Back to Basics

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Lets hope this "back to basics" mentality takes hold quick, fast and in a hurry.

 

NE Statepaper

 

Back to Basics

After two losses, Watson discovering more of his offense's identity

by Samuel McKewon

 

October 07, 2008

 

In recent years, it was the perfect time for Nebraska’s offense to take to the skies – whether they were friendly or not.

 

At halftime of NU’s 52-17 loss to Missouri, the Cornhuskers trailed the Tigers 31-10, a deficit that seemed suited for the mercenary “throw for the dough” attack of Bill Callahan's last days as head coach.

 

But offensive coordinator Shawn Watson turned the dial in opposite direction: Fifteen called running plays in the third quarter alone.

 

“He came in and just said we were going to right at those guys,” senior tight end Hunter Teafatiller said. “Just forget all the formation switches and motions and get back to downhill running.”

 

Now, yes, it didn’t much work – NU finished with only 79 yards rushing and 2.3 yards per carry – but Watson’s second half playcalling seemed like the development of a longer-term identity for the Huskers, a bread-and-butter set of plays that has so far eluded them.

 

Tuesday after practice, Watson spoke to this evolving “personality” and where it might lead.

 

“Your identity is your personnel,” he said. “Then you start evolving from there. We were forced to look at ourselves in the mirror really hard, this past week especially.”

 

What did Watson see?

 

“We’ve got a really good quarterback,” he said. “(Joe Ganz) is a good player. He’s supported by a good group of receivers and a really talented young tight end (Mike McNeill).”

 

You’ll notice no mention of the running backs or the offensive line.

 

Not that Watson intended the omission. The running game isn’t disappearing; if anything, it is being a little retooled to fit his players. At the beginning of the season, “we wanted to hammer people with big run groups,” Watson said, but such a plan may not be in the cards.

 

Watson and offensive line coach Barney Cotton have been “reteaching” the line in fundamentals and attitude, expecting that spark to emerge soon.

 

Guard Matt Slauson said NU’s “on the edge” of a lot of big plays, but a single botched assignment wrecks an otherwise nice hole. If you think that seems like a bit unhappy of an accident to occur time after time, Slauson said the film is revealing some tendencies for the linemen to erase.

 

“On first downs, a lot times we’re expecting a blitz and we line up and go, we kind of sit and wait and watch and see what they do,” Slauson said. “We can’t be having that. If you wait until third down to fire off, you’ll be short every time.”

 

The familiar refrain – it’s Callahan’s fault – is rebutted, in part, by the 2006 “Pound The Rock” team, the only season during the post-Frank Solich era in which Nebraska averaged more than 180 yards rushing a game with 244.1.

 

But early in 2007, the running game slowed down significantly, running back Marlon Lucky didn’t even know where “the rock” was, and the Huskers became a prolific (and Pyrrhic) passing team.

 

“Pass blocking is kind of a dance,” Slauson said. “You have to set back and mirror a guy and play with your feet a lot. Running is completely the opposite. It’s all hands. You’ve got to dig down in the dirt and grind. You want to be mean.”

 

Where has it been? Some Huskers felt like Missouri, in the midst of its comfortable victory, actually reignited something that had been missing.

 

“We know what we’re doing,” senior tackle Lydon Murtha said. “But I think sometimes we’re not all there. We just need to focus more.”

 

So do the rest of the blockers, Watson said. He specifically pointed to “developing a good fullback and good tight ends in our run game” as an area for growth. While senior Thomas Lawson is back at fullback and will play Saturday at Texas Tech, “he’s in a fight for his job” with Teafatiller, who moves into to the H-Back position behind Ganz.

 

“I’ll be wherever they want me,” Teafatiller said. “I know the (tight end) position pretty well and I’m comfortable anywhere else.”

 

[bbhusker]

Again, lets see it on the field.

[HuskerTrucker]

Personally, I think it isn't so much mental...they say they know what they are doing, I think they are getting beat physically. That is a little harder for them to admit, but I think there is a lot of truth in that. That is why the running game is so terrible, there is no push from the OL.

 

Bottom line, the offensive line needs to jack it up a notch or two and put it all out there. They are playing like they don't want to get hurt. You can't do that, you have to go out and give everything you have and then some. It is your will against the defense, and the defenses we have faced have shown they have more will to get the job done than ours.

[Igetbored216]

Personally, I think it isn't so much mental...they say they know what they are doing, I think they are getting beat physically. That is a little harder for them to admit, but I think there is a lot of truth in that. That is why the running game is so terrible, there is no push from the OL.

 

Watch some games again. Alot of their timing is off and many times the o-linemen totally miss their block.

 

This has nothing to do with getting beat physically. They are just missing their blocks.

[holvy83]

Personally, I think it isn't so much mental...they say they know what they are doing, I think they are getting beat physically. That is a little harder for them to admit, but I think there is a lot of truth in that. That is why the running game is so terrible, there is no push from the OL.

 

Watch some games again. Alot of their timing is off and many times the o-linemen totally miss their block.

 

This has nothing to do with getting beat physically. They are just missing their blocks.

 

exactly, not much else to say, they are just flat out not picking up their reads. I see alot of checking going on at the line of scrimmage, all it takes is for one of them to not pick up the audible and have ganz and lucky get smashed, or they jump offsides