Couple of things that I took from Saturdays game

[fro daddy]

I watched the game once live then again on DVR. I wanted to get my first look at the Huskers (I’m cheap and not a fan so no way I was going to pony up $30 bucks to watch you play some scrubs ) These are a few things I took from the game.

 

1) VT's offense is awful. GOD AWFUL. NE did a decent job in containing the run, in the second half especially, but that offence of theirs leaves ALOT to be desired.

 

2) Zac Lee....I hope for you guys that he just had a bad game...a real bad game. He was pathetic. I don’t know that I have ever seen a worse D-1 QB. (And I have seen some pretty bad ones line up under center for Ol' MU over the years) 30% completion percentage, missing wide open players and missing badly. One game does not a season make, but that was about as un-impressive as one game can look

 

3) Roy is every bit as good as I believed him to be. Great runner, good vision. Not in the class of the greatest Husker RB's that I have seen, but I believe clearly the best in some time to carry the ball for NE

 

4) What the h**L is with your pass rush?! Good God it was sad at times. Taylor had all day to pick his a** back their. He must have been sending text messages because he sure as he** wasn’t hitting open receivers, and they were open. The boys looked like they were stuck in sand half the game. The only one he looked like he tried the whole game was Suh. That last drive killed me, every one rushed 3-4 steps then just stood there for contain. Clearly a bad idea, sack the QB, pressure him. It seemed like the only time NE got pressure Taylor played volleyball with Suh. Every other sack seemed to come from Taylor acting like a re-re and dancing around then running into people

 

5) The DB's....man o man. They are bad. Good in run support, but they can’t cover to save their lives. I can’t even count the number of open receivers I saw in that game. Luckily Taylor sucks just as bad as Lee did because he couldn’t get them the ball until there was only 1 minute left in the game. How do you let some one get behind you in prevent?! The TD, I can understand the DB's on had to cover the wr's long enough for me to go make a bowl of popcorn after Taylor took the snap, and I still made it back to see the catch. When someone has that long to find somebody, they usually will

 

6) Dillard seems to be an improvement over random RS Freshman lost in action LB. Made some nice plays, even when he was not the one making the tackle (funneling ball carriers and eating up pulling linemen)

 

7) Niles is a good return man. I would like to have someone like that on my team to return kicks. Aggressive, and pretty consistent. Give him a crease and watch him work.

 

8) Henery = good kicker...DUH

 

9) It was not a catch...you must maintain position of the ball all the way through. Not till a knee hits, not till an extremity hits out of bounds. You must have the ball all the way through. Some of you who claim to be the most knowledgeable fans in college football should clearly know a basic rule. Quit crying foul, nobody is out to get you because you are Nebraska

 

 

Overall it is just one game, and a close loss on the road at that. It's not like it was a blow out. It's not the end of the season but I don't know that it tells us that much. Nebraska's D looked good, But VT has sucked on O since 2005, they are no better this year and Taylor is just crappy as a passer. So whats the real story? IS NE that good, or VT that bad, or...a little of both.

 

Ne ran well, but VT's run D sucks. They gave up nearly 300 yrd to Alabama and are averaging something like 5.5 yards allowed per rush. So is it that VT opens up like a drunken Kearney girl on prom night or that NE was able to assert their will? Little of both maybe?

 

I am unsure what to take from this game. Ne did some things I thought were impressive, some things that were not. I don't think it's a down hill spiral from here. There are still plenty of games that you should win. Maybe some of those games look a little tougher now, maybe not. After all it was just one game.

 

But I do know this. If Lee plays in B12 ball like he did this weekend, NE will not reach their goals this year. He must get better.

[nemajordude]

All good observations. Overall I have to say I am less optimistic than I was before VT. I hate the catch rule, if a receiver has one or two feet in bounds and has solid control, who cares if the ground knocks the ball out. But, that's the rule. Other than Roy, our offense stunk up the place, but it was also Zac and a lot of guys' first road game, and that's a tough place to play and a very good defense. I'm not sure what to make of our defense against VT's bad offense. I've been saying all along on this board that we don't know anything yet. I guess there are things we won't know until the MU game. No offense, fro daddy, but I hope you are a very unhappy man come that Friday morning.

