The Great Big Thread of Shawn Watson Angst

[Husker_x]

We're past time for discussion about coaching changes. They need to happen. Both the stats and the personnel management speak very plainly.

 

I actually agree with what some people have been saying about this season being a turning point for Bo. I think it is. I think if he hitches his cart to Watson, he could eventually unravel his enormous support base, which BTW I most definitely include myself in. There are only so many big games and championships you can blow thanks solely to your offense before you find yourself on the hot seat.

 

It won't happen immediately, but it's already begun. People are starting to grumble and question. If Bo decides to keep the staff unchanged, I think the Continuitists will win the argument in the offseason. They'll remind us how Osborne kept his staff on for years, how McBride even changed the way we played defense and it turned into three NCs. But then our Big 10 season will start. Our offense will sputter and spit like it always has. Flashes of brilliance one week, crushing failures another.

 

If Bo acts now, nobody asks questions. Nobody. Everyone knows it's the smart move. You might bleed some recruits, but with our schedule that story will be on the back burner by mid-October next year. You wait until you're 7-5 with a few more 6 point offensive efforts, now voices are calling for your head.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

What about the zillion from this past month?

They'll either die or get locked. I'm simply drawing a line in the sand, same with the bazillion QB threads we had in the weeks before the season started.

I envision the line in the sand being on the beach as the waves roll in to erase it.

[The Maudfather]

Obvious troll is obvious

[bshirt]

Watson tries to get too fancy with his playcalling instead of just sticking with what's working. For instance in the Oklahoma game the plays that were working were runs between the tackles, and Burkhead in the wildcat. But, Watson tried to force feed his supposed "specialty" with the read option that was downright useless when you have a QB with two gimp legs. If Watson stuck with what worked Nebraska wins that game plain and simple

 

 

Ahh, but you fail to see the brilliance of Watson's playcalling. If something is working, surely the opposing defensive coordinator is going to notice and shut it down. Instead of letting the D prove they can stop the plays, he beats them to the punch and switches to calling plays that do not work in an attempt to fool them at their own game. Pure, unadulterated brilliance.

 

Exactly!

 

Over & over, game after game, year after year......find something that works.....then STOP it before the opponents might be able to. Even better, do that in "multiple" ways.

 

Bill Walsh had nothing on our OC!

[mmmtodd]

i look at it this way. try to follow, i am as well.

 

shawn watson was recommended to be kept as some form of continuity when callahan was axed.

 

a guy to give stability on the offensive side of the ball, which frankly looking back on it now was more than serviceable under that regime, while the most glaring troubles were addressed: the defense/special teams/general direction of the programs heart and its values.

 

everything has worked under this plan: except the offense has actually slid backwards.

 

now, who you blame this on is the biggest argument, but its hard to argue that its a problem. the offense, that is.

 

so to me, the big question is how do you fix it? they say you dont fix what is not broken. between last year and this one, if somethings not broken, its been ducked taped together and left me on the roadside a couple times, theres a rod knocking under the hood and a long drive to the big ten leaves me feeling less than confident.

 

id rather get me a new ride, even if i snatch it from craigslist, rather than hope once again that this one can make another trip without stranding me. it would be insanity defined.

 

i think my opinions have been clear: you rid yourself of watson...or at least some of his supporting staff, rather than rid yourself of pelini or risk putting him into a situation where cooler heads may not prevail and pelini starts getting the whispers.

 

because, lets face it, its gonna happen. (if it isnt already) i find this situation far from similar to tom keeping his staff for so long.

 

shawn watson isnt Bo's staff. whatever is going on, the two do not mesh together. something is off. They both have their own way of doing things, and i feel we see the results of the compromise on the field.

 

these guys are successful males in a testerone filled sport. i dont particularly think shawn watson sucks, but i dont particulary think hes going to magically transform into something he's not, especially under Bo.

