Direction of our offense

[sarge87]

#@$%^%#@# Dbl Post

[sarge87]

The article was also in today's Journal Star, so here it is.

 

 

Bo Pelini expressed confidence Saturday in where this Husker offense is headed after this season.

 

"I have a pretty clear vision of what's going to happen there," Pelini said after Saturday's practice.

 

Does Pelini feel he's on the same page with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson?

 

"Oh, yeah. There's no doubt," Pelini said, noting that the vision a coach has when a season starts sometimes has to be tinkered with to match personnel.

 

"You can't do things overnight and make adjustments overnight," Pelini said. "We've been on the same page. We always will be on the same page because we communicate real well and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Wats. I like the direction where we're headed. Slowly but surely you start moving in that direction."

 

Watson said on Wednesday he envisions a future offense "that spreads the field and spreads the offense out ... so that's what we want to be. I think that's what you have to do to win. Because you can run and pass equally as well out of it. That's where we need to go."

 

Nebraska has rushed the football on almost 70 percent of its plays since the Baylor game, leaving out most spread formations in favor of heavy sets. The I-formation suddenly became a prominent piece for the Huskers in several games.

"You always got to do what you got to do to win games," Pelini said. "But I see us being a lot more diversified going forward. There's certain things that I know we have to do for the long-term future of our program, and building through those strengths. I know what those are and I know where I want it to head. Is that necessarily the strength of our football team this year? Not necessarily. But there are a lot of issues that come up with in that regard."

 

As for the run-pass ratio? "I want to be 50-50," Pelini said. "But I know one thing: In this football program, I want to be a physical football team and I want to be able to run the football. Believe me, I understand the need to throw the ball. Everybody needs to have to throw the football. But that's my No. 1 priority going forward is we're going to have a way, we're going to be committed to, and we're going to be able to run the football on people when we want to. And that's the key to a good football team. A good offense, believe me you got to have multiplicity. But when I say 50-50 I mean that when we want to run it we can run it, we can do it effectively. And we can throw it. We have all the tools available to us to throw the football. That's what has to be done. How do that, there's a lot of different ways you can do that. ...

 

"Are we going to be limited to running the zone read going forward? No. I promise you it ain't going to be limited to that."

 

Is Alabama's current offense a good model of what Pelini's looking for?

 

"Yeah. I think that's why they win. You look at Florida when they've won. You look at the teams that have won national championships. They've always had that element to their game. They've been able to run the football. It's pretty hard these days to have a consistent offense when you don't have any running game. You're not going to be a good football team. You're going to struggle against teams that know what they're doing defensively."

 

 

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extr...ce_in_wats.html

Here's a companion piece that fills in a few gaps from the OWH.

Late ’09 no trend for NU offense

 

By Mitch Sherman

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

<< Big Red Today

LINCOLN — For a brief sequence last week in practice, the Nebraska offense resembled something other than the 102nd-ranked unit that barely cracked triple digits in yardage against Texas.

 

The first-team NU offense lined up against the Blackshirts on an otherwise inconsequential Wednesday in December. The assignment: Get a first down.

 

The offense did. On the first play.

 

Fluke?

 

The offense went back and did it again — in three plays.

 

“I was proud of the offense,” junior tight end Mike McNeill said.

 

And he means it. This was not an exercise in confidence-building. The defenders, who carried Nebraska to nine wins and the brink of a Big 12 title, wanted a stop just as badly as McNeill and his mates strived for that first down.

 

Yes, progress comes in small steps this month for a maligned NU offense, which, through 13 games this season, has produced a 41-year low of 317.2 yards per game.

 

The Huskers face many questions about their offense in the upcoming offseason. Most notably this one: What style suits Nebraska best, and how NU can persuade potential recruits to play in it?

 

But from the sound of things Saturday as Nebraska began its five-day rest from practice, some of the biggest offseason questions about the offense are already answered. Coach Bo Pelini slammed the door on speculation that he and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson don’t share a future vision.

