Fire Shawn Watson

[bball_backer]

Wait, where am I saying that Taylor is in danger of losing his starting job? I don't think he is and Carnes will probably be #2, in my opinion, barring a strong push to unseat him, assuming Taylor stays.

 

I am not the one saying that Taylor doing well is because of his athleticism. He has come quite a long way, a lot further than probably anyone expected, as a QB. It's others who are saying "We don't really have an offense, it's just Taylor's unique freakish athletic ability." Taylor has grown as a passer and is evolving as a quarterback in this offense, which is the reason why we have been able to do so much damage with him this year in different ways. Not saying he doesn't have a long way yet to go, he does, but the results this year on the field have been very impressive and I've really become a fan. I think the gamble we took this year by going with him, could really pay off.

 

I am saying if the "it's all Taylor's natural athletic ability" line holds true, then he may not be long for the position given what we have coming in. But that'll never be the case at the QB position IMO.

I don't think a lot of people are saying Watson isn't a good QBs coach. I'd say he's pretty good. The problem is him as an OC. A lot of people are blaming Gilmore and/or Cotton... that's also Watson's responsibility; just as a D-back problem needs to be addressed by Carl AND Sanders, a receivers or line problem needs to be addressed by the position coach AND Watson (as well as by Bo). Which reminds me, I don't know what others think, but I'm also putting some of this on Bo. If he sees the offense struggling he needs to address it more so than just saying "don't turn it over, let me win it with my defense"

[zoogs]

For the record, they guys said they didn't know if Watson was allowed to call plays or not at CU. They also said they were NOT counting 2006, and if NU had made it in 2007 they wouldn't have counted it simply because we all know he wasn't calling the plays.

 

That's good, but where do they get 6 games, then?

 

If they would not have counted 2007, they should not count any of the 4 CU years. Personally, I don't think I say too much about Watson and 2001 and that CU game. I know very little about that situation other than he was just a name OC, so I don't think it's any evidence. Obviously he had an influence, as well as with the QBs (I think he was QB coach too), but you take it with a grain of salt if he's not calling the plays.

 

Say what you want about identifying a weakness against Mizzou, I don't think Bo wanting to shut down the O would take away the run game... which is what those 3 big plays came from - basic run plays.

 

Why not? When you do nothing but run, run, run and the defene knows it, and there's no trickery or out-scheming involved, it can get pretty predictable and simple to stop. Sure the 3 big plays were run plays, but from a point in the game where we had the entire gameplan open to us and were a threat to do multiple things. Take that away and it becomes a grind out yards and field position thing, which is fine because it was basically a race against time for CU after Helu's last score, and we made sure it stayed that way by giving little chance for mistakes.

 

The fact is, as you said yourself, without Martinez in the game, this offense shuts down. That's not good. Watson has been in his position 4 years, he knows what he has on his team, he should be able to identify his players strengths and manage a little production.

 

It's really like most teams when losing their starting QB. I don't think the offense shuts down with Lee actually, but he wasn't given much of a chance against Missouri, because Bo likes shutting it down and preserving victory when it's within grasp. But since we lost both the top 2 guys, yeah, we run into a bit of trouble. When we do, I think both Watson and Bo tend to simplify and be conservative, because it isn't about trying to put on a display of offensive fireworks, but to win the game as a team. When the O is a big unknown (as it was with Cody when they showed little faith in him), and the D is one of the better units in the country, the entire gameplan is adjusted to allow the D to carry the weight instead of allowing the O to potentially mess it up for them.

 

Let me ask this to the pro-Watson guys:

What does he have to do in your eyes, to be in jeopardy of losing his job. Since you obviously believe field goals and rare defensive touchdowns are enough to eventually win a National Championship. A NC is the eventual goal, correct?

 

He has to get stupider?

 

Watson is what he is, a pretty good offensive mind who works great with QBs. There are things we can do to help Watson and the offense, and I hope we do them. Change of WR coach is #1 on that list.

 

With how conservative the staff approaches games, I wonder if the O will ever be unleashed to pick up the slack while the defense is playing at this high a level. We all want gaudy stats right now, but Bo seems to subscribe to a "defense wins games" philosophy, which I can't really argue with. Games against evenly matched teams may quite often be low-scoring affairs, because once we get a lead we will try to hold on to it, rather than give the other side any leeway or opportunity to seize back momentum.

