NUinID

1 hour ago, The Dude said:

Fond memories of "can't wait for graduation, once we get rid of the likes of Farmer and Foster..."

 

Now people are acting like they were star players we miss dearly.

I personally never thought Foster was all that great. I knew Farmer would be missed.  Foster is still going to be better than a RS Freshman Walk -on though.  

There is just going to be growing pains when you are starting 2 RS Freshman on the offensive line.  There is no getting around it. 

15 minutes ago, Undone said:

 

Pretty good observation here.

 

I'd say it's because Washington and Robinson's strengths lie more as "finesse runners." So when they get the chance to get around that first edge...they gone!

Yeah, I think it is their strengths and they should do it more.  Though I am not sure Washington is all that good at it.  He just tries to outrun people, which he does a lot, but he isn't that great at the cutback.  

On 10/6/2019 at 4:06 PM, Mavric said:

I hadn't noticed Farniok on this play until now:

 

 

Yes, he had a very nice block on this play.  Anyone else notice that we run outside zone read a lot better than inside zone read.  Neither is perfect all the time, but I like outside zone better.  I would run it a little more often. 

12 minutes ago, Husker in WI said:

 

And still only being able to manage 4-5 yards. But yeah, he at least knows how to run them.

 

And you're right, that is not a bad defense. 8th in the country by SP+ - they've got some dudes. And if we got the drops/penalties cleaned up (big if, I know) there wouldn't be much talk about the offense struggling to move the ball on them.

I will take 4-5 yards of positive yardage on 1st down all day long. 

Everyone is looking at NW record and not giving them any credit for having a good defense.  Their offense is pretty bad, but man they can play defense.  There losses are to Stanford, a team that just beat Washington and appears to be getting it turned around.  An undefeated Wisconsin team at 5-0 a 4-2 MSU team and a 4-2 Nebraska team. Everyone of NW losses is to a team with at least a .500 record.  

40 minutes ago, BIG ERN said:

That's just one time and some were RPO but a lot were not either. I know against Iowa for example last year we ran a ton of them if you go back and watch. We did it all last year really 

The WR screen is being hampered by not having Cade Warner in the game.  Cade is probably the best blocker on those and when he catches the ball there he is probably one of the best guys at making that first guy miss.  Warner being hurt is really hurting our passing game right now. 

You got to give NW some credit on defense.  They are right up there at being very good.  They lack some in athletes but are probably the most fundamentally sound defense that Nebraska will play this year.  If they aren't they are just behind Wisconsin in that respect.  NW is never out of position. That was text book on how to play the screen.  Paddy Fisher and Joe Graziano and there other ILB can't remember his name, could basically play for anyone in the B1G.  They will all play on Sundays. 

1 hour ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

 

Why Adrian Martinez increasingly stares down his primary receiver and has become the interception and fumble threat that Taylor Martinez and Tommy Armstrong once were?  Why Adrian hesitates to run when everyone in the stadium and on TV sees a first down there for the taking? Yes. I really don't understand what has happened to Adrians instincts and decision making, and that's coming from all quarters. 

 

Of course I see where you're going. The offensive line. Not great, but it's the same offensive line that let us put up 700 yards against Illinois, and came out firing on all cylinders in the first half against Colorado,  Dedrick Mills and Maurice Washington average 5.1 and 6.3 yards a carry respectively. The offensive line operates under a fairly large playbook and have been pretty good at the edges, yet play-calling keeps sending our small speedy backs up the middle, where this line is at its weakest.

 

It's no mystery that a freshman center with wildly high snaps would hurt your offense. But it is a mystery why he's still doing this six games into the season.  

 

I still think Mo Washington is the real deal, Wan'dale is a revelation, Spielman is as tough and dependable as they come, Jack Stoll is a prototypical Husker tight end, and Noa, Warner, and the others have earned more touches.  Stanley Morgan was a senior, and seniors graduate. Devine Ozigbo was a Riley leftover who started the season behind three other more favored backs and stepped up his game to earn the playing time. We miss them, but to think they were irreplaceable pieces of this offense isn't fair to the talent we have. 

