Danimal

2 hours ago, Nebraska55fan said:

What we learned?

 

The defense is outstanding- confirmed that. Excellent scheme, game plan, calls and execution. They play well together, swarm. Good block destruction technique and tackling. A. 

 

Confirmed Offense is still very spotty. Oline is simply awful. QB has his good moments, (great kid, good citizen we love him blah blah) but he still holds the ball too long, has a tough time finding receivers even when he does have good time and overthows open guys with seemingly easy open sight medium length throws. Oline deserves most of the blame- Martinez is still best option- but still not a very good one-   D

 

Special teams  confirmed total dumpster fire. Dirk nailed it in his article and this was more of the same. PUnt return for TD. We gave up 24 yards of field position on average in the punting game. We let them return 2 kickoffs for significant yardage. When we returned a kick- they were kicking from their own 20 due to penalty- we only got the ball out to the 17 yard line. YEAH no PATS blocked or missed FGs- so on the special teams side of this we were AWFUL on 4 of them and good on 2 of them Overall score-  F-

 

We learned that those making fun of those of us who voiced concerned with the structural issues of our special teams- and suggesting we do something drastic like hiring a special teams coach- owe the board an "I was very wrong" apology  

Notice that they're now hitting line-drive rollers because they know that we're afraid of even fielding the ball? For punt returns we are now below the Santino Panico season, at least he caught the dang thing. This is killing us in in terms of field-position and completely unacceptable in year-4, this is partially why we get yards but not scores. Kick returns are still non-existent to the point I'd say opposition are doing themselves a disservice booting them through the endzone. Kick coverage isn't as poor as last year but it's still subpar. Kickoffs have gone from crappy to meh. We had a 7yd-punt and drilled one straight to the return-guy opposite of where our coverage was going. Culp has been inconsistent to say the least. We aren't good at anything.  I worried that Dawson may not be the answer since we didn't get him to fix the ST's last season when it was obviously needed but figured with Busch helping him we'd be alright. Allegedly we put considerably more time into ST's. Figured we'd manage ST mediocrity this season. What are we do doing and/or not-doing that our ST's are so garbage and costing us games? 

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

All four seasons we've been ranked significantly higher in yards than points. Yet another consistent problem we have. 

19 minutes ago, RichardHangslow said:

 

I hear you guys and I understand what you are saying. What I am saying is how do you correct something when you feel full heartedly that you are doing it correctly? 

 

 

I get what you're saying, but like I said if you are correct then Frost is the problem, and it's hard to see the problem changing. Then Trev needs to replace him with a coach that does see things clearly and gets how to run a program. Frost should then go down to Sabin's coaching rehab and learn how the most dominant coach of the modern era runs his show. Has worked wonders for other guys. 

11 hours ago, Husker4Real said:

Just watched Frost’s comments.  He literally said that the call was punt coverage right.  The punter kicked it left.  Is left and right different in Australia?  WTF?  How do we screw that up?  That could not be simpler.  Go right.  Go right.  HOW CAN YOU SCREW THAT UP????!!!????

 

It defies all logic that Nebraska’s special teams can cause so many losses.  JUST BE AVERAGE and NU has a dozen more wins the past 4 years. 
 

Absolutely unbelievable mistakes on special teams.  

It not only went left but directly to the return-man on the left. He not only punted in the wrong direction but he also managed to do it poorly. I suspect that academy in Australia hoodwinked us, edited footage to make it seem like Cerni is significantly better than he is and leaving out that dude can't seem to follow basic directions. 

31 minutes ago, RichardHangslow said:

I would tend to agree with you but from what it sounds like from Frost is that when he watches practice and his coaches they are doing everything the way he wants it done, so it would be hard for him to justify firing a coach when they are doing everything you are asking them to do and the players for whatever reason are making the mistakes. 

This would mean Frost has to go since he evidently doesn't know how to run a team or judge his assistants. There is no "for whatever reason" in year 4, if we can't get our act together by now that is coaching. Plus Frost helps with the qb's. Mario has the smallest group to coach and Frost still feels the need to help him. What does it say that Mario was kept around when our O and ST's were struggling so much and that spot can obviously be put to better use?  It's not like you even have to ditch him altogether, make him an an analyst. 

7 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Love AM but there is no getting around that he hasn't been a clutch qb. Frost is gripping too, since season-2 we've seen plenty of "fear of failure". 

11 hours ago, HuskerInLostWages said:

I think we're beyond that at this point.  Frost cannot stop getting out of his own way and he's known the issues for 4 years and other than getting rid of an OC, he's done absolutely nothing to fix these issues.  This rests solely on Frost.

