Clarifying my Thoughts

[TGHusker]

good post EZ - I'm still tossed and turned on the state of the team - we are heavy on potential - but can Bo and Company delivery it?

[In the Deed the Glory]

Pretty good post EZ, and I think many share some of those sentiments, and others understand them.

 

Recently, however, we have began to transition away from zone. We have really started to run power sweep, G toss, Belly G, and straight power much more in the run game. I think that has a lot to do with the OL improvement this season and the fact that negative plays have nearly disappeared. Downhill, as some like to call it. Much less read, cut. Ameer's vision is still awesome in the hole but his cut is now coming at the second level as I'm sure you've noticed. We still run some zone out of shotgun, but the pistol looks are getting more and more away from that.

[The Dude]

This is copy and pasted straight from a conversation I had via PM with someone last night. I thought it was something that I could share with the board. It is sometimes hard for me to explain what I am trying to say through a message board. I think if all of HB sat down and talked in person that we would probably find we aren't in disagreement all of the time. A lot is lost on a message board. For example, you can't tell someone's tone of voice and sometimes someone has a thought that they think is in context, but you read it differently than the way that they intended it to come across. I thought I did the best job explaining it here so I thought I'd post it. Here are my thoughts as to where we stand if a change were to be made and my thoughts on the offense and defense.

 

 

 

It is not that I don't think we would get somebody good post-Bo. It is just tough for me to see a realistic candidate that would leave their current position. It is not like I don't think NU isn't a top job. Maybe what I should have been saying for awhile now is that other jobs are EASIER and more attractive than ours. For example, I really think UCLA and TAMU have all the makings to be BIG TIME programs in the next ten years. All of the pieces are in place to do that for them. As I currently believe is the case with us. I realize we as over-educated fans are not indicative of the fanbase as a whole, but the last thing I usually do is blame individual players or coaches. I hate excuses as much as anyone else because I wouldn't accept an excuse from a soccer player that I've coached, but given the circumstances this year, come on now. We lost an all-American player and our four year starting QB to injury. We've had the worst luck of really any team in the B1G in my personal opinion.

 

Beck? He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. If he throws the ball three times on the goalline people say he should have ran it. If he runs it, people say he should have passed it. Next time that we sit down for drinks I'll explain to you our running game in my eyes, but you've got to commit to how we run much like Oregon does. With our blocking schemes, you'll never just line up and go hat on a hat like we used to and knock people back five yards, but with the way we run it you don't have to have the biggest and strongest guys. What Oregon and we do really reminds me a lot of what Denver under Shanahan use to do with Terrell Davis in the sense that there is no designed hole that Ameer is suppose to hit. We show them exactly what we are planning on doing with our formation. From there, our OL is taught to read where the defense is over-pursuing because the defense knows where the play is designed to go. From there, it is all about Ameer making the right cut. Which he has done so much this year and that is why he's special. Every once in awhile since the defense knows where the play is designed to go they make the play. That is why Oregon leads the nation in plays for negative yards. That is why we have a good amount of plays also go for negative yards. But much like the option back in TOs day, you have to commit to your system. I am actually impressed with Beck but I do agree every game there is a series that leaves you scratching your head. But we were spoiled so long with the greatest offensive mind and play caller in history that anyone is going to be a downgrade. Newby has an opportunity to be better than him if he gets the vision part down. He hasn't gotten carries this year IMO because he doesn't have that part and just tries to out-athlete people. Which you can't do at this level. But he has that break away speed Ameer doesn't have.

 

As you can look back and see, I've always been critical of us against the run. In Bo's scheme, he concedes it a lot because he doesn't want to give up the long pass. The scheme he likes to run calls for two high safeties most of the time and if you look back at the thread about our defense against 10 personnel, we had no chance stopping it because we simply didn't have the numbers we needed to in the box. I attributed it to Bo not trusting the secondary. Would you with the safety play we had earlier this year? We have been bringing a lot of pressure lately and I'd attribute it a lot to Bo putting more trust in CC and Alexander and the secondary as a whole. When looking back at the Michigan game, we brought very controlled pressure. We'd make Lewan think that our DE was dropping into coverage only to bring him on a delayed blitz basically rocking him to sleep. It's been fun to watch exactly what we are doing because you can read about the scheme a lot online. The emergence of RG44 cannot be understated either. That guy is a huge reason why we've gotten relentless pressure. If you double VV which he now requires, you've got RG44 to deal with coming off the edge. At the airport I was privileged to meet a scout from the Bucs that was going to meet with Bo and watch practice. They were going to see RG44, VV, Moss, and our whole WR core. I was also fortunate enough to talk to a guy from the Steelers last year through my job and the Steelers have a lot of respect for Bo as a defensive mind and coach.

