Am I the only

[junior4949]

The thing of it is that it's not just ARod. Every play it seems there is at least one OL that gets completely thrashed. It wasn't just #63 when the team was averaging 2.3 yards per rush and Burkhead was averaging 1.1 yards per carry. It was all of them. They get zero push and perenially get beat. Beck has the same handicap that Watson did. I can only imagine how difficult it is to call plays behind a pi$$ poor OL.

[NoLongerN]

I agree with your post. I have the same concerns. I thought we would get blown out by Wisconsin and I also thought we'd lose by 2-3 TD's to OSU ... seeing that I believe our O & D line just is not their. For 2 1/2 quarters I had it about right. I still think general my perception of the team is spot on. We came back against a team that was missing alot of parts in this game and frankly, we made their troubled freshman QB look good ... and with David's steal of the ball and then the QB injury ... the momentum of the day helped to swing things our direction.

 

Overall, I think this team was probably ranked too high initially ... we were given lots of credit for our D. I had us around 25 in the country to start the year ... some on this board would probably say I wasn't a true fan with that view. After these first 4-5 weeks, I'd still have us around 25 in the country.

 

Do people realize that even in the Big 12 ... we would behind and lose to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A & M, Texas, Baylor, Kansas St. Mizzou. I realize there are a few toss ups ... but hey, even Iowa St. might be better then us. We look pretty good in the B1G because there is one solid team in Wisky and the rest are really below par ... even for the B1G. All that to say ... overall I think the perceptions/desires of Husker Nation are a bit high for where this team really is. I had this team with atleast four losses this year ... and I see nothing in the O & D lines and the secondary to change that view. Funny thing is ... I'm not down on TMart or the offense ... it's about where I thought it would be. I think if TMart can make good decisions and protect the ball, this team can and will go with 2 losses. It's the D and it's lack of development to this point that continues my thought that yes ... we will have four losses.

[junior4949]

I agree with your post. I have the same concerns. I thought we would get blown out by Wisconsin and I also thought we'd lose by 2-3 TD's to OSU ... seeing that I believe our O & D line just is not their. For 2 1/2 quarters I had it about right. I still think general my perception of the team is spot on. We came back against a team that was missing alot of parts in this game and frankly, we made their troubled freshman QB look good ... and with David's steal of the ball and then the QB injury ... the momentum of the day helped to swing things our direction.

 

Overall, I think this team was probably ranked too high initially ... we were given lots of credit for our D. I had us around 25 in the country to start the year ... some on this board would probably say I wasn't a true fan with that view. After these first 4-5 weeks, I'd still have us around 25 in the country.

 

Do people realize that even in the Big 12 ... we would behind and lose to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A & M, Texas, Baylor, Kansas St. Mizzou. I realize there are a few toss ups ... but hey, even Iowa St. might be better then us. We look pretty good in the B1G because there is one solid team in Wisky and the rest are really below par ... even for the B1G. All that to say ... overall I think the perceptions/desires of Husker Nation are a bit high for where this team really is. I had this team with atleast four losses this year ... and I see nothing in the O & D lines and the secondary to change that view. Funny thing is ... I'm not down on TMart or the offense ... it's about where I thought it would be. I think if TMart can make good decisions and protect the ball, this team can and will go with 2 losses. It's the D and it's lack of development to this point that continues my thought that yes ... we will have four losses.

 

I went all in before the season. While I did not think we'd win or even play for a NC, I did think we'd win the Big 10. Between 1/4 and 1/3 of our D was a preseason All American. Even though we lost a lot in the secondary, Evans and others saw a lot of playing time a year ago. The front four was essentially the same as a year ago. Our D in my eyes has been an epic failure this year. On O, I really expected a lot more from the OL. The WR are better this year. As a group, they're about as good as we've had here. Martinez is fine. We just can't expect to ever make a drop back passer out of him like Beck tried to do against Wisconsin. The RB's could be something very special if the OL would just do their job.

 

I thought this was the year we'd make it to a BCS bowl against a very good team to see where we really measured up. Unfortunately, I don't see any of this happening. I didn't see us having the 66th ranked D in the nation per rivals. While I'm glad we were able to get it together and beat Ohio State, I've very disappointed that this team just never seems to ever play with any sense of urgency. I'd like to think this was a turning point, but after basically doing the same thing against Fresno State and then letting Washington back into the game I just can't take that bait.