[Hercules]

Chatty rips into Watson pretty hard here... Reading the Burkhead stats just makes me mad... It's too bad the coaches didn't give him more of a chance to win the game.

 

My link

 

The Huskers had just squandered a chance to win the last Big 12 championship game.

 

There wasn't a smile within 50 yards when Tom Osborne found Shawn Watson outside the Nebraska locker room.

 

The athletic director and the offensive coordinator spoke for about five minutes. Each shook his head a few times, as if saying “We almost had 'em.”

 

Watson, wearing a black pullover, held his coat and briefcase. Osborne, in a red blazer, held a stat sheet.

 

I wonder if Osborne knew the numbers that weren't on that piece of paper — numbers more disturbing than total yards and turnovers and sacks.

 

What happens when Watson's offense faces pressure?

 

What happens when the stakes are high and the Huskers really need a drive?

 

For the purpose of this column, let's define a pressure situation as this: Nebraska takes possession trailing or tied after halftime.

 

An examination of those instances shows futility at the most crucial moments of the 2010 season:

 

• Nineteen total drives began with Nebraska trailing or tied after halftime. (Six against Oklahoma, four against Texas A&M, five against Iowa State, four against Texas).

 

• Ten drives ended with a punt, including seven 3-and-outs.

 

• Five ended in a turnover: one interception, one fumble, three failures to convert on fourth down.

 

• Three ended with a field goal.

 

• The only touchdown came in overtime at Iowa State, when Nebraska took possession at the 25-yard line.

 

Startling numbers.

 

But take a breath, because the information gets more complicated before it clears up.

 

The 19 drives consist of 112 plays, about 1½ games worth of work.

 

In those 112 plays, there were 38 in which Rex Burkhead carried or received the ball. Those plays gained 233 yards, 6.1 per play.

 

There were 74 plays in which Burkhead didn't carry or receive. Those plays gained 176 yards, 2.4 per play.

 

Here's another way to look at it:

 

The 38 Burkhead touches produced 13 first downs and the touchdown at Iowa State.

 

The 74 other touches produced nine first downs.

 

That's what Burkhead does under pressure. What about Taylor Martinez?

 

In the sampling of 19 drives in which NU trailed or was tied after halftime, Martinez was on the field for 12. Keep in mind that 10 of those 12 occurred against Texas A&M and OU.

Martinez's 12 drives produced seven punts, two giveaways, two turnovers on downs and one field goal.

 

Three points.

 

And on the field-goal drive against Texas A&M, guess who rushed the ball seven of the 11 plays? Burkhead.

 

What about Martinez's arm? What happens when the freshman drops back to pass in pressure situations?

 

The data show 32 plays gaining 68 total yards.

 

That's 10 incompletions, six sacks, one interception and only three completions of more than 8 yards.

 

How many of those 32 plays picked up a first down? Three.

 

So when Martinez dropped to pass, Nebraska's chances of moving the chains were less than 10 percent.

 

Yes, the sample size here is small. Yes, there are different ways to define a pressure situation.

 

Statistics never tell the entire story.

 

But the point is this: Saturday night, during the biggest drives of the year, Nebraska coaches hitched their wagon to a freshman quarterback who has struggled in pressure situations.

 

A quarterback they'd already benched twice this fall.

 

A quarterback who couldn't run his bread-and-butter play — the zone read — because of two gimpy wheels.

 

A quarterback who'd already made critical mental mistakes in the first three quarters against Oklahoma.

 

They could've ridden Rex Burkhead to Nebraska's first conference title in 11 years.

 

Instead, Watson asked Taylor Martinez to mount a rally from the pocket.

 

The most telling moment of all came on the ultimate play — fourth-and-4 at the NU 47, 1:07 left.

 

Brandon Kinnie lined up wide right and ran a 3-yard slant. Even if Martinez had connected, Kinnie likely would've come up short of a first down.

 

The crowd erupted. Oklahoma celebrated. Game over.

 

Wait.

 

NU called time out. A reprieve.

