Jarhead In Red

I watched the game, just like everyone else. No one said Frost "was an idiot", so you must like to overreact to things and be a smartass. And you obviously missed the 2 times later in the same game vs the same team where it worked. The run worked 2 out of 3 times, and is a common strategy inside the 5 yard line, so I'm saying just play the averages. Or I guess he could just ask you, because you seem to have all the answers....

Your point is valid, in that the play works if everyone does their assignment. But, with the frequency that our OL fails to execute, I like the idea of running your 225 QB from the normal spread formation, giving him some possible angles and some room to work, and even using 200+ lb Mills as a possible lead blocker. It worked on both TDs in the 4th quarter, and I wish Frost would have run it earlier. I guess he did learn from the failed attempt, as he made successful changes on the later goaline situations.....

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!

I probably missed something, yet again, but why did he feel the need to clear the air?

It's understandable that Frost would have reservations about the OL, when they struggle to get a push most of the time. I like the play call later in the game, when they used Mills as a lead blocker for the QB run. That helps you get a little more punch at the point of attack from other sources than the OL.

I'll go ahead and give my 2 cents worth. I think the play calling on that drive sucked a$$. However, I don't think anyone here is claiming that Frost and staff are perfect and don't screw up. They have screwed up and probably will a few more times since they are still learning. Judging from his comments back in 2018 about year two here, I think Frost miscalculated what it would take to rebuild the program. But, it's hard to get a read on the coaching chops of the staff when they are starting off with players with poor fundamental habits and a mediocre attitude about losing/being great. IMO, some of these players have been playing so long with poor habits, they are damn near uncoachable. I say wait until the end of next year so we can see them coach guys they brought in, and then I think we we start to see if they are getting it done. I'm no expert by any means, but this is JMO....

I guess I would ask a follow up question to the one in the OP, and that would be this: Is it necessary to treat the QB different when it comes to playing time and performance? I have heard it said by a few people that QB "is a little different" but I'm not sure I really understand why. Mills was benched (temporarily) because he missed a block in the Indiana game. Hixson was benched (temporarily) because he got shoved into the QB on pass pro. Why should the QB position be any different? If a guy leaves 14 points on the field in the 1st half because of poor throws, why can't he be sat down (temporarily) to give another player the chance to perform better, at least for that game? If confidence is a concern, then I would think that would be the case with all players not just QBs....

Agreed. By alignment alone, it would be tough for any OL to get that block on the backside, so I shouldn't be too hard on Farniok for this play. I just saw his attempt to climb to 2nd level and his lack of mobility caught my eye. Dude is doing what the coaches are asking him to do, even though everyone knows it isn't a great fit, so he deserves some props for that....

Very true. Jurgens and the LG do a good job of creating space to run in. It's striking to me the lack of mobility of Farniok...and he is playing right tackle. With this Defensive alignment, there is no way he can block the LB...

Ya, Jackson may not be a tackling machine, but then again he is a cover CB, not a Strong Safety who is required to drop down into the box for run support. It would be nice if our DBs would be outstanding tacklers across the board, but we aren't there yet. I just think the secondary gets put in a lot of bad positions because of a lack of QB pressure, lack of disguising coverages to help them out a little, and LBs inability to make plays as they should. It would not be fun playing DB for this Defense right now....

Excellent point about film study. I have found that my initial assessments are not always accurate, and film study will show the truth with much more clarity.....

Chinander knows a helluva lot more about Defense than I do, that much I am sure of. It's hard to sort out how much of our struggles are players not executing, or if we could possibly try some different approaches to compensating for those player weaknesses. Charlie McBride was on Hail varsity radio Monday, and when asked about the Defensive struggles, mentioned a couple things he thought they could do immediately. Charlie is very coach friendly, doesn't like to criticize other coaches, and tends to be conservative with what he says, so I like listening to his thoughts in these discussions. First, he said he would find a way schematically to create some additional QB pressure. He mentioned using some gap overload principles that may cause some pre-snap indecision by the QB/OL. He pointed out that it could be a big deal if you could just hurry the QB another second. He said that our secondary doesn't stand much of a chance if we aren't able to get some additional pressure. 2nd, he said he would disguise coverages a little more. Again, the idea is to not actually change all the coverages, but cause some additional confusion for the pre-snap read and decision making of the QB. Obviously better players make schemes and coaches all look better, but I thought Charlie made some good points about what we may be able to do now to help our Defense, even while we are faced with talent/depth deficiencies.

