There were a lot of things to like about our defensive play yesterday against Wazzu. Seven sacks and a number of turnovers. Holding the Cougs to a total of seven points in the second half. The play of Kragen and the rest of the D-Line. Drew and McClure showing that they are playmakers. Drew's late pick and McClure's sack and fumble return were huge. (My personal favorite was that sack. He just blew up Falk and stopped their drive.)
What wasn't so good was the linebacking play. Barton had a fumble recovery, and Jefferson had a couple of good plays, but the LB corps just seems to go missing on a whole lot of plays. If Falk got away from the pass rush or threw short passes, there was NO ONE around to make a play. We always had to wait for a Cal DB to come up to make the stop.
I made a point of watching Hardy Nickerson, Jr. on a number of consecutive plays, just to focus on his individual play. (BTW, I found that hard to do, because I instinctively wanted to follow the ball.) I just don't understand why Nickerson ever sees the field. He just defines the word slow, not only in his reads and his reaction time, but in his foot speed. He is not at all adept at shedding blocks, either. He was just out of or behind the play on every snap. It may sound harsh, but IMO he contributes nothing, and should be benched.
What wasn't so good was the linebacking play. Barton had a fumble recovery, and Jefferson had a couple of good plays, but the LB corps just seems to go missing on a whole lot of plays. If Falk got away from the pass rush or threw short passes, there was NO ONE around to make a play. We always had to wait for a Cal DB to come up to make the stop.
I made a point of watching Hardy Nickerson, Jr. on a number of consecutive plays, just to focus on his individual play. (BTW, I found that hard to do, because I instinctively wanted to follow the ball.) I just don't understand why Nickerson ever sees the field. He just defines the word slow, not only in his reads and his reaction time, but in his foot speed. He is not at all adept at shedding blocks, either. He was just out of or behind the play on every snap. It may sound harsh, but IMO he contributes nothing, and should be benched.
