Am I the only one not a fan of Shawn Watson?

[Billyball]

I love all of this crap about Watson. Did anyone not realize how banged up we were on the OL last season? What about losing a huge part of your offense before the season even started? What about the injuries to Burkhead and Helu? What about Zac Lee's arm? It was shot; he couldnt get a clean grip on the ball. He tore what is thought of as the ACL of your arm. Would you be giving as much sh#t to a RB that tore his ACL as you would Zac Lee and Watson? No.

 

Bo pulled the leash on Watson awful tight after the Iowa State game. The staff knew what had to be done and that was to chuck the egos and simplify the offense, play field position and let the defense win us games.

 

1) And you know this how?

 

2) And we can expect a great offense this year due to great QB/OL play?

 

The truth is we sucked on O last year and we sucked badly. Any true fan is just hoping for improvement and not making excuses. I hope we are better but I'll believe it when I see it!

[TheCheshireCat]

Wait to see what happens this year before we pass judgment.

[deedsker15]

When Watson was held over from the previous staff I thought it was a good move. He fielded an excellent product in 2008. Last year was a mixture of injuries and a decided effort to let the defense win the game when it became obvious the offense couldn't. I'm not saying I even agreed with the strategy, but there were other games where another turnover would have netted us an 8-win season. He called a brilliant game against Arizona. That team was flat run over by both coordinators.

 

This season will cement Watson's immediate future at least in the minds of fans. I think the offense has something to prove this year. If they phone in another season like last year, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a shakeup. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but you can't allow the Brothers' Pelini defensive genius to be wasted on an offense that can't put two touchdowns on the board.

Really? What great or even good defense did that team beat? Missou? Oklahoma?

 

When it comes down to it Callahan/Watson offenses have lost to every great defense they ever played.

 

Even the bowl game how many times did Nebraska have to settle on a FG?

I'd take a 12th ranked offense over 99th

It's not hard being 12th when you havent played anyone. Look at the OU game where NU stats look great, but the game was over before the second quarter.

 

There used to be a guy on the radio who kept stats of NFL games where

 

A team that had a QB throw for more then 300 yards would most likely be on the losing end compared to team that had a 100 yard rusher.

 

The reasoning is that the team that's behind throws every down and take more chances because they have no choice and are compiling yards between the 20's

 

 

Remember a decade ago NU played a team that had a receiver catch a ungodly amount of yards against NU in Lincoln.

 

The Bulldogs, behind the explosive combination of quarterback Tim Rattay and wide receiver Troy Edwards, closed the Husker lead to 35-21. Edwards set an NCAA record with 405 yards on 21 catches, while Rattay completed 46 of 68 passes for 590 yards. Edwards' receiving yards broke the previous NCAA mark of 363 yards held by UNLV's Randy Gatewood against Idaho. Edwards' 21 catches were two shy of Gatewood's NCAA record 23 receptions.

 

NU had a 35-6 halftime lead and the game was over so did those stats mean anything? I'm betting they finished in the top 15 that year to.

 

Stats do not tell the whole story

Yes, we understand that, and thank you for the anecdote, but you're lying if you say you wouldn't prefer the 08 offense over last year's.

Their really the same offense and your lying to yourself if you think the outcome against Texas or V tech would have changed if Nebraska still had Ganz at the helm last year since they both had great defenses. I'm willing to say the Iowa State game would have been a win.

 

Texas Tech? probably same outcome. Remember Ganz scored more td's against the NU defense then any opponents QB.

So you really think if we had the 08 offense with last year's defense the only difference in record is a win over ISU? Ganz couldn't have done better than 17 completions for 175 yds, 34% completion, 0 TDs, and 5 INTs against UT and VaTech? I think you might be in the minority here.

Nope I have complete faith in Watson and Ganz to turn a close game into a blowout for the other team. Example Ganz OU 2008, Missou 2008, Colorado 2007 he even tried Clemson 2008 but good thing they were a 7-5 team and not a great defense.

