Watson

[huskers1]

So after watching the south dakota state game I have a few thoughts/worries.

1) Right after the washington game there were player quotes that said they were sick of not being able to run right at the washington defense and the players went to the coaches and said something like just run the damn ball right at them! This entire week after the game Watson was in interviews saying that he saw something in the defense that he thought he thought he could expose. He's been saying that it's been his vision over the past few years that this was the offense he was migrating to. He has been taking every last bit of the credit. I'm just comparing it to Bo when he says when its bad it his fault and when its good it's the players. My worry is that the players are getting sick of him taking all of the credit. Could it be possible that the players are reading or hearing what wats is saying and they are going umm what the hell? We are the ones that told him to do that.

 

The offense was just missing something. They weren't as explosive, didn't block as well, and didn't even seem to want to play the game.

 

A couple other things that crossed my mind were that they did a little too much partying the night before and had a little bit of a hangover. Or the practice week was spent grinding on each other and their legs weren't underneath them. I'm praying that it's one of the last two.

[NUance]

So after watching the south dakota state game I have a few thoughts/worries.

1) Right after the washington game there were player quotes that said they were sick of not being able to run right at the washington defense and the players went to the coaches and said something like just run the damn ball right at them! This entire week after the game Watson was in interviews saying that he saw something in the defense that he thought he thought he could expose. He's been saying that it's been his vision over the past few years that this was the offense he was migrating to. He has been taking every last bit of the credit. I'm just comparing it to Bo when he says when its bad it his fault and when its good it's the players. My worry is that the players are getting sick of him taking all of the credit. Could it be possible that the players are reading or hearing what wats is saying and they are going umm what the hell? We are the ones that told him to do that.

 

The offense was just missing something. They weren't as explosive, didn't block as well, and didn't even seem to want to play the game.

 

A couple other things that crossed my mind were that they did a little too much partying the night before and had a little bit of a hangover. Or the practice week was spent grinding on each other and their legs weren't underneath them. I'm praying that it's one of the last two.

This whole thread should probably be in Rumorville.

[I am I]

watson didn't get stupid overnight. he has a vision. he wants to see it put on tape. he has aspiration of being a head coach very soon. he has amazing ability to see and utilize the talent around him. he has a desire to be multiple.

 

what he does NOT have is a willingness to take blame for his offenses lack of focus or it's inability to show week in week out consistency. do not criticize the Wats. he didn't get stupid overnight, ya' know

[Enhance]

Yes, I'm sure the players purposely played terrible in front of 85,000 fans just to prove a point to Wats...

[Never Skerd']

I don't doubt Watson's knowledge of the game, a matter of fact, I think that is what gets him in trouble sometimes.

 

You gave the example of Keith Williams appeal to the coaches and fellow linemen that we just needed to "run the damn ball", perhaps this was a scenario where Watson's over-thinking was more of a handicap to the offense.

[bhamHusker]

I think too many of you are taking that article about Williams' "insurrection" too literally. If a player - I don't care who or how good they are - tried to tell a coach on this staff what to do, they'd be benched. There's a world of difference between "do this and do it now" and "give us the chance, coach." Watson let it happen because it was compatible with his plan for the game, not because a lineman got in his face.

 

"The offense was just missing something. They weren't as explosive, didn't block as well, and didn't even seem to want to play the game." Yeah, because they weren't up for the game, not because of some kooky revenge against Watson fantasy.

[tmfr15]

Watson's over-thinking was more of a handicap to the offense. --- Amen to that. Watson, like BC, has a good football mind, but its the translation that sucks. His mentality is the same one that I have heard a few times since Saturday. "Hey, Wats was just trying to get some experience for T-Mart against a lesser D." You just can't do this in college football. When playing a bad team, you have to call the plays that have the best chance at scoring points, then, when you're up four or five scores, due the more exploratory type plans and more difficult play calls to see how the team handles it. This is college football. Wins are premium. A coach can't risk losing games in the name of working the kinks out. In a football system with a playoff, this might be acceptable. In CFB it just isn't. It can't be.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

The thing that irritates me about Watson is one week he can call a helluva a game. The next week it's so bland and stupid it's confusing and sickening. I'm not a Watson fan, never have been, but I'll support him since he's a coach here.

[huskers1]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any way saying that the players didn't play well on purpose. What I was and am saying is that Wats has been taking every last bit of the credit for the offense playing well the first three games. I don't know that I have heard him compliment the players mroe than once (outside of him praising Martinez for his passing skills). I think the players might get tired of playing well and then hear wats say "I did this", "this was my vision", "I saw their weakness here". Think back to when the defense plays a good game, you don't hear Pelini saying, "this was my doing". When it's a bad game he always says "it was my fault".

 

I just wish he would be more from the Pelini school of when it's bad it my fault and when it's good it's because of the players. And I know he got it so bad last year that he probably just wants to blow his own horn to try to prove "he didn't go stupid overnight".

[Hunter94]

So after watching the south dakota state game I have a few thoughts/worries.

1) Right after the washington game there were player quotes that said they were sick of not being able to run right at the washington defense and the players went to the coaches and said something like just run the damn ball right at them! This entire week after the game Watson was in interviews saying that he saw something in the defense that he thought he thought he could expose. He's been saying that it's been his vision over the past few years that this was the offense he was migrating to. He has been taking every last bit of the credit. I'm just comparing it to Bo when he says when its bad it his fault and when its good it's the players. My worry is that the players are getting sick of him taking all of the credit. Could it be possible that the players are reading or hearing what wats is saying and they are going umm what the hell? We are the ones that told him to do that.