[robsker]

Heart and passion? Where was it the first 2 1/2 quarters? I rewatched the game last night. With 3:34 left in the third quarter, we were averaging 2.3 yards per carry. Burkhead was averaging a whopping 1.1 yards per carry. I saw Martinez throw a dart to I believe Reed as he was being tackled around the 10. #63 was standing there watching his man blow by him nailing his QB. I saw one play where Burkhead was tackled for a three yard loss. The first to help him up was his OL that let his man nail Burkhead in the backfield. It's no wonder Beck called the game he did against Wisconsin. Our D made a horrible Ohio State O look like worldbeaters for nearly three quarters until David yanked the ball away from their QB. If we play the rest of the way like we did Saturday, Michigan will absolutely crush us. We'll be so far behind by the time we actually start playing that it really won't matter much what we do. It looks like the coaching staff right now is just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. I'm glad for the win, but I get more and more pi$$ed each time I watch the game.

 

Junior --- you are quite correct --- up until the 3rd quarter they were their tight, flat and unfocused selves --- BUT they did not go belly up and quit at that point (the way Pelini teams have in the past) --- they got fired up and showed great heart and fire in the last quarter and a half. So... our most recent example of NU football was a focused and fiery team (albeit for the 1.5 quarters only --- but is was the last 1.5 quarters they have played). If that same fire, effort and intensity continues, NU will be quite competitive --- that is what I mean by the right team showing up.

 

Certainly NU has not had a fired up O and D for the same 4 quarters of the same game ... except perhaps a time or two in 40+ games under Pelini... so what is the likelihood that it happens in the future? Low... but at least we have seen what a stoked up and focused NU O and D can do if they are, in fact, playing hard. Lets hope that that is the team that shows up against Michiga (and MSU).. If so, we'll be OK. If not, we get rocked.

[junior4949]

Watching this team has been very frustrating. We have seen what they can be in the first quarter of the Wisconsin game and the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game, and then we see what they are by the remaining three quarters of those games. It's been about as frustrating watching this as it was watching Lawrence Phillips pi$$ his life away.

[Hammerhead]

Suffice to say, I like the team that came out in the 2nd half against OSU a lot more than I like the team that played the 1st half... I just hope that we can put together a complete game like that 2nd half against OSU before the season ends.

[NoLongerN]

Suffice to say, I like the team that came out in the 2nd half against OSU a lot more than I like the team that played the 1st half... I just hope that we can put together a complete game like that 2nd half against OSU before the season ends.

 

Agreed Hammerhead. I enjoyed reading the comments in this thread.

[NebHusker72]

The O/D lines are what i don't get. Watching 2.5 quarters of that game, both sides were getting man-handled...our secondary is young minus Dennard. We lost a lot of experience back there but if the D-Line was getting pressure it would help out our secondary....A LOT! Same goes for the O-Line....you want to help a youthful offense...keep the other team out of our backfield. It happened in the 2nd half and it made a ton of difference w/ our offensive success

 

They looked like they ate too big of a meal or hadn't woken up from a nap until the 3rd quarter.

[The Dude]

that's a solid unit.

That's what she said.

[zoogs]

Yea, we should have done much better than we did, but we came back from down 27-6. That was an incredible display of how much this team has in them. A standard cushy nothing-to-see-much victory would not have had the great positive impact on the team as a win like we had. Don't count these guys out for doing something great the rest of the year!

 

What this team has lacked is swag and confidence. This game should have pumped them full of both.

[JJ Husker]

You aren't the only one.

I can appreciate the W as much as anyone but how you get it and who from has to figure into the equation.

This kind of follows a "what did we learn" type thread.

 

1- I was somewhat impressed with our offense, more so with Taylor, and extremely more so with Rexy. We seemed to wear down and move the ball against what is purportedly a good defense. The O-line really struggled controlling the line of scrimmage the first half but managed to open some holes in the 2nd half. I still don't feel like they "controlled" the line but still very glad they didn't quit and got the offense moving. How much of that was the result of tOSU getting gassed remains to be seen.

 

2- Also on offense I was very pleased with the play calling in the 2nd half. I think Beck shows a lot better ability to adjust in game, especially at halftime, than Watson ever did. But, as happy as I was with 2nd half play calling I was even more disturbed by the first half play calling. It seemed some of the more critical lessons from the Wiscy game were not properly learned by the coaching staff. They did not shy away from putting Martinez in the very same, apparently unwinnable, situations that he was put in the Wiscy game particularly towards the end of the 2nd quarter. It was virtually like a replay of the Wiscy with the interception and then giving up a field goal. Should've went in down 17-6 and regrouped.

 

3- I learned that momentum in college football is maybe the most important intangible. The David take away, Miller getting injured and Bauserman coming in were huge. I can't get over the feeling that this win had alot more to do with their meltdown than it did with our play. I always feel better when we control our own destiny and it didn't seem like that is what took place.

