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[kchusker_chris]

I'm not going to talk about Cotton's recruiting, pro or con, because as to which coaches are recruiting who I honestly don't follow it that closely. And why not assume things will get better? What's the alternative, being needlessly pessemistic and assuming things will just get worse? If that's the way you want to live fine but that doesn't mean I or anyone else needs to join you in your self-imposed doom and gloom. I'm confused by your post here. You claim to not see Barney as competent or a quality coach while simultaneously ignoring our success rushing the ball and solid pass protection. Nebraska was 47th in sacks allowed. Not exceptional to be sure but schools like Wisconsin, West Virginia, UCLA, California, Texas, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, et al all allowed more sacks than Nebraska. It should also be noted that all those schools have "out-recruited" the Huskers according to practically every recruiting service. It seems to me that you just want to hate on and criticize Barney for no real reason. I get the feeling that Nebraska could in a season rush for 3,000+ yards with a 10+ yard per carry average, pass for 3,000+ yards and only allow one sack and you'd still criticize Barney as a bad coach. The evidence you would cite would be that one sack allowed. I used hyperbole just now sure. But it doesn't change the fact that you will probably never see evidence that Cotton is a good coach because you simply do not want to see it.

We only have success rushing the ball because that's about all we do. We SHOULD be successful. We run the damn ball 70% of the time. and 47th in sacks? That's terriable for a team that never drops back to pass. Our OL is rarely required to pass block, yet they still are in the middle of the pack on protection. Wisconsin, UCLA, Call, Texas, Georgia, Clemson, South Caroline. All those teams' quarterbacks pass the ball 30-40+ times a game. Of course they are going to endure a couple more sacks than a team with a QB that passes 20 times a game.

['SkersRule]

I'm not going to talk about Cotton's recruiting, pro or con, because as to which coaches are recruiting who I honestly don't follow it that closely. And why not assume things will get better? What's the alternative, being needlessly pessemistic and assuming things will just get worse? If that's the way you want to live fine but that doesn't mean I or anyone else needs to join you in your self-imposed doom and gloom. I'm confused by your post here. You claim to not see Barney as competent or a quality coach while simultaneously ignoring our success rushing the ball and solid pass protection. Nebraska was 47th in sacks allowed. Not exceptional to be sure but schools like Wisconsin, West Virginia, UCLA, California, Texas, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, et al all allowed more sacks than Nebraska. It should also be noted that all those schools have "out-recruited" the Huskers according to practically every recruiting service. It seems to me that you just want to hate on and criticize Barney for no real reason. I get the feeling that Nebraska could in a season rush for 3,000+ yards with a 10+ yard per carry average, pass for 3,000+ yards and only allow one sack and you'd still criticize Barney as a bad coach. The evidence you would cite would be that one sack allowed. I used hyperbole just now sure. But it doesn't change the fact that you will probably never see evidence that Cotton is a good coach because you simply do not want to see it.

We only have success rushing the ball because that's about all we do. We SHOULD be successful. We run the damn ball 70% of the time. and 47th in sacks? That's terriable for a team that never drops back to pass. Our OL is rarely required to pass block, yet they still are in the middle of the pack on protection. Wisconsin, UCLA, Call, Texas, Georgia, Clemson, South Caroline. All those teams' quarterbacks pass the ball 30-40+ times a game. Of course they are going to endure a couple more sacks than a team with a QB that passes 20 times a game.

 

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

[kchusker_chris]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

[Hunter94]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

[EZ-E]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

[Hunter94]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

 

OK, you're right, we would never complete a pass on 1st down.......silly me, we can wait and put it up on 3rd and 15.

[bshirt]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

 

Me too. TO didn't throw the ball the ball around everywhere either so I guess he s*cked too.

 

Run the ball, stop the run, win the game.

['SkersRule]

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

So under what circumstances would you conceed that Barney is a quality coach; an undefeated season, less than 10 sacks all season, two or more players breaking the 1,000 yard mark, a higher yard per carry average, putting players into the NFL, any/all of the above? I'm not saying Barney Cotton is perfect or above reproach but I think he takes far more grief and criticism than he actually deserves.

[EZ-E]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

 

OK, you're right, we would never complete a pass on 1st down.......silly me, we can wait and put it up on 3rd and 15.

 

We happen to have a kid by the name of Rex Burkhead in our backfield. With Marrow's size, I have zero issue running the ball on 1st and 10 out of a similar formation that Bamako did with Richardson last year. My guess would be that it ends in 2nd and manageable quite often. Maybe a lot on the sunny side of 2nd and 5. While I know we could complete a pass on first down, I'm a fan of running on 1st down.

