Report Card for this year . . .

[Hooked on Huskers]

Here is my report card for most of the players on the team this this year. No fluff. Just straight truth. This is not intended to hurt feelings. Just giving you my gut instinct:

O-Line:

Yoshi Hardwick - C. The only time I ever noticed him was when he was getting up slowly. Glad to see him battle, but he was just average.

ARod - C-. I was never impressed by him. Had one good game. A large guy with an average game.

Caputo - B -. Was better than last year, but nothing spectacular. However, I give him props for his hustle.

Spencer Long - B. Not bad for his first year.

Marcel Jones - C. Don't recall him making a single play where I thought, "Wooahhhh, that was a hit." However, didn't make any dumb plays.

Choi - B+. Played hard and aggressively every single game he was in. Could be a real force next year.

TMoore - C+. Seemed pretty decent until he got the false start call against Wisconsin. After that, he virtually never played again. Dumb move by Pelini.

Sirles - Inc. Somebody put an APB out on him. How could he be that much behind Yoshi? One day, he's the all-world freshman. The next? He can't get ahead of extremely average Yoshi. Odd.

Qvale - Inc. How does a guy go from almost starting as a true freshman to playing about 3 downs this year?

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

Bell: A -. One of the best years by a Nebraska receiver in years.

Kinnie: D+. Don't like to hand out bad grades, but he (unfortunately) earned this grade. I'm sorry that he's a senior. Wish he had one more try.

Enunwa: A -. Great, all-around year. Didn't have as many catches as Bell, but the guy caught almost everything. Beast of a blocker.

KCooper: C. Made a few good grabs, but nothing spectacular. Usually, when I heard his name, I thought, "Wow, Cooper is finally playing. Wonder if he's still playing baseball."

Turner: B+. Would have been an A if he had gotten out of Bo's doghouse. Unbelievable game-changing ability, even if he was somewhat raw. Still think it was totally stupid that he was almost non-existent for last 4 games.

Marlow: C. Nothing fancy. Plain, boring, and average. But not a bad guy.

Reed: B. Great receiver, average blocker.

Long: D+ Nothing great, and not a very good blocker.

 

Quarterback:

TMart: B. Made big strides. Not sure what to expect next year.

Carnes: A+ for how he held clipboard. Beyond stupid that he didn't play more.

 

I-Backs

Burkhead: A-. No need to expound on the obvious.

Abdullah: C- Didn't get too many chances, but didn't do much when given carries.

Green: C-. Was eager beaver when he got his measly carries. Always ran for about a yard, then would get up with that "I could have taken it to the house" look on his face. Not enough carries to see who he is.

Heard: C. Felt he was the best of the freshman. Never got much of a chance.

 

D-Line

Baker: B. Nothing spectacular, but a steady-Eddie. Came on strong after Crick went down. I just wish he was a sophomore.

Terrence Moore: B. Has a great motor. Played well in relief of Crick, but his motor wasn't as high octane when he played the full game.

Crick: B-. The injury likely held him back. Before he was officially out, he just didn't live up to the hype.

Rome: B-. I like his motor. The upside of Crick getting injured is that Rome won't be a beginner next year. I think he'll step it up a notch next year.

Randle - Inc. Rarely played. Not sure why not?

 

Defensive Ends

Ankrah: C+. The first part of the season, he was non-existent. The last few games, he started making good plays. He's going in the right direction.

EMartin: B-. He really started playing well at the end of the season. I think he can still improve. I'm excited.

Meredith: B. He showed flashes of brilliance, but then would come back to the pack. I think his ankle never recovered from the Washington game. I think next year he'll be a beast.

Carter: Inc. A wasted year. Should have redshirted.

 

LInebackers:

David: A+. Before this year, I thought nobody would ever touch Terrell Farley. David was a combo of Farley and Mike Brown. Incredibly consistent and great.

Compton: B+. Was slow his first few games, but really came on as the year progressed. He's no Sean Fischer.

