Instead of Cockrell, absolutely. Haven't been impressed with him since he got here. At all.
Gerry and Williams should be the starting safeties.
Nate Gerry
- Thread starter GBRedneck
- Start date
Gerry and Williams should be the starting safeties.
It'sNotAFakeID
All-American
It's a good point. I wonder how much "cover up" work Gerry might have to be doing for Cockrell.
Since when does checking someone's bio constitute proof of their talent/abilities? I recall being laughed at by you for merely suggesting folks take a look at a bio. Huh, interesting...
Who told you this? It's like saying, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or that lying .gig?"
What if those who look at the .gifs also watch the game and then go track down the .gif to show what they saw?
Your supposition is akin to saying coaches and players that look at film weren't paying attention during the game, so they aren't any good.
Scroll up and read Post #83. Not really a straw man.
I don't think he or any one else is really trying to intentionally sabotage the team or program; however, I have said that I do think his and other's effort was lacking against Purdue. I personally draw a distinction there.
Some asked about opponent pass percentage through nine games last year and through nine games this year for comparing Gerry's stats. I couldn't find it - but, I did find this tweet from Mike'l Severe.
@https://twitter.com/MikelSevere/status/664106872681590785
The Huskers are #1 in CFB in opponent rush percentage.
I would be willing to bet the run percentage was higher in 2014 given our rush defense was far more susceptible.
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FrankWheeler
Starter
Opposing offenses called pass plays on 53% through nine games last year, 59% this year. Of course that changed a lot weeks 10-12 after the Wisconsin game last year.
The run percentage was higher but I don't think "far more susceptible" is accurate. This year, we're giving up 3.8 yards per attempt. Wisconsin torched us last year but in the rest of the games we allowed .... 3.8 yards per attempt.
And that's before you account for four teams that we've played this year missing their starting RB. The RBs we faced last year were FAR superior to the guys we've played this year.
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It's a strawman because unless I'm missed something, no one, (not even Stumpy's post in the link in post 83) has said, or even suggested that Nate Gerry is purposely dropping interceptions to sabotage the team.
Red Dead Redemption
Starter
You're right, but, I don't think there's much point arguing the semantics. Regardless of who was missing what or who had what, teams have chosen to run much less on this year than last. There's certainly a confluence of factors, but, one of them is also that Nebraska does a pretty darn good job defending the run this year. We faced several teams last year that didn't have overly talented backs, imho - but, our defense still gave up big chunk yardage on rush plays. And all games considered, we are giving up 111.9 YPG this year compared to 177.8 in 2014. I don't see this year's totals varying greatly.
I'm also leary to remove the Wisconsin game. I know why you did, and it's certainly another way of looking at the stats, but this has to go both ways. For example, consider the pass defense from last year. They held their own, allowing 209 YPG. But, when they faced probably their best passing attack against USC, they gave up 321. We didn't necessarily face an abundance of QB talent last year, but we consider that pass defense unit better compared to this year.
The point I'm making is that, obviously, stats can manipulated to support an argument. Watching this team, I think we're far better at defending the run than 2014.
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But that's the point. A lot of people THINK we're better at defending the run. But the stats don't really back that up. Two years ago when we didn't play Wisconsin we gave up 3.8 yards per carry. So that 3.8 number has been amazingly consistent for three years now (with the notable exception of one game over that span).
And waving off the talent of the opposition is just another way of ignoring the context. Last year we faced Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson, Jeremy Langford, David Cobb - all of whom were NFL Draft picks. We also faced Josh Ferguson who was their starter again this year but only got four carries (for 50 yards) before getting hurt. In addition to Ferguson missing most of the game this year, Miami lost their starting RB (replacing Johnson) before the year and Clement (replacing Gordon) has missed most of the year.
So four teams lost an NFL RB and two of those didn't even have their top backup from last year. Plus a fifth team that their starter missed most of the game.
I've liked what I've seen for the most part from our run defense this year. But we have given up quite a few big plays. And when you try to compare years and our stats are largely the same against what would seem to be a significant drop-off in opposing talent, I think saying we are far better than we have been is a stretch.
I don't really disagree with you other than the significance. I'm not a big fan of picking and choosing which games to include and which not too in a statistical analysis, even if they are a bit of anomaly. I think it's interesting and another perspective, but, I don't think it's fair to draw many conclusions from. It's only one way to look at the puzzle.
Our rushing defenses for the last five years (from 2010 to 2014) have given up, on average, 155.6 YPG, 166.7, 204.9, 150.2 and 177.8. There isn't a ton of consistency there year to year, and clearly tells a different story than if you just focus on 3.8 YPC.
I'll settle on waiting to see how we finish this year before I stamp my opinion in stone. However, fact is we're on pace this year to have our best rushing defense in at least 5 years.
Our rushing defenses for the last five years (from 2010 to 2014) have given up, on average, 155.6 YPG, 166.7, 204.9, 150.2 and 177.8. There isn't a ton of consistency there year to year, and clearly tells a different story than if you just focus on 3.8 YPC.
I'll settle on waiting to see how we finish this year before I stamp my opinion in stone. However, fact is we're on pace this year to have our best rushing defense in at least 5 years.
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Igetbored216
All-Conference
I feel much more comfortable facing a run-first team this year than the last two or three years. Passing teams on the other hand...
Igetbored216
All-Conference
Additionally, just from watching the games, it seems like many of the big runs this year have happened on some kind of counter play. This usually means that the defenders are over pursuing the play and the play side defenders are not staying home. This will definitely be something to watch this week, because Rutgers love to run counter plays.