Coaches, players take responsibility for defense

Senior linebacker Jeff Thomas offered a diagnosis for defensive breakdowns that resulted in big plays and points for the opposition, like Illinois’ long touchdown pass, in a 41-20 loss to the Illini last week.

“It’s just communication across the board,” Thomas said. “I put full blame on myself for that. I should communicate a little better to the nickel back who blitzed on that play.”

Defensive Tackles Coach Mark Hagen said success on the defensive side of the ball can’t be pinned on just one player.

“As cliché as it is, they’ve got to stay within the system,” Hagen said. “We have 11 guys out there and everybody’s got a job to do. A lot of it’s technique driven, and we’ve got to rely on that and what they’re supposed to do within the scheme and execute.”

IU has a daunting task ahead in the fourth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, who infamously trounced IU 83-20 last season.

The Badgers have won the past six matchups with the Hoosiers by an average of 30.5 points per game, averaging 312.2 rushing yards per game in the past five meetings.

While Wisconsin hasn’t lost a regular-season game since last year’s matchup with IU, the Hoosiers have continued to struggle and now sit at 1-5 halfway through 2011.

Co-Defensive Coordinator Mike Ekeler said he has trouble sleeping as a result of the losses and sees similar frustration in the players.

“They’re not having fun losing, believe me,” Ekeler said. “It’s killing them, but it should. They feel like they’re getting better and they’re coming together as a unit and they’re learning, and each day, you see improvements.”

The lack of communication Hagen spoke of is a problem that has yet to work itself entirely out of the defense.

IU has been prone to giving up big plays, surrendering four touchdowns of at least 67 yards in the past three games.

Hagen and IU Coach Kevin Wilson both said trust is the issue constricting the communication on the field.

“Coach Wilson talked about it this afternoon,” Hagen said. “It’s still trusting in each other and when we operate outside the system, we’re not trusting the system or we’re not trusting everybody within the system. That’s the gap that we need to close still.”

Hagen said all of the defensive players must look to the sideline to hear the play call.
Wilson echoed his sentiments saying when a defender understands the play, it is his responsibility to make sure everyone around him also understands.

Hagen said listening is equally as important as talking on the field and has noticed some players struggling to hear the play call and understand it.

“There’s times I sit back as a coach and hear the checks,” Hagen said. “My guys might say, ‘Coach, I didn’t get it.’ Well, I did. You’re not listening. It’s not just the talking. It’s being a good listener, too.”

On some of the larger plays, players have been caught out of position by getting excited or wanting to make the play themselves, instead of allowing for the system to take effect and another player to make the play.

Ekeler said blame shouldn’t be put on the players for many of the miscommunications, though.

“We’ve got to do a better job of coaching them,” Ekeler said. “We’ve got to do a better job of putting them in better positions and not ask a guy to do something that he physically might not be able to do.”

Wilson said he doesn’t want to overcoach the players, and his team shouldn’t be overwhelmed by traveling to the hostile environment in Madison.

“You can’t be scared of anything and say you’ve got no chance,” Wilson said. “We have no chance to win this game if our kids don’t believe we’re going to, and as coaches, we’re not going to go out there and shelter anything back. We’re going to go right at them.”