 

I don't think a lot of people are saying Watson isn't a good QBs coach. I'd say he's pretty good. The problem is him as an OC. A lot of people are blaming Gilmore and/or Cotton... that's also Watson's responsibility; just as a D-back problem needs to be addressed by Carl AND Sanders, a receivers or line problem needs to be addressed by the position coach AND Watson (as well as by Bo). Which reminds me, I don't know what others think, but I'm also putting some of this on Bo. If he sees the offense struggling he needs to address it more so than just saying "don't turn it over, let me win it with my defense"

 

As far as changing position coaches, I'd put that on Bo. But there's value in staff continuity, too. Still, a couple bad decisions on the side of loyalty can sink a HC (Callahan). Same with calls on QB (Keller), regardless of whether they win the job or not, so hopefully Bo treads this Taylor situation carefully. I guess we can agree to disagree on him as OC. I think he has done well this year (and in '08), excepting for occasions where the OL or WRs are not picking up the slack on the field.

[huskerscott]

I heard an interseting stat today on 1620.... shawn watson is 1-4 as an OC in the Big 12 Championship game. The one win was 2001 game where they beat Texas after they destroyed us the week before. The other 4 games he has been coordinated the offense has not had over 200 yards of total offense or scored an offensive TD. The one TD in 2002 game was a punt return by Bloom.

 

 

Look at the games where we put up big numbers.... all the defenses are/were terrible and thats an understatement. The highest defensively ranked team we beat was Mizzou(44th) and that was pretty much 1 quarter and a 8 min drive in the 4th quarter. All the other teams that we have faced and beaten are ranked 80th or below in total defense, in fact KU is like 100th.

 

This is make or break game for Watson as a coordinator.... if we come out lay a stinker like against A&M he needs to go. Simple as that.

[kansas husker]

I heard an interseting stat today on 1620.... shawn watson is 1-4 as an OC in the Big 12 Championship game. The one win was 2001 game where they beat Texas after they destroyed us the week before. The other 4 games he has been coordinated the offense has not had over 200 yards of total offense or scored an offensive TD. The one TD in 2002 game was a punt return by Bloom.

 

 

Look at the games where we put up big numbers.... all the defenses are/were terrible and thats an understatement. The highest defensively ranked team we beat was Mizzou(44th) and that was pretty much 1 quarter and a 8 min drive in the 4th quarter. All the other teams that we have faced and beaten are ranked 80th or below in total defense, in fact KU is like 100th.

 

This is make or break game for Watson as a coordinator.... if we come out lay a stinker like against A&M he needs to go. Simple as that.

 

Maybe you can find another team that has put up more than 50 on osu, or more than 30 on the Mizzou team you mentioned. Once agian you are pointing to results and not the game plan. The team was put in good position to score in every game (with the exception of ku and that game was intentional to work taylor back into playing shape)

[huskerscott]

I heard an interseting stat today on 1620.... shawn watson is 1-4 as an OC in the Big 12 Championship game. The one win was 2001 game where they beat Texas after they destroyed us the week before. The other 4 games he has been coordinated the offense has not had over 200 yards of total offense or scored an offensive TD. The one TD in 2002 game was a punt return by Bloom.

 

 

Look at the games where we put up big numbers.... all the defenses are/were terrible and thats an understatement. The highest defensively ranked team we beat was Mizzou(44th) and that was pretty much 1 quarter and a 8 min drive in the 4th quarter. All the other teams that we have faced and beaten are ranked 80th or below in total defense, in fact KU is like 100th.

 

This is make or break game for Watson as a coordinator.... if we come out lay a stinker like against A&M he needs to go. Simple as that.

 

Maybe you can find another team that has put up more than 50 on osu, or more than 30 on the Mizzou team you mentioned. Once agian you are pointing to results and not the game plan. The team was put in good position to score in every game (with the exception of ku and that game was intentional to work taylor back into playing shape)

The gameplan IS directly related to the results. Sometimes he does call a very good game,the Okie Lite game, the mizzou game, the Cu game. But it what he does against stiffer competition, is what drives me nuts. He is too conservative, too predictable, he tries to out smart himself.

 

 

Okie Lite is just as bad on defense at times as we are on offense.... They gave up 38 to Troy, 35 to A&M, 28 to ULL. 23 to OU in the final quarter and some 200 yards passing.

[kansas husker]

I heard an interseting stat today on 1620.... shawn watson is 1-4 as an OC in the Big 12 Championship game. The one win was 2001 game where they beat Texas after they destroyed us the week before. The other 4 games he has been coordinated the offense has not had over 200 yards of total offense or scored an offensive TD. The one TD in 2002 game was a punt return by Bloom.

 

 

Look at the games where we put up big numbers.... all the defenses are/were terrible and thats an understatement. The highest defensively ranked team we beat was Mizzou(44th) and that was pretty much 1 quarter and a 8 min drive in the 4th quarter. All the other teams that we have faced and beaten are ranked 80th or below in total defense, in fact KU is like 100th.