 

Obviously we have some talent and playcalling issues. Most teams do. But the part where I'm not seeing progress is attitude. This team comes out the second half looking lifeless, no real adjustments made, no killer instinct, and even looking kinda lost. Honestly feels like a step back to me. Don't know what else to say other than six more games will tell a better story.

I will agree that some of the play calling has been suspect this year.  

I think they have worked the swagger out of Martinez.  I feel like he Is thinking too much and not being an athlete. They want their quarterback to be a distributor of the ball and I think he is working too hard at being that.  

The o-line is not as good, but that shouldn’t be causing his hesitation. Be decisive and go with it. The thing that everyone liked when vedral came in the game was he made a decision and went with it. Quit trying to make the best choice all the time and make a choice. 

6 minutes ago, NUance said:

 

Agreed.  We miss the guys from last year and Martinez is experiencing the sophomore jinx.  I think the "something else" you mention is that D-coordinators have film on Martinez.  Just like Taylor Martinez.  Remember those first five or six games?  Remember Kansas State?  He was unstoppable.  So many long, highlight reel runs.  But then D-coordinators started game planning for him, and his production went down.  (That, and T-Magic might have been slowed a step due to injury.)    In case you want to walk down the memory lane remembering how great T-Magic was his R-frosh year, here he is crushing the soul of Kansas State:  

 

 

 

Yeah, having film on him is probably part of it, but I think they really want think and move through is progressions.  I think he is thinking too much and not playing.  Listening to Dr. Rob right now on Husker Doc Talk and he things the exact same thing.  He says last year it was 2 reads and take off.  Look at my 2 primarys and if they aren't there run and get what you can.  Watch the NW game again, NW defense is really good and fundamentally sound.  He had 3-4x in this last game that he could have taken off and ran for 10 yards, but he kept looking down field.  He then ends up throwing it away or picking up a yard and a half

4 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

 

Expectations were that it was virtually inconceivable that Scott Frost would post the same record as Mike Riley, much less get off to the worst start in 125 years of Nebraska football. I'm not being cranky. I don't know anyone who thought last year would unfold that way.

 

Last year's Nebraska team played better in the second half of the season against tougher opposition, raising the expectation that the light had gone off and players were buying into Frost's system. This year's Nebraska team has struggled in the earlier, easier part of the schedule, improved a bit on defense and mysteriously regressed on offense -- where many of us thought we had an advantage. 

 

This is not a referendum on Frost or the future. I just think it's hard to have watched any game not against Northern Illinois this year and see a team with better discipline, consistency, and attitude than last year. 

Offensively, Nebraska misses its 2 O linemen from last year and Ozigbo and Morgan a lot.  It is amazing how 4 guys can make that much of a difference, but they can.  That is part of the difference in the offense this year, but I still think Martinez is playing poorly compared to last year.  Is it because he is missing his guys from last year, probably to an extent, but I think there is something else missing. 

I think the defense as taken a significant jump this year.  As Mavric showed they have improved a lot statistically speaking.  The run defense is way more impressive than last year.  I mean yeah, OSU put up phenomenal numbers against Nebraska rushing the ball, but OSU did that against Michigan States defense too. 

For me the team has improved in being able to finish games and win games.  This  year they have won games that last year they probably let slip away.    

20 minutes ago, WyoHusker56 said:

So, were guys screwing around goofing off CU week?

I  think they were a little over confident and were spouting off a little during  the week.  

24 minutes ago, hskrfan4life said:

See that's the thing, it's ruled as a kick going out of bounds. I think it should be it's own and have it's own yardage such as 5, 10 or 15.

I think the rule should be changed so that it can't happen on a kickoff. The kickoff team is doing nothing wrong.  If fact if you could ask most kickers and ST coaches where is the ideal place to put the ball if it doesn't go into the end zone they would say to have it die inside the 10 along the sideline.  Watch any OSU game that UM coached and they always tried to kick the ball into a corner inside the 10.  

I compliment coaches for realizing that by standing OB and touching the ball on a kickoff that they can get a penalty and get the ball at the 35 instead of inside the 15, but it is penalizing a kickoff team for actually doing something well.  

17 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

IMO, I think the rule makes perfect sense, and the people on this board are so butt hurt about it because the play happened against Nebraska.  If it were the other way around, the fans would be thinking "what a smart, heads-up play by the Huskers!!!"

