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Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked Does our defense stuggle next year?

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AnchorageHusker said:
I think anyone who says they are certain, or has a strong idea one way or another has not considered the long term inconsistency of these squads. I think there are some questions at all levels of the D.

Starting at the line.

We're losing Martin, Ankrah, Meredith, Steinkuhler, Carter and Randle right? I like Avery Moss, we've got Aaron Curry, Chase Rome, Todd Peat and Vince Valentine coming up. I think all of these guys have the potential to be the real deal, but there is no real game experience there, and we need these guys to play well. I expect inconsistency, and flashes of greatness.

Linebackers:
We're losing Compton and Whaley for sure, we may return Fisher. Coming back, we've got Santos and Zaire Andersen who should have a solid grasp of the D. Rose and Thomas are supposedly gamers on the scout team, and I really like the fact that Courtney Love will be there for spring ball. E big question is, who is going to get us lined up? Compton is a solid linebacker who's been even more valuable for his brain. Here's hoping that Fisher sticks around for 1 more year and creates an experience group of linebackers to anchor the defense. I think I'd be super excited about the linebackers if I knew he was returning, imagine Fisher, Santos and Andersen being on the field most of the time.

DBs:

I think we are solid at corner and even better at the nickel and dime spots. The big question is, who's going to come in and make up for what we're losing in Smith and Stafford? Will Jackson and Cooper be ready? Should we think about moving another few guys into that position room to bolster depth? I personally think, that as good as he is as a corner, I think Jean-Baptiste would be even better as a safety. Also, I think that we ought to look at putting Brion Carnes back there (don't you guys wish we would have offered Kain Colter instead of him?). In some ways, I'm just confident in the progress of the DBs because I think we've got good athletes coming up, and I think Terry Joseph might be one of the best DB coaches in the country, we should pay him more.
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Is there a long term trend to even observe? In Bo's time here, only 1.5 of his defenses have proven questionable. TJ's coaching of the dbs has been stellar this year... and as Bo's history had shown, take away the opponents passing game, and his defense will perform.

That said, I feel you about "getting lined up." We still have problems with that THIS YEAR and we have 8 senior starters!
 

What I foresee next season from a young front seven is some great plays made with their athleticism mixed in with giving up more than their share of big plays from blown assignments,,,at least during the first half the year. Hopefully the offense will be clicking enough to overcome the learning curve. and I'm hoping that Gregory will be an immediate impact player on passing downs to fill the huge void left by the loss of Eric Martin. The guys got some killer speed and athleticism at DE.
 



Grateful Red said:
Martin is a STUD! He will be sorely missed. That said, I hope the coaches see the value of speed on the bookends... and go with a strategy more like Charlies. Fischer should have been a converted DEnd (had all the specs of a Grant Wistrom).
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Fisher would have not even seen the field as a DE....too small to play LB but people think he should have moved to a DE. They have been trying to put weight on him for 5 years. Put him at DE at his size now and he isn't playing football this year and just concentrating on med school.
 
ShortSideOption said:
Fisher would have not even seen the field as a DE....too small to play LB but people think he should have moved to a DE. They have been trying to put weight on him for 5 years. Put him at DE at his size now and he isn't playing football this year and just concentrating on med school.
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I totally disagree. Wistrom came to Nebraska at 220-225 and played at 255. Fischer could have played at that weight if the coaches made the decision his RSfros/soph year.
 
JJ10 said:
Ankrah is only a junior, too
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Must have missed that, so we get Randle and Ankrah back? Plus Moss, Curry, Valentine, Peat and possibly some jucos? That makes the depth situation look a little better doesn't it?

If the D doesn't miss a beat, we can improve in pass-blocking and overall line consistency, and Taylor can take the next step in the areas of holding on to the ball, passing, and improving his option game,combined with that schedule we could be on a title run next year.
 




Grateful Red said:
I totally disagree. Wistrom came to Nebraska at 220-225 and played at 255. Fischer could have played at that weight if the coaches made the decision his RSfros/soph year.
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How ??? He has been trying to put only 10 pounds on since he showed up and hasn't been able to get that done... if he is still too light for LB when they have been trying for 5 years to get weight on him, in no way would he be able to put the weight on that he would need to play on the line.
 
