What Position Group Is The Most Concerning?
- Thread starter BugsAreQualityProtein
- Start date
My first thought and Phil Steele's lowest rated position group for N (14th in the Big 10) is DL. No returning starters and we lost to guys to the NFL and portal. We have backup experence returning and one highly rated (but unknown value) transfer but some big shoes to fill.
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I’m thinking DLine. Need these guys to get a push. It all starts with them.
I have very high expectations for EJ this year. My only concern there is depth.
TE group for me. Potential, but not a lot proven on the field yet. I really feel comfortable about every other group.
TE group for me. Potential, but not a lot proven on the field yet. I really feel comfortable about every other group.
Fans. We are the problem. TO made Frost take the job against his will…. If only we had stopped supporting the program, ginger Jesus would have not been the worst hire in school history.
Both were lacking in several games last year. Indiana, UCLA, Northern Iowa and the first half against Purdue come to mind.
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OL. Sure, we got 2 from the portal, but that's not enough. Can Donnie get himself an all B1G 3rd, 2nd or 1st teamer? Remains to be seen.
RB on offense
DL on defense
PS my concern on DL is not talent based. If I was being completely honest while deep I'm just as concerned with our returning starters in the secondary. Outside of Sin gelton and the the other CB transfer from SC I think we are talent deficient at the other spots. Hartzog, Buford to be specific.
Holla
I'll take the low road and say all. Until they start winning the one score games, quit making critical mistakes and getting victories over the likes of Michigan, USC, Ucla, I'll be skeptical. And that last game of the season, that kind of losing needs to stop, coaches have a lot to prove this year, they better start figuring things out.
And that's my hate rant for now.
And that's my hate rant for now.
I get that because that group is going to be all new besides Van Poppel. Still, as good as last year's group was against the run they had trouble ever getting home on blitzes.
Everyone’s answers being all over the place just illustrates the uncertainty going into year 3. My reasoning for TE and RB was because the staff made little to no attempt to add or replace in the portal.
I feel kinda good about TE. Our former OC is rumored to be a good TE coach. Also I think HH is going to be a pleasant surprise at TE. DB and DL are question marks.
When was the last time the defense really had success with that? My guess is under BP, but my memory is getting pretty bad.
OL and DL. Could be the same old story this year. We've seen this picture before. -- Crisker
Other than when Suh and Gregory played, I don’t think we’ve had a decent pass rush since McBride was calling the defense.
What are we using to quantify decent pass rush? If you are using sacks, here are some stats.
Since 2008 there have been 5 seasons where Nebraska has averaged more than 2.3 sacks per game on the season and 7 seasons with 30 or more sacks over the course of the whole season.
2008 - 35 sacks - 2.69 per game Suh's junior year 7.5
2009 - 44 sacks - 3.14 per game Suh's senior year 12 and Crick 9.5
2010 - 31 sacks - 2.21 per game Crick 9.5
2012 - 31 sacks - 2.21 per game Erick Martin had 8.5
2013 - 38 sacks - 2.92 per game Gregory junior year 9.5
2023 - 31 sacks - 2.67 per game Butler 5.5
2024 - 30 sacks - 2.31 per game Robinson 7.0
In that same time frame these are the season when the team did not get to 2.0 sacks per game;
2011 - 21 sacks - 1.62 per game
2017 - 14 sacks - 1.17 per game
2020 - 13 sacks - 1.63 per game
2021 - 20 sacks - 1.67 per game
2022 - 21 sacks - 1.75 per game
For whatever those numbers mean to yall. I would say considering there has only been 1 year where an individual player had double digit sacks it says Nebraska hasn't had a single dominant pass rusher since Gregory, and before that Crick and Suh.
FWIW, Sean Callahan said on his show today the three keys for this year are: 1) Raiola making plays to win games, 2) running the ball effectively and 3) stopping the run. I think #3 is consistent with DL concerns. It's not so much pass rush: between Shavers, McGahee, McCullough, and Nwaneri they should be able to generate a pass rush. Holding up against the run? TBD.
