Badger defense.

[ruppertflywheel]

Kept switching from 3-4 games, but Becky's defense didn't impress me. No push from the interior line and the LB's looked slow. There corners are small, and they only have one guy on the edge that seems quick enough to get to the QB. As of right now the Gophers won't have a problem moving the ball against Wisconsin. It will be interesting to see what Oregon State does

 

[diefirma]

I thought the same thing. They will get better as the season goes on but still... I doubt they will be the Leaders division champs based on last night.

 

[Gopher07]

Really tough to make predictions, good or bad, based on last night's game. UNLV was really awful.

 

[dpodoll68]

Wisconsin's offense can score with anyone. The problem for them is that, once they face the better Big Ten teams, they are going to have to score almost every possession because their defense is going to give up a lot of points. The right side of UNLV's offensive line goes 280-290-250, and they were pushing back Wisconsin and getting to the edge on simple stretch plays out of the pistol. Giving up almost 300 yards of offense to a very young and thoroughly outmatched team (especially when the starting D was still in well through the 3rd quarter) has to be very disconcerting for Ash. Had UNLV not been so terrible on 3rd downs, they could've put up 25-30 points easy.

 

[popeyoung5]

I agree, the run defense is not good at all. The offense is great but defense wins titles.

 

[Radio Badger]

I agree, the run defense is not good at all. The offense is great but defense wins titles.

Auburn and Oregon would disagree with you.

The defense against the run last night was, to put it lightly, not good. That said, I'm kind of happy because it gives the coaches something to go after in practice this week. They used very vanilla schemes last night and I'm hoping that they'll have something a little more creative as they go into the season.

 

[corcoran1]

Might be good enough. There are no great offenses in their division, and Nebraska and Wisconsin might be interesting matchups. Great offense versus great defense.

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

As of right now the Gophers won't have a problem moving the ball against Wisconsin.

I agree. If you guys install a new offense that you don't show on film until playing Wisconsin, you will have success. That's what you saw last night. The defense returns essentially the entire team minus JJ Watt. When you see a veteran defense look "slow", you might arrive at it being a scheme issue. They ran out of a scheme they didn't show last season. This is very common in first games. So leave it to simpletons like you guys to arrive at conclusions how week 9 will go.

But the beauty of it is.....even if the defense doesn't improve (unlikely), teams are still going to have to stop the UW offense. I like the Badgers chances.

 

[Gopher07]

I agree. If you guys install a new offense that you don't show on film until playing Wisconsin, you will have success. That's what you saw last night. The defense returns essentially the entire team minus JJ Watt. When you see a veteran defense look "slow", you might arrive at it being a scheme issue. They ran out of a scheme they didn't show last season. This is very common in first games. So leave it to simpletons like you guys to arrive at conclusions how week 9 will go.

But the beauty of it is.....even if the defense doesn't improve (unlikely), teams are still going to have to stop the UW offense. I like the Badgers chances.

Here, let me help you out: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=badger+football+message+board

 

[DrunkGopher]

I agree. If you guys install a new offense that you don't show on film until playing Wisconsin, you will have success. That's what you saw last night. The defense returns essentially the entire team minus JJ Watt. When you see a veteran defense look "slow", you might arrive at it being a scheme issue. They ran out of a scheme they didn't show last season. This is very common in first games. So leave it to simpletons like you guys to arrive at conclusions how week 9 will go.

But the beauty of it is.....even if the defense doesn't improve (unlikely), teams are still going to have to stop the UW offense. I like the Badgers chances.

I was actually just going to say that I thought the entire Badger defense was returning this year, or close to it. I actually think the Badgers will be pretty good this year, I don't believe the defense will be great but they will be good enough to win with that offense. Now with that said, I hate the Badgers with all my heart and if they never win another game it wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[dpodoll68]

The defense returns essentially the entire team minus JJ Watt.

Huh? Did I miss something? Were Sorensen, St. Jean, Brinkley, and Valai all granted an extra year of eligibility?

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

Here, let me help you out: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=badger+football+message+board

I apologize 07! This is just such a fun place to talk Badger football. At Buckyville, everyone agrees Wisconsin is awesome. Here, everyone does everything they can to convince themselves they are not.