[EZ-E]

Bama* stupid auto correct.

[jsneb83]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

I agree but how many times did we lose yards on first down because we weren't throwing? Our line is not good enough yet to where we can run successfully with eight in the box.

['SkersRule]

We happen to have a kid by the name of Rex Burkhead in our backfield. With Marrow's size, I have zero issue running the ball on 1st and 10 out of a similar formation that Bamako did with Richardson last year. My guess would be that it ends in 2nd and manageable quite often. Maybe a lot on the sunny side of 2nd and 5. While I know we could complete a pass on first down, I'm a fan of running on 1st down.

 

I'm a fan of running the ball period. But when the defense is loading 8, 9, and sometimes 10 defenders in the box within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage which happened a lot last season by the way then maybe it's time to put the ball in the air.

[EZ-E]

We happen to have a kid by the name of Rex Burkhead in our backfield. With Marrow's size, I have zero issue running the ball on 1st and 10 out of a similar formation that Bamako did with Richardson last year. My guess would be that it ends in 2nd and manageable quite often. Maybe a lot on the sunny side of 2nd and 5. While I know we could complete a pass on first down, I'm a fan of running on 1st down.

 

I'm a fan of running the ball period. But when the defense is loading 8, 9, and sometimes 10 defenders in the box within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage which happened a lot last season by the way then maybe it's time to put the ball in the air.

 

I know what you are saying and I am not saying come hell or high water you run on first down. With how our offense was engineered last year it was more often than not in our best interest to run on first down. Reason being is that when we got into 3rd and 7+ we were in big time trouble. More often than not that came as a result of trying to chuck the ball early in the series.

[EZ-E]

Does Wisconsin run the ball less than us? And not all sacks are because of the OL. Sometimes receivers can't get open and Taylor holds the ball too long. Now that happens to all teams but it is not as bad as perceived. And I think you're over-looking the fact that last season Nebraska often waited until 3rd and long before they passed which increases the number of sacks as well. My guess, this season the number of sacks will go down and total rushing yards and yards per carry will go up.

4-5 times less per game. Not much. If you look at our passing attempts, we are ranked 106th. Right there with navy, army, air force, georgia tech, etc. It all correlates. I just don't like utilizing our rushing rank as the reason why Barney is doing a great job. I believe just about anyone leading this OL would have similar "success" because we are always going to be high on that list - it's what we do. I don't have a problem with our rushing rank. USC has one of the best OL in the country. They put a ton of linemen into the NFL. Yet they're ranked in the 50+ range when it comes to rushing yards. That's a product of their offense, not the lack of OL skill. Likewise our 15th rank is a product of our offense, not because we have this dominant offense line. USC runs the ball 390 times a year, we run it 600+.

 

I will agree some of our sacks were on Taylor. But who are the false starts on? We rank well into the bottom half in penalties - and I think we'll all agree that a large chunk of those are on the OL.

 

I just see Barney as the weak link on the staff. Primarily from a recruiting standpoint - but in 4 years he's had a suspect unit each year. Last year they improved a lot as the season wore on - I'm not sure how much of that is Barney though. Why should I believe that is Barney when the first time they showed improvement happens to be the first time he has someone else coaching the line with him? He didn't do anything the prior 3 years. I'm one of those that really pushes experience when it comes to the coaching staff - I'd bet we're one of the youngest out there...but Barney's is not translating into production.

 

 

i wonder how many times we threw the ball on 1st down last season? i am betting 10 or less times for the whole season......that needs to change.

 

I disagree. We don't have to throw a lot on first down. I'd take 2nd and 6 before 2nd and 10.

I agree but how many times did we lose yards on first down because we weren't throwing? Our line is not good enough yet to where we can run successfully with eight in the box.

 

How many times were we in 2 and 10 or 3rd and 7+ because we were throwing?

[bshirt]

We happen to have a kid by the name of Rex Burkhead in our backfield. With Marrow's size, I have zero issue running the ball on 1st and 10 out of a similar formation that Bamako did with Richardson last year. My guess would be that it ends in 2nd and manageable quite often. Maybe a lot on the sunny side of 2nd and 5. While I know we could complete a pass on first down, I'm a fan of running on 1st down.

 

I'm a fan of running the ball period. But when the defense is loading 8, 9, and sometimes 10 defenders in the box within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage which happened a lot last season by the way then maybe it's time to put the ball in the air.

 

Well, TO said in his book "More than winning" that most of their big plays were vs stacked boxes. Because if you find a seam on a stacked box......you're gone.