Too much emphasis on finding Niles Paul?

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

Okay, so i know i said last week how he wasnt a factor, and then this week they must have felt the same and put a priority on finding him..I love the idea, but it felt like we were trying to hard on times. Give him the ball when he is open, if not check down, dnt get me wrong the guy had ahelluva game, but if you look at some of the replays you could see where it looked like Zac was trying to force it to him while he was covered, while he had other options that were more open. It may not be a problem yet but im worried that once we get to faster defenses that they will break on that ball and possibly cause some trouble for us. This is just IMO. oh btw, if dline gets that kindof penetration next week we might as well not go. excited to see what happens.

[Hunter94]

my problem was with the O line and Helu's under production running the ball.....that is scary stuff, right there.

[KansasHusker]

Helu over his career has averaged well over 6 yards a carry. Today he averaged about 4 and didn't get that many carries. We never even tried to develop a sound running game in this one. I wouldn't let Helu's performance bother you as much as the line problem.

[Fuzzy]

well it was emphasized that ASU put pressure on Lee and shut down the running game, which they did a good job of that, also the line was a little sub par on creating holes for him to run. But what really worked to our advantage was the mismatches we created between the our tall receivers and their shorter CB and safeties.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

On the flip side its good practice for when you need a go-to guy at the end of the game Lee would have the confidence he can get the ball to Paul.

[HSKRNOKC]

Paul is a playmaker. We need to get him the ball.

[redout22]

Paul is a playmaker. We need to get him the ball.

We need to find him a way to get the ball.

[I am I]

no. you gotta get your best players the ball. being that Lee didn't throw any picks, and only 8 incompletions...i wouldn't say he was forcing it...plus 13 different guys caught the ball

[huzkerbob]

In the first half, yes! And it killed all momentum in the running game.

[HSKRNOKC]

In the first half, yes! And it killed all momentum in the running game.

IMO they were playing the run more so than the pass. Thats what stifled the running game but it sure as heck opened up he passing lanes.

[BlackShirt1340]

Plus it was good to get Lee throwing the ball more... as I have a feeling the running game may struggle a bit against VT. I feel confident that our offense will be able to get the ball moving. I think the key to that game will be our Offense's ability to sustain drives and keep their offense off the field.

[EbylHusker]

Okay, so i know i said last week how he wasnt a factor, and then this week they must have felt the same and put a priority on finding him..I love the idea, but it felt like we were trying to hard on times. Give him the ball when he is open, if not check down, dnt get me wrong the guy had ahelluva game, but if you look at some of the replays you could see where it looked like Zac was trying to force it to him while he was covered, while he had other options that were more open. It may not be a problem yet but im worried that once we get to faster defenses that they will break on that ball and possibly cause some trouble for us. This is just IMO. oh btw, if dline gets that kindof penetration next week we might as well not go. excited to see what happens.

 

I also saw some plays where Paul was open but the ball went to another receiver. I think this is a non-issue.

[sarge87]

I believe this game had more to do with getting Lee comfortable in the pocket and being able to spot his receivers confidently than concentrating on the run game as we did in the first game.

 

Lee will have to stay composed out there in his first big game next week, and this should have helped him quite a bit as well as the receivers getting good game situation reps.

[melscott62]

didnt we have 11 different people have receptions today?

[knapplc]

They were making a point to get Paul the ball, that was obvious. I'm not concerned about Helu's average day. ASU was way undersized in the secondary, while their D Line was clearly their strength. We can pass the ball, we have a bunch of talented WRs & TEs, and we had mismatches all over the field - why try to force the run when it's so much easier to pass?

 

The nice thing about this offense, especially compared to the Option, is that if they give us pass, we can destroy a team through the air. With the Option there were plenty of times even against weaker teams that we would run right at the strength of their D because that's all we could do. Sure, it worked well when they were so battered and bruised they couldn't stop us in the second half, but I'm just fine and dandy leaping out 21-0 through the air instead of being up 7-0 because if it ain't a run, we can't do it.