cg_8

Yeah, I definitely look forward to a staff that meshes well. What's funny is I think Beck will mesh a lot better at OSU than he did here. And because of that he will most likely become a way better coach. But speaking about our future. These guys have worked together already. They are like-minded and you can definitely tell that Riley was happy to get Danny L to come back to the college game. I don't know anything, but I think he's happy to be rid of Jason Garrett's brother. Nothing says "I don't want you on my staff" like hiring from your previous staff but leaving behind one major piece like the OC. This was Riley's opportunity to get together a "dream team" of sorts for himself. The one thing I think we will see from a coaching staff that meshes? A cleaner football team that doesn't kill itself with mental mistakes. I honestly don't think we will see anything incredibly exciting in terms of creativity or ingenuity (bye bye option football), but what we will see is a refined scheme that has been proven to work. And honestly, I am looking forward to it.

Just for everyone's knowledge, generally speaking, the "clap" is a silent count. A lot like any other form of "silent count" there is most likely only one movement. Leg left, arm extended downward, etc., to notify the center that the QB is ready for the ball. Every now and then they'll change it up to two "claps". Not in the Michigan St. game they didn't. Very true. It makes me sick that we didn't adjust to a different silent count. It should not even be a question once anyone on our sideline notices that it's an issue. Perhaps Beck really wanted the Center reading the field pre-snap so badly that he didn't have another way to utilize silent count without the Center looking downfield. It wasn't worth it. As much as we think these guys "game plan" there had to be knowledge of MSU's utilization of claps for line movement and how to counter that. It kind of seems like there wasn't. Poor game planning, even worse adjusting.

Just for everyone's knowledge, generally speaking, the "clap" is a silent count. A lot like any other form of "silent count" there is most likely only one movement. Leg left, arm extended downward, etc., to notify the center that the QB is ready for the ball. Every now and then they'll change it up to two "claps", "leg lifts" or whatever. The "count" isn't actually the motion the QB makes for the snap. The count is actually the amount of "head nods" the Center makes. For example, they could determine that they will go on 2. What that means is that the the ball is snapped after 2 "head nods". Count on 3, then it's 3 head nods. There are many advantages to the "clap". This allows for the Center to be able to look downfield and read the D. The other silent counts require Center to watch the QB during all pre-snap stuff. Chip Kelly's Eagles used one where Center was still able to look downfield by having the guard watch the QB pre-snap. Then taps the Center when QB is ready. Disadvantage for all silent counts. Everyone on OL stares at the Center for those nods.

It is also possible to see the good in one's scheme, but the problems caused by them simultaneously. We always talk about the "good ol' days" of the option. But at the same time how many of us screamed at our screen wondering why we ran option on the short side? There have been more than a couple posts regarding GT's system and how everyone want's Johnson as our HC in sort of "see, I told you so" moments, despite the fact that this is probably the best GT will ever get. Before Justin Thomas, they were doing no better than us from season to season. I can sit here and tell you the excellence in Beck's system. I have seen some of the most creative stuff from Beck. Honestly, he has this zone read play that has kind of a double trap built within. We ran it with some crazy success against Miami. But it sort of died after that. I never saw it again until Tommy ran a TD with it against USC. He has some of the best stuff our of the diamond formation, but the problem is we only saw it a handful of times throughout the whole season despite the fact that we have one of the most capable back fields in the nation. The point is, personally, I can sit here and complain about Beck as much as the next guy. But I can also sit here and argue with someone about the genius things I have seen in his scheme, and his utilization of some many different concepts that make the scheme incredibly scary. Make no mistake, Urban Meyer knows what he's doing by getting Beck. Our players are honestly better players having been coached by a mind like Beck's. But his scheme was flawed. He will become a better coach working under Urban Meyer. He'll learn and his scheme will be refined. The way it should have while he was here. I feel like I spent a tremendous amount of time talking about Beck and his scheme. I hope some people aren't sick of hearing it. There's a lot to love about Beck and his scheme. There truly is. But there are also things to not like about it. For me, it was the mentality behind the scheme. That mentality was "read and react". I didn't like it. I understand the need for it, but it was what Beck loved. So we saw it almost to an extreme. Something should be said about our "general complaining" also. Some people may see it as problematic. And to a certain extent its true. We don't need people attacking players and coaches. However, someone said it best during one of the Big Red Breakfasts. I forgot who, but it was an ex-player. He said it isn't an issue because it just shows our passion. We are passionate fans. He said he would be more worried if we didn't have anyone complain, because that would mean that no one was passionate and no one cared. I have to agree with that. I know I will always complain, but it's only because I care. I think most posters on here can agree with that.