Frost has had plenty of time and nothing holding him back but himself from making big-boy staffing changes to get us over the hump. We had three seasons of disappointment and did nothing this past offseason but replace an analyst, that's not how you win. Yes this is the same old movie Frost, and you're the director with plenty of resources and minimal studio interference, so this is all on you. 

Doesn't have to be a splash hire, just one that knows how to develop players and plays smart, disciplined football. In terms of hires I can actually see us landing I'd look at guys like Bill O'Brien, Dave Clawson, Jamie Chadwell, or (controversial pick) Hugh Freeze. 

On 9/23/2021 at 8:35 AM, Mavric said:

 

Rob Zatechka seems to think that a lot of it is a coordination problem.  That is, Jurgens is holding his ground but the guards are giving a little ground so they're not on the same level. He says they need to be lined up better so it's easier to pass one guy off and pick up the next guy.

 

Not saying that's all of it but it seems to be a good point.

That's pretty damning. Austin has had more than enough time with these guys to be coordinated better than that. 

On 9/21/2021 at 12:27 PM, BigRedBuster said:

 

Granted that stat doesn't reflect us having played an extra game but it's still a damn sight better than what we've seen the last two seasons.  This offense should really take-off if we can get the O-line playing better, it all starts up-front. 

On 9/17/2021 at 9:11 AM, Farms said:

I admittedly don't usually watch the game in close enough detail so I have a hard time telling who's fault it is when we are struggling on the line. It seems to me that we are having more issues with guys knowing who to pick up on blitzes or switching properly when guys stunt etc.  Or are guys just flat out getting beat?

It's both unfortunately, get flat-out beat too often and screw-up handling stunts too often. Make me wonder what we're practicing against that stunts work so damn consistently against us. 

On 9/2/2021 at 1:55 PM, GSG said:

^^^ Good. SEC was just trying to get 4/5 teams in there every year. I'm off the 12 team playoff bandwagon. I think 8 would be plenty

Ya I'd say 8 is the right amount. You avoid bye-weeks and watering things down too far while not screwing-over that 5 or 6 team that could have just as easily been the 4-seed and giving G-5 teams a chance. 

6 hours ago, Head Coach Scott Frost said:

Bowl game is going to be a lot harder if we don't get a win this week.

This is where screwing the pooch against Illinois haunts us. We need to be 4-2 coming out of the first half of the sched being that the second half is a nightmare. I think we beat NW but MSU in a road nightgame is a tall order. If we manage a W there I think we do make a bowl. Buying Frost another year with a little program momentum that could enable us to improve recruiting some and make a couple good staffing upgrades. 

1 hour ago, C-4 said:

Manning, Betts, Toure, Allen

 

That’s as good of a top 4 receiving group as I’ve ever seen at NU.

Ya this is probably the best crew we've ever had. Manning and Betts should have been more fully involved in the opener, could have made the difference. 

If we could give AM a clean pocket we'd be dangerous as hell. 

We were down our top two TE's. We had to roll with Hickman(who's still built like a wr), a walk-on transfer in Brewington(who also looks like a wr), and a frosh walk-on converted from O-line. Those guys graded-out as well or better than our starting O-line. That's sad. 

8 hours ago, FTW said:

Well shoot I was totally off still seems like Held/Frost have no idea who to run. Definitely a committee approach to see who wants it. Problem isn’t RB it’s the OL. Too young and still learning to run block.

Even a young line should hold-up better than what we've seen considering the underwhelming competition.  Pass-blocking sucks too,  Buffalo got consistent pressure on AM without blitzing. 

1 hour ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Unless there's a total meltdown this year - which is definitely possible, starting this week with Buffalo - he'll get his five years. I do expect some staff changes after this season, though... not because Frost wants to, but because he's forced to.

The time to make staffing changes was this past offseason and all we did was make an analyst upgrade. A fourth losing season and the CFB world largely writes-off this regime. Good coaches with options will not come here to crew what's seen as a sinking ship. We would have to beat the bushes for proven guys with baggage or unproven guys that are considered up-and-comers.  Plus recruiting will take another hit, we already dropped off the radar of 4*'s, we'll drop off the radar for high 3*'s too. Booster donations and season ticket sales(which also require donations) will take a hit. We have already lowered the bar considerably for Frost, if he can't clear that by making a bowl in year four I don't see reason to have faith and give him year 5. 

