Red_Payne

I know pro's is different than College; but i've seen MANY varying sizes of DL in a 3-4 front in the NFL. JJ Watt is the best DE in 3-4 and is sub 300 lbs, yet, I've seen front's where all three guys were 320+. I think the skill set a player has is more important than the actual size.

Just the head coach; or the program as a whole... There's been some shenanigans going on since Riley has got here. In all seriousness, pretty spot on.

Considering that this is College football, and most these players will never make a paycheck, let alone an actual living, playing this game; I think it is important to stick to and teach a Moral code of conduct. However, I don't see taking advantage of loopholes as immoral. If something is "technically" allowed, then it is allowed; not just in football, but in all industries. Hard work should always be preached; but there are always loopholes and way to bend and not break the rules; and the people that learn how to play that way will get ahead. If you're gonna play the game, boy; you gotta learn to play it right.

I looked at the recruiting classes the past 5 years of Neb and Wash. Washington performs no better than NU in terms of recruiting, and NU is consistently a little better every year (NU hovering at about 25ish, Wash. at about 30ish). Their state produces more talent, but not by much, and the closest prospect factory is Cali, which isn't very close. NU has Mich, Illi., Ohio, and Tex. all within the same relative distance as Wash. is to Los Angeles (and to a lesser extent, the bay area). It must be coaching and development. Wash. seems to have been able to develop the talent they got in a BIG way; I like Riley; but he and his staff never really showed they could develop the talent that they could get their hands on. (Or St. never was able to get top tier classes, but it wasn't horrible, either). Wanna see if Riley and co. can somehow find a way to improve both lines; as Wash. seems to have done. Just wanna see what all of your thoughts are on the development of our own guys and how we fair compared to programs like Wash, or even Wisc., Iowa, and other good programs not in recruiting hotbeds.

Silver lining.... we get to see what his (potential) replacement can do against a fairly decent offense. Anyone have an idea of who will start in his place?

Hearing a lot of people saying Gerry is out; but no one has confirmed. Is there a source for this speculation?

That's what I like to hear. I like having high character guys on the team; but we need some mean, nasty guys, too; especially on the line.

Might work. I'm unsure. Sometimes I see Navy or GT running the option and beating teams w/ superior talent and it makes me wonder if Neb could revert to the option and have significant success.

It depends. If the "good" team has a great defense and avg. offense; then the bad QB can be mitigated by having a one-dimensional run offense, and simplifying the passing game to the point where it is extremely conservative and simply asks the QB not to turn the ball over. If the "good" team is just well rounded; then the Bad QB play will definitely hurt the team in a much more significant way.

I'd be happy if we win 8 games, as long as the losses are relatively close, the lines show significant improvements; and signs of an offensive identity being established are shown. Pretty much, I'm looking for line improvement.

This seems pretty accurate to me. I think were the talent is allocated can have a major impact on a team's success. Neb. seems to have a lot of their talent allocated to skill positions; Iowa is way behind in terms of overall talent, but they probably have the majority of their talent on the lines. Hopefully Riley can create a more balanced talent pool. That's just my opinion/observation, though.

Agree with you, man. Teams sold out to stop the run against us the entirety of the later half of the season and played press man coverage; if we had a QB that could hit a guy deep vs one-on-one coverage; that defensive style goes to the wayside; however; you need a line that will protect that QB, because that QB, more than likely, isn't going to have the scrambling ability of TA; unless we somehow snag a Heisman quality QB.

We are a strong O-line away; I can't speak on QB, as I don't honestly know how well Tommy could have played behind a Wisc or Mich, O-line. Maybe he would have been a heisman candidate, maybe he would have been considerably worse than their QBs, I just don't know. I do know that the top teams in our conference seem to have a really strong line.

What are y'all thoughts on our S&C coach + athletic trainers? Our lines seemed to be weaker than our opposition's lines, unless playing against obviously inferior talent. In the past (90's and, at times, 00's) our lines looked stronger, and generally were stronger. The past couple years have shown our lines, overall (there were a few standouts), didn't move the opposition as effectively off the line; and typically didn't look all that intimidating compared to our upper tiered competition. Our depth took a hit as well; I find it difficult to blame this on the S&C coach; as injuries happen to all teams; but it seems as if many of our players had "nagging" injuries and those kept reoccurring throughout the season and kept players from performing 100% and hurt depth during the game (as another player could have suited up). Aren't the AT's supposed to keep that in check?

