Your 2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers

[ZRod]

I'll use Sichterman as an example because he had a pretty bad on against OU.  He went to his right to block and I believe it was Benharts man stunted and looped around.  you would think they would be a call or something like on defense you yell "crosser" if you are following a guy through traffic, but he didn't see him and he came through untouched.  You are max 5 ft from the guy how don't you see him?  I never played OL but it's like if I was taking on a block I'm not starring into the guys eyes I'm looking past him for the ball.  Can you block someone and use your eyes to see another blocker or no?  Or maybe he though Cam would pick him up and that would have to do with communication as well

I mean it's like anything with your hands, you want to be looking at you target (numbers, armpit, etc.) but a lineman needs to use his peripheral vision too. It's hard to see stunts, but the longer you play and the more you adjust to game speed the easier it becomes to recognize what's happening. Plus you can study tendencies to help you. Do they stunt on 3rd and long a lot, 2nd down only, or whatever. It's much easier to pickup if you're expecting it.

And yes they should be yelling at each other to communicate what's happening; "twist, twist!", "Slant!", "Fire left, fire right!" (for a blitz), "Go!" Or "me, me!"(Or whatever to tell the other guy to release and get the other man, or even push him away with one hand). That's all stuff we would use in high school. 

 

[Toe]

As far as the O-line situation goes, I'm gonna copy & paste this post I saw elsewhere, because it seems to make a lot of sense. Basically, it's a domino effect of a couple guys going down/not being 100%, and a lack of depth.

Bando is sick. This has caused a number of issues.

1. Nobody was really prepared to play guard behind Piper once Bando came down with his illness.
2. Banks could've been the dude, but he spent the last two weeks of camp learning left tackle because Turner was hurt. Turner is still hurt.
3. They are playing Turner because they are trying to get Banks up to speed. Its a whole dagnabit mess.
4. The reluctance to put Hixon in at guard stems from the fact that he's basically the only back up center. If Jurgens goes down and Hixon is down... well f#&%.. That's dagnabit nightmare situation.

All of this falls on Austin's shoulders. He's done a poor job of considering contingencies, and the team seems to struggle with communication. Its not Algebra, but learning responsibilities is key. Piper just doens't get it. He's done and shouldn't even be earning a schollie anymore.

Sichterman is the least talented of the group, but doesn't screw up assignments like Piper. Benhart is really struggling in pass pro. His issue is more a footwork problem. I don't know if that can ever be fixed.

Turner is really hurt. He's taken a lot of grief, but he has some type of leg tissue problem that's slowing him up.

Bando isn't great, but he would've solved the Piper problem. That issue is more bad luck than anything else.

Arguably, the biggest takeaway is that we should've hit up the transfer portal for some experienced guys to add some depth to handle this sort of situation.

 

[Caveman]

As far as the O-line situation goes, I'm gonna copy & paste this post I saw elsewhere, because it seems to make a lot of sense. Basically, it's a domino effect of a couple guys going down/not being 100%, and a lack of depth.

Arguably, the biggest takeaway is that we should've hit up the transfer portal for some experienced guys to add some depth to handle this sort of situation.

Too bad Kade Warner graduated. Most naturally gifted blocker on the team. 

 

[Undone]

The running back rotation is odd to me, especially with all the bell cow talk pre-season and through the first few weeks.  It felt like Gabe was getting there prior to his injury, and maybe that was the plan all along, to ease the freshman into the role.  Great opportunity for the rest of the room though.

What I've been wondering lately is if this is Held's strategy for player development. You make it clear that anybody can get the lion's share of carries any week, and the guy who works the hardest gets it. It actually potentially works if it really does motivate each guy to give 100% during practice.

The fans don't like it because it gives off the appearance that the staff is fickle and doesn't know what they're doing.

But for example, what if Johnson's max potential is tapped through this strategy and he shoots through the stratosphere this season because of it? Would be pretty awesome, IMO.

The staff isn't stupid; I think this is all mainly a byproduct of having four guys that are roughly on the same level.

 

[Mavric]

The staff isn't stupid; I think this is all mainly a byproduct of having four guys that are roughly on the same level.

