Northeastern's 3-4 Defense

[ndsubison]

Interesting reading in the Forum today about Paul Schafner (sp?) who is NE's defensive coordinator. A former standout Bison LB who played on numerous National Championship squads under Rocky. He went on to an assistant role at the U of Mary. Under the tutelege of Dale Lennon, he learned the 3-4 defense, which is now being utilized at Northeastern. How ironic. This NE team, using said 3-4 defense, held VA Tech to 138 yds rushing in a loss the other week. Am I the only one concerned about this defense or am I reading into things a bit too much here? Opinions welcome......

[Scooter]

Everyone keeps going back to the VT game as a comparison.... *if you look at the stats for the Holy Cross game for Northeastern, you will find that when Holy Cross ran the ball in the first half they were getting 6,7, and even 8 yards a crack against this same 3-4 defense. *In the second half Northwestern went on 2 pattented Rocky "10 min / 16 play" drives. *Holy Cross is by no means a great football team. *They certainly are not of the same skill level that NDSU is. *Northeastern is NOT going to be able to put together a sustained drive against NDSU.

When you take into account Holy Cross's success running the ball in the first half, combined with the strength of our offense, I think that the dreaded 3-4 defense of Northeastern is not going to give the Bison much trouble. *

[Bison13]

I posted earlier on another thread that the 3-4 defense concerns me because it is a defense that has always caused problems for the BISON. I am not sure why, but we always struggle with that type of defense. I hope I am proven wrong but I believe last time we played against a 3-4 defense we had 8 rushing yards. This is the UC Davis game, I believe they run the 3-4??? I could be wrong? The BISON on the otherhand, have been preparing for over 2 weeks and should be ready

[Scooter]

I posted earlier on another thread that the 3-4 defense concerns me because it is a defense that has always caused problems for the BISON. I am not sure why, but we always struggle with that type of defense. I hope I am proven wrong but I believe last time we played against a 3-4 defense we had 8 rushing yards. This is the UC Davis game, I believe they run the 3-4??? I could be wrong? The BISON on the otherhand, have been preparing for over 2 weeks and should be ready

Comparing UC Davis's defense with Northeastern's is like comparing a Mustang to a Saturn SL. I think you get my point.

[Gamehunter]

Virginia Tech hung 21 points on Northeastern in the first quarter....it wasn't a matter of Northeastern stuffing the run the least bit.

[gobison]

Too bad Rocky doesn't use his "Radar Defense" this weekend against the Bison!

[sambini]

Schaff will have them ready to play .

[Husky_Alum_93]

*Am I the only one concerned about this defense or am I reading into things a bit too much here? *Opinions welcome......

I saw the Va Tech game on TV and I was at the Holy Cross game.

Our defense is average, at best. We've suffered the past couple of years from a basic inability to stop the pass and stop the run. It was no secret in the A-10 that our DB's aren't that good, and it was easier to run a 5-7 yard "out" pattern than run the ball. Once a team ran a few short curls, they followed it up with some draws and counters to really screw up our defense.

We played ok in the second half against Holy Cross, but we couldn't stop the Sisters of the Poor's running game in the first half.

I think consensus is Shaffner's defense will get better as time goes on, but they're still learning on the job.

[broke_back_mnt]

NDSU BISON 24 *NU Huskys 10

The 3-4 worked in the Va Tech game. *They held them to 111 yds and their avg allowed/game is 112 but they gave up 271 yds in the air. *They only allowed Holy Cross around 120 so they can stop an average passing game. *If we can break out through the air tomorrow we might be able to break it open early a la Va Tech.

I dont think this is a pushover at all. *You cant tell a thing from the stats NDSU put up against CSP but its clear we are dangerous on the run and pass, so they better be on their best game. *I think we can score.

Maurice Murray is the guy we have to stop. *He is a big time runner and will test our linebackers. *Their QB, Anthony Orio, looks avg and our D Backs will be looking for the INT. *I dont know about their receiver speed. *I think we can hang with them.

I dont think the Huskys are going to be intimidated by the Fabulous Fargo Dome. *At Va. Tech they played in front of 66,000 +.

I see a tough game, hold it close at say 24-10 with the BISON coming on in the second half. The blow out factor goes to NDSU.