I'm just about the last guy to call for a coach's head

[Pedro Guerrero]

I agree, but wasn't it only 2 years ago that everyone and their brother on this fan blog were calling for Cotton to be the new HC? I laugh at the fact that all these armchair coaches think they know just about everything... until they ALL hop off the bandwagon and onto another. Love you one minute, want your head the next. Make up your flipping minds... or get a life.

 

I beg you to show my one person that thought Barney Cotton should have been Head Coach. Please show me this person because outside of the Cotton family I have a hard time believing these people exist.

[BlackShirt1340]

One thing that I've noticed consistently throughout this season is the lack of emotion on the offensive side of the ball.

 

If you watch our defense, when they're on the field.... they know what they're doing. They aren't thinking and they're playing with fire. When they make a play, they get up and they're pumped about it (throwing the bones and such). When you watch the offense on the field, when they run a play, even a successful play, they get up and go straight back to the huddle.

 

This is just my humble opinion, but I believe that the reason for this is that the players are just thinking too damn much. When players have a playbook and gameplan down PAT, they play with fire and run on instincts. There is no thinking involved and they go FULL SPEED. When a team is confused and don't have a great grasp.... a great example is our defense at the beginning of the year LAST year.... they play slow and just think way too much.

 

I know the offense is complex, but like Willie said, the playbook is big, but it's a lot of the same plays out of different formations. The playcalling needs to be simplified and the coaches need to find what these AVERAGE players are GOOD at. I still believe that the power formations can work the best for running with this offense (granted, we need a running back that isn't 4th or 5th on the depth chart). Roy is practicing without a green jersey even though that tells us little about how hurt he still is because our coaches seem to lie on this topic... But Robinson is good to go and he showed some great flashes in both the games he started and played in.

 

If we can find that identity... which I believe is NOT the finesse spread pass attack (at least at this point)... we will be able to contend with OU come Saturday. If we do not, we will see another very inept performance and against OUs defense, we won't score a damn point.

 

Here's to hoping we come out strong and on top when the dust settles Saturday night...

[Twodocs]

I would take our O line and Colins Okafor and any of the backs ahead of him and we would have won at VT beat TT and IS! Rob Zatecha said this week end on tv that they are physically capable.

 

But hey what the hell do I know? I am just sayin they are not that bad and niether is the execution of late on run blocking. Hard to block for shotgun lateral swing passes that are run from the shotgun.

These guys are getting paid the big dollars to lose at home to Iowa State. They must be good offensive coaches! We have TO. He was standing in the hallway when a fan went by the post game press conference and heard the YOU SUCK WATSON!

 

Just smile and be happy baby B is splitting 50-1! Maybe Warren will give TO 250 million like Boone Pickens did at OSU

[Pedro Guerrero]

I would take our O line and Colins Okafor and any of the backs ahead of him and we would have won at VT beat TT and IS! Rob Zatecha said this week end on tv that they are physically capable.

 

But hey what the hell do I know? I am just sayin they are not that bad and niether is the execution of late on run blocking. Hard to block for shotgun lateral swing passes that are run from the shotgun.

These guys are getting paid the big dollars to lose at home to Iowa State. They must be good offensive coaches! We have TO. He was standing in the hallway when a fan went by the post game press conference and heard the YOU SUCK WATSON!

 

Just smile and be happy baby B is splitting 50-1! Maybe Warren will give TO 250 million like Boone Pickens did at OSU

 

I don't understand a word you just said. I do believe I saw that you are a good enough to coach that you could take out 6th string RB and beat Beamer, Leech and Paul Rhodes though.

[Enhance]

The problem is not Cotton in my honest opinion. The problem for me will always revert back to the playbook.

 

320 plays is far too many plays to know. I mean, could you imagine trying to memorize 320 plays? Granted, they use similar terminology to describe what is going on in a play, but that is still a fantastic amount of plays.

 

As I said in another thread, our team is average at everything and great at nothing, because they spend too much time trying to do everything. Which means, in my eyes, we have a 50/50 chance of being successful on any given play because we don't run it to perfection nor are we great at that play, we are just average at it.

 

 

One of the problems IS Cotton. When has he EVER shown to be competent as a coach?

 

And we do NOT have 320 plays to remember. We have a ton of the same plays, just ran out of different formations and according to personnel. It was the same exact way in the Callahan era. Everyone complained about that, but so many of our plays were the same, but only had small differences due to formation.

 

Heck, the playbook was the same way in the Osborne era in how we had pretty much the same plays just ran out of different formations constantly.

If Cotton is a problem on offense then every single offensive coach should lose their job as well, because every thing is failing. Line isn't blocking, WR's aren't blocking or catching, TE's are getting out of place on blocking schemes, and our quarterbacks have lackluster performances. Get rid of Cotton and you may as well git rid of all of them.

