SnowBigRed

Too bad the game isn't towards the end of the season. Wouldn't mind taking the sled out for an early season test and tune.

What's funny is that in that "Dirtiest Program" ranking, the Big XII has the top 3, and 4 out of the top 10. Sweetness. No Nebraska though.

The SEC is better overall because of winning the past 5 championships, not individually as an offense or defense. But for the sake of argument, the average ranking for SEC teams in terms of scoring offense nationally is 41st, while the vaunted Big XII offenses average out to 50th place. Even the supposedly defense dominant Big 10 has an average ranking of 46th. So to say that from top to bottom, the Big XII has better offenses is again misleading. On to your two points from above: 1) Yes and no. Is it harder for a cornerback to cover a receiver when he has 4 or 5 other Dbacks taking up space in the same secondary, or is it harder to line up across from Julio Jones man-2-man with little to no safety help because they are stacking the box to stop the run? Stats wise, yes, it's harder to get more PBU's and int's when the team only passes it 20-25 times or less per game, but to say it's harder to cover a receiver in a spread offense depends a lot on scheme, and some on the talent that there is at receiver. Many would also argue that there is more talented receivers in the Big 12, and here again I call BS. Big 12 receivers may have better stats, but that all goes back to spread offense vs. pro style offense. You put most of the SEC WR corps in a spread offense, they will have nearly the same or probably more success than their Big 12 counterparts. 2) This is true. Maybe this is why the argument is that Prince has better feet, but Peterson is more physical and has better make up speed. Everything is relative.

Do you really believe this? Prince never played against Bryant, got torched by Blackmon, and Crabtree went for 90 yds and 2 td's when Nebraska played them in '08. The only time Prince faced Bradford, he threw for over 300 yds and 5(?) touchdowns in less than 3 full quarters of play. Maybe Prince didn't have anything to do with all the success these guys had against Nebraska, but I doubt he played flawlessly. To say that Prince has played against, and succeeded against, more talent than Peterson is ludicrous. The SEC is superior to the Big 12 and the Big 10 at this time, as much as it pains me to say it. Maybe Peterson struggled against stud receivers too (AJ Green, Julio Jones, etc., I didn't check the stats), but I have a hard time believing he did any worse than Prince would have. It looks like I'm still a little PO'd at the Big XII. Edit: Prince did play well against Texas and McCoy, but so did the rest of the team.

The title of the thread is "Prince or Peterson?" In this case, if I was a GM, I'd take Peterson every day of the week. Better run stuffer, can be a threat in the return game, and is one hell of an athlete (one that a good coaching staff could turn into one of the best in the league). However, the title of the poll is "Best CB?". Is this referring to best cover corner? best run support corner? best of both worlds? Best cover corner would go to Prince, but only by a slim margin. Peterson has Prince beat in all other aspects of football. Which player will track down a receiver on the other side of the field? Peterson. Which player will stand up Marion Barber in the hole? Peterson would have a better shot. I know that a corner's main responsibility is to not let the receiver make the catch, but I don't think Prince is that much better than Peterson at this to call him a better overall corner. A versatile corner is very valuable in the NFL (although so are shut down corners, but after watching Prince try and cover Blackmon, I don't think he's one of those either). I honestly don't think Prince has the greatest ball skills in the world either. I agree he's got good feet and seems to be in position to make plays, but when the ball is in the air (especially jump balls), it just seems like he struggles. I noticed this in games other than OK State too. With all that being said, I go with Peterson (but I'd think twice about it).

Yeah knowing the Bazata family I have to admit I was kind of routing for the underdog, but it turned out how I expected it to. Congrats to Shoff he is a horse that's for sure. Also I liked his sportsmanship after the match. I have a feeling we might be seeing the same pairing in next year's final as well. If the Bazata kid can put on about 30 pounds, he's going to be a real animal. I really liked watching a Husker recruit do well, but I was also secretly wanting Bazata to pull the upset. Shoff seems like a real nice guy, and hope we see him wearing the Scarlet and Cream in 2012. Congratulations to the big guy.