 

Virginia Tech got on the board first when Virgil blocked a Dan Titchener punt for a safey with 8:35 remaining in the first quarter. After the Husker defense forced a three-and-out following the free kick, Macho Harris picked off a Ganz pass and returned it to the NU 5. Three plays later, Darren Evans found the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run to give the Hokies an early 9-0 lead.

 

Missouri's high-powered offense operated with machine-like precision, as the No. 4 Tigers ended a 30-year losing streak in Lincoln with a 52-17 victory over Nebraska on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. How does a team that rated in the top 15 in offense not score more then 17 at home in a night game?

 

On NU's possession, Ganz overshot wide receiver Nate Swift on his first attempt, before running from heavy pressure on the Huskers' second play of the drive. Ganz flipped the ball up the field in an attempt to avoid the sack, but his pass was intercepted by Texas Tech to end the game and NU's hopes of an impressive upset. The interception was the only turnover of the game by either team and it ended an otherwise impressive performance by Ganz.

 

Norman, Okla. - No. 4 Oklahoma capitalized on a pair of early mistakes by Nebraska and rolled to a 62-28 victory over the Huskers at Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

 

This is what this offense does.

did you watch that play...oklahoma SAW that play coming...why? We ran it all the time. They saw something on film and knew what we were doing before the ball was snapped...another example of watson using the same thing over and over again

[AR Husker Fan]

***SNIP***

 

I also lay it at Barney's feet. As unqualified as Bill Callahan was as our program's HC, he was simply a masterful OL technician and our OL play benefited from his presence here. In comes Barney and he directly criticize's the master's approach, telling his OL to not focus on techniques and details and just play hard. I'll bet the players loved that, but everyone paid for it on Saturdays. Good thing too we have seen (I think) a change of approach and some consulting from Milt Tenopir with the OLs. So in both cases the future looks bright, although from my uneducated perspective I would say the OL's future looks brighter - given the recent and current recruiting and the consulting from Milt Tenopir. Our resident insider BigWillie has been thoroughly critical of

 

***SNIP***

 

While fingers can be pointed all over the offense, I can't fault the plays called - I can fault the fact that we can't seem to put a complete series together without some silly penalty on the line (jumping the count seems to have been the major one) or the inability to open a hole or prevent a pass rush at critical times. A lot of that has to do with the injuries - but a lot has to do with mental focus and technique as well.

 

With a dominate line, a lot of the problems simply disappear.

[Husker_x]

***SNIP***

 

I also lay it at Barney's feet. As unqualified as Bill Callahan was as our program's HC, he was simply a masterful OL technician and our OL play benefited from his presence here. In comes Barney and he directly criticize's the master's approach, telling his OL to not focus on techniques and details and just play hard. I'll bet the players loved that, but everyone paid for it on Saturdays. Good thing too we have seen (I think) a change of approach and some consulting from Milt Tenopir with the OLs. So in both cases the future looks bright, although from my uneducated perspective I would say the OL's future looks brighter - given the recent and current recruiting and the consulting from Milt Tenopir. Our resident insider BigWillie has been thoroughly critical of

 

***SNIP***

 

While fingers can be pointed all over the offense, I can't fault the plays called - I can fault the fact that we can't seem to put a complete series together without some silly penalty on the line (jumping the count seems to have been the major one) or the inability to open a hole or prevent a pass rush at critical times. A lot of that has to do with the injuries - but a lot has to do with mental focus and technique as well.

 

With a dominate line, a lot of the problems simply disappear.

 

As much as I try to explain our offensive failings away––and to be fair, there are explanations available––and as much as I hope it improves with the outside consultations, I still can't shake the feeling that our offense will see a coaching shakeup before we win a title. Hope that's not the case, but we have some question marks in Gilmore and Cotton.

[RedDenver]

The more things change - the more they stay the same. Insert Osborne for Watson and triple option for WCO, and this would be the same discussion as most off-seasons from 1987-1993. Although I don't remember it, I'm willing to bet 1974-1980 were similar.