 

“We’ve been on the same page, and we will always will be on the same page because we communicate real well,” Pelini said. “I have a tremendous amount of confidence in (Watson).

 

“I like the direction of where we’re headed. Slowly but surely, you’ve got to start moving in that direction, and we’re doing it.”

 

The direction, more and more clearly, appears toward a style of offense similar to what NU operated in 2008 to the tune of 35 points and 450 yards per game.

 

“We want to be a team that spreads the field, spreads the offense out,” Watson said. “I think that’s what you have to do to win.”

 

NU coaches and players agree the Huskers reverted to an offensive style in the second half of this season that gave them the best chance to win — not to build.

 

“Let’s just be honest about it,” quarterback Zac Lee said, “our defense is great.”

 

The offense? Not so great. So Nebraska packed it in, relying on a conservative plan that produced an average of 107 passing yards over the final six games.

 

The Huskers won the first five and lost 13-12 to Texas on a last-second, 46-yard field goal.

 

Still, there’s no sentiment to make permanent the NU offense of the past two months.

 

“I see us being a lot more diversified as we go forward,” Pelini said.

 

Said McNeill: “We’ve got to throw the ball and get back to more of the passing game.”

 

Watson said the Huskers would not “apologize for what we’ve had to do.”

 

“It produced five wins at a really critical time,” the third-year coordinator said. “Basically, we had to manage the game to put us in a position to win. We made that real clear. But that’s not me at all. That’s not our staff. That’s not the direction we want to (go).”

 

According to Pelini, priority No. 1 is a potent running game. Pelini promised that Nebraska would not limit its rushing attack to the finesse-style zone read.

 

“I want to be 50-50,” he said, “but I know one thing: In this football program, I want to be physical and I want to be able to run the football.

 

“Look at the teams that won national championships. They’ve always had that element to their games. It’s pretty hard these days to have a consistent offense if you don’t have a running game.”

 

As for recruiting to the offense, Pelini said it’s not as difficult as you might think, even as just six of the Huskers’ 16 oral commitments appear pegged to play offense.

 

Nebraska lost its quarterback pledge of six months recently as Tyler Gabbert defected to Missouri. And top receiver Curtis Carter backed out of an NU commitment after the Big 12 title game. Offensively, the Huskers count commitments from three linemen, one tight end and two receivers.

 

According to Pelini, it’s not a problem. With space to sign a class in February of no more than 20, NU remains on track to add offensive skill players.

 

In separate interviews last week, Pelini and Watson said the Huskers would add a quarterback to this recruiting class if they found the right fit. But with five returning players at the position on scholarship, it’s not a necessity.

 

Recruiting coordinator Ted Gilmore declined a request to discuss recruiting.

 

“Believe it or not,” Pelini said, “we’ve had a really good reception on the offensive side of the ball. We’ve just got to go find the people that fit your vision of the future. There’s a lot of trust from the kids with where we’re headed offensively.”

 

NU is set to return 10 offensive starters next year. The depth chart lists only six seniors among the top 32 players. Naysayers would point out that it’s debatable if such continuity should be considered a positive sign after this fall’s performance.

 

McNeill says it is. Remember, he believes in small steps.

 

“I think we will get there,” McNeill said. “Guys are growing up. Guys are getting more playing time and experience. I think we’ll be good. I think, obviously, we’ll be improved, guys will step up and this offense will come around.”

[Huskerdownunder]

The article was also in today's Journal Star, so here it is.

 

 

"But I see us being a lot more diversified going forward."

 

 

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extr...ce_in_wats.html

 

 

im confused? watson wants a spread attack but pelini says he wants a power run game with a 50-50 ratio of pass with it and he says there on the same page...am i missing something?

Spread does not always mean throwing the ball.

 

Florida runs the "spread" and ran the ball 521 times to 328 passes.

 

Oklahoma St runs a "spread" a lot and ran the ball 527 times to 304 passes

 

Oregon runs the "spread" and ran 514 times to 318 passes.

