Watson a candidate for the Miami(OH) head coach position

[huskerscott]

All I see in this thread is the fact that Nebraska needs to adapt and evolve. Well this awesome evolution that Watson revealed to us this year was the zone read with a mobile quarterback with limited throwing ability. The only problem is that this has been done already by Texas. It got them a national title 5 years ago. Defense have seen this and with proper athletes have no problem stopping it. Texas also had one of the best QB's of their program running it. Texas simply knew what we were running that game along with everyone in the stands and Texas has the athletes to stop it. The only trick up Watson's sleeve was to come out in a new formation and do it again. Watson really needed to adapt as the year progressed and we saw more talented teams and we simply didn't.

 

Watson has showed two years running he has no backup plan if his ideas don't work. He does the same plan all year long until it is figured out and then reverts the offense into a shell not to lose the ball to the other team. This either means that backups don't know how to get involved into the system after injuries or he doesn't have a philosophy that can be met by everyone on the team. THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED BY HIM OR A STAFF CHANGE.

 

 

Yeah, it's such an awful offense, spreading the field with a mobile QB. If only both teams playing for the MNC would have thought about it they'd be playing for a title game...oh, wait, you mean Auburn and Oregon are both spread option concept type teams?

Yes but both teams have things compelement the zone read and dont frickin run it every play. Plus they have the athletes to run it. Oregon has been doing it for several years.... remember Dennis Dixon.

 

If nebraska had something counter it besides the Wildcat and had a QB that could throw, receivers that could catch it. Nebraska would be 13-0 right now possible playing in the Title game.

 

The fact is Watson put his eggs on the zone read, teams figured out how stop it. After that happened he had no idea what to do.

 

Our new coordinator whoever it might be and Bo need to make a call down to Norman, get some info on that Diamond formation.

 

Call to Norman for the Diamond formation? The creator of the formation is now in Morgantown, WV and the copy cat of the formation, Kevin Wilson, is now the head coach for Indiana.

 

If's don't win titles, if Martinez doesn't catch a helmet to the lower leg against MU, or doesn't get stomped on by Caputo against A&M, we are probably 12-1 and headed to a BCS game also, but we aren't.

 

And FWIW, we ran VERY few true zone reads over the 2nd half of the year. A majority of the plays people thought were the zone read, were actually called in the huddle as a keep\give.

Well it doesnt matter who created it. It will be the next best thing to take off in College Football. You think Stoops doesnt know how to run it, please. Wilson didnt take the whole playbook to Bloomington. Nebraska was about 5 years late to the zone read obession, like wise teams knew how to defend it. Nebraska didnt have the EXPERIENCE to run it from both players and coaches. Remember Newton was at Florida before going the JC route to end up at Auburn.

 

Watson screwed this whole thing up shoving the whole offense down the players throats. We shouldve been done is gradually introduce the offense to the team over the course of the season. Then unveil this thing in the bowl game or CCG.

 

We all know IF's dont win titles.

[zoogs]

I disagree with the whole 'next best thing' search on offense. Execution > clever schemes, every time.

 

I agree that we forced this offense down the team's throats too soon. It is stubbornness to have something you want ideally to run and ignore the staff and personnel in place. We have some potential in this direction, but little depth and little experience all around. A poor decision. Or rather, a calculated gamble that looked like it would pay off, before the risks came to fruition and bit us good.

[knapplc]

I agree that we forced this offense down the team's throats too soon.

 

Who are the players who don't fit this offense?

[huskers1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb671XwyCYU&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evjOIHPGoUw&feature=related

 

This is the main reason Watson gets on my nerves. Watch these two games and look at how many times we are in two back sets in the gun, where was that later in the year? Look at how nice that triple option looks in the Idaho game. Did we see that again at any point in the season? How lovely looking were those two passes to Rex on a slant route out of the gun in the WKU game? That was sure a nice long ball to Paul in the WKU game as well. How many times did we try going deep to Paul this year? I would be willing to bet it was less than 5 times. I realize that these are lesser teams than UT or Okie St. or OU but who's to say that these plays wouldn't have worked, we didn't even see them. This is yet another example of how I believe that Watson goes into a shell and clams up.

[knapplc]

This is the main reason Watson gets on my nerves. Watch these two games and look at how many times we are in two back sets in the gun, where was that later in the year? Look at how nice that triple option looks in the Idaho game. Did we see that again at any point in the season? How lovely looking were those two passes to Rex on a slant route out of the gun in the WKU game? That was sure a nice long ball to Paul in the WKU game as well. How many times did we try going deep to Paul this year? I would be willing to bet it was less than 5 times. I realize that these are lesser teams than UT or Okie St. or OU but who's to say that these plays wouldn't have worked, we didn't even see them. This is yet another example of how I believe that Watson goes into a shell and clams up.