The first time I attempted was 1997 Mizzou. I did come back to finish the game though, it was hard for me to turn it off the first time. After that, I didn't do it again until 2001 Colorado, and then again in that NC game vs. Miami. Those were truly ones I couldn't finish. I didn't feel that was again until the 2012 Big Ten Championship game. I feel differently about it now. Football is just such a short season, only 12 regular season games, it'll be hard for me to do it again. There has been some awesome comebacks I have watched. Heck, 2012 was hard until it was seriously impossible for a comeback.

Most probably do redshirt. But that doesn't everyone should. Just imagine the depth issues teams could have. As much as some kids just plain don't contribute through sheer amazing freshmen debuts. A lot contribute by just being a team player and playing to give someone a few breathers. I couldn't imagine our defense in 2013 without the ability to play true freshman. I know you could point the finger ( or thumb outwardly towards) Bo for not managing the roster well enough, but we aren't the only team to have depth issues. Unless I see any other true benefit, I find it incredibly hard to just watch roster spots sit out a year because of a rule. Not everyone will be DPE, but there are plenty of Banderas', Santos', Kalu's, Imani Cross', Abdullah's, Burkhead's, Gerry's, etc. that contribute to the roster and are valuable to the team as true freshman.

So wait... Who are these guys?

Anyone else see this? Not a fan of this myself. We have had so many freshman contribute for as long as I remember. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/12349646/big-ten-considering-ineligibility-freshmen

Virtually impossible? All it means is that you can't have guys blocking 3 yards down field. You can still have the action in the backfield, you can still have a pulling blocking scheme on PA like we used to run, you just can't have guys blocking in what is almost drag route territory. In fact you can still have the pop pass, you just have to coach your linemen not to be quite as aggressive in getting to the second level. God forbid a modern football organization makes a rule that actually favors the defense for once. He's right. Baylor is pretty good at using a pulling blocking scheme on PA without any OL's going down field. (Note: Safety bites BIG TIME) I really liked how teams bent the rules a bit regarding this rules. It really emphasizes my love of coaching at the college football level compared to the NFL and finding ways to do more with less talent. Teams found many different ways to utilize the rule to their advantage, so it makes for a fun game to watch. At the same time, you have teams run the same play 5 times in a row, but can look like 5 different plays (packaged play, Auburn play I showed before, they ran the exact same play the play before). Pretty ingenious, albeit lazy and predictable IMO. I look forward to watching how offensive coaches find other ways to beat defenses should the rule change, which, if not this time, could eventually be changed at some point.

It's to slow down/stop the pop pass on read plays. Bye Bye packaged plays. We just got used to you...

I have a hunch we won't see too much significant change either. I think some football nuts crazy about X's and O's will notice the change, but the general concepts these kids already know. This isn't 2004 where our best choice at QB was terrified out of his mind because he couldn't understand wtf "4 verts" meant (you could probably argue Cosgrove didn't know what that was either... ha!). Beck has a strong understanding of football. I know we like to pick on Beck (myself picking on him a lot) but he had a stronger understanding of how to coach so many different things, such as west coast concepts from working under Watson when he was our OC. He also utilized some of those concepts in his own scheme. And working under guys like Mangino, you learn so many different things, and learn how to apply them. What we as fans will see is more "QB under center", which may seem like a significant change (schematically it is) but it doesn't change how these players apply their current knowledge and skills to the game they played previously under Beck. Will the offense "look" different? Yes, because we won't be running out of shotgun spread 90%+ each game. Will it actually be drastically different? Not really. More 5-7 step drops. I have a feeling this transition could be positive. Danny L ran his system for years. He and Riley have a stronger understanding of how to apply it and coach it, they'd been doing it for years. Beck had a unique offense that had so many elements. He understood it, but he may not have a strong understanding of how to apply it and coach it as well as the crew we have now, but only because it was his first go 'round. Overall, I'm looking forward to possibly playing cleaner football.