 

If the the playbook and offensive scheme is not the problem, then explain why players are constantly out of position and why one or two guys look generally confused on any given play? This team runs almost every formation/set known to man, and so far we have proven we are average at best in every formation. We aren't great at ANYTHING on the football field offensively. We have no identity and the playbook/what is expected of these players is unrealistic. Maybe it would work for an NFL team, but it isn't working here, and it didn't always work on Bill Callahan either. We had plenty of games where our offense just looked down right embarrassing.

 

I have faith in who Bo hires. If there was somebody better out there that he could have gotten to be an o-line coach, I'm sure he would have gotten it. There are plenty of coaches out there who would kill for jobs like that because it leads to bigger and better things eventually.

 

After all, Bill Callahan was an o-line coach .

[EZ-E]

Self delete

[I am I]

here's the thing that I see---we don't really ever get our running backs into the "2nd level"---

 

we're all Husker Fans so I assume we all know what that means...

 

Watching Oregon and KSU, their backs were able to run through big and small holes and get into the level of the LBs and DBs and get into open space...it seems to me whatever play we run (read option out of the gun, or a sprint option w/ Cody or whatever) that we never get our guys in 1 on 1 matchups past the friggin line of scrimmage.

 

I will say however that Helu did get to the second level numerous times against VT and, obviously, he had a very big day numbers wise.

 

I think our Line doesn't get a good enough initial push coupled with the plays that are called don't get our guys in open space enough times to make the gashing 7-12 yd runs. If the Line could move the Dline back, and the RBs could get in open space, we would see A LOT of our offense open up.

[knapplc]

I am I, you're right on. Watch how many times, against just about every foe and especially against ISU, Baylor and TT, our ball carrier was swarmed by multiple tacklers. They knew where the ball was going all too well. We are doing a terrible job of mixing up our plays. It seems like from whatever formation we're in, we only run one/three plays, so the defenders just have to watch some film, recognize the formation, and defend against one or two possibilities.

 

The worst thing is, those possibilities aren't so dissimilar that by cheating toward one they give up another.

[bshirt]

The problem is not Cotton in my honest opinion. The problem for me will always revert back to the playbook.

 

320 plays is far too many plays to know. I mean, could you imagine trying to memorize 320 plays? Granted, they use similar terminology to describe what is going on in a play, but that is still a fantastic amount of plays.

 

As I said in another thread, our team is average at everything and great at nothing, because they spend too much time trying to do everything. Which means, in my eyes, we have a 50/50 chance of being successful on any given play because we don't run it to perfection nor are we great at that play, we are just average at it.

 

 

One of the problems IS Cotton. When has he EVER shown to be competent as a coach?

 

And we do NOT have 320 plays to remember. We have a ton of the same plays, just ran out of different formations and according to personnel. It was the same exact way in the Callahan era. Everyone complained about that, but so many of our plays were the same, but only had small differences due to formation.

 

Heck, the playbook was the same way in the Osborne era in how we had pretty much the same plays just ran out of different formations constantly.

If Cotton is a problem on offense then every single offensive coach should lose their job as well, because every thing is failing. Line isn't blocking, WR's aren't blocking or catching, TE's are getting out of place on blocking schemes, and our quarterbacks have lackluster performances. Get rid of Cotton and you may as well git rid of all of them.

If the the playbook and offensive scheme is not the problem, then explain why players are constantly out of position and why one or two guys look generally confused on any given play? This team runs almost every formation/set known to man, and so far we have proven we are average at best in every formation. We aren't great at ANYTHING on the football field offensively. We have no identity and the playbook/what is expected of these players is unrealistic. Maybe it would work for an NFL team, but it isn't working here, and it didn't always work on Bill Callahan either. We had plenty of games where our offense just looked down right embarrassing.

 

I have faith in who Bo hires. If there was somebody better out there that he could have gotten to be an o-line coach, I'm sure he would have gotten it. There are plenty of coaches out there who would kill for jobs like that because it leads to bigger and better things eventually.

 

After all, Bill Callahan was an o-line coach .

 

100% agreed.

 

"Nobody" on our offense is performing even remotely close to competent. The OLine can't block, the qb can't pass, the wrs can't catch, the rbs can't run, penalties, dropped balls, fumbles, etc, etc. It's amazing that somehow so many pin everything on Cotton the Oline coach. But hey, when things are this bad....I suppose why not??

 

This offense has been a huge joke every time we played a decent to good defense since we brought in Callahan and the wco. We have no identify and no trump. We do everything and do nothing well at all. A jack of all trades and a master of none. Being "Nebraska" means nothing now. Just another marginal fluffball team.....ho hum.

 

I believe Bo makes the needed changes immediately after this year is over. The defense has been salvaged from the pits of endless miserable distress. Now it's time for the offense....