 

With the talent we've recruited the past 3-4 years I think it would be a mistake to not give Bo a chance with it. If after 2-3 years it hasn't worked out, then I'd be on the side that it's time to move on. But with as much promise as there currently is in this program with as young and talented as we are I think it would be a damn shame if a change is made.

 

I hope that clarifies more of my opinions for you. Anyone who is more knowledgable about football X's and O's I encourage you to correct any of the mistakes I may have made. I would really enjoy hearing it as I love football.

 

GBR

I disagree.

[presidentjlh]

Now that I've had time to distance myself from the Michigan State game, I guess since I tend to default to kool-aid drinker, if it wasn't for the 5 turnovers, we win that game. Up until near the end of the game, when it was decided anyways, we were outplaying Michigan State big time.

 

Doesn't mean the loss is a good loss, just...it's more understandable than the losses like to Wisco last year, or UCLA earlier this year.

[EZ-E]

Pretty good post EZ, and I think many share some of those sentiments, and others understand them.

 

Recently, however, we have began to transition away from zone. We have really started to run power sweep, G toss, Belly G, and straight power much more in the run game. I think that has a lot to do with the OL improvement this season and the fact that negative plays have nearly disappeared. Downhill, as some like to call it. Much less read, cut. Ameer's vision is still awesome in the hole but his cut is now coming at the second level as I'm sure you've noticed. We still run some zone out of shotgun, but the pistol looks are getting more and more away from that.

 

I'll have to look back at those plays to see what you mean. What I am talking about is when we are in the gun depending on where Ameer lines up tells the defense where the play is designed to go. I think you touched on it in your post.

[Red is Power]

This is copy and pasted straight from a conversation I had via PM with someone last night. I thought it was something that I could share with the board. It is sometimes hard for me to explain what I am trying to say through a message board. I think if all of HB sat down and talked in person that we would probably find we aren't in disagreement all of the time. A lot is lost on a message board. For example, you can't tell someone's tone of voice and sometimes someone has a thought that they think is in context, but you read it differently than the way that they intended it to come across. I thought I did the best job explaining it here so I thought I'd post it. Here are my thoughts as to where we stand if a change were to be made and my thoughts on the offense and defense.

 

 

 

It is not that I don't think we would get somebody good post-Bo. It is just tough for me to see a realistic candidate that would leave their current position. It is not like I don't think NU isn't a top job. Maybe what I should have been saying for awhile now is that other jobs are EASIER and more attractive than ours. For example, I really think UCLA and TAMU have all the makings to be BIG TIME programs in the next ten years. All of the pieces are in place to do that for them. As I currently believe is the case with us. I realize we as over-educated fans are not indicative of the fanbase as a whole, but the last thing I usually do is blame individual players or coaches. I hate excuses as much as anyone else because I wouldn't accept an excuse from a soccer player that I've coached, but given the circumstances this year, come on now. We lost an all-American player and our four year starting QB to injury. We've had the worst luck of really any team in the B1G in my personal opinion.

 

Beck? He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. If he throws the ball three times on the goalline people say he should have ran it. If he runs it, people say he should have passed it. Next time that we sit down for drinks I'll explain to you our running game in my eyes, but you've got to commit to how we run much like Oregon does. With our blocking schemes, you'll never just line up and go hat on a hat like we used to and knock people back five yards, but with the way we run it you don't have to have the biggest and strongest guys. What Oregon and we do really reminds me a lot of what Denver under Shanahan use to do with Terrell Davis in the sense that there is no designed hole that Ameer is suppose to hit. We show them exactly what we are planning on doing with our formation. From there, our OL is taught to read where the defense is over-pursuing because the defense knows where the play is designed to go. From there, it is all about Ameer making the right cut. Which he has done so much this year and that is why he's special. Every once in awhile since the defense knows where the play is designed to go they make the play. That is why Oregon leads the nation in plays for negative yards. That is why we have a good amount of plays also go for negative yards. But much like the option back in TOs day, you have to commit to your system. I am actually impressed with Beck but I do agree every game there is a series that leaves you scratching your head. But we were spoiled so long with the greatest offensive mind and play caller in history that anyone is going to be a downgrade. Newby has an opportunity to be better than him if he gets the vision part down. He hasn't gotten carries this year IMO because he doesn't have that part and just tries to out-athlete people. Which you can't do at this level. But he has that break away speed Ameer doesn't have.