 

The offense was just missing something. They weren't as explosive, didn't block as well, and didn't even seem to want to play the game.

 

A couple other things that crossed my mind were that they did a little too much partying the night before and had a little bit of a hangover. Or the practice week was spent grinding on each other and their legs weren't underneath them. I'm praying that it's one of the last two.

 

 

i hate bye weeks.....anyone else??

[tmfr15]

This is what I have always said about Wats. His system is great. The players aren't as important. And, when the plans go to hell...the players suck, Wats still had a GOOD PLAN. Nevermind the fact that he should be teaching FUNDAMENTALS. At the CFB level, coaches get stuck with a lot of RAW talent, and that's when the recruit well. Coaches have to get players sharp in the fundamental areas, then worry about the elaborate game planning. Instead, Wats installs some crazy plan and says, hey, not my fault the players can't do fundamental things. ARRRGHHH.

[Never Skerd']

So after watching the south dakota state game I have a few thoughts/worries.

1) Right after the washington game there were player quotes that said they were sick of not being able to run right at the washington defense and the players went to the coaches and said something like just run the damn ball right at them! This entire week after the game Watson was in interviews saying that he saw something in the defense that he thought he thought he could expose. He's been saying that it's been his vision over the past few years that this was the offense he was migrating to. He has been taking every last bit of the credit. I'm just comparing it to Bo when he says when its bad it his fault and when its good it's the players. My worry is that the players are getting sick of him taking all of the credit. Could it be possible that the players are reading or hearing what wats is saying and they are going umm what the hell? We are the ones that told him to do that.

 

The offense was just missing something. They weren't as explosive, didn't block as well, and didn't even seem to want to play the game.

 

A couple other things that crossed my mind were that they did a little too much partying the night before and had a little bit of a hangover. Or the practice week was spent grinding on each other and their legs weren't underneath them. I'm praying that it's one of the last two.

 

 

i hate bye weeks.....anyone else??

Strange, does this thread pop up automatically on your screen? Don't click it? Also, don't try to hijack the thread by acting like we are some kind of moon landing conspirators- The numbers are there on offense. We did have 3 good games so far, but we also did last year(and we all know how that ended up). As the old parable goes, history is known to repeat itself.

[skersfan]

Last week were the second coming of the 95 team with Hypsman level freshman playing, swallowing Kool aid by the semi full, this week our coaches are stupid (again) we can not stop the run, make a pass or most likely will lose the rest of our games.

 

Things are no where near as bad some make it out to be. The kids did not respec this team. The staff did not respec this team. It happnes.

 

Keep the faith, Bo will figure the problem out and we will move forward, and I will gladly take another year like last, from what we have had the last ten years.

 

We have a very young team that lacks leadership, and that is learned as the season goes on.

[I am I]

this is what I have felt as well for like, 3 years. Watson sees it like this:

 

"the system is genius. if players execute and play well it shows my genius in crafting the plan. if there are games where it didn't work, it was because the players didn't play it right. even though I called 4 pass plays on 3rd and 2, without even trying to run for it once. even though when the toss sweep worked 4 times in the first half and then didn't run it the rest of the game. etc"

 

i love almost everything about this team and where we're headed. I think Watson's gameplan/playcalling might cost us at some point, but he'll blame the players

[Billyball]

If others read this in another thread I'm sorry if I'm being redundant. However I think a problem may be that whether Wats and Bo got together and decided they wanted a run heavy option offense, or Bo told Wats that is what he wanted--"get it for me", I don't know. But it is pretty obvious they don't want to go with the passing game that last year's ship sank on.

 

However, we did not start over and put in an offense based on a power running game with slick option components. Wats simply tweaked his base West Coast Offense and said "now we are a option heavy running team". It doesn't usually work like that. As I mentioned in the other thread, UCLA's coaches decided they needed to get more run performance and decided to go to the Pistol. They scrapped the entire offense they had been running--I don't know what it was probably a pro set. Anyway they went up to nevada and worked with his staff and installed the offense to feature what they wanted to do, from the ground up, working on it in the spring and fall. Judging from the Texas game they are getting better at it.

 

Anyway, I think part of the problem is that what we really did, was take a one dimensional offense from last year which was pretty well shut down (Lee's passing game) when we reached conference play and replace it with a one dimensional running game that is not really slick when compared with option teams like Navy or Airforce or Ga. tech, though they didn't look good this year, they have in the past.

 

Anyway we will know in the next three weeks how successful it is going to be. Those huge playbooks are totally silly. What you need is a team that is so good at the one thing they do that even knowing it, you can't stop them. An example was TT spread against us last year, or Air Force against Oklahoma this year, though they lost, you could tell OU was on their heels. You knew what they were going to do and couldn't stop it. The other way is to be multiple--that is what the Pistol strives for and UCLA stopped throwing when Texas shut that down and ran it right down their throat but still had Tejas respecting the pass. Alabama with a great line and the best back in the country, still has J Jones as a wideout that keeps a D very honest. You load the box, they will kill you.

 

So I could be wrong and we will walk through our last campaign in the big 12 and be in that NCG that many of you are determined we are destined for. But I am afraid we are going to have a hard time repeating that early season success and you don't teach a QB to become a skilled passer/decision maker in a couple weeks. Without it, we will be much like KSU and their all american back and poor throwing QB.