Canadian Fan

On 1/2/2021 at 12:16 PM, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

I currently coach at a HS with one of the top WRs for the c/o 2022, a 4* rated in the top 10 WRs in the country. He knows what a huge Nebraska fan I am and I've often spoken with him about the program, and I know for a fact that he had some legit interest. Before the season, and during the season, I reached out to various members of the Nebraska coaching staff, sent them film, etc. As the season progressed, the kid asked me a few times, "When am I gonna hear from Nebraska, coach?" Yet not one time did anyone from Nebraska reach out to me, nor him. I see now that he's released his Top 10, and of course Nebraska isn't included, because they never made an offer. It's obviously very disappointing, because we all know our situation with WRs, and here you have a golden opportunity to at least offer the kid and try to land him, and you don't do it. I just don't get it.

That's really poor....

It's one thing to reply that they're too busy to review at this time, or even that they've reviewed and they don't think he's a good fit....but to not reply at all is really bad manners and smells of a culture of arrogance. 

59 minutes ago, Wistrom Disciple said:

Thank you for your contribution? 

Was I unclear about the difference?

Analogy one is pointing the proverbial thumb and the self-reflection questions everything without bias.  
 

Analogy two starts with the assumption that it is external forces causing the failures, and the self-reflection is therefore limited in that context only. 
 

Not sure if you’ve ever read “From Good to Great” but one of the big takeaways is you should never be too specific about exactly where you’re going, and pigeon-holing the people you bring in into very specific roles to reach that narrow objective.  The world changes and your ideas might not be as perfect as you believe as you are one individual with your own biases (often created by limited experiences).  On the contrary, find the right people with strong but varied backgrounds, get them on the bus, and then coalesce their views to set a new direction together. 
 

The two approaches are diametrically opposed and picking one over the other very much defines how you solve problems and challenges. 

1 hour ago, Wistrom Disciple said:

 

If you don't think Frost is already self reflecting and overanalyzing everything in the program, then I think you're underestimating him. 

 

I am not implying that Frost should not have to have a review of his program or be held accountable when appropriate, I am simply disagreeing with your logic that the AD is the right person to decide whether (for example) Barrett Ruud is the right guy to coach our linebackers. If Moos were replaced by a different AD, say one without previously playing college football, would you trust that person to evaluate whether the cornerbacks and safeties have developed well enough to compete for a Big Ten title? I think it's safe to assume you wouldn't trust that AD's position-specific critiquing but instead suggest that the AD evaluates the program as a whole to which Frost must discuss and defend if pressed. 

Self-reflection on its own is not enough.  

The direction of the self-reflection is of critical importance....

It is a very different thing to ask oneself:  "It appears I've been trying to put a square peg into a round hole. How can modify my peg so it fits the hole that exists and I get the outcome I'm looking for?", as opposed to "I don't understand why my square peg won't fit.  My square peg is the greatest thing ever created! What is wrong with that damned hole that my perfect peg will not fit, so I can get the outcome I'm looking for?"

1 hour ago, Mavric said:

 

We had three legit pass-rushers committed at some point and were close on a couple others.  But when other schools with more on-field success come calling, it's hard to hold on to them.

Part of this issue is if we realize that the OLB's we have aren't able to pass rush when we need them to, then swap up the personnel and plan of attack.

Add a DL to bull rush their guard in an effort to more quickly collapse the pocket and deny the opposing QB the ability to step into his throw.

Add an extra DB in tighten up your zone coverage (hello crossing routes?) or to double up the key receiver.

We can't just stay in the same personnel grouping because of some type of orthodoxy to that alignment and then blame lack of bodies.

I think a lot can be put on the coaches, but in the same breath, regardless of the composition of our staff next year, Domann returning all on its will likely make them "one win smarter" than if he did not.  Talent matters.

