The No. 9 rated Nebraska Cornhuskers came up large in a pivotal 24-3 win over No. 13 Michigan State to make the Big Ten Legends Division race much more compelling.
The win forced a three-way tie between Nebraska, Michigan state and Michigan. Had the Spartans beaten Nebraska, they would have had a big leg up on the rest of the division. For the Huskers, the key becomes sustaining that momentum as the calendar turns to November. Since Bo Pelini took over as the head coach in 2008, November has been a month to remember. The Huskers have gone 11-1 under Pelini in November.
The Huskers host a Northwestern (3-5 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) team that is decidedly different than Michigan State. The Spartans entered the contest with defensive numbers not terribly far behind Alabama and LSU but also had a pedestrian offense. The Wildcats, however, are averaging 31.6 points per game but in their five defeats have yielded an average of 35.2 points per contest.
With the exception of the first half of its 34-27 win over Ohio State, Nebraska has been playing well ever since its 48-17 loss to Wisconsin.
When the Huskers parted ways with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and replaced him with Tom Beck, the biggest question was “what will be the offense’s identity?” It’s pretty obvious now. The Huskers are a run first team with running back Rex Burkhead carrying the load. He did just that against Michigan State as he carried 35 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
The question becomes, does Nebraska reduce Burkhead’s carries this week and mix in carries for Ameer Abdullah or Aaron Green. Keep in mind the Huskers follow this game with key road tests at Penn State and Michigan.
The Huskers should be able to run the ball at will on Northwestern’s defense. Well, the numbers would certainly indicate as much as Nebraska is ninth in rushing offense (averaging 253 yards per game) and the Wildcats are 95th in defending the run (allowing 194 yards per contest). As long as Nebraska is not careless with the ball, it should be fine.
On defense, injuries have forced Pelini to try finding the right mixture of players. Nebraska did just that last week in shutting down a good but not great Spartan offense. This week, however, will be a much better barometer to determine whether the Blackshrts are back into form.
While this is not the Ndamukong Suh led defense of 2009, I did not see anything in that game that makes me think the Blackshirts are not back. The younger Blackshirts who were thrust into key roles as a result of injuries now appear to understand the system.
That trend needs to continue this week because though the Wildcats win-loss record is not good, quarterback Dan Persa gives them a punchers chance. Keep in mind, Persa was the first team all-Big Ten quarterback last season. To illustrate even further how good Persa is, he received that nod over Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor.
Persa will also present a much different matchup than MSU’s Kirk Cousins did. Cousins is more of a classic, dropback passer who was a minimal threat to run. Persa, however, will take off and run so the Huskers must be much more disciplined in its pass rush.
Northwestern may get its yards and/or points but with the way the Blackshirts are rounding into form defensively, the Wildcats will have a harder time scoring. The key for Nebraska is to not let Northwestern get an early lead to subdue the home crowd.
On special teams, Abdullah has also provided another weapon as a kick and punt returner. The Huskers are ranked No. 2 in the country in kick returns and No. 44 in the country in punt returns. However, opponents have negated that advantage lately by kicking away from him.
However, another huge plus to Nebraska’s kicking game has how placekicker/punter Brett Maher has replaced Alex Henery so well. Maher has made 14-17 field goals and is averaging 45 yards per punt.
Northwestern might be 3-5 but it’s a deceptive 3-5. That thinking would go against Bill Parcells’ motto of “your record is exactly what it is.” However, Northwestern has had a lead in the second half of every one of its five defeats. That statement could mean one of two things: a) The Wildcats are dangerous enough to beat you on a given day or b) They will make enough mistakes to get beat.
As long as the Huskers don’t commit penalties and turnovers, they should win this game and go to 8-1.
Showing posts with label Dan Persa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Persa. Show all posts
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Husker defense needs to stick to its roots
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)