It'd be cool for them to come. Not just because they are here, but because it would seem like we were relevant again. Any ideas where they would have them set up? Last time, it was set up inside the stadium for the game vs. USC. The only other time I can think off the top of my head was just east of East Stadium. Back when that parking lot wasn't a parking lot, but just a grassy area.

Dude... Seriously!! I was so sick of seeing that stretch play by the end of the year. And yeah! That toss play we ran like 20 times against PSU with more success than not. I don't remember seeing one toss this year at all. I do wonder what the heck the deal is with the "trends" Beck goes through. It's as if he sees a play work and says "well, we ran it for the year, we're good..." Example: TD run for Ameer vs. Rutgers out of Diamond formation. I never saw it again. If we did run it again, it could not have been more than 2 or 3 times through out the season. WHY NOT?! We've had some pretty great production out of the diamond ("A" formation to some), and we may have had one of the most capable backfields in the nation to run anything out of it. I don't want to see it every down, but man, to make another team prepare for that from week to week. Especially with Abdullah. The option failed on a couple occasions. One was when MSU ran their double A gap blitz and we lost yardage. That was just perfect timing for them to run that blitz and for the LB to immediately be smart enough to run straight to the pitch man knowing the other gap blitz man was going to take Tommy. After that instance, the option was a rarity this year until USC, which Tommy ran for a TD on a 4th down conversion. Anyway, I have to watch more Oregon State stuff during the Danny L as OC era. From what I can tell, it looks like they utilized the RB screen with consistent success.

Most definitely was. I wrote a post regarding how Scott Frost and Oregon wants to dictate the game and how that compares to Beck's "reactive" offense. I remember reading Beck's whole conversation he had with someone and how the offense is "read and react". Having watched this last season, and his love of zone blocking and read routes, it most definitely was that type of offense, and his play-calling reflected that. There is always a time and place to "read and react" during the course of a football game, but Beck's mentality seemed to emphasize it to an extreme. I think that was some of the root of the issues we had. Turnovers, mental mistakes, etc. I think those may have stemmed from each player needing to read the field, and read the play in "real time" rather than just flat out "running a post" in lieu of running a read route dependent on the movement of the safety after the snap. I've complained about this a lot on here. Don't get me wrong though, Beck had plenty of plays that were more of an attack approach, but I just saw too many mistakes that caused issues due to "reading". So in other words: "I agree with you!"

What's a "radio broadcast"?

It was a joke. Kyler had speed that made him a match up nightmare. I used to think Beck understood that, but having read what he said about TE's in the past, I think he actually believed there wasn't a place for the TE position in this college game. I know we used the position, but not nearly as much as we could have. It will definitely be interesting to see how we move forward with that position. We say this having seen what the possibilities could be with a player like Gronk. But we should also state how genius Josh McDaniels is at utilizing Gronk and moving him all over the place and just creating those insane mismatches. Although, every OC before and after utilized TE's well at New England, the game plan and adjustments during the SB were some of the best I have seen for any offense. Definitely fun to watch that all play out, here's hoping Danny L can do that, too.

I see this as mostly a "this is interesting" article. Don't get me wrong though, for the most part, I don't read Dirk's junk because after I read them I think "This guy... I want to punch him just enough to not get sued, because he seems like the kind of guy who would sue me for punching him in the face. He'd probably write an article about how ugly I am and how much money he gained from me and how much money I didn't have. Anyway, this guy sucks!" However, the timing of the article is the worst. It seems like they are doing this thing all week, but the fact that the headline is there on signing day. Let's just say I was one of those who signed, and later on, I naturally go and see what each news outlet says about it and about me. I click on OWH and BOOM. That headline is there. As a newly signed Husker... That would make me want to punch "that guy". So for the timing, the headline, Dirk flippin' sucks. The article itself, it has a more informative feel to it. I always ask myself about the recruiting hype and find myself saying "means nothing without proper coaching", Callahan had a top 5 class in Marlon Lucky's class (can't remember year). TOP 5!! (someone check that, I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that it was up there). I want to say Callahan got top 20 also during his time here. Anyway, Michigan also had some recruiting hype too recently with Hoke.

