gossamorharpy

I just don’t get what we’re trying to achieve defensively. This bend don’t break concept is pointless when we don’t have an offense

I don’t think it’s an argument at all. Minimal coverage and no ability to pressure the qb

All true and fair! Just wanna see it here finally !!!!

I cant believe I'm quoting myself here, BUT 10 FREAKING PLAYS IN A WHOLE QUARTER?!?!? Scott Frost should be f'n ashamed

Right, not a good look. This isn't in a vacuum tho. That brain dead play by LMC to start the game and give them 7 a min in to set the tone, the ridiculous turnovers popping up, the constant 3 and outs, going for it on 4th and not converting after a horrendous 3rd down play call that had minimal chance of success, BRAIN DEAD PENALTY AFTER BRAIN DEAD PENALTY on 1st downs, time outs, starting quarters, etc. Getting 41 hung on ya by Illinois is a horrendous look, but lets be honest, our offense shares more than 50% of the blame in this situation... Look at this piss poor drive chart- This is inexcusable and no freaking defense is going to carry a team to the level we want when our offense f'n sucks. Dominated in TOP and dominated in turnovers, thats a recipe for a s#!tty f'n team and season

I agree Chins needs to prolly go... but has Frost really proven he can score points? lol As pissed off as this defense gets me, they've played way better throughout this year and feel like they've held up their end of the bargain (at least what's expected out of a crappy near winless team). We dont win PSU without the defense and NW was a game simply cause the D kept us in. Not saying our defense is where it should be, because its definitely not (the lack of pressure on qb plus weak sauce cushion coverage in the secondary is a disaster of a game plan), but that side has also gotten hung out to dry by our offense that cant move the chains consistently and cant score 7 when in the redzone.

Can't just change a system overnight. I would argue though, that the Spread gets mischaracterized as a passing heavy offense when that's not always the case. While its true there will be various WR sets that lend itself to the passing attack, Spread doesn't mean you cant not be a run first team. When frosty was at Oregon they were a spread team but had so many different looks that at the end of the day were run focused. Having watched so many of their games, so often their offense had an easy 2nd and 3 or 2nd and 4 because they were still picking up a healthy clip on the ground on 1st down to open up the whole playbook. I really do think Frosty and staff thought they were ok with the QB before the season and I cant help but reiterate a comment i made in a different thread that our fluff defensive philosophy of givings WRs cushion probably added a false sense of confidence. I get what you mean about adding more blockers but if anything, teams already know we cant f'n pass and adding another blocker just gives them even more of a heads up to stack the box. I would disagree with your last point- on TV the game is not very complicated but the fact of the matter is football is the ultimate team game in the sense that each position group directly impacts the other and very rarely can one guy who's really good carry a whole team. I think our main problem at hand is not having a QB who's a consistent thrower, but that problem is not in a vacuum and its worth acknowledging that our O line play is subpar, our play-calling is erratic at best, and we still have no idea how to properly balance the WR/TE options we have at our disposal.

I think we average .6 a play for all those damn passes and screens in the flat. Half the time it seems like the opposing defense knows where the receiver should be better than the QB/WR Its kind of shocking that Lubick is not getting more heat, isnt he both the O Coordinator and WR coach or am I off here? I really had high hopes for the guy as he was in the fold with those solid washington squads and obviously worked with Frosty at oregon. Obviously he's gonna get more time to prove results but I was really expecting noticeable progress and I feel like we've gone backwards

I 100% agree with you we need to trust in Frost. He needs to shake up the staff, and in a major way at the end of this year or next at the latest. I'm still a firm believer he's the right man for the job, he just needs to bring in coaches who are more seasoned and proven to be consistent winners at the P5 level. Not saying the whole staff needs the axe, but something is clearly broken and that starts up top. I strongly disagree with your last 2 points. In terms of offense, I actually think we are recruiting just fine to it, we just don't have the QB (which is the most pivotal position in all of sports in terms of quality of play at that position translating to team success). I don't want to be the Georgia tech of the big10... outside of getting quality O line (which I'd argue is already happening today, they just need a couple more cycles and maturity), you're relegated to finding the diamonds in the rough and scrapping for 2-3 stars because no recruit of substance is going to sign up for a system from the 1900s. The game has changed, we've seen it now for a decade plus in college and now in the NFL as of the past few years, the spread is here and it can work wonders, but only when done right, just like any system. I also strongly disagree with your comparison to the Big10. We can certainly recruit to this conference, if freaking northwestern can find success with substantially less talent to work with than so can we.. This is a lack of development, not recruiting. I also disagree with your comment that we lost our pride in football- I think our pride was on full display this past summer when we were one of the few banging down doors for football and our pride is on full display by this fanbase who always shows up on saturdays despite the crap on display. Who exactly were our old rivals? Beating up on the likes of Iowa state, k state, kansas, colorado etc was a fun "rivalry" simply because we were good and they werent... They weren't really rivals of ours.. If we stayed in the big12, we'd prolly be just as pissed as we are now and a lot poorer as a progrum financially speaking. Big10 as a whole is a much better conference- instead of running from competition for a few more wins, we should embrace it, look in the mirror and elevate ourselves to feel like we belong. Frankly, if I was a fan of Wisconsin, iowa, or other schools, I too would prolly think our fan base is f'n delusional as hell based off how we carry ourselves when the results havent been there since the early 2010s. Big 12 memories are fond because we were the or one of the top dogs. Going back there doesn't fix what's broken with this team

