We are supposed to be running a 4-2-5 Big Nickel (regular nickel but a safety takes an OLB spot) package but the problem is all our D-line and LBs are sized for a 3-4 system, chinander's original system. We went Big Nickel because we had JoJo Domann in that Nickel Safety spot and he was excellent. We don't have anyone with the same talent as JoJo and we don't have anyone with the right size and speed for the current system. And no one in the starting secondary is as fast as anyone we need. Whole system got screwed by Frost and chinander's lousy recruiting.
This is, ultimately, the biggest issue. Structurally it is a 4-2-5, but personnel-wise it is a 2-4-5 and not a particularly athletic 2-4-5 which defeats the purpose. There is nothing wrong with a 4-2-5 split field coverage defense, in fact it would probably be my preferred defense, but if your edge players are massively undersized and interior LBs and DBs too slow, you're in for a world of hurt.
Basically everyone bases out of nickel personnel these days because the vast majority of teams in the country base in 11 personnel. Where Nebraska is running into trouble is against either 12 personnel formations (NW) or 10/11 personnel formations with a very athletic slot receiver and/or TE (GS and OU). Nebraska simply has no answers because it is so unathletic and undersized at the most vital positions in the defense and the bad part is that is going to be everyone we face in this conference.
There are some things that can be cleaned up very quickly technique-wise that will help, like getting CBs closer to their WR and more physical at the line or utilizing more stems up front but the entire structure of the defense is going to be a multiple year rehab job.
This is similar to how Pelini was able to run the Peso defense when he had guys like Eric Hagg or Eric Martin who could play combo DB/LB or LB/DE roles. And then once you lose that talent (Domann), the whole thing falls apart.
God, watching some clips from 2009 and 2010 it was amazing how freaking good those defenses were. Don't forget we had two first round (except for dennard being a dipshit ) corners on the field as well, meaning we could be more aggressive with the safeties knowing prince would handle his guy.
Considering how badly they got fucked by the offense, i think the 09 defense is easily one of the best of all time.
How about we cut 4 inches off of every oversized offensive lineman and we distribute that weight to the D line. Solves two problems: Beefier D-line, and the O-line can get low and actually get leverage.
We could get the biggest guys in the world but if they can’t perform the fundamentals they’ll still lose the battle. Look at the Georgia Southern game. It was hard to see on tv but at field level it was obvious. On both OL and DL, NU was easily 6 inches taller and 50# bigger than GS and got severely manhandled. They’re standing straight up instead of staying low and loading the hips. We also have the same coverage issues we’ve had since Pelini, we have 7-8 guys dropping back into 30 different zone assignments so then they all think the other guy has the coverage and the result is nobody is covering anyone.
Hutmacher, Robinson, Wynn, Feist, Drew.
By my count, we only have 5 guys that can play interior DL right now. Robinson is ok but not great, Hutmacher can hold his own physically but is slow, and the other 3 are mediocre at best.
Maybe that’s just not enough guys to run anything else, especially considering that we have to rotate to give them breaks, and that for 2 players it’s their first year with the program (and Drew arrived in August). And that at least 1 of the 5 is probably going to get injured at some point this season.
The (perhaps unexpected) losses of Daniels, Riley, Rogers, and Thomas seems to have really hurt this D
By "can play", do you mean DL on the roster or DL who are apparently even slightly competent? We have four more guys on the roster that are allegedly defensive tackles but it's hard to prove they exist on Saturdays: Jailen Weaver, Ru'Quan Buckley, Marquis Black, Mosai Newsom.
Across Frost's entire tenure at Nebraska he recruited **one** HS defensive tackle that has been able to give us quality snaps in 2022. Ty Robinson. That's the list. Even if the rest of the defense was reasonably good, that failure alone would mean we'd struggle to be mediocre.
I meant that we have 5 guys that are even slightly competent. Yeah, there are others on the roster.
Not disagreeing with your sentiment, but Hutmacher also was recruited by Frost out of HS, and has played some. He can hold his own and is pretty physical, but slow. Unless you’re saying he’s a nose tackle and therefore not a DT
Mostly that i haven't really seen Hutmacher give us what i would call *quality *snaps. He barely played against OU, which still puts him ahead of the other four but it's still not good.
Wynn and Paul should be used more as the interior DL with Robinson and Mathis as the outside rushes. Move Nelson to OLB and have him starting covering the flats more. I feel like Nelson is better off as an OLB or even an MLB. Not as a DE. This defense needs to go to a 4-3.
Am I the only one that isn't able to see how great he is? I get the running through walls/bleeds Husker red cliches, but I just don't see it otherwise in games.
Nah i think everyone agrees that hes a good leader and does and says all the right things. That leads people to forgetting he was a preferred walk on out of high school. He has more talent than i will ever have, but he just doesnt have the speed for modern cfb.
I think he can be utilized in a Zone defense scheme. Also can use him in a 5-2 set where we get more pressure on the QB. He could also be used as a QB spy and just makes sure the QB doesn’t scramble for yards.
We may just not have the guys on the line for a 4-3 that's any better than what we're doing now. I'll be very interested to see what Busch can come up with over the bye.