Fischer: D. Nice guy, but no skills. I think he held on to his spot for so long because he was a model citizen.

 

Secondary

Green: B. First half of season, he was terrible, but you could see the determination. The last 4 games, he caught fire.

Dennard: B+. No need to explain.

Evans: B. A solid future.

Stafford: B-. Big hits early, but seemed to fade a little.

Cassidy: C+. Not as bad as people make him out to be.

Baptiste: B. Didn't actually play enough for a grade, but his INT against Ohio State was HUGE.

Osborne: A. I didn't realize Ozzie Osborne was on our team. Oh, this was Courtney. Seeing that he played about 2 plays, can't really give him a grade.

PJ: He broke his leg in fall camp, right? That's why he missed, right? No? Huh?

 

Way off IMO

[HuskerTrucker]

Think Martinez and the O-line along with the defense as a whole are getting too high of marks. And the offense was ranked 58th.

 

Martinez has a lot of heart, and athletic ability, but when it comes to mechanics...he is very lacking. Those may have been developed more if there was actually a line to protect him better (passing offense is 10th in the B1G - a conference that is supposed to be a rushing conference, and 104th in the country). As far as the running backs go, again if there were holes opened up maybe someone other than Burkhead could get through them. Somewhere there should be some pretty low grades with these statistics.

 

This defense is ranked 7th in the B1G, and 36th in the country. It is ranked last in tackles for loss in the B1G, and 114th in the country. That says something right there...and is indicative that there shouldn't be a lot of grades given that are C or better. Hardly what you would expect from real Blackshirts. My feelings are that they gave them out prematurely, out of some sort of obligation. This is what is wrong handing them out to the unit rather than individuals...this was NO Blackshirt unit if you look at the numbers.

 

We have a long ways to go before this team is where it needs to be to win the B1G or a National Championship.

 

http://web1.ncaa.org...ar=2011&week=13

 

Numbers don't lie.

Edited November 28, 2011 by HuskerTrucker

[NUance]

Giving Rex Burkhead anything less then an A++++++++ is nothing short of blasphemy. Shame on you sir.

Or at least an A+. Coming into the season I didn't think Rex would be durable enough to be our every-down back. Boy was I wrong. Superman!! Okay, A++ then.

[nhuskers5]

I wouldn't put Bell and Enunwa in the same league. Bell had some costly drops, and I thought Enunwa was consistently the best reciever

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Bye Bye Big XII's First Annual End of the Season Report Card:

 

Quarterbacks:

 

Taylor Martinez--B. Let's all be honest, this is a different Taylor Martinez than the one from last year, or even from the Wisconsin game. Against Ohio State, he was 16-22 and was CRUCIAL to the comeback. He was 28-37 against Northwestern and was the ONLY bright spot of that game. Sure, he hasn't broken off the running games that he did last year, but that's probably due to the defense's trying to limit him. He had to make improvements this year, and he did. Certainly, there are areas where he is still pretty raw and could improve, but he's still just a sophomore trying to learn a new system. I'm excited to see what he can do in his next two years.

 

Brion Carnes--N/A. Some may think it's unfortunate that Brion didn't see the field, and that's fine. When we did see him, he handed it off, completed a couple of passes, and fumbled the ball. I can't objectively give a grade for that little amount of performance. Here's my stance on Brion: I think it would've been nice to see him more so that if, by chance, Taylor goes down, we're not completely screwed. And I don't think people are now constantly demanding Brion start over Taylor.

 

Running Backs:

 

Rex Burkhead--A+. Heart, effort, toughness, the list goes on and on. He came in against one of the nation's stingiest running defenses and ran the ball 35 times. He got injured in that same game on carry #32 and went out. Two plays later, he was in the end zone again. He scored a TD in every game but one this year, and that was due to the fact that the offense never got on the field long enough to score. There's nothing flashy about him, but he's going to be a force for the bowl game and next year.

 

Ameer Abdullah--B-. I'm taking into account his special teams play too. Which is why he gets a B-. Other than that, he had fumbles, and wasn't very explosive in the running game. But he's only a freshman and not much can be expected, especially when you have Rex Burkhead in front of you.

