BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, October 16, 2004 7:00 pm
What's wrong with Nebraska's defense?
One Blackshirt said defenders are being too aggressive. Another said they're pressing. Another said they're lazy.
This much is clear: When a team that's ranked last in total offense in the Big 12 Conference and 111th nationally racks up 400 total yards on you and puts together four consecutive scoring drives, all is not well.
"We have a lot of improvement to do," said Nebraska linebacker Stewart Bradley, who didn't play the second half because of injury. "That's evident."
No kidding.
Last week, some of the credit went to Texas Tech's' high-powered passing game and a Nebraska offense that coughed up the ball seven times, as the Blackshirts surrendered 70 points.
But Saturday, in Nebraska's 59-27 victory over Baylor, the NU defense faced no sudden-change situations, as the offense went turnover-free for the first time this season. And Baylor's offense is hardly considered high-powered. The Bears entered the game averaging 281 yards of total offense.
Yet, there went Baylor, up and down the field in the third quarter. Uncovered receivers here, missed tackles there. And for the first time since 1994, the Bears scored touchdowns on three straight possessions of a non-overtime game.
These weren't short drives, either. Eight plays, 68 yards. Eight plays, 64 yards. Ten plays, 82 yards. And for good measure, 12 plays, 58 yards and a field goal in the fourth quarter.
"We made just as many busts as we did probably last week," Nebraska cornerback Fabian Washington said. "Baylor didn't capitalize on them like Texas Tech did."
Well, not through the entire game, anyway. But the Bears were clicking well enough that they scored their most points in a quarter on the road 21 since a 1993 game at San Jose State, when they scored 35.
A 31-3 Nebraska lead quickly dwindled to 31-17.
"We got lazy out and there and just didn't focus once we got the big lead, and it took us a while to get out of it," Washington said. "Sometimes you tend to play comfortable when you've got a big lead. But we see that we can't do that."
Baylor picked on Washington throughout the game, including on Marques Roberts' 1-yard TD reception from Dane King on a naked bootleg.
"Yeah, they came at me today a lot," said Washington, who had two near interceptions, including a ball he simply dropped in the end zone. "I don't know. They must have seen something on film they liked."
Nebraska had a particularly hard time covering receivers when the left-handed King rolled to his left and tossed easy throws, mainly to tight end Marcus Venus and fullback Jonathan Evans. The two combined for eight grabs for 85 yards.
"They were running zone plays, stretch plays, and then rolling the quarterback away from the zone, and then dumping the ball," Bradley said. "It's hard, because if you're not really disciplined, and you flow too fast to the ball, you can leave those passes open on the backside.
"We came out and wanted to fly around and make some big plays and got too aggressive and played out of our selves in some plays."
Linebacker Chad Sievers said coaches addressed that particular play before the game, and again at halftime.
"Coaches did a great job," Sievers said. "We knew what we had to do. Play assignment football. Don't try to do someone else's job. Read your keys, react to the football, go make the tackle.
"I don't care how fast you are, how athletic you are, how aggressive you are, if you don't play assignment first, you're in trouble."
Sievers admitted he was a guilty party in another problem area Saturday for the Blackshirts missed tackles.
Sievers and Lornell McPherson both missed tackles on Dominique Zeigler's 25-yard reception that set up a third-quarter touchdown. But they weren't alone.
"We're pressing so hard out there," Sievers said. "We're trying to be so perfect. We've got the athletes. Make no mistake about it, we have the athletes. But we press. If we give up one play, we press. We always get frustrated, and then we miss tackles, and then it's like a snowball."
Washington said it simply comes down to execution or lack thereof.
"I look at film all the time," Washington said, "and when we run defense like it's supposed to be done, I don't care who it is, you don't move the ball on us."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.