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DL and kicker. and kick and punt returners. DL has been much discussed but I'm hopeful. We need to be a reliable getting 3 points as well. That has killed us in close games. Also, I'm tired of not having anyone be a threat to take it the distance and set us up in good field position.
for context, 2 sacks/game is essentially the mean nationally in FBS in a given year
I believe it is important to differentiate between concern and unknown. I would be more concerned if I had a position group that was mature in experience and hasn't performed more than a inexperienced group where I just don't know if they will perform. When I look at defensive line, I see a group that hasn't had to play a lot because there were two players that were multiple year starters and for now are practicing with NFL teams. The LB crew is just as inexperienced, Wright only played in 9 games and 187 snaps, Shavers similarly 159 snaps, then McGahee 117 snaps. McCullough brings experience to the front 7 as does Watson-Trent. Then the potential of players like George and Nwaneri. I kind of like the front 7.
Take it for what it is worth, but I have heard that Butler and Addison Williams opened up the DB competition in the spring and it will continue into the summer and fall. I wouldn't be surprised to see some younger guys get some extended playing time, Caleb Benning, Amare Sanders, Mario Buford, Rhamir Stewart, Donovan Jones just to name a few. I think Singleton will be more of a hybrid S/LB in some formations. I have heard Braylen Prude is improving and getting bigger, could be a future LB at 6'4". Guthrie from Colorado has impressed the coaches. The number of young DBs that could play for Eckler and becomes special teams studs is something to watch for.
Take it for what it is worth, but I have heard that Butler and Addison Williams opened up the DB competition in the spring and it will continue into the summer and fall. I wouldn't be surprised to see some younger guys get some extended playing time, Caleb Benning, Amare Sanders, Mario Buford, Rhamir Stewart, Donovan Jones just to name a few. I think Singleton will be more of a hybrid S/LB in some formations. I have heard Braylen Prude is improving and getting bigger, could be a future LB at 6'4". Guthrie from Colorado has impressed the coaches. The number of young DBs that could play for Eckler and becomes special teams studs is something to watch for.
And my point was that the last two years under Rhule and White they had better sack numbers than all but 3 seasons since 2008. The three ahead of them had Suh, Crick and/or Gregory on them. So I suppose I was questioning the getting to the QB comments in the thread.
See, this is another thing I get confused on. Jeudy played more snaps that Van Poppel in 2024 just as many in 2023 when RVP only played on about 130 snaps as a true freshman. Sometimes when we like a player or believe the player will be great, which RVP may well be, we give them the benefit of the doubt only because we like them. Davis played on 90 snaps as a true freshman last year, not a ton but he played in all but 1 game. So in actuality, those 3 plus Lenhardt all have some experience.
We also had 14 total sacks in 2 games vs CU, the most sacked team in the country the last 2 seasons
So I suppose I’m questioning your chosen metric
What other stat does one use to determine getting to the QB? Nebraska also sacked Ohio St QB two times, which was 1/8 of the total sacks they allowed all year. Then you have the 4 sacks against Rutgers who allowed 21 on the season, literally 1/5 of the sacks allowed by Rutgers on the season in one game against Nebraska. We can all find single game outliers to attempt to support our argument.
edit - I would imagine every team has at least 1 game where they padded sack totals against teams that struggled protecting the passer. Do we need to take out the highest and the lowest and average the remaining games to get a more suitable number for you?
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So you are discounting Nebraska’s sack total because over 2 games they averaged 7 sacks against the team that was most sacked? I’m sure if they averaged only 2 sacks against Colorado then you would complain that they couldn’t even get sacks against the team that gives away the most sacks. It’s not too late to claim your real identity, King Cherry Picker.
QB pressures is probably a more informative metric than sacks.
and, yes, removing outliers always gets you to a more accurate number.
by the way I’m not denying your premise - Whites defenses were as good as we’ve seen since Bo was here. Which is why I’m surprised so many were very quick to assume butler will surely be his equal or better.
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So we should take away the 4 1/2 sacks Suh had against Texas? C'mon.
I guess the definition of getting to the QB has changed. Pressuring a QB isn't getting to the QB, it's getting close to the QB.
Getting to the QB =/= a sack.
Everyone knows this.
Maybe our pressure numbers are even better. The defense was very good under White.
and like I said before I’m not denying your premise, I just don’t know that middle of the road sack numbers are anything to shoot for.
I wasn't necessarily using the numbers to "shoot for". The conversation was that Nebraska hasn't gotten to the QB since the days of Suh and Gregory. Then when you look at the numbers, the last two years have been on par with those years, especially if you take out the 9 sack performance in the 13th game of the year against Texas.
When you look at one single very specific number you mean.
Again, maybe you’re right. Which makes losing our DC all the more concerning.