 

Aaron Green--B-. Aaron gets the same grade as Ameer because when he saw the field, which was as often as Ameer did when it came to running backs, he made a fair amount of good plays. He caught one or two TDs and had a few good runs. With the limited time he had, that deserves a pretty good grade.

 

Wide Receivers:

 

Kenny Bell--B+. He had some drops, which unfortunately keeps him out of the A range. But he made a lot of great plays and gave it his all every single game of every single week. He made some great catches against Ohio State, Northwestern, and Iowa. Plus, he had that fantastic run against Minnesota.

 

Quincy Enunwa--B+. That fumble against Northwestern was about the only thing I could harp on him for. But man, THAT STIFF ARM! It is probably one of the nastiest stiff arms I have ever seen. He caught a lot of the balls which were thrown and catchable towards him. Can't wait to watch him become one of our better receivers. How about a speedier version of Todd Peterson and Nate Swift with Kenny Bell and Quincy Enunwa?

 

Jamal Turner--B+. From what we saw of him, he is a sound WR. Especially considering he didn't always play as a WR. Sure there's too much shiftiness and sideways running when he does have the ball, but he'll learn to get around that. When he sees the field [which I bet he will a lot come next season or even the bowl game] he will be one of Taylor's favorite targets.

 

Brandon Kinnie--B-. A little disappointing senior year from BK. It is unfortunate, because he is a stand up guy. He did have a sound game against Michigan State and Michigan which is why I have him at a B- instead of a C. Hope to see a breakout last game from him.

 

Tim Marlowe--C+. Kinda what HuskerinSunDiego said, pretty plain and boring. But he made a great play against Michigan State and had to be accounted for in every game. He still has one more year so here's hoping!

 

Kyler Reed--B. He's not a blocking TE. But he is a very quick, receiving TE and he had a pretty fair season.

 

 

Offensive Line--B. They made progress this year. There were multiple games where it was evident that they were controlling the battle up front. Both Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State featured Top 20 rushing defenses and we rushed for 190, 166, and 232 yards on them, respectively. That speaks a lot for how the OLine just wore opposing teams down. That being said, they had games where they were non-existent. It speaks to a growing process and they can only get better.

 

Defensive Line--C+. Injuries just decimated this unit. It's rough to make up for that. But they did have sound games against Michigan State and Iowa. Not much more can be said here.

 

Linebackers:

 

Lavonte David--A+. Remember when he had 13 tackles at halftime of the Michigan game? Yeah, me too. He was here at Nebraska for two years and was threatening the all-time leading tackler in school history. He stripped Braxton Miller which basically turned the football game around. He was the stud of the defense and will be missed.

 

Will Compton--B. Compton really came into his own during the last half of the year. Which is good because if we can minimize the tremendous loss of David we're going to be okay at LB.

 

Secondary:

Alfonzo Dennard--A. When he got fully healthy, he shut down one side of the field. And while he didn't have an INT this year, he had a lot of tipped balls. I believe he had something like 5 tipped passes against Michigan State's best WR. He is certainly better and more mature than his cousin, that's for sure.

 

Ciante Evans--B-. Really hard to judge Ciante. I didn't hear or say his name a lot, which if you're a CB is sometimes a good thing.

 

Andrew Green--B-. He had a rocky start to his first year on the field, but he progressed rapidly over the last 4-5 games of the season. If he can step into Dennard's shoes for next year, we will be okay in the secondary.

 

Damion Stafford--B-. Remember that hit against UT-Chattanooga? Well that player didn't. Sure, he got burnt quite a few times this year, but it's a learning process for him as he transitions into his senior year. We'll be okay back there with Stafford.

 

Austin Cassidy--B-. Got burnt a couple of times, but was pretty sound in the scheme and was, most times, right where he needed to be.