 

Well, I think the simple answer to that is that our O Line was, once again, banged up. Or young. Or young and banged up. Sometimes both at once.

 

While it's fun to rail against Watson for going into a shell, we simply don't have the line depth we need right now. It is what it is.

[huskers1]

Man, again enough with excuses. Every single team in college football has injuries throughout the year. Keith Williams was out there playing. If he was that hurt where he couldn't play then put A-Rod in. All we heard throughout spring and fall camp was that we are going to have much more depth on the o line, so where was it? When exactly were we really banged up? Started the 2nd quarter of the mizzou game? Right before the A&M game? We were sure able to push back CU, but for some reason we weren't able to push back KU so maybe we got healthier in bt those two games....? Also being banged up on the o line is a reason for not using rex and roy in the backfield at the same time? Being banged up on the o line is a reason for not running a slant pattern w/ Rex out of the backfield?

[knapplc]

Man, again enough with excuses. Every single team in college football has injuries throughout the year. Keith Williams was out there playing. If he was that hurt where he couldn't play then put A-Rod in. All we heard throughout spring and fall camp was that we are going to have much more depth on the o line, so where was it? When exactly were we really banged up? Started the 2nd quarter of the mizzou game? Right before the A&M game? We were sure able to push back CU, but for some reason we weren't able to push back KU so maybe we got healthier in bt those two games....? Also being banged up on the o line is a reason for not using rex and roy in the backfield at the same time? Being banged up on the o line is a reason for not running a slant pattern w/ Rex out of the backfield?

 

You're preaching to the choir. I'm just spitting out the party line. I am not defending Watson or the results of this offense.

[irafreak]

knapplc has made some tremendous points about Watson's work as QB coach. To that end, I've caught wind of an interesting development that also just so happens to support knapplc's remarks about the door being wide open for Watson to get a job elsewhere.

 

The interesting development is that Watson is no longer the QB coach. The reigns have been handed to Tim Beck. Clearly this offense is beginning to head in a different direction with Wats no longer coaching the QBs.

 

Oh and another tidbit I've heard (and many of you will like this) - Ted Gilmore is on his way out. Most likely the bowl game will be his last as a coach on this staff.

 

Thank you God!!!

 

That's "TWO" priceless gifts.

 

 

Yeah, lets hope that we get some different coaches that help us win 10 games each year, Oh!! wait thats not good enough any more. We only want coaches that win them all.

Watch out Bo you could be next.

 

GBR!!!

I'm actually in the group that believes we have won 10 games despite the offenses inconsistencies....

[irafreak]

Apparently, a kid's high school stats - instead of the story behind a kid's skillset, or his video - tells anyone everything they need to know about what he can or can't do.

 

I do not know how anyone can characterize '09 to '10 as neutral, seems there is a lot of focus on a few tough games, mostly due to injury. I hope people will give the next OC a lot more rope than they did Watson. Not being a "Callahan guy" will probably help the next guy quite a bit, I suspect.

 

I see the anti-Watson crowd doesn't have a monopoly on hyperbole. You're mischaracterizing my statement about Green and his high school numbers.

 

The problem is that you want to give Watson a pass because of injuries, ignoring the fact that, especially in 2010, we've suffered some pretty key injuries on defense, yet the defense continues to play at a high level. We lost both starting linebackers just before the season, we lost Ciante Evans and Fonzie Dennard for a game or two each, we lost Stache for a half or two, and yet we haven't seen that crazy drop-off on Defense like we've seen on Offense. We've had more injuries preventing guys from playing on Defense than Offense, yet the results are what they are.

 

I get that you have this propensity to hitch your wagon to a guy and stick with him, zoogies, and the loyalty is admirable. I think you're your own worst enemy when it comes to Watson support, however, because I think the general feeling toward Watson isn't nearly as full of rancor as it seems - but in the face of implacable support for a coach not getting it done, those pointing out flaws are forced to go to ever greater lengths to prove their point. Perhaps had you given in a smidge, the Watson threads would have been less.

 

Still, it has given us something to talk about. And that's the whole point of the board.

This to me is all that needs to be said. The defensive system works and you just plug guys in. The offense has no system. Changes have to be made to get a system instead of this "multiple" offense with no identity. Taylor runs for big plays, roy runs for big plays, rex in the wildcat...it's all good but we rarely have consecutive drives where we are converting third downs. The system is changing and we just need a coordinator and assistants that can think like the system.

