Postgame thoughts

H

Hercules

All-Conference
1. After beginning this season as a dark horse national title contender, we will finish this season unranked. This is the first Pelini team that has seemed to digress over the course of the year. Maybe there are injuries we don't know about, but it doesn't really seem that way.

2. We have seen very little of Zac Lee this year, but I feel pretty safe in saying that neither Martinez or Green have improved.

3. The offensive staff has to be shaken up in the offseason. After tonight's ridiculously poor offensive performance, there's really no excuse. This was a below average PAC-10 team, which is a conference that plays below average defense to begin with.

As far as where our offense is headed, we currently don't have the right personnel for the system we are running. Our line can't block, our receivers can't get open, our QBs still struggle to execute the zone read and the west coast passing offense.

The RBs and TEs seem to be doing their job pretty well, best that I can tell. Gilmore, Cotton, and Watson all need to go. The Blackshirts can't hold every stinkin team to 3 points.

 
More of the same. I've been watching Nebraska football for a long time. I don't ever remember our offense looking this bad. Ever.

The game plan couldn't have been more predictable. Washington simply played the run. That's all they did.

I just wonder what people in the Big 10 and the nation for that matter think when they watch Nebraska's offense. It's almost to the point of embarassing.

 
Hercules said:
As far as where our offense is headed, we currently don't have the right personnel for the system we are running. Our line can't block, our receivers can't get open, our QBs still struggle to execute the zone read and the west coast passing offense.
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What "system" are we trying to run exactly? I'm still trying to figure that one out. We've had some highlight reel scoring plays throughout the year, but not too many 80 yd. grind-it-out type drives.

 
Really have to wonder, what if.

How you handle a player can determine everything about their career.

Give them a chance and then yank them, give them another chance and then yank them, at the first sign of a slip-up, and it can kill confidence and derail progression. I feel this has been the case with some young receivers lately. I also feel it's been the case with Green.

We saw a guy thrown in an incredibly tough situation in the 4th quarter (on the 1-yard line AGAIN, ha!), and down two scores, having to drive us back as the clock wound down - without the benefit of a shutdown defense. Green missed throw after throw, but he also showed presence in the pocket for the most part, though he was a tick slow. You have to wonder: if you get behind the guy like we did against CU, and have him entrenched as the starter with Taylor as the emergency option, ever since Iowa State, would he still be that tick slow, that little bit unsure, or would have grown into a confident, capable option?

Green is a guy that is not as explosive on those runs as Taylor, but he is obviously much farther along in passing and knowledge of the position. He shows better poise, and won't just take sacks the way Taylor does. We saw him show some very good things with his arm, but only in rare bursts, unfortunately. If we don't stick stubbornly to Taylor while completely ignoring Green as an option, is that still the case?

The way the QB business was handled at the end of the year, cost us big time. Even more than the poor OL play tonight, IMO.

 
zoogies said:
Really have to wonder, what if.

How you handle a player can determine everything about their career.

Give them a chance and then yank them, give them another chance and then yank them, at the first sign of a slip-up, and it can kill confidence and derail progression. I feel this has been the case with some young receivers lately. I also feel it's been the case with Green.

We saw a guy thrown in an incredibly tough situation in the 4th quarter (on the 1-yard line AGAIN, ha!), and down two scores, having to drive us back as the clock wound down - without the benefit of a shutdown defense. Green missed throw after throw, but he also showed presence in the pocket for the most part, though he was a tick slow. You have to wonder: if you get behind the guy like we did against CU, and have him entrenched as the starter with Taylor as the emergency option, ever since Iowa State, would he still be that tick slow, that little bit unsure, or would have grown into a confident, capable option?

Green is a guy that is not as explosive on those runs as Taylor, but he is obviously much farther along in passing and knowledge of the position. He shows better poise, and won't just take sacks the way Taylor does. We saw him show some very good things with his arm, but only in rare bursts, unfortunately. If we don't stick stubbornly to Taylor while completely ignoring Green as an option, is that still the case?

The way the QB business was handled at the end of the year, cost us big time. Even more than the poor OL play tonight, IMO.
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Good Point. I'm a little confused because there were games this year when our offense was dazzling! I mean, we beat the crap outta this Washington team back in September. We also beat Missouri, who was ranked in the top 10 when we beat them. It was almost like we had two different teams playing this year. I think that's what has been most frustrating for me.