It was a smart heads up play by the Illinois player.  I have seen it done by some other team this year in a game and had never seen it at any other times.  Players are being coached to do this.  

That doesn't mean it is right.  If this little move is used a lot more in the future,  it will probably be addressed in a rules meeting in the next couple of years. 

That penalty against Nebraska counted as a 23 yard penalty and gave them the ball on the 35.  

Of coarse Nebraska has a chance in the game.  They need to come out and play loose and let the chips fall.  Play like you have nothing to lose, which is the truth, and let it all hang out.  I think AM is a gamer and plays his best when the competition is turned up a notch.  

Now for the bad news.  This OSU team is night and day better on defense over last year. Nebraska will have no answer for Chase Young.  

1 hour ago, ColoradoHusk said:

I am with you.  Mazour looked good enough to get more snaps in the right situations.  If there are opponents which NU wants to spread out and go "small" against, Mazour would be a good back in that situation.

 

Mills' strength is getting the ball and being able to go to a specific point and run hard.  That power toss play to him was perfect for him.

I would have no problem with Mazour getting more touches in a game.  What did he have 4 in last weeks game.  He could have 8 a game and I don't think the team would miss a beat.  

Mills fumbles have come at inopportune times, but they are all him fighting for extra yardage.  The fumbles that AM is having are the concerning ones. He has to take better care of the ball, though the one he had on Saturday night was a little iffy.  I am with Frost when he says you don't see a fumble go 20 yards forward too often.  

1 minute ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

 

Utah is currently ranked #11 and is considered the best team in the conference Colorado belongs to. 

 

NIU played them tough. They could well be a better team than Colorado.

 

We had a week to lick our wounds and look for strategies to exploit. That counts for something. But this game was never a gimme.

 

At this point, is any game a gimme?

Never said the game was a gimme.  I said Nebraska has the potential to have a better looking offense than Utah has.  Wittingham is a defensive coach.  Offensively Utah is traditionally very ball control. They want to pound the rock.  They usually don't have great passing QB's.   I was not surprised at all at how the game was close at halftime and Utah pulled away in the second half.  

No I think NIU is a quality MAC team.  Have thought so for years.  NU needs to show up and play decent to win. If they play well though their is no reason they can't win by 17-21 pts. There are very few gimmes left in college football.  

As far as the PAC 12 goes, it is a conference of teams beating up on each other.  Outside of Oregon St lately none of the other teams are gimmes in conference.  You got to watch some of the late games the PAC beats up on each other.  You watch Utah will drop one to someone in conference that you don't think should happen.  Cal just beat Washington last weekend on a late FG.  Cal had no business on paper winning that game. 

Looking at what Utah did vs. NIU is not necessarily a good indicator of what the outcome will be.  Utah if you ever watch them plays stingy defense and is fairly average on offense.  Nebraska has the potential to be a little more dynamic on offense than Utah does.  

7 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

There is a learning curve.  But I think most of it is either guys have a feel for that or they don't.

 

Mo Washington can show up the day before fall camp straight out of high school and not really need much of an adjustment period.  If other guys are two years removed and still having a lot of trouble, I don't think it bodes well.

This is true, I think you do have a feel for it or you don't, and I agree that Mills may not have a great feel for it.  Patience is the one thing that he can learn though.  

As far as this game was concerned I think a lot of things were not working right not just Mills not seeing holes.  Martinez was just off, I think he was a little under the weather and that caused him to not practice well and it snowballed. The pass pro was decent most of the game. He had time, he got happy feet and was indecisive. I know everyone complains about the snaps being bad and throwing off timing and that is a definite concern, but it is not like the snapping was perfect last year.  He did plenty or reaching all over the place for snaps last year.  

I think the game plan was awfully vanilla.  They did a couple of wrinkle things but nothing too dramatic.  Did they even run a bubble screen? I think a vanilla game plan, bad qb play,  and a good defensive game plan made a difference.  A couple of bad plays by NU helped S. Alabama's cause.  No late hit call and SAU is punting and not getting a fresh set of downs to help along their first score.  No muffed punt and they don't get the ball on the 13 yard line.  The second one was a killer.  NU had the momentum if they get the ball their and score the game is over.  