On 8/29/2021 at 5:58 PM, Nebraska55fan said:

17 Yard Punt. We should have had Illinois pinned inside the 10. Instead we punt the ball 17 yards and leave them with good field position' 

 

Crappy punting screwed the defense out of field-position all game long. Maybe we give-up fewer points if Illinois had a longer field to drive down. I still can't get over our ST's actually getting worse. Kick-off team was average, the rest was a ****-show. 

14 hours ago, gossamorharpy said:

Given illinois is projected to be towards the bottom of the Big10, I honestly dont see how this team reaches 6 and 6 without a drastic turnaround.  If they do, there's no way we get rid of frosty.  At this point, a 6-6 would require wins against a couple of: Michigan/Iowa/Wisconsin... wins there would go a long way to give him 1 more year to figure this s#!t out

I agree. After the Illinois loss it will take a real turnaround to get to 6-wins against this sched, it would mean we FINALLY got some things straightened-out. If Frost manages that somehow he should stick around. IMO he needs to cede control of the O to Lubick. Become a GM type that's really on top of what's going-on with ST's and defense plus helps with some position coaching. 

On 8/28/2021 at 2:46 PM, gorp512 said:

Bill O'Brien

He won in a tough situation at PSU and had a winning record in the NFL. He's currently the OC for the most successful HC of the modern college era, which will certainly be a learning experience. He'd be a good get. 

7 minutes ago, Enhance said:

I agree about AM's lack of growth, but I'm not sure the bolded is that absurd. Frost is a dude's dude and supports his guys, and I'm sure he has a lot of confidence in Mario. The fact that he hasn't been replaced may be more of an indictment against AM than anything else.

 

That said, and to argue against myself a bit, it's been four seasons and they can't find a consistent quarterback to execute this offense efficiently. It's ultimately the coaches' jobs to a) find talent and b) develop that talent. So far, the quarterback position grade would get a solid D (maybe a C- or C at best) grade when looked at in totality of the last three years.

If Frost isn't just protecting his boy then our recruiting/handling of the qb position hasn't just been bad but absolutely abysmal. So AM just can't be developed but we passed on Burrow and chose AM over Gebbia to start the s***-show then in the next three seasons we don't get a high schooler or transfer that can take the starting spot?  Hell Milton was available this offseason. If Mario's coaching isn't the issue then he and Frost are bumbling fools when it comes to player analysis and running the qb-room. 

12 minutes ago, krc1995 said:

Who would hire Frost if he is let go? 
 

I’m not concerned about his well-being, but curious about his career path after being a public failure 

 

 

IMO he should live off his buyout and take an analyst job in Sabin's coaching rehab, maybe OC there a while, then he could springboard back into being a HC if he wants. 

Speaking of Sabin's coaching rehab Bama's current OC Bill O'Brien would be a solid candidate to replace Frost. He won at PSU despite inheriting a horrid situation and had a winning record in the NFL

On 8/28/2021 at 4:51 PM, Dagerow said:

Qb.  We have great talent at receiver and TE, and you can’t even tell.  
 

 

Our 4th-year starter got outplayed by the Illinois back-up. AM's passing was spotty, missed a couple huge passes to wide-open guys. He showed athleticism obviously but his read-option is still more of a guess-option. Gotta love the kid but geez he hasn't developed. That Mario wasn't replaced this offseason is absurd. 

10 hours ago, Farms said:

It’s still early and it’s a long season but I’ll admit this doesn’t feel good. The middle of this game felt a bit like a turning point for Husker Nation. They couldn’t afford this performance and will have to turn things around quickly. I expect some empty seats next week but nothing drastic. If we get blown out by Oklahoma you’ll start seeing fans cast their votes at Memorial by leaving more seats empty and bailing for the exits at the first sign of defeat.

Oh I haven't given-up hope yet, the season can be saved. I see a down year for NW, four of our next five are very winnable. Clean things up to do that and we have some momentum going into the arduous back half of the sched and hopefully surprise some folks. But chances are that doesn't happen, as Frost said it's the same movie over and over, if it doesn't then IMO Trev needs to pull the plug and have a replacement ready to roll. 

How the hell did our ST's manage to get even worse?  Seemed to make a coaching upgrade. Supposedly cranked-up attention/time given to ST's. Our punting was horrible, we gave Cerni a schollie for that?  CTB just handed Illinois 2pts and the ball. Culp can't make a freaking extra point. 

Frost's insistence on bringing a whole G5 staff over and inability to part with any coach he's tight with continues to haunt us. 

Still have the hallmarks of a team that's not well-coached. Wasn't expecting big things this season but did think we'd make a freaking bowl, would be very surprised if we manage that now. Don't like saying it but we probably witnessed the beginning of the end today.