 

A note about the secondary: There were a lot of new guys out there and new guys are going to get burnt repetitively. And it will/was frustrating, I shared that frustration. But when grading, you have to look at the end of season improvements from the beginning of the season and Green and Stafford both made those. They will be critical for us next year.

 

Special Teams:

 

Brett Maher--B+. Okay, so he's no Alex Henery, he had a 16 yard punt, and he fumbled a good snap. But he also didn't miss a FG at home [and should have one more in the make column and one less in the miss column] and also had a 69 yard punt. We're very lucky to have him.

 

 

 

So that raps it up. As a team, I'll give an overall grade of B. There were games where you were just wowed, and there were games that reminded me of the S**** W***** and K**** C******* years respectively. They were inconsistent everywhere. If we can consistently deliver the performances we saw against Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, and the first quarter and second half of the Wisconsin and Ohio State games respectively, we're going to be a force to reckon with in the Big Ten. 9-3 (5-3) in our first year isn't that bad.

[JJ Husker]

I am going to grade the major units and not individuals. It is a "team" sport after all and I just don't focus much on individual players unless they are doing something extraordinarily well or pathetically bad.

 

Offensive Line C- (not a D because they showed signs of improvement and not any higher cuz they have a long ways to go. I grade the line positions the harshest because what they do, or fail to do, impacts everything else)

 

Quarterback B- (he is learning to manage the game and limit mistakes but apparently at the expense of some playmaking ability. I am tempted to trade back some of the stability for some big breakaway runs)

 

Running Backs B (Rex gets an A though for effort & toughness. He may be my all time fav Husker RB and that is elite company. Give him the Pipeline from the 80's or 90's and he could be a 2 time Heisman winner. Love this guy)

 

Receivers C- (blocking and a few individual plays/performances kept this up at a C-, too many dropped passes by too many WR's keep it from being better)

 

Defensive Line D (don't like the grade-tell/show me what they actually did all year. Easily the biggest disappointment)

 

Linebackers B+ (I'm not an easy A but Lavonte gets an A and drags up the average. The unit seemed to improve over the course of the season)

 

Defensive Backs B- (thought about a C+ but decided to go easy on them due to youth and signs of improvement toward end of season. Fonzie kept it from slipping down)

 

Special Teams C- (Maher had some moments with field goals but then he had some "other" moments punting too. Thought this could be an A-/B+ at beginning of the season but they regressed greatly)

 

Coaches C- (they need to figure out how to get the team prepared and focused on games-ALL games and whole games. Excited about Beck, happy with Bo, love Ron Brown, confused about the Def coaches, not enamored with O-Line group)

 

Team Overall C (they got 9 wins, possibly 10, so that keeps it from being a C- or D+ but there is little excuse for the Wiscy performance and no excuse for Michigan, NW is what it was, and most wins were simply partial efforts good enough for the W but not impressive. Could have ran the B1G this year but still a work in progress. Disappointing but showing improvement and not terrible considering first year in a new league)

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I know this is personal opinion and all, but I don't see how 9 wins could be a C.

[zoogs]

I don't know how anybody could give Fonzie less than an A+!

[ladyhawke]

Burkhead: A-. No need to expound on the obvious.

Why did you give him an A-? Just curious. I think he deserves an A+. He did so much more than just play football. He was a leader but he never put himself out in the spotlight, his character was impecable and he sacrificed for the team.

 

 

Burkehead gets an A+ for effort and attitude. However, I am trying to rank him in the pantheon of all-time Husker seasons. With that in mind, he gets an A-. He had 1,385 yards, but he also had about 1,385 carries. If Lawrence Phillips or Ahman Green had as many carries, they would have run for 2,400 yards.

Got it. Thanks

[bshirt]

Burkhead: A-. No need to expound on the obvious.

Why did you give him an A-? Just curious. I think he deserves an A+. He did so much more than just play football. He was a leader but he never put himself out in the spotlight, his character was impecable and he sacrificed for the team.

