Great Defense Starts in the Middle

5 comments so far April 8, 2009 by Darren K. Carlson

When former Husker defensive tackle Steve Warren was making the rounds promoting events for his charitable foundation, he dropped an excellent football truism in to his conversation wth the Lincoln Journal Star. Great defense starts on the inside. When considering what the Huskers have returning on the interior of all three levels of their defense, it makes me very optimistic for defensive improvements for NU in the 2009 season.

Defend from the Inside, Out
In nearly every team sport, effective defense starts by defending the middle. Baseball - catcher, middle infield and center field. Basketball - keep people out of the paint and off of the baseline. Soccer offenses are predicated on the centering pass. Defending the middle is especially true in football.

Let's consider Mr. Warren's thought:

“The thing is, any good defense tends to be good over the ball. That’s where the action is. That’s where the game is dictated. So your safeties have to be good, your middle linebacker has to be good, and your defensive tackle and nose guard have to be good."

In layman's terms, we all know getting gashed in the middle is a disaster. It doesn't matter if it is a run between the tackles or a long pass down between the hashes, both can gut a defense. Consider this - the sideline never misses a tackle. You touch it, you are down. Football defense starts by protecting the middle up front and continues by keeping receivers out of the middle of the field.

While my colleague Brandon correctly points how tough it is to defend in the Big 12, the players NU returns in its defensive interior should make fans plenty optimistic.

Up Front
Strength at the defensive tackle spot is a nightmare for opposing offenses. If a team can't move the nose guard out, they will struggle to run all day. And, while pressure from the outside might be flashier, a consistent force up the middle prevents quarterbacks from "stepping up" to avoid the rush. They have nowhere to go, and it makes for a very long day.

For Nebraska, everybody knows the defense starts with Ndamukong Suh. This is for very good reason. He fits the nose guard role to a T. If a team doesn't have strong interior offensive line play, they can't move the ball against Suh. And, he gets ample pressure on the quarterback for a nose guard. After Suh, the Huskers have a solid list of candidates set to try and replace the departing Ty Steinkuhler, including the more assertive Jared Crick and Steinkuhler's younger (and stonger?) brother, Baker. There is good reason to expect a stout front from the Blackshirts.

Man in the Middle
While the extra defensive backs needed to defend spread offenses in the pass happy Big 12 may be running linebackers off of the field, the middle linebacker is still arguably the most important person on any defense. This person makes most of the checks and is generally in charge. They also serve as a "tackle machine" with team defenses often designed for them to defeat the point of attack by taking on a lead blocker or making a stop in the hole. The man in the middle matters most.

So, what do the Huskers have cooking at this spot? Plenty. The incumbent starter - Phil Dillard - is actually fighting tooth and nail just to try and keep his job. Right now, the coach's favorite "farm dog" Kolton Koehler is in line to start, if the season started tomorrow. After him, you have the young and talented newcomer Will Compton who nearly split time as a true freshman. The coaches like him enough that he actually practiced with the regular defense last year, and not on the scout team like most redshirted players. That says a lot.

Between the Hashes
Great defense in the middle is also vital down the field. The quality of the players patrolling the ground between the hash marks makes a huge difference. They don't call them safties for nothing. Excellent safeties allow corners to play with confidence that they had help over the top. The strong safety can dominate between the hashes, coming down hill on run suport, running with tight ends and flattening wide outs. The free safety is the ball hawk, trying to make interceptions on the long ball. They are vital.

Consider how defensively stout USC was last year. A lot of it had to do with their amazing safety play. Or, to use more Pelini-centric examples, recall Bullucks brother at NU in 2003 or Craig Steltz at LSU. For this year's Huskers, signs point to improved safey play. They return three seniors. Larry Asante played his best ball at the end of last season at the strong spot. The competition is fierce between the hard charging Ricky Thenarse and steady Matt O'Hanlon at free safety. They also like transplanted cornerback Erig Hagg and newcomer PJ Smith at this spot. NU appears pretty set over the middle.

Like offense, a defense is executed as a team concept. And, the schemes generally start with protecting the middle of the field. A staunch interior helps the "freaky athletes" lined up at end, outside linebacker and corner to make the spectacular plays they do. The more I consider the players that NU has returning at all three levels of its defensive interior, the more optimistic about improvement for the 2009 Blackshirts.

Did you enjoy this article?

Get Husker news by email
Follow us on Twitter

NextPrevious