84HuskerLaw

Hope they win. Be a bummer start. Not sure how Chadron is but probably better than many might think.

Hm. Good vision. Good cutting without dancing. Speed ?? Quick. Size ??

The ‘Osbone’ is still the best offense ever devised in cfb history. Nobody did it better because nobody ever tried, seriously anyway. It helped to have TO manage it of course. But it was a simple yet complex offense that attacked a defense inside and out with great power and speed, from a variety of formations, with well trained athletes that executed at a very high level. Every position was recruited to and developed carefully and systematically. TO recruited well but never needed the fabulous WRs and QBs to win at the highest levels. By being able to develop 2-3 star players at a number of positions, he was able to devote more recruiting efforts in and to defense and STs. Ultimately, he did get some special players in the RB spot. But his QBs didn’t need NFL arms and WRs could be ‘average’ pass catchers with exceptional non-ball skills. TO also was adept at maintaining exceptional scout team squads to prepare his defense for the offenses they would face. This, while most opponents had very little capability to prepare for NU offense. His system gave Neb advantages that offset any disadvantages he may have had in recruiting, etc. The only way Neb wins championships using the same basic schemes as most of our competitors is to recruit the very best across the entire team. That’s where even minimal recruiting handicaps will make it so difficult to win consistently. Great running QBs with average arms are much easier to find and develop. Passing is a skill that is largely genetic and hard to really develop. You either have great throwing skills or you don’t. That said, a modernized (I don’t use that term but since so many insist an option style offense is antiquated I will use it) Osbone can be devised. Frost was supposed to be an offensive wizard who could do something creative. We never saw it all. Half or more of our opponents for the past decade run basically our offense. Zero surprise. They run it better than we do and defenses know it. Result: a anemic run game and sputtering inconsistent passing game reliant on great QB passing skills. Adrian was pretty talented but not special. And Palmer appears to be our first of dozens of WRs with special skills. And the O line has been basically ignored and far below any standard suitable to this ‘modern’ offense. Even basic run plays are below the 4 ypc level and erratic at best. 2-3 yard gains are the norm, even in play action with a lot of pass formation/look built in. First and goal at the 5 yard line is a crap shoot with our run game.

Blocking is the only problem on offense. The defense lacks raw talent and lacks experience although they are getting more youth in games for the future. Im convinced if we had a good O line, a couple more DTs and one LB and one safety, we could be 7-0 with the coaching changes we have now, retroactive to Aug 1 2022.

Not even close! Lol

I think I know who the mystery man is that checks ALL the boxes. He knows the entire country in football experience, great on the field and the classroom, available immediately now, will almost certainly retain MJ and Busch having worked with both of them. Experience in Big Ten and Big 12. Understands the X & Os and the Ps & Qs. A GRINDER. Hard working character guy. I don’t believe anyone has seriously mentioned his name as a candidate yet. Almost guaranteed fit in Lincoln. Probably be a popular choice for some fans while others will take some time to come to like the success he can achieve. It will be sustainable Can u guess him? i will reveal him tomorrow night if nobody gets it sooner.

It smells like a stink piece. They can research all about the money in hires and fires without a lawsuit into Frost’s personal case. They know it’s not about wins and losses totals. There were 9 more games to go. Plenty of games to go yet. It’s obvious 6-6 was still possible, mathematically if not realistically.

Agree he does sound perfect culturally. He seems kind of opposite of Neon Deon showman. That’s exactly what NU needs. Do we know his X & O skills? I know Husker fans want a brilliant ‘football’ mind that can attract and KEEP players of similar character. Hard working 3-4 star level guys. The 5 star guys can be fine but seem often to be a little flaky and full of themselves. GBR!