 

[Unregistered User]

I really love the thin skin and insecurity of the red weasel fan base. Less than 12 hours after their season opener, they feel the need to come on our board.

 

[JackiO]

I really love the thin skin and insecurity of the red weasel fan base. Less than 12 hours after their season opener, they feel the need to come on our board.

Considering they were up 51-3 at one point last night there is nothing really to be insecure about.

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

Huh? Did I miss something? Were Sorensen, St. Jean, Brinkley, and Valai all granted an extra year of eligibility?

Sorenson was a reserve (do we need to rehash what a "reserve" is?) at the start of the year, who replaced Borland when he was injured, Borland is back and is a better football player. Brinkley and Devin Smith alternated as starters over the last two seasons. Devin Smith played only slightly less than Brinkley last year. They rotated a ton at CB. It just isn't a huge loss. St. Jean and Valai have two new players in their spots. Neither were All-Big Ten of any kind - Valai was a classic knock your hat off, but get beat deep Safety. Not a huge loss. Watt was a loss. Wisconsin has a lot of good football players, so they play a lot of guys. Calling a guy a starter is a nice thing. But when the time on the field is spread evenly, you can understand our confidence with new starters. At Minnesota, you guys struggle to field 22 quality starters, so it's different.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I agree. If you guys install a new offense that you don't show on film until playing Wisconsin, you will have success. That's what you saw last night. The defense returns essentially the entire team minus JJ Watt. When you see a veteran defense look "slow", you might arrive at it being a scheme issue. They ran out of a scheme they didn't show last season. This is very common in first games. So leave it to simpletons like you guys to arrive at conclusions how week 9 will go.

But the beauty of it is.....even if the defense doesn't improve (unlikely), teams are still going to have to stop the UW offense. I like the Badgers chances.

Not sure I follow you here? This is the second year for Coach Hauck and his staff at UNLV. Are you implying that Hauck "pulled a Brewster" (switching offenses multiple times), came in last year, installed the Pistol offense, and then came into last night's game with a completely different offense than last year?

I didn't watch the game last night but I'd be surprised if UNLV wasn't running the same offense that Hauck has been using since his days in Montana...

 

[dpodoll68]

Sorenson was a reserve (do we need to rehash what a "reserve" is?) at the start of the year

Who gives a sh*t what he was at the start of the year? Sorensen led the team in tackles and was 2nd in interceptions, along with being HM All-Big Ten, as well as Academic All-Big Ten. How on Earth is losing your leading tackler not a loss?

Brinkley and Devin Smith alternated as starters over the last two seasons. Devin Smith played only slightly less than Brinkley last year. They rotated a ton at CB. It just isn't a huge loss.

Brinkley apparently played enough to lead the team in pass breakups and be 2nd in passes defensed. He, too, was HM All-Big Ten. Which All-Big Ten team was Devin Smith on again?

St. Jean and Valai have two new players in their spots.

St. Jean was 2nd on the team in tackles last year. Valai was down a little last year, but was 2nd-team All-Big Ten each of the 2 previous years.

And, aside from all this, the point wasn't whether they were replaced by capable starters. The point was that a lot more than Watt was lost. You said "the defense returns essentially the entire team minus J.J. Watt". Any way you slice it, this is just plain false. They lost 5 starters from last year, and it's not as though they were just placeholders who were there because there was no one else.

You are not going to get by with half-truths and blatant falsehoods on this website. Sorry. That might work when you're all sucking each other off at BeckyVadgerVille, but it won't fly here. So please just stop.

 

[Gopher07]

I apologize 07! This is just such a fun place to talk Badger football. At Buckyville, everyone agrees Wisconsin is awesome. Here, everyone does everything they can to convince themselves they are not.