Whatever happened to the Duck R hype to get wandale the ball in motion or a little dump pass that Oregon used with great effectiveness while frost was there with a WR/slot guy who could double as rB? Feel like the only time thats been called were giving it to slow AF kade warner. Its also worth noting, its very hard to get a run game going when we are constantly playing from behind which we find ourselves in more often than not for the past 6.5 f'n years

I agree with this. My chicken or the egg comment was more of a generalization that there isn't one concrete answer to explain this and we're just a pile of crap across the board. Having more for sure passing plays that are successful would certainly pay dividends.

Classic chicken or the egg argument. Is our run game crap because we dont have an o line and a passing attack or is our run game crap because we dont have a legit workhorse at running back? Probably a little of both, unfortunately all need to see substantial improvement to get the run game going

I was in the Luke bandwagon camp, consider me guilty. I will say though, it had very little to do with what he brought to the table, and moreso just being so over another bleh performance by martinez for now 2 years... the allure of the unknown, coupled with flashes of luke led me to the start luke train. To me, I was always concerned with the QB competition comments in the offseason... Unless this is a jalen hurts vs tua competition (which we clearly don't have on our hands), you never have 2 starts in a battle rather 2 guys who probably have some glaring holes that prevent them from being #1 no doubt. Personally, I felt like AM had been given enough chances to win the job and just did nothing with it, so let's see what we have in Luke.... now I want that 2 AM sauce like no other lol The issue I have with martinez is he just seems to be a second too late on every single decision. Feel like he constantly leaves yards on the table by elective to juke his way for a 3 yard gain as opposed to just running and making a 1st and 10 a 2nd and 2 by taking the yards. Or his throwing decisions... he's definitely more polished going through progressions but I've reached my f'n limit of watching him sit in the pocket, only to dump it to Wan'dale or Warner in the flat 20 yards away for an immediate tackle

I entered the husker time space continuum and now I'm forever stuck with mediocrity for my fall saturdays?

Perhaps they are practicing this but its against some weak a$$ 10 yard cushion coverage that we also see on full display every Saturday from this defense. While independent from one another and having their own concerns, I really dont think its a stretch to say that this weak coverage philosophy is promoting an aura of false confidence offensively that simply doesnt translate on the field when defenses actually press and cover, unlike the philosophy we seem to buy into defensively.

I'm not hesitant to admit how bad that offense was. The one constant around these neck of the woods, outside of just general ineptitude, is our consistent hatred towards whoever is leading our offense. Remember when Tim Beck was nothing more than a high school caliber coach? Hell, I'd take Timmy B back in a heartbeat compared to whatever it is you call today's offense Just because I think TA was a much superior QB compared to this season's options, doesn't mean I think TA was all conf or a great qb. I think we have great talent at the wideout position to work with now... Young, definitely. But the potential is there, the problem is we will never know when we run it 90% of the freaking time and the only other passing plays are to the first option or a scramble/desperate pass.

I picked that year because it was hit worst full season so I used that for comps. Left out 2016 due to injuries and his freshman year was a hodge podge of games strung together. Holes in the game are slightly similar conceptually, but I would say what's lacking for LM and AM collectively is way more significant than TAs shortcomings. Frankly I don't care about the completion % as much he was throwing it more and at the very least the threat existed for the passing game. We're not even seeing the attempts this year to go along with crappy stats. In LM and AM's defense, this is bigger than QB play, this goes to Frost, Lubick and the associated coaches.