Thanks, Maverick! The numbers show about as I expected. Those correlations would probably be similarly indicative of winning probability as well. The pass yards is actually a bit lower than even I would have guessed. It may somewhat confirm my belief that rush yards are more valuable than passing yards in predicting wins too. They all fit together imo. Teams tend to lose without a run game, despite passing well. Teams with a nice combination of both and teams that are run heavy tend to win more often. Teams that control time of possession, get lots of first downs with runs and passes tend to win more. Big play passing teams tend to be inconsistent and games with stats like the Purdue game are rare and very hard to duplicate thru the seasons. The best running team wins more often than the best passing team. Pass plays are simply more difficult to execute consistently. Risk vs reward. Deep pass plays tend to be the most difficult to execute. Ideally, imo, the play caller wants to keep the defense guessing as much as possible. Predictability is a defender’s edge. Of course, if the play caller can reliably predict his offense can successfully execute a variety of his play selection, it’s easy to call plays. But, as in Whipple’s current predicament, he can’t count on any of his plays (run or pass) being successful, it’s extremely hard to call plays successfully. Defenses can predict Neb wont run the ball very well so the pass can be the primary focus. When they defend the pass well, the result is more sacks, incompletions, ints, etc. 3 & outs lead to short possessions and tired defenses. And incomplete passes involve much less tackling by the defenses = less fatigue.

I am sure the stat geeks can generate all sorts of graphs and charts showing correlations between points scored and first downs, total yards, rush yards, pass yards, time of possession etc. Anomalies abound but I’d be surprised to see that the correlation on TOP, total yards, TO margin, relative field position, completion %, yards per carry, and most of the commonly compared stats are not strong indicators. Unusual plays can help the weaker team, as indicated by the various measures, overcome to win but reliance on the breaks, oddities, etc is not the way to build a sustainable winning program. Imo, better to focus on fundamentals. Blocking. Tackling. Penalty free execution, etc. Big plays are great. You never want to turn down TDs I guess but just matching TD for TD doesn’t assure a win. PATs are missed. 2 pt conversions. On side kicks. There are times when time off the clock is more valuable than another score. Keeping the ball away from the opponent and TDs prevented can be better at times.

Hm. I had hoped they could get 4 games out of Fidone guess not. Either way, some new packages in the offense can help get a couple drives. Illinois has a tough D. I have to think we get a game where the opposing QB has a shaky game. Who knows.

Illinois is not Purdue. They present different but formidable challenges but maybe we can matchup a bit better. Help to get a couple guys healthier. Maybe Fidone can play some packages to help Palmer. ? LB play can be adjusted to stop runs. I thot D line play was slightly better but Purdue quick passing frustrated pass rushing. We still must add some new run plays, formations, packages to help slow Ill defense. I don’t know if there is much that can work without figuring out how to create numbers advantages at the point of attack. Cut backs, reverses, screens, true draws. Idk but try something.

In fairness, Casey T is not our problem. He’s played winning fb in my view. Not perfect but better than prior QBs at NU in a long long time. The line play is our primary problem. Those guys just have to find a lot more to their overall game to enable this team to win games. With a good line, I’m convinced this coaching staff could win the west division, esp if they got to coach in Dublin. An awakening of epic scale is needed in the O line. I’d let the backups play if after 2 series it remains obvious they can’t win the LOS.

40 time? He will have to test well imo. He has skills but idk about the measurables.

Bottom line: This team on Oct 15th is much better than on Aug 28. There is improvement all over from last year EXCEPT the O line which has not improved at all imo. I blame talent mostly and that can’t be fixed this year and very doubtful even the next couple years. Coaching is better now. I don’t feel like we are being out coached so much. A few errors but it’s not so blatant. We need a dozen more really solid players at a few positions (O line, LB and D line and a TE). Basically the bigger bodies. Can a great recruiter get that done by spring? Unlikely as the portal and Juco market is not that loaded. Maybe 4-5 gets but not a dozen imo.

