Barney Cotton

[HuskerTrucker]

Think we will know more after this season. Last year it was like they had to start the O-line from scratch. They looked like freshman being thrown out on the field for the first time the first part of the year, but towards the end of the season they were beginning to "get it" and the improvement was vast.

 

My gut feeling is that he will be viewed as a good O-line coach.

[carlfense]

I honestly don't know enough about OL technique to have a very informed opinion of him. I did like the quote from Slauson (I think) about how Cotton emphasizes results more than technique. (As in, he doesn't care if you step wrong as long as you put the right guy on his back).

 

But then again . . . I don't know what I'm talking about. It just sounded good to me.

 

I never saw that quote, and it makes no sense. You must gap protect with your first step. First step wins, second step ties. Even in the zone blocking scheme your first step is everything. As a OL your first and second step sets up everything, direction, power etc.

I played OL all through HS and at USD and coach OL in HS and I can't ever think when I might have heard that technique taught by any of my coaches or at a coaching clinic.

 

I thought the OL played fair last year but it really was inconsistent which is a mark of a OL that is not real clear of what they are supposed to do. The POA bloacks were good, but they couldn't pull consistently because there was so much penetration from the playside.

 

I am expecting or at least hopeful for marked improvements this year.

 

I wasn't defending it, and I pointed out that I don't know much about OL technique. (I played DE so that's a little more familiar to me.)

 

I'll see if I can find the article for you. Maybe someone else has it if I can't find it? It might have been when he was on Bigred wrapup and not in an article...either way I'll try.

 

I wasn't attcking you, relax.

 

No worries. I'm not worked up over it. I just figured that it'd be relevant, and maybe I'm leaving something out of the quote that would help it make sense.

 

Edit: I believe it is the BigRed Wrapup show after the Gator Bowl. Take from it what you will.

[MCAT800]

I honestly don't know enough about OL technique to have a very informed opinion of him. I did like the quote from Slauson (I think) about how Cotton emphasizes results more than technique. (As in, he doesn't care if you step wrong as long as you put the right guy on his back).

 

But then again . . . I don't know what I'm talking about. It just sounded good to me.

 

I never saw that quote, and it makes no sense. You must gap protect with your first step. First step wins, second step ties. Even in the zone blocking scheme your first step is everything. As a OL your first and second step sets up everything, direction, power etc.

I played OL all through HS and at USD and coach OL in HS and I can't ever think when I might have heard that technique taught by any of my coaches or at a coaching clinic.

 

I thought the OL played fair last year but it really was inconsistent which is a mark of a OL that is not real clear of what they are supposed to do. The POA bloacks were good, but they couldn't pull consistently because there was so much penetration from the playside.

 

I am expecting or at least hopeful for marked improvements this year.

 

I wasn't defending it, and I pointed out that I don't know much about OL technique. (I played DE so that's a little more familiar to me.)

 

I'll see if I can find the article for you. Maybe someone else has it if I can't find it? It might have been when he was on Bigred wrapup and not in an article...either way I'll try.

 

I wasn't attcking you, relax.

 

No worries. I'm not worked up over it. I just figured that it'd be relevant, and maybe I'm leaving something out of the quote that would help it make sense.

 

Edit: I believe it is the BigRed Wrapup show after the Gator Bowl. Take from it what you will.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[carlfense]

I honestly don't know enough about OL technique to have a very informed opinion of him. I did like the quote from Slauson (I think) about how Cotton emphasizes results more than technique. (As in, he doesn't care if you step wrong as long as you put the right guy on his back).

 

But then again . . . I don't know what I'm talking about. It just sounded good to me.

 

I never saw that quote, and it makes no sense. You must gap protect with your first step. First step wins, second step ties. Even in the zone blocking scheme your first step is everything. As a OL your first and second step sets up everything, direction, power etc.

I played OL all through HS and at USD and coach OL in HS and I can't ever think when I might have heard that technique taught by any of my coaches or at a coaching clinic.

 

I thought the OL played fair last year but it really was inconsistent which is a mark of a OL that is not real clear of what they are supposed to do. The POA bloacks were good, but they couldn't pull consistently because there was so much penetration from the playside.

 

I am expecting or at least hopeful for marked improvements this year.

 

I wasn't defending it, and I pointed out that I don't know much about OL technique. (I played DE so that's a little more familiar to me.)

 

I'll see if I can find the article for you. Maybe someone else has it if I can't find it? It might have been when he was on Bigred wrapup and not in an article...either way I'll try.

