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Heisman Trophy Winner
Starting for four years will allow you to pile up numbers and break records. Doesn't mean they sucked, just had longer college careers than the ones before them.
Tommy A. - And various other Husker QBs
- Thread starter huskered17
- Start date
RunMickeyRun02
Starter
This is true of any football fan base, college or pro. The HC is always moron and should be fired, same for the DC and OC and the back-up QB (or whoever is the most recent QB recruit/draft pick) is always the one who should REALLY be in the game.
Even if you've won championships you're only as good as your last game.
Savage Husker
All-Conference
Control the turnovers, we won't see 35+ attempts per game with Tommy. The play calling didn't help Tommy and the coaching staff blew that aspect except for the UCLA game, that's a good recipe for success. However, teams will do whatever they can to stop the QB run game and prevent Tommy from being Tommy. Which is when it's on Tommy to learn the playbook and understand the routes, slow the game/play down, and trust his coaches an open receiver will be there, i.e. the 4th down chuck into the end zone instead of dumping it off to Cethan. This season's success has as much to do with the relationship between Langs and Tommy than any other group.
What I'm holding my breath to see are two things: 1) Can Langs balance a game plan to the strengths of his team and 2) Is Tommy going to be coachable like he and learn how to run Langs' offense.
If they can be better in those two areas, I don't see why a 8-9 win season isn't acheivable, if not more.
What I'm holding my breath to see are two things: 1) Can Langs balance a game plan to the strengths of his team and 2) Is Tommy going to be coachable like he and learn how to run Langs' offense.
If they can be better in those two areas, I don't see why a 8-9 win season isn't acheivable, if not more.
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
I hope Tommy throws 40 passes and completes 28 if that's what it takes to win a particular game.
I hope there are other games where the rushing game dominates.
I hope Tommy runs a bit more either way to keep everyone guessing.
Because there's a good chance each opponent will bring different defensive strengths and weaknesses.
I hope there are other games where the rushing game dominates.
I hope Tommy runs a bit more either way to keep everyone guessing.
Because there's a good chance each opponent will bring different defensive strengths and weaknesses.
Armstrong was a 4 star recruit right? He's got great combination skills. He was trending up since his freshman year, except during the season he and his entire set of teammates were thrown into a new system.
Ask him to throw 18-25 times a game and run 6 to 12 designed runs, and he could have an extraordinarily special year.
Ask him to throw 30+ times a game and design run 5 or less times, and we'll probably be disappointed.
He's an all conference caliber player if used correctly.
Ask him to throw 18-25 times a game and run 6 to 12 designed runs, and he could have an extraordinarily special year.
Ask him to throw 30+ times a game and design run 5 or less times, and we'll probably be disappointed.
He's an all conference caliber player if used correctly.
84HuskerLaw
All-Conference
I think there are many good comments on this one - amazingly so since it has been vehemently argued back and forth for years already.
After re-watching a number of the games last couple days, I believe that Tommy Armstrong is in fact a very good (overall) QB and he still does have the potential to have a GREAT senior season filled with many very positive and exciting plays and outcomes. Will we have some bumps along the way? Without question. Tommy Frazier, Eric Crouch, Turner Gill, Jerry Tagge, etc all had more than their fair share of imperfect performances. Each had supreme athletic ability with each having a little more of this or that but as a package or set of skills, they had enough to win national titles and be among the very best ever to play for Nebraska and or anywhere. Tagge was more intelligent than gifted physically (not real fast, not real strong, not real special throwing, etc) but he was a superb decision maker. Crouch was lightning fast and tough and had the heart of of lion. Tommy Frazier was strong, quick, tough and determined to win. He was mostly 'a winner'. Tuner Gill was smart, quick, excellent arm, and confident and smooth as silk - a great distributor of the ball and game manager. Tommy Armstrong is most likely stronger than all of them (both in arm strength to make any throw and physically overall). He is much quicker than Tagge, comparable to Gill perhaps in speed and has a good dose of confidence, although at times it may be fleeting. When Tommy Armstrong is playing his very best, he can certainly be discussed as a part of this group of Nebraska's best. But, his lapses which result in ugly plays, turnovers, etc often overshadow his brighter periods. Many on this board insist I am far too optimistic, drowning in the 'kool aid' and so on but I do have a very hopeful and optimistic outlook as the summer days pass by. Tommy Armstrong may have all the records but the ones that count the most (championships and titles and big games and glory. You don't become a Husker Legend on statistics alone. You make the great plays in the great games to enable the team to win when it counts the most.