10 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

OK.  But you talked about him having to learn zone and only talked about him playing at Georgia Tech.  He should have had some time to learn the zone concepts last year.

Sorry, I was basically restating what Benning was saying this morning.  Not saying they didn't use zone concepts in JUCO, but JUCO sports are a lot like HS.  Some really good athletes like Mills that have to go that route for what ever reason, grades, discipline, more playing time etc.  The rest of the roster in many cases are guys that think they should be playing football somewhere and probably are no better than DIII players.  

There is still a learning curve, to playing zone RB at the D1 level. 

18 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

But I'm pretty sure that's not what they ran at his JUCO

They ran a lot of power stuff and yes zone stuff, but JUCO and Power 5 Div 1 football are completely different animals and you know it.  

1 hour ago, ActualCornHusker said:

One of the main issues i saw was Mills missing the hole several times. Hopefully he improves in that regard, but there were a few carries early on where he had a hole but ran into the pack instead

Mills needs to get better at this for sure.  This is the first time he has really been a zone RB.  Zone running is always based on running to daylight.  You have to have vision and patience to wait for the cut he wasn't showing much of either in the game.  Severe and Benning were discussing this very thing about an hour ago.  It takes time to learn.  Mills was a B back or basically a fullback in a triple option offense at Georgia Tech.  He took a snap 2 yards from the LOS and barreled into the line.  Now he is 6 yards deep and has to find the hole.  

On 8/26/2019 at 9:39 PM, Mavric said:

 

I watch the Big Show on BTN every morning.  They play the show from the night before at 6 AM MT.  Anyway the "experts" on that day were asked if they bought into the hype around Nebraska.  

Pat Forde- NO

Dave Wannstedt - NO

J. Leiman- NO

All cited the defense or lack there of as their reason.  

Dave Revsine, the host of the show who has seen Nebraska practice,  said their defensive line looked good and deep at the end of the segment.  He commented that the grad transfer Darrion Daniels looked like the real deal.  

As has been mentioned before, I think Griffith and DiNardo were very much more impressed with what they saw than they thought they would be.  In their rap up they liked Nebraska's offense a lot in a round about way.  Then they said the key was to have a "good enough" run defense.  It didn't have to be the best, just good enough.   

Six days out is a little tough to predict what the weather will be like on Saturday.  Anything more than 3 days is pretty much an educated guess.  

So do I, when I go Vegas I always go to the Irish Pub in New York New York at least once and have a couple of Smithwicks 

23 minutes ago, runningblind said:

Recall that in 2017 (I think) under Riley, they also said we had some of the best practices they'd seen.  So take that with a giant grain of salt.  These guys have jobs to do, and part of that is drumming up viewers. 

I get what you are saying, but their is a difference in saying it was the best practice we have seen and being so overtly positive about what they are seeing.  You really just have to watch the shows I think to see what I am talking about.  

10 minutes ago, brophog said:

 

Interesting, because DiNardo didn’t seem as impressed with Wisconsin’s style just a few weeks ago.

Yeah I read the article.  Look I don't know if you ever watch any of those shows, but I pretty much watch them all to see what every team has got and to get a feel for what they think.  I mean of coarse they say OSU, Michigan and even to an extent PSU are going to be good, they can't help but be good.  They just really gush over what they saw.  DiNardo said the offensive line looks even better than last year.  They may not be as talented, but they looked better.  They loved the D-line depth.  They weren't huge but very athletic and active.  Loved the WR depth.  

It just seems like they don't hold back at all when they talk about Wisconsin.  

Just watched the B1G bus tour show on Wisconsin.  So far this year the shows really haven't been anything special.  They have said OSU and Michigan have good teams etc.  Then we get to Wisconsin.  I don't know if it is just my imagination or they really are that giddy about Wisconsin.  They just loved everything about their stop at Wisconsin.  Talked glowingly about everything they saw.  They did the same thing 2 years ago when Taylor was an incoming freshman.  They actually thought Coan  was looking good and thought he would be the first game starter.  

For some reason DiNardo and Griffin just really like the way Wisconsin plays football.  They like the old school style.  I may be reading too much into it, but they always seem really outwardly positive about Wisconsin when they are no more than cautiously optimistic about other teams.