EmeraldIngot

Agree. I also think it really hurts recruiting. We can't fit the recruits to our system so we go after "that guy". We want to be an inside/outside zone read spread option power running, triple option, belly G up tempo ball control PA passing with the short game of the WCO with a pocket passer game predicted on the mobile qb.......Case in point, Imani Cross. Not to bag on him. The guy is a beast, but isn't going to be running sweeps or outside runs. The guy is a bruiser, but the square peg (Cross) is being pounded into the round hole (sweep, outside zone read). Imani Cross takes a lot of flack and people think he can't run outside. That's not exactly true. His problem is he is trying to make this redixulous jump cuts that Ameer makes look so easy, but he is too tall and heavy to make them. He can make one good quick cut, but not of the same style as AA. I've also seen him hesitate when approaching the line of scrimmage, on both inside and outside runs. He slows his feet and tries to juke and wiggle, but his agility isn't there for that style of running. This leads to his outside runs going for little or no gain. Also, sometimes when he runs inside, he slows up (and I've seen him even stop once or twice) just before he hits a hole because he's looking for a cutback lane. When he does hit the hole, he doesn't always lower his shoulder and accelerate through it. If he can be taught to only try for one quick cutback at a time, to not hesitate, and to hit that hole at full speed with a low pad level, he could be a very good power runner. He has uncommon speed for his size, he just isn't using it right. I hope that he learns to fix these things by next year, or he might lose his position to Adam Taylor.

Jesus Christ my head hurts............. In theory, what he is saying is that more WRs means fewer guys in the box. 8n theory, this is correct... but it has been changing ever since MSU and Seattle have started running a reactionary 'quarters' coverage that allow for as many as 7 people in pass coverage, or as many as 8 or 9 in the box, without having to change formation or audible. Also, yes, the game is becoming more athletic, but that just means that athletic TEs can block like an OT and run like a WR. A good FB is basically a bigger RB who can block and catch passes. In this more athletic trend, it's possible to recruit a FB capable of running a 4.6 or 4.5 or better 40 yard dash. The qualities of those two positions are changing, but I feel it's just changing them in ways that make them MORE useful, if you can just get creative about it.

Fixed.

As sad as it is, I agree. Although, I do believe that it is ridiculous that some think that the ACC is a better conference than the Big Ten Just to point out an interesting little thing I've noticed... Last year, on any given Saturday during football season, I could catch at least three or four BTN games on BTN2GO or the BTN channel. This year started the same way, and people were saying our conference ducked and we'd never make it to the playoff... then something happened. Three or four BTN games each week have been shown on ABC/ESPN/2/U. Starting around week 5 or 6. Now, all of a sudden, the talking heads on ESPN are saying and writing articles about how MSU or tOSU and maybe Nebraska could make it to the playoff if one of those teams wins out. Hmmm... intersting coincidence.

Things are never ever as bad as they seem at times, nor are they ever as good as they seem at times. This applies to every team in every conference at every level of football. The fans get caught up in the emotion and vastly overestimate how good or bad their team is doing. The media's job is to make things more exciting, so they intentionally play up how good or bad a team is doing at any given time. Yes, even to the teams in the SEC get this treatment (though usually more up than down...). Hell, after Georgia lost their one game this year, ESPN made it seems as if Georgia would be lucky to even get bowl eligible. Then they bounced back and still only have one loss, so now ESPN is saying they're the best team in SEC east. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. No team is perfect, and no team is as terrible as they seem at times. Even Purdue last year with a 1-11 season showed flashes of excellence and competitiveness. The Huskers aren't quite as good as some fans have made us seem at times this year, but even though we made some mistakes today against Rutgers, we are not as terrible of a team as some posts in the game discussion thread indicate.