 

 

Burkehead gets an A+ for effort and attitude. However, I am trying to rank him in the pantheon of all-time Husker seasons. With that in mind, he gets an A-. He had 1,385 yards, but he also had about 1,385 carries. If Lawrence Phillips or Ahman Green had as many carries, they would have run for 2,400 yards.

 

 

BS.

 

Not with this Oline they wouldn't have. Noooooooo way.

 

Put Rex behind that 95 Oline & he's probably 1st team AA.

[JJ Husker]

I know this is personal opinion and all, but I don't see how 9 wins could be a C.

They are all fairly arbitrary and could be moved up or down 1-2 grades just based on different people's perceptions. 9 wins is a C in my book because I felt they left a whole lot more potential on the table. If I felt they played up to their potential, then 9 wins could've been a B+. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 doesn't mean as much to me as how good I feel they play the game. I was actually less impressed with a win like Iowa than I was disappointed with the NW loss. NW had our number and we were caught unprepared in a typical trap game but Iowa should've been a major blowout. There is nobody we couldn't/shouldn't have beaten all year but we managed to lose 3. That's a C in my book and I won't argue with anybody that wants to call it a B or a D.

[chamrocck]

Wow lot's to read in this thread. I'll take a different approach and say which players are trending up vs. down IMO.

 

Trending up:

TMart - better decisions, less turnovers, still improving.

Choi - consistently one of the best O-Lineman every game.

Bell - nice receptions this year, gets yards after catch.

Enunwa - much tougher this year, still improving, some nice receptions this year.

And. Green - trending up with some better games late in season but was in a big hole as his first half was not good...jury still out for me on him but the positive is he is definitely showing improvement and trending in right direction.

Compton - much improvement shown throughout season.

Rex - I don't know how much more we can get out of this guy...oh yeah, it's Rex so I will assume he is going to give us every thing he has...this guy won't let himself not improve.

Stafford - a pretty good year and improving.

EMart - raw but at least can get to the QB. Improving as a DE.

Maher - solid year.

 

Trending down:

J. Turner - hate to see this kid here but he hasn't really made impact or seen the field second half of season. Gotta believe he is going to change direction at some point.

Fisher - really no impact this season.

Blatchford - tough season for him.

Abdullah - this guy started on fire so overall had a decent year but didn't emerge in conference play as hoped...didn't give us the return game we desired.

PJ Smith, C. Evans, C. Cooper, SJB, C. Osborne - the MIA DB crew IMO...injuries aside, I can't believe these guys were not good enough to see more playing time. I am scratching my head as to how some of these guys couldn't get on the field.

A-Rod and T. Moore - thought these guys would be better by now but our O-Line did not play well this year.

K. Cooper - consistently inconsistent.

 

Flat:

Reed - thought he would be more a part of the offense by now.

Steinkuhler, Meredith, Ankrah - steady but no one had taken game to next level.

S. Long - started season trending up but has been flat second half.

Marlowe - shown some grit as a WR but really nothing in the kick return game has improved.

Rome - serviceable first year.

 

Graduating:

L. David - will be a huge missing piece next season. Best, most consistent defender all year.

Dennard - also will be sorely missed. Only lockdown corner on our roster.

Crick - didn't see much action due to injury...he had some moments while he was in there. Would have liked to seen what he could have done with full season.

Caputo - didn't think he played all that well this season.

Kinnie - didn't have the year everyone had hoped for.

Cassidy, Thorell - did not play well this year.

T. Moore, Yoshi, M. Jones - decent years IMO.

Legate - limited action.

 

Interesting when I look at it. Defenitely some guys going in the right direction that broke out more this year. But also some big recruits who did not fare all that well IMO and need to turn it around next season. If we can get improvement out of that "flat" section that would also go a long way. For the graduating we definitley have some holes to fill but also have some opportunities for new guys to outperform their predecessors.

 

Next year feels very much like another similar type of season (strive for 10 wins but more realistically could finish with just 8). Not a lot of gimmees in conference play. There are a lot of guys on our roster I like but we have to find a way to improve.