Very good thoughts in the entire post but I think this is the vast majority of it.

All of them have gotten opportunities.  Overall, none has done significantly better or significantly worse than anyone else.

Any other explanation is based on speculation and trying to make something more of it than there actually is.

 

[Undone]

Any other explanation is based on speculation and trying to make something more of it than there actually is.

Agreed.

Rahmir just needs to continue developing his field vision. Everything else seems pretty much there and ready to go, at least from my uneducated opinion from watching games.

I wonder how much his speed can be a weapon against B1G opponents. He really is ridiculously fast, but he hasn't gotten that many opportunities to show it off to the fans. But we've heard about it from practice reports - and we definitely saw it on that screen pass!

 

[Hilltop]

What I've been wondering lately is if this is Held's strategy for player development. You make it clear that anybody can get the lion's share of carries any week, and the guy who works the hardest gets it. It actually potentially works if it really does motivate each guy to give 100% during practice.

The fans don't like it because it gives off the appearance that the staff is fickle and doesn't know what they're doing.

But for example, what if Johnson's max potential is tapped through this strategy and he shoots through the stratosphere this season because of it? Would be pretty awesome, IMO.

The staff isn't stupid; I think this is all mainly a byproduct of having four guys that are roughly on the same level.

You might be right- good points.  There didn't seem to be much separation between the backs.  I just felt that with repetition, we might see better results.  Have a guy see those cutback lanes a little better, run through a bit more contact, etc...  I never played the position so may be way off.  

 

[RedDenver]

Agreed.

Rahmir just needs to continue developing his field vision. Everything else seems pretty much there and ready to go, at least from my uneducated opinion from watching games.

I wonder how much his speed can be a weapon against B1G opponents. He really is ridiculously fast, but he hasn't gotten that many opportunities to show it off to the fans. But we've heard about it from practice reports - and we definitely saw it on that screen pass!

If he continues to run hard and take on tackles like in the OU game, Rahmir is going to break a tackle and then have speed to take it to the house. Hopefully we see it against MSU.

 

[Undone]

You might be right- good points.  There didn't seem to be much separation between the backs.  I just felt that with repetition, we might see better results.  Have a guy see those cutback lanes a little better, run through a bit more contact, etc...

I agree, and it's intuitive for sure. I'm not saying that the staff is actually playing their cards correctly with the strategy, but it occurred to me lately that maybe this is why they're doing it this way.

If the strategy helped to keep Rahmir motivated and to keep him fighting back towards the top of the pack - which is basically what Held alluded to earlier this week - then I'm impressed with what they've done there.

I'll end by saying that Ervin seems like the guy with the highest potential ceiling, though. And I think it'll wind up being a much bigger deal than it seems right now that he's out with a season-ending injury after just four games.

 

[Danimal]

Rob Zatechka seems to think that a lot of it is a coordination problem.  That is, Jurgens is holding his ground but the guards are giving a little ground so they're not on the same level. He says they need to be lined up better so it's easier to pass one guy off and pick up the next guy.

Not saying that's all of it but it seems to be a good point.

That's pretty damning. Austin has had more than enough time with these guys to be coordinated better than that. 

 

[SECHusker]

Thus far we are the 26th scoring defense in the country. If you take out the 9 points from Illinois (strip fumble return and safety), the 2 points from the Oklahoma safety, and the MSU punt return, we are the #9 scoring defense in the county. That ain't to shabby.

Source: https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/28

***We are the 79th rated scoring offense.

 

[suh_fan93]

I hope he actually gets some more carries.  The way Held has been zigging and zagging our rb's I'm surprised he hasn't been given more of a shot or at least a few more touches.

 

[ZRod]

I hope he actually gets some more carries.  The way Held has been zigging and zagging our rb's I'm surprised he hasn't been given more of a shot or at least a few more touches.

I'm shocked he hasn't seen any goal-goal-to-go carries. That seems like what he's built for.

 

[SECHusker]

I hope he actually gets some more carries.  The way Held has been zigging and zagging our rb's I'm surprised he hasn't been given more of a shot or at least a few more touches.

Fingers crossed we're going to I-formation and he's the lead blocker for R. Johnson.

 

[BigRedBuster]

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