My Burning Thoughts

[VectorVictor]

I agree with you on Ameer's fumble, it was eerily similar to last years S Carolina game because I think most of us agree that if we don't fumble that ball, we win that game too. As far as the overall turnover situation, I feel with Taylor its always going to be there and its something we're going to have to live with for another year. Husker fans just get used to it: Death, Taxes and Turnovers.

 

The comments about Cotton having recovered it, the officials blowing the whistle, and then Georgia jumping on said ball and being awarded it were...well...disappointing yet expected at the same time.

[junior4949]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

[QMany]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

 

I have touted our secondary but these numbers shine a little light on this situation.

 

Conceding that, I will say that some of the numbers put up on us yesterday weren't the secondary's fault. I felt their were many PERFECT passes or Georgia just making spectacular plays. Also, the first 75 yard TD was great coverage and was tipped. Moreover, I will not put the 87 yard TD on the secondary. That was a perfect screen call (and illegal pick) on a questionable all-out blitz.

 

Now, SJB getting turned around a looking like a fool, Ciante playing his worst game I've seen, or PJ missing a crucial tackle and giving up first down ... that was awful.

[True2tRA]

I think it's safe to say by now that the whole world knows the defense was not very good this year. Not sure how that point can be hammered home any more than it has been. The discussion now has been shifted more towards how will it be fixed and who will have an impact in fixing it.

[zoogs]

When Taylor was shoved I was very disappointed that someone like Ben Cotton didn't crush that guy immediately after the whistle. I wouldn't have minded Ben shoving his helmet straight into that thug's jaw.

What angers me about that whole situation is the spin put on by the commentators. The nerve of them guys to place the blame on Taylor for not getting out faster. What the hell. The SEC love fest and bias is out of control.

 

Hmm..if we're thinking about the same play, the announcers were completely correct. Taylor was hit in bound, what do you expect the defender to do? And he did let up and slow down as he was getting out of bounds.

[Husker from Kansas]

WE HAVE TO GET SOME LEGIT PASS RUSHERS! Our secondary is very good, but you cant cover players with the talent Georgia has for very long. Murray had all day to throw and that is the real reason why he threw for almost 500 yards

[junior4949]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

 

I have touted our secondary but these numbers shine a little light on this situation.

 

Conceding that, I will say that some of the numbers put up on us yesterday weren't the secondary's fault. I felt their were many PERFECT passes or Georgia just making spectacular plays. Also, the first 75 yard TD was great coverage and was tipped. Moreover, I will not put the 87 yard TD on the secondary. That was a perfect screen call (and illegal pick) on a questionable all-out blitz.

 

Now, SJB getting turned around a looking like a fool, Ciante playing his worst game I've seen, or PJ missing a crucial tackle and giving up first down ... that was awful.

 

Of course there were some great passes, but that's what good/great passing QB's and WRs do. The point more or less is the opposing teams we played really weren't passing teams. The only real passing team we faced up to the bowl game was UCLA which by definition is a pretty balanced offense. Hundley had pretty good success heaving the rock against us. We have some young good talent in the secondary, but I don't for one second believe we have the best pass defense in the country. 40% of the top 10 passing teams per rivals reside in the Big 12. If we were still in the Big 12, our pass defense rating would look considerably different.

[MLB 51]

When Taylor was shoved I was very disappointed that someone like Ben Cotton didn't crush that guy immediately after the whistle. I wouldn't have minded Ben shoving his helmet straight into that thug's jaw.

I was looking for a flying kick to the sac. I would have applauded it. Ejection or not, you have to stand up for your QB.

[Husker from Kansas]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

 

I have touted our secondary but these numbers shine a little light on this situation.

 

Conceding that, I will say that some of the numbers put up on us yesterday weren't the secondary's fault. I felt their were many PERFECT passes or Georgia just making spectacular plays. Also, the first 75 yard TD was great coverage and was tipped. Moreover, I will not put the 87 yard TD on the secondary. That was a perfect screen call (and illegal pick) on a questionable all-out blitz.

 

Now, SJB getting turned around a looking like a fool, Ciante playing his worst game I've seen, or PJ missing a crucial tackle and giving up first down ... that was awful.

 

Of course there were some great passes, but that's what good/great passing QB's and WRs do. The point more or less is the opposing teams we played really weren't passing teams. The only real passing team we faced up to the bowl game was UCLA which by definition is a pretty balanced offense. Hundley had pretty good success heaving the rock against us. We have some young good talent in the secondary, but I don't for one second believe we have the best pass defense in the country. 40% of the top 10 passing teams per rivals reside in the Big 12. If we were still in the Big 12, our pass defense rating would look considerably different.

 

Would it though? I mean we still had one of the Top passing defenses in the country when we were in the Big 12, and I dont think it would have been any different if we were still iin it. Bo had the Big 12 offenses pretty much figured out and had been recruiting for those kind of offenses before we left for the BIG

[QMany]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

 

I have touted our secondary but these numbers shine a little light on this situation.