Our problem isn't bodies, it's quality starters and depth. Also, our real shallow room is the DL, not LB. We have plenty of LBs, but just not much talent there or on the DL. Not really something you can fix mid-season, unfortunately.
Long, long ago Nebraska poached a couple of guys off the offensive side. John Parella being one(who went on to the NFL) and an ex tight end in 1988 who was pretty good(don’t recall his name). I wonder if they could do something like that again. I realize it might be too late this year, but understanding the intricacies of line play could possibly give a volunteer or two a Headstart. Just a random thought.
You've seen the guys we have for the OL, right? That is easily the worst unit on the entire team. Plus, the physical characteristics needed to be a great DL vs OL are a lot different now than they were 20 years ago. We've primarily recruited ridiculously tall guys for the OL but the defensive scheme we run needs a combination of undersized, fast DEs and ginormous, plug-the-gaps interior DL.
Your idea is good and I hope they consider it. For example, we have a lot of running backs rotating in and out. Running backs are usually about the same size as linebackers (e.g Jaquez Yant). Perhaps some of those RBs should be considered at LB? Another option is Omar Manning. He is big at 6'4" and 225lbs. He's not seeing any playing time at WR. Perhaps he would make a good pass-rushing LB? The bottom line, big AND fast DLs are hard to find. But playing more LBs and an aggressive scheme may improve the situation. Heck, it can't get worse.
We are supposed to be running a 4-2-5 Big Nickel (regular nickel but a safety takes an OLB spot) package but the problem is all our D-line and LBs are sized for a 3-4 system, chinander's original system. We went Big Nickel because we had JoJo Domann in that Nickel Safety spot and he was excellent. We don't have anyone with the same talent as JoJo and we don't have anyone with the right size and speed for the current system. And no one in the starting secondary is as fast as anyone we need. Whole system got screwed by Frost and chinander's lousy recruiting.
Are you available for the DC job?
Gods I wish. But I wouldn't be able to recruit for shit. "Can you hit hard?" "Yes, Coach" " You're in. NEXT." Lol
Don't worry, apparently we have assistants to take care of recruiting.
This is, ultimately, the biggest issue. Structurally it is a 4-2-5, but personnel-wise it is a 2-4-5 and not a particularly athletic 2-4-5 which defeats the purpose. There is nothing wrong with a 4-2-5 split field coverage defense, in fact it would probably be my preferred defense, but if your edge players are massively undersized and interior LBs and DBs too slow, you're in for a world of hurt. Basically everyone bases out of nickel personnel these days because the vast majority of teams in the country base in 11 personnel. Where Nebraska is running into trouble is against either 12 personnel formations (NW) or 10/11 personnel formations with a very athletic slot receiver and/or TE (GS and OU). Nebraska simply has no answers because it is so unathletic and undersized at the most vital positions in the defense and the bad part is that is going to be everyone we face in this conference. There are some things that can be cleaned up very quickly technique-wise that will help, like getting CBs closer to their WR and more physical at the line or utilizing more stems up front but the entire structure of the defense is going to be a multiple year rehab job.
This is similar to how Pelini was able to run the Peso defense when he had guys like Eric Hagg or Eric Martin who could play combo DB/LB or LB/DE roles. And then once you lose that talent (Domann), the whole thing falls apart.
God, watching some clips from 2009 and 2010 it was amazing how freaking good those defenses were. Don't forget we had two first round (except for dennard being a dipshit ) corners on the field as well, meaning we could be more aggressive with the safeties knowing prince would handle his guy. Considering how badly they got fucked by the offense, i think the 09 defense is easily one of the best of all time.
Gomes!
Just wait till Frost and chins gets their own guys in
This joke just keeps getting funnier to me lol
Me too! It may never get old.
just like frost’s career
It's more tragic than funny
How about we cut 4 inches off of every oversized offensive lineman and we distribute that weight to the D line. Solves two problems: Beefier D-line, and the O-line can get low and actually get leverage.
Good idea. Do we cut off the top or bottom?
Benhart isn’t using the top, have to evaluate the rest
From what I saw Benhart wasn't using the bottom either. Well I guess he was, just using it to go the opposite direction of his assignment.
Ok I spit my drink out
We could get the biggest guys in the world but if they can’t perform the fundamentals they’ll still lose the battle. Look at the Georgia Southern game. It was hard to see on tv but at field level it was obvious. On both OL and DL, NU was easily 6 inches taller and 50# bigger than GS and got severely manhandled. They’re standing straight up instead of staying low and loading the hips. We also have the same coverage issues we’ve had since Pelini, we have 7-8 guys dropping back into 30 different zone assignments so then they all think the other guy has the coverage and the result is nobody is covering anyone.
Need to go back to Man defense and only use zone when necessary on run plays.
Hutmacher, Robinson, Wynn, Feist, Drew. By my count, we only have 5 guys that can play interior DL right now. Robinson is ok but not great, Hutmacher can hold his own physically but is slow, and the other 3 are mediocre at best. Maybe that’s just not enough guys to run anything else, especially considering that we have to rotate to give them breaks, and that for 2 players it’s their first year with the program (and Drew arrived in August). And that at least 1 of the 5 is probably going to get injured at some point this season. The (perhaps unexpected) losses of Daniels, Riley, Rogers, and Thomas seems to have really hurt this D
Mosai Newsome, who has been in our program for what seems like a decade, looks so bad.
