The Blackshirts have entered the building. Well, re-entered s more like it. Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini held up a black practice jersey in the locker room after the Huskers 24-3 win over Michigan, and according to a few players, told them they'd be receiving them this week.
The story of the 2011 season has been, where has the Nebraska Blackshirts defense gone?
Through the first seven games of the season, Nebraska’s defense had been a liability. The Blackshirts had allowed teams with mediocre offenses to move the ball down the field on them. Fans had to know that this type of play defensively would not last the entire season as long as Bo Pelini is the head coach.
Omaha World Herald columnist Sam McKewon perhaps made the most astute observation of why the Husker defense finally performed the way fans had grown accustomed to since the Pelini Bros. came aboard in 2008.
In his column, McKewon stated they stuck to a scheme Nebraska knows inside and out, even if it's not a perfect match for the league's personnel.
They kept their safeties — Austin Cassidy and Daimion Stafford — protective of the deep middle. They trusted Lance Thorell and Ciante Evans to play in the box even when the Spartans rolled out power sets. They allowed linebackers Lavonte David and Will Compton to flow confidently and aggressively to the ball. The Huskers gave up a little in the run defense, but they guessed right that the Spartans wouldn't stick with it. They haven't stuck with it all year.
Basically, the Huskers decided to stop worrying about adjusting from the Big 12 to the Big 10. Instead of you adjusting to the opponent, make the opponent adjust to you.
On Saturday against Michigan State, Nebraska put together a perfect defensive scheme to stop the Spartans' offense. Nebraska held Michigan State’s all-time leading receiver, B.J. Cunningham to no catches and sacked senior quarterback Kirk Cousins four times.
Nebraska’s defense has moved up to No. 29 nationally in total defense.
Instead of lining up in their defensive stance, the defensive lineman moved around the line of scrimmage so that the offense did not know where they were coming from. This defense allowed the Blackshirts to put pressure on Cousins all day long.
The second part of the defense that stood out was the play of the Nebraska linebackers.
Throughout the season, Nebraska had lined up with three linebackers and David was the only linebacker who consistently made plays. On Saturday, Nebraska used two linebackers and five defensive backs. Was it a return to the “Peso” defense Nebraska used last season? Not exactly, but it was effective. As a result, linebacker Will Compton had his best game of his career at Nebraska. Compton continuously made calls for the defense pointing out what play Michigan State was running. He ended the game with seven tackles, one tackle for a loss and two quarterback hurries. If Compton continues to play at this level, Nebraska will have two of the best linebackers in the Big Ten Conference in David and Compton.
With Nebraska’s power running game taking time off the clock and wearing down opposing defenses, the Blackshirts will need to uphold their part of the game plan in order for the Cornhuskers to continue to win games. If the Blackshirts play as they did against Michigan State in their remaining games, Nebraska will be a tough team to beat in the Big Ten Conference.
Next week, Nebraska plays Northwestern in Lincoln. If the Blackshirts are able to shut down Northwestern’s star quarterback, Dan Persa, it will tell a lot about this team and their defense.
All year we've mostly seen the secondary and linebackers running poorly executed man coverage, with the corners and safeties routinely a step behind receivers. It was all the same crap that was killing us back in the Kevin Cosgrove days. The perks of zone coverage, the ballhawking and picks, not to mention gang tackling, was gone. Now suddenly the matchup zone comes back against MSU and works to perfection. Instead of having guys in single coverage a step back, we had several guys in on every pass play. Of course it helped that Cousins never tested the seams much and MSU didn't try to run it up the gut, but where has the matchup zone been all year? And can it work against mobile quarterbacks?
Sure it can. It all depends how the front seven tackles.
Can it work against Michigan? Depends on how the front seven tackle. If anything, zone defenses should work better against a running quarterback because you've got most of your back seven watching the QB. In man, most of the back seven has their back to the QB as they're chasing around their designated offensive player all over the field. If he starts to take off, then you'll get multiple defenders coming up to stop him, in man coverage you may just have one guy who sees the QB coming upfield since everyone else is following their man around.
As for Cousins there were coverage sacks but the line and linebackers got more pressure than any time this season. Especially Eric Martin and to a lesser extent Baker Steinkuhler. I think Cousins looked rushed at times, but a lot of the time he had time but the secondary and linebackers locked down well and forced him to try to scramble, which didn't end up well for him since he's not the fastest guy. Going forward I think the matchup zone is the way to go against Dennard Robinson.
Showing posts with label Sam McKewon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sam McKewon. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Nebraska football talent deficit greatly exaggerated
Throughout this decade, it has generally been argued that Nebraska football lacks the talent to be a true player in joining the national elite.
That argument was in full force after the dismissal of Frank Solich. The Bill Callahan era brought a lot of recruiting hype but when those recruits did not materialize (translation, the coaching staff did not develop them properly), the argument became “well, maybe they are not as good as we thought” with the hiring of Bo Pelini.
