Bo's Monday Presser

dudeguyy said:
zoogies said:
Second-half drives:

#1

Ameer run 3 yards (penalty, holding, 7 yards)

Ameer run 2 yards

Tommy run 1 yard

Tommy pass 6 yards

#2

Ameer run 3 yards

Ameer run loss of 2 yards

Tommy pass incomplete

#3

Tommy run 34 yards

Ameer run 1 yard

Ameer run 8 yards

Tommy run 4 yards & TD (penalty, tripping, 15 yards)

Tommy run 5 yards

#4

Ameer run loss of -2 yards

Tommy pass 7 yards

Tommy pass incomplete

I find nothing wrong with any of this playcalling and can understand why we started to go to the run less. Ameer carried for 7 out of 15 plays and gained 13 yards (6 carries for 10 yards not counting the penalty). Still think we could've stuck to the ground game maybe but McNeese was stuffing it, and that's honestly completely embarrassing.

Our next drive was my least favorite of the game:

#5 (11 minutes left in 4th)

Tommy pass incomplete

Newby run 4 yards

Tommy pass incomplete

To me, it seemed there was no need to throw on 1st & 10 yet, but I can see why we might have thought this was a better way to test McNeese than trying to run against their loaded box again. Wish we'd have tried a zone read or something, some other way to get to 3rd & short and keep the clock burning. The 3rd & 6 play must have broken down pretty quickly, as Tommy launched one deep. Maybe there was an underneath option he should've taken but didn't.

The next two Nebraska drives occurred at the 4-minute and 1-minute marks in the 4th quarter. No problems there. On the first, Tommy had a 41 yard pass to Jordan Westerkamp negated and we punted, and on the second, we scored the winning TD.

The real reason Ameer didn't get enough touches in that second half? We ran 24 flippin' plays compared to McNeese St's 44.

Credit the defense for making a stop after the illegal formation penalty took off a TD at the end, but McNeese had two drives that went 12-83 and 14-88 and combined to take over 11 minutes off the clock. And they held all Nebraska RBs to 8 carries for 17 yards (2.12 ypc). Thank goodness we had a QB that managed to do something in spite of all that.
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Great post Zoogies. +1.
As for your beef with the last drive-- I get it.

But I guess, looking back now, what more could we expect? Beck's entire resume before us was from KU as the passing game coordinator. It makes total sense that he leans pass when he really starts to feel the pressure in a tight game. But that doesn't mean it doesn't p#ss me off any less.

It's his friggin job for crying out loud. He's making $700,000 this year. His job is making our offense go. But given that we have a legit Hypesman candidate at RB and how off Tommy was passing the ball, he can't come up with one or two new ways, new looks to run the ball with Ameer or Tommy? No misdirection, counter, QB powers with a lead blocker, even our staple zone read with Tommy keeping?

Someone email this webpage to Tim Beck:

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2014/06/36173/tom-herman-coaching-clinic-part-3-quarterback-run-game

You're telling me he makes $700K a year and he can't figure out how to implement some of that with Tommy? Sure he's not the runner Braxton Miller is. Very few are. But he's certainly no slouch-- he's only a notch or two below.

Someone nailed it this morning on the radio-- Tommy was off in his decision making Saturday. He'd get loose on some zone read for huge gains, but made poor reads on others (and in the passing game). So, don't ask so damn much from the kid. He's 20 years old for crying out loud. If he's having that rough of a day, take the confusion out of things! Stop asking him to make reads and decisions every play and give him one of those plays about with Cross or (gasp) a fullback lead blocking for him. Turn him from a decision maker into an athlete-- let him just go focus on making a play and not thinking so damn much.

Overcomplication of the playbook is now a serious trend on BOTH sides of the ball. And it has been for a while.

Are counters, fullback dives, sweeps, or SOMETHING other than what we showed Saturday really THAT hard to install into our playbook have another option to utilize in the running game?

What does this all mean? Tim Beck is pretty mediocre at his job. He's a pass first guy, he'll always be a pass first guy. He just doesn't seem to be the type of guy who will be happy running all over an opponent even if it is working beautifully. He's always thinking ahead to how he can use this or that to set up big plays in the passing game. And there's just so much wrong with that.
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But the running game wasn't working beautifully, it was not working at all in fact. I think Beck tried to do the best with what was available and we eaked out a win against a very determined team. I hope we fix our problems in the running game before we start playing are tougher opponents.

