I've trash talked the coaching staff so..,.

[California Husker]

Riley said he was not going to force his system on these players and he has done nothing but square peg/round hole it, since he got to Lincoln. That's why he's not a good coach. This is easily a 9-win team if he coaches it correctly.

What offense would our team "Correctly" run to 9 wins?

Tommy Armstrong is just over 50% career passing. He should not be passing 35+ times a game. That does not play to his strength. He was recruited as a spread type, multi-threat QB. If these coaches, making the money they are making, can't figure out how to best use him, then they shouldn't be coaching this team. Riley is Callahan all over again.

Okay but you didn't answer the question. What IS the best way to use him that they haven't figured out?

Tommy was recruited to run a spread or zone read type of offense. That is where he is most dangerous. He has a strong arm...strong, but not very accurate. So the way he was used last season seemed to take advantage of his skill set. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want that coaching staff back, I just heard these coaches say they were going to adjust their coaching to fit the talent. Until recently, I haven't seen them do much of that. And even in the last two games, at times, they just can't help themselves...they still try to force it. They try to make Tommy into a pro-style QB. I think we can all agree that is not in Tommy's wheelhouse. I am not calling Tommy out...I think he is a tremendously talented guy, just not the way our current coaching staff has been using him.

 

[California Husker]

Riley said he was not going to force his system on these players and he has done nothing but square peg/round hole it, since he got to Lincoln. That's why he's not a good coach. This is easily a 9-win team if he coaches it correctly.

What offense would our team "Correctly" run to 9 wins?

Tommy Armstrong is just over 50% career passing. He should not be passing 35+ times a game. That does not play to his strength. He was recruited as a spread type, multi-threat QB. If these coaches, making the money they are making, can't figure out how to best use him, then they shouldn't be coaching this team. Riley is Callahan all over again.

Okay but you didn't answer the question. What IS the best way to use him that they haven't figured out?

Triple option, obviously.

 

[Landlord]

Tommy was recruited to run a spread or zone read type of offense. That is where he is most dangerous. He has a strong arm...strong, but not very accurate. So the way he was used last season seemed to take advantage of his skill set. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want that coaching staff back, I just heard these coaches say they were going to adjust their coaching to fit the talent. Until recently, I haven't seen them do much of that. And even in the last two games, at times, they just can't help themselves...they still try to force it. They try to make Tommy into a pro-style QB. I think we can all agree that is not in Tommy's wheelhouse. I am not calling Tommy out...I think he is a tremendously talented guy, just not the way our current coaching staff has been using him.

Personally I think you're making a mountain out o fa molehill. Our team still runs some option, a lot of play-action deep passing routes, Tommy rolls out and is given chances to get outside the pocket a lot, as well as designed QB runs.

Doesn't look terribly different than last year's offense, and funny enough, we're averaging nearly the exact same offensive production as we did last year, minus two NFL players and our most electric receiving option.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

 

[Landlord]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

 

[California Husker]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here.

 

[Stumpy1]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here.

So Tommy threw it 33% more then his average against Rutgers? I must have missed half the game.

 

[California Husker]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here.

So Tommy threw it 33% more then his average against Rutgers? I must have missed half the game.

Geez, follow the coversation

 

[Count 'Bility]

If we had a qb that could make the most basic throws in the game, this "air raid" as you call it, woulda lead to an addition couple touchdowns, kept them off the scoreboard, and the resulting 28/35-0 halftime lead woulda been deemed as genius.

That's the problem with this coaching staff. Riley said he was not going to force his system on these players and he has done nothing but square peg/round hole it, since he got to Lincoln. That's why he's not a good coach. This is easily a 9-win team if he coaches it correctly. However, he has been stubborn and consistently tried to make this team the Nebraska Beavers. It hasn't worked.

this has nothing to do with system. Tommy misses the most basic throws in quarterbacking. Throws that 8 year old pop warner kids make. Two plays after throwing a frozen rope 55 yards for a td.
Its 2015. You have to throw the ball some. Kriest. Even Stanford throws it 25 times a game. Abd thats not counting dropbacks that resilt in sacks. And theyre 8-2 playin with a lead much more than we have with a much better oline and running game.

 

[California Husker]

If we had a qb that could make the most basic throws in the game, this "air raid" as you call it, woulda lead to an addition couple touchdowns, kept them off the scoreboard, and the resulting 28/35-0 halftime lead woulda been deemed as genius.

That's the problem with this coaching staff. Riley said he was not going to force his system on these players and he has done nothing but square peg/round hole it, since he got to Lincoln. That's why he's not a good coach. This is easily a 9-win team if he coaches it correctly. However, he has been stubborn and consistently tried to make this team the Nebraska Beavers. It hasn't worked.

this has nothing to do with system. Tommy misses the most basic throws in quarterbacking. Throws that 8 year old pop warner kids make. Two plays after throwing a frozen rope 55 yards for a td.
Its 2015. You have to throw the ball some. Kriest. Even Stanford throws it 25 times a game. Abd thats not counting dropbacks that resilt in sacks. And theyre 8-2 playin with a lead much more than we have with a much better oline and running game.

Yeah, 25 times a game. Tommy averaged 26.5 a game last season. Prior to the last game two games he was averaging 35.5 passes a game this season.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here.

Not sure if analytics is your strong suit here.

Let's make the math really simple:

The Huskers have had 394 rushing plays and 396 passing plays this year.

They have averaged 7.6 yards per passing attempt, and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt.

No one is saying we should pass the ball more, but it would be a better argument than yours, which seems to suggest we should run more of those 4.7 yard plays, and stop wasting them on those fancypants 7.6 yard plays that have somehow managed to produce 26 touchdowns.

The run game, particularly with our current backs and offensive line, benefits greatly from a passing threat, even the current 55% variety.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Look. I think we had a 60/40 balance towards the run under Beck. I was always critical of Beck because when ged go full beck as we liked to say, the timing just didnt make sense. If you brought this argument id be in some agreement. But the real issue here as youve made it is about system and fit. And while i agree that the coaches havent done as well as i expected in putting Tommy in a true comfort zone, the throws he consistentky misses are throws he would have to make in any system. Theyre throws he would need to make as qb for Ga Tech and Navy.

 

[Count 'Bility]

In regards to tailoring the system to the players, i cant go as far to say they havent. Cuz they have. Theres been qb run game. Theyve stayed in the shortgun most of the time. Thats why i say i expected better when i heard this but as the year has moved along, it became harder for me to expect these guys to teach what they may not know. Abd the other dynamic is at point is it ok for them to fully implement their own systems if they dont do it day one? At some point you have to establish a full comraderie and comfort level from both a player and coach perspective. Which is why this season its been a lit of meet in the middle.

 

[NebraskaShellback]

Langs still went air raid with a 21 point lead. Three interceptions later he back to the running game and the team coasted to a win. I liked the D today, but Rutgers is pretty bad. They did have 3 backs averaging over 5 yards per carry coming into today, and they didn't get much against us.

Air raid is a pretty hyperbolic overstatement. What he really did was continue to run the same offense, which people here have been crying for our team to do for years. Put your foot down on the throttle, go for the throat, smell the blood in the water, don't play not to lose, etc. Sometimes you continue to be aggressive and it works great, and sometimes it bites you. Sometimes you go conservative, and it works great, and sometimes it bites you.

Sounds like a shark

 

[BigRedBuster]

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths.

One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence.

The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw.

That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader?

We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing.

It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead.

If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half.

The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.

Excellent post but with one correction. Armstrong is completing over 50% of his passes. Possibly you meant people wish he completed over 60%.

That said. everything else is spot on.