Two hundred. Well, 198-plus, really.
That’s how many yards the Northeastern defense allowed just one back to gain in each of the two games so far this season.
First, Georgia Southern’s tiny tough guy Jermaine Austin ran for 199 yards in game one, stiff arms a-blazin’; then Youngstown State’s (Ohio) Monquantae Gibson racked up 198 in game two.
Having trouble stopping the run against GSU in the opener wasn’t a total surprise, as the Eagles have led the nation – including Division 1-A and 1-AA – in net rushing yards for the past three years. But still, the Eagles totaled 474 yards on the ground in that game to Northeastern’s 184 and the Huskies only lost by a field goal … in overtime. But again, the Eagles are ranked fifth in the nation and that kind of loss, although “tough to swallow” in the words of Husky head coach Rocky Hager, still found its way down my throat.
It’s this past game at Youngstown State that has me needing someone to administer the Heimlich maneuver. I’ve got to be concerned about the Husky defense because, pardon the lame pun, it’s been anything but husky.
The Penguins had almost four times more rushing yards than Northeastern. (Yep, Youngstown State’s football team is called the Penguins … I mean, what is their home chant? A low, rousing chorus of “Doo-bee-doo-bee-dooo … beware of the Penguins” from the stands? Seriously, that mascot should be reserved for hockey and hockey alone.)
What’s more, YSU quarterback Tom Zetts threw for 201 yards, which is 174 more than Eagle starting quarterback Jayson Foster threw for in week one. So the defense as a whole is now in question. Seventy-six points in two games is entirely too much. Now that the Husky defense has let an opposing offense complete 21 of 32 passes, there isn’t really one thing that can be pointed to that needs to be worked on.
(And again, this is against a team whose logo is an irritable Penguin donning a knit cap with a pom-pom atop his head and a scarf wrapped around his neck. It’s unbelievable.)
Nonetheless, I think I can still point to one thing that’s been the major factor. It isn’t too tough to figure out if one knows his or her football, but if opposing teams are piling up yards on sweeps and the quarterbacks are given time to move around in the pocket, then the defensive line might have some problems. Let’s not forget that even though Foster threw poorly, he had a Michael Vick-like evening running the ball, racking up 144 yards on the ground.
There are some factors at play within the line problem. The main excuse could be inexperience. This Husky team just lost All-Conference linebacker Liam Ezekiel (who, by the way, was recently cut by and re-signed to the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills). Even though Ezekiel missed a few games through his career at NU, he finished as the all-time leading tackler (489) in school history and second in the entire 1-AA history. Losing a guy like that is a significant blow to any team and it affects the whole defensive line. Think of it as removing the keystone of an arch – the rest of the structure collapses.
Maybe that’s too extreme of an example, but guys like linebackers Joe Mele and Jamil Young, who each recorded double-digits in tackles Saturday, have to excel. They are no longer the supporting cast to a superstar like Ezekiel. Moreover, this is defensive coordinator Wally Dembowski’s first year on the job and he’s still learning how to use his unit wisely.
But at the same time, it’s hard to play the inexperience card when redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Orio has been stellar in taking over the starting job in Shawn Brady’s stead this year. So the offense has some inexperience too – freshman Tyler Perkins has been starting at center this year as well – but that hasn’t seemed to hold it back.
Judging by the two games played so far, it seems as though it’s the breakaway plays that have been killing the Huskies. The secondary has been doing its job the best it can, not committing too many penalties and yanking down a couple interceptions, but when the big plays happen, the players seem to be caught off guard.
It starts with the defensive line, but the line can’t be perfect on every play. The central problem might be a lack of preparation on the part of the defense to adjust to unexpected missed tackles and audibles. As a whole, this defense needs to work as a team and learn to cause problems for opposing offenses rather than let those offenses cause problems for it.
Whether by taking a harder look at scouting reports or perhaps even mock-scouting its own defense to see what weaknesses it can reveal, Northeastern has to get on the ball defensively.
With a respectable crowd of 5,354 at the home opener on a day when there were still students moving in, this team has a chance to be exciting and build a fan base on campus. That all starts with winning, of course.
The pieces are there, and Coach Hager and his players come off as an intelligent bunch, so I believe this defense can be reinforced and stand on its own again. But for now, something needs to change if the Huskies hope to avoid another losing season with the kind of schedule they’re facing.
– Tim Coughlin can be reached at [email protected].