From shotgun, the QB lines up 4 to 5 yards behind the center. That's approximately the equivalent to a 3 step drop from oder center. I read an article somewhere that an NFL team in the late 80s or early 90's had a QB with a bad ankle sprain, and wasn't able to take those drop steps from under center. Because of his limited mobility, they put him in shotgun and basically told him that the only steps he would have to make was to plant his foot and throw. I'd link it but I can't seem to find it... Anyway, what that means is that, from a shotgun formation, you're already in a 3 step drop position. The QB catches the snap, plants his foot, and makes a very quick throw. For the equivalent of a 5 step drop from shotgun, the QB catches the snap, steps back with his right foot (if right handed, left foot if left handed), does a crossover step, plants, and MAY do a shuffle or short hop forward to buy some time in the pocket to go through progressions, and make a throw. 7 step drops are almost exclusively reserved for play action passes, with only the deepest of pass routes. Or some variations of the 4 verticals from under center. Since play action footwork from shotgun is completely different due to th placement of the RB, 7 step equivalent are very rare. In the few cases they are used, it's the same as the 5 step equivalent from shotgun, but with one extra crossover step and sometimes two shuffle or hops up into the pocket. The overall effect would look like TAs 99 yard pass to Enunwa, which was a perfect example of a 7 step drop. Only from shotgun, rather than from under center like that example. Hope this helps!

The counter to this is a rotating zone blitz. Have Gregory stand up and pace the line so you don't really know where he's coming from. Then, wherever he is on the line when the ball is snapped, the nearest LB blitzes with him. Those two guys are the ones who get into and terrorize the backfield. The other linemen slant away from them, drawing blockers away, push into the backfield a few yards, then play a two-gap contain technique. The other LBs drop into shallow zone to cover quick passes and stay ready to chase down a runner. The DBs can drop into a cover two, cover 3, or cover 4. This causes high pressure from one side, forcing a QB out of the pocket on a roll out. While the QB is running in one direction, his ability to throw across his body to the side of the field he came from is very limited. This cuts the field practically in half and potentially removes one or two recievers from the play. The D linemen who are playing contain can continue to slide in that direction, and unless the QB is a burner, they should at least be able to limit cutback lanes. The LBs can swing out and down in coverage and can possibly get a sack if Gregory doesn't run him down from behind. Incredible pressure, forcing the QB to throw on the run, which will most likely either fall incomplete, or could give our guys a chance to jump routes. And I bet it would be fun to play. Just my $.02 And, how I would counter that with a good dual threat QB is put 5 receivers on the field (or 4 with the RB coming out of the back field). This takes up basically at very MINIMUM 5 DBs and probably at least 6. That leaves 4 DL and 1-2 LBs. If I don't want to put every single DB on one on one, I have to have at least some safety help. If you watch Nebraska many times, we have maybe 4 DLs and only 1 LB. This makes it very hard to do what you just described with having Gregory roam around and both of them blitz. A good dual threat QB would kill that. Then go with a cover 1 deep zone with man coverage up front out of a dime package. 6 DBs. 1 LB. 4 DL. Have Gregory roam again, but have other 3 DL play 2 gap to cover a straight run, and have gregory and LB blitz from opposite sides. QB scrambles away from Gregory, LB gets him. Away from LB, Randy gets him. Moves up in the pocket, a DL can get free from his block and give him nowhere to run while Gregory and LB crash on him from behind. The bump and run coverage throws off the timing of the routes and forces the play to take longer to develope, giving our guys more time to get to the QB. Have a DB key on the RB to act as a contain LB if it's a run, as a man cover if RB goes for the pass, have him either play a shallow zone/QB spy if RB goes into pass protection. Save for the very very very best of dual threat QBs like Mariota or Miller who MIGHT be able to break contain, this D will shut down that play.

The counter to this is a rotating zone blitz. Have Gregory stand up and pace the line so you don't really know where he's coming from. Then, wherever he is on the line when the ball is snapped, the nearest LB blitzes with him. Those two guys are the ones who get into and terrorize the backfield. The other linemen slant away from them, drawing blockers away, push into the backfield a few yards, then play a two-gap contain technique. The other LBs drop into shallow zone to cover quick passes and stay ready to chase down a runner. The DBs can drop into a cover two, cover 3, or cover 4. This causes high pressure from one side, forcing a QB out of the pocket on a roll out. While the QB is running in one direction, his ability to throw across his body to the side of the field he came from is very limited. This cuts the field practically in half and potentially removes one or two recievers from the play. The D linemen who are playing contain can continue to slide in that direction, and unless the QB is a burner, they should at least be able to limit cutback lanes. The LBs can swing out and down in coverage and can possibly get a sack if Gregory doesn't run him down from behind. Incredible pressure, forcing the QB to throw on the run, which will most likely either fall incomplete, or could give our guys a chance to jump routes. And I bet it would be fun to play. Just my $.02

You guys are missing the point that I made. it's not about having a dedicated QB coach, it's about having a QB/WR coach that will not only improve all those players' fundamentals, but help to foster synchronicity between the two.

