The Difference Between 5-7 & 9-4 Part 2 - The Defense

17 comments so far January 13, 2009 by Brandon Vogel

You could say of the 2008 Blackshirts that our last glimpse of them this season was our best glimpse. Despite the almost lights-out performance the defense had provided through 58 minutes of the Gator Bowl, Clemson still had the ball and a first down at Nebraska's 10-yard line trailing by only five. In a game long struggle to get and maintain the upper hand it looked like there was room for only one more hand on the bat.

And that's when we saw the vintage Pelini defense many of us remembered from 2003. First down, cornerback blitz from the left side, pass knocked down by Eric Hagg. Second down, cornerback blitz from the right side, 17-yard sack by Eric Hagg. The Blackshirts still needed two more plays to lock up the win but everything we thought we knew about the Pelini approach to defense was visible in those two plays and, if it wasn't the first such example we'd seen this season, it was certainly the best.

After the 26-21 win in the Gator Bowl, Bo Pelini had this to say about those back-to-back corner blitzes:

At the end of the game, when it’s on the line, when they got four downs from the 10, I want to be pretty aggressive. I just want to set the tone there.

Of course the irony here is that that sort of approach, that attitude, is something Nebraska largely wasn't able to dial-up for much of the season, at least not to the extent we'd come to associate with Bo Pelini. Part of the reason for that was simply players learning a new system. A larger part of it was an already thin linebacking corps made thinner by injuries and suspensions and a young secondary that returned only two starters from 2007. The result was a Blackshirts defense that, outside of the front four, really wasn't dictating much of anything to opposing offenses and, if there's one thing Pelini wants to do defensively it's to dictate, to be aggressive. We didn't see that in 2008. We saw the groundwork for that sort of defense and the good news is, even with these limitations, Pelini and his staff were still able to churn out statistically one of the best defenses in the Big 12.

So what were the defensive differences between 5-7 and 9-4? How about everything? The Huskers improved in every meaningful defensive category from a year ago but owing to the awfulness of the defensive numbers from 2007 Nebraska, just by displaying simple competence without the ball, couldn't help but improve. Complicating matters further is the glut of offense in the Big 12 this year. The best total defense in the conference--Texas--finished 51st in the country making the conference context perhaps unimpressive on a national scale but ultimately the most illuminating.

With that in mind, and considering that "everything"--while true--isn't a very specific answer, there were four primary areas where Nebraska made a big leap from this year to last, two of which I feel were instrumental in the four-win improvement in 2008:

1. 3rd Down Conversions - This was one of my key factors for the offense and I'm willing to weight it equally when it comes to the defense. Nebraska finished in the Top 25 nationally in four major categories--Opponent 3rd Down %, Opponent Red Zone %, Sacks and Rushing Defense. I'll touch on the sacks next but for now just consider this: In 2007 Nebraska was the worst defense in the Big 12 on third down, giving up a first down 50.28% of the time. In 2008 Nebraska was the best defense in the Big 12 on third down, giving up a first down 33.73% of the time.

If the offense was credited with helping the developing defense by dominating time of possession we can now at least give some of that credit back to the Blackshirts for their ability to get off the field. Remember those interminable drives from 2007--specifically the Kansas massacre where the Jayhawks converted 80% of their 3rd down attempts? The Cornhuskers improved by nearly 20% in that aspect this year and of the 22 teams to rank ahead of Nebraska nationally 20 of them were bowl eligible. (Sorry you got snubbed, San Jose State.)

2. Sacks - If takeaways are a defense's home run then sacks are its triple: it doesn't show up immediately on the scoreboard but it's almost always as exciting. But as valuable as taking yards away from your opponent is, the sack might be even more valuable in terms of momentum and attitude. Of course there's no tangible way to look at this aspect but just think about what the sack represents--disruption, physical domination (head to head, our guy beat your guy), embarrassment followed by anger (your QB just got thrown to the ground...legally). There are good interceptions and bad interceptions and fumbles happen but sacks, outside of a missed pick-up out of the backfield, are players making plays and the result is the most physically demeaning play in football.

Of all the improvements Nebraska made this year none was bigger than its sack total, improving from 111th in the country last year to 13th this year, from last in the Big 12 to third behind OU and Texas. Of the top 20 teams in the nation in sacks every single one of them went to a bowl game as did 19 out of the top 20 teams in sacks in both 2007 and 2006 as well. Over Nebraska's four game winning streak to end the season the Huskers racked up 19 sacks. In their three conference losses? Zero.

Throw in the fact that Nebraska, while improved on a per game average over 2007, still finished dead last in the Big 12 in turnover margin and that sack total becomes even more valuable. If you're not hitting home runs you can survive on triples and with yesterday's news that Nebraska's leading sack-master would return for his senior season, along with seven other starters and Pelini's presumed loosening of the reins in year two, the Blackshirts look poised to continue wreaking havoc in the backfield.

Somewhat quietly, Nebraska finished the season as the second ranked defense in the Big 12 which, given the conference's reputation, might not seem like much until you take a look at the raw numbers. In 2008 the Huskers gave up 127 fewer total yards, 113 fewer rushing yards, 7.4 fewer first downs and 9.4 fewer points per game. All that despite the fact that Nebraska played with a very green back seven, won the turnover battle a mere two times all season and hardly resembled the blitzing, ball-hawking, risk-taking defense that had become Pelini's trademark over his past four seasons in the college game.

To put it another way, the great reconstruction of the Blackshirt tradition is just getting started. Without the benefit of many of the weapons Pelini and his staff would normally utilize they were still able to mold this unit into the second best defense in the conference and there are only reasons for optimism going forward.

If you study at the school of Phil Steele, the Huskers negative turnover margin for the second year in a row, one of his primary factors when determining his Surprise/Most Improved team lists, should have the football guru bullish on Nebraska. If you're more of an experience guy, the eight returning starters on defense should result in more elaborate schemes and a little more freedom from the defensive staff. And, finally, if you're into numerology and/or omens, consider this: In Pelini's first year at Nebraska, and let's face it this was really just a recovery year for the defense from a coaching perspective, the Huskers ended up with the 55th ranked total defense in the nation. When Pelini first arrived at Nebraska in 2003 he was taking over the 55th ranked total defense in the nation. That unit ended the following season ranked 11th in the country.

Do with that what you will but with year one now under their belts it only feels like the real work is just beginning.

Read the rest of this series:
Part 1: Offense
Part 2: Defense
Part 3: Special Teams

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