Exactly what can the coaches do besides bench them and play someone else? They block poorly in nearly every play. There is not one bread n butter run play. Pass plays are basically only have successful because Whipple keeps mixing in runs and passes enough, even when a defense actually backs away from the line - he sequences well, if you want to be a primary pass based O. Obvious Trev is not ready to return to run based HC

Sadly, it seemed like our defenders sort of regressed back into their ‘Chin mode’ defensive tactics. Reminds of the first few games instead on the two preceding ones. Maybe Busch and Mickey were afraid of a 60 point blowout so they went bend and break slowly. I’d rather they get more aggressive and attack even harder. My guess is the staff was a bit surprised by the Neb offenses’ success in scoring. They didn’t believe they could sustain drives. Home runs, not base hits. I realize Purdue QB was the best arm we will face but he is not mobil. Go get him. i hope they go back to ‘Busch-whacking’ cause Chin mode won’t work.

Well , remember Frost decided to get more hands on with helping the O line get better after he fired Austin and hired Raiola. The line appears a little worse than the last 4 years. At best it’s been near the bottom of the conference or worse. Now it’s clearly one of poorest, most inconsistent and least athletic in P5. Inexplicable really. It’s not coaching techniques and fundamentals. If it were, literally dozens of former players could say so. It’s purely a lack of athleticism and immobility. They’re slow and elephant like imo. I’m no O line expert but it doesn’t take one to see our guys are big enough to impede traffic but can’t move defenders or themselves well. I think I’d try wider splits on some plays, narrower on others. You’d think they could at least push straight ahead on straight ahead run plays but not so. If there was a scheme to help them, we’ve tried it to no avail. The rest of the team is playing better, mostly.

I think God will intervene and good prevails over the ‘ungood’. GBR. It’s time we finally start the long difficult climb back to our natural place atop the football world!

Sat looks tough but who knows. This team has changed in just 3 weeks. I can’t give up hope that my Huskers can find a way.

Nobody said that but it won’t help if we hear Benning second guessing and whining. Hell, maybe he will be the new and improved Damon.

Gonna need an extra man on the field somehow. Purdue looks like the best we’ve played so far. We need some dam good luck and few breaks.

Her voice is not a radio voice but she is quite capable. She is an expert as a Athletics Dept spokeswoman. But it comes off very canned and scripted. I suppose most broadcasting is scripted but in the case of sports, maybe a little more spontaneity would be good. It’s OK to cheerlead but being serious, Frank and honest is important. Im afraid Benning will come off in these broadcasts as he has in those spring games. He often presents brash know it all assertions that usually are not close to correct. It’s fine to complement or criticize a player but be correct, not biased personally. He’s so opinionated and particularly high on himself. I will give it a listen but I’m afraid this dreadful season just got more dreadful. It’ll be especially tough for him if the losses get bigger now . Imo.

The defense is trending right BUT the competition level is not. The first 6 teams are going to finish as about .400 win % combined. The last 6 about .600. There’s about 1 bowl team (OU) in the first six. Probably 5 in the last 6. The defenses we face will likely ALL be better than any we have faced. Iowa appears most beatable but we play them last. They could get marginally better in 5 more games. But we could easily collapse from exhaustion before we get there. Absent injuries to key guys, the rest of our schedule is probably 10-20 points better than we are now. Our last two wins were mostly a result of teams with struggling offenses unable to react to our defensive schematic ‘surprises’. The secrecy is over. Our O line is getting worse (owned really). I suspect our O line gets pancaked more than it pancakes. Ugh. How can that be fixed? I see no way, sadly. I look back to the NW and GASo losses and wish for do-overs. But no teams left are worse than ANY (except OU which is now in free fall / collapse). They may be hiring a new HC soon. We are leaving fired coaches in our wake but NOT for the right reasons. I can wish and hope but 1 or 2 wins maybe about 1 or 2 more than we get. Sickens me to say it but ???

I like Rhule as HC, MJ - AHC/WRs, Busch - STs and grab Kevin Steele from Miami as DC. Grab all now but can wait on Steele til year end if need be. Kevin is 64 but he can get the D rebuilt. All the recruiting. A great staff. Rhule can of course overrule but. That’s a great ticket.