 

This is make or break game for Watson as a coordinator.... if we come out lay a stinker like against A&M he needs to go. Simple as that.

 

Maybe you can find another team that has put up more than 50 on osu, or more than 30 on the Mizzou team you mentioned. Once agian you are pointing to results and not the game plan. The team was put in good position to score in every game (with the exception of ku and that game was intentional to work taylor back into playing shape)

The gameplan IS directly related to the results. Sometimes he does call a very good game,the Okie Lite game, the mizzou game, the Cu game. But it what he does against stiffer competition, is what drives me nuts. He is too conservative, too predictable, he tries to out smart himself.

 

 

Okie Lite is just as bad on defense at times as we are on offense.... They gave up 38 to Troy, 35 to A&M, 28 to ULL. 23 to OU in the final quarter and some 200 yards passing.

 

 

Yes, but when his game plan puts in a position to put up points, and the exicution lacks than he cannot be held accountable. Without dropped passes we put up 35 on Texas and with out the two ints we probably put up around 20 on A&M. He puts the players in a position to succeed and if the exicute the sucess will be there.

[huskerscott]

I heard an interseting stat today on 1620.... shawn watson is 1-4 as an OC in the Big 12 Championship game. The one win was 2001 game where they beat Texas after they destroyed us the week before. The other 4 games he has been coordinated the offense has not had over 200 yards of total offense or scored an offensive TD. The one TD in 2002 game was a punt return by Bloom.

 

 

Look at the games where we put up big numbers.... all the defenses are/were terrible and thats an understatement. The highest defensively ranked team we beat was Mizzou(44th) and that was pretty much 1 quarter and a 8 min drive in the 4th quarter. All the other teams that we have faced and beaten are ranked 80th or below in total defense, in fact KU is like 100th.

 

This is make or break game for Watson as a coordinator.... if we come out lay a stinker like against A&M he needs to go. Simple as that.

 

Maybe you can find another team that has put up more than 50 on osu, or more than 30 on the Mizzou team you mentioned. Once agian you are pointing to results and not the game plan. The team was put in good position to score in every game (with the exception of ku and that game was intentional to work taylor back into playing shape)

The gameplan IS directly related to the results. Sometimes he does call a very good game,the Okie Lite game, the mizzou game, the Cu game. But it what he does against stiffer competition, is what drives me nuts. He is too conservative, too predictable, he tries to out smart himself.

 

 

Okie Lite is just as bad on defense at times as we are on offense.... They gave up 38 to Troy, 35 to A&M, 28 to ULL. 23 to OU in the final quarter and some 200 yards passing.

 

 

Yes, but when his game plan puts in a position to put up points, and the exicution lacks than he cannot be held accountable. Without dropped passes we put up 35 on Texas and with out the two ints we probably put up around 20 on A&M. He puts the players in a position to succeed and if the exicute the sucess will be there.

I will agree with on the Texas game.... the drops killed us. I dont know if we put 35 put we score atleast 2 TD's. Its tough to say that we if catch the drops we blow them out, because in reality we dont know what he is going to call is tied or within one score. We made a team that go blown out by UCLA look like the team they always been. The A&M game I think 20 is pushing it, they were playing really good defense. Plus I dont think we had a pass even make to the end zone at anypoint in that game. But it doesnt matter 1 TD in the A&M and Texas game makes a difference and that to me is the most frustrating part. Same story last year, its becoming a trend.

[mmmtodd]

this 'execution' excuse is bullsh#t. the same players where here on both sides of the ball when Bo took over... and so was Watson. the defense got better at 'executing', the offense hasnt. plain and simple. same stupid mistakes. theyre his players, and over the years teams of all sorts have failed to 'execute' for him. its fact. how far back to people have to keep digging up stats to prove this guy has a track record of epic failures?

 

you know whats really scary? one of my buddies started arguing that the offense has actually gotten worse, more inconsistent, under watson since callahan left. and he was making sense.

[zoogs]

you know whats really scary? one of my buddies started arguing that the offense has actually gotten worse, more inconsistent, under watson since callahan left. and he was making sense.

 

Since when did anyone expect the offense to get better with Callahan's departure?

 

We had good offenses under Callahan. OL technician, masterful with screen passes and always good for some trick play packages within our multiple offense, which was very demanding on the QB. Guy is basically a genius in this regard. The problem was our defense. Everyone was saying we just need a good defense to win championships, and a strong running game and that was it. Well, now we have a running game and a good defense, and we have been winning games, including being dang close to a BCS bowl last year and having a good shot at one this year.