[Cob Mob]

***SNIP***

 

I also lay it at Barney's feet. As unqualified as Bill Callahan was as our program's HC, he was simply a masterful OL technician and our OL play benefited from his presence here. In comes Barney and he directly criticize's the master's approach, telling his OL to not focus on techniques and details and just play hard. I'll bet the players loved that, but everyone paid for it on Saturdays. Good thing too we have seen (I think) a change of approach and some consulting from Milt Tenopir with the OLs. So in both cases the future looks bright, although from my uneducated perspective I would say the OL's future looks brighter - given the recent and current recruiting and the consulting from Milt Tenopir. Our resident insider BigWillie has been thoroughly critical of

 

***SNIP***

 

While fingers can be pointed all over the offense, I can't fault the plays called - I can fault the fact that we can't seem to put a complete series together without some silly penalty on the line (jumping the count seems to have been the major one) or the inability to open a hole or prevent a pass rush at critical times. A lot of that has to do with the injuries - but a lot has to do with mental focus and technique as well.

 

With a dominate line, a lot of the problems simply disappear.

 

Right here. It's hard to do much of anything with an INEPT O line. Yes yes, our QB had a severed limb in his throwing arm... Yes our two main weapons at RB were disintegrated for a good portion of the year.. etc etc. It doesn't matter a hill of beans with the O line performance we had. I assume most of us saw what was going on, on the sidelines with Bo and Barney? There is the problem on the O and Bo knows it. Look at what we're doing with recruiting, notice the massive influx of bodies going to the O-line? There's a reason for it. This team's offense, whether it's ran by Watson, or Osborne, begins with the O-line, and last year, our O-line performance from the players and the coaches was wretched. Fix it and this team is fixed, even with a questionable QB.

 

Someone above said "Next year is Watson's 'make or break year'". And that if he has another bad year Bo will fire him. This is one of the single most stupid things I've read from a fan on a message board. I guarantee you, if we have another year as bad or even worse, offensively as we had this year, Bo won't be firing Watson, T.O. will call Barney into his office and have a nice prestigious administrative opening with his name on it. Bo AND Dr. Tom both know they've got quality in Watson. I think that would be evident from T.O. ASKING Watson to please stay on after sacking the last regime. As well as Nick Saban offering Watson the big bucks to go work for him. Yeah.... Saban and Dr. Tom.... two clowns who should be reading the message boards to really find out what they need to be doing.

 

I'm happy with Watson. He believes enough in the power run game we all love. When we finally get back on our feet as a program, I feel that most other Husker fans will too.

[derrtybird07]

***SNIP***

 

I also lay it at Barney's feet. As unqualified as Bill Callahan was as our program's HC, he was simply a masterful OL technician and our OL play benefited from his presence here. In comes Barney and he directly criticize's the master's approach, telling his OL to not focus on techniques and details and just play hard. I'll bet the players loved that, but everyone paid for it on Saturdays. Good thing too we have seen (I think) a change of approach and some consulting from Milt Tenopir with the OLs. So in both cases the future looks bright, although from my uneducated perspective I would say the OL's future looks brighter - given the recent and current recruiting and the consulting from Milt Tenopir. Our resident insider BigWillie has been thoroughly critical of

 

***SNIP***

 

While fingers can be pointed all over the offense, I can't fault the plays called - I can fault the fact that we can't seem to put a complete series together without some silly penalty on the line (jumping the count seems to have been the major one) or the inability to open a hole or prevent a pass rush at critical times. A lot of that has to do with the injuries - but a lot has to do with mental focus and technique as well.

 

With a dominate line, a lot of the problems simply disappear.

 

Right here. It's hard to do much of anything with an INEPT O line. Yes yes, our QB had a severed limb in his throwing arm... Yes our two main weapons at RB were disintegrated for a good portion of the year.. etc etc. It doesn't matter a hill of beans with the O line performance we had. I assume most of us saw what was going on, on the sidelines with Bo and Barney? There is the problem on the O and Bo knows it. Look at what we're doing with recruiting, notice the massive influx of bodies going to the O-line? There's a reason for it. This team's offense, whether it's ran by Watson, or Osborne, begins with the O-line, and last year, our O-line performance from the players and the coaches was wretched. Fix it and this team is fixed, even with a questionable QB.

