Wistrom Disciple

I am not arguing that we should start all underclassmen. I think you're misunderstanding the thread. My point is that saying we have less talent than the likes of Northwestern & Purdue is a poor argument. Nebraska has more talented players than either program but we have been outcoached by both schools in recent years.

I understand but if the talent is that good, at what point do those guys beat out the guys that are seeing the field? If the talent is lower on the depth chart, isn't it the job of the coaches to put the most talented players onto the field? I agree with you that we have some very skilled young guys but as we are in year three with Frost & Co., they need to start getting the talent onto the field. I think at worst case, we had at least equal talent to Northwestern on the field last weekend and were simply outcoached. I think it is the job of the coaches to put the players to put the players in the best position to win and I feel that we have done a poor job of doing that in many games the past couple years.

I don't follow your logic by first saying we are losing because of a lack of talent, then that it's inexperienced and then saying our defense is pretty good. I realize that you're hung up on trying to prove that linebackers have improved but my point is that the core of backers are largely the same as last year. Their talent remains unchanged. Their development and knowledge of the defense appears to have improved a lot which, to me, points to coaching and not a lack of talent.

I don't have the numbers breakdown but I agree that if they were designed that way I can understand a run. 21 runs combined for Adrian & Luke though is a lot. I'd much rather see that number in half and let our runningbacks get some work to make those read options more threatening and the quick passes hopefully more open if the defense is worried about a run.

I will simply have to disagree. Lack of talent and experience are not why we lost to Northwestern last week. We have two new linebackers (Payne & Heinrich) who rotate in. Miller & Honas were starters last year and Nelson, JoJo and Tannor played a lot. Those players have the same "talent" as they had last year. They have developed in their understanding of the defense and scheme. Therefore, the improvement is not a physical talent but a mental development that stems from coaching. Did we watch the same game? Their linebackers might be the one group that is better than ours. You would take their entire defense over ours though? Their defense... who allowed us 28 first downs and 442 yards with our offense?

No doubt! I'd be more comfortable if the offense called for that but way too much scrambling is asking for turnovers and injuries to happen.

Could you expand on your thoughts there? I'm curious what kind of ideas you have for the outside the box thinking.

Ok that's fair but these coaches are the ones who recruited the players to fit their scheme. Lacking talent is a legitimate argument against Ohio State. I cannot say the same for the rest of the conference right now. The physical talent remained largely unchanged. They didn't grow six inches or become monster weight lifters. Yes, and they still find ways to beat us or sweat it out. I would be surprised if there were 4-5 guys on their team that have more talent than the players on our team at their positions currently. In short, the lack of talent argument falls mostly flat unless comparing to Ohio State. Nebraska has more pure talent on the team than at least 75% of the conference but we have been unable to win because of the intangibles (coaching & discipline).

I agree, I thought between him and his buddy they would figure out some bread and butter plays. True, power backs can be nimble but often our play calls seem to push Mills towards the outside where he is not as fast and we get tripped up for little to no gain. Reminds me of Riley's misuse of Devine Ozigbo. With a big O-line now, we should be using that to our advantage and plow forward instead of trying to always be tricky. It isn't necessarily pretty football but Wisconsin has proven that it can be effective. I agree, Mills isn't world changing but he does tend to be productive when give the opportunity. Yes, I will admit that the Wisconsin game last year was an anomaly. That said, I don't like having our quarterbacks having as many rushes as our runningbacks and twice as many passes like we had this past weekend.

There are maybe 10-15 guys left from the Riley era. As fans, we have to stop using that as a crutch or excuse. I understand you made a point that Heinrich and Payne replaced Barry and Davis. The argument stands... it is not an improvement based solely on talent but on better coaching with the group. Miller, Honas & Reimer are playing much better. Their talent didn't change, their knowledge of the position and scheme did... That is a credit to coaching and development. No, Fitzgerald is a good fit where he's at now. He has just done a better job coaching than Frost has to this point. NW has less pure talent than Nebraska but they have found ways to win. Yes, Purdue has 2-3 difference makers and their coaches have found ways to utilize their talents and win. This counters Illinois who has 2-3 difference makers that are poorly coached and the team loses. As of now, Nebraska has acted more like Illinois and less like either NW or Purdue, let alone an Ohio State.

Agreed, we put up lots of yards. We still lost the game. And when it matters in the red zone, we have not had the ability to line up and grind out the 3-4 yard gains. Instead we try for gimmicks and tricks instead of trusting that our offensive line is better and can overpower an opponent.