 

Conceding that, I will say that some of the numbers put up on us yesterday weren't the secondary's fault. I felt their were many PERFECT passes or Georgia just making spectacular plays. Also, the first 75 yard TD was great coverage and was tipped. Moreover, I will not put the 87 yard TD on the secondary. That was a perfect screen call (and illegal pick) on a questionable all-out blitz.

 

Now, SJB getting turned around a looking like a fool, Ciante playing his worst game I've seen, or PJ missing a crucial tackle and giving up first down ... that was awful.

 

Of course there were some great passes, but that's what good/great passing QB's and WRs do. The point more or less is the opposing teams we played really weren't passing teams. The only real passing team we faced up to the bowl game was UCLA which by definition is a pretty balanced offense. Hundley had pretty good success heaving the rock against us. We have some young good talent in the secondary, but I don't for one second believe we have the best pass defense in the country. 40% of the top 10 passing teams per rivals reside in the Big 12. If we were still in the Big 12, our pass defense rating would look considerably different.

 

Would it though? I mean we still had one of the Top passing defenses in the country when we were in the Big 12, and I dont think it would have been any different if we were still iin it. Bo had the Big 12 offenses pretty much figured out and had been recruiting for those kind of offenses before we left for the BIG

 

Insert obligatory Prince, Dennard, etc. comment here.

Sky is falling.

[junior4949]

The secondary is fine in my opinion. We'll find someone to put at the safety spot, and I feel that we have plenty of options. Our secondary was in the right position a lot yesterday, but Murray threw a number of perfect balls throughout the game. We were the best passing defense in the country for a reason, so don't get all worked up over one game, and a QB (Murray) throwing perfect passes....

 

When 40% of the top 10 passing defenses come from the B1G with one being Minnesota, one really has to question the validity of best passing defense in the country. The only two offenses we faced in the top 30 for passing were UCLA coming in at #29 and Georgia coming in at #25. UCLA passed for over 300 yards against us with a freshman QB making his first start. Georgia passed for 427 yards. Our passing defense faced some of the worst passing teams in D1 according to rivals. Here's a list of some of those teams and their passing rating per rivals: Michigan #98, Iowa #102, Ohio State #105, Wisconsin #109, Minnesota #111, Southern Miss #113, and Northwestern #114.

 

I have touted our secondary but these numbers shine a little light on this situation.

 

Conceding that, I will say that some of the numbers put up on us yesterday weren't the secondary's fault. I felt their were many PERFECT passes or Georgia just making spectacular plays. Also, the first 75 yard TD was great coverage and was tipped. Moreover, I will not put the 87 yard TD on the secondary. That was a perfect screen call (and illegal pick) on a questionable all-out blitz.

 

Now, SJB getting turned around a looking like a fool, Ciante playing his worst game I've seen, or PJ missing a crucial tackle and giving up first down ... that was awful.

 

Of course there were some great passes, but that's what good/great passing QB's and WRs do. The point more or less is the opposing teams we played really weren't passing teams. The only real passing team we faced up to the bowl game was UCLA which by definition is a pretty balanced offense. Hundley had pretty good success heaving the rock against us. We have some young good talent in the secondary, but I don't for one second believe we have the best pass defense in the country. 40% of the top 10 passing teams per rivals reside in the Big 12. If we were still in the Big 12, our pass defense rating would look considerably different.

 

Would it though? I mean we still had one of the Top passing defenses in the country when we were in the Big 12, and I dont think it would have been any different if we were still iin it. Bo had the Big 12 offenses pretty much figured out and had been recruiting for those kind of offenses before we left for the BIG

 

In 2010, we had the 15th rated pass defense in the Big 12. It wasn't even the highest rated pass defense in the Big 12. It was also the year we had Prince, Dennard, Gomes, and Hagg. We've got some good young talent in our secondary, but I can't think of one that's quite in the league of those we had in 2010 yet.

[Undone]

Insert obligatory Prince, Dennard, etc. comment here.

Sky is falling.

 

It's absolutely hilarious that you called this right before the above post. +1

[HuskerShark]

In 2010, we had the 15th rated pass defense in the Big 12. It wasn't even the highest rated pass defense in the Big 12. It was also the year we had Prince, Dennard, Gomes, and Hagg. We've got some good young talent in our secondary, but I can't think of one that's quite in the league of those we had in 2010 yet.

 

The Big 12 is a pass happy league, and I have no doubt in my mind that NU 2010 secondary was one of the best I've ever seen, if not THE best. And it's true that who you play has a lot to do with where your defensive and offensive stats/rankings are.

 

I'll use this as a somewhat shaky and opinionated example: One of the phrases that I HATE hearing the most is "SEC defense." I'll grant that they are most all really athletic, but SEC defenses are not near as good as the media and SEC fans make it out to be. Yeah, there are occasional great defenses like Bama and LSU's last year and Florida's this year. But for the most part, SEC defenses benefit from the lack of quality offenses in the conference.

