Wistrom Disciple

Both QBs are turnover prone. I don’t know if it’s contagious, but man neither look good.

Just now, PaulCrewe said:

I'd honestly would like a Sims series here this quarter to keep him some what game fresh.. Especially the way HH is going all TMagic when taking hits on his runs.  Homey ain't gonna last long taking some of the shots he does

Agreed, though if they’re hoping for a medical redshirt, it makes sense to keep him off in this game and save him for a different one later on. 

Haarberg seems to be good runner once he gets into gear, but he looks like a terrible  ball carrier and is slow to kick it into gear. Really wish we didn’t have as many QB rush attempts because he absorbs a lot of punishment on these runs and doesn’t seem to protect himself very well. 

2 minutes ago, Cornbred said:

Settle down. Wasn't trying to get personal.take a breath 

It’s ok, @knapplc is just sensitive when others ask if he came. It’s a private matter

1 minute ago, Terrabus said:

So who put Vaseline on the ball?

*Deshaun Watson has entered the chat*

19 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

CBs are going to get beat from time to time.  Hartzong gets beat a lot.

He might be the best of the options available though. I believe Tommi Hill is more athletic and a bigger corner, but often got caught taking a risky gamble or looking into the backfield. I haven't seen enough of Lynum to make a reasonable argument, but Hartzog does have some pretty good wheels and agility to him. 

4 hours ago, cheekygeek said:

While recognizing that he took a step back in his development against NW, I think people are not appreciating what Haarberg has done for this team: LEAD. He’s a leader and the team plays hard for him. With him under center, the team has improved from 0-2 to be 5-3. Those of you just concentrating on his faults kind of nauseate me.

While it is most important that we are winning games, I do think it is important to objectively look at Haarberg's play and not let the ends justify the means. Yes, he is 4-1 as the starter with the lone loss against Michigan. However, it must be taken into account that the four wins were against arguably the easiest opponents on our schedule. 

The problem I see is that HH does not seem to be improving and instead gives me the impression that he's our version of a more mobile Spencer Petras. The sidearm throwing is especially frustrating as he throws like a much smaller QB and his indecisiveness is not allowing him to utilize his athleticism as often. I hope Rhule's comments about him yesterday regarding being in a phase are accurate and that he will grow out of it. With the offense down several starters, we will need him to step up soon.

Not necessarily learned, but today confirmed that offensive line is not nearly as bad as many posters had expressed previously. The group is not filled with all-conference caliber talent, but they appear to be doing enough to give us a good shot at winning. The QB play behind them has been pitiful, but I've seen progress up front at least. Also impressed to see some of the backups step in and seem to maintain relative consistency.

Extra practices from a bowl season could do wonders in moving the line from average to good/great. I used to think they were overrated practices, but after not having them for 5+ years, it's becoming painful obvious how the extra work could help improve a lot of the younger guys.

39 minutes ago, krc1995 said:

The two games he started were the first two games-and road games-of the year. So much hype around the Colorado game too. I don’t know much about JS’s eligibility- could this be a red shirt year? 

That’s a fair question and would make a lot of sense if they wanted to pursue that route. 

Totally agree that Sims had a tough draw to start. Credit to HH for capitalizing, but man does it look like he is regressing and becoming even less decisive. Very disappointing to come out of the bye week and look like that today. 

43 minutes ago, Moiraine said:

If he turns the ball over a lot next game then I agree. But I would take bad QB who doesn't turn the ball over over what we saw with Sims. Bad QB turning the ball over then fine, let them both play.

I don’t think what we are seeing with Heinrich is really any better than what we saw with Sims, HH has simply benefited by playing against teams with less talent and the outcomes have thankfully gone in our favor. Thankfully the defense has bailed us out over and over so far.

2 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

I agree with you, but it's hard to bench a guy who has won 4 out of 5 games.

It doesn’t inspire confidence in the team if they know that the QB doesn’t sit regardless of how poor they play though. Even if it’s just a series here and there, the coaches need to figure out a way to mix in QBs if HH is playing as poorly as he has been for +80% of each game. 

Just now, KCBuc said:

Roll HH out with a run pass option. 

They did… he couldn’t hit the open receiver. Not sure HH would start at Kearney Catholic at this stage of the season. Coaches need to give Sims a shot, teammates have no reason to have faith in #10 right now.