 

Michigan runs the "spread" and ran 494 times to 329 passes

 

Even one of the greatest offenses of all time last year, with a Heisman trophy winning quarterback, Oklahoma ran 589 times to 517 passes.

 

 

From what i gathered:

 

Diversified, not one or the other. Power run, draw in defenses, throw from spread/PA/option + mix it up after good execution = how he wants to do it.

 

Sounds like a plan, just need an awesome O-line to get all of this started.

[Huskerdownunder]

The article was also in today's Journal Star, so here it is.

 

 

"But I see us being a lot more diversified going forward."

 

 

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extr...ce_in_wats.html

 

 

im confused? watson wants a spread attack but pelini says he wants a power run game with a 50-50 ratio of pass with it and he says there on the same page...am i missing something?

Spread does not always mean throwing the ball.

 

Florida runs the "spread" and ran the ball 521 times to 328 passes.

 

Oklahoma St runs a "spread" a lot and ran the ball 527 times to 304 passes

 

Oregon runs the "spread" and ran 514 times to 318 passes.

 

Michigan runs the "spread" and ran 494 times to 329 passes

 

Even one of the greatest offenses of all time last year, with a Heisman trophy winning quarterback, Oklahoma ran 589 times to 517 passes.

 

 

From what i gathered:

 

Diversified, not one or the other. Power run, draw in defenses, throw from spread/PA/option + mix it up after good execution = how he wants to do it.

 

Sounds like a plan, just need an awesome O-line to get all of this started.

[zoogs]

im confused? watson wants a spread attack but pelini says he wants a power run game with a 50-50 ratio of pass with it and he says there on the same page...am i missing something?

 

 

yea for being on the same page their views were a lil different

 

Haha, that's because both of you COMPLETELY invented the part where Bo said he wants a power run game and the part where Watson said he wants to pass all the time.

 

 

Seriously, Bo's concern is the defense. He's probably about as hands-on and taking charge of the offense as Bill Callahan was with the defense in his years. But he is the head coach and he has to assert command in steering our ship.

 

Being "physical" does NOT mean committing to a power run. Spread teams are "not physical"? Really?! Football is such a physical game on so many levels, and there's not one style of offense that involves "let's play soft and lovingly", except at the pop warner level. Maybe (I don't know, some of those youtube videos of 5-year old kids laying out other kids...)

 

All Bo is saying that he and Watson are on the same page, and they are both saying nothing different. Our offensive goal is to be multiple (sorry - diversified), to be physical. Remember our 2005 or 2006 campaign was all about "pounding the rock"? Did that mean we were running power sets all the time and going all old school? Hardly. Albeit they said it pretty deliberately, in a way likely to be acceptable. And that's part of their job as coaches - handling the PR aspect of things. Pretty delicate when you consider how the O faired this year.

 

A lot of Husker fans are really, unheathily obsessed with this idea of "Dr. Tom and Bo share a vision, we're going back to a base power running attack with some option sprinkled in." I wish we could really stop clinging to the past like that and just drop those delusions. NU fans more than most have this problem. We've a proud, proud tradition but let's not get suffocated in nostalgia to the point where we cannot accept anything else.

 

Nebraska killed it back in the day. But, it's important to acknowledge that worked when we had the BEST facilities in the country, churning out the meanest, toughest, most physical SOBs anywhere doesn't necessarily produce the same results anymore. That doesn't mean we don't want to strive to be tough and physical. But we're not going to grab a dozen corn-fed boys from our back yard and churn out cream-of-the-crop physical specimen when every school and their eastern technological branch has caught up in S&C. The disparity there is gone and we can't simply expect to impose our physical will on everyone anymore. You often hear this about HS recruits, that they are "just getting by with their physical skills but won't be able to do that anymore in college". Same situation. (I am speaking directly to Barney now, who needs to instill technical discipline and skill in our o-line on top of just attitude)

 

Hence, being smart, being multiple. Have a little faith in our HC & OC. Those two are extremely intelligent guys who know what they are doing.