 

Someone above said "Next year is Watson's 'make or break year'". And that if he has another bad year Bo will fire him. This is one of the single most stupid things I've read from a fan on a message board. I guarantee you, if we have another year as bad or even worse, offensively as we had this year, Bo won't be firing Watson, T.O. will call Barney into his office and have a nice prestigious administrative opening with his name on it. Bo AND Dr. Tom both know they've got quality in Watson. I think that would be evident from T.O. ASKING Watson to please stay on after sacking the last regime. As well as Nick Saban offering Watson the big bucks to go work for him. Yeah.... Saban and Dr. Tom.... two clowns who should be reading the message boards to really find out what they need to be doing.

 

I'm happy with Watson. He believes enough in the power run game we all love. When we finally get back on our feet as a program, I feel that most other Husker fans will too.

 

I still don't think we can sit here and blame this on the O-line. Our O-line did just fine in the bowl game. Now I don't know if we returned anyone from injuries for that game, but I'm going to go ahead and say it was essentially the same O-line we saw all year. I find it hard to believe the line was that bad the whole year. We dominated that game on offense because we FINALLY mixed it up a little bit. We finally did something that defenses weren't used to seeing. The difference showed and everyone saw it. Yes, we suffered many injuries. We also had either Helu or Burkhead, neither one was not healthy enough to play if the other was down. We should have been able to do what we did against Arizona all year long but we couldn't because of the predictable play calling. Tell me Arizona came in expecting to see the Wild Cat and taking shots down field. They didn't and that's why we looked so good.

[HUSKER 37]

Maybe Paul will spend more time on the football field and not peeing outside of a mall.

 

As another side note, did anyone see that NFL.com had Niles Paul as the best SR. wide receiver? I love my Huskers and I'm glad one of our players were chosen at #1, but c'mon. Greg Little is far better than Paul is.

 

I'm guessing they base it on rankings by "National"

 

An NFL scouting service says one of college football's top few senior prospects will patrol the field's perimeter at cornerback for Nebraska this fall, and he'll face off against the nation's top senior receiver during practice.

 

Prince Amukamara earned a preseason grade of 7.3, a rating tied for the highest among more than 1,400 seniors evaluated by National, an organization that provides draft information to NFL teams. Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn also graded out at 7.3.

 

National rated NU receiver Niles Paul at 6.3, a score better than all other wide receivers and high enough to position the former Omaha North standout in the service's top 20 list of draftable seniors.

 

...

 

...National's scouts, they're pros at what they do, said Brandt, who's releasing his own top prospect list by position this week for NFL.com. Like anything, nobody is foolproof. But they have been there, seen the players practice and watched game film. Their whole system is very, very good.

 

Amukamara's score of 7.3 tells NFL franchises that he is, at worst, first-round caliber.

 

The Huskers' No. 1 cornerback last year recorded 64 total tackles in 2009, 41 of them solo. He also led the Huskers with 11 pass breakups and was second on the team with five interceptions, including one that he followed with a darting return to the 1-yard line to set up the only touchdown in a 10-3 win over Oklahoma.

 

...

 

NU's Paul caught a team-high 40 passes and averaged 19.9 yards per reception as a junior.

 

...

 

Jake Locker, the Washington quarterback who'll face Nebraska in September, made the list with a grade of 6.7.

 

...

 

DraftInsider.net offered a more detailed breakout of National's grades for offensive players. Nebraska's Mike McNeill graded out at 5.4, fourth among senior tight ends. I-back Roy Helu got a 5.6, eighth among senior running backs. Keith Williams, who ranked among the top 20 guards, earned a 5.2. Fellow guard Ricky Henry scored 5.1.

