The One Reason for Concern

[bball_backer]

Reading these threads, everyone's going back and forth about the offense, play calling, execution, etc. All that is fine and good for debate, but I think we can all agree on one thing: 2011 Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball.

 

Whether you think the offense will be top 10 this year, or you think they'll have to play to not lose, it's obvious they will need to lean on the run. To run the ball, you need an offensive line. Forget about scheme, execution, etc. Against an FCS team, a top 10 BCS school should be able to just physically push guys aside. Period. Forget about stacking the box for a minute and rewatch the game. More than once the Mocs d-linemen were getting off blocks and disrupting plays, that had nothing to do with stacking the box. Just ask UTC's head coach:

 

When we came in, we didn't know if we could get off of blocks," Huesman said. "Could we even stop the power play? Can we defend the belly option? And we did. For the most part, I thought we defended a lot of plays pretty well.

 

I have no doubt they will get better with experience and solidify the line a little bit. But if you're not a little concerned by that comment coming from a middle of the pack FCS team's coach, you're glasses are pretty rosey.

[kyle sibert]

I can agree with that. I don't know what the reason was, but the oline couldn't run an iso or a power run. In the next few weeks we'll see why.

[bleedNUred]

The lack of running well in short yardage has me concerned, hopefully we can get good improvement this week before Fresno St. You're supposed to see the most improvement of a team from week 1 to week 2, hopefully that's true for us as well.

[n.e.husker]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

[The Dude]

Reading these threads, everyone's going back and forth about the offense, play calling, execution, etc. All that is fine and good for debate, but I think we can all agree on one thing: 2011 Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball.

 

Whether you think the offense will be top 10 this year, or you think they'll have to play to not lose, it's obvious they will need to lean on the run. To run the ball, you need an offensive line. Forget about scheme, execution, etc. Against an FCS team, a top 10 BCS school should be able to just physically push guys aside. Period. Forget about stacking the box for a minute and rewatch the game. More than once the Mocs d-linemen were getting off blocks and disrupting plays, that had nothing to do with stacking the box. Just ask UTC's head coach:

 

When we came in, we didn't know if we could get off of blocks," Huesman said. "Could we even stop the power play? Can we defend the belly option? And we did. For the most part, I thought we defended a lot of plays pretty well.

 

I have no doubt they will get better with experience and solidify the line a little bit. But if you're not a little concerned by that comment coming from a middle of the pack FCS team's coach, you're glasses are pretty rosey.

While I agree with the premise of this post, Chattanooga isn't a middle of the pack FCS team. They're a top 15 FCS team.

[kyle sibert]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

 

I asked myself the same question. I think part of it might have something to do with practicing the option and the run with our new oline. If we can get 7 in the box, we should see good improvement with our run blocking.

[irafreak]

What I took out of that quote was a coach expecting to get pounded (and did) but feels they didn't. I don't care for that mentality. It's the ole "good effort guys", "we're just happy to be here" crap.

[Enhance]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

*Warning - Going back to the glory days post...*

 

In the 90's, we had 8-9 guys in the box defending us on most plays, yet it didn't matter. We had the push, the technique and the speed to still get at least a four yard gain. Different offense, a solidified system that had been in place for years, a well tenured offensive mind - yes, we had all of those things and don't now. However, offensive linemen at Nebraska shouldn't have a problem with an FCS team in the run blocking game. Physically, we should outmatch them without question. The only other viable explanation is that our technique is extremely poor on the offensive line, which I have heard thrown around by observers before (most namely Stai).

 

Throwing the ball more effectively, which has been a point of emphasis ever since Martinez took over, is still a point of emphasis now. And throwing the ball better should help set up the run. However, it's not just that we have a young line. It's that we have a young line that obviously has some technique issues. They should get better with time.

 

Two years from now this offensive line could be pretty good, even if Cotton is still coaching them.

[GMoose]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

*Warning - Going back to the glory days post...*

 

In the 90's, we had 8-9 guys in the box defending us on most plays, yet it didn't matter. We had the push, the technique and the speed to still get at least a four yard gain. Different offense, a solidified system that had been in place for years, a well tenured offensive mind - yes, we had all of those things and don't now. However, offensive linemen at Nebraska shouldn't have a problem with an FCS team in the run blocking game. Physically, we should outmatch them without question. The only other viable explanation is that our technique is extremely poor on the offensive line, which I have heard thrown around by observers before (most namely Stai).

 

This. I get frustrated at games, but that's just the way I am. But if my hair were longer than 1/4" I would have ripped it out when we couldn't get into the endzone on 1st and goal from the 6 yard line. We should be able to go up to the other team, tap them on the shoulder, and tell them that we're going to pound the ball 6 yards dead up the gut, and be able to freaking do it against Tennessee Chattanooga.

