madrat

Jaquavion Fraziars in the Under Armor All-stars game looks physically dominant.

7 hours ago, Landlord said:

In the interest of curiosity, I went and watched the Indiana game, which I never saw because I was working that day. I also watched all of Luke's passes from every other game

 

1st pass - Simple halfback screen dump, complete

2nd pass - Rollout right, no reads just a single receiver wide open in the endzone, complete (receiver had to adjust awkwardly as it wasn't really in stride and on the numbers, but was fine nonetheless)

3rd pass - Incomplete, threw it in the dirt 3 yards in front of the receiver

4th pass - No read, simple dump out to Wandale in the flat, complete (good pass, on the numbers in stride)

5th pass - Pump fake to Wandale, went through a read, nice play complete to Noa for a first down

6th pass - bubble to Wandale, complete but at his feet

7th pass (Maryland) - trick play black 41 flash reverse - complete, would have been a touchdown if he didn't underthrow Spielman

8th pass - incomplete, i guess trying a back shoulder end zone throw? Threw it in the dirt 2 yards short of the receiver's feet

9th pass - bubble to woodyard, no read, complete, good throw

10th pass - pop pass handoff to woodyard on end around

11th pass - rollout left, incomplete to hickman

12th pass (Iowa) - arguable "trick play", no read, wide open to JD in stride for a touchdown

 

 

I mean...

What dump off pass doesn't begin with reads?  I think you aren't seeing what is really visible in a play and have missed it because may you don't know it at a very detailed level.  You called one pass a handoff.  Very odd.  You're still calling his last TD a trick play which is preposterous.

1 hour ago, Nebfanatic said:

I'm not bagging on anyone, I'm stating facts. You said Martinez has minimal experience at the position when McCaffrey has less experience at the position. It's a stupid comment to make about Adrian when Luke is plain and simple less experienced at the position. That isn't to say anything about his playing ability. 

Your facts sound like opinions, especially how you remember Cody Green.  And you want to say Martinez has more experience so it excuses his performances, which is also just another opinion.  I have an opinion that performance matters.  I also have an opinion that great people are excellent groomers of great people.  So Like growing up in a family of athletes that know the game at a professional and all-American level does likely rub off.  And his ability to repeat the track record of his older brothers lends credence to that theory.

19 hours ago, Nebfanatic said:

Martinez came in with minimal experience? Lol how does that stack up to McCaffreys one year of starting in HS? Martinez was starting as a Soph in HS.

That same Luke McCaffrey offered by Ohio State, Michigan, Washington, Virginia, Mississippi, Colorado, Duke, Colorado State, and Western Kentucky.

That same Luke McCaffrey that is son of Ed McCaffrey, head coach of his high school team, Stanford All-American, and 13 years in the NFL.  And who did Luke not start over?  His brother, Dylan, who has multiple Colorado Class 5A state championship wins under his belt and now is on the Michigan roster as a QB.  Then Luke took over and won the Class 5A state championship, too.  Ed didn't too bad, because his oldest son, Max, had a pretty good professional career as a wide receiver.  His next oldest was a Heisman candidate as a RB at Stanford and then went to Carolina for the pros.  And now both Dylan and Luke are in major college programs.

Adrian doesn't get his name called out loud by fans every time he enters the game.  That "LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE" that erupts from the fan base is because he is exciting.  I can't wait to see if they both lead their teams when Michigan comes to Lincoln in 2021.

So I'm not sure how you judge QBs because so far you're bagging on guys that got stuck behind Martinez for no good reason.

Again with this Cody Green being an example of a bad quarterback?  This is contrary to his actual performance.

This is the Cody Green that got thrown in 1st down on our own goal line a few times, right?  That Cody Green handled the pressure because the Martinez of that day could not.

QBs need to see some things at 100% speed to build good habits.  I didn't take it that you're asking for no holds barred contact on QBs.

2 hours ago, Landlord said:

He played in 9 games, started 7 of them, threw 100 passes and ran 86 times. What the hell are you talking about? 

Mike Grant was a wonder kid, until he wasn't.  Fans saw enough of Frazier that they were crying for him.  Osborne acknowledged the fan sentiment.  It was pretty self evident to fans, but Osborne wanted to ease him into taking snaps.  Circumstances forced the issue and Tommie became the man.  McCaffrey got the hook when his play suggested he was capable of great things.

I guess people forget Martinez came into Nebraska with minimal experience.  Frost sees him as the best athlete for the role.  The kid can pound the Maryland's of the conference.  But we really need someone that is going to stay mentally in the big games.

20 hours ago, EZ-E said:

 

If they allowed him as a student they would have had to accept his credits as electives. 

When I was a player there was a rule about the core credit hours towards a major.  You had to have 40% done by the second year and it increased 20% each year IIRC.

The sample size was small for Tommie Frazier in 1992.  But fans got it correct using the Mark I Eyeball test.  There is a good vibes coming from the McCaffrey experience in 2019.  Fans are high on him for a reason.  That's no trick.

35 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

What you linked to when asked about it earlier.

