Nebraska55fan

This is Martinez year 4 game 3. The past 2 years he has played poorly and not progressed well by most metrics. In 3 games so far this year, he played poorly in 1 and against lower competition in the last 2 he has played pretty well. Lets see how the rest shakes out. I love the kid, hope he does well- not a fan of who is coaching him. What we saw in any extensive action from Logan Smothers was in the Spring game, he looked pretty bad. Tiny sample size vs a very tired- hot- worn out Buffalo team. Remember last year when Luke threw the one gadget play TD and lots of people said he should start? I wasn't one of those guys and thats why small sample sizes don't mean much. Im hoping he develops, but with Coach V- in very skeptical. Luke- looks like an older version of Smothers. Poor recruiting choice and looks like no development.

None of us know that. Is Verduzco doing something maliciously to mess up our Quarterbacks mechanics? No Is Verduzco teaching things to our players that result in poor mechanics? Maybe. Is Verduzco doing some oddball things- teaching in an ineffective and inefficient way that doesn't result in consistently good Quarterback development and play ACROSS the Quarterback room? Probably. A buddy of mine who coaches 8A HS QBs in Florida said that early in Verduzcos tenure in Florida HS coaches would consider what Mario does and try to learn from him. Now they just roll their eyes- they think he does things the way he does JUST TO DRAW ATTENTION TO HE IS DIFFERENT> they chuckle at what he does now.

Lukes numbers at Rice so far. Very similar to NU. At NU 6 Ints 1 TD. at Rice 3 Ints 1 TD. So hes doing better at Rice, but his TD/INT ratio is definitely upside down: https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4426948/luke-mccaffrey My contention is- our coaching staff isn't very good at evaluating QBs or developing them very well. And Yes, they are all fine wonderful amazing hardworking kids, they just aren't great QBs.

You are incorrect. If the ball doesnt cross the line of scrimmage, they can block. If what you are saying is true- there would never be a screen, bubble screen, slip screen, smoke screen play that would not be flagged. https://www.ajc.com/blog/high-school-sports/ask-the-ref-forward-pass-interference-restrictions-the-offense/24YEc2ZU09g8OFHcm4UeGP/

We can argue about it till the cows come home. Im very confident in my position- you in yours. HOWEVER- the referees have CALLED this on us twice now in just 3 games and it cost us TWO TOUCHDOWNS. Think about that- weve run the play twice with 2 totally different ref crews- who BOTH called offensive pass interference against NU. A conspiracy? Both crews called it wrong- 2 for 2 100% of the time? Nope- you are wrong. We can do the insane thing- like keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. OR we can do the SANE thing- like coaching the pick up like most coaching staffs do. So we can be "right" in your eyes and keep getting called for this negating touchdowns OR we can change how we do things- coach it correctly and not get called for penalties that end up costing us touchdowns. Its a choice most reasonable adults who value winning over losing can easily make.

Brewington was very physical on the block on a crashing OLB. Brewington flipped his hips to the outside making it a log block. Outstanding block. So the correct read by the RB would be run the ball outside. Glad we scored anyway- Ervin ran through a one arm tackle. Had he run to the outside no one would have been within 2 yards of him. Brewington shows great potential here- on that same concept in this game by other WRs- the very same block is whiffed on. Its a timing thing- several were over run- WR moving too fast.

You can see right? Two receivers clearly run into defenders, the one at the lower part of the screen even drops his hips a bit before making contact. Thank you for posting the evidence. Again- when you are coaching and trying to avoid penalties you are coaching to the PERCEPTION of the referees. This is clearly a situation where two receivers make contact with defenders without appearing to be eligible receivers. All's the receivers had to do was avoid contact and look back at the QB. Just because we want that play to be a TD doesn't mean we have to ignore the rule, which clearly states you can not make that kind of contact 1 yard past the line of scrimmage on pass plays beyond the line of scrimmage. It really is a simple fix and most teams coach the details so that most- 95% plus, don't get flagged for offensive pass interference on plays like this. Its sad that NU fans blame referees these days so much for so many of our problems. We are becoming the laughing stock of the league because of stuff like this. Complain about legit mistakes- not one like this- where most referees and coaches would agree was called correctly by the book.,

Manning is #5- he was walking in a boot up and down the sidelines.