 

Maybe Nebraska would take advantage, just as Texas did a year ago.

 

So what does Watson do?

 

He calls for Burkhead to block. He calls for Kinnie to line up wide left and run the exact same route. Martinez throws behind the receiver. The ball hits the turf.

 

Nebraska loses again.

 

Half an hour later, when the reality of defeat is sinking in outside the Husker locker room, someone hands a stat sheet to a man in a red blazer, a man who knows a thing or two about calling plays in pressure situations.

 

No need to study the numbers, Tom.

 

We've seen this game before.

[mmmtodd]

and cue the Bo pointers, the Taylor hangers, the Lee lovers, the Green never lost a start guys, and general eternal optimists.

 

oh, and knapplc.

[zoogs]

I miss the old 2 minute drills we could run with pretty amazing efficiency.

 

Taylor had a good one at the end of the first half against Oklahoma, but I am floored that the staff has as much faith in him as they evidently do. It is costing us games here. Enough's enough. If Taylor has had seventy-odd chances in pressure situations this year, and put up 2.4 yards per play, I don't know why he is the quarterback on the field.

 

He's shown us some great things obviously, and helped us win some games. But I am very uncomfortable trotting a guy out there that will just go cold, and disappear, often in crunch time. If it's something that doesn't get fixed, I hope we see a new starter.

 

Am I Taylor hanger yet? People will only see the (fair) criticism of Watson here, but it's a pretty biting review of Taylor's abilities too. Indeed he asks the same question many of us have. Why did we hitch the wagon to Taylor? That is on the coaches. No question.

[Hujan]

These numbers back up what I witnessed in the Iowa State and Colorado games: At this point in their careers, Green is the preferable quarterback not because he makes more or bigger plays than Martinez, but because (1) he doesn't make nearly as many critical mistakes, and (2) having Green behind center forces Watson to rely on Burkhead (ahem, our besr offensive player) more.

 

Watson apparently can't help himself when Martinez is in.

[bshirt]

que zoogies to state how Z. Lee would have been so great if only we would have started him this year and his 5,000 SW excuses in...6....5...4....3....

[zoogs]

Apparently there's nothing to do when Taylor is in at QB other than to not let Taylor be QB. A confusing situation, to be sure. I agree with you that if that's the case, Taylor should just not be in. Green should.

 

bshirt, I'll take a snipe here and ask you a similar question to what you asked me. Are you related to Taylor Martinez? Because the stats, they don't lie. Hard to believe that he is the best option when he doesn't have his speed.

[bshirt]

lol....zoogies....you're ahead of schedule!

[zoogs]

Quoted from another board.

 

 

I believe that Bo on down through every offensive coach holds culpability for our season being a failure by the standards set by Bo. Watson has become the scapegoat and could be the one who takes the "fall" for this whole situation, which really isn't the right thing to do.

 

Shawn Watson hasn't had it easy here being a holdover from the previous staff. As a playcaller he has been fine, but the biggest problems he has encountered have been in recruiting his position. I do hold him responsible for issues recruiting players at QB. Now, to be fair, recruiting at times for this staff has been an epic disaster, so the failure of Watson to lure in a top QB is somewhat symptomatic of the great issue we had with atrocious organization and commitment to recruiting early on in Bo's tenure. A kid like Blaine Gabbert would have made last Saturday night a hell of a lot different. In this game you can afford to miss a QB every few years, but if you string together a few bad years, it will snowball on you very quickly, and it has. Failures to recruit effectively at the QB position have hurt us, and it was evident all season long, despite all the excitement over a QB that can run great but struggles mightily in the passing game. However, if Bo were to be firing coaches with bad resumes in recruiting, well he would be looking a lot of new staff members if previous failures were going to be weighed heavily, including some of his own.