We have some house cleaning to do for sure and some hard work/decisions to make in the off season. But at least we can start with a clean slate in the fall. Put the Big 12 and all of our disappointments behind us and start fresh-with no mistakes.

 
suh_fan93 said:
More of the same. I've been watching Nebraska football for a long time. I don't ever remember our offense looking this bad. Ever.

The game plan couldn't have been more predictable. Washington simply played the run. That's all they did.

I just wonder what people in the Big 10 and the nation for that matter think when they watch Nebraska's offense. It's almost to the point of embarassing.
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Almost to the point of embarrassing? Oh it's gone way past that point by now. This offense is down right pathetic!

 
Anyone notice Green drops back way too far on most straight drop-back pass plays? Who the hell is the QB coach?

Oh... it's Watson? Well then, Green needs to get his act together. Wats knows what he's doing, Green is just a terrible learner.

 
zoogies said:
Really have to wonder, what if.

How you handle a player can determine everything about their career.

Give them a chance and then yank them, give them another chance and then yank them, at the first sign of a slip-up, and it can kill confidence and derail progression. I feel this has been the case with some young receivers lately. I also feel it's been the case with Green.

We saw a guy thrown in an incredibly tough situation in the 4th quarter (on the 1-yard line AGAIN, ha!), and down two scores, having to drive us back as the clock wound down - without the benefit of a shutdown defense. Green missed throw after throw, but he also showed presence in the pocket for the most part, though he was a tick slow. You have to wonder: if you get behind the guy like we did against CU, and have him entrenched as the starter with Taylor as the emergency option, ever since Iowa State, would he still be that tick slow, that little bit unsure, or would have grown into a confident, capable option?

Green is a guy that is not as explosive on those runs as Taylor, but he is obviously much farther along in passing and knowledge of the position. He shows better poise, and won't just take sacks the way Taylor does. We saw him show some very good things with his arm, but only in rare bursts, unfortunately. If we don't stick stubbornly to Taylor while completely ignoring Green as an option, is that still the case?

The way the QB business was handled at the end of the year, cost us big time. Even more than the poor OL play tonight, IMO.
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How the QB's psyche affects their performance is impossible for us to know. As far as I can tell, anytime I see Cody talk to the press or interact with his teammates on the field, he doesn't appear to lack confidence.

He didn't play as much tonight, and they were in different game situations, but I don't see how anyone would feel anymore comfortable with Cody in than Taylor. As soon as Washington stopped giving us a cushion in their coverage, and came after Cody the way they came after Taylor, the results were exactly the same.

If anything, I kind of felt like with Cody in, we saw why Taylor is still starting. They both miss open receivers, struggle in the pocket, and miss reads in the zone read game. Taylor's a lot faster. That's about all I saw tonight.

Our offensive problems are not just about our QB, not even close. QBs are a problem, from the top of the depth chart to the bottom, but we've got big problems elsewhere too, from teaching and playcalling to execution. Our receivers are big and slow and can't get open, our offensive line can't block, and we were completely outcoached by Nick Holt tonight in every way imaginable. We have to shake things up.

 
zoogies said:
Really have to wonder, what if.

How you handle a player can determine everything about their career.

Give them a chance and then yank them, give them another chance and then yank them, at the first sign of a slip-up, and it can kill confidence and derail progression. I feel this has been the case with some young receivers lately. I also feel it's been the case with Green.

We saw a guy thrown in an incredibly tough situation in the 4th quarter (on the 1-yard line AGAIN, ha!), and down two scores, having to drive us back as the clock wound down - without the benefit of a shutdown defense. Green missed throw after throw, but he also showed presence in the pocket for the most part, though he was a tick slow. You have to wonder: if you get behind the guy like we did against CU, and have him entrenched as the starter with Taylor as the emergency option, ever since Iowa State, would he still be that tick slow, that little bit unsure, or would have grown into a confident, capable option?

Green is a guy that is not as explosive on those runs as Taylor, but he is obviously much farther along in passing and knowledge of the position. He shows better poise, and won't just take sacks the way Taylor does. We saw him show some very good things with his arm, but only in rare bursts, unfortunately. If we don't stick stubbornly to Taylor while completely ignoring Green as an option, is that still the case?

The way the QB business was handled at the end of the year, cost us big time. Even more than the poor OL play tonight, IMO.
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No. We're tired of wondering "what if?" We're tired of the excuses. We're tired of the penalties, of the turnovers, of the predictable and unoriginal play calling. Keep clinging to your laughable reasons for defending awful coaching, but the "what if?" game has run its course. Time for action - time for a new coordinator.