If Tommy Armstrong plays his best ball for his senior season, Mike Riley will enjoy the accolades as much as Tommy. Conversely, they both will suffer the wrath of Husker Nation should things go as they did last year. In this way, their fates are tightly joined.
After re-watching a number of the games last couple days, I believe that Tommy Armstrong is in fact a very good (overall) QB and he still does have the potential to have a GREAT senior season filled with many very positive and exciting plays and outcomes. Will we have some bumps along the way? Without question. Tommy Frazier, Eric Crouch, Turner Gill, Jerry Tagge, etc all had more than their fair share of imperfect performances. Each had supreme athletic ability with each having a little more of this or that but as a package or set of skills, they had enough to win national titles and be among the very best ever to play for Nebraska and or anywhere. Tagge was more intelligent than gifted physically (not real fast, not real strong, not real special throwing, etc) but he was a superb decision maker. Crouch was lightning fast and tough and had the heart of of lion. Tommy Frazier was strong, quick, tough and determined to win. He was mostly 'a winner'. Tuner Gill was smart, quick, excellent arm, and confident and smooth as silk - a great distributor of the ball and game manager. Tommy Armstrong is most likely stronger than all of them (both in arm strength to make any throw and physically overall). He is much quicker than Tagge, comparable to Gill perhaps in speed and has a good dose of confidence, although at times it may be fleeting. When Tommy Armstrong is playing his very best, he can certainly be discussed as a part of this group of Nebraska's best. But, his lapses which result in ugly plays, turnovers, etc often overshadow his brighter periods. Many on this board insist I am far too optimistic, drowning in the 'kool aid' and so on but I do have a very hopeful and optimistic outlook as the summer days pass by. Tommy Armstrong may have all the records but the ones that count the most (championships and titles and big games and glory. You don't become a Husker Legend on statistics alone. You make the great plays in the great games to enable the team to win when it counts the most.
If Tommy Armstrong plays his best ball for his senior season, Mike Riley will enjoy the accolades as much as Tommy. Conversely, they both will suffer the wrath of Husker Nation should things go as they did last year. In this way, their fates are tightly joined.
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TopNDoorsOff
Walk-on
I respect your opinion but if I ever see TA, mentioned in the same sentence with a heisman winner and a top 50 all time college football player and leader of the best team to ever play the game I may butcher a litter of kittens.
84HuskerLaw
All-Conference
Now I have to say that is quite harsh! Geesh! Tommy Armstrong is an exceptional athlete - I just don't see how anyone can seriously disagree with this. I think he would be a fine RB was well as a Safety and even a LB. He reminds me, physically, of Tony Veland in many ways. I believe he was prove quite comparable with Tommy Frazier 'athletically' and I am a huge Frazier fan.BlitzFirst said:
84HuskerLaw
All-Conference
Tommy Armstrong would do extremely well as an operator of the '95 team, but to this point, we have not seen anywhere close to the decision-making skill level of Frazier, Gill and Tagge. Crouch was never really asked to be the 'game manager' QB - he was the game breaker RB playing QB. Crouch made many great plays but I would agree with Tom Osborne's view that Bobby Newcomb should have been the QB while Crouch was the wide receiver and maybe a kickoff/punt returner. Maybe could have become a dam fine safety with his toughness.
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
Did Tom Osborne really say that Bobby Newcombe should have stayed at QB?
I thought Newcombe was given a fair shot at the position, but it never quite clicked.
I thought Newcombe was given a fair shot at the position, but it never quite clicked.
I was surprised by that statement, too, so I did some googling. I found nothing in public records regarding that, and I'd be surprised if TO weighed in publicly on any personnel decision after he'd retired.
Newcombe was an elite athlete and I respect his contributions to the program (as a player and after), but I don't think NU wins any more games with him at QB over Crouch. He never looked very comfortable running from the QB position. Certainly not in the way Crouch did.
If Newcombe would have stayed at QB, it would have denied Frank the opportunity to repeatedly call wing-bone option plays into the short side of the field with Lance Brown as the option man instead of calling it to the wide side of the filed where we could have had Crouch and Newcombe running the option.
Guy Chamberlin
Heisman Trophy Winner
I'm going to guess that -- at best -- Tom Osborne opined that Eric Crouch would also have been a talented wide receiver.
As I recall, Newcombe was a surprisingly decent passer, and a surprisingly ineffective runner. His speed and shiftiness never translated into the decision making required of an option QB.
As I recall, Newcombe was a surprisingly decent passer, and a surprisingly ineffective runner. His speed and shiftiness never translated into the decision making required of an option QB.