Very true. That doesn't seem to help us at all. With the exception of the rare option play, NU doesn't seem interested in running outside very much this season. The high majority of our run plays are inside zone. While we are committed to running inside and not much running play action off these numerous inside runs, we dont seem to do that particularly well either.

So do you think we might line up in the "I" formation and do really well with it- then abandon it abruptly and completely like being caught at the movies with a fat girl in front of your friends and ditching her- like we did against OSU?

I agree- however we really haven't shown any of that yet. As poorly as we run the ball- play action (my favorite concept) might not be as effective as one would think. Very nice play on first down and after change of possession when past our own 40 since we tend to run the ball inside a lot on first down. Totally agree on the straight drop- Martinez does a great job of making one guy miss in the open field- like the roll out/boot. If he has to run, use the sidelines to get a chunk of yardage, then safe exit out of bounds. RB Screen plays are really difficult to execute consistently well. AM also seems to have a very tough time making this type of throw for whatever reason- AND it is a play that can be taken to the house the other way. Not sure the coaches trust AM with that play. Like the play, just not confident we can execute it. AND you want to run that when the opponent is rushing 5 or 6. Seems like defenses can pressure NU with 3 or 4. Screens don't work well against that kind of look. That's probably why we havent seen it and WONT see it. Credit Coach Frost in knowing what his team can and can't do if you see this play NOT happening.

I have no idea what the end score may be- NU at this point is difficult to predict due to their inconsistency. HOWEVER IF the score gets to 45-14 like you predict we might not see OUs backups. OU may be out to score style points on national TV. They also seemed to be pretty miffed at NU trying to get the game cancelled. That may mean they try and pour it on- IF they are in a position to do so. https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/nebraska-oklahoma-game-cancel-scared-01f0kg04ggyf

Good coaches do all they can to avoid penalties and even the appearance of penalties. That is why on pick type plays you coach your receiver to look as much like an eligible receiver as you can- to avoid the penalty or possibility of a penalty. That is why many coaches tell the receiver to look back at the QB and hence avoid a penalty like at the NU game that cost Nebraska a touchdown. Had our receiver done that and not put up his hands to appear to be a blocker- highly likely we dont get the penalty and get the touchdown. Perception matters when you are talking rules and penalties and you coach to the referees perception- which will in turn be the final result. Perception is reality when in these types of circumstances and you dont want to leave anything to the discretion of a referee. Or I guess we could keep doing that and get called for it again- doing that has already resulted in losing 2 touchdowns. Yep- lets just continue doing that- it has worked out fabulously so far.

Good coaches do all they can to avoid penalties and even the appearance of penalties. That is why on pick type plays you coach your receiver to look as much like an eligible receiver as you can- to avoid the penalty or possibility of a penalty. That is why many coaches tell the receiver to look back at the QB and hence avoid a penalty like at the NU game that cost Nebraska a touchdown. Had our receiver done that and not put up his hands to appear to be a blocker- highly likely we dont get the penalty and get the touchdown. Perception matters when you are talking rules and penalties and you coach to the referees perception- which will in turn be the final result. Perception is reality when in these types of circumstances and you dont want to leave anything to the discretion of a referee. Or I guess we could keep doing that and get called for it again- doing that has already resulted in losing 2 touchdowns. Yep- lets just continue doing that- it has worked out fabulously so far.

