True2tRA Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 So maybe you fine folks at Huskerboard, with your calm approach and obviously HUGE brains, can explain this whole RB situation to me because it seems to be the opposite of how I thought it would go. So coming into the year we knew we had a battle at RB for the starting spot. I figured non-conference schedule would be a great time to spread some carries throughout the top 3-4 guys, let's see who establishes themselves as the real front runner. By the time Big Ten play rolled around, we should be set with who THE GUY is. So we start the year with Newby as number one, he's getting plenty of touches, but Wilbon and Cross are getting a few too. I don't remember Ozigbo being involved much. Suddenly, Wilbon, who I thought looks like the most talented of the bunch, disappears completely. The excuse is that he can't pass block. An excuse I don't altogether buy. When we call run, in running situations, there's no reason Wilbon couldn't be carrying the ball. No we don't always audible to pass, even when the defense is showing run blitz. Regardless, Newby maintained carries, Wilbon is gone, Cross is getting a few here and there and I still don't remember Ozigbo doing much if anything. Game 3 I believe it was, suddenly Newby is the only RB on the roster. He gets every carry in the game. Nobody else does anything. It left me thinking, well they've settled on their guy, though I'm not all too impressed with his running style, he's supposedly a good pass blocker, sadly I don't see it as a positive if that's the best thing you can say about your RB, but whatever. They fed Newby the ball, and I've assumed this is the direction we are headed. Cross fades away, has a terrible fumble on one of his lone carries. Wilbon is gone. We hear grumbling about Ozigbo, but haven't seen a ton. Big Ten play opens up and Ozigbo explodes, but the coaches refuse to keep feeding him the rock. Newby is in and out. But as we leave the Big Ten opener, I'm thinking.....hell, I'm more confused about the RB situation than I ever was. Why did I see this playing out in the completely opposite way? Was I wrong in how I thought they should approach it? It seems like six games into the year, as a coaching staff they should kind of be done with some of the "experimenting". Isn't that what the non-conference schedule is for? 8 Quote Link to comment
Hunter94 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 only Riley and Langs could explain this and i doubt they even know what they are doing.........the whole offensive plan seems to be made up off sh#t paper, from week to week. 3 Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 It's simple. They aren't committed to the running game, and it's only used as a changeup to keep from become too predictable. 1 Quote Link to comment
huskerfan92 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I'm convinced these guys don't know how to handle running backs. After seeing them call outside runs with Cross the other game, and an outside run with Janovich last game they don't have a clue. For me Janovich should be like what John Kuhn is for the Packers. Line him up at fullback, and when we need to convert a key third and short or a goal line situation you give that kid the ball. He always falls forward and keeps his legs moving. Quote Link to comment
GSG Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Ozigbo disappears for a few games now 6 Quote Link to comment
Redux Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 They approached it exactly as they shouldn't have: As a Novelty. They think gaining big yards through the air is the best method to win games. They think short passes to keep drives alive is the best way to manage the clock. They think receiver sweeps, screen passes and QB keeps are there to fill in the gap. They think a designed run with a running back is a suckers game, and they approached it that way. You can tell, on the field, the players are rusty and out of sync. It's not being practiced as an integral part of their offense and it shows. It honsetly feels nostalgic to me. It reminds me of playing NCAA Gamebreaker or Tecmo Bowl. As a kid or a preteen, who the hell wants to run? HAIL MARY, SHOTGUN PASS, PA PASS, HAIL MARY AGAIN! I would see those lines on the play and think "Man oh man am I gonna gain some yards here". Then I would get picked off 8 times, get pissed and put in Mortal Kombat. But I was a kid. These are coaches who coach for a living and are old enough to know game management is highly important. So even if that run play looks boring, it may be the difference between a W and an L. Hell, it may be the difference between a trophy and your ass on the street. 2 Quote Link to comment
NUinID Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 IMO what we say on Saturday is the best combination we have seen all year. We just need to see more of it. Ozigbo looked very good. Can anyone explain to me why they really only ran that sweep that he scored on a few times. He had 2 nice runs with it. I think they really like Ozigbo. I liked him to, he looked like a B1G running back. He looked like what we need. He and Janovich looked decisive and got what they could running the ball no dancing. That is what this league is. It may not be pretty, but it works. Cross should have become a linebacker after his Sophomore year. Newby is a good change of pace a good third down back, but he doesn't appear to be an every down back. I think Wilbon's pass pro must be so poor that they don't trust him at all or he pissed off someone very badly or his attitude must be bad. It is one of the three or any combination of the three. 2 Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 It's simple. They aren't committed to the running game, and it's only used as a changeup to keep from become too predictable. You are exactly right on that. If there was a game to be committed to the run, it was the Illinois game. NU got the ball a few minutes into the 4th quarter, going against the wind, up 13-7. NU runs the ball 2 straight times and gets a first down. What happens then? 3 straight incomplete passes. NU takes no time off the clock with the lead, and has to punt the ball away. That drive is a microcosm of what Riley/Lansdorf are. 1 Quote Link to comment
Hunter94 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 they need to focus on a few things and learn to do them well..........we have 2 backs that can run hard, run them, the hell with the long ball. Quote Link to comment
ADS Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Ozigbo and Jano need to be running the ball exclusively now. Just wish the coaches were a little more committed to the ground game. Quote Link to comment