[Nexus]

im confused? watson wants a spread attack but pelini says he wants a power run game with a 50-50 ratio of pass with it and he says there on the same page...am i missing something?

 

 

yea for being on the same page their views were a lil different

 

Haha, that's because both of you COMPLETELY invented the part where Bo said he wants a power run game and the part where Watson said he wants to pass all the time.

 

 

Seriously, Bo's concern is the defense. He's probably about as hands-on and taking charge of the offense as Bill Callahan was with the defense in his years. But he is the head coach and he has to assert command in steering our ship.

 

Being "physical" does NOT mean committing to a power run. Spread teams are "not physical"? Really?! Football is such a physical game on so many levels, and there's not one style of offense that involves "let's play soft and lovingly", except at the pop warner level. Maybe (I don't know, some of those youtube videos of 5-year old kids laying out other kids...)

 

All Bo is saying that he and Watson are on the same page, and they are both saying nothing different. Our offensive goal is to be multiple (sorry - diversified), to be physical. Remember our 2005 or 2006 campaign was all about "pounding the rock"? Did that mean we were running power sets all the time and going all old school? Hardly. Albeit they said it pretty deliberately, in a way likely to be acceptable. And that's part of their job as coaches - handling the PR aspect of things. Pretty delicate when you consider how the O faired this year.

 

A lot of Husker fans are really, unheathily obsessed with this idea of "Dr. Tom and Bo share a vision, we're going back to a base power running attack with some option sprinkled in." I wish we could really stop clinging to the past like that and just drop those delusions. NU fans more than most have this problem. We've a proud, proud tradition but let's not get suffocated in nostalgia to the point where we cannot accept anything else.

 

Nebraska killed it back in the day. But, it's important to acknowledge that worked when we had the BEST facilities in the country, churning out the meanest, toughest, most physical SOBs anywhere doesn't necessarily produce the same results anymore. That doesn't mean we don't want to strive to be tough and physical. But we're not going to grab a dozen corn-fed boys from our back yard and churn out cream-of-the-crop physical specimen when every school and their eastern technological branch has caught up in S&C. The disparity there is gone and we can't simply expect to impose our physical will on everyone anymore. You often hear this about HS recruits, that they are "just getting by with their physical skills but won't be able to do that anymore in college". Same situation. (I am speaking directly to Barney now, who needs to instill technical discipline and skill in our o-line on top of just attitude)

 

Hence, being smart, being multiple. Have a little faith in our HC & OC. Those two are extremely intelligent guys who know what they are doing.

 

 

Just finished reading a Charlie McBride interview from a few years ago that Huskerpedia conducted. Great read for those of you who haven't already read it, I highly suggest reading it. Anyway, the very end of the interview really hit the nail on the head as it pertains to our fans. It went without saying back then, and it still applies with the current administration as well.

 

HP: Is there anything that I didn’t ask that you would want to add or a message to deliver to Nebraska fans?

 

CM: I just feel because of our tradition the more positive we can be about our program; the more we will maintain the great tradition we have. The more negative talk that we have around the program, the more it will tear that tradition down. The one thing I hate to see is how being negative affects the players and coaches. The players are there for their four or five years, something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. We should try to make it as positive as you can for them. When they go through the negative aspects it really makes their college career exasperating. At the end of last year the light went on and all of a sudden things started to fit together. They beat Colorado and Michigan. What excitement. That’s pretty good duty. I just hope everybody stays positive with our players and the coaching staff. Go Red!!!

 

http://www.huskerpedia.com/interviews/Charlie_McBride.html

[Nexus]

double post

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

On rivals it says that pelini talks about what direction we are going to go with for our offense anybody with a subscribtion know what it says?

I'm thinking whatever direction the endzone is, that's the direction we need to be moving

[Igetbored216]

All Bo is saying that he and Watson are on the same page, and they are both saying nothing different. Our offensive goal is to be multiple (sorry - diversified), to be physical. Remember our 2005 or 2006 campaign was all about "pounding the rock"? Did that mean we were running power sets all the time and going all old school? Hardly. Albeit they said it pretty deliberately, in a way likely to be acceptable. And that's part of their job as coaches - handling the PR aspect of things. Pretty delicate when you consider how the O faired this year.

