LJS: Steve Sipple: Too early to panic about offens

[Eric the Red]

LJS: Steve Sipple: Too early to panic about offense

 

Steven M. Sipple: Too early to panic about offense

 

Monday, Sep 12, 2005 - 12:33:23 am CDT

This isn’t meant to pile on Zac Taylor, an eminently likable sort suddenly in a somewhat unenviable position.

 

Nevertheless, crunch these numbers: In the second half of the first game this season and the first half of the second game, the Nebraska quarterback was a combined 9-for-30 passing for 64 yards and one interception. Yikes.

 

Through two games — a pair of wins, mind you — Nebraska’s offense has eked out two touchdowns, is 10-for-33 on third-down conversions and has rushed for 241 yards. Ouch.

 

If there’s panic in the streets of Husker Nation, blame it in large part on the Red-White Spring Game, which created unwieldy expectations for Taylor and the offense in general. The Spring Game, in fact, has become little more than a Hollywood-like production designed to fill seats and, above all, impress recruits.

 

The day fast approaches when Lincoln officials align with the South Stadium brain trust to gear everything in our city toward enticing precocious 17-year-old boys to play for the Big Red. These days it’s all about recruiting, friends.

 

At some point, you may have to think less about recruiting and more about first downs.

 

Meanwhile, politicians deftly create phrases to explain away thorny issues. Last season, Nebraska’s football struggles were chalked up to “a transition year.” This season, the Huskers are “a work in progress.”

 

No question, Nebraska’s offense needs work before it’s ready to make appreciable progress.

 

However, there’s a bright side to all of this offensive misery. A few of them, actually:

 

Bright Side I: Pitt’s foundering football team. The 0-2 Panthers are a train wreck. They rank 95th nationally in total offense and 61st in total defense (Nebraska is No. 99 and No. 6, respectively). New Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt looked lost as the Panthers fell in overtime to Ohio last weekend. After playing Pitt on Saturday, NU has a bye week before beginning conference play. Perfect. Bill Callahan and Co. can step back, take a deep breath and assess the situation. And, yes, we have a situation.

 

Bright Side II: Callahan is a proven offensive wiz. Say what you want about the second-year Nebraska head coach, you can’t erase the impressive accomplishments on his resume. If you’re a hard-core Husker, you have to believe Callahan will find a way to move the chains, eventually.

 

Bright Side III: Nebraska’s defense. In a word: wow. What a difference a year makes. What a difference unity and chemistry make. What a difference depth in the front four makes. What a difference a bunch of ball-hawking linebackers makes. The Huskers’ dominating defense gives the offense some needed wiggle room. It appears the defense might have to carry the load throughout the season.

 

Nevertheless, this is no time for Callahan and Co. to panic about offense. Not at 2-0. Nor is this time for Callahan to start shuffling his lineup. That would send players the wrong message. Callahan exudes calm, and he needs to continue in that vein.

 

At this point, Taylor needs reassurance from coaches more than he needs the threat of being benched. Besides, he remains the best quarterback on the roster, though you can’t discount redshirt freshman Joe Ganz’s impressive preseason.

 

True freshman Harrison Beck? Evidently, he came to town ready to play from a physical standpoint.

 

“He is a big-time talent,” Husker defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said last week. “But it’s taking him some time.”

 

Whispers around South Stadium indicate Beck might not be emotionally mature enough to take charge of the offense. Perhaps that helps explain why he began the season No. 3 on the depth chart despite the ungodly hyperbole accompanying his recruitment.

 

Whatever. At this point, Nebraska’s offense needs a steady hand under center. Taylor, a 22-year-old junior college transfer, provides that crucial dimension. Through two games, he’s shown flashes of what we saw in the spring game. The issue, of course, is consistency.

 

When you’re looking for consistency, the last place you generally want to look is toward true freshmen.

 

Which brings us to Marlon Lucky, another overhyped recruit (Best I can tell, there’s no longer such a thing as an underhyped recruit). Lucky has been curiously underwhelming, rushing 15 times for 47 yards (3.1 per carry).

 

Senior starter Cory Ross also has been a mild disappointment. Although he rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries against Wake Forest, 14 of his attempts went for 4 yards or fewer. Even so, he’s the heart and soul of this offense. So you stick with him.

 

Bottom line, no part of the offense is playing particularly well, except for the freshman kicker.

 

Think happy thoughts, Husker Nation. Think about the hard part of the nonconference schedule (Wake Forest) being in the rearview mirror. Think about the hard-charging defense. And if all else fails, think forward to the Spring Game.

[Eric the Red]

More offense:

 

DN: Husker offense adjusting to West Coast approach

 

By JOE BONGE

September 12, 2005

 

When Cory Ross turned the corner on a 57-yard run in the third quarter of Nebraska’s 31-3 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, it looked like the entire offense might follow suit.

 

And they did – for one quarter anyway.

 

Ross’ 20 carries for 123 yards was the lone bright spot for the Nebraska offense as the unit struggled for the second straight week.

 

Ross broke the big run on the Huskers’ first drive of the third quarter before being pushed out of bounds by Wake Forest safety Patrick Ghee at the 8-yard-line.The play led to a 4-yard Zac Taylor touchdown pass to Frantz Hardy to put NU ahead 21-3.

