[NU Sports] Looks like the rest of the team woke up, too ...

[Jonathan Hodges]

The worst games for the run defense were Penn State and Indiana, and both
DE Tyler Scott & LB Bryce McNaul (two of NU's best tacklers in the front 7)
were out for those games.  Outside of those two games, the run defense has
been respectable (and, against Nebraska, quite good).

Fitz has certainly put a lot of young guys out there, as has been
mentioned.  And, they have improved as a unit.  I think it also took some
time for the coaches to find the right spot for some of the guys -
particularly the LBs (Nwabuisi is now at WLB after starting at MLB, and
they are rotating in and out guys more often) - but also on the DL (Browne
is being used as a pass rush specialist and they seem to have found the
right rotation to keep guys fresh and effective).

In terms of sacks, it was quite a telling stat earlier in the season (NU
has yielded more sacks than they have tallied in each of their 5 losses)
but against mobile QBs I wouldn't pay too much attention to the sack number
since it's all about keeping him in the pocket and getting him to the
ground (NU has faced a number of these guys this season) - that will be the
game plan this coming week against Minnesota's MarQueis Gray.

Jonathan

--
Jonathan Hodges
Contributor, HailToPurple
Web: http://www.hailtopurple.com/jhodges/
Twitter: @hailtopurple
Email: j-hodges at alumni.northwestern.edu



On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 9:22 AM, Tom Maycock <tkmaycock at yahoo.com> wrote:

> > Did the coaching staff find more talented players than the
> > ones who had been playing? - No
>
> Actually, I think the answer to that is yes.
>
> The prime example is Colin Ellis. He would have been the starter to begin
> the season, but was out with an injury. Now that he's playing, you can see
> why the coaches were so high on him.
>
> Also, Damian Proby has emerged as a starter, and is playing very well.
>
> Dinardo missed a couple of games, and that really hurts. Tyler Scott's
> absence for a couple of weeks was a huge blow.
>
> I believe Mafuli also missed several games? If so, there's another key
> ingredient that was missing early in the year.
>
> Right now, we're as healthy as we've been all year on D (knock on wood).
>
> I think the other big factor is the development of the (very) young
> players. I'm sure Ellis has improved with experience, and it seems like
> Proby in particular has really improved. Then there's Ibrahim Campbell--he
> was looking lost out there at times early in the year, and seemed to
> specialize in giving up big plays. But he appears to be playing much, much
> better.
>
> So, better guys playing, young guys getting better. They've been doing
> some different stuff on the line with the nickel package too. Mostly,
> though, it seems like the whole D is really stepping up. Two big challenges
> ahead though.
>
> Tom
>
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