1620: Niles Paul on 1620 and his future/Offense's Change

[zoogs]

http://1620thezone.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5138227

At the 21 minute mark, but the whole interview with Mike McNeil and Niles Paul is worth listening to.

"We all went into the season with a plan of how the offense was going to be, but everything kind of changed, you know, towards the end of fall camp." (you can hear the audible exclamation from the hosts here) "Our offense went from a run/pass equal kind of offense, to a run first, pass when you have to kind of offense. It kind of threw us off, but we had to adapt."

How's that for a myth !

But more on the rest of the interview, Niles sounds like a seriously peeved dude, like a guy with a huge chip on his shoulder. Man on a mission reports sound right, from the Senior Bowl reports. He's also pretty proud about how he's doing in those practices. Hopefully he can carry that momentum, 'cause this battle ain't barely begun.

Mike McNeil heads off this segment, so I don't mean to take away from his luster here, but he was a bit more careful/standard with the stuff he said.

 

[shyndy]

hmm i thought they said they studied oregon's offense in the offseason. So we really just changed everything up right before the season?

Also makes me cringe when he says "i think it will be the same offense."

 

[Husker Richard]

hmm i thought they said they studied oregon's offense in the offseason. So we really just changed everything up right before the season?

Also makes me cringe when he says "i think it will be the same offense."

I wonder if he's referring to when the decision to go to with Taylor as the starting QB was made. Then all of a sudden they had to adjust the gameplan due to his weaker passing abilities.

 

[bball_backer]

I was listening to 1620 the day Niles was on... I was having a good day until I heard that part of the interview.

 

[Landlord]

Sounds like it was the same offense as far as concepts, as in there weren't any new schemes or playcalls or anything, they just decided to take one pre-existing part of it and use it way more than originally envisioned. Doesn't seem like the shocking news that people are making it out to be, not to me at least.

 

[fearandloathing]

First of all, I think that's Niles' MO. Dude gets off on rising up when the cards are stacked against him. And on to the Watson part... My uncle is an O coordinator for a college football team. He rolls with Watson and breaks down game film, studies tendancies, etc (loves the dude)... Over Christmas I spent a ton of time arguing with him about the Wats. The thing I took from it is this: dude is a very smart guy. Dude also recruits well for the qb position. Unfortunately, dude can't put it all together. It's great to have the knowledge and the athletes to succeed at this level, but you must be effective with the decisions you make for said players. If what Niles said is true (changing offense immediately before the season), then Watson totally reinforced everything people have been saying about him for month. Seems like Watson is in over his head and he may be more proficient as a QB coach...

 

[HuskerNMO]

This is just shocking news :sarcasm

 

[zoogs]

Sounds like it was the same offense as far as concepts, as in there weren't any new schemes or playcalls or anything, they just decided to take one pre-existing part of it and use it way more than originally envisioned. Doesn't seem like the shocking news that people are making it out to be, not to me at least.

Yes to the bold part, that's about spot on, IMO. Which is a terrible terrible idea. Take what was originally one package or component in the offense you are working on, and turn it into your whole offense while stripping away everything else.

I also don't think it should be shocking, as it's been quite frequently discussed, but this is the first time that I recall a player confirming the change towards the end of fall camp. In case there are those who doubt it/dismiss it as rumor, hopefully this can put that to rest.

First of all, I think that's Niles' MO. Dude gets off on rising up when the cards are stacked against him. And on to the Watson part... My uncle is an O coordinator for a college football team. He rolls with Watson and breaks down game film, studies tendancies, etc (loves the dude)... Over Christmas I spent a ton of time arguing with him about the Wats. The thing I took from it is this: dude is a very smart guy. Dude also recruits well for the qb position. Unfortunately, dude can't put it all together. It's great to have the knowledge and the athletes to succeed at this level, but you must be effective with the decisions you make for said players. If what Niles said is true (changing offense immediately before the season), then Watson totally reinforced everything people have been saying about him for month. Seems like Watson is in over his head and he may be more proficient as a QB coach...

Now here is the kicker. This was Bo's call. When the news came up at the beginning of the year, I felt disappointment that Watson wouldn't just tell Bo to suck it, and how that's a terrible idea. But as a few pointed out in rebuttal to me at the time, Bo is the head coach and it is proper for the HC to make these calls. But when he makes the bed, he has to lay in it.

The silver lining/positives out of that for most people are "Well, we should be better set up for 2011 now with an experienced quarterback." I sure hope it was worth it.

 

[Blackshirtsguru]

I was listening to 1620 the day Niles was on... I was having a good day until I heard that part of the interview.

I agree....he sounded very arrogant and well....he's not as good as he thinks he is. He will get humbled at the combine.

 

[fearandloathing]

Zoogies--

You nailed it. That's the part that was perplexing for me. Ultimately, Bo is the head coach and it would be naive to think that he didn't have influence on the direction of the offense. There has to be some accountability by our head coach. It doesn't take a "football mind" to realize that making a huge change right before the season with a team that could compete for a conference championship and a BCS game is not intelligent. Hopefully he's not so hard-headed that he continues down this path. He needs to learn from his mistakes because it seems that many of the players feel that they totally underachieved this year.

 

[knapplc]

Again, Bo stated this was the kind of offense he wanted to run when he came here. In 2008. This is not news, not to the extent it's being made out to be. We've been recruiting to put these kinds of players on the field running these kinds of plays.

I love the shocker moment. Only, it's not so shocking, not if you've been paying attention.