I guess my question is, why are you here? Crusading so we "see the light?" If you're here to talk Badger sports I think you could find a more sympathetic crowd elsewhere.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

Sorenson was a reserve (do we need to rehash what a "reserve" is?) at the start of the year, who replaced Borland when he was injured, Borland is back and is a better football player. Brinkley and Devin Smith alternated as starters over the last two seasons. Devin Smith played only slightly less than Brinkley last year. They rotated a ton at CB. It just isn't a huge loss. St. Jean and Valai have two new players in their spots. Neither were All-Big Ten of any kind - Valai was a classic knock your hat off, but get beat deep Safety. Not a huge loss. Watt was a loss. Wisconsin has a lot of good football players, so they play a lot of guys. Calling a guy a starter is a nice thing. But when the time on the field is spread evenly, you can understand our confidence with new starters. At Minnesota, you guys struggle to field 22 quality starters, so it's different.

Borland looked like crap last night. his reaction time was that of an 80 year old.

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

Dpoll, you love the word "starter". It means a lot to you to be a starter. We discussed this with Bill Nagy who "started" 6 games as a TE. What that means is, the Badgers formation to start the game included a jumbo TE. Nowhere in any depth chart was Nagy listed as a TE. In fact, when the television lists starters, he only appeared twice when he started those games on the interior offensive line. So he "starts" and that means something to you, even though he played no more than a dozen plays per game at TE and most games only a handful.

This season, James White is returning as a 1000 yard rusher, but isn't a starter. Because there is depth of talent in Madison that doesn't exist in Minneapolis.

You are fixated on "starter" because your team is not very successful at winning football games (a factual statement - the part about not winning football games). Your program has struggled to field talent, so the starter means more to you.

In big boy football, we play a lot of players because we have a lot of guys who deserve to play. This is common at Ohio State also. They replace 7 starters on defense - but the depth they played all season has them more than confident at replacing those players.. Wisconsin played 10 defensive linemen last season in a rotation. They played 3 corners in a rotation.

So to give you a factual statement, Wisconsin returns 9 starters. They have 9 players on their starting defense that have started. Meanwhile, two reserve defensive linemen have started. Wisconsin returns 11 starters. This is why teams that win in football, are confident with their new starters. It's big boy football.

I'll give you one last factual statement. Wisconsin's football program owns Minnesota's football program winning 14 of the last 16.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I really love the thin skin and insecurity of the red weasel fan base. Less than 12 hours after their season opener, they feel the need to come on our board.

Don't be ridiculous. I don't know about the rest of you but after the Gophers give New Mexico State a thumping next Saturday, I'm going to go check out some Badger boards to see what they're saying. Heck, I might even check out a Hawkeye board too for that matter. I can't get enough of what other teams' fans think of the team for which I cheer.

 

[Rickman55]

For all of Wisconsin's awesomeness all you have to show is a Rose Bowl
loss to TCU. When you win something come back and let us know how
awesome Wisconsin is.

 

[dpodoll68]

Dpoll, you love the word "starter". It means a lot to you to be a starter. We discussed this with Bill Nagy who "started" 6 games as a TE. What that means is, the Badgers formation to start the game included a jumbo TE. Nowhere in any depth chart was Nagy listed as a TE. In fact, when the television lists starters, he only appeared twice when he started those games on the interior offensive line. So he "starts" and that means something to you, even though he played no more than a dozen plays per game at TE and most games only a handful.

This season, James White is returning as a 1000 yard rusher, but isn't a starter. Because there is depth of talent in Madison that doesn't exist in Minneapolis.

You are fixated on "starter" because your team is not very successful at winning football games (a factual statement - the part about not winning football games). Your program has struggled to field talent, so the starter means more to you.

In big boy football, we play a lot of players because we have a lot of guys who deserve to play. This is common at Ohio State also. They replace 7 starters on defense - but the depth they played all season has them more than confident at replacing those players.. Wisconsin played 10 defensive linemen last season in a rotation. They played 3 corners in a rotation.

So to give you a factual statement, Wisconsin returns 9 starters. They have 9 players on their starting defense that have started. Meanwhile, two reserve defensive linemen have started. Wisconsin returns 11 starters. This is why teams that win in football, are confident with their new starters. It's big boy football.

I'll give you one last factual statement. Wisconsin's football program owns Minnesota's football program winning 14 of the last 16.

