My thoughts exactly. We need 13, maybe 14 out there on third down...
Washington 42, Illinois 25 Postgame
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Both teams have way more talent than we have
That’s why I don’t get why we are in such a soft zone. We struggle to cover and we aren’t pressuring the qb. At this point I would rather blitz. I would rather be aggressive and try to make a play than sit back and let them march down the field with very little resistance
Amen. Bert has pulled us out of the hopeless heap we were in…hoping the recruits and portals in the future put us in the mix.
How are we still asking questions about what we are asking our players to do? It feels like no one is actually playing to win the game defensively. As if we are just coasting out there and running through the motions- almost like we are in a permanent prevent defense.
Washington is a tough out. Especially when the opposing defense puts up no fight. That was an embarrassing performance.Step back from the ledge, this is a loss most folks were foreseeing as WA is a tough out at home for anyone not named tOSU. We can finish out strong and finish a 9-3 season which will be what . . . one of the best seasons in the last 30+ years of Illinois football.
and missed tackles. We've missed a bunch of them.
It's not even a bend-but-don't-break defense. You'd think as the field gets smaller, so too would the cushion that receivers get and the holes in the defense. We couldn't cover the 20- by 53-yard area of the field any better than the much larger areas.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Gonna have to disagree here. Even if we win out, which we should, we still got embarrassed today and BEYOND embarrassed at IU. There’s a really good chance we finish the year having only beaten one team with a winning record. Had we looked better in both the losses I previously mentioned and finished 9-3, I would have called it a great season. Now 9-3 would just be a good season to me.
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Good. We should expect that.
Did wash have great players? I wouldn’t say there is a huge talent discrepancy like other teams. Their coach put them is situations to make plays. Or try different things to see what works, or who steps up to make plays.
Warshington will probably win their next three before their season ender @ Oregon, which means they'll probably be ranked in the #11-15 range at 9-2, and Oregon doesn't look exactly immortal. So, if they upset the ducks, it's not unpossible that we'll be sat at 9-3 with our only losses to three top-10 teams.
Not excusing our putrid defensive showing today, but just sayin'.
Not excusing our putrid defensive showing today, but just sayin'.
we flat out got out played. We are good but not as good as we hoped! D was exposed again.
We have a very good chance finishing 9-3 which is very good… just a bowl team!
Need to be better to even consider to be a play off team in the future… not close this year!
Washington is pretty good… but not a play off tram either… and they drilled us.
Really ready for basketball where I feel we better for 2025!
We have a very good chance finishing 9-3 which is very good… just a bowl team!
Need to be better to even consider to be a play off team in the future… not close this year!
Washington is pretty good… but not a play off tram either… and they drilled us.
Really ready for basketball where I feel we better for 2025!
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
@WI, PU, @UCLA - seems entirely possible.
Bret has to have a coming to prayer meeting with Henry, and tell him in plain language he is now competing for his job, and anything less than a solid defensive performance in any of our remaining games will call for a new DC when this season ends. No more excuses for running a defense that only rarely pressures the quarterback, reacts quickly, takes good tackling angles, wraps up ball carriers, plays tight pass coverage, sheds blocks, maintains their gaps, contains the edge and forces plays inside, gets off the field on third down, or even demonstrates an average football IQ. What we have seen from the defense all season is not acceptable. There have been some occasional solid plays, but sloppy haphazard play with little sense of purpose or urgency is more the rule now than the exception. Our defense has officially hit rock bottom, and that starts with the DC.
Here’s what drives me nuts, you had a bye week to really prepare, you’re telling me none of these coaches realized their defense was a major problem and couldn’t make adjustments to it? How?? So now after a game they are saying they need to look at it? So what was the bye week for?
Has he ever recovered from Xavier Scott's injury?
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
When your best defensive player is a pass rusher, you have to take your chances and play to his strengths.
Henry needs to move on.
Henry needs to move on.
This. We may not get this kind of in-season buzz again.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
Vic Koenig had us as a top 10 defense, remember that? Walters got us pretty close to that also! I would argue Vic had less talent, too. IT CAN BE DONE!!!
Well, their players tackled better, put pressure on the quarter back, and covered better. Maybe all scheme and coaching?
i was at that point after the first half vs Duke. The fears from that game became real and here we are. People can say what they want about Henry(he was awful today), but what people don't want to be true is admitting the talent isn't there at any level of the defense. That's not fixed with simply changing coordinators. That's what's hard to digest and accept.
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