Considering how the IU AD reacted to Frost's Media Day comments, he will completely lose his sh!t when he sees the "Big Ten Punching Bag" reference from Florida.....

No way. I think Frost would just as soon cut off his left nut than see NU remain the whipping boy of the Big10.

So, are we taking turns pulling stuff out of our a$$, or is there actual substance to specific transfers that might hurt the Huskers?

It's quite normal for a head coach to hire coaches they trust and have worked with before. Even though we have seen too many episodes of a sh!tshow this season, I would submit that it's hard to make any fair conclusions about the staff's ability until after next season at the earliest. In 2020 and 2021 we will see how they do with guys they have recruited, ones who fit what they are trying to do....

That's a good question about Hunt and Legrone. I guess I had assumed they were gone for good, but maybe there is an opportunity to return. And concerning the 2018 class, I think you are correct. Trying to recruit and coach UCF at the same time would have been a major challenge, and Frost didn't have the benefit of establishing early relationships with these players. So many times it's the early offers that stick with recruits, and they appreciate coaches taking an early interest in them. There is no doubt the 2017 and 2018 class attrition has left us very short handed for depth, and I'm looking forward to next year, when we will see more of Frost's 2019 guys after a year of development.

We can disagree about what is "basic" or not, but it doesn't change the fact that they are necessary if you want to play successful Defense. Do you think errors by the Davis twins, Barry, etc, are acceptable, or are they not capable of being coached "differently", or what point are you trying to make?

I agree, we should be better. I don't think that Barry and the Davis twins are the caliber of player that we want/need to have starting here to field top level Defenses, but there really isn't a reason why the Defense should be as deficient in run fits, pursuit angles, leverage, etc. These techniques are fairly base level stuff that shouldn't take 2 years or more to learn and execute. It's understandable when our guys get overpowered by superior players, but IMO there are way too many unforced errors on our Defense right now....

Ya, that's a good point about the suspension of Mo, Hunt and Legrone. 6 leaving sounds much more reasonable in the scheme of things, and the 3 that were suspended were not guys who would never play. It seems Hunt was set to be a contributor, and probably could have helped the Offense attack the entire field. So, suspending those players was a talent/depth drain for sure....

Ya, I know Frost didn't have much time to evaluate and establish relationships with the 2018 guys, and that's why I give him more of a pass on that class. On the surface, it looked like a guy like Jones would be a good fit, and there was definitely opportunities to get on the field this year. But, maybe he was one of the ones who just didn't want to work as hard as Frost demanded.....

I realize the 2018 class was Frost's first class, and in many ways a fire drill to fill open scholarships, but with that being said, I'm curious as to why the attrition rate is so high. These were guys that the staff thought were at least somewhat a good fit for what Frost wants to do here, and were worth spending the scholarship money on. Then again, I don't know what the average attrition rate is for Big10 schools when it comes to guys leaving. 9 seems like a high number, but maybe it's not too outrageous once the data is examined.....

Agreed. I would rather suffer through some growing pains with a young guy like Benhart, who has great potential, than continually watch a guy fail because he is playing out of position and is over-matched. At least with Benhart there is a long term benefit from working through the hiccups....

Even though there are some less than desirable results this year with player performance and progress, I will hold off on any judgement about coaches until after next season, at the earliest. Since the players still appear to have issues with culture, effort, discipline, execution, it's hard to sort out what problems were inherited from Riley, and which ones continue to be problems because of mismanagement by the current staff. JMO, but I want to see how the staff does with the first class or two of players that Frost recruited before I draw any conclusions about the ability of the current staff....

I confess, I thought the same thing while we used the 5-2 Defense as a base. And, I didn't have much optimism that changes would be made. Then in 1992 we switched to using a 4-3 with speed, could defend the passing Offenses much better, and the rest is history....just one more thing I was wrong about....