 

[HuskerNMO]

Again, Bo stated this was the kind of offense he wanted to run when he came here. In 2008. This is not news, not to the extent it's being made out to be. We've been recruiting to put these kinds of players on the field running these kinds of plays.

I love the shocker moment. Only, it's not so shocking, not if you've been paying attention.

The "shocking" part is a change in philosophy a few weeks before the season starts. It'd be one thing if it happened in the offseason, or start of fall camp. Most teams don't change offensive philosophy a few weeks before the season starts.

And while Bo has wanted to move to a run oriented offense, he's also spoke about being multiple plenty.

Players went from planning, and expecting a 50\50 mix, to getting a 70/30 run mix. It was executed early, but it was obvious as the year drug on that defenses caught up with the schemes and injuries took away our hopes for a final Big 12 title.

 

[mmmtodd]

Again, Bo stated this was the kind of offense he wanted to run when he came here. In 2008. This is not news, not to the extent it's being made out to be. We've been recruiting to put these kinds of players on the field running these kinds of plays.

I love the shocker moment. Only, it's not so shocking, not if you've been paying attention.

The "shocking" part is a change in philosophy a few weeks before the season starts. It'd be one thing if it happened in the offseason, or start of fall camp. Most teams don't change offensive philosophy a few weeks before the season starts.

And while Bo has wanted to move to a run oriented offense, he's also spoke about being multiple as well.

Players went from planning, and expecting a 50\50 mix, to getting a 70/30 run mix. It was executed early, but it was obvious as the year drug on that defenses caught up with the schemes and injuries took away our hopes for a final Big 12 title.

hmm...i think the timeline is getting blown up a bit here too. zac lee wasnt even a participant in spring practices, remember? martinez was getting his look long before 'a couple weeks" before the season started. i find it hard to imagine the philosophy was such a new and amazing shock, especially to any of the coaches.

 

[Hercules]

Pelini said in the middle of the year that they had originally thought Cody Green was going to be the starter, not Zac Lee, and we saw throughout the first several games that Cody Green was solidly the second string QB.

I can buy the idea that the run/pass ratio shifted when Martinez took over for good, but I don't buy the idea that their offensive philosophy changed. Bo has wanted a run-first offense since he came here, and Martinez is the first QB we've had that has actually enabled that. We were recruiting Jamal Turner and Bubba Starling and Brion Carnes BEFORE Taylor Martinez won the starting job, and those guys are a clear reflection of the offensive philosophy we showed this year.

If you were going to pinpoint where our offensive philosophy changed drastically, I'd look more towards the middle of 2009. The offense tanks against Texas Tech and Iowa State, and things start changing. First, Cody Green gets a couple starts at QB, largely because he is a threat to run. When it becomes clear he isn't ready, we go back to Lee, but in an offense that is focused primarily on power running, because it played to our only strengths and minimized our turnover troubles. Our one QB recruit, Tyler Gabbert, who would have fit the Joe Ganz offense, decommits, and we follow that up with commitments from running QBs such as Turner and Carnes. When we finally get healthy and have time to do install during bowl practices, we show a CLEAR move in the direction of the spread option during the Holiday Bowl.

This shift in philosophy has been in motion for a long time, it didn't happen overnight during fall camp.

I'd also be a lot more willing to listen to these QB/offensive philosophy arguments if at any point in this season Zac Lee or Cody Green actually looked better than Taylor Martinez. But they never did.

 

[HuskerNMO]

Pelini said in the middle of the year that they had originally thought Cody Green was going to be the starter, not Zac Lee, and we saw throughout the first several games that Cody Green was solidly the second string QB.

I can buy the idea that the run/pass ratio shifted when Martinez took over for good, but I don't buy the idea that their offensive philosophy changed. Bo has wanted a run-first offense since he came here, and Martinez is the first QB we've had that has actually enabled that. We were recruiting Jamal Turner and Bubba Starling and Brion Carnes BEFORE Taylor Martinez won the starting job, and those guys are a clear reflection of the offensive philosophy we showed this year.

If you were going to pinpoint where our offensive philosophy changed drastically, I'd look more towards the middle of 2009. The offense tanks against Texas Tech and Iowa State, and things start changing. First, Cody Green gets a couple starts at QB, largely because he is a threat to run. When it becomes clear he isn't ready, we go back to Lee, but in an offense that is focused primarily on power running, because it played to our only strengths and minimized our turnover troubles. Our one QB recruit, Tyler Gabbert, who would have fit the Joe Ganz offense, decommits, and we follow that up with commitments from running QBs such as Turner and Carnes. When we finally get healthy and have time to do install during bowl practices, we show a CLEAR move in the direction of the spread option during the Holiday Bowl.

This shift in philosophy has been in motion for a long time, it didn't happen overnight during fall camp.

I'd also be a lot more willing to listen to these QB/offensive philosophy arguments if at any point in this season Zac Lee or Cody Green actually looked better than Taylor Martinez. But they never did.

I'll put my trust in the people who were in practices, going through the reps on a daily basis. Cody Green was going to be the starter, and we were going to run more in the mold of the 2008 offense. But Taylor threw his fit, then came back and impressed in a couple of practices and the rest, like our hopes of a conference title and BCS game in 2010 are history.

Also, Nebraska offered around 10 QB's this year, 4 of them were pass first QB's, we just happened to get Jamal and Bubba.

For 2012, you will continue to see NU recruit a wide range of QB's in talent. Pelini knows you can't just be one-dimensional and expect to be a contender for a Big Ten or national title.