[Husker] Revealing OWH Chart

[Jeff Volk]

>A couple of teams scored that defense late in 2003,
>but we've seen plenty of teams scorch the Huskers in
>recent years, and those teams didn't have conference
>titles and NFL stars...

Did I miss something. Is this revisionist history? I don't show any
Husker team winning a Big 12 Title in the 2000's, so unless Nebraska's
own media guide is wrong I think that might be a little overstated.
(Although we did win the B12 Title in 1999). 

NFL "STARS"? Again, did I miss something? Who are these stars? 1 player
that I can think of has appeared in the Pro Bowl, Mike Brown, and that
was just 1 Pro Bowl. And at least by my definition you can't consider
him a "star" since he hasn't been able to stay on the field for even
half a season the last 2 or 3 years!

That being the case are you talking about 1 of the Bullocks brothers.
NOPE - not a star. How about Shanle? NOPE - not a star. Fabian
Washington? WRONG AGAIN. I could go on but I think we get the point. 


While our defense certainly has some issues - and I am a firm believer
that Cosgrove is the biggest of those issues - let's not pretend that we
have had anything resembling a dominant defense since the mid-90s or
that we have produced an abundant amount of NFL "Stars" either. 

I know a lot of Husker fans have a love affair with Pelini and he is a
good defensive coordinator - perhaps a great one. But I don't think I
would be going out a limb by saying that if the Huskers had LSU's Glenn
Dorsey and what is generally considered the best D-Line in the nation,
the result last week might have been a little different. 

The Huskers defense has 3 main problems, as exposed by Wake and
exploited by USC:

1. Cosgrove - bad schemes, bad gameplans, bad adjustments. If it doesn't
improve by season's end a change in DC is probably in order - but can BC
fire his huckleberry will be the question. 
2. Undersized D-Line - a concern going into the season, the D-line is
definitely an issue. They got DOMINATED last Saturday. The USC O-line
was able to take them on 1 on 1, allowing other O-lineman to get to the
second level and as a result their RB's to run off huge chunks of yards.

3. Poor Safety Play - at least 1 of our safeties constantly makes poor
reads, is a poor tackler - often missing tackles and just consistently
struggles. When the D-line isn't getting it done exceptional safety play
is a must and we have a RB & Juco transfer as our starters. 

Just my take. 

Have a great day. 

Go Big Red!

Jeff