 

I wasn't attcking you, relax.

 

No worries. I'm not worked up over it. I just figured that it'd be relevant, and maybe I'm leaving something out of the quote that would help it make sense.

 

Edit: I believe it is the BigRed Wrapup show after the Gator Bowl. Take from it what you will.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

Yep. It was from Big Red Wrap Up. Here's the quote:

 

Adrian Fiala asks Slauson to compare Cotton's technique and fundamentals to the previous staffs:

 

Slauson: "With the previous staff there was so much technique taught, footwork, angles, having your hands in the right position . . ."

 

Fiala "Too much?"

 

Slauson: "Some might say. I thought we had been successful with that style but then again you could see that we weren't successful with it last year. The main difference is Cotton came in and taught a lot of the same things but he told me at the beginning of the year "look, I'm not concerned in the games what technique you use. I'm concerned with you keeping the guy behind you clean, and I'm concerned with you opening holes. However you have to do it, get it done." I think that was great for us because if we did a really good job then they weren't really concerned with how you did it, being wrong with a step, stepping wrong with a foot, it didn't matter because it still worked."

 

http://mfile.akamai.com/23577/wmv/netstora.../brw_010609.asx

 

(about halfway through...)

[MCAT800]

Good Link

 

Maybe when you are dealing with that caliber of athletes all of that other stuff doesn't make that much of a difference. I do like his KISS method.

[papersun87]

The O-line was worlds better at the end of the year than at the beginning when we couldn't even run the ball on San Jose State. That ought to count for something.

[RedDenver]

I don't think our OL played any better or worse than they did under Wagner. The jury is still out on all the coaches including Cotton right now. The OL is a major concern for me this season since Ganz made a lot of plays under pressure and our running game was inconsistent.

 

I'm going to contrast the '07 season and the '08 season:

 

Rushing stats from 2007:

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.. 89

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............ 1733

Yards gained rushing........ 1939

Yards lost rushing.......... 206

Rushing Attempts............ 417

Average Per Rush............ 4.2

Average Per Game............ 144.4

TDs Rushing................. 19

 

2007 Rushing Stats

 

 

 

Rushing stats from 2008…

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.... 113

 

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2207

Yards gained rushing........ 2509

Yards lost rushing.......... 302

Rushing Attempts............ 486

Average Per Rush............ 4.5

Average Per Game............ 169.8

TDs Rushing................. 27

 

2008 Rushing Stats

 

So what do these numbers mean?

 

There was improvement in...

 

* The number of 1st downs by rushing

* The total amount of yards gained

* There was an increase in yards per attempt

* The average yards per game went up

* They scored more rushing TD's

 

So there you have it...improvement in running the football in practically every category but you don't see any difference between the former OL coach and Coach Cotton.

 

Note that I said the previous OL coach, not the previous season. Here's the stats for 2006:

RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2387

Yards gained rushing........ 2723

Yards lost rushing.......... 336

Rushing Attempts............ 554

Average Per Rush............ 4.3

Average Per Game............ 170.5

TDs Rushing................. 27

 

Nearly identical to 2008. So no, so far I don't see a difference between Cotton and Wagner. I don't have any problems with Cotton like some others, but I'm also not yet ready to crown him as being a better coach than the one he replaced. Let's see how we do this year and next after we replace some guys and we see how Cotton does with some younger players he's had more of a chance to coach up. I hope he does a great job because I think he'd stay at NU for a long time as the OL coach if given the chance.

[rkhufu7]

I don't think our OL played any better or worse than they did under Wagner. The jury is still out on all the coaches including Cotton right now. The OL is a major concern for me this season since Ganz made a lot of plays under pressure and our running game was inconsistent.

 

I'm going to contrast the '07 season and the '08 season:

 

Rushing stats from 2007:

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.. 89

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............ 1733

Yards gained rushing........ 1939

Yards lost rushing.......... 206

Rushing Attempts............ 417

Average Per Rush............ 4.2

Average Per Game............ 144.4

TDs Rushing................. 19

 

2007 Rushing Stats

 

 

 

Rushing stats from 2008…

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.... 113

 

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2207

Yards gained rushing........ 2509

Yards lost rushing.......... 302

Rushing Attempts............ 486

Average Per Rush............ 4.5

Average Per Game............ 169.8

TDs Rushing................. 27

 

2008 Rushing Stats

 

So what do these numbers mean?

 

There was improvement in...