 
I was simply suggesting we develop different approaches to running the ball to help aid that MO.

Mav, I know I've seen us do it a lot in the past... Mostly without much success for one or two yards at a time IIRC. But did we run it Saturday? I couldn't watch so I legitimately don't know.

It's one thing to know the play. It's another to run it effectively and have it as an actual weapon at your disposal. If we can't go to it in crunch time when we need to jumpstart the rushing game, what's the point in practicing it at all? It's a prime example of inundating the kids with too many plays in the name of being multiple and then not actually bring able to run them EFFECTIVELY.

Of course, a lot of this is missing the larger point that our OL looked hapless trying to handle what McNeese St.'s D was throwing at them and actually open up running lanes.

 
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dudeguyy, the one critique I'd have is you're talking about how our offense is too complicated in the same post you're wondering why we couldn't throw out ___, ____, and ____ to get creative and come up with new ways to attack the defense.

Looking over the drives, I think it was largely a matter of getting beat at the line to get us into poor 3rd down situations. I'm sure we could have done better, but getting manhandled by a FCS defensive line puts the offense in a pretty bad spot to start with.

The other issue was we were basically 0fer for converting 3rd and intermediate-to-long in the 2nd half. We finally came up with the pass in the flat to Ameer that ended up being a TD, but we have to figure out some better 3rd & 6-8 options (between Tommy making smarter reads or the offense having smarter plays)...and also how to try to get more 3rd & 2s instead of 3rd & 9s.

 
The one thingthat drives me insane about Cross running the ball is he wants to be a finesse back and he isn't. Ameer runs with more aggression than he does. It would be awesome if he would ge this sh#t together and run behind a full back like you said it could be a great tool if all were on the same page.

 
kchusker_chris said:
knapplc said:
Bo wanted Ameer to get the ball more, and we need to be more creative to get the ball more.
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hmmmm....very interesting. isn't that what those headsets he wears are for? little static in the line maybe?
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so Bo can't call up Beck and tell him his play calling sucks???
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if Tommy is gonna throw to his primary and stare him down, we are screwed......WHEN THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO GET A QB COACH!!!!!!!!!!!!
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dudeguyy said:
I was simply suggesting we develop different approaches to running the ball to help aid that MO.

Mav, I know I've seen us do it a lot in the past... Mostly without much success for one or two yards at a time IIRC. But did we run it Saturday? I couldn't watch so I legitimately don't know.

It's one thing to know the play. It's another to run it effectively and have it as an actual weapon at your disposal. If we can't go to it in crunch time when we need to jumpstart the rushing game, what's the point in practicing it at all? It's a prime example of inundating the kids with too many plays in the name of being multiple and then not actually bring able to run them EFFECTIVELY.

Of course, a lot of this is missing the larger point that our OL looked hapless trying to handle what McNeese St.'s D was throwing at them and actually open up running lanes.
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This is entirely accurate. Its not s much that the run plays weren't working it was we called the same damn plays that weren't working continuously. They need to mix some old fashion power runs in with the sweeps and all that when thigs go awry like they did Saturday. Also off of the power runs how about slpping a play action pass to a back or the ATE in the flats.
 
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Very pleased and impressed by Bo's press conference. Gives me some hope.

He seemed poised, relaxed, disappointed, honest, and confident in this team. I liked it.

 
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HUSKER FREAK said:
dudeguyy said:
I was simply suggesting we develop different approaches to running the ball to help aid that MO.

Mav, I know I've seen us do it a lot in the past... Mostly without much success for one or two yards at a time IIRC. But did we run it Saturday? I couldn't watch so I legitimately don't know.

It's one thing to know the play. It's another to run it effectively and have it as an actual weapon at your disposal. If we can't go to it in crunch time when we need to jumpstart the rushing game, what's the point in practicing it at all? It's a prime example of inundating the kids with too many plays in the name of being multiple and then not actually bring able to run them EFFECTIVELY.

Of course, a lot of this is missing the larger point that our OL looked hapless trying to handle what McNeese St.'s D was throwing at them and actually open up running lanes.
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This is entirely accurate. Its not s much that the run plays weren't working it was we called the same damn plays that weren't working continuously. They need to mix some old fashion power runs in with the sweeps and all that when thigs go awry like they did Saturday. Also off of the power runs how about slpping a play action pass to a back or the ATE in the flats.
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Beck wants us to be Oregon, but we have nowhere near Oregon talent, especially at QB....wish he would stop the madness!

 
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