[T_O_Bull]

I feel the problem with the offensive line may reside in the talent level of the players we have. Too much attention has been directed at recruiting for the skill positions as is evidenced by the number of freshmen/redshirt freshmen that have been getting playing time. I think it takes longer to develop good linemen but once the pipeline is filled a lot of good things start happening. Give Barney a chance.

T_O_B

[Hunter94]

How difficult it is to learn depends on the Terminology. There are Huge playbooks used by H.S. Teams because the Terminology is easy to understand.

 

Majority of the Blocking responsibilities have to do with where the defense is lining up.

 

The Line isn't executing proper technique. That and penalties are killing them.

 

 

and that translates into piss poor coaching......no other excuse, basics, execution, how hard can it be?

[Hunter94]

The problem is not Cotton in my honest opinion. The problem for me will always revert back to the playbook.

 

320 plays is far too many plays to know. I mean, could you imagine trying to memorize 320 plays? Granted, they use similar terminology to describe what is going on in a play, but that is still a fantastic amount of plays.

 

As I said in another thread, our team is average at everything and great at nothing, because they spend too much time trying to do everything. Which means, in my eyes, we have a 50/50 chance of being successful on any given play because we don't run it to perfection nor are we great at that play, we are just average at it.

 

 

One of the problems IS Cotton. When has he EVER shown to be competent as a coach?

 

And we do NOT have 320 plays to remember. We have a ton of the same plays, just ran out of different formations and according to personnel. It was the same exact way in the Callahan era. Everyone complained about that, but so many of our plays were the same, but only had small differences due to formation.

 

Heck, the playbook was the same way in the Osborne era in how we had pretty much the same plays just ran out of different formations constantly.

If Cotton is a problem on offense then every single offensive coach should lose their job as well, because every thing is failing. Line isn't blocking, WR's aren't blocking or catching, TE's are getting out of place on blocking schemes, and our quarterbacks have lackluster performances. Get rid of Cotton and you may as well git rid of all of them.

If the the playbook and offensive scheme is not the problem, then explain why players are constantly out of position and why one or two guys look generally confused on any given play? This team runs almost every formation/set known to man, and so far we have proven we are average at best in every formation. We aren't great at ANYTHING on the football field offensively. We have no identity and the playbook/what is expected of these players is unrealistic. Maybe it would work for an NFL team, but it isn't working here, and it didn't always work on Bill Callahan either. We had plenty of games where our offense just looked down right embarrassing.

 

I have faith in who Bo hires. If there was somebody better out there that he could have gotten to be an o-line coach, I'm sure he would have gotten it. There are plenty of coaches out there who would kill for jobs like that because it leads to bigger and better things eventually.

 

After all, Bill Callahan was an o-line coach .

 

100% agreed.

 

"Nobody" on our offense is performing even remotely close to competent. The OLine can't block, the qb can't pass, the wrs can't catch, the rbs can't run, penalties, dropped balls, fumbles, etc, etc. It's amazing that somehow so many pin everything on Cotton the Oline coach. But hey, when things are this bad....I suppose why not??

 

This offense has been a huge joke every time we played a decent to good defense since we brought in Callahan and the wco. We have no identify and no trump. We do everything and do nothing well at all. A jack of all trades and a master of none. Being "Nebraska" means nothing now. Just another marginal fluffball team.....ho hum.

 

I believe Bo makes the needed changes immediately after this year is over. The defense has been salvaged from the pits of endless miserable distress. Now it's time for the offense....

 

 

agreed, maybe wats and cotton just don't get it......why keep doing the same $hit when it is not effective?

i never understood that....

[TheCheshireCat]

I'm pretty sure the biggest problem we have is the fact our top 3 backs are injured or gone for good and even our 4th string is banged up. You can't expect 5th and 6th string backs to come out and get 200 yard games. If we had this running game we wouldn't have to rely on the passing game of inexperienced QB's and WR's and we could run down the clock and let our D take care of the rest. Just unfortunate, I don't know if it's anyone's "fault."

[zoogs]

I think our problems are a lot bigger than that.

 

We're missing Bill Callahan here, admit it or not. He's doing a damn good job coaching OL for the Jets. [see a mention here]

 

Now I'm as glad as any of you that he's out as HC and we've got Bo. But we really got to get someone who can coach our O-line like that and not like Barney.

[Danimal]

I'm pretty sure the biggest problem we have is the fact our top 3 backs are injured or gone for good and even our 4th string is banged up. You can't expect 5th and 6th string backs to come out and get 200 yard games. If we had this running game we wouldn't have to rely on the passing game of inexperienced QB's and WR's and we could run down the clock and let our D take care of the rest. Just unfortunate, I don't know if it's anyone's "fault."

 

This O obviously has other problems. But if we had a healthy combo of Helu, Castille, and Burkhead playing we'd likely be humming-along at 7-1 with wins over VT and ISU.