BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 7:00 pm
Say what you will about three-man defensive fronts and lack of pressure on the quarterback and blown coverages and rotten sudden-change situations.
Whew.
Arguably, those weren't the most troublesome problems Nebraska defenders had in Saturday night's 70-10 loss at Texas Tech.
Perhaps more glaring, players and coaches said, was a basic fundamental that shouldn't be this much of a problem from a mostly-veteran unit five games into the season.
Tackling.
The Blackshirts missed more than their share of tackles against Texas Tech, allowing Red Raiders to gobble up yards after contact and, in some cases, turn normal plays into touchdowns.
"We haven't seen that," Nebraska defensive end Adam Carriker said. "Spring ball, fall camp. Any time. It was a little surprising."
Ironically, Nebraska's tackling problems cropped up in the same game a senior captain set a school record for most career tackles.
But Barrett Ruud can't bring down the ball carrier on every play.
"We've been doing it all our lives," Carriker said of tackling. "You've just got to do it. It's not like it's something we haven't done a million times in our lives."
Tackling hadn't been an issue for a defense that entered the Texas Tech game ranked fifth nationally overall. So why problems now?
"That's a great question, because we've been a very good tackling team," Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "Our angles, to be honest with you, weren't very good. Our angles of entry into the play were not very good.
"That is definitely something that has to be addressed and corrected, but it is something we do work on every day, and for whatever reason, it didn't happen."
Nebraska especially struggled with open-field tackling. Linebacker Stewart Bradley said playing on artificial turf, not FieldTurf or grass, may have affected the Huskers' pursuit of quick Texas Tech receivers.
"That's not really an excuse, but they're definitely a quick team," said Bradley, who ranks second on the team, behind Ruud, with 29 tackles.
"We had problems with overpursuing. We haven't had teams cut back on us in any other games, and that created a lot of big plays, when we should've had them down."
Cosgrove said coaches will continue using form tackling techniques in practice and try to improve from there.
"In the open field, what you have to do is sink your hips and get yourself under control," Cosgrove said. "When you do live tackle (in practice), sometimes guys leave their feet and get out of control."
Of course, bad tackling was only part of the Blackshirts' problems.
Cosgrove said that, if given the chance to play Tech again, he'd rush four linemen instead of three. Also, Nebraska had problems with busted coverages and blown assignments, which led Cosgrove to tweak his plan when the Huskers fell behind.
"It was something I just couldn't explain that night," Nebraska cornerback Fabian Washington said. "I was messing up. It was like you did something right, and somebody else was doing something wrong. There was a bust almost every play that game. We (weren't) focused for that game."
So what now? Everybody in the Husker camp is stressing the importance of watching film, learning from mistakes and moving on.
"What you try to do, is you try to put it behind you as quickly as possible," Cosgrove said. "Naturally, you have to go through and show them the mistakes that were made, but it's not something you want to keep on talking about.
"It's obvious they know what was wrong. You move on, and it won't be talked about again."
At least that's what everybody hopes.
"You can't get down on yourself," Washington said. "It (messes) with your mind, and you can't be as good as what you would be with a clear head."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.