[fro daddy]

No offense, fro daddy, but I hope you are a very unhappy man come that Friday morning.

 

Nothing wrong with wanting a win. NO offense taken. Like I said there were somethings I saw that I would like if I was a NE fan. And some others that would be troubling. But like you said, nothing is decided yet and I am not sure we really know what this team is yet.

 

On a side note, after Mu wins, i promise i wont come here and rub it in

[Bayside76]

Ne ran well, but VT's run D sucks. They gave up nearly 300 yrd to Alabama and are averaging something like 5.5 yards allowed per rush. So is it that VT opens up like a drunken Kearney girl on prom night or that NE was able to assert their will? Little of both maybe?

 

I didn't realize there is a Kearney, Missouri. When is this prom night? Since its Missouri, will these girls open up for guys they are not related to?

[huskermaniac]

Good observations, except for one. I think it was our gameplan to not pass rush. On every play, our front four spread out and contained Taylor. I thought it was obvious they were not trying to get to him. On the plays where we blitzed, we got to him pretty quickly.

[fro daddy]

Ne ran well, but VT's run D sucks. They gave up nearly 300 yrd to Alabama and are averaging something like 5.5 yards allowed per rush. So is it that VT opens up like a drunken Kearney girl on prom night or that NE was able to assert their will? Little of both maybe?

 

I didn't realize there is a Kearney, Missouri. When is this prom night? Since its Missouri, will these girls open up for guys they are not related to?

 

 

LOL good one. I was refering to Kearney NE. I have heard so many great things about that town and college.

 

Kearney MO is right outside of KC, they have a little more class there, you have to be 3rd cousin removed to have a chance with those big city girls..

[fro daddy]

Good observations, except for one. I think it was our gameplan to not pass rush. On every play, our front four spread out and contained Taylor. I thought it was obvious they were not trying to get to him. On the plays where we blitzed, we got to him pretty quickly.

 

I noticed that, but dont understand the though process behind it. Once he hurts you then fine, but Taylor was obviously looking to pass the whole game. Didnt even run when he had the chance.

 

Do you think they will do that against MU? Gabbert runs well and MU runs him often.

[Igetbored216]

I noticed that, but dont understand the though process behind it. Once he hurts you then fine, but Taylor was obviously looking to pass the whole game. Didnt even run when he had the chance.

 

Really? We must not have been watching the same game, because many times when he stepped back to pass, he took steps forward or to the side and looked like he was going to take off until he saw there were d-linemen all around him.

 

I don't care how much he works on it, Taylor will always be a run first QB.

[Micheal]

Ne ran well, but VT's run D sucks. They gave up nearly 300 yrd to Alabama and are averaging something like 5.5 yards allowed per rush. So is it that VT opens up like a drunken Kearney girl on prom night or that NE was able to assert their will? Little of both maybe?

 

I didn't realize there is a Kearney, Missouri. When is this prom night? Since its Missouri, will these girls open up for guys they are not related to?

 

 

LOL good one. I was refering to Kearney NE. I have heard so many great things about that town and college.

 

Kearney MO is right outside of KC, they have a little more class there, you have to be 3rd cousin removed to have a chance with those big city girls..

what you got against Kearney, NE? calling us classless?

[fro daddy]

Ne ran well, but VT's run D sucks. They gave up nearly 300 yrd to Alabama and are averaging something like 5.5 yards allowed per rush. So is it that VT opens up like a drunken Kearney girl on prom night or that NE was able to assert their will? Little of both maybe?

 

I didn't realize there is a Kearney, Missouri. When is this prom night? Since its Missouri, will these girls open up for guys they are not related to?