BaytownHusker Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 IMO what we say on Saturday is the best combination we have seen all year. We just need to see more of it. Ozigbo looked very good. Can anyone explain to me why they really only ran that sweep that he scored on a few times. He had 2 nice runs with it. I think they really like Ozigbo. I liked him to, he looked like a B1G running back. He looked like what we need. He and Janovich looked decisive and got what they could running the ball no dancing. That is what this league is. It may not be pretty, but it works. Cross should have become a linebacker after his Sophomore year. Newby is a good change of pace a good third down back, but he doesn't appear to be an every down back. I think Wilbon's pass pro must be so poor that they don't trust him at all or he pissed off someone very badly or his attitude must be bad. It is one of the three or any combination of the three. Cant be that he pissed off some one or has a bad attitude.. Example I am sure Alex Lewis ahd pissed some one off and he starts and plays every down. Cant really say riley doesnt know how to use his backs cause he has had some good ones at OS and used the heck out of them. But these Rushing numbers this last game I dont get, Jano 11 for 43 / 3.9 avg T.A 8 for 38 / 4.8 avg Ozigbo 7 for 70 / 10 avg Newby 5 for 15 / 5 avg. I just dont get it.. Unless he wanted to make sure he brought down Jano's yards per carry stat from last week... Quote Link to comment
MoneyBall Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I'm convinced these guys don't know how to handle running backs. After seeing them call outside runs with Cross the other game, and an outside run with Janovich last game they don't have a clue. For me Janovich should be like what John Kuhn is for the Packers. Line him up at fullback, and when we need to convert a key third and short or a goal line situation you give that kid the ball. He always falls forward and keeps his legs moving. Yep...that play did it for me too. Running Janovich around end was about as stupid as it gets - further highlighting for me the ineptitude of this staff. You don't try to stretch a defense with your FB. Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 As far as the running backs go, it looks like the coaching staff allowed everyone to have a clean slate and compete for the job. Going into the season, they felt most comfortable with Newby because he is the most versatile and is the best RB in the passing game (both protection and catching the ball). Newby has been ok, but he struggles to get upfield and get more yards out of the play than is there. Cross is a decent option as a short yardage back, but he isn't versatile enough to use the whole playbook with him. Wilbon must be awful at pass protection, and the coaches are so scared of Armstrong getting hit and hurt. Taylor is a guy that fans like because of his high regard coming out of high school. I would think all of his injuries have taken a toll on him, and he is very limited in what he can do. Ozigbo was not highly regarded coming out of high school, but he appears to be a decent back. He's a big back (220 lbs), but he also has some wiggle to him. I liked that he was able to get another 1-3 yards after contact and was leaning forward. Ozigbo deserves more carries going forward. Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 IMO what we say on Saturday is the best combination we have seen all year. We just need to see more of it. Ozigbo looked very good. Can anyone explain to me why they really only ran that sweep that he scored on a few times. He had 2 nice runs with it. I think they really like Ozigbo. I liked him to, he looked like a B1G running back. He looked like what we need. He and Janovich looked decisive and got what they could running the ball no dancing. That is what this league is. It may not be pretty, but it works. Cross should have become a linebacker after his Sophomore year. Newby is a good change of pace a good third down back, but he doesn't appear to be an every down back. I think Wilbon's pass pro must be so poor that they don't trust him at all or he pissed off someone very badly or his attitude must be bad. It is one of the three or any combination of the three. Cant be that he pissed off some one or has a bad attitude.. Example I am sure Alex Lewis ahd pissed some one off and he starts and plays every down. Cant really say riley doesnt know how to use his backs cause he has had some good ones at OS and used the heck out of them. But these Rushing numbers this last game I dont get, Jano 11 for 43 / 3.9 avg T.A 8 for 38 / 4.8 avg Ozigbo 7 for 70 / 10 avg Newby 5 for 15 / 5 avg. I just dont get it.. Unless he wanted to make sure he brought down Jano's yards per carry stat from last week... They went to Jano as their power back, and to close out the game. That's why Jano got more carries that usual and his YPC were so low. Quote Link to comment
Hunter94 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 IMO what we say on Saturday is the best combination we have seen all year. We just need to see more of it. Ozigbo looked very good. Can anyone explain to me why they really only ran that sweep that he scored on a few times. He had 2 nice runs with it. I think they really like Ozigbo. I liked him to, he looked like a B1G running back. He looked like what we need. He and Janovich looked decisive and got what they could running the ball no dancing. That is what this league is. It may not be pretty, but it works. Cross should have become a linebacker after his Sophomore year. Newby is a good change of pace a good third down back, but he doesn't appear to be an every down back. I think Wilbon's pass pro must be so poor that they don't trust him at all or he pissed off someone very badly or his attitude must be bad. It is one of the three or any combination of the three. Cant be that he pissed off some one or has a bad attitude.. Example I am sure Alex Lewis ahd pissed some one off and he starts and plays every down. Cant really say riley doesnt know how to use his backs cause he has had some good ones at OS and used the heck out of them. But these Rushing numbers this last game I dont get, Jano 11 for 43 / 3.9 avg T.A 8 for 38 / 4.8 avg Ozigbo 7 for 70 / 10 avg Newby 5 for 15 / 5 avg. I just dont get it.. Unless he wanted to make sure he brought down Jano's yards per carry stat from last week... They went to Jano as their power back, and to close out the game. That's why Jano got more carries that usual and his YPC were so low. Newby, 3.0 avg. Quote Link to comment
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