Since everyone else is talking COVID, don’t set your expectations of the vaccines to be too high.  Their early trial measures of “efficacy” (which you saw trumpeted on CNBC as 94%, 95%, etc.) was based on measuring “reduction of symptoms” in isolation. There was no measurement of the vaccine candidates’ ability to halt infection or transmission. Based on that definition of “efficacy”, there should be no expectation that mass vaccination will result in any immediate individual or herd immunity.  Only that as people are infected that their symptoms will be lessened (but by how much is unclear and will likely vary by vaccine injected).  On the contrary there are several new studies on Invermectin which look exceedingly promising which could be used late when advanced symptoms develop  (unlike Hydroxychloroquine which needs to be used early) and could save individuals as they are hospitalized which means they need a lot les a doses to treat the people most urgently in need.  Bottom Line is if we see Emergency Authorizations on Invermectin (as well as some others which are still being assessed), that may allow us a greater ability to reduce lockdowns and restrictions than dependency on the current vaccine candidates alone.  The last component is we need all authorities to be promoting and funding Vitamin D supplementation.  There was a study all the way back in July that indicated that 95% of serious cases which ended up in ICU’s were severely Vitamin D deficient.  If they can target long term care home and senior citizens in particular, it could be a game changer all on its own.  Fingers crossed for all our sakes.  Happy New Year all! 

@CFHusker

Without violating any confidences, do have thoughts or ideas on what the natural evolution of our QB room will be heading into the offseason? Areas of development?  S&C priorities? And where you think that Logan and Heinrich fit in the long run?

I’d actually like to see Payne a little lighter next year.  The one thing I think I saw with him is he appeared much more comfortable dropping back into zone coverage than Nelson. 
 

I wonder it Eteva Mauga-Clement (sp?) has the quickness to try to replace Domann.  The way that Domann was being used, you almost want to find a JUCO or Grad Transfer “large” safety as he was put into man coverage more than you would normally want to see with a traditional OLB.

This is just me, but I think having two LB coaches and no ST coach is a misallocation of resources which I hope gets corrected in the offseason. 

Re: Offensive Coaching Staff Adjustments - That whole side of the ball was such a .was at times it made me nauseous. What I believe to be true is that Lubick did have a role in changing the make up of our play selection in the last half of season which helped. IF that ends up being true I hope he is given a larger role in the offense next season.

If we can add that AM learns how to wrap up a ball going into contact, I may actually start to feel optimistic about our potential for next season.

From someone reputable?

I’d be concerned it’s just someone posting their hopes.... 

Agree on everything....

I wonder what the hold up is with the younger Farniok that he has been given so few snaps, but obviously there is a reason he hasn’t.  Inability to know calls and make adjustments?  Inability to handle bull rush?  Inability to snap? 
 

Interesting thought on Nouili and Bando being considered at center, as well as fighting for guard positions.  If either guy can handle the skills, that would be some very nice depth to have.

On 12/19/2020 at 5:05 PM, admo said:

 

Corcoran, Jurgens, Piper, Benhart and ??  The hope is that they all get physically stronger, add good weight, and become a tough, Big 10 offensive line.  Should have lots of games together as they mature.  I really like these guys

Not to nitpick, but I really worry that our S&C is having our OL focus too much on strength and not enough on quicknesses (with Farniok being the prime example of overemphasis on big muscle strength to the detriment of his feet slowing down). I really would have liked to have seen Farniok play this year about 15 pounds lighter and having spent his offseason on his quick twitch muscles.

57 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

No, I don't think so.  I can think of about 6 swing passes off the top of my head.  And we've run straight ahead a lot this year - too much for my taste to be honest.  Just most of the time there were minimal gains.  That's a lot of the reason why Mills only averaged over 3.8 ypc in two games this year - and Rutgers was his only game over 4.2 and the only game he had a carry longer than 16 yards.

My memory may be faulty as candidly I watched a lot of games this year on internet stream as opposed to via cable and recording onto PVR (so no ability to rewind), but my recollection was that the challenges Mills had early on were caused in part by the larger number of behind the LOS passes (and lack of vertical passing) which allowed opposing defenses to regularly stack the box and run blitz into Mills designated run lanes.  In contrast in the last couple of games, Frost-Lubick appeared more committed to taking more downfield shots on their passing pays which forced the safeties deeper and gave Mills lanes to squeak through.  

Of note, my understanding is that in one of Frost’s recent press conferences he admitted he had allowed Lubick in recent games to script some specific series which would explain why we would have seen some change-ups in the play selections.

