the scheme has to be a plus.
 
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