 

 

LOL good one. I was refering to Kearney NE. I have heard so many great things about that town and college.

 

Kearney MO is right outside of KC, they have a little more class there, you have to be 3rd cousin removed to have a chance with those big city girls..

what you got against Kearney, NE? calling us classless?

 

word does get around you know I have a few friends from out the way and they always crack jokes. I had never been to kearney but i already knew you cant spell drunk or flunk without UNK

[Huge Husker]

I'll throw my two cents in about the Pass Rush,

 

It looked to me like they werent pushing for a huge rush, They were keeping Taylor in front of them and in the pocket (and doing a damn good job in my eyes) One quick move by a much faster QB on a tackle and he runs for 30 yards. Make him beat you with his arm. Also explains why Suh had 4(I think) batted balls and why he was doing that little shuffle on the last play instead of chasing Taylor down

[Enhance]

Hey Fro, good observations, but I have a few comments to make.

 

1) I'm not sure you can consider our pass rush awful. VaTech has a very good offensive line and Taylor is an extremely mobile quarterback that we sacked him 4 times that game. I think that is very impressive. The trouble with going after Taylor is that if a d-line men goes up to make a move Taylor is going to bust it open and run around those guys. That's why you can't make a move against him when the backers and safeties are in deep zones because it could be a Taylor first down run. You have to contain him.

 

2) Maybe we weren't watchin the same game, but I thought the DB's played very well with the exception of the deep pass play. You can't blame them for the touchdown, because you can't expect a DB to keep this WR covered for that long of play. That d-line needed to get pressure and make the sack on Taylor. Plus VaTech has pretty athletic wide receivers, and Taylor had to throw the ball away more than once because of covered receivers.

 

3) Although Paul has made some plays on special teams, I'm still unconvinced of his ability to make reads and explode down field. Plus, it never really seems like he is running as fast as he can. Maybe that is because of his height and long strides, but he just seems slow.

 

4) I had joked with my buddies after Henery's 3rd field goal that he would score all of our points for the day and would add to them by throwing some touchdown passes and running a couple in. I ended up being partially right

[holvy83]

Can't say you are to far off Fro, now since the dust has settled and the hangover is gone it is time to move on. Looking forward to the showdown in Columbia.

[fro daddy]

couple of things to clearify. My issue was more with the method of the pass rush then the execution. Although at times when you needed one Suh was the only one there. Its what he does. He is that good. I though the other DT (cant recall his name right now) was pretty solid most of the game as well.

 

The DB comment was maybe a little harsh. But there were plenty of guys open. the drive before the last taylor missed a post that would have been a long TD. that was one of many guys he failed to see open or didnt hit. And i am with you that they are not to blame for the TD pass. I even said so above. To long to ask somebody to play in coverage

 

Good luck the rest of the season guys. looking forward to the game

[caveman99]

Good observations, except for one. I think it was our gameplan to not pass rush. On every play, our front four spread out and contained Taylor. I thought it was obvious they were not trying to get to him. On the plays where we blitzed, we got to him pretty quickly.

 

I noticed that, but dont understand the though process behind it. Once he hurts you then fine, but Taylor was obviously looking to pass the whole game. Didnt even run when he had the chance.

 

Do you think they will do that against MU? Gabbert runs well and MU runs him often.

No I don't think you will see the NU D-Line play that style vs. MU because Gabbert is a pass first player. Tyrod is and has always been a run first guy, that is why you saw the D-Line play a lot to contain. When they wanted, Crick and Suh got back there in the middle pretty often and they did record a lot of sacks. The other thing about the receivers being open is that it became obvious that once Tyrod started to run the DB's were going to break off coverage and come up the contain on the outside leaving the Safeties to cover. Overall it is tough to tell how good the D is yet since VT is not a good measure offensively for the Big XII, but I do take solace in the ability of the team to stop a power run game. VT got yards running in the 1st QTR and midway through the 2nd then NU started shutting that down. Overall good job I thought.