 

Just look at the year the best athlete in the SEC was on the offensive side of the ball: Cam Newton. He ran and threw all over any SEC defense that stood in his way. I just don't think the SEC is as high and almighty as people make them out to be. I'll give them credit where it's due: they are no doubt the best conference in the nation. But EVERY team in the SEC is very beatable every single year.

[EZ-E]

In 2010, we had the 15th rated pass defense in the Big 12. It wasn't even the highest rated pass defense in the Big 12. It was also the year we had Prince, Dennard, Gomes, and Hagg. We've got some good young talent in our secondary, but I can't think of one that's quite in the league of those we had in 2010 yet.

 

The Big 12 is a pass happy league, and I have no doubt in my mind that NU 2010 secondary was one of the best I've ever seen, if not THE best. And it's true that who you play has a lot to do with where your defensive and offensive stats/rankings are.

 

I'll use this as a somewhat shaky and opinionated example: One of the phrases that I HATE hearing the most is "SEC defense." I'll grant that they are most all really athletic, but SEC defenses are not near as good as the media and SEC fans make it out to be. Yeah, there are occasional great defenses like Bama and LSU's last year and Florida's this year. But for the most part, SEC defenses benefit from the lack of quality offenses in the conference.

 

Just look at the year the best athlete in the SEC was on the offensive side of the ball: Cam Newton. He ran and threw all over any SEC defense that stood in his way. I just don't think the SEC is as high and almighty as people make them out to be. I'll give them credit where it's due: they are no doubt the best conference in the nation. But EVERY team in the SEC is very beatable every single year.

 

Great post. SEC superiority is drastically overstated.

[Huskerlambs]

First and foremost, we lost the football game. In no way am I happy about that or satisfied with that.

 

Here are my final thoughts on the game, our season, and our program as a whole:

 

1) The Georgia Game

 

We played with this team that nobody gave us a chance in hell to beat. I am in no way dissappointed with the gameplan that was implemented or the effort. At the end of the day, we didn't play well enough to win the football game. The part that dissappoints me the most I would say is that the talent is on the roster to win those types of games. We hadn't seen Beck use that type of pre-snap motion to shake up a defense all year. It was fun to watch them mix up their pre-snap communication because it was something that they hadn't seen on film before.

 

Our DLine wins the award for the biggest overacheivement in this game. In no way did I expect us to hold them to 170 yards on the ground against probably a top two or three running back that we have seen all year. We had a defensive line that had Thad Randle on one leg, Chase Rome with a busted hand, and a converted DE that is giving up roughly 50 pounds to anyone he faced yesterday.

 

Our Linebackers played well enough at times to win the game. Were they great? Not at all. Were they awful? Not a chance.

 

Our Secondary was torched by what most would consider a kid that will make a lot of money in the NFL. However; Ciante, PJ, Damien, and Andrew NEED to make the plays that they were called upon to make. How many times did we see us get torched this year on deep balls when it appeared our guy had good coverage position? This needs to stop and it starts with better safety play.

 

The only issues I have with the offense is the lack of adequate pass blocking in the latter half of the game, and our turnover issues. I believe the OL can be fixed with more depth, Finnin would be a great pick up out of College of Dupage. I liked what I saw from Jake Cotton. He's got a firey temper and he plays with piss and vinegar. He is going to be one that we are going to be counting on to have a big time off season.

 

Something needs to be done with the turnover issue. What dissappointed me the most about Ameer's fumble was that we weren't good enough to stop the snowball effect that ensued afterwards. I truely think if he holds that ball we win the football game.

 

 

2) Our season, in my personal opinion can be summed up very simply: this season, coupled with the bowl game, showed that we are not terribly far off from being in the NC conversation. Did we have our dissappointments in games this year? You bet we did. Am I willing to say that is okay? Not a chance in hell and I know 125 players that would agree with me. But all is not lost in Lincoln. This sleeping giant is about to awake and I truely think that next year aligns for a very, special year.

 

 

3) I am liking what I have seen the past four recruiting cycles from this staff. There are definately some difference makers on the roster that you will see play next year mainly on defense. Some of you aren't aware of the kids that we have basically pulled out from under rocks all across the country. I am very much so willing to bet we see a huge influx of athleticism mainly at the LB position and basically a complete upgrade at that position.

 

We have to figure something out at the safety spot. This is the biggest concern for me on this defense. No, it isn't DT, it is safety. We have to figure something out there. We haven't had great ones since '10.

 

 

 

In conclusion, we have a lot to be excited about for next year. Just think, we were 2-3 offensive plays away and 2-3 plays away on defense from beating a team that a ton of people didn't give us a chance against and we did it with a rag-tag DL. It was dissappointing to see us come up that close, but you bet ya that there are 125 players that are more pissed off than we are.

 

Have a good one fellas. Gonna be a long off-season as always.

 

You think exactly like I think.