While some of this true, I feel like this is also a gross exaggeration. What's true is if you stopped the run you typically stopped nebraska. What's happening today is you stop the run there is nothing else to worry about because we dont have anything else to bring to the table. This is some real fantastic company we're in.... Perhaps I hit my head and lost my memory but I never recall us being this low on the totem pole passing wise:

U kidding me? We just gonna ignore the vast difference in passing yards per game and the fact that a 22 TD/16 INT ratio is significantly better than our world beating 2 TDs and 6 INTS? TA wasnt an all pro QB by any means, but you're delusional if you think the stat lines this year is comparable to anything armstrong put up

I mean the stats and eye test would completely disagree with you lol. Coupled with the fact that quite a few WRs from the end of Bo/Riley made it to the nfl says to me the passing attack from 5+ years ago was significantly more effective than the crap on display today

I dunno about you man but I'd give a thousand bucks to have TA back there at QB. While definitely having his own deficiencies, the guy not only put up passing stats that are far superior to the crap on display this year but did so under multiple coaches, schemes, playbooks, etc. While the inevitable hail mary pick was always fun, I'd rather put up with this and keep the defense honest as opposed to this bs 2-3 yards running the ball finesse crap on display today Perhaps my memory is off but I dont remember teams deliberately stacking the box because it was a for sure qb run. I would say he probably had superior talent at wide out across the board (alonzo moore, stanley, DPE, reilly) but I'm not convinced Luke/AM would put up similar #'s with WRs like this in todays offense. ahhh, I see a fellow graduate of the NFL Blitz-Da Bomb school of thought

Nope, zero confidence. If you were to take out the rushing stats tied to a QB scramble I'd be shocked if we're not dead last in all of FBS in rushing.... I assume Wan'dale is our leading rusher, ever tho he's a WR, and I've given up on the D Mills experience

What does constitute as a mental angle is our dumb as hell blackshirt hand out tradition that is so overplayed at this point. I don't get what the win exactly is here.... are we rewarding a solid performance against a winless team as justification for the praise? EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we f'n announce the blackshirts, the team seems to come out full of itself, flat AF, and gets exposed in an embarrassing fashion. This staff preaches endlessly on all spots are always up for grabs. Great, if thats the case, why in the hell are we handing out this recognition to more than just the starters when its not even clear they've earned it in the first place. Nicknames and all are cool, but at the end of the day, those dumb black jerseys were a freaking clothing mishap and nothing more. The tradition was built by excellence on the field, not what color threads in practice and feel that this has been glossed over tremendously... This progrum is going no where until we stop latching on to the glory days and this recognition for the defense is one of the last "traditions" that has been stretched way too thin and gives a sense of entitlement and non existent security to guys who should be fearful their position on the depth chart is in jeopardy given the lack of pulse we often see from the defense. If we're really concerned about mental edge, then we should seriously consider hitting the pause on "traditions" that is nothing more than a mental gimmick for a team who doesn't deserve them and provides nothing but a false sense of security.

To me, mental aptitude (or lack thereof) in football is a consistent display of blown leads, tightening up in critical moments (2 min drill), or just always losing to a same team year after year even in years when you feel like the talent/momentum spectrum is in your favor. I don't feel like the mental angle is really at play here What I have seen is a near endless list: No clear philosophy on offense Mistake prone team undone by constant, repetitive and untimely penalties that are self inflicted A level of QB play reminiscent of high school football Supposed talent not translating to on field results Lack of progression of upper class-men players that should be noticeable by year 2 and 3 Lack of identify on defense: Some weeks we press coverage, other weeks we give a 20 yard cushion, some weeks we're bringing 7 guys in the box close to the line, other weeks we're doing delayed blitzes that never get close to the qb yet opens up windows to throw to Lack of playmakers on BOTH SIDES.... where is our receiver that can grab 75-100 yards and 8-10 grabs every week or our running back that can put up 100 consistently... We shouldn't expect to have both.... WE DAMN SURE AS HELL should have at least one of these covered being a Big10 school... AND WE DONT.... Where is our all conference linebacker that can help make up for deficiencies of others on the field? Where's our guy on the D line/OLB that offenses HAVE TO SCHEME for, otherwise its going to be a long day of disruptions in the backfield? Answer- we dont have that guy, anywhere To me, these are the foundations that need to be in place and once they are, that is when the mental edge will kick in. There's way more to the above that we're also missing. Unfortunately for Frosty, his background and passion for this state can only go so far. There's a saying in business and in life that you always want to be surrounded by those that are smarter/work harder than you to elevate your game and the second you feel like you're the smartest in the room thats a red flag.... Until frosty realizes that he needs to bring on members of his staff with more experience than him and an explicit track record of excellence in their focus area ( O coord, D coord, etc) then we will continue to be an embarrassment of a P5 program given the athletes we are still somehow getting. I would need to look this up but I would be shocked if another school existed that does less with the talent available than we have for years (Recruiting rankings vs. performance on field)

Well, I would hope the concept of reality sets in at some point. It doesn't seem like he can throw the ball 30 yards downfield, consistently. I agree, he shouldn't be asked to replace the table of power tools, but I feel like our tool shed at RB has been empty since Ameer left the program. Wan'dale cant be the go to back, it be great to see mccaffrey get 10 touches, wan-dale 8-10 and then whatever RBs have a pulse and can suit up