My Take on the Current State of Nebraska Football

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Good, well thought out points.

 

I want this to be a learning point for our defense, and I want Bo to use it as a reminder that they need to be a lot better than they were. I don't know how much we rotated our offensive linemen, but it was obvious to me that they were getting gassed.

 

Got to give UCLA credit, the school recruited talent, it was just never developed under The Weasel. Mora's different, and it looks like he's taking that program in the right direction.

 

Let's hope we right the ship when we play Wisconsin (who has issues of their own)/Ohio State.

[Nobody]

Owa made our defensive tackles look like high schoolers... Thats a problem on so many levels.

[FLU]

"You are 100% wrong regarding Bo's reputation"

 

All I gotta say is, a couple years ago at the HS where I work, there was a top D-1 talent named Alonzo Lewis (now at LSU). I was trying my best to get him to look at Nebraska, especially since another of our students (Brandi Jeffery) was signing to play basketball with NU (she is still there). He said, "Man, their coach is kinda crazy." He never took Nebraska seriously because of that.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

"You are 100% wrong regarding Bo's reputation"

 

All I gotta say is, a couple years ago at the HS where I work, there was a top D-1 talent named Alonzo Lewis (now at LSU). I was trying my best to get him to look at Nebraska, especially since another of our students (Brandi Jeffery) was signing to play basketball with NU (she is still there). He said, "Man, their coach is kinda crazy." He never took Nebraska seriously because of that.

 

So he went to a school where the head coach eats grass?

[Sam Spade]

Just as bad as the zone read out of the endzone was the FB trap on third down and two.

[Enhance]

The post is long, Nebula, but I think it's well worth the read. It's not doom and gloom - it's precise, it's exact. It gets to our team's issues at their most basic levels and lays them out like pieces on a chess board. Nebraska's going to have to maneuver and destroy these issues if they want to improve.

 

I'd like to bring more attention to the defensive line, something I talked about at length last week. I don't think coaching is the issue here - we've seen that Pelini can put together a well-oiled defensive machine if he has talent. It's now painfully obvious we don't have the talent there, and Nebula did well echoing my thoughts. They play patty-cake, get out-gunned, out-positioned, and flat out beat. It's embarrassing. UCLA averaged 6.1 YPC, a hefty blow to a defense that allowed USM 3.9 YPC. These are the same players who played 14 games last year and allowed teams to average 4.0 YPC. At some point you have to look beyond the scheme and ask "Can my players do what I need them to do to make our scheme successful?" No, they can't. That said...

 

This isn't to say we don't have "talent" there. Ankrah has often been lauded for his physicality and athleticism, Rome is a four star recruit IIRC, and Steinkuhler was a five star offensive linemen. But, this "talent" is nowhere near where it should be. There are guys on the line who, for all intents and purposes, are veterans. Yet these veterans are allowing teams to average 6.1 YPC. By this point these guys should be significantly better than what they are showing off.

 

The other important thing I'd like to bring up is the offensive line. They played a helluva game in the first half. Nebula's point about depth is something to consider, but so is this - Nebraska ran 67 players yesterday, that's 12 fewer than what they ran against USM (79). What led to our line getting worked in the second half is probably a combination of depth, heat, and getting demoralized. It's easier to perform when you're doing well than when you're continually being punched in the jaw. I still think this team has basic focus and resilience issues. By the end of the game our line looked rough, our receivers dropped plenty of passes, and Martinez was overthrowing targets.

 

In summation, Nebraska's two largest problems right now are in the trenches, especially defensively. We can get away with what we have the o-line right now, but we can't get away with what we've got going on defensively.

[The Spirit of Bob Devaney]

@Nebula

 

Very thorough, rational and well reasoned post that for my money is spot on.

 

@Flu

 

You hit the nail on the head, I don't think we turn the corner on this thing until we commit to spending some serious money for a proven coach.

[FLU]

"You are 100% wrong regarding Bo's reputation"

 

All I gotta say is, a couple years ago at the HS where I work, there was a top D-1 talent named Alonzo Lewis (now at LSU). I was trying my best to get him to look at Nebraska, especially since another of our students (Brandi Jeffery) was signing to play basketball with NU (she is still there). He said, "Man, their coach is kinda crazy." He never took Nebraska seriously because of that.

 

So he went to a school where the head coach eats grass?

 

...who also has been to multiple national championships.

[NUpolo8]

So in ths first few posts, we have "we have terrible players" and. "Bo needs to stop blaming his players."

 

El. Oh. El.

[BlackHand]

Too long and not enough paragraphs. Stopped reading after the first few sentences.

 

 

There's a thing called an 'Enter' button. After you summarize a single thought, usually 3-5 sentences worth, you should try using it.

 

Feel free to whine.

[Nebula]

Somehow, I continue to exist! I think I may have met an entity today that confused itself with all of reality.

 

Although, I am now minus one in the category of avenues for advice delivered in the manner of an insufferable douche. No perfect deal I guess.