As a change of topic from the Defense

[mjmartin1970]

We have NONE against the better teams. Is our OL just that outmanned against these teams or would some counters, traps, and maybe even running the FB sometimes help?

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

FIRE WAGNER!!! And then Jordan!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mjmartin1970]

I think we should fire the entire coaching staff, and then let the people on the husker BBS's coach each portion of the team by committee. I think this BBS should get to coach the Defense the first half, the Offense the next. We'll all be in the chatroom and have a poll for what play we should run/personnel package we'll have. yeah that'll work yeah

[newenglandhusker]

From what I saw on Saturday, it looks like if we went up top a little bit to keep cornerbacks and safeties honest and make them play a little bit further back, we might have the running game open up a little.

 

Of course, I'm not an expert but that's just what I saw.

[Foppa]

Fire the offense! That said...

 

Let's go back to firing the defense!

 

Seriously, I saw on a few plays vs. USC that when the run actually did work, it came after a couple successful pass plays. That is what I thought NU was going to have to do vs. Wake, but they never did. This may be the solution the rest of the season, even though it is a distinct difference to what NU fans are used to.

[mjmartin1970]

I thought that I read somewhere that, that is why the WCO was so original when it was first brought into the NFL. Traditional thought at the time was that you had to run the ball to open up the pass. One of the things that the WCO did was utilize the passing game to open up the run. Which, then IMO, is why we would do a lot of PA pass - it is kind of a "counter" to the stretch play. Either the LB's bite on the run (and we can get a short pass behind them for a big gain) or the drop back almost immediately, opening up the running plays.

 

Just seems like everyone is playing stop run first on us, which is why our running game is kind of non-existent. Like a previous post stated, a few passes over the top would definitely help.

 

Has anyone seen an end around with Nunn from us in a while? Watching games Sat/Sun it does seem to be "all the rage" in getting to the outside quickly.

[Overland Park Husker]

We have NONE against the better teams. Is our OL just that outmanned against these teams or would some counters, traps, and maybe even running the FB sometimes help?

I'd like to go away from the stretch play and the toss play. We just don't have the personnel to run those plays and they only work once in a blue moon, even in the NFL. Besides those 2, the run plays we ran against USC were good (trying to work against their D), but their LB's were always in position and had D-line help.

[husker rob]

i dont know, maybe it is the zone blocking thing......which is one thing that i dont understand

 

can someone explain to me exactly what that is?

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I think some misdirection plays may have worked better, but our O-line just wasn't getting the job done and you can't run if your line is getting blown up everytime. The few times we got good run was when our line was able to block. Example: 4th quarter Glenn got 12 yards to the left. That was actually good blocking by our line. Keller did a good job working with what he had in front of him. He was under pressure pretty much all night.

[junior4949]

i dont know, maybe it is the zone blocking thing......which is one thing that i dont understand

 

can someone explain to me exactly what that is?

 

 

Well, you block in a zone. We tried this when I played ball in high school with similar results as to what we're seeing now. The problem with zone blocking is that nobody really knows who to block. At times you have two guys trying to block the same defensive player while somebody goes free. Maybe the communication isn't very good amongst the OL.

 

I need to watch the USC game and the Wake game again. In all the football I've ever seen, the dominating team's DLine was faster off the snap than the OLine. I've watched several storied high school programs where they may not have the athletes of the team they're playing, but they still stomp them because their reaction time and getting off the ball is ahead of the opposing team's OL.

[cmb23]

All I know is that Lucky looked VERY timid running the ball. I don't know if it was because there was just absolutely nothing for him to run to or what, but he was tip-toing around a lot and was going down pretty easy. Maybe he was just concerned about holding onto the ball...but he did not hit the line of scrimmage full-speed like he did against Nevada.

[DaveH]

There's no quick fix. Firing someone, benching someone, etc won't instantly fix the problem. It sounds boring, but it's a process. Recruiting, preparation, etc is how you fix problems.

 

Zone blocking has been used at NU for years. Before Callahan for sure. Ask Matt Hoskinson and Joel Mackovicka. Brandon Jackson really made it fly last year.

[jrggvlynr]

All I know is that Lucky looked VERY timid running the ball. I don't know if it was because there was just absolutely nothing for him to run to or what, but he was tip-toing around a lot and was going down pretty easy. Maybe he was just concerned about holding onto the ball...but he did not hit the line of scrimmage full-speed like he did against Nevada.

 

Lucky always seems to be looking for a place to fall down... not a lot of moves or drive... its usually contact and down

[DaveH]

All I know is that Lucky looked VERY timid running the ball. I don't know if it was because there was just absolutely nothing for him to run to or what, but he was tip-toing around a lot and was going down pretty easy. Maybe he was just concerned about holding onto the ball...but he did not hit the line of scrimmage full-speed like he did against Nevada.

 

Lucky always seems to be looking for a place to fall down... not a lot of moves or drive... its usually contact and down

He has moves, but the problem is sometimes it's just one.

[Foppa]

All I know is that Lucky looked VERY timid running the ball. I don't know if it was because there was just absolutely nothing for him to run to or what, but he was tip-toing around a lot and was going down pretty easy. Maybe he was just concerned about holding onto the ball...but he did not hit the line of scrimmage full-speed like he did against Nevada.

 

Lucky always seems to be looking for a place to fall down... not a lot of moves or drive... its usually contact and down

He has moves, but the problem is sometimes it's just one.

 

 

Watching Lucky, he just doesn't look that quick most of the time. Absolutely, you need blocking to open things up, but good backs can make their own luck. Barry Sanders, for example...short, played for two teams that didn't give him alot of openings on the line...look what he did? No, I'm not saying Lucky should be Barry, or compared to him, but ya gotta have some moves.