 
I've been pretty critical of Cody Green the past couple of years. After watching the kid this year, I almost feel sorry for him.

How can we judge this kid when is always thrown in a no win situation? His role is to polish a turd always. He clearly isn't the most gifted QB, but what is the guy supposed to do.

 
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Hercules said:
zoogies said:
Really have to wonder, what if.

How you handle a player can determine everything about their career.

Give them a chance and then yank them, give them another chance and then yank them, at the first sign of a slip-up, and it can kill confidence and derail progression. I feel this has been the case with some young receivers lately. I also feel it's been the case with Green.

We saw a guy thrown in an incredibly tough situation in the 4th quarter (on the 1-yard line AGAIN, ha!), and down two scores, having to drive us back as the clock wound down - without the benefit of a shutdown defense. Green missed throw after throw, but he also showed presence in the pocket for the most part, though he was a tick slow. You have to wonder: if you get behind the guy like we did against CU, and have him entrenched as the starter with Taylor as the emergency option, ever since Iowa State, would he still be that tick slow, that little bit unsure, or would have grown into a confident, capable option?

Green is a guy that is not as explosive on those runs as Taylor, but he is obviously much farther along in passing and knowledge of the position. He shows better poise, and won't just take sacks the way Taylor does. We saw him show some very good things with his arm, but only in rare bursts, unfortunately. If we don't stick stubbornly to Taylor while completely ignoring Green as an option, is that still the case?

The way the QB business was handled at the end of the year, cost us big time. Even more than the poor OL play tonight, IMO.
Click to expand...
How the QB's psyche affects their performance is impossible for us to know. As far as I can tell, anytime I see Cody talk to the press or interact with his teammates on the field, he doesn't appear to lack confidence.

He didn't play as much tonight, and they were in different game situations, but I don't see how anyone would feel anymore comfortable with Cody in than Taylor. As soon as Washington stopped giving us a cushion in their coverage, and came after Cody the way they came after Taylor, the results were exactly the same.

If anything, I kind of felt like with Cody in, we saw why Taylor is still starting. They both miss open receivers, struggle in the pocket, and miss reads in the zone read game. Taylor's a lot faster. That's about all I saw tonight.

Our offensive problems are not just about our QB, not even close. QBs are a problem, from the top of the depth chart to the bottom, but we've got big problems elsewhere too, from teaching and playcalling to execution. Our receivers are big and slow and can't get open, our offensive line can't block, and we were completely outcoached by Nick Holt tonight in every way imaginable. We have to shake things up.
Click to expand...
Yeah, a lot of this is really hard to ascertain. It's why I framed it in what if terms. I feel like Green could have given us a better shot - but not if you just throw him out there as the 2nd stringer. Taylor, evidently does not have the ability to really utilize his speed in any useful way. Lateral speed is shot. He is getting run down by defensive ends when he tries to move laterally. And passing, Green just has the ability to make better throws, and better decisions. I just feel we had a better shot that way. This is not a knock on Taylor so much as an acknowledgment that he is still hurting and not fully recovered, and that is negating a lot of his would-be effectiveness.

Cheshire, for goodness sake, I am ripping into the coaches for starting Taylor, not defending anyone.

 
huzkerbob said:
suh_fan93 said:
More of the same. I've been watching Nebraska football for a long time. I don't ever remember our offense looking this bad. Ever.

The game plan couldn't have been more predictable. Washington simply played the run. That's all they did.

I just wonder what people in the Big 10 and the nation for that matter think when they watch Nebraska's offense. It's almost to the point of embarassing.
Click to expand...
Almost to the point of embarrassing? Oh it's gone way past that point by now. This offense is down right pathetic!
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Fortunately, anybody who enjoys watching quality football had long since switched away.

 
You guys have had a good season, so, not here to rub the nose, but the Huskies came to play. I'll be the first to say how surprised I was how Holt had our D up to take the game. Our D dominated, and I cannot explain why, maybe you guys were down having to play us, but that seems lame.

Anyway, here's to the next game on your turf. Good Luck Huskers, I always root for them against anyone but my Husky's.

 
I'm still a fan of Taylor, but at least Cody throws the ball, literally, which is something Taylor hasn't been able to do of late.

 
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