That article is written by Dirk who is a d!(k who is wildly critical of Bo. I'll consider the source.
I won't disagree with you about Dirk's personality or how he goes about his business. I especially think more often than not his attitude towards Bo and the program at press conferences tarnishes his trade profession. Two years ago I thought the article that he wrote about Martinez before the Ohio State game was one of the un-classiest pieces of journalism that I had ever read.
With that being said, I am one that is willing to look at
"both sides of the coin" so to speak, and I will give credit where credit is due. This current article that Dirk has written about Nebraska needing to find its identity again and a new edge was both spot on & fair.
Nebraska does need to find an identity that meshes with the culture of this state & it's national fan base. I think a great starting point for the coaches can be summed up in one word:
PHYSICAL!
I couldn't help but cringe when I watched the Rose Bowl game this year of both the Wisconsin offense & Stanford Offense running power football. Minus the option it was eerily similar to the smash-mouth type of running we used to dish out to opponents week-in & week-out. Some of the zone blocking and pulling guard power-o's and iso plays the other night were a thing of beauty.
Am I saying this is what Nebraska needs to get back to? Not necessarily. Do we need to go back to an all old-school offense and continually run the option out of the I-formation? No. I wish we could, but we can't because the speed of the game has changed too much in the last 20 years. It can be apart of our offense, but I don't think it can be THE offense.
I think the weapons that Tim Beck has coming back next year on offense can prove to be a really dangerous offense...
pertaining they do a better job of holding onto the ball. So if I were the coaching staff I would not change the offense too much next season. I would suggest keeping the hurry-up no huddle, but scale back the number of drop back passes we do each game. Another suggestion would be to keep many of the plays the same, but instead of having 4 or 5 wide receivers spreading the field out, I would take out 2 receivers and replace them with TE's. This would allow the running game to have more of a physical edge, it also gives immediate extra blockers for Taylor when he needs it.
The biggest overhaul that Nebraska
MUST make is on the defensive side. In your 4 losses when your offense is average at least 30+ points a game, normally that should be good enough to win. When your defense in those 4 losses is giving up an average of 52+ points per game and an average of over 500+ yards that isn't just a defensive problem...it's a catastrophe! Most Husker fans have another word for it:
Unacceptable.
I completely agree with what Tom Shatel wrote the other day when he said if your scheme is too complicated and has too big of a learning curve in order to get your young talent onto the field,
"then get rid of the curve."
Defensive scheme should be the #1 focus of this coaching staff this offseason. I know Bo trusts his current scheme, but the numbers speak for themselves. When he doesn't have NFL talent on that side of the ball his above average defensive players struggle, where in another simplified scheme they would more than likely thrive playing at a faster speed and with a higher degree of confidence.
If Bo is the
"defensive genius" that many tagged him with years ago, then he will keep the things that he likes about his current scheme, but will also simply other parts of the scheme so that his players can play faster and with that higher degree of confidence...not just in the scheme, but with themselves.
In closing, I usually have a hard time agreeing with much of what Dirk Chatelain has to write, but this time around I will give credit where credit his due. He is spot on.
Nebraska must find it's new edge.