Not sure if this deserves it's own topic, but I thought I'd share my personal thoughts on having a dedicated QB coach and how to fit that in with the two (?) other position coaches available under the Offensive Coordinator. The very idea of a dedicated QB coach who does nothing but coach the QB is rediculous. It's a waste of a position that is limited by NCAA regulations. When you only have a few position coaches that can be part of your staff, you have to have position coaches that can coach multiple positions. In my opinion, this should apply to all positions, both offensively and defensively. I'll lay out how, in my opinion, it should be organized. T One assistant coach should be in charge of the QB's and WR's. This is because you can teach as much fundamentals as you like, but it won't help your passing game if the QB's and WR's are not in rhythm. You could have a perfect NFL legend as your quarterback, but if he hasn't gotten practice time to get in rhythm with the WR's, his chances of anticipating where that guy is going to be and how he beats his coverage is going to mean that the ball WILL NOT be placed where that WR needs it to be to not only make a catch, but to get at least a few yards downfield. The common term is "catch it in stride". Having an assistant coach who not only is teaching both the QB's a proper throwing mechanic, footwork, and how to read coverage, but also teaching the WR's to read the same coverage and make the same decisions to be on the same page as the QB as well as how to properly run the routes in the scheme as decided by the OC. This means a LOT of practice time, a lot of 'reps' between all strings of QB's with all strings of WR's. This means that the #2 QB will be nearly as familiar with the #1 WR's as the #1 QB is. And if several of your top WR's get injured, the #2's can step in without a significant loss of rhythm and timing. Or if the QB gets injured (like 2013...) the #2 and #3 QBs shouldn't lose too much rhythm because they also are familiar with the WR's they'll be throwing to. It's not about how much playing time the backups get, but how many reps they get in practice. This builds familiarity and comfort. If someone goes down, if you're almost as comfortable with his backup, you won't have so many 'miscommunications'. This leaves a dedicated position coach for OL and TE's, teaching the blocking schemes and blitz pickups, as well as communication. Again, the same 'rotation' during practice to get the lower stringers playing with the upper stringers to build familiarity helps keep the quality of play high when the next man has to step up for whatever reason. Of course, TE's should have a little bit of time with the QB and WR coach to help polish route running and build familiarity with the QB in the pass game. The last position coach should be RB and FB coach. This will allow him to dedicate time to teaching his runners how to cut back, how to find the open lane, to follow blockers, to read front seven coverages and so on. The RB's and FB's will need to spend a little time working with the OL and TE coach on how to pick up blitzes when they're in pass protection situations, and also a little time with the QB and WR coach for the passing game out of the backfield. All three of these coaches need to be in constant communication to make sure their players are synchronizing well with the other groups. That 'coordination' efford is the job of the OC, just like the name implies. A very similar setup can and should be put in place for the Defense, but I won't go into detail here. The head coach's job is to make sure that all positions are going well and that the OC and DC are keeping things together. The HC needs to spearhead the recruiting drive, and should probably also personally oversee the special teams efforts. If everyone is doing their jobs and doing them well, the level of talent you have becomes much less relevant to the overall success of your team. A mediocre QB and a mediocre WR can fool a first round DB if they're in a better rhythm than the DB is with his teammates. Please let me know what you think.

HELL YEAH! I'm with you all the way! Let's go Huskers! Win out and make the first College Football Playoff! Even if you lose in the semifinals, I'll be beyond happy to have made it that far. GOOOOOOO BIIIIIIIIIIG REEEEEEEEEEEED!

Ameer is officially the best football player ever.