 

Suh was rated 7.0 the previous year..

[HUSKER 37]

When Watson was held over from the previous staff I thought it was a good move. He fielded an excellent product in 2008. Last year was a mixture of injuries and a decided effort to let the defense win the game when it became obvious the offense couldn't. I'm not saying I even agreed with the strategy, but there were other games where another turnover would have netted us an 8-win season. He called a brilliant game against Arizona. That team was flat run over by both coordinators.

 

This season will cement Watson's immediate future at least in the minds of fans. I think the offense has something to prove this year. If they phone in another season like last year, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a shakeup. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but you can't allow the Brothers' Pelini defensive genius to be wasted on an offense that can't put two touchdowns on the board.

Really? What great or even good defense did that team beat? Missou? Oklahoma?

 

When it comes down to it Callahan/Watson offenses have lost to every great defense they ever played.

 

Even the bowl game how many times did Nebraska have to settle on a FG?

I'd take a 12th ranked offense over 99th

It's not hard being 12th when you havent played anyone. Look at the OU game where NU stats look great, but the game was over before the second quarter.

 

There used to be a guy on the radio who kept stats of NFL games where

 

A team that had a QB throw for more then 300 yards would most likely be on the losing end compared to team that had a 100 yard rusher.

 

The reasoning is that the team that's behind throws every down and take more chances because they have no choice and are compiling yards between the 20's

 

 

Remember a decade ago NU played a team that had a receiver catch a ungodly amount of yards against NU in Lincoln.

 

The Bulldogs, behind the explosive combination of quarterback Tim Rattay and wide receiver Troy Edwards, closed the Husker lead to 35-21. Edwards set an NCAA record with 405 yards on 21 catches, while Rattay completed 46 of 68 passes for 590 yards. Edwards' receiving yards broke the previous NCAA mark of 363 yards held by UNLV's Randy Gatewood against Idaho. Edwards' 21 catches were two shy of Gatewood's NCAA record 23 receptions.

 

NU had a 35-6 halftime lead and the game was over so did those stats mean anything? I'm betting they finished in the top 15 that year to.

 

Stats do not tell the whole story

Yes, we understand that, and thank you for the anecdote, but you're lying if you say you wouldn't prefer the 08 offense over last year's.

Their really the same offense and your lying to yourself if you think the outcome against Texas or V tech would have changed if Nebraska still had Ganz at the helm last year since they both had great defenses. I'm willing to say the Iowa State game would have been a win.

 

Texas Tech? probably same outcome. Remember Ganz scored more td's against the NU defense then any opponents QB.

So you really think if we had the 08 offense with last year's defense the only difference in record is a win over ISU? Ganz couldn't have done better than 17 completions for 175 yds, 34% completion, 0 TDs, and 5 INTs against UT and VaTech? I think you might be in the minority here.

Nope I have complete faith in Watson and Ganz to turn a close game into a blowout for the other team. Example Ganz OU 2008, Missou 2008, Colorado 2007 he even tried Clemson 2008 but good thing they were a 7-5 team and not a great defense.

 

Virginia Tech got on the board first when Virgil blocked a Dan Titchener punt for a safey with 8:35 remaining in the first quarter. After the Husker defense forced a three-and-out following the free kick, Macho Harris picked off a Ganz pass and returned it to the NU 5. Three plays later, Darren Evans found the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run to give the Hokies an early 9-0 lead.

 

Missouri's high-powered offense operated with machine-like precision, as the No. 4 Tigers ended a 30-year losing streak in Lincoln with a 52-17 victory over Nebraska on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. How does a team that rated in the top 15 in offense not score more then 17 at home in a night game?

 

On NU's possession, Ganz overshot wide receiver Nate Swift on his first attempt, before running from heavy pressure on the Huskers' second play of the drive. Ganz flipped the ball up the field in an attempt to avoid the sack, but his pass was intercepted by Texas Tech to end the game and NU's hopes of an impressive upset. The interception was the only turnover of the game by either team and it ended an otherwise impressive performance by Ganz.