[HuskerFowler]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

*Warning - Going back to the glory days post...*

 

In the 90's, we had 8-9 guys in the box defending us on most plays, yet it didn't matter. We had the push, the technique and the speed to still get at least a four yard gain. Different offense, a solidified system that had been in place for years, a well tenured offensive mind - yes, we had all of those things and don't now. However, offensive linemen at Nebraska shouldn't have a problem with an FCS team in the run blocking game. Physically, we should outmatch them without question. The only other viable explanation is that our technique is extremely poor on the offensive line, which I have heard thrown around by observers before (most namely Stai).

 

This. I get frustrated at games, but that's just the way I am. But if my hair were longer than 1/4" I would have ripped it out when we couldn't get into the endzone on 1st and goal from the 6 yard line. We should be able to go up to the other team, tap them on the shoulder, and tell them that we're going to pound the ball 6 yards dead up the gut, and be able to freaking do it against Tennessee Chattanooga.

 

agree!!!

[AFhusker]

Reading these threads, everyone's going back and forth about the offense, play calling, execution, etc. All that is fine and good for debate, but I think we can all agree on one thing: 2011 Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball.

 

Whether you think the offense will be top 10 this year, or you think they'll have to play to not lose, it's obvious they will need to lean on the run. To run the ball, you need an offensive line. Forget about scheme, execution, etc. Against an FCS team, a top 10 BCS school should be able to just physically push guys aside. Period. Forget about stacking the box for a minute and rewatch the game. More than once the Mocs d-linemen were getting off blocks and disrupting plays, that had nothing to do with stacking the box. Just ask UTC's head coach:

 

When we came in, we didn't know if we could get off of blocks," Huesman said. "Could we even stop the power play? Can we defend the belly option? And we did. For the most part, I thought we defended a lot of plays pretty well.

 

I have no doubt they will get better with experience and solidify the line a little bit. But if you're not a little concerned by that comment coming from a middle of the pack FCS team's coach, you're glasses are pretty rosey.

While I agree with the premise of this post, Chattanooga isn't a middle of the pack FCS team. They're a top 15 FCS team.

 

And we are supposedly a top 15 FBS team that shouldn't have a problem pushing around their front 7.

[RedDenver]

They had 8 and 9 men in the box consistantly.

 

I question why we didnt pass over the top of their pressure more.

*Warning - Going back to the glory days post...*

 

In the 90's, we had 8-9 guys in the box defending us on most plays, yet it didn't matter. We had the push, the technique and the speed to still get at least a four yard gain. Different offense, a solidified system that had been in place for years, a well tenured offensive mind - yes, we had all of those things and don't now. However, offensive linemen at Nebraska shouldn't have a problem with an FCS team in the run blocking game. Physically, we should outmatch them without question. The only other viable explanation is that our technique is extremely poor on the offensive line, which I have heard thrown around by observers before (most namely Stai).

 

Throwing the ball more effectively, which has been a point of emphasis ever since Martinez took over, is still a point of emphasis now. And throwing the ball better should help set up the run. However, it's not just that we have a young line. It's that we have a young line that obviously has some technique issues. They should get better with time.

 

Two years from now this offensive line could be pretty good, even if Cotton is still coaching them.

This is a case of some selective memory. There were only a few seasons when NU could run effectively against 8-9 guys in the box - and those were some of the best offensive lines of all time. Remember 1990-1992 when we couldn't run against most good defenses? And couldn't run against anyone with 8-9 guys in the box? TO countered this with play-action to WR's and TE's and occasional screen passes.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that we didn't really try passing over the top. And that's because we didn't need to - we won by 33 points. I suspect Fresno St. will try 8-9 guys in the box next week, and we'll get to see what Beck counters that with. Let's see a sample size of more than 1 game before deciding what this offense is capable of.

[The Dude]

Reading these threads, everyone's going back and forth about the offense, play calling, execution, etc. All that is fine and good for debate, but I think we can all agree on one thing: 2011 Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball.

 

Whether you think the offense will be top 10 this year, or you think they'll have to play to not lose, it's obvious they will need to lean on the run. To run the ball, you need an offensive line. Forget about scheme, execution, etc. Against an FCS team, a top 10 BCS school should be able to just physically push guys aside. Period. Forget about stacking the box for a minute and rewatch the game. More than once the Mocs d-linemen were getting off blocks and disrupting plays, that had nothing to do with stacking the box. Just ask UTC's head coach:

 

When we came in, we didn't know if we could get off of blocks," Huesman said. "Could we even stop the power play? Can we defend the belly option? And we did. For the most part, I thought we defended a lot of plays pretty well.

 

I have no doubt they will get better with experience and solidify the line a little bit. But if you're not a little concerned by that comment coming from a middle of the pack FCS team's coach, you're glasses are pretty rosey.

While I agree with the premise of this post, Chattanooga isn't a middle of the pack FCS team. They're a top 15 FCS team.

 

And we are supposedly a top 15 FBS team that shouldn't have a problem pushing around their front 7.

"I agree with the premise of this post".

[RedDenver]

 

And we are supposedly a top 15 FBS team that shouldn't have a problem pushing around their front 7.

True, but we didn't get to see that though - we had problems pushing around their front 9.

[cornhuskers4ever]

How long will Offensive starters be out of action? I think with experience, the depth on the o line will shine.