[irafreak]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

 

That's true, but people can grow, adapt, evolve. (They can also regress obviously.) I'm not arguing one way or the other, but who is to say that Watson couldn't undergo the same type of transformation that Osborne did? Tom liked to wing the ball around early on, before he adapted his power running philosophy. When it comes to the Watson argument people like to pretend that he is what he is, it is a state of permanence, and he will never alter his offensive strategies, ever. I think that is an overly simplistic view that assumes an awful lot of stubborn stupidity.

 

Lose Watson and you start all over again. That may not be a bad thing, but remember, we learn by screwing up. Nobody grows as an individual when everything is going perfectly...we grow when we screw the pooch, are forced to look at how and why we screwed said pooch, and think hard about what we can do differently to avoid screwing up again in the same manner. Shawn has made some mistakes the last couple of years, no question. But I can almost guarantee you that he learned from those mistakes, and has grown as a coach from them. If he leaves, another school benefits from the growing pains he experienced here, not us.

 

Or not. Devil's advocate and all.

You know I was watching the 92 OU game the other night and it was Tommie Frazier the freshman and TO's playbook wasn't that large but the plays he used were his power runs and toss sweeps but the rest was misdirection. The shovel pass worked great several times and Tommie would roll out of the pocket but hand the ball off on his way out and the running back (calvin jones) would take the ball back against the flow and that worked real well too. To me Bo gets it. His defense creates mismatches and confusion by doing simple things. He wants his offense to do the same. I don't think Barney Cotton's line philosophy of overpowering people is going to cut it in Bo's final gameplan. Watson tries to keep the defense off guard by mixing up the calls but it doesn't have to be that complicated. The wildcat works so well because of the misdirection and forcing the defense to react quickly. Heck 03 Barney Cotton used that counter toss play and that worked well for a while. Just some random thoughts about the direction of our offense (hopefully)...

[butterswolfman]

I disagree with the whole 'next best thing' search on offense. Execution > clever schemes, every time.

 

I agree that we forced this offense down the team's throats too soon. It is stubbornness to have something you want ideally to run and ignore the staff and personnel in place. We have some potential in this direction, but little depth and little experience all around. A poor decision. Or rather, a calculated gamble that looked like it would pay off, before the risks came to fruition and bit us good.

Can't agree more.. I have actually come around on Wats staying for at least one more year probably two. When you really look at it this is the first year we REALLY got to run this offense with a Freshman QB. I still think the zone read is called too much to be effective. Also his play calling doesn't adapt well in game. I.E. no pitches or screens against a defense that is blowing things up. still I think in a year or two i think this offense will be pretty good.

[Hujan]

It's about time for the Watson supporters to recognize that, if you scrutinize every offense, you'll find potential excuses for shoddy performance. But what sets most of those offenses apart from Nebraska is that they find ways to put points on the board despite those potential excuses.

 

You will find injuries (even key injuries), youth, inexperience, bad luck, etc. on just about every team. And yet, most don't fold up and shrug their shoulders when they get shutout of the endzone if not shutout altogether. They find a way to carry on.

 

The fact that the Watson apologists fail to recognize this fact is either due to (1) insane bias, (2) insane tunnel vision that prevents them from comparing this program to other ones, or (3) a combination of the two. Either way, please don't condemn the rest of us for being very unhappy with an offense that is content to not score touchdowns against top defenses because, you know, "they're tough and we've got some injuries and young players and stuff."

[zoogs]

I am not that happy with the offense, but there are bigger issues holding us back than Watson. Those wanting him gone are blindly hoping that he will take all these bad things away with him, and that it will be a quick fix. It will not...

[bshirt]

I am not that happy with the offense, but there are bigger issues holding us back than Watson. Those wanting him gone are blindly hoping that he will take all these bad things away with him, and that it will be a quick fix. It will not...

 

Says who?

 

Bo has proved twice what a monster difference good coaching can do with the blackshirts. Good coaching with the offense can do the same.

[Hujan]

I am not that happy with the offense, but there are bigger issues holding us back than Watson. Those wanting him gone are blindly hoping that he will take all these bad things away with him, and that it will be a quick fix. It will not...

 

That's like objecting to sailors who are rushing to plug a hole in the ship's hull because there is also a fire in the galley and pirates on the horizon. The fact that the offense might have numerous problems should not stop us from fixing a major one when we can.