LJS: Beck used to taking on a challenge

[knapplc]

If you're not even willing to give the Oline any credit for a school record rushing performance, it's pretty obvious it's not worth having this discussion.

Watch their linebackers/safeys get sucked inside biting on the misdirection in each play. Any sound defense would have stuffed these runs after 6 yards. The offensive line wasn't bad in these plays, they did their job - but after the first 5 yards it's on the lack of LBs/S play.

I don't know, man. Especially on Helu's first run there was some fantastic blocking. Sure their LBs were out of position but the only thing stopping their D Linemen from taking Helu down was the O Line. In particular on that first run, watch Cotton come across the formation and knock his man a$$ over teakettle. Set the tone for the whole game, right there.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

Most of it had to do with shoddy play calling and game preparation in my opinion

OL game prep doesn’t that fall on the position coach? You also blame the zone read. Isn’t that the style of offense we are supposedly moving towards? If so then Barney needs to change a few things between now and next season.

People just refuse to give any credit where it's due around here.

Some refuse to criticize where it is do as well. Barney’s units have screwed up just as much as Gilmores the last three years yet some are a lot quicker to bash Gilmore then they are to bash Cotton.

God forbid I say the Oline had a great game in the best rushing performance in school HISTORY. Good grief.

I said the Mizzou game was possibly the game where they played the best. But I am also not afraid to admit that the Mizzou LB’s and Safeties were horrible that game.

 

[The Dude]

We could bring in Rich Rod, Norm Chow, Urban Meyer, Mangino, Leach, etc. Would it really matter who the OC is when Barney still coaches the OL? Why can't Minnesota take him off our hands like they did with Coz?

Yes it would matter.

Everyone needs to quit acting like the Oline was our only problem on offense. In a lot of games, it was our biggest strength on that side of the ball.

I must have missed those games - and don't go throwing out K-State or Missouri - where a handful of rushing plays accounted for nearly all of those stats you're about to quote.

And who opened up holes for those long running plays?

Bottom line, when we lined it up in the I or wildcat and ran it down hill, our Oline was down right dominant. When we had our QB and RB standing around in the back field running the zone read, not so dominant. It works against crappy Western Kentucky or Pac 10 defenses. But it doesn't work against the Texas, Oklahoma's and Auburn's of the world. This is more a problem of playcalling.

Now, you're just making our point for us. Barney may do fine in a power running scheme. However, his OL and his capabilities fall flat on their face when running the zone read in the spread offense. Bo's going to run the spread. Barney Cotton is a square peg that Bo can't ram through a round hole. Cotton will handicap Beck or whoever the new OC is because of this.

Er. Not really. The point was running the zone read over and over doesn't work against fast, athletic defenses. This was pretty obvious in the MNC game, which had nothing to do with Barney Cotton. You can have the best line on earth and it wouldn't matter if your QB and RB are just standing around in the backfield holding hands.

Luckily Big Ten defenses aren't exactly known for their speed.

 

[kchusker_chris]

I don't know, man. Especially on Helu's first run there was some fantastic blocking. Sure their LBs were out of position but the only thing stopping their D Linemen from taking Helu down was the O Line. In particular on that first run, watch Cotton come across the formation and knock his man a$$ over teakettle. Set the tone for the whole game, right there.

Yeah, the defensive linemen were eating up blocks like they were suposed to. It was the 2 LBs that filled a hole in the middle and the safety that got sucked over there behind them that allowed the 1st big run. And I don't consider Cotton an OL I guess. I think that was him that had a really nice block sealing the DE or blitzing LB on the last of Helu's runs as well. I'll give credit to Brown for those.

Basically, those 3-4 plays are what EVERYONE around here uses to justify Barney's position on this staff (I called Dude's response well before he even typed it) - despite the fact there were 600 other offensive plays this season...and even those 3-4 would have been minimal had Mizzou played with even an elementary level of discipline.

Our OL is capable of executing the simple things, I'll give you that. Run straight forward. Run to the outside. But when you start checking at the line, or need to identify blitzes their play gets sketchy. That's coaching IMO. A lot of them come out of high school being able to "line it up in the I or wildcat and run it downhill" - it's the complexity of college ball that has Barney scratching his head right now. In today's world you can't just line up and run at people. It'll get you some wins, but it won't get you championships (so don't go throwing out Wisconsin and telling me you can).

 

[irafreak]

I'm actually intrigued to see what Beck can put together. I hope it works out.

I hope it works out too. Seems less likely than if we brought in an experienced OC. So... if it works out, great. If it does not, then expect that Bo's whole future as the NU head coach rests on this. If there is not dramatic improvement next season... then expect that Bo will be on the hot seat and given, at best, one more year after that before an entire new staff comes in.