 

Yeah, that being multiplie/diversified thing worked wonders this year. Hopefully it works as good next year as it did this year.............

[zoogs]

Has anyone even suggested otherwise?...what's your point?

[Igetbored216]

Has anyone even suggested otherwise?...what's your point?

 

Nope, never said anyone did.

 

My point is what makes Pelini and these coaches think it will work next year when the players they currently have didn't show any signs of progressing during the year or even that they were starting to "get it"?

 

We will have recruited MAYBE seven offensive players at most for this next recruiting class, where are these players that can run the system going to come from?

 

Sorry, I have huge doubts about this offensive staffs' abilities and I'm not sure how much Pelini will be able to help. I hope I am proven wrong next year...

[zoogs]

The thing is that this year, nothing worked.

 

From that perspective, the problem does not lie in the scheming/philosophy end of things. Watson did manage to find the one thing that didn't blow up in our faces. So what I got for your post - a criticism of seeking to be multiple/diverse - I would question that this assertion is supported.

 

I agree with you though that the staff's abilities to get their pieces into working order is really questionable. That's Barney for his completely clueless OL (seriously, how many penalties?!) and Gilmore for his lazy, unproductive receivers. I wouldn't take that totally off the players' shoulders either because it never is totally off their shoulders, really.

 

On the recruiting note, though, the fact that we recruited seven offensive players is completely appropriate. Heading into next year we have fifteen more scholarship players on O than on D. Those numbers have to be balanced out. We have tons of scholarship RBs and WRs - a bit unfortunate that most of them don't do anything. Optimistic about some of the young WRs though, not so much about the RBs (Ward, Okafor, Mendoza).

 

I also agree that I don't know how much Pelini is in position to help. Pelini can do a lot as the HC, but in a different and more peripheral capacity than the OC. That said, I guess we should wait to see what happens with the Jeff Sims rumors...where he would help out with this staff.

[bshirt]

All Bo is saying that he and Watson are on the same page, and they are both saying nothing different. Our offensive goal is to be multiple (sorry - diversified), to be physical. Remember our 2005 or 2006 campaign was all about "pounding the rock"? Did that mean we were running power sets all the time and going all old school? Hardly. Albeit they said it pretty deliberately, in a way likely to be acceptable. And that's part of their job as coaches - handling the PR aspect of things. Pretty delicate when you consider how the O faired this year.

 

Yeah, that being multiplie/diversified thing worked wonders this year. Hopefully it works as good next year as it did this year.............

 

Yeah, good thing we dumped smashmouth/option so we can be "multiple". It got our offense this year to a 112th national ranking!!

 

Who needs TO's "run the ball" offense?

[Vince from ShamWOW]

im confused? watson wants a spread attack but pelini says he wants a power run game with a 50-50 ratio of pass with it and he says there on the same page...am i missing something?

 

 

They may be on the same page. However they are reading two different books.

[huskerjack23]

All Bo is saying that he and Watson are on the same page, and they are both saying nothing different. Our offensive goal is to be multiple (sorry - diversified), to be physical. Remember our 2005 or 2006 campaign was all about "pounding the rock"? Did that mean we were running power sets all the time and going all old school? Hardly. Albeit they said it pretty deliberately, in a way likely to be acceptable. And that's part of their job as coaches - handling the PR aspect of things. Pretty delicate when you consider how the O faired this year.

 

Yeah, that being multiplie/diversified thing worked wonders this year. Hopefully it works as good next year as it did this year.............

 

Yeah, good thing we dumped smashmouth/option so we can be "multiple". It got our offense this year to a 112th national ranking!!

 

Who needs TO's "run the ball" offense?

wasn't the offense ranked in the top 15 in 08? your argument is invalid.