JTrain

In the first half, we ran: Zero HB screen plays Zero draw plays One play action pass that targeted the middle of the field Zero run plays that attempted some novel form of misdirecting their front six One play from the diamond formation So unless I missed the thread where everyone was calling for lots of zone read and quick sideline passes, I'd say we didn't really do what people wanted. That's not to say "people" are always or even usually right. But I think in this case the general concepts requested are solid and pretty fundamental (ex. Their ends are blowing by the outside of our tackles-- how 'bout a draw play? Or, they are swarming to the point of attack-- how 'bout a counter or reverse?).

Because we would break every time-related NCAA bylaw in the book.

I would be happy at the point of 11-1, but not after losing the CCG. The last couple years I thought the B1G had nowhere to go but up. With the Braxton Miller injury and Wisconsin disappointing, it looks like I was wrong. This is the year to do it, especially with Ameer and Gregory.

I thought this at first, but it's actually true that you can't advance the ball in this scenario. Fowler also cleared this up after the commercial.

I would question whether most of the players on that list were really developed by their college coaches. Many of them may have just been diamonds in the rough or late bloomers. Of course I don't know for sure, but I kind of doubt the QB coaches at Delaware, EIU, UC-Davis, etc. were brilliant player developers.

We don't run that offense anymore. Nor do we have a world-class offensive line or a strength and conditioning program that's miles ahead of the competition. We might compete for the Big 10 with a 50% passer, but we aren't playing in any national title games.

Well, I don't believe anyone claimed you need a future NFL superstar at the helm to win titles. Let's make the safe assumption that Winston will start an NFL game in the future. Then, of the 12 QBs to win national titles in that time frame, 9 will have started at least one NFL game, 1 played in the NFL but did not start, and two did not appear in the NFL. So it's definitely safe to say that having a quarterback with an arm at least good enough to see the field on Sunday is an important part of building a champion in today's environment. Especially if you aren't stacked across the board with top recruits. The two that didn't play in the NFL were AJ McCarron and Josh Heupel, both of whom were surrounded with incredible talent from top five recruiting classes.

Haha, yes.

Here's a list of Big Ten players that have played QB in the NFL since the 2000 season. Players in bold have started at least 16 NFL games. Players in italics have played in games but not started. The player in gray italics was drafted and made a roster but hasn't played in a regular season game. The last Husker to start an NFL game at QB was Turner Gill's backup, Bruce Mathison on October 11, 1987 for the Seahawks. For decades, we were luckily enough to have a great head coach and offensive coordinator with a unique offensive system that allowed us to have incredible success with a running back/athlete/decision maker at QB. Frazier, Frost and Crouch were all great players but only adequate passers, and that was enough for our system. Taylor Martinez was a similar case, although he didn't have many of the advantages that the '90s teams had, and he was never quite the same after his injury. He was perhaps a slightly better passer than those guys, but he still had significant issues and inconsistencies with his passing. Since we aren't going to have consistent top ten recruiting classes, I think we will need a truly great dual-threat QB if we ever want to make the playoffs. When was the last time we had a quarterback that could legitimately pass the ball at an NFL level while also being a running threat? I'm talking guys in the vicinity of RGIII, Manziel, Terrell Pryor, Vince Young, Braxton Miller, Dak Prescott, etc. I would argue either it was Turner Gill (class of 1980) or we never have. I haven't seen enough of Gill to know if his passing skills were at that level. He threw a nice ball but I wouldn't put him up there based on completion percentage. I don't think Tommy will ever be there (I'd gladly be proven wrong), although with some improvement and a little help he can win a Big 10 title. Anyway, I mostly just thought the table was interesting and thought I'd share.

I remember watching the 2002 Rose Bowl and, for the first time in my Husker life, feeling a sense of pity for Nebraska. As they scored a couple times late in the game, I thought, "Good for them. I'm proud they're still fighting to the bitter end." It felt kind of gross. I hoped I didn't have to do that again. Turns out I'd be doing it for the next 13 years (and counting).

2nd picture was just to show how aggressive their pursuit was right at the hand-off. They weren't concerned about a play action over the middle. Westy against the safety or perhaps the tight end against a linebacker was a possibility most of the night. Play-side safety was five yards from the LOS at the hand-off. 4th picture was just to show how close Ameer was to breaking a 98-yard run. Wasn't suggesting any alternative play call.

If we win impressively against Wisconsin, Iowa and the B1G CCG opponent, we would probably be in the 6-8 range. Maybe 4th or 5th if Oregon, Oklahoma and Baylor all somehow get two losses, which seems very unlikely.

I believe Orange if we are #5, otherwise the Cotton or Fiesta.