Three straight bad passes to the drive, receivers got open and line protected. At some point hopefully the coaches will realize the problem starts and ends with HH

1 minute ago, mnhusker said:

So does Ruhle only pull a QB due to injury we know it's not performance 

Spot on. No fear of failure is fine, but zero accountability is disturbing. HH is not the guy right now in his career, needs to sit.we are very lucky Northwestern has been bad.

3 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

The assumption that you're hiring a better coach than you're firing is understandable. 

Sure, but you know what they say about people who assume...

22 hours ago, admo said:

I think this a reasonable take. 

 

None of us really follow OL coaches across the nation deeply enough to assume who could be a great OL coach here with NU as a destination job. 

 

Maybe if the money is right?  Maybe if someone wants to get out from the SEC? 

 

But looking back, hiring an OL coach could be because they are on the hot seat somewhere else, lost their job, it's their first job, did a decent job at a smaller school, have Nebraska ties, or are a hanging carrot for recruiting nephews/family members?  I don't know....  I don't know who this great OL coach is that is out there waiting to flip their gig for Nebraska.  

 

Since the early 2000's these are our OL coaches.  From current to way back.

 

Raiola 

Greg Austin

Cavanaugh (the worst IMHO)

Barney Cotton 

Dennis Wagner

Cotton

 

We all want a priority for an OLINE coach for 2 decades.  But we've had so many new coaches and different AD's, it just hasn't worked out that way.  

Add to it a revolving door of OCs to the mix as well. With our drastic change in offensive scheme/philosophy from last year to this year, I think more fans should have patience with Raiola. We're seeing improvement despite the injuries, just have to trust that the coaches will figure it out together.

Reminds me a little of fans whining about Pelini back in the day... the assumption that the next guy would be better. 

26 minutes ago, Husker03 said:

Bill Callahan for starters. 

 

But seriously, I mean, what kind of question is this? I'm not even paid 100$ a year to know the ins and outs of O-Line coaches, but there are guys that are paid, say, 5 million dollars a year to be up to speed on these things. They should understand when trying to sell a vision of a great development on an otherwise horrible line, you have to bring your A game. 

So your complaint is that the offensive line coach is bad, but you can't name one realistic replacement option that would better? I'd suggest we pump the brakes on calling for people to be fired for now as we're trending in the right direction. Raiola has helped in adding some young talent in his year and a half on the staff(s) and if he's able to help reel in Brix, that would be quite the snag. We need to give him and the rest of the staff time to put it all together.

FWIW, we're 17th in the country in rushing offense at 200.5 ypg and doing so without two of three upperclassmen running backs, three starting receivers, and a mobile QB. If we maintain that number, we should remain in the top 20 of rushing offenses in the country which would be our best finish since 2014. It's not a world-beating sign of improvement, but it is certainly a step in the right direction in one area at least.

One key factor for the success on defense this year is that we have offensive coaches who are intentionally controlling possession and eating the clock when possible. Through six games, we average Time of Possession (TOP) at 31:04 minutes per game (versus last year's average of 26:44). This has lead to reduction in opponent's total plays from 75.6 plays per game last year down to 67.8 plays per game this year. That is the equivalent of a couple fewer series per game that the defense has to face. With the rest of our opponents this season having lower TOP averages and thus controlling the ball less than we do, the averages are likely to improve and make the changes more drastic compared to previous seasons.Although not an absolute indicator of success, keeping the ball away from an opponent can be especially helpful for teams without an explosive or highly efficient offense. 

Note: It is still astonishing how Purdue called 101 plays against us last season and we were in it until the very end. Quite impressive between Thompson & Palmer

TLDR version: The offense holding the ball longer is allowing our defense to not get burned as often this year. 

2 hours ago, Archy1221 said:

I agree here.  Unless the team tanks down the stretch, the program has taken strides forward so far and a new coaching staff needs more than just 1 yr to gel unless there was some putrid coaching at a certain position.   I’ve questioned Satt in the beginning and still think he makes some questionable drive calls.  I think he would be the only one to consider changing out, but one also has to consider what he was working with this year so I’m fine either way on how Rhule handles things.  Just hope they make the proper decision at QB for next year (whatever that may be based on the opportunities presented) 

This seems to be lost on the group of fans hemming and hawing for coaching changes six games into this season. Unfortunately, people see what other coaches do in their first year and assume that the success is sustainable and that every year they'll be plucking five stars out of the portal. What they often overlook is that many of the best programs in the country have a continuity within their coaching staff which has allowed them to develop into perennial powers. 