Being from the area, I've seen the Bazata kid wrestle a few times this year, and he's definitely the real deal. With that being said, I don't think he'll make it out of the first period in this one.

One whole page of posts and only one comment on the O-Line. This is my biggest concern as well. Our line sucked against decent D's (and some not so decent ones) last year, and switching to a more rollout style, which our Oline is not really suited for, will only make things worse at the start. Barney's got a big offseason ahead of him, because it all starts in the trenches, and sadly that has been one of our weakest links. Please don't bring up all the success we had running the ball last year, because for the most part our Oline got routinely whipped. Nebraska's average YPC wasn't exactly stellar last year, and that includes all the big runs at the beginning of the year and in the Mizzou game. I can't wait til the day where I feel comfortable having Nebraska be in 2nd and 4 or 3rd and 1 situations, because that hasn't been the case over the past few years.

Not hard to call one. Very hard to get one in less than 2 hours. I've called taxis from downtown before, waited 30 minutes and started walking (to West A and Coddington) and have made it home before a taxi finally calls to tell me they are ready for pick up. Not saying he should have drove, but a guy really can't count on a taxi if he wants to make it home before sunrise.

You are on your own on that opinion, in my mind Cotton needs to be the first one to go he is TERRIBLE! Thank you! Cotton sucks! Should not be here in the first place. Posted this in a new thread, but maybe it goes here. In regards to the coaching of the offensive line and the talent we have at that position, thought I'd submit these thoughts for consideration. I researched and gathered this info off of Rivals. Wisconsin was known this year for it's great offensive line. The Badgers' offensive line goes: 327 (Outland Trophy-winning left tackle Gabe Carimi) 323 (first-team All-America left guard John Moffitt) 318 (center Bill Nagy) 315 (right guard Kevin Zeitler) 322 (right tackle Ricky Wagner). Carimi - 3 star (2006) Moffitt - 3 star (2006) Nagy - 3 star (2006) Zeitler - 3 star (2008) Ricky Wagner - Walk on (Yes, walk on ... gotta love that!) Note that the Oglesby, a 5 star in 2007 and Konz, a 4 star in 2008 are not starting. jliehrs added some information on the guys: "Oglesby started 3 games his freshmen year, 10 games his sophomore year (injured in others), and started the first two games this year before hurting his knee, he played in a few other games, but had knee surgery in December. He has had a ton of injuries that have set him back, but was preseason 2nd team All-Big Ten according to Phil Steele and was on the Outland Trophy watch list. Konz started 9 games in 2009 and 10 games this year, he also got injured. He was a freshman All-American by sporting news last year, honorable mention All-Big Ten team and was on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy." Outside of Oglesby and Konz, all the rest of the Badgers recruits are 3-stars going back to 2005, a couple are two stars ... and don't forget that Ricky Wagner walked on. Doesn't one have to credit coaching to the success of Badger line? This is my concern for our line and the coaching in that area. It is looking more and more like we will have 4-stars across the board ... however, without the proper coaching what does it matter? Just some stats to add to the debate and comparison. SheepdogMark I'm glad you brought this post up, otherwise I was going to. Very similar to a post I made earlier in the season about Oregon's receivers and how they've only got 2 receivers still playing receiver that they recruited in the past 4 recruiting cycles. These types of things show that coaching can go a hell of a lot further than talent (most of the time).

Which is interesting, Stanford's offense is actually not simple at all in any way. I realize that it's a pro-style offense, but I don't think too many people would consider it extremely complicated either. I wasn't saying their schemes and what not aren't well thought out, and maybe "simple" wasn't the best word. I was more referring to their overall philosophy. Focus on the run and use play action to take shots.