Samuel McKewon of Nebraska Statepaper recently wrote that “the the presumption comes in: Nebraska overachieved in 2008, emerging triumphantly from raw clay to grind out magical victories. It is a good story, and it fits with Bo Pelini’s all-heart, all-sweat profile.” Except it is not entirely true. McKewon added that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, tight end Mike McNeill and running back Roy Helu are at or very near the top of the best at their position in the Big 12.
I mostly concur with McKewon, whom I must give take a moment to give a shout out before I go further. I know the young man because we worked together for a year at the Daily Nebraskan. I say he’s “young” because his first year there was my last. He was 18 and I was 24. Anyhow, I must say that McKewon has become an outstanding reporter. Yes, his points are governed by emotion but he is also objective. After all, who else could have thought of “Ten Successes of the Bill Callahan Era.”
On the offensive side, the Huskers had more than ample talent because the previous staff was very offensive minded in its recruiting. However, where I marginally differ with McKewon is on the defensive side. The Huskers ended up converting two running backs to defenders (Cody Glenn to linebacker and Major Culbert to safety). I doubt Pelini would have made those moves if we were oozing with talent on defense.
Anyhow, the cupboard wasn't empty, and it isn't depleting going to deplete any time soon. The Huskers just needed some good coaching to get it up to speed, along with some attitude to go with it.
The previous staff knew how to acquire talent but they did a horrific job of developing and coaching it. The biggest hurdle Pelini was going to face his first year was cultivating a winning attitude and desire amongst his players, but given his fire and ability to relate with players on a personal level and the fact that he is dealing with impressionable young men, the quick change in attitude is something that should not have come as a total shock to people.
True, Nebraska very seldom had recruiting rankings that knocked people in the Bob Devaney/Tom Osborne/Frank Solich years but the Huskers have never had much of a talent deficiency. What we did have between 2004 and 2007 was a major coaching/leadership deficiency. We have talent, but talent must be developed. Most of us have been saying pretty much exactly what McKewon pointed out for quite some time. Nebraska has athletes; the coaches have just needed some time to turn them into football players; now I look for them to turn them into a great team.This team, in my opinion, is good enough to win nine games or more in the regular season on a regular basis. If they win more, great. If they win less, well that happens sometimes. We can definitely count on great effort, progressing each week, and doing things to make themselves better for future seasons.
That argument was in full force after the dismissal of Frank Solich. The Bill Callahan era brought a lot of recruiting hype but when those recruits did not materialize (translation, the coaching staff did not develop them properly), the argument became “well, maybe they are not as good as we thought” with the hiring of Bo Pelini.
Samuel McKewon of Nebraska Statepaper recently wrote that “the the presumption comes in: Nebraska overachieved in 2008, emerging triumphantly from raw clay to grind out magical victories. It is a good story, and it fits with Bo Pelini’s all-heart, all-sweat profile.” Except it is not entirely true. McKewon added that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, tight end Mike McNeill and running back Roy Helu are at or very near the top of the best at their position in the Big 12.
I mostly concur with McKewon, whom I must give take a moment to give a shout out before I go further. I know the young man because we worked together for a year at the Daily Nebraskan. I say he’s “young” because his first year there was my last. He was 18 and I was 24. Anyhow, I must say that McKewon has become an outstanding reporter. Yes, his points are governed by emotion but he is also objective. After all, who else could have thought of “Ten Successes of the Bill Callahan Era.”
On the offensive side, the Huskers had more than ample talent because the previous staff was very offensive minded in its recruiting. However, where I marginally differ with McKewon is on the defensive side. The Huskers ended up converting two running backs to defenders (Cody Glenn to linebacker and Major Culbert to safety). I doubt Pelini would have made those moves if we were oozing with talent on defense.
Anyhow, the cupboard wasn't empty, and it isn't depleting going to deplete any time soon. The Huskers just needed some good coaching to get it up to speed, along with some attitude to go with it.
The previous staff knew how to acquire talent but they did a horrific job of developing and coaching it. The biggest hurdle Pelini was going to face his first year was cultivating a winning attitude and desire amongst his players, but given his fire and ability to relate with players on a personal level and the fact that he is dealing with impressionable young men, the quick change in attitude is something that should not have come as a total shock to people.
True, Nebraska very seldom had recruiting rankings that knocked people in the Bob Devaney/Tom Osborne/Frank Solich years but the Huskers have never had much of a talent deficiency. What we did have between 2004 and 2007 was a major coaching/leadership deficiency. We have talent, but talent must be developed. Most of us have been saying pretty much exactly what McKewon pointed out for quite some time. Nebraska has athletes; the coaches have just needed some time to turn them into football players; now I look for them to turn them into a great team.This team, in my opinion, is good enough to win nine games or more in the regular season on a regular basis. If they win more, great. If they win less, well that happens sometimes. We can definitely count on great effort, progressing each week, and doing things to make themselves better for future seasons.
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