Quarterbacks and coaches dont have time to go over mechanics. That stuff's done on their own in summers. That's why Martinez was visiting calhoun two summers in a row. It's while most all qbs visit some sort of guru in their offseasons. It's not the NFL. College staffs outside of the strength coach only have so many hours with their players throughout the year. the more time they spend dickin around with footwork and such, the less time they have to perfect their plays. I think Tommy's mechanics and fundamentals are fine. It's mental to me at this point. Making wrong reads. Gettin a little carried away with forcing things. Just simply making bad throws. I dont think any of that is fundamental. it's mental. Of course that opinion could be skewed when we're used to what we've seen for 3 previous years. I've had this theory for a while. Standardized throwing mechanics don't mean a whole lot, only accuracy, zip (how fast the ball travels through the air), and a quick AND smooth release. Every NFL QBs throwing motion looks a little different, and some even side arm it a little and can still make accurate throws. The throw itself just has to have those three qualities. Granted, standard throwing mechanics can help improve all three of those areas in most QBs, but everyone throws a little differently. But even if a person has accuracy, zip, and release, it's not a guarantee that they will be a good QB. The reads he has to make, the footwork of both himself and his recievers, and his awareness of the pass rush are much more important in determining if a pass will be complete or not. The reads are different in each system, but follow similar guidelines. The footwork helps the recievers and QB match up their timing, and timing makes it easier to determine reads. Awareness of the pass rush is pretty self explanatory. A QB has to make a quick decision to either step up and buy time, spin out of the pocket to buy time, or throw it away before he gets sacked, all while keeping his eyes on the recievers downfield. In our passing game, I feel there is a lack of timing between TA and some of his recievers. Particularly Moore. Though it has been getting better. Timing can be fixed through careful repetition with the goal of improving timing. If TA can make a throw at the same time a reciever make the break, the ball will be to the reciever and in his hands well before the D has a chance to jump the route. That's timing. And that's what we need. Good post, Ingot. I like your three qualities, and even if TA does ok with slightly funky mechanics, those three qualities are definitely inconsistent with him at this point. Timing being poor is a by-product of our top receivers going down with injuries. To develop good timing between a QB and WRs, they need reps. The guys TA has gotten reps with all spring and summer and fall are not playing. The only one he's used to is Westy. He's down Carter, Bell, Turner, Burtch, and Reilly at this point. Beyond that, obviously the WRs themselves are not as polished at running routes. But they will each run routes with different timing, and TA needs reps to adjust to that timing. It'll get better as they work together more. It's a preparation thing. Three deep on the WR depth charts need to get regular reps with the #1 offense. Backup QB needs to get regular reps with the #1 offense. Also, a system needs to be in place. For example, a three step drop from under center is used in quick passes like WR screens, slants, in or out routes, and some curls. 5 steps are used for shallow posts, corners, comebacks, and wheel routes. 7 step drops are reserved for play action and deep go and fade routes. From a shotgun or pistol where the QB is not under center, he's already in the position that a 3 step drop would be in, so he actually has more time to read those quick routes. A lot of the passes we were doing against Mich State were the equivalent to 5 step drop routes. Some of those deep play actions were 7 step equivalents. In this kind of system, the time it takes to make a certain step drop is the timing it should take to run a certain route. If it's coached this way and practiced this way, the systematic timing helps to keep the timing close to identical even without a huge number of reps. Lots of West Coast, Run 'n Shoot, and Air Coryell systems use standardized drop and route timing to help the passing game. Pretty much the entire NFL uses drop and route timing. I don't really feel that WE have a set system for timing in place. It could only help if it was added, and I hope it does.

Quarterbacks and coaches dont have time to go over mechanics. That stuff's done on their own in summers. That's why Martinez was visiting calhoun two summers in a row. It's while most all qbs visit some sort of guru in their offseasons. It's not the NFL. College staffs outside of the strength coach only have so many hours with their players throughout the year. the more time they spend dickin around with footwork and such, the less time they have to perfect their plays. I think Tommy's mechanics and fundamentals are fine. It's mental to me at this point. Making wrong reads. Gettin a little carried away with forcing things. Just simply making bad throws. I dont think any of that is fundamental. it's mental. Of course that opinion could be skewed when we're used to what we've seen for 3 previous years. I've had this theory for a while. Standardized throwing mechanics don't mean a whole lot, only accuracy, zip (how fast the ball travels through the air), and a quick AND smooth release. Every NFL QBs throwing motion looks a little different, and some even side arm it a little and can still make accurate throws. The throw itself just has to have those three qualities. Granted, standard throwing mechanics can help improve all three of those areas in most QBs, but everyone throws a little differently. But even if a person has accuracy, zip, and release, it's not a guarantee that they will be a good QB. The reads he has to make, the footwork of both himself and his recievers, and his awareness of the pass rush are much more important in determining if a pass will be complete or not. The reads are different in each system, but follow similar guidelines. The footwork helps the recievers and QB match up their timing, and timing makes it easier to determine reads. Awareness of the pass rush is pretty self explanatory. A QB has to make a quick decision to either step up and buy time, spin out of the pocket to buy time, or throw it away before he gets sacked, all while keeping his eyes on the recievers downfield. In our passing game, I feel there is a lack of timing between TA and some of his recievers. Particularly Moore. Though it has been getting better. Timing can be fixed through careful repetition with the goal of improving timing. If TA can make a throw at the same time a reciever make the break, the ball will be to the reciever and in his hands well before the D has a chance to jump the route. That's timing. And that's what we need.