One more year after next? Seriously? What if the offense looks like garbage and we still win 9 games each year? Let's say we squeak out a big 10 title game trip one of those years?

 

[HuskerBill85]

Well, he couldn't be as bad as Watson could he? If he fails it could mean Pelini's head. This was Bo's chance to go out and get a legit OC. To me it just seems like we're settling on Beck. If Beck was "the guy" we wouldn't have needed to search around. Time will tell I guess. I will be very, very disappointed if it is Beck, but I wish him the best, and hope he can turn this thing around.

Actually this isn't true it's been speculated that Frost didn't come here because we didn't offer him the OC job. Beck becoming the OC has been decided along time ago possibly all the way back in 08'. Beck is a great hire and a guy who deserves a chance.

If it's true Bo has enough faith in Tim that he didn't even look around for an OC, that will certainly ease my worries some. I'll still be disappointed. I was really hoping we would go out and get a legit, proven coordinator or at least a Beck/Frost combo.

Look at it this way i'm not too sure there is anything about Frost's resume that says he's ready to be a OC. The only reason this board was pumped to get him is because of his past with Nebraska over a decade ago. Had he been just some WR coach for a few years at Oregon then onto Nebraska to be the OC we'd be scratching our heads.

Heres something else I'd like to add at this point I don't even give a damn about the scheme. I'd love for our offense to go back to the fundamentals mainly holding onto the. We can have the best scheme in the world but when you put the ball on the ground as much as our offense has the last few years scheme is a moot point.

I can't speak for everyone, but the reason I was pumped about Frost is because he was apart of a very successful offense we're tying to emulate. Plus Oregon showed they would have fought hard to keep him around no matter what. Which leads me to believe the guy can coach his @ss off. That made me more comfortable than promoting a guy from a horrid offense. Like I said Frost and Beck as Co's would have been ideal for me.

It's not like Beck's resume is exactly impressive.

I totally disagree.

How is Becks resume not impressive? He was a good coach in the state of Texas which is basically like a small college team if you consider how high schools down there have million dollar facilities, The guy is a greater recruiter, he worked on a staff that took one of the worst teams in college football with a converted QB as WR and made them into a great offense, then came to Nebraska and coached the best unit on offense. I'd say Beck has done a good job and is just as deserving as anyone to be the OC.

 

[kchusker_chris]

I'm actually intrigued to see what Beck can put together. I hope it works out.

I hope it works out too. Seems less likely than if we brought in an experienced OC. So... if it works out, great. If it does not, then expect that Bo's whole future as the NU head coach rests on this. If there is not dramatic improvement next season... then expect that Bo will be on the hot seat and given, at best, one more year after that before an entire new staff comes in.

One more year after next? Seriously? What if the offense looks like garbage and we still win 9 games each year? Let's say we squeak out a big 10 title game trip one of those years?

There's more to it than the number in the W column. Would you say 2009 and 2010 were equal? Both had 10 wins, but the way we went about getting the wins in 2010 left a negative aura hanging over the state. An undeciplined, unmotivated, final stretch of the season filled with more drama than highlights and I say it wouldn't be a stretch to think circumstances might warrant change. It's VERY speculative right now - but I see 8 wins on our schedule next year and the following year without stretching far. Pelini can find 1 more on there - but if they implode in the other 5 like was often the case this year and we have 3 years in a row of this late season drama...I don't know.

 

[junior4949]

We could bring in Rich Rod, Norm Chow, Urban Meyer, Mangino, Leach, etc. Would it really matter who the OC is when Barney still coaches the OL? Why can't Minnesota take him off our hands like they did with Coz?

Yes it would matter.

Everyone needs to quit acting like the Oline was our only problem on offense. In a lot of games, it was our biggest strength on that side of the ball.

I must have missed those games - and don't go throwing out K-State or Missouri - where a handful of rushing plays accounted for nearly all of those stats you're about to quote.

And who opened up holes for those long running plays?

Bottom line, when we lined it up in the I or wildcat and ran it down hill, our Oline was down right dominant. When we had our QB and RB standing around in the back field running the zone read, not so dominant. It works against crappy Western Kentucky or Pac 10 defenses. But it doesn't work against the Texas, Oklahoma's and Auburn's of the world. This is more a problem of playcalling.

Now, you're just making our point for us. Barney may do fine in a power running scheme. However, his OL and his capabilities fall flat on their face when running the zone read in the spread offense. Bo's going to run the spread. Barney Cotton is a square peg that Bo can't ram through a round hole. Cotton will handicap Beck or whoever the new OC is because of this.

Er. Not really. The point was running the zone read over and over doesn't work against fast, athletic defenses. This was pretty obvious in the MNC game, which had nothing to do with Barney Cotton. You can have the best line on earth and it wouldn't matter if your QB and RB are just standing around in the backfield holding hands.

