Are Mobile Quarterbacks Pelini’s Kryptonite?
4 comments so far
September 19, 2008 by
Bo Pelini is still sitting squarely in his honeymoon period as Nebraska’s head coach. To listen to some fans, you’d think that he’ll go 14-0 for the next ten years. But even the best coaches tend to lose at least a couple of games a year and often those losses tend to have commonalities. When Tom Osborne lost, it was usually because his offense failed to score much (how many games did Oklahoma win by scoring only 17-20 points?).
For Pelini’s defenses (and perhaps for everyone’s defenses) the mobile quarterback can be a real Achilles heel. Mobile QB’s can buy time for receivers so that even the best defensive backs can’t cover them. They can exploit running lanes that open up on passing down and pick up first downs with their feet. They can evade blitzes and exploit one-on-one matchups in the secondary.
If you look back at Pelini’s first season in college football, his three worst losses were a 41-24 defeat to Missouri’s Brad Smith, a 31-7 loss to a Texas team that featured Vince Young, and a 38-9 defeat to Kansas State and Ell Roberson.
His next year at Oklahoma, the worst loss was to a non-mobile Matt Leinart, but it could be argued that it wasn’t truly a Pelini defense as he was a “co-defensive coordinator�. It could also be noted that both Oklahoma State’s Donovan Woods and Texas A&M’s Reggie McNeal (both mobile quarterbacks) managed to lead their to 35 points against the Sooners that year.
Pelini’s defense’s worst day in 2005 at LSU was a loss to Georgia with D.J. Shockley. Admittedly, Arizona State’s Sam Keller (remember him?) had a pretty big day against the Tigers and he wasn’t mobile at all.
You could say his defense never really had a bad day in 2006, but the worst day was a win over Arkansas where they surrendered 26 points with Darren McFadden completing a couple passes. Likewise, Tim Tebow did some damage both throwing and passing in the 23-10 LSU loss to Florida.
Last year, it was a mixed bag. Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson isn’t known as a great rusher, but did scamper for a 12 yard touchdown in the 43-37 triple overtime win over LSU. Darren McFadden again shredded Pelini’s team in a triple overtime game, this time throwing six passes to go with over 200 rushing yards.
So there are plenty of cases of mobile quarterbacks getting the best of a Bo Pelini defense. To be fair, there are numerous examples of mobile quarterbacks who were stymied by Pelini (McNeal in 2003 comes to mind and Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor last season). But the point is that the profile of the guys that do succeed is that they tend to be mobile. That’s of particular interest in the next two weeks as the Huskers host Virginia Tech (featuring Tyrod Taylor) and Missouri (featuring Chase Daniel). Those guys present a special challenge that may put the NU defense on its heels.
Lucky for Nebraska, the Huskers have a mobile quarterback of their own.
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Bill in Iowa Sep 19 08
I think you are right and it is also a reason NU is recuiting mobile qb's who can throw on a dime. :) I think I remember Pelini saying how a mobile QB can really be hard on defenses. He should know.
Greg Morrow Sep 20 08
Okay, what's new on my favorite blog?!
It's been noted enough for everyone who might disagree, that the Corn's '03 defense had "mucho" talent. They just needed to be coached up. With Pelini, they came closer to reaching their individual potential.
The Missouri and K St. losses I put more on the offense, which was limited to a predictable run-play action cadence. The offense could hammer you, (I wish they had a "hammer" in '08's offense) but, stop the hammer, stop the offense.
Bottom line, it became an uneven team and there was only so much Pelini's Blackshirts could make up for.
I always (always) refer to what Osborne said years ago, when trying to solve Oklahoma. He thought the main Okie advantage was speed at QB. Bringing in guys who could match that step for step, Turner and Steve Taylor, enabled Tom to go from 1-7 in the '70's, to 5-5 against the Sooners in the '80's.
That may not help things this year, but it looks like Bo is trying to bring in QB's of the type that challenges his schemes. He'll have to recruit guys to even match '03's defensive talent, across the board. Because recruiting has been uneven. In terms of real contributors, the talent has been on the offense.
In competition, the most shocking defeats are usually when a favorite get's beat at their own game.
'Cause, often in life, one man's strength is also his "Kryptonite."
Bill in Iowa Sep 21 08
Greg, you make a good point - matching speed for speed. I also remember when Osborne in the 90's started really trying to find shut down corners to match the speed of the Florida schools. Once we matched their speed, we started to beat teams like Miami.
It's no wonder you see Pelini and company recruiting a lot of DB's...both last year and this year. Obviously he is trying to match up to the speedy spread offenses. Pelini is also talking about nickel, dime and even dollar defenses (playing 6 db's and no lb's) in order to match up.
So, as we approach the super spread teams, such as Mizzou and Texas Tech, don't be disapointed if we don't match up with their speed, yet. However, Pelini knows what he is doing and we will get there...soon. And we don't really know what we are capable of in the secondary this year...yet. Pelini is very resourceful and has found talent in the likes of Lance Thorell, Cody Glenn (although at LB), and Eric Hagg.
I am optimistic this secondary is going to be great. But will they even be "good enough" by the time we meet up with Mizzou and TT. That's the million dollar quesion? It's asking for a coaching miracle of young inexperienced talent, but that's why we watch, hope and pray.
Greg Morrow Sep 23 08
Bill, thanks!
I start out by trying to have a firm grip on the obvious, before I toss an opinion out there.