You have the wrong guy, because I did not link to it.  What Nebfanatic alludes to is that SSO didn't have direct access to the material.  He did know people that could verify it.  I know at least two guys on there that were able to speak specifically about it so I knew they had it.  Nobody is going to - at least I hope they do not due to its sensitive nature - put it out to the public.  If you want to really find inside information I suggest you use the PM's over there because the threads get polluted by a few jokers.  I hope Max really likes those few people that dominate the board because they are pretty closed to anything beyond pumping sunshine and drinking koolaid.  That is fine when we are winning, but right now this team is a WIP moving at a slow pace.  Slow and steady does win the race, but it is painful to see missed opportunities to accelerate the process.

Next year when a guy turns the ball over I hope we have more emphasis on correcting the problems.  Regardless of if the margin is -2 or -3 turnovers our chances of winning drops to around 21%.  Bad enough -1 turnover margin knocks about 5% off your chances already!  We cannot have a turnover prone QB running the show anymore.  It was ridiculous to hear the excuses this past year let alone in 2018.  Find the best through your rotation rather than sticking to a favorite.

42 minutes ago, desertshox said:

 

correct, but in the OL thread the grades you were referring to came from PFF which isnt the coaches grading, it is a site entirely separate from nebraska football. so, the grades you keep referring to as the coaches grades are not the coaches grades.

And when did I point at them?  I never said anything about PFF grades.

28 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

You continue to say those are the coaches grades. That is false.

What are you pointing at?  I did not post grades here.

2 hours ago, Landlord said:

 

 

Agreed, this madrat fella has educated opinions.

I'm following our team from a football perspective.  All my love for the Huskers won't fix bad football.  You build a program around people.  And sometimes people let you down so you adjust.  But you don't do that by wearing emotions on the sleeve.  In the end the score is what sets the mood.  Someday Nebraska will get good again and fixing the Jimmys and Joes helps.  We've got close to a total conversion now, so it's time to expect good Xs & Os.

I'm pretty sure football forums are filled with opinions.  You don't have to agree with mine, but instead of getting on the messenger you could pick apart the message.

3 hours ago, Mavric said:

 

That’s the opposite of what people who actually have insider contacts have said so I’m inclined to be skeptical.

Yet the staff consistently gave him high scoring marks on his performances.

1 hour ago, EZ-E said:

 

I can't think of a single transfer rule that would allow a student athlete to transfer to a 4 year as a student and not be allowed to play. 

If they do not accept core credits I know at least one rule that can get someone.  In D1 you have to remain at so many credits per semester,  The NU system as a whole is pretty hard on credit transfers.  But those are admissions office questions.

13 minutes ago, bhunt7 said:

I'm excited for Cam at Center but I am wondering why Josh Wegener isn't being mentioned with guys with experience at Center? Is he not with the team now?

 

 

Husker.com Bio:

Wegener joined Nebraska after a two-year career at Iowa Western Community College. Wegener was rated as the No. 1 junior college center by JCGridiron.com. He played in nine games on the offensive line for the Reivers in 2018 before suffering a foot injury. In his first year at Iowa Western in 2017, Wegener played in four games on the defensive line before suffering a torn ACL. Wegener played his prep ball for Algona High School in Iowa. 

Wegener was a stud on the field and in the classroom before joining the Huskers.  But, like Jurgens, he came into fall camp with lower leg injuries.  I also heard he was not eligible due to some transfer rule, but nobody was specific what it was.  He should be interesting to watch now that he is eligible.  His foot injury hasn't really been talked about.  I'm hoping he healed up to give Jurgens and Will Farniok a competition for the center job.

44 minutes ago, runningblind said:

His 12 passes have shown you this?

McCaffrey actually reads the defense, so yes.  And it was more than 12 plays, he ran 3-4 times off pass plays, too.  He makes smarter plays which moves us closer to the 'system' that Frost is installing.  So, yes, McCaffrey gets us to the system sooner at this point.  It is nice to have someone on the roster pushing Martinez.  BackInTheDay makes a great point.  Just being the best ability may not get you through the season because the B1G schedule is so brutal.  But I don't think it was any more brutal than the Big 12 until they chalked up more in-conference games.  I think the B1G would be wise to back off one in-conference game for the good of the members.

McCaffrey right now has the highest outlook.  Martinez is a better athlete, but McCaffrey is the much better technician.  Vedral lies somewhere in between technical wise, but is the least athletic of the three.  It's nice to have a Smothers join the group.

Piper, Hixson, and Forbes are three more off the top of my head that had center experience.  The funny thing is people think the Farnioks are some under-achievers.  Both of them are active in the weight room.  Both of them are 100% N.  If I had to guess, Will probably only played 50 snaps this year.  I honestly couldn't say he did any worse than Jurgens on blocking.  But what he did do was deliver a good, consistent chest-high snap.  That is important because the QB can spend more time with his eyes looking at the D.

Bo Wilson is another guy that get's negative talk around here.  He actually did well most of the season, but when he was getting banged up the coaches finally made the switch.  When he was healthy he was actually very active out there.  His size is not the greatest, but he was very quick off the line and engaged people on most every play.  What Wilson has that some backups do not is leadership.  He's a very vocal guy from what I've seen out there.  Matt Farniok is one of those pillars on the team that stands out.  When he's great he just is not recognized.  When he falters, though, he stands out.  One of his best games he had three or four really bad plays were what people harped on.  Never mind the 80% of the plays he did well.