 

Ross, who had only 80 yards on 20 carries against Maine, said breaking a big run was the boost he needed.

 

“It was one of those times you just keep grinding it out,” Ross said. “It just happened to pop and it felt great to get one of those.”

 

The 57-yard run was part of a seven-play, 80-yard drive to open the quarter for the Cornhuskers.

 

NU punted on its next possession before Jordan Congdon ended a 13-play, 77-yard drive with a 21-yard field goal.

 

With the Huskers up 24-3, it looked like the NU offense was finally putting things together after struggling in the first half.

 

But the third quarter proved to be the only fruit of NU’s labor, as the Huskers only gained one total yard in the fourth quarter.

 

All but 74 of Nebraska’s total yards came in the third quarter.

 

The performance was Ross’ 10th career 100-yard game and his first since the Huskers’ 30-3 loss at Oklahoma last season.

 

It also made him the 23rd player in NU history to rush for more than 2,000 career yards in a career.

 

Nebraska Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell said Ross’ effort eased the tension on the NU offense that at times looked lost.

 

“Cory broke a big run that got us going in the third quarter,” Norvell said. “Then we started playing with some continuity.”

 

Ross’ strong play came as a pleasant surprise to the Nebraska offensive line that struggled against Maine.

 

Senior right tackle Seppo Evwaraye said the offensive line made it a point to perform better.

 

“We can’t let the defense be the highlight of every game and run the show all the time,” Evwaraye said. “We have to live up to our part because there are going to be times when the defense is stretching and we need points and we need this offense to be able to do something.”

 

Ross said the offensive line continues to improve and make things easier for him.

 

“They did this week,” Ross said. “We haven’t mastered the West Coast Offense yet and so that’s something we know we have to improve on. We know we can get better.”

[DaveH]

These days it’s all about recruiting, friends.

It's always been about recruiting. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.

 

At some point, you may have to think less about recruiting and more about first downs.

Oh please. Give me a break. You have a copy of Callahan and Co's daily planner or something?

 

It appears the defense might have to carry the load throughout the season.

Yes, yes it does.

 

Which brings us to Marlon Lucky, another overhyped recruit (Best I can tell, there’s no longer such a thing as an underhyped recruit). Lucky has been curiously underwhelming, rushing 15 times for 47 yards (3.1 per carry).

 

Senior starter Cory Ross also has been a mild disappointment. Although he rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries against Wake Forest, 14 of his attempts went for 4 yards or fewer. Even so, he’s the heart and soul of this offense. So you stick with him.

You should have spent those three paragraphs talking about he O-line, Sippowitz. I will admit that I have expected more out of Lucky to this point with his ability to find where to run. He can do it, he needs more reps. In due time.

[Hunter94]

These days it’s all about recruiting, friends.

It's always been about recruiting. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.

 

At some point, you may have to think less about recruiting and more about first downs.

Oh please. Give me a break. You have a copy of Callahan and Co's daily planner or something?

 

It appears the defense might have to carry the load throughout the season.

Yes, yes it does.

 

Which brings us to Marlon Lucky, another overhyped recruit (Best I can tell, there’s no longer such a thing as an underhyped recruit). Lucky has been curiously underwhelming, rushing 15 times for 47 yards (3.1 per carry).

 

Senior starter Cory Ross also has been a mild disappointment. Although he rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries against Wake Forest, 14 of his attempts went for 4 yards or fewer. Even so, he’s the heart and soul of this offense. So you stick with him.

You should have spent those three paragraphs talking about he O-line, Sippowitz. I will admit that I have expected more out of Lucky to this point with his ability to find where to run. He can do it, he needs more reps. In due time.

you are correct on all accounts Dave!

 

 

hunter

[formerfan]

These days it’s all about recruiting, friends.

It's always been about recruiting. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.

 

While recruiting is important, so are other things: coaching, game plans, team cohesion, effort, heart, intangibles, etc. I know that I am but NU won 5 NCs without a #1 ranked recruiting class.

 

At some point, you may have to think less about recruiting and more about first downs.

Oh please. Give me a break. You have a copy of Callahan and Co's daily planner or something?

 

I certainly dont have billy c's daily planner, however, he needs to come up with some answers to the problems of this offense. Especially if he is the "genius" that he is hyped to be.

[Hunter94]

and part of that was due to a superior conditioning program that a lot of other schools did not have......i think we can all remember when NU would just WEAR TEAMS DOWN AND DOMINATE IN THE 3RD AND 4TH QUARTERS.......it is not like that anymore, conditoning expertise is with most strength coaches today, you need the outstanding athlete/recruit to get it done now, plus coaching

 

 

hunter

[DaveH]

While recruiting is important, so are other things: coaching, game plans, team cohesion, effort, heart, intangibles, etc. I know that I am but NU won 5 NCs without a #1 ranked recruiting class.

Yes, they did. But they didn't win those NC's without at least putting a large emphasis on recruiting guys that you need to win. Whether they were ranked #1 or #20, TO got the guys needed to get the job done.

 

Callahan won't blame the players or the coaches in public. That's no good. But you gotta think he has to be talking to his staff about getting these linemen and recievers to step it up.