Play 3: A1 and B2 are beyond the neutral zone, attempting to catch a legal forward pass intended for A1. A3, who is on the opposite side of the field, blocks B4 downfield. Ruling 3: A3 is guilty of offensive pass interference. Note it would be a foul under both codes whether it occurred before or after the legal forward pass crossed the line and, in NCAA, even if the pass to A1 was uncatchable https://caaf.cz/upload/zebri/docs/UltimatePI.pdf

It doesn't matter- Play 3: A1 and B2 are beyond the neutral zone, attempting to catch a legal forward pass intended for A1. A3, who is on the opposite side of the field, blocks B4 downfield. Ruling 3: A3 is guilty of offensive pass interference. Note it would be a foul under both codes whether it occurred before or after the legal forward pass crossed the line and, in NCAA, even if the pass to A1 was uncatchable. https://caaf.cz/upload/zebri/docs/UltimatePI.pdf

Manning was in a boot on the sidelines

Yes everyone runs pick plays. Not everyone commits an obvious offensive pass interference call on the play. The salient coaching point on the player setting the pick is he MUST look like and behave like an intended receiver- NOT a blocker. You MUST whip your head around and look for the ball and you certainly DONT raise your hands to set up a block. He Didn't whip his head around to "locate" the ball and he was a blocker all the way. The announcers were dead wrong, they often times are. This- just like the Illinois game was a clear cut and easy to call pick play- offensive pass interference. We didn't learn from the Illinois game it seems.

I'm very confident the time and precise coaching needed in special teams just isn't happening. You can practice something really well and tell kids certain coaching points, some kids no matter how much you practice something- will have a problem executing it in a game. ESPECIALLY when it comes to punt returns. Some kids are just gamers and some aren't when it comes to punt returns. If you've ever returned punts, IMO it's the toughest thing to do well in football. Kickoffs are totally different, returning punts sucks- speaking from experience, I hated it and wasn't very good at it either.

From Coach Frost- "We got to be screaming 'Peter, Peter, Peter,' and get everybody away from the punt return," Frost said. "We got to train them even better than we have trained them." So not sure Frost agrees with you here. If CTB was yelling Peter Peter as you claim- not sure why Frost would say this if it wasn't true. Im guessing Frost was close enough to hear- better than any fans. https://247sports.com/college/nebraska/LongFormArticle/Nebraska-football-Buffalo-Bulls-recap-Caonnor-Culp-170801803/#170801803_1

How many touchdowns were called back due to penalty? Was it 2 or 3? One was by the very same silly preventable penalty we had against Illinois- the pick- offensive pass interference. Yes no turnovers is an absolute plus. NU threw deep 2 times and Toure definitely performs as advertised- thank you transfer portal.

As I stated earlier. Watch the film. Fordham D-linemen are often times just tying up two offensive linemen when they feel the initial double team- chip of a zone blocked play. They will grab thighs and jerseys and hold on so the climber cant get to the linebacker. It lets Ryan G get to the ball unblocked.

MSU is 2-0 and beat Northwestern. Mel Tucker beat Frost with less talent at Colorado. They brought in a BOATLOAD of transfers. MSU will definitely be favored at MSU

I saw a running game that minus a 70 yard scramble was an inconsistent mess- less than 4 yards a rush. Offensive line- well they are pretty offensive to us long term Husker fans. Pass pro- little improvement. Buffalo put pressure most of the game with 4- didn't have to blitz. That won't cut it in the BIG. Special teams- 3 MISSED field goals, a muffed punt and another punt that went less than 30 yards and was downed on the 21. That's really not progress. That wont cut it in the BIG. Defense looked good, it has been the best part of this team since game 1. don't have much of a pass rush though. No turnovers, Toure can threaten deep and Martinez only blew 2 passes- were positives.

This is such a lame narrative. Posters here aren't happy unless we win a championship. That is absolute nonsense. This isn't a championship or bust fan base- hasn't been for a very long time. We just long for well played, well coached college football. We want to see progress in all three facets of the game. We want to see the culture changing and us moving forward instead of making mistakes bad teams do- to mess up their games and teams. It's pushing a false narrative. Like most Husker fans I was expecting a 6-6 season, HOPING for a 7-5 season and looking for legit progress in all three phases of the game as well as team culture and coaching.