 

All of a sudden though, that's not enough, people want to ring up flashy eye-candy stats and points, instead of playing smart, conservative, and grinding it out. For example, was the KU game ever in doubt? Not really. 49 rushes for 230 yards (4.7 avg), that's stout running. Against ISU, 52 rushes for 235 yards (4.5 avg). 48 rushes for 205 yards (4.3) against SDSU. As you can see, running it 70% of the time in a game and pounding it on the ground real well on a team might not result in the total yardage and touchdowns fireworks people expect, but it's a certain philosophy to a game and the one that seems to suit Nebraska fans' stylistic preferences most...except they are complaining about it.

[mmmtodd]

im not complaining about running. im complaining about a lack of points. you know, in the games we lose? like when our offensive line suddenly turns french and we cant seem to score on heidi fleiss. stuff like that. tired of watching amazing defensive AND special teams efforts being swept under the rug by complete offensive failure.

[holvy83]

im not complaining about running. im complaining about a lack of points. you know, in the games we lose? like when our offensive line suddenly turns french and we cant seem to score on heidi fleiss. stuff like that. tired of watching amazing defensive AND special teams efforts being swept under the rug by complete offensive failure.

 

So it just doesn't occur to anyone that teams may just be better than NU? Nah its the coaches fault right?

 

edit: IMO i just think this team is still not quite undefeated material, they have made great strides under Bo, and I am overly excited about the future, but this day in college football it is rare that you can run the table year in and year out, and with the change to the Big might make it tougher, i think teams get better with the consistency of the staff.

[bshirt]

im not complaining about running. im complaining about a lack of points. you know, in the games we lose? like when our offensive line suddenly turns french and we cant seem to score on heidi fleiss. stuff like that. tired of watching amazing defensive AND special teams efforts being swept under the rug by complete offensive failure.

 

So it just doesn't occur to anyone that teams may just be better than NU? Nah its the coaches fault right?

 

edit: IMO i just think this team is still not quite undefeated material, they have made great strides under Bo, and I am overly excited about the future, but this day in college football it is rare that you can run the table year in and year out, and with the change to the Big might make it tougher, i think teams get better with the consistency of the staff.

 

So it never occurs to you that there is reason they're always better on one side of the ball? Always the "same" side of the ball? Nah it's just the players fault right?

[I am I]

 

even in 2008 when Bo was just starting his reconstruction, our D helped win a game or 2.

 

but since 2007, our offense has extreme fits of inconsistency. Defense? not so much anymore. but offense...lol, yeah, extreme fits

[kchusker_chris]

zoogies, you quote those fairly solid rushing stats...yet how do you explain all the passing on 3rd and 2? Nothing gets me more worked up than watching passes on 3rd and short when I know we run the ball 70% of the time for an average close to 5 yards. Maybe it's not as skewed to the pass as I think it is...but it seems like AT LEAST 2-3 drives a game end up stalled w/ an incomplete pass on a 3rd and short. When you're only looking at around 15 possessions a game, 2-3 is a lot.

 

Take the Texas game. We were dropping balls frequently in that game, no one can argue that....

 

We start a drive w/ 4:30 in the 1st half. Taylor rush for 5. Taylor rush for 0. Incomplete pass on 3rd and 5. Texas gets the ball back w/ 3 minutes left and an opportunity to score. (they didn't)

 

3rd quarter after Texas just kicked the field go to put them up 17. Incomplete pass, Rex for 4, incomplete pass on 3rd and 6. Drive ends on pass.

 

Later in the 3rd. Helu rush for 6, Incomplete pass, complete pass on 3rd and 4 (thank god). Drive continues. Lee rush for 2. Lee rush for 4. Lee incomplete to Paul on 3rd and 4. Drive ends. Settle for a field go when we were on the 11. Why pass on 3rd in the red zone when Rex/Helu were running the ball fine and we needed TDs?

 

4th quarter. Rex rush for 6. Lee rush for 3. Lee rush for no gain and fumble on 3rd and 1. Why is Lee rushing on 3rd and 1? Oh yeah, zone-read...bad read. Drive continues after Rex gets 1st on 4th and 1. Rex is ALWAYS good for 1 yard, give him the ball!

 

 

The 3rd down play calling just seems bizzare to me. This was just one game, but it seems like Watson can always be counted on to stall a drive w/ some attempt to grab big yards on 3rd and shorts when we need to just grind out 1st downs. Texas was going to be a low scoring game, 1st downs and time of possession were important. OU will be the same way. 3rd and 1...give Rex the ball, not Lee or Cody.

[I am I]

i just read on HuskerExtra, journal-star that in Watson's last 4 CCG as a coordinator, his offense hasn't scored ONE TD....that's unbelieveable.