[JTrain]

Guys I feel like I watched enough to grade (C is average):

 

Taylor Martinez C+

 

Rex Burkhead A

Ameer Abdullah C+

 

Kenny Bell B-

Brandon Kinnie C-

Quincy Enunwa B-

Jamal Turner B

Ben Cotton C+

Kyler Reed C

 

Baker Steinkuhler B-

Terrence Moore C

Chase Rome C

Jason Ankrah C-

Eric Martin C-

Cameron Meredith C

 

Lavonte David A

Will Compton B

Sean Fisher D

 

Andrew Green C+

Alfonzo Dennard A

Ciante Evans D+

Damion Stafford C+

Austin Cassidy C-

Stanley Jean-Baptiste C+

PJ Smith C

Lance Thorell D

Justin Blatchford D

 

Brett Maher A-

 

Bo Pelini C-

[zoogs]

Wow lot's to read in this thread. I'll take a different approach and say which players are trending up vs. down IMO.

 

I like this approach.

 

Trending Up

Kenny Bell, Jamal Turner, Quincy Enunwa - doghouse or whatever, got to say the future at WR looks pretty bright.

Choi - sure came out of nowhere this year to becoming a potential force.

Andrew Green - Was flat-out owned in press coverage early in the year, and made great strides later on. He was flashing shades of Fonzie in that last game, I thought. Andrew's development will be key this offseason, and he's shown reason to believe.

Chase Rome - Another guy that really came on after injuries at the DT position. Just a freshman, and flashing potential to be a household name in the near future.

Damion Stafford - Later in the year, less of a liability in coverage. With more experience next year, he should be someone in that back seven that the D is going to rely on.

Ameer Abdullah - I think as the year went on, he separated himself a little from the pack of freshman RBs. He was just a returner to start the year, but turned into more of the #2 back behind Rex. He should have a lot of confidence to build on after his freshman campaign; same can't be said for the other two backs. He should get a lot more work next year as the question of Rex's successor starts to loom large.

Cameron Meredith - Camstache has battled injuries this year, and turned in a gutsy performance.

Kyler Reed - He's still a matchup nightmare every time he's on the field. Question is when we'll start to really exploit that. Reed is an asset we continue to be really lucky to have...and one we also squander.

Alonzo Whaley - Came on at the very end of the year. Maybe our LB situation won't be so bad with Lavonte gone, if Whaley can build on this year.

 

Trending down

Sean Fisher - does not seem he has really come back well from that devastating injury. Lots of positive heading into the past few years about him, but his effort on tackles has been lackluster.

P.J. Smith - ? One of the more promising players in the secondary I had thought. Dealt with injury issues last year, I don't think he was in the doghouse this year. So I'm not too sure what is up.

Andrew Rodriguez - Tons of talent, lack of fire seems to be the story on him. He's got to put it together!

Baker Steinkuhler - Maybe a bit harsh, but he doesn't seem to be the dominant force we had been hoping for since his recruitment.

Ciante Evans, Josh Mitchell, Josh Williams, Jeremiah Sirles(?), Dijon Washington - where are or what happened to these guys? Dangerously close to disappointments I think. Some of them are young, but they don't even appear to be on the radar much. Or have struggled.

 

Taylor Martinez - sorry. I really rooted for Taylor this year, but for whatever reason - scheme, year-old ankle injury, whatever - the strengths that propelled him to the starting position have all but gone missing. He plays a lot smarter now, which is good. But running and passing, he's not demonstrating the potential he showed at times last season. I know it's a lightning rod topic, but QB play has been middling all season. Maybe I should give him a "flat", but really, dude needs to pick it up or he will not be a 4-year starter here.

 

WTF

 

Three names that I won't even mention since it's not worth it, but I'm sure you can all guess. Might add Corey Cooper to that list as it seems he's been inexplicably jerked around from position to position. What was up with him being a corner earlier? What is now anyway?

[tschu]

Stafford, Whaley, Evans, Rome are all guys who are going to need to come up big next year. Defense doesn't look so hot.