I'm not fixated on starting at all. I'm fixated on production. I notice you didn't respond to any of my statistics showing that all 5 starters who graduated/departed were very productive players.

You just don't get it. I'm not arguing that Wisconsin didn't replace those players with other productive players. I'm arguing against your false statement that the only thing they lost was Watt. It is undeniably false. You are focused on the net, and I am focused on the gross. I am not arguing the net.

 

[Oneoldgopher]

Pow pow wHam

Who gives a sh*t what he was at the start of the year? Sorensen led the team in tackles and was 2nd in interceptions, along with being HM All-Big Ten, as well as Academic All-Big Ten. How on Earth is losing your leading tackler not a loss?



Brinkley apparently played enough to lead the team in pass breakups and be 2nd in passes defensed. He, too, was HM All-Big Ten. Which All-Big Ten team was Devin Smith on again?



St. Jean was 2nd on the team in tackles last year. Valai was down a little last year, but was 2nd-team All-Big Ten each of the 2 previous years.

And, aside from all this, the point wasn't whether they were replaced by capable starters. The point was that a lot more than Watt was lost. You said "the defense returns essentially the entire team minus J.J. Watt". Any way you slice it, this is just plain false. They lost 5 starters from last year, and it's not as though they were just placeholders who were there because there was no one else.

You are not going to get by with half-truths and blatant falsehoods on this website. Sorry. That might work when you're all sucking each other off at BeckyVadgerVille, but it won't fly here. So please just stop.

Hit em again. Becky's knees are wobbly! Hit em again.

 

[Maximus]

UNLV was 118th out of 120th in total offense last year. They managed more yards last night than they averaged last year. The Badger defense is atrocious.

 

[Formo]

I'll give you one last factual statement. Wisconsin's football program owns Minnesota's football program winning 14 of the last 16.

Good job. Too bad you still are a troll and a doooouchwad. I know Wisconsin is short on it, but you should try to get some tact. It'll help you out in the long run (read: when Becky isn't doing so hot).

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

I'm not arguing that Wisconsin didn't replace those players with other productive players. I'm arguing against your false statement that the only thing they lost was Watt. It is undeniably false. You are focused on the net, and I am focused on the gross. I am not arguing the net.

WE AGREE! Wisconsin replaced productive players with other productive players because Wisconsin is a good team that plays a lot of guys. I agree that we lost more guys than Watt. The production won't drop off.

If anything, Sorenson leading the team in tackles only solidifies what I mean. He was 44th in the Big Ten in tackles because 6 guys played LB for Wisconsin! So you can trumpet that Wisconsin loses their top tackler. I'll remember that he was scheduled to be their nickel LB until injuries gave him his opportunity. Good player? Sure. Irreplaceable? Nope.

The better way to measure is how many guys in the regular rotation are coming back. Wisconsin has a lot of players who have started, succeeded, and are returning for more. That's what's fun about the depth of this football program.

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

UNLV was 118th out of 120th in total offense last year. They managed more yards last night than they averaged last year. The Badger defense is atrocious.

Correct! What is funny is any of you thinking that's the defense you can expect all season. It will be fun to revisit this. Thing is, if that is the defense all season, teams will still have to stop the offense!

 

[Firejumper]

I'm not fixated on starting at all. I'm fixated on production. I notice you didn't respond to any of my statistics showing that all 5 starters who graduated/departed were very productive players.

You just don't get it. I'm not arguing that Wisconsin didn't replace those players with other productive players. I'm arguing against your false statement that the only thing they lost was Watt. It is undeniably false. You are focused on the net, and I am focused on the gross. I am not arguing the net.

As we know, anyone with ties to the state of Wisconsin has a genetic defect in which their colons have migrated upward and wrap internally around their brain stems, resulting in an inability to converse logically and succinctly within any discussion of any subject.

 

[Badger_inohiovalley]

Good job. Too bad you still are a troll and a doooouchwad. I know Wisconsin is short on it, but you should try to get some tact. It'll help you out in the long run (read: when Becky isn't doing so hot).

Here to talk Badger football Formo. If you guys don't want to talk UW football, you don't have to! That's what's fun in all of this. You have the free choice to not talk Badger football.