I really like Stanford's offense. Similar to Wisconsin in a way. Run, run, run, sprinkle in some well timed playaction (not 3rd and 11), run time off clock, take well timed shots down the field, take pressure off defense, and VOILA!!! You got yourself a solid offense. Almost seems to simple. However, Stanford and Wisconsin are both very disciplined and aggressive at the same. No dumb penalties, fumbles, mistakes, etc. Basically everything that Nebraska is not. On the plus side, Nebraska has a better defense.

Toughen up Jeanine.

Nope, absolutely not! It was a zone blitz that obviously confused the hell out of both our guards! Then add in the fact Caputo got dumped on his ass it may have looked like they were letting him through, but they most definitely were not... 3 rushers does not equal a blitz, they dropped 8 into coverage. Seeing 3 offensive linemen laying on the ground while Martinez gets slammed to the turf? Awesome! I will say that if Martinez had pocket presence he would have side stepped the rusher and broke into the open field. However, this scenario played out over and over throughout the year, the way to stop our offense was to put a man directly on Caputo and knock him into the backfield. And yet we didn't try to roll the pocket or do much of anything to adjust because Barney just never figured it out. Actually, it is called a zone blitz. If you watch again, like I had to, they dropped their DL except for the NG into coverage and brought two LB off the edge. The generally accepted definition of a blitz is sending more defenders than blockers. Just because a couple of linebackers were rushing on the play doesn't mean it was a blitz, but we're arguing semantics now. So if the offense is in a single (or double) TE set, (6 or 7 blockers, or more if there is a RB staying in) and the defense is in a 4-3 and sends the MLB, this is not a blitz because they are only sending 5, which is less than 6,7, or 8 blockers? This play right here is the definition of a zone blitz and Washington ran the hell out of this all night. Apparently they noticed that Nebraska's Oline is unable to think on the fly and pick something like this up. The zone blitz was designed to cause communication and responsibility problems after the snap, two things Nebraska's line struggles with badly.

Agreed. Our defense will be different than everything else these offenses will see on a weekly basis. Our opponents will have to game plan for us in a little different manner than they would for everyone else, which should work in our advantage. Overall, I think we'll be fine next year defensively. Offensively is where I'm more worried. I see us losing 4-5 games next year in low scoring affairs, similar to Iowa's season this year.

He can be blamed if he does not do something to fix the problem. He is not the defensive coordinator, he is HEAD Coach now. So he is responsible for the offense as much as he is any other aspect of the game. It is obvious that he isn't doing anything up to this point to fix the problems, and I really don't think Cotton or Watson have any idea what they need to do now. This is exactly what i said. He can be blamed if he doesn't make a change. Being a head coach doesn't mean you have to know both sides of the ball equally. That is hardly ever the case. The head coach's main responsibilities are to manage the coordinators and get the team ready and motivated for games. Not much more, not much less. He needs to hire someone that can take the reins of the offense while he falls into more of a manager's role. If Bo has an offensive strategy that he wants to go after, he needs to find a coordinator that is familiar with that offense, and spend the offseason setting the mold for the season. Once the season starts, he goes back into managing mode. I'll compare this to the engineering field, since we are trying to engineer a solid football team. Bo is essentially the project manager. He spends his free time (offseason) teaching and discussing with his project engineers (asst. coaches) about the upcoming project (season). Once the project is underway, the project manager sits back, listens to feedback from his project engineers, makes recommendations, but by and large lets them do what they want. Once the finished project is put on the table, he can evaluate it and make the proper changes. The project manager doesn't necessarily know every bit and piece of the project, and is mainly concerned about the final product. Bo doesn't want to, or need to, micromanage the entire team. He needs to trust his coaches to do the right things on a day to day basis, and always be evaluating what they do, but not stepping on their toes. Nebraska has a lot of young talent, and a lot of players that can lead Nebraska to the promised land. Bo now needs to evaluate the job done by his staff this past season and make the necessary changes, which in my mind, includes canning the offensive staff.

We were still in the Big 12 this year, so them sitting at 1-4 in the bowls still makes us look bad. The fact that our loss is one of those makes it even worse.