 

4- Our defense is not good. The preseason hype was misplaced. We have playmakers here and there but the overall effectiveness is, well, ineffective to say the least. Tackling is bad. Secondary play (yes I realize they are young) does not seem to follow good fundamentals, and we appear very slow considering it was thought we would be so much faster in the B1G. I have serious doubts about the 2 gap system working in the B1G or even working anywhere without a Suh type player. We can not and have not gotten any pressure with our front four. Our D line has looked extremely slow against every QB we have faced. Bauserman may be the only exception to this but plainly put, he is not good. We lose containment regularly. IMO Carl called a totally worthless game for our defense. I realize they have some serious execution problems but did they not watch any film from the MSU-OSU game the week prior. OSU had severe problems dealing with blitzs. So what do we do, we don't blitz. Terrible effort on the part of our DC. Last thing is size. Not much we can do about this for awhile but I will be really surprised if we can continue to have any success in the B1G with under-sized LB's and D-line. I like the idea of being a bit smaller and quicker but I'm not seeing the speed and I am definitely seeing the line push both Wiscy and OSU got against us. Week after week, I think the size/weight difference is going to take a toll on us. The D is the huge elephant in our room. It will be a long year or two if that doesn't get rectified and quick. Luckily I still believe in the Pelini's for defense but another couple game plans like this one and not sure I'll feel the same level of confidence in their ability to adjust.

 

5- I am disappointed in some of our fans. Whether or not a fan has the right to boo their own team is not the issue. At Nebraska, it simply isn't done. Period. If you don't like it you can pack it where the sun doesn't shine. If you've got nothing better to offer than booing your own QB or coach or play selection then stay the F home. If you want to act like so many of the other classless organizations in sports then it is as simple as attending their games instead. Don't tell me how much you support the team or how much you paid for your ticket. I don't care. This is not to say you can't criticize. I have been doing it every week in front of my television set. The difference is the players can't hear it. If this game showed you nothing else it should have showed you that they actually do care and are trying. The players aren't quitting on us and we cannot quit on them.

[Hammerhead]

The O/D lines are what i don't get. Watching 2.5 quarters of that game, both sides were getting man-handled...our secondary is young minus Dennard. We lost a lot of experience back there but if the D-Line was getting pressure it would help out our secondary....A LOT! Same goes for the O-Line....you want to help a youthful offense...keep the other team out of our backfield. It happened in the 2nd half and it made a ton of difference w/ our offensive success

 

They looked like they ate too big of a meal or hadn't woken up from a nap until the 3rd quarter.

 

There were quite a few missed blocks, but some of those came from the RBs and WRs. Reed and Abdullah both missed some key blocks.

[Pasadena Husker]

Heart and passion? Where was it the first 2 1/2 quarters? I rewatched the game last night. With 3:34 left in the third quarter, we were averaging 2.3 yards per carry. Burkhead was averaging a whopping 1.1 yards per carry. I saw Martinez throw a dart to I believe Reed as he was being tackled around the 10. #63 was standing there watching his man blow by him nailing his QB. I saw one play where Burkhead was tackled for a three yard loss. The first to help him up was his OL that let his man nail Burkhead in the backfield. It's no wonder Beck called the game he did against Wisconsin. Our D made a horrible Ohio State O look like worldbeaters for nearly three quarters until David yanked the ball away from their QB. If we play the rest of the way like we did Saturday, Michigan will absolutely crush us. We'll be so far behind by the time we actually start playing that it really won't matter much what we do. It looks like the coaching staff right now is just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. I'm glad for the win, but I get more and more pi$$ed each time I watch the game.

I am not a fan of #63..........he needs to be benched and put Choi in. I see a ton of better play from Choi than I do Rodriguez

i agree with your assessment of #63. from watching both choi and thompson #79 (sp?) play, i think they are both better options. is thompson #79 hurt?

[NebHusker72]

The O/D lines are what i don't get. Watching 2.5 quarters of that game, both sides were getting man-handled...our secondary is young minus Dennard. We lost a lot of experience back there but if the D-Line was getting pressure it would help out our secondary....A LOT! Same goes for the O-Line....you want to help a youthful offense...keep the other team out of our backfield. It happened in the 2nd half and it made a ton of difference w/ our offensive success

 

They looked like they ate too big of a meal or hadn't woken up from a nap until the 3rd quarter.

 

There were quite a few missed blocks, but some of those came from the RBs and WRs. Reed and Abdullah both missed some key blocks.

I agree...execution was hard to find in the first half but getting no push on the O-Line and actually getting pushed around had a lot to do w/ things too. Execution, as a whole, was sub-par, at best, in the first half. Second half was much more enjoyable....you could actually see the lines beginning to win the battles of the trenches. It just seemed to take to long to impose our will.

[WhatDoIKnow]

I am a very optimistic person, and it was nice to see the team not give up. A win is a win is a win. We possibly saw Martinez, Beck, and the offense establish some kind of identity against a better-than-average defense.

 

Good fortune, the field turf, and a sprained ankle probably were the biggest factors though. Bauserman couldn't hit water from a boat, and he was no threat to run.