Great post. I feel that, if you're going to have a QB coach, it needs to be a combined QB/WR coach. That single coach will teach the QB mechanics and footwork. Footwork has a lot more to do with smooth motion and timing than anything else. Both the QB and WRs will be taught how to read the coverage both pre snap and during the play. WRs are taught how to defeat press coverage and how to find the soft areas in a zone coverage. Since the WRs and QB are both making the same read, they should hopefully both be on the same page. If you can incorporate some of the active route shifting that the recievers make during a play that is the strong point of the Run and Shoot offense, and teach the fundamentals required to allow that reciever and QB to both make the same read while the play is happening, it would lead to a much better passing game. I actually know just a little bit about this, and those offenses were not meant to be run by amazing passers and dynamite recievers. It was made to be run by less talented guys who were better at drilling, and had excellent synchronization. It's usually a case of the system making the players look good.

I think we should move to a visual signal, like a hand reaching down to the knee or a lifted leg or something, but not as the signal to snap, but the signal to start the silent count. In this case, the center sees the signal, and silently counts "one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, snap." That is, if the silent count is three. The silent count can be given by a code word or something.

Any pass play takes a bare minimum of 2 seconds to develop enough to tell if a reciever is going to be open or not, and that's for the really quick routes like slants, drags, and shallow in or out routes. For any pass route that goes farther than 10 yards, it takes a minimum of 3 seconds to read one side of the field, and that's for NFL legend calibre of quarterbacks. Payton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and possibly Andrew Luck could have read that play in the 3.5 seconds before the pocket collapsed, and even they would have needed 4 seconds total to have decided the right side of the field was closed out, turn to the left side, read the coverage, set feet in the face of a guy about to smash you into the turf, and deliver a bullet. I'm glad that you think so highly of Tommy's skills as a QB, and he might be able to make passes like that by the time he's a senior, but right now, that's impossible for him to do with as little time as he had.

To toot my own horn here, everything I've outlined in this thread, we failed to do against Michigan State, and we couldn't move the ball to save the season for the first 3 quarters. I just wished this had been implemented and we would have won.

I guess that makes Illinois the palette cleanser. Lol.

I'm guessing they all look the same to Emarald... Cool, good to know. I've noticed him in all the games so far but had no idea who it was. He brings a lot of good energy to the sideline. I'm viewing from my smartphone, so I can't get the pic to be any larger than a postage stamp. With it being that small, it does look like one of those two. I have met those two at the Nebraska Coaches Clinic last March. Sat in on their presentations. Was really impressed... Either way, can't make out the fine details in the pic, but it looked more like Brown to me... sorry I got it wrong. :/

Holy crap! I was in west stadium, section 28, row 22, seat 7. We were probably sitting some 20 yards from each other. But yeah, that hit shook my seat so hard I had to stand up.

OMFG ROFL!!!

I'm pretty sure that's Ron Brown, the RB coach. Either that, or its coach Warren, the DB coach.

Nope. Not at this point in life. I'm just finishing up my degree to teach PE. I'm not a head coach, yet.Darn. Was worth a shot. Mayne I should go back to college. Only 26... no eligibility left so I can't play anymore, but maybe I could volunteer and be an assistant for the Huskers or something...

As long as we aren't going out there in a pink tutu, I couldn't really care. Now, a pink arm bad or shoes to support breast cancer research...