The roster has turned over since Riley, the talent argument falls back on Frost & Co. I agree that Riley did a poor job of recruiting. However, if the talent is lacking, it is up to the coaches to find better players or to coach and develop the talent they have. Thankfully Barry & Davis did graduate and have their eligibility expire. The two newcomers (Heinrich & Payne) are improvements over those two. The other six backers remain from last year. Therefore, I credit their development to coaching. NW does get more out of their players... that is coaching. Purdue - Yes they have Bell & had Moore but the core of the team is not more talented than any others in the league... again that is coaching.

Well Mills is a power back so I do think he is our best option up the middle. There has been a clear reluctance from the coaches to accept 3-4 yard runs up the middle consistently though. Instead they seem to want to go wide and get space which is fine for speedy backs but we just don't have enough to make it work. And when coaches are reluctant to use a runningback between the tackles, the defense has an easier job. When the coaches made a clear commitment to the run game (like vs. Wisconsin last year), it seemed to help the offense flow better. Unfortunately, we seem to want the homerun plays too often and stall our drives too much. Chunk plays can be very helpful but we have to be able to grind out first downs if we want to have success long-term.

How much of that comes down to the players versus coaching though? Looking at the defense, our linebackers were pitiful last year. This year we have the same guys but they appear to be immensely improved. Sure they probably got stronger in the weight room and maybe got a bit faster but the Jimmys and Joes didn't change there. Credit therefore should go to coaching and development. Unfortunately, I cannot point to a position group on the offensive side where we have demonstrated significant improvement over last year. The talent is what it is. Northwestern has found a way to win with what they have, same goes for Purdue. At some point, the coaches need to stop over thinking and be willing to adapt.

Is that on Mills or is that on play calling? Mills was a horse against Wisconsin last year. Why we haven't set a similar gameplan against anyone since is beyond me. With our experienced, big and strong Oline, it seems very odd that we are not letting those guys move the chains for us instead of relying on screen passes or five yard slants that only work occasionally.

Our team is more talented than most of our opponents and now in year 3, the talent argument falls a little flat given the roster turnover. Experience is a legitimate point as we do have a lot of young players but with the amount of practice time and coaching they've had, experience should be less of a factor. Many of the errors we've had the past year and a half draw a lot from play calling and not having an identity. This falls on the coaches. Prime example is this last weekend when we had 1st & goal at the 2 yard line. Instead of a straight power play, we swing the entire line left and try to get cute with a fake handoff before being blown up for a two yard loss. For all the hype about Oline looking like a Big Ten line and slowly getting back to the "Husker Power," running them out of the picture at the goal line does not inspire confidence that we can over power anyone.

Agreed on the first 90%. I’m not as down on AM as I am about the frustration with gameplan and coaching decisions. At some point, all the hype with the Husker Power needs to be showcased and let our big line put a defense on their backsides.

I'm sure i'm in the minority but I believe Martinez should start. That said, Frost needs to get more creative in getting Luke on the field. I'd like to see us use Luke and Adrian more interchangeably on the field together similar to Taysom Hill with the Saints who is a jack of all trades and lines up at every spot on the field including taking some snaps. We need to figure out a way to stop shooting ourselves in the foot early in the games. Martinez is a rhythm player and he can be creative when he's in that flow. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to sustain the flow early in games and it's killing any early momentum. That is what I'm looking forward to the coaches fixing most as I don't see QB play one of the key reason for the loss today versus much more questionable play calling. Positive from today... run defense looked like it might help us stay in a lot of games this year.

Sorry, that part bolded is wrong. Stats don’t lie. Did he win any championships? No, but 3 of 7 years in the title game proves that you’re doing something right.

He’s got a point though. Bo won many of the he should have won. Yes, he got blown out once a year but he knew how to beat these average teams. Every season you could pencil in a minimum of 6-7 games we could sleepwalk and win. Frost teams have been a rollercoaster every game, save for Maryland. And he still has an annual blowout.

Frost is too infatuated with the Oregon offense. At some point you’ve got to get away from the trick plays and just be able to line up against a defense and put them on their backsides. Have the ability to go under center, use a fullback and demoralize a team. We are not the Chiefs but our offense calls plays like we are. Frost needs to be able to adapt if we are to win consistently in this league.

I don't buy it. First, a field hospital in Madison in November would cause more problems than they would solve so I don't see that being a solution. Totally plausible that the program closes up and waits until 2021. I got the impression that Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc. reluctantly signed on to play the season this fall after seeing all the conferences that take athletics seriously continue playing and tried getting back to normal. Selfishly, I hope these schools suffer in enrollments and recruiting in the near future as they severely botched the past several months. Hypocritical at the very, very least.

I don't know if I'd go that far... Michigan and Ohio State are two wildly different places from one another both on and especially off the field.

Based on that sentence alone, I can tell that you did not graduate from the University of Michigan.

Please don't give them any ideas