Luckily Big Ten defenses aren't exactly known for their speed.

Whether the zone read works or not matters very little because we are going to run the zone read. It also matters very little who the next OC is because again we are going to run the zone read. Cotton's capabilities are not suited to run the zone read, but it matters little because we are going to run the zone read. The zone read and spread is the offense Bo wants to run.

 

[knapplc]

Whether the zone read works or not matters very little because we are going to run the zone read. It also matters very little who the next OC is because again we are going to run the zone read. Cotton's capabilities are not suited to run the zone read, but it matters little because we are going to run the zone read. The zone read and spread is the offense Bo wants to run.

The Zone may be the base of our offense but it won't be the only part. Just like Bo changes up his defense as needed, he'll change up his offense when the time is right.

 

[Nexus]

I guess what intrigues me about Beck is he now has firsthand knowledge of what NOT to do with this offense. A forced marriage of spread option and WCO just doesn't work. Like several people here have already mentioned, Jamal Turner was told awhile back that Beck would be the next OC and that his plan was to simplify the playbook. To me that might be the best thing to happen yet? Simplify might seem like an ugly word but Dr. Tom's offense wasn't complex either. What made his offenses work was the player's ability to pick it up fairly quickly. It required less thinking and more focus on simple fundamentals and execution. In theory, the less our linemen have to think, the less they'll likely commit boneheaded penalties. At least this is how I interpret Beck when he says he wants to simplify the playbook.

 

[The Dude]

I guess what intrigues me about Beck is he now has firsthand knowledge of what NOT to do with this offense. A forced marriage of spread option and WCO just doesn't work. Like several people here have already mentioned, Jamal Turner was told awhile back that Beck would be the next OC and that his plan was to simplify the playbook. To me that might be the best thing to happen yet? Simplify might seem like an ugly word but Dr. Tom's offense wasn't complex either. What made his offenses work was the player's ability to pick it up fairly quickly. It required less thinking and more focus on simple fundamentals and execution. In theory, the less our linemen have to think, the less they'll likely commit boneheaded penalties. At least this is how I interpret Beck when he says he wants to simplify the playbook.

You're spot on with this post. On top of what you've said, it allows the players to get the repetition they need at the college level. Repetition in practice is crucial at the college level. No one knew this better than Dr. Tom.

 

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

The article also mentioned he coached high school football in Arizona and won the 4A state championship in 1995 with future Husker Mike Brown at RB. Brown was named the Arizona player of the year while rushing for 2036 yds and scored 31 tds. Mitch Sherman mentioned that you would have to look at his high school teams to get an idea what he brings as OC. I think this gives a glimpse. Rex Burkhead and Aaron Green should give him a couple good RBs to work with.

 

[knapplc]

The article also mentioned he coached high school football in Arizona and won the 4A state championship in 1995 with future Husker Mike Brown at RB. Brown was named the Arizona player of the year while rushing for 2036 yds and scored 31 tds.

That's hardly a point in Beck's favor. Brown had a terrible career at Nebraska - not a single rushing TD.

:LOLtartar

 

[Nexus]

I guess what intrigues me about Beck is he now has firsthand knowledge of what NOT to do with this offense. A forced marriage of spread option and WCO just doesn't work. Like several people here have already mentioned, Jamal Turner was told awhile back that Beck would be the next OC and that his plan was to simplify the playbook. To me that might be the best thing to happen yet? Simplify might seem like an ugly word but Dr. Tom's offense wasn't complex either. What made his offenses work was the player's ability to pick it up fairly quickly. It required less thinking and more focus on simple fundamentals and execution. In theory, the less our linemen have to think, the less they'll likely commit boneheaded penalties. At least this is how I interpret Beck when he says he wants to simplify the playbook.

You're spot on with this post. On top of what you've said, it allows the players to get the repetition they need at the college level. Repetition in practice is crucial at the college level. No one knew this better than Dr. Tom.

Agreed. Power/Smashmouth football doesn't waste time thinking.

 

[Roark]

I totally disagree.

How is Becks resume not impressive? He was a good coach in the state of Texas which is basically like a small college team if you consider how high schools down there have million dollar facilities, The guy is a greater recruiter, he worked on a staff that took one of the worst teams in college football with a converted QB as WR and made them into a great offense, then came to Nebraska and coached the best unit on offense. I'd say Beck has done a good job and is just as deserving as anyone to be the OC.

I could see Beck deservedly going to a mid-major school to get his shot at OC. For Nebraska, his "impressiveness" should come from play calling and offensive scheming. It does not. This isn't a high-school football program, it isn't a Division II program and this isn't 1996. I would rather see someone with recent success scheming and playcalling at a major program come here. I understand that it probably won't happen, but this attitude of "I heart mediocrity" with all of these coaching change-ups is somewhat disturbing.