The focus should always be on sustained success and improvement. Many coaches have benefited from inheriting talented rosters or finding splash recruits early to earn them praise. Numerous examples including: Mel Tucker, any Florida coach since Urban Meyer, Auburn, Texas A&M, etc. The challenge is building the program into a sustainable model that can be replicated year after year. Those are harder to find: Ryan Day, Harburgh, Saban, Smart with a few others in the conversation. 

Our key is to find continuity with the coaching staff and players that focuses on development and sound game strategy with excellent fundamentals. As @ColoradoHusk mentioned, coaches being on the same page and a consistent message and strategy could go a long ways. However, that may take a year or two to sink in to where every player on the team is working in unison. Hopefully we can continue building this year and see more success as the year goes on.

For a local example: it is unquestionable that Pelini inherited a lot of talent from Callahan's staff. The key that made Pelini a really good coach was that he was able to maintain success with his own recruits and developed many into professional players.

-- I still think his success is underrated as he did so while switching conferences and recruiting footprints. 

49 minutes ago, Husker03 said:

But why? Like, not to be a punk but he is currently an NCAA Div 1 quarterback. To say, “Let’s get him a quarterback coach to help teach him how to throw correctly and with any degree of accuracy,” is hilarious to me. That’s basic QB skills. Should have them by now. That’s not a thing we “start developing as a Jr in college,” thing. There are thousands of high school quarterbacks that need less than that and will never get a sniff at this level. He’s literally a ground up build at this point and I have NO idea why he’s on a scholly here. He could spend 2 full years just developing reads and field vision and still be lacking. That doesn’t even start to address his innate flawed mechanics which also would take multiple years to correct. 
 

He’s out of time for NU to save him as a QB. He’s a guy we use only because there is nobody else and cutting him in the off-season was not the way Rhule was gonna win the state. He can transfer down a few levels and have loads of fun running around and slinging yard ball for Wayne. 
 

From NU’s perspective, he’s an easy guy to recruit over this off-season and that is the path you take because such fewer resources needed to put into the next guy who already knows how to not throw sidearm and get the ball within 4 yards of his receiver. It’s business and Haarberg leaves you little upside return on investment at this time. 

Haarberg is a decent athlete and can help the team. Am I convinced that his best spot is at QB? Absolutely not. However, we have three scholarship QBs right now with the most experienced of the three working back from an injury. IMO Sims presents the best chance for success later in the year, but I understand the argument against him right now. 

While I understand the rush to judgment of the coaches, I think the requests to replace are ill-advised at this stage. Rhule is heavy on development and we're seeing improvements, even in the O-line... as much as some would make you believe otherwise. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. However, had we been told that we would average rushing 200 yards per game (avg. 5 yards per attempt) through the first six games, most would be pumped with those numbers. Add in the fact that we lost Sims, Ervin, & Johnson, the accomplishment becomes a little more impressive. The sky isn't falling, the rest of the schedule has flaws so we're doing alright. Should be a fun rest of the year.

6 minutes ago, BoSolich said:

Haarberg has only had 3 starts vs sims 30 starts, and he's equally good as him at the very least. you have to keep getting Haarberg reps and assume he's going to be the starter next year. Sims couldn't even beat minnesota or put up any points against a horrible colorado defense.

… Sims had the long TD run against Colorado. Hard to call HH equally “good” after the past two weeks. Coin toss at best

21 minutes ago, UniversalMartin said:

The guy seems to be progressing in his reads, at minimum starting to recognize more than the 1st option on throws...just needs to dial it in.. Frankly, I think Joe Ganz over the long stretch..which would be nice!!

We watched the same game? Haarberg had poor judgment for nearly the entire second half. He was very lucky to not have more turnovers. Joe Ganz had better situational awareness and didn’t try to overextend himself very often. HH lacks the former and constantly does the latter, should just slide or fall down instead of turtling when he has nowhere to go at the line of scrimmage.

- Illinois might be in the coaching search business sooner than later. Bert doesn’t look happy and his team looks bad in all phases.
 

- the Bye week comes at the absolutely perfect time. We need to heal up a whole host of players

- Haarberg survives another week as the starter. I cannot tell if he’s improving or simply improvising. Each step forward seems to be followed by a step or two backwards. Ultimately we are winning which is most important, but man are we getting lucky. 

HIP HIP