1st half Overall, Michigan State was aggressive on defense and got progressively more so as they realized how limited we were. We couldn't find a way to make them pay. Beck was basically using the quick screen game as our running game, but there was no deep threat and no testing the middle of the field. Tommy was inaccurate, which I think was partially due to the types of throws he was asked to make. Our pass blocking was poor. Several times our tackles were blown by on the corner and several times they flat out missed assignments (coaching). Beck kept 6-7 blockers in several times, leaving fewer receiving options, while MSU usually only rushed four. The problem was that their four was still consistently beating our 6-7 due to blocks being completely missed or assignments blown. This meant we were getting the double whammy of not much time to pass and not many options to pass to (against seven or more in coverage). Our run blocking was poor. A few times we just missed blocks but more often we were not holding blocks long enough or getting pushed back. Our running plays were very straightforward and the linebackers did not hesitate much. Their front 6-7 attacked aggressively and we gave them no reason not to. We very rarely attempted misdirection and I don't believe we ran one HB screen or QB draw in the first half. Second half to come, maybe.

Dude, you are one of my favorite posters on this board. I really like your insights. Not the typical "safe" observations that most people make so the rest of the people on the board won't scream at them. Having said that, however, I have to disagree with you on this one. There were plenty of pass opportunities for Tommy. How many times can you miss a swing pass to a back by 7 yards when nobody is guarding him? Tommie was just atrocious in his throws last night. There were 5-10 throws he easily should have had for completions last night. I'm no huge Beck fan, but I think this one's on Tommy, not Beck. I wasn't trying to be black and white in the blame game. I was just making one particular observation about Beck, which I think still stands despite the Tommy comments. I agree that Tommy had an ugly game, and I don't think he is a very good quarterback overall. But I also think his strength is throwing downfield (and we weren't going to beat MSU with short sideline throws), and by the time Beck let him do much of this, it was too late and Tommy was playing tight and without much confidence. Somewhat unrelated, I was disappointed in how little Beck attempted to misdirect the MSU defensive line. I think Bollman really whooped him in this regard. Our offensive line looked like crap, which made this issue even more important.

And yet, frighteningly, our most glaring weakness was the offensive line, which none of the above are members of.

That's exaggerating a bit, but overall it is an interesting point. We have a bunch of guys that will supposedly run through brick walls for our coach. But running through a defensive tackle is a bit much to ask.

That final quarter was a rush. It may have gone to your head. Michigan State pretty much dominated us. They have the better quarterback (and he didn't even play a great game), the better offensive line (by a lot), the better overall defense and the better coaching staff. We have Ameer and Gregory.

You know what? It took everything in my power not to say, "F*** you, fans! F*** all you." F*** 'em. What a bunch of f***in' literally fair-weather f***in... Our guys showed some guts tonight.

Two play calls in the first quarter that I felt were monumentally bad and swung the momentum. 1. Punting from the MSU 31 yard line. Terrible call. If the wind was too much to try a field goal, go for it. The potential reward is huge and the risk minimal. Punting inside the 35 is playing not to lose and cringe-inducingly Ferentzesque. 2. (On the first TD) Cover zero with your fourth or fifth best cornerback (Rose) in tight man coverage with their star WR (Lippett). Three really serious problems with this call that it doesn't take an Xs and Os mastermind to spot: First, cover zero is generally a bad idea unless they're in the red zone or you are supremely confident in the man coverage skills of every DB on the field. Second, Mitchell needed to be switched over to Lippett (they made this correction only after they were burned). And third, if you're going to stick Rose on Lippett in any circumstance, he should be playing 6-8 yards off. I wonder if Jim Bollman felt guilty taking candy from a baby.

Beck does not trust his quarterback making reads in the passing game in big games. This is partially justified because we don't have very good passing quarterbacks. But on the the other hand, you have to take chances to beat very good teams. This has happened before with Beck. He comes out nervous and only calls short passes, usually to the sidelines and usually with few if any reads. In some ways this seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, since the quarterback surely realizes his OC has no faith in him, causing him to play tight and lose confidence. Then, when we fall behind by 3 or 4 scores and become desperate, Beck figures there is nothing to lose, loosens up and starts opening up the passing game. Voila! It actually works to some degree and we make some nice plays downfield. But unfortunately it's too little too late. And then we have to ponder, what if he just came out with that attitude to begin with? What if he fires down the middle of the field to Westy or Moore right after the turnover and goes up 7-0 with a confident QB? Sure, he risks Tommy not seeing a safety and throwing an interception. But looking at the alternative... it's a risk worth taking.

Beck's passing chart:

Wait... you guys quit watching at half time? Don't tell Bo.