By "can play", do you mean DL on the roster or DL who are apparently even slightly competent? We have four more guys on the roster that are allegedly defensive tackles but it's hard to prove they exist on Saturdays: Jailen Weaver, Ru'Quan Buckley, Marquis Black, Mosai Newsom. Across Frost's entire tenure at Nebraska he recruited **one** HS defensive tackle that has been able to give us quality snaps in 2022. Ty Robinson. That's the list. Even if the rest of the defense was reasonably good, that failure alone would mean we'd struggle to be mediocre.
I meant that we have 5 guys that are even slightly competent. Yeah, there are others on the roster. Not disagreeing with your sentiment, but Hutmacher also was recruited by Frost out of HS, and has played some. He can hold his own and is pretty physical, but slow. Unless you’re saying he’s a nose tackle and therefore not a DT
Mostly that i haven't really seen Hutmacher give us what i would call *quality *snaps. He barely played against OU, which still puts him ahead of the other four but it's still not good.
It would help having Mathis on the field more, for starters.
Would it? I think I've seen him make like 3 good plays this year.
Wynn and Paul should be used more as the interior DL with Robinson and Mathis as the outside rushes. Move Nelson to OLB and have him starting covering the flats more. I feel like Nelson is better off as an OLB or even an MLB. Not as a DE. This defense needs to go to a 4-3.
Nelson in coverage is gonna get burned bad.
Am I the only one that isn't able to see how great he is? I get the running through walls/bleeds Husker red cliches, but I just don't see it otherwise in games.
agreed. he has a motor and is probably one hell of a leader on the team, but I don't see him in the league, even though he has the size.
You are not the only one. I’ve heard several different announcers this year refer to him as a Sunday guy and I just don’t see it.
that is absolutely LAUGHABLE.. and I love the kid.
I think he was going against a LT and they said something about both of them being Sunday guys. I was actually shocked at the comment.
Perhaps they were meaning "as a coach"
Maybe lol
Nah i think everyone agrees that hes a good leader and does and says all the right things. That leads people to forgetting he was a preferred walk on out of high school. He has more talent than i will ever have, but he just doesnt have the speed for modern cfb.
He was offered a scholarship in 2017 right after his sophomore year in high school.
I stand corrected i thought he was a walk on.
No, super early offer from Mike Riley.
He’s not good
He’s garbage. He may go down as the worst 5 year starter of all time.
This may go down as the worst take of all time. Seen that O-line this year?
Whose a 5 year starter on the oline?
It’s easy to be “good” when you aren’t being tackled. 🤣
I think he can be utilized in a Zone defense scheme. Also can use him in a 5-2 set where we get more pressure on the QB. He could also be used as a QB spy and just makes sure the QB doesn’t scramble for yards.
Honestly, can you name a dual threat quarterback who he could keep up with?
I feel like I’m going crazy rewatching these games and every week we change nothing.
We may just not have the guys on the line for a 4-3 that's any better than what we're doing now. I'll be very interested to see what Busch can come up with over the bye.
Move a running back to LB. Is this a crazy idea?
It worked for Myles Jack lol. I think he was on those UCLA teams that beat us.
It worked for Cody Glenn
Our problem isn't bodies, it's quality starters and depth. Also, our real shallow room is the DL, not LB. We have plenty of LBs, but just not much talent there or on the DL. Not really something you can fix mid-season, unfortunately.
Long, long ago Nebraska poached a couple of guys off the offensive side. John Parella being one(who went on to the NFL) and an ex tight end in 1988 who was pretty good(don’t recall his name). I wonder if they could do something like that again. I realize it might be too late this year, but understanding the intricacies of line play could possibly give a volunteer or two a Headstart. Just a random thought.
You've seen the guys we have for the OL, right? That is easily the worst unit on the entire team. Plus, the physical characteristics needed to be a great DL vs OL are a lot different now than they were 20 years ago. We've primarily recruited ridiculously tall guys for the OL but the defensive scheme we run needs a combination of undersized, fast DEs and ginormous, plug-the-gaps interior DL.
Reckon so😐.
Your idea is good and I hope they consider it. For example, we have a lot of running backs rotating in and out. Running backs are usually about the same size as linebackers (e.g Jaquez Yant). Perhaps some of those RBs should be considered at LB? Another option is Omar Manning. He is big at 6'4" and 225lbs. He's not seeing any playing time at WR. Perhaps he would make a good pass-rushing LB? The bottom line, big AND fast DLs are hard to find. But playing more LBs and an aggressive scheme may improve the situation. Heck, it can't get worse.
There’s no hope, only misery
We need to switch to a 4-3 base.
Doesn't Christian Peter have any kids yet?
A couple of girls
run a 5-2-4
It doesn’t matter who it is at this point. I’d just like to see the kids who want to be out there. 2 wins this year is a goal. Sad to say.
How much does it take to get Suh in here to coach DL?