 

* The number of 1st downs by rushing

* The total amount of yards gained

* There was an increase in yards per attempt

* The average yards per game went up

* They scored more rushing TD's

 

So there you have it...improvement in running the football in practically every category but you don't see any difference between the former OL coach and Coach Cotton.

 

Note that I said the previous OL coach, not the previous season. Here's the stats for 2006:

RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2387

Yards gained rushing........ 2723

Yards lost rushing.......... 336

Rushing Attempts............ 554

Average Per Rush............ 4.3

Average Per Game............ 170.5

TDs Rushing................. 27

 

Nearly identical to 2008. So no, so far I don't see a difference between Cotton and Wagner. I don't have any problems with Cotton like some others, but I'm also not yet ready to crown him as being a better coach than the one he replaced. Let's see how we do this year and next after we replace some guys and we see how Cotton does with some younger players he's had more of a chance to coach up. I hope he does a great job because I think he'd stay at NU for a long time as the OL coach if given the chance.

Same offense! Watson's offense was very good running the ball off-tackle at CU with the power, but at NU the OL has not been as dominant at any time!

[Husker_x]

Helu made a bit of a difference, too. Lucky worked well in space, but ask him to hit a hole and it was like pulling teeth. Every time He danced around back there waiting for it. Helu slashes through it and Castille makes his own hole. I don't know how much this would affect overall yardage, but it's something to factor in.

[Enhance]

But then again . . . I don't know what I'm talking about. It just sounded good to me.

I don't laugh out loud on this board that often, but I lol'd pretty hard at that.

[hack]

all of you... please read my sig pic.

 

please.

[Danimal]

I wasn't worried about the Cotton hire. IMO it makes a considerable difference that he's just the o-line coach rather than trying to balance being o-line coach and OC. O-line coach is a big job. OC is a big job. O-line coach and OC is just too much for one guy, one or both jobs will suffer IMO.

[Landlord]

I don't think our OL played any better or worse than they did under Wagner. The jury is still out on all the coaches including Cotton right now. The OL is a major concern for me this season since Ganz made a lot of plays under pressure and our running game was inconsistent.

 

I'm going to contrast the '07 season and the '08 season:

 

Rushing stats from 2007:

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.. 89

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............ 1733

Yards gained rushing........ 1939

Yards lost rushing.......... 206

Rushing Attempts............ 417

Average Per Rush............ 4.2

Average Per Game............ 144.4

TDs Rushing................. 19

 

2007 Rushing Stats

 

 

 

Rushing stats from 2008…

 

Runs resulting in 1st downs.... 113

 

 

RUSHING YARDAGE............... 2207

Yards gained rushing........ 2509

Yards lost rushing.......... 302

Rushing Attempts............ 486

Average Per Rush............ 4.5

Average Per Game............ 169.8

TDs Rushing................. 27

 

2008 Rushing Stats

 

So what do these numbers mean?

 

There was improvement in...

 

* The number of 1st downs by rushing

* The total amount of yards gained

* There was an increase in yards per attempt

* The average yards per game went up

* They scored more rushing TD's

 

So there you have it...improvement in running the football in practically every category but you don't see any difference between the former OL coach and Coach Cotton.

 

 

 

You said yourself that you can bend stats any way you want, but you're acting like yours are just absolute and can't be bent.

 

 

I don't really see how those stats have any sort of weight at all, given that a) we were playing from behind a lot and B) even when we weren't, callahan just aired it out to help out his resume (510 yards and 7 touchdowns comes to mind...)

[huskertim]

When Slauson mentioned putting the "right guy on his back", that wasn't just filler. I remember wacthing Dr Zatechka break down game film on Sports sound off during the 2007 season. Again and again guys would be blocking the wrong guy altogether. I'm no line coach but it seems to me, that the best technique applied to the wrong guy might not get the job done.

 

I don't think Cotton has abandoned good technique mind you, just brought a little perspective to the matter. By the way, I kind of respect Dr Rob's opion as regards line play.

[HuskerJen]

You said yourself that you can bend stats any way you want, but you're acting like yours are just absolute and can't be bent.

 

Stats can be bent to fit a particular agenda that's certainly true.

 

However, I didn't bend the stats at all to prove my point.

 

Someone made the statement that there wasn't any real difference between the OL from '07 to '08.

 

I simply looked at the numbers from those two seasons, saw that there was improvement and posted the numbers as is...without any qualifiers or saying well, if you exclude this game or take away that one play, etc.