I like the original question in this post. Will our defense struggle? A couple points I would like to bring up. I hate to keep referencing it, but he is a good football mind, but Damon Benning will bring this up on occassion in his morning radio show, and it is something I have seen first hand as well. First, I would say struggle may be the wrong word to use in certain situations.... What I mean by that, is that there will be a learning curve for some of the guys that will be starting for the first year. Couple DL, couple LB, and a couple safeties. Basically 6 new starters on defense, but we have a pretty good core coming back. Lock down corners for sure, Rome to anchor the middle, and Ankrah. Santos will be no slouch but not count as a starter returning. But while we are throwing new kids into the fire, there is an element that to the naked eye you can't see in non-conf games. Bo will call certain defensive plays and/or personnel packages that may put our kids in situations they aren't used to, or haven't seen much before. He does this to see how the kids react, to see what they do when things don't go right. Do they fly 100 percent and miss a tackle but were doing it full speed? Do they kind of look around and ask for help and when they don't get it just kind of "float" in their position? All these things Bo tries to do to see what he has in a team and an attitude with certain players. So while a fan may be upset that guys were in bad positions, not knowing what they should do, etc... there is most of the time (not all the time) a method to the madness.

I think there will be some definiite learning curve problems. But I think Harvey Jackson showed flashes, I know our corners will be fine. And trust me when I say this, the coaches aren't looking ahead, but they have 2013 circled on their calendars. It's a recruiting pitch that 2013 is our year. Thus bringing in "now" guys on the DL, TE, and possibly safety.
 



For 2013 to be 'the year' we are going to have an awful lot of holes to fill..DT, OL, DE, LB, S, TE, and sorry to say...do we have a complete back in the arsenail? As of friday, pretty clear we are stepping backward in that department. The fill ins that have been mentioned for all these positions will do just fine as long as we are not dreaming of national titles. For that we still need improvment across the board.
 
70county said:
For 2013 to be 'the year' we are going to have an awful lot of holes to fill..DT, OL, DE, LB, S, TE, and sorry to say...do we have a complete back in the arsenail? As of friday, pretty clear we are stepping backward in that department. The fill ins that have been mentioned for all these positions will do just fine as long as we are not dreaming of national titles. For that we still need improvment across the board.
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We have one DT but if we get a JUCO we will be fine. OL is going to be a massive strength so that isn't a hole needing to be filled. DE we have Moss and McMullen waiting to go, Moss was so good we couldn't redshirt him and added the best JUCO DE in the country. LB we have some holes to fill for sure, we have talent waiting but inexperienced talent. Safety is my only real concern out of all you listed, but we have talent in the secondary, too many guys to be sitting at corner, this spring a couple will move up to safety. TE we are better off then people think next year ;)
 

ShortSideOption said:
We have one DT but if we get a JUCO we will be fine. OL is going to be a massive strength so that isn't a hole needing to be filled. DE we have Moss and McMullen waiting to go, Moss was so good we couldn't redshirt him and added the best JUCO DE in the country. LB we have some holes to fill for sure, we have talent waiting but inexperienced talent. Safety is my only real concern out of all you listed, but we have talent in the secondary, too many guys to be sitting at corner, this spring a couple will move up to safety. TE we are better off then people think next year ;)
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On offense, we need to figure out who will play center (Pensick or Pelini). If we decide on Pensick, we'll need a couple of guards to move up into that rotation (Cotton, Nickens or Reeves). We are set at tackle. We need to restock at TE, which is why we need a JUCO. Jake Long is fine as a second TE.

On defense, looking at what we have returning at DT (Rome, Randle, Peat, K. Williams, Curry and Valentine) our coaches have decided we need JUCO help there. DE is thin with Ankrah, Moss, McMullen and Gregory. Will Ashburn and Vestal be able to provide depth there if one of the top four is injured? Will McMullen even stay at DE, or will he move inside?

At LB I think we are okay athletically, but will we have anyone at MLB who can get us lined up? If Fisher is back, I'm betting it'll be him. If not, can Roach handle that responsibility and play with the athleticism required?

Will one or two corners move to safety (Green, Jean-Baptiste?)? H. Jackson is fine there, but is Corey Cooper going to be ready to play the other safety spot? Otherwise we are fine at CB (Green, Mitchell, Jean-Baptiste, Jackson, Davie).

Will Bondi handle both the placekicking and punting or is there someone else in the wings ready to take over punting? Who will be the long-snapper?

Those are the questions, as I see them.
 
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