21 hours ago, Undone said:

You have to zoom out. There were two freshmen to play at that spot. It was going to be growing pains no matter which guy we went with. So we went with the semi-freakish athlete with raw physical/athletic abilities. There were growing pains - but there were going to be whether we played him or Farniok.

 

It's not like we were going to win the West in 2019 with the injuries we had down the stretch (in addition to losing Washington). So, I'm glad we got Cam in there. I think it's obvious his ceiling is pretty high at the position.

Your first sentence was unnecessary. 

The bold is an interesting sentence.  In what way do you find Jurgens a freakish athlete?  As a tight end or linebacker, there is an argument he is well equipped.  But he made a switch to a position group that is often considerably larger and his good physique wasn't necessary the brute strength at the new position.  We had several options at center.  You have several freshman options, true, but they are guys that played that position for years.  While it looks great having a center blast off every play, it is also not great to have a center that gets knocked out of the way by the upper quarter of talent in the B1G.  Jurgens had two pretty good games when (1) there was not a nose over him every play; and (2) most of his blocks were double-teams.  He doesn't win many matchups when the nose is over him.  And he isn't winning or stalemating his target the majority of the time when it is one-on-one blocks.

A typical true freshman center will likely end up with the same results no matter how talented he is going to be.  But Jurgens was not a true freshman.  And throwing a novice in at that position limited our line calls.  Those issues combined to really hurt the first three-quarters of the season.  At least a half dozen guys were able to play center.  We lived with the lumps and it cost us games.  And eventually he'll get it.  But it sure would have been nice to ease into these dramatic changes when the team could have used a bowl game.

As for chicken and egg comment.  Frost has a vision.  He has stuck to fewer options rather than testing waters with other guys.  We heard the whispers that the QBs were not ready so we really need to stick with Martinez.  Yet those 0-2 backups still managed to score when using fewer options than available to Martinez.  One even came into the last game and threw a quick strike TD on one play and someone here tried to claim it was a trick play.  Yet the starter ran the same play and did not find the open guy over and over.  Either Frost is trying to implement a system or he's trying to play specific players.  If he needs the system, then stick to guys that run it long enough to get those specific players up to speed.  Sputtering with specific players that just aren't clicking isn't some moral victory.  Get the chicken or the egg first. then begin the cycle that successfully repeats,

I'm not so much attached to any one player being the starter.  Having a bevy of capable players in position to play is better than sticking to one guy.  Sometimes you need to rely on a single guy like in crunch time, but for the bulk of the season you need a team of good players.

You do realize that 'fast blinkers' theory is more or less about small organisms and has little to do with fast performance?  We just plain need a smarter breed of football at Nebraska.  The reason Devaney was so good was he put it on the staff to think and left it on the players to react.  He held people accountable by replacing underperformers.  But when it gets down to the nitty gritty, he minimized thinking out of most of the players.  The coaches and a few select leaders do all the thinking in a system like he ran.  You don't need to be a fast blinker, you need to be a fast do-er.

1 minute ago, Nebfanatic said:

Leaking what, the pro football focus grades that are not made by anyone associated with Nebraska and are probably out there for public information somewhere? You are trolling extra hard now 

Okay, dude.  I'm done.  You asked for something.  I gave you a link.  Now you're just being poorly behaved.

16 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

Reading the thread, he actually graded out pretty well, especially run blocking. Apparently bad snaps count negatively towards the grade so that could be a reason he graded out lower. Also the posters said the accuracy of the grades on the line is up for debate but they are a good place to start. 

That would be speculation on bad snaps affecting their blocking grades.  If you break down the plays from a technical stand point, I doubt they did.  While we don't know the exact calls, he made enough choices that are unlikely to be the correct call to infer the grades didn't do such a thing.  Short side option and I didn't see eye to eye on many things, but he didn't mince words when he backed up exactly what I stated.  You were looking for something not subjective and it was at the top of the Google results.  I'm not sure what you were searching for, but I provided exactly what you asked.

I'm not going to allow you to move the goalposts now.

31 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

Ha ok bud I never attacked you, you were just talking big and not backing it up. Was it that hard to post a link? The dude says he is looking at PFF gradeouts. That is public information lol not gonna get moved anywhere. That said I'm curious as to where he gets the grades. I'm a PFF member and its hard to track down grades for college players unless PFF does an article 

That's why I'm not leaking it.  It's a pretty touchie subject with coaches.  One of my buddies back in Omaha asked at one the coaches events why they stick with Jurgens if he scores so low.  He didn't get any real answer.  This staff needs to be ready for hard questions.  Even the staff under Solich was equipped for handling hard questions.  They seemed to appreciate them, too, even if they probably did not.

When he asked Held about why Mills doesn't get the ball in the red zone he said Held looked at him like he's never had that question before.  Let's just say he didn't like Held's double speak.  The sad thing is he's a pretty active booster.  I haven't ever heard him bad talk an assistant like that, but he wasn't impressed.