[NU Sports] Hittin' on Colby

[Dennis W. Brandt]

<While NU has missed a few tackles this year

It's missed a lot more than a few.

< and the DL has had problems creating pressure up front

They have created precious little pressure up front.  Even blitzes don't work because the front four does not penetrate well.

< I would argue the problem IS with the scheme

THE problem or A problem?

<Northwestern doesn't have a complete lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball as you seem to be suggesting

I didn't say that.  I here cut-and-paste what I did say:  "they don't have enough athletic talent by big time college football 
standards."  I'll stand by that statement.  If Corey Wooten, for example, was a stud, he would be harrassing quarterbacks in spite of the defensive scheme.  The fact is that he gets blocked almost every time, and it doesn't take two guys to do it.

< just look at the former Wildcat defenders now on NFL squads

According to http://www.nflplayers.com/players/main.aspx there are 8 currently active, few of whom are starters.  By comparision,  Minnesota has 9, Indiana 10, Illinois 19, Michigan State 20, Iowa and Purdue 23, Wisconsin 29, Penn State 30, Michigan 39, and Ohio State 44.  Out of conference with good academic schools:  Harvard 3, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 17, Boston College 21, and Stanford 22.  We have one more in the NFL than Northern Illinois and 42 fewer than Miami (FL).

< - cornerbacks playing about 7-10 yards off the line, leaving a "cushion" between them and their receiver - meaning they almost always make the catches on the outside.
< - soft coverage: NU goes into zone coverage quite often, leaving a lot of guys open to make the catch - just look at games like Duke where their unheralded QB completed 15 straight passes at one point.

And as soon as our cornerbacks move up and start getting burned deep, everyone will yell, "Play soft!"  On the other hand, what do we have to lose?  They ought to at least do it sometimes to mix it up.

<I can't imagine Fitz is happy with what he has seen the past couple games or going all the way back to his days as the LB coach. 

You could he wasn't in the post-game interview.