 

Norman, Okla. - No. 4 Oklahoma capitalized on a pair of early mistakes by Nebraska and rolled to a 62-28 victory over the Huskers at Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

 

This is what this offense does.

Ok, so you definitely are in the minority. The 08 Huskers as a team were aeons behind those teams you sited- orange bowl champions Virginia Tech, Missouri's best team ever featuring heisman finalist Chase Daniel, NCAA all-purpose yards leader Jeremy Maclin, and Mackey award winning TE Chase Coffman, Texas Tech featuring Heisman finalist Graham Harrell and 2 time biletnikoff winner Michael Crabtree, went 11-2 in one of the stongest divisions in football, and of course, Oklahoma, the most prolific scoring offense of ALL TIME. All of this in Bo's first year as HC. These teams were "out of NU's league" so to speak.

 

What is this? Majority rules?

And I thought we were talking about Watson and His Offense..They didn't compete (directly) with any of the other team's Offenses.

[HUSKER 37]

The more things change - the more they stay the same. Insert Osborne for Watson and triple option for WCO, and this would be the same discussion as most off-seasons from 1987-1993. Although I don't remember it, I'm willing to bet 1974-1980 were similar.

 

I remember how predictable Osborne's playcalling was in the 70' and 80's..I even watched my older brothers call a few of them out loud before they ran and they never played a down of organized football in their lives.

 

We prided ourselve in being so dominant, that it didn't matter if the other team knew what we were running, I even heard some of our Offensive linemen used to tell the Defensive linemen what we were going to do as they approached the line...just to make it more interesting.

 

Then in the 90's I magically lost my abilities..I could've sworn Ozzy whas letting someone else call a few plays.

(I was hopeing Frankie).

 

I'm hopeful that we will improve on Offense this season..But I don't think our showing against a listless Arizona team is an accurate barometer of things to come.

 

It's a shame that the kind of offenses we've been running the last decade or so rely so much more on staying injury free...Won't happen.

[HuskerBill85]

*Yawn*

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Holy crap...the season hasn't even started and we're already seeing threads about Wats' play calling?

[zoogs]

 

I still don't think we can sit here and blame this on the O-line. Our O-line did just fine in the bowl game. Now I don't know if we returned anyone from injuries for that game, but I'm going to go ahead and say it was essentially the same O-line we saw all year. I find it hard to believe the line was that bad the whole year. We dominated that game on offense because we FINALLY mixed it up a little bit. We finally did something that defenses weren't used to seeing. The difference showed and everyone saw it.

 

I personally think it's mind-boggling that Barney is so easily let off the hook and Watson is routinely roasted. My theory is that Barney is seen as a 'Nebraska guy' and Wats is seen as 'a Callahan holdover.' Very unfortunate if that is the case, because I think the amount of criticism directed at these two should be reversed. DB this isn't directed at you by the way, just a general observation.

 

Our o-line plays ONE good game - and the whole offense played well that game - and Barney's alright? While Watson's offense not performing up to par against "great defenses" means he's no good.

 

With the 2008 offense, I don't know why people like to put it down so much. Yeah, it didn't do well against the best D's we faced. One, that's not particularly unusual. Two, Bo's 2003 defense was supposed to be so great, and it was, but it was still gashed by all the top offenses we faced that year. That was a defense that had plenty of stalwarts on it, too. What did we have in 2008? Undersized, noodle armed Joe Ganz, who was just some guy that happened to grow up in the system and was a mad gamer who knew it really well. 4.7-40 Nate Swift and Todd Peterson as our receivers, who couldn't stretch the field and intimidate defenses. We made hay from nothing, or very little at least. That's why what we did in '08 was impressive.

 

Anyway...

[Enhance]

Holy crap...the season hasn't even started and we're already seeing threads about Wats' play calling?

Meh, it's kind of a nice break getting the blood boiling. Better than the all of the conference expansion stuff. I've had my fill of that, as of now.