 

Offensive Direction-This is something that comes from the head coach. Bo has changed this game up a lot in three years, and isn't a shock that things haven't really taken off, because he doesn't stick with anything. I understand trying to win, and win a lot now, but trying to put band aid fixes on everything for three years gets you this. Furthermore, I hold Bo accountable for the issues on our offensive staff. He had an OC in place, and he went out and hired two guys who were out of jobs, one of them to fill the most important role on an offensive staff. I mean, Jesus turned water into wine, but I'm pretty sure he didn't use toilet water.

 

I have supported Shawn Watson for a long time, and I still do. I am fine if he is gone after this year, and fine if he stays around for 2011. There are a number of things that he is getting all the blame for placed directly on him that are out of his control or actually things he had nothing to do with that are quite aggravating to see. It will certainly be an interesting off season for sure. Lots of decisions for the head coach to make.

 

 

I agree with a lot of that, except to note that Ron Brown is a damn fine coach and a big asset to this staff. Also not sure what the band aid fixes in 2008 were, but you get the idea. The stuff about missing on QBs a few years in a row really resonates with me and moreover, the stockpiling of projects at that position. That's a big reason why we are so thin at depth there right now. People said before the season we had a 3-headed monster there, but let's be real now. We had Taylor (when healthy), and nobody knew what we would get out of Lee and Green other than projections.

 

Went digging around and more on the changes to the offense here. I admit I really know very little about the nature of the changes or the probably direction we are going to take in the future with the O, other than very generally QBs that can run and an offense that relies on running.

 

I feel a lot of the issues come from the top down. Our defensive staff was chosen and closely worked with by Bo, but the offensive staff is a collage of guys with ideologically different philosophies and skill sets. Our head coach keeps changing up his demands and forcing our coaches to adapt. We have changed our offense each year he has been here as head coach, it isn't a wonder that our offense is almost in complete disarray. We have taken shortcuts in program building and it shows in a big game against a team that has its identity and is established.

 

Laying this issue at the feet of your offensive coordinator may seem like the popular and easy solution to the problem, but I do not believe that is the right course of action at all. I'm not advocating keeping anyone or getting rid of anyone, but rather that we have a flesh wound here and sticking a Band-Aid on it isn't going to change much.

 

Basically, we have problems with the offense right now, but it's going to take a real solution that the folks in charge are going to have to identify and work at. Most just want to change the name of the guy, but I think the problems here are more deep-rooted than that and Bo as HC will have to work up a solid and comprehensive plan of attack to find the best solution, rather than cut anyone and throw some money at someone else (advocated by some fans) or replace anyone that leaves with someone from within and keep on chugging as we have (what seems to be the likely future in the next several years if anyone leaves). People want Watson to get fired or quit and they see it as a solution, but it's not a solution. Whether he stays or not, we need a solution, and it probably isn't clear to anyone what that may be - so we have only to turn to Bo, and hope.

[ESPY]

Chatelain does it again. Bravo for digging up the stats that really matter.

 

These stats, though based on only 19 drives and 112 plays, cannot afford to go unnoticed, especially by our coaches, because those 19 drives were arguably the most important drives of our season. They were the difference between 10-3 (nearly 9-4 thanks to ISU) and 13-0.

 

I completely agree with Zoogies saying "That is on the coaches. No question." It is the coaches' responsibility to know where your strengths and weaknesses are when the game is on the line. As poorly as Martinez played, the coaches continued to set him up for failure, and just when they started getting it right by putting the ball in Rex's hands, they went back to what wasn't working - the passing game of a redshirt freshman who struggles in crunch time.

[ESPY]

This may not necessarily count as angst against Watson or wishing he could better utilize our playmakers, but I think it would be fascinating to see what our current roster of offensive players could do with the same power run formations and play-action passing game Stanford uses. Considering the guys we have on the roster at this moment, methinks we seem better-suited for something like that.

 

I know Watson is a WC/multiple guy, so that's not his cup of tea. But, doesn't it at least seem conceivable that our offense would find consistently positive results with an identity like that moving forward?