There's lots of QB's that get to start in the NFL by chance. Yeah... Tom Brady being one. Tony Romo. Rich Gannon probably doesn't get his great seasons at Oakland without Grbac being injured while he was at KC. And finally, Kurt Warner. Each of those guys are guys who excelled, but only having their chance due to injury of the actual starters. Although, you're still right, you don't make an NFL roster as a QB by chance, that's for sure.

He wasn't great. But he wasn't bad. He had 34 total TD's his final year at KSU. Throwing 20/8 TD/Int. Nothing indicates at all a 1st rounder. But some indication that maybe he could play at the next level. He was forgettable. To put that in perspective, Mariota was 42/4 TD/Int this year. He also rushed for 15 TD's (57 total TD's).Of course, Mariota had 3 more games, but you get it.

Agreed with this totally. When he was drafted 1st round I was like: Perhaps I was being overly critical since he was a decommit and all, and we consistently destroyed him and that sorry purple team. I always felt like maybe I was wrong about him. But then I think Tampa Bay was incredibly wrong about him... Or... Maybe I am still wrong. I don't even know anymore. Either way, we turned out good without him right?

You know, I don't know who was banned and why. Nor do I care. I have a feeling that I may be in the minority on this but I come on here for these reasons: I love the Huskers. I love discussing them and hearing other people's opinion. I love football. I love the X's and O's and I like to share knowledge that I know as well as learning from other users as well. I love hearing news and stories about the program and the players. Some of the insight we get on here goes beyond the articles we read everyday. People's personal experiences and stories also something I enjoy on here. Those are literally the only reasons I come on here. As far as that is concerned, Huskerboard is great. I don't get on because of other "users". I just plain don't. Maybe I am in the minority in that, but I am not going to be upset if someone is banned. I'm sorry to those who feel differently but honestly, I could care less. I don't know what the incident was, and I don't want to know. I want to talk football and my Huskers. I think most of us want to do that. And I know we will continue to, well, at least I know I will.

Vapor Elite? Where do they come up with these names? Seriously? I mean they had to have a meeting of bright minds regarding "what to name our next football." Someone said "Vapor Elite".\ Someone said "I love it... It makes sense on so many levels..." Everyone else was like "Well, I do want to go home... GREAT IDEA!!!" Drinks all around!

That's what I am thinking too. I am very unsure why people are seeing Stanton as starter. The biggest red flag for the guy is that he got beat out for clear #2 by a kid from Grand Island. To me, that speaks volumes. And I know people like to hate on TA, but he has never been the big issue for Nebraska. If anything I think he probably has been more successful at getting us out of big holes than putting us in holes. I don't think Tommy is great, but he is FAR from anything that could be viewed as "bad" at the college level. He needs work, just like every other QB in college football needs work. Guess who needs work? Possibly a lot more work than TA. Johnny Stanton. But I'd honestly LOVE to be proven wrong. Honestly, because if he plays better than Tommy, practices better than Tommy, and has more confidence than Tommy, then that's a damn good QB. No question.

1964: 48,000, south end zone bleachers erected, making stadium a horseshoe. Not sure if that includes the temporary north end zone bleachers.

That's no knock on Tom Brady, don't get me wrong, I respect the game that Tom Brady plays. It's more of a knock on how people just hand MVP awards to QB all the time. It kind of annoys me. It's a team sport, and Tom Brady maybe is the true MVP of the team overall. But for that first SB win, I still see Vinateiri as MVP, making the clutch game winner. And that's keeping in mind all that Tom Brady did in the 50+/- snaps he saw throughout the game. I guess the way I see it. Tom Brady deserves this one. You have to ask yourself, could someone on their roster come in and do what they did and win? I think Tom Brady might be the only one on that roster that is virtually irreplaceable. The fact that he consistently picked apart and exposed Seattle's match ups so well and made it look easy. That says a lot about his understanding of the game, his scheme, and the players he is playing with. I made a comment about how fun it is to watch that play out after one play, Seattle had Sherman on Gronk, and he threw to Vereen, then two plays later he saw that Gronk had an insanely favorable match up with some LB and got a big gain. Credit coaching and scheme for creating those match up problems for Seattle. But credit Tom for knowing where to go with the ball after recognizing the coverage.