This guy has to be an Iowa fan. If you know Iowa fans, take a look at their facebook profiles after an Iowa win or loss....no comments whatsoever. Then look at their profiles after a Nebraska loss.....nothing but Nebraska smack talk. They get their jollies more off of Nebraska losing than anything their team does. Here's to hoping we never lose to those D'bags. Clowns.

Bo is a defensive minded coach. He doesn't know offense like the OC should, and he probably lays 99% of what the offense does on the OC. Can he nix the play call when the come in? Probably, but maybe he trusts in Watson to make the right decision. As a head coach, you need to not micromanage everything and let your coaches coach. I really don't think Bo is much to blame for the offense's "suckiness" as much as a lot of people want to blame him. I will blame him for making a mistake if some personnel changes are not made over the offseason. Bo wants to manage the team on a day to day basis, coach up his defense to be the best damned D in the nation, and let his offensive coaches do what they do. He wasn't going to fire anyone during the season. Let's wait and see if any changes are made in the next few weeks. If Bo spent more time righting the ship on offense, learning offense more thoroughly, I truly believe that the defense would suffer slightly, and that's something that I don't want to see happen. Offense wins games, defense wins more games, a good combination wins championships.

I guess I'm under the assumption that if Watson goes, Cotton will be shown the door as well and the Skers will do a complete offensive overhaul. Maybe I shouldn't make that assumption, because Cotton needs to take a hike more than anyone.

Ricky Henry getting shoved a yard deep into the endzone, and holding to prevent a safety, which still ends up a safety. Terrible play both physically and mentally. The game was "in hand" at this point because UW already had 17 pts, which is an insurmountable lead with this team.

Offensive identity? I guess I don't understand the question. You can't use those two words together in this state.

Defensively, I don't think we'll have to change our schemes as much as a lot of people think we will. Our style will contrast to what the rest of the Big 10 will be doing, therefore teams will have to prepare different for us every week. We will have to gear our D to stop the run a little more effectively, maybe going to more of a 4-3, but overall I think we can stay similar. Tackling and physicality need to be amped up a little, but it is all possible with this staff. Bring on the big 10.

I'm not going to comment on things that work and don't work because I think most people on this board pretty much know what those are. Oline is soft and poorly coached, playcalling and schemes leave a lot to be desired, yada yada yada. I think the TE's are being coached pretty well for the most part, and also the RB's in most areas (although, at times, their pass blocking is a little weak). Basically, I'm saying Brown and Beck stay. Everyone else can hit the bricks as far as I'm concerned. As far as where we go, I'm not real sure who would be good candidates for these positions. Obviously, Frost would be a dream for this staff in some way, but other than that, I don't really know. Maybe someone that follows this kind of stuff a little more can throw out a list for possibilities.

I know this is an old thread, but I thought there was some really thought out discussion here. Plus, I started the thread so I've actually read every post. After three more games since this thread was started and ended, my thoughts remain exactly the same. Too simple (or maybe too complicated) schemes, no adjustments mid-game, Oline getting slapped around for 4 quarters by another average at best defense, WR's dropping passes, no discipline, no aggressiveness, etc. The list goes on and on. Different day, different game, same old song and dance from this offense. All of this with nearly a month to prepare. This staff just doesn't seem to have a clue. I understand that the motivation wasn't there last night, and I understand that to a point, but this is a team that Nebraska pummeled earlier this year, and we score exactly 1/8 as many points, while UW scores less than they did the last time. This is coaching and preparation and nothing else. No excuses. Martinez and Paul were both healthy, Oline was relatively healthy. I guess we now have 8 months to remember this one. It's going to be a long 8 months for sure. Just so all the Watson and Co. backers aren't on my arse right away, I am aware that the defense didn't exactly play lights out, but they gave up less pts than last time, while the offense scored considerably (CONSIDERABLY) fewer points. Once again, 20 frickin points wins this game.