I agree; However, I don't want to see him let go unless a MAJOR upgrade can be attained, not just a suitable or slightly better replacement can be found (which I don't think Riley can find, atm). Scrapping a D-scheme for a new one again would hurt the defensive development/growth; and it isn't worth the re-vamped growing pains unless the new coordinator is proven to be able to come up with a strong defensive gameplan, is able to recruit for that scheme (as that will be a huge proponent at a program without top level recruits within the vicinity), and can successfully implement that scheme within a "relatively" short period of time. I have NO CLUE who fits that bill, and the potential level of interest of those that do. Ideas?

If we do land Sarell, what are the chances of him starting? what are the chances of him redshirting?

I'm not familiar with the O-line depth/recruiting. Anyone have a clue of how the O-line may shape-up like next year. IMHO, Farmer and Gates where the only players that consistently held there own. Any potential RSFr, that can snag a job? Any potential incoming freshman that could contribute early? It's no doubt that the O-line play was not up to par whenever playing against competent opposition; I'm just hoping that there is legitimate signs that could lead to improvement next season on this front.

Better O-line play is the #1 priority; and it's not even close. We don't match up with the top dogs in our own conference when it comes to the lines, but the talent disparity on the O-line, specifically, is Enormous. I may even venture to say that it didn't match up even against the mediocre of the conference (One can make the argument that Minn & Ind. had better O-lines; at least more consistent). Maybe we need a change in the Strength & Conditioning dept. as our lines have seemed to be out-manned the past couple years.

Does anyone know how exactly the CFP committee votes & what the criteria is? All in all, they should be voting in who they believe are the 4 BEST teams in the country; regardless of record, correct? or wrong? Genuine question, I'm not 100% sure. Also; what are the chances Big 10 gets two teams in the playoff. I can actually see OSU getting in w/o even playing in the CCG; and if Wisc. beats PSU; I think they jump Lou., Wash and/or Mich. and get in. Okla. could steal a spot, though; which would hamper that. Don't see Pac 12 in the picture anymore.

The thing that scares me is that we have made the argument "we have young guys ready to come up in a few years" more than a few times in the past. Do we really believe that our young guys are on par with the young guys that Michigan, OSU, etc. are grooming? If so, great, we should be ready to, at the very least, stay with these upper tier teams. But it seems like we havent had the lines to compete since we had Suh on one side of the ball.

I would argue that Michigan was left with the better talent. Especialy on the fronts... Look at their line; look at NU's line... you can see a major gap in talent

How do you guys feel about the line play (both sides) thus far? How do you feel about it going forward? Is the potential there? Do we have the ability to compete on this front? I ask because it seems as if we have been able to beat lesser teams by wearing them down; out-man them on the line as the game goes on. However, it seems as if we were worn down by Wisc. Michigan is back on the scene in a big way, and I can't help but be impressed by their impressive O-line. They look HUGE, strong and play that way, too. Alabama has been this way as well; and we all already know this, but it has become more apparent than ever that line play wins games more than anything else. Do these teams have superior line coaching? I know they have superior talent coming in. I was pissed about the predictable play calling vs. Wisc.; but looking back, Wisc. was just as predictable. Ala. has never been overly flashy offensively. Neb's O-line play has been a weakness the past couple years, imo at least, but it seems they have turned a corner under this coaching staff. Hopefully this trend continues; is the incoming talent on the lines sufficient to compete? Is the coaching staff skilled enough to build a great unit year in and year out? How do we compete with other major programs on this front? Just food for thought.

I want to see Riley bring a team with a proper gameplan, and players who understand the gameplan and can execute it. I also want to see the proper adjustments being made. Under the previous regime, adjustments were not a strength; and tbh, Riley didn't make many successful in-game adjustments last year. We haven't really had to shake things up this year; so I am interested to see what the gameplan is, and how Riley will change things up for whatever situations arise.

Why no I-formation? Same thing happened last week. too many runs from shotgun... take it to 'em!

I was skeptical at first. I am A LOT more convinced that this coaching staff has *potential to build a strong program; however, I cannot say I am fully convinced until I see the OSU and Wis. games. I remember Bo Pelini doing a solid job (but not perfect, of course) of beating the teams we were supposed to beat; but then melting down during big games. If Riley gets blown out by Wis. or OSU, I think I would be more skeptical about the coaching change, than I was before.