11 minutes ago, HANC said:

Culp

Possibly Stille

Jonas is long shot

* Taylor-Britt as jr

Although happy for him for the opportunity he’s made for himself, I’ll be sad if we lose CTB to the NFL Draft.  He’s been a cornerstone back there and would be sorely missed. 

5 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

Again, everyone thinks they see different things when the overall results are better.  If you think we completely abandoned the WR screens you must have missed everyone complaining when we threw one to a white walk-on.  Or the several other we threw to Wan'Dale, Mills, Johnson, etc.

So you don’t think there were fewer swing passes outside and behind the LOS?  Or more North-South run plays? 
 

I obviously didn’t chart this years games but it looked like the play selection was very different to me.

41 minutes ago, Mavric said:

 

What Frost did last night was exactly what he's done since he got here.  The results were just better last night - partly because of the opponent.  Plus actually having their #1 back in the game instead of musical chairs because of injuries.

 

vs Rugters - 58 runs, 28 passes - 67% run

vs Illinois - 52 runs, 25 passes - 67% run

2020 - 334 runs, 229 passes - 59% run

 

We weren't better against Rutgers than we were against Illinois because we were more committed to the run.  We simply executed it better.  

 

Also, our offense isn't nearly as bad as people like to claim.  We turn the ball over way too much.  And we screwed ourselves switching QBs for a couple games.  But we also do a lot of things really well.  We just don't have receivers who are a threat.  If we can get Betts, Martin and Brown ready to roll next year (and Manning?), it will start to look more complete.  And hopefully don't have the entire RB room on IR half the year.

 

Yards against Northwestern this year:

Ohio State - 513

Nebraska - 442

Iowa - 293

Purdue - 265

Wisconsin - 230

Michigan State - 167

Maryland - 143

Illinois - 107

The run-pass ratio may have been similar but the play selection to my eye was very different.  Thankfully much less east-west running and an almost complete abandonment of the WR screen / swing pass which has knocked us backwards more often than it moved us forwards in previous games.  If he’d just stop dicking around inside the 5 yard line, it would have been a pretty rational demonstration of play calling.

If Cam is staying at center, he needs a designated “snapping consultant “ specialist to get his technique nailed down....and a sports psychologist to ensure it remains nailed down in the heat of the games. 

Although potentially counterintuitive, if I’m his position coach, the first thing I do is find some new drills for AM to work on ball security.  If he can reduce his fumbles by 50% that would be HUGE step in the right direction all on its own. 

Anyone have any insights-predictions about who will compete for starting guard positions next season?  Do we have anyone who could push Jurgens out at center so he could play guard?  Or is he too small to play guard in the B1G?  I’m interested to see if Lutovsky can come in and push to take over the RG spot from Farniok.

58 minutes ago, Bledred said:

I learned that our real opponent is actually Scott Frost and his horrific play calling.  RUN THE DAMN BALL AND WIN NEARLY EVERY TIME!  EVEN WITH FOUR FREAKING TURNOVERS! 

With hat tip to poster who pointed this out earlier, I simply cannot fathom what Coach Frost sees when we're inside the opponent's 5 yard line and he appears to lash out to find ANY other option other than giving it to Mills up the gut.  There is no other explanation other than based on ego his hell bent on proving how smart he is....and in trying so hard to do so, he's so clearly showing how smart he is not.  Unless this one aspect of his personality changes, everything else they try to do in the program will be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

Ball is in Coach Frost's court....as he's the only one who can make this change.

It would be interesting to see final blocking grades, but it wouldn't surprise me if Corcoran had highest grade of any OL.

Great foundational piece to start next season.

Just now, PaulCrewe said:

HOW DO YOU HOLD ON AN EXTRA POINT?????

Laziness and no consequences?

Unless none of our other RB's can catch an option pass, that personnel decision makes no sense.

Nice block by Allen....LOL.

He basically stood up and let three guys go around him.  Wow!

I just don't understand how you can have 1st and Goal at the 2 yard line and not say: "We're calling 4 straight i-formation plays in a row boys, so strap it on and get it done!"