 

As you can look back and see, I've always been critical of us against the run. In Bo's scheme, he concedes it a lot because he doesn't want to give up the long pass. The scheme he likes to run calls for two high safeties most of the time and if you look back at the thread about our defense against 10 personnel, we had no chance stopping it because we simply didn't have the numbers we needed to in the box. I attributed it to Bo not trusting the secondary. Would you with the safety play we had earlier this year? We have been bringing a lot of pressure lately and I'd attribute it a lot to Bo putting more trust in CC and Alexander and the secondary as a whole. When looking back at the Michigan game, we brought very controlled pressure. We'd make Lewan think that our DE was dropping into coverage only to bring him on a delayed blitz basically rocking him to sleep. It's been fun to watch exactly what we are doing because you can read about the scheme a lot online. The emergence of RG44 cannot be understated either. That guy is a huge reason why we've gotten relentless pressure. If you double VV which he now requires, you've got RG44 to deal with coming off the edge. At the airport I was privileged to meet a scout from the Bucs that was going to meet with Bo and watch practice. They were going to see RG44, VV, Moss, and our whole WR core. I was also fortunate enough to talk to a guy from the Steelers last year through my job and the Steelers have a lot of respect for Bo as a defensive mind and coach.

 

With the talent we've recruited the past 3-4 years I think it would be a mistake to not give Bo a chance with it. If after 2-3 years it hasn't worked out, then I'd be on the side that it's time to move on. But with as much promise as there currently is in this program with as young and talented as we are I think it would be a damn shame if a change is made.

 

I hope that clarifies more of my opinions for you. Anyone who is more knowledgable about football X's and O's I encourage you to correct any of the mistakes I may have made. I would really enjoy hearing it as I love football.

 

GBR

I disagree.

 

Me too.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

[Haspula]

Glad to see the nfl scouts looking at Avery moss. Truly underrated player, he doesn't get that much credit though

[NebraskaHarry]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

Okay, so you want Bo fired. Anything else you want to get off your chest?

[The Dude]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

Okay, so you want Bo fired. Anything else you want to get off your chest?

He's no longer a veterinarian.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

Okay, so you want Bo fired. Anything else you want to get off your chest?

 

My favorite color is blue, not a really bright blue or a really dark blue but a blue that is a bit in between the two. Thank you for allowing me to get all of this off my chest

[Hedley Lamarr]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

Okay, so you want Bo fired. Anything else you want to get off your chest?

He's no longer a veterinarian.

Yep I am not a veterinarin you are correct

[zoogs]

Great post, EZ. Some responses...

 

1) I think it's tough for any of us to predict or analyze the pool of available coaches. So a perceived lack of an obvious candidate isn't a concern.

 

2) Completely agree on Beck. Everybody's an armchair OC. I think Beck's doing some really nice things here, I like the guy and I hope he stays regardless. However, is it possible for NU to do better at the position? Yeah, I guess so.

 

3) It's possible the next coach will be better or worse than Bo Pelini. That's a risk that nobody can ever prevent from existing. The presence of that risk isn't a reason to hang onto Bo IF it's been determined that he's not our guy.

 

4) We've had some bad luck, sure, but that doesn't exculpate the coaches completely. For instance, you talk about safety play. How many years has that been an issue now? A lot. And, like many things, the current status is merely "things are looking up." A lot of things look up, but don't ultimately pan out. Which is probably a good summary of the recent past.

 

I love Bo's ability to coach defenses, but that's not all he's in charge of here. If we need to make a change, the great unknown is scary, but Bo isn't the only guy in the world who can coach a defense either. Maybe with the current promise he can take the defense from its recent history of embarrassing blowouts back to its 09 heights, or maybe in 2-3 years we'll pointing to that time that guy tweeted and messed up Bo's recruiting again just as he was turning the corner, but Bo's really turning the corner again now and we should give him another 2-3 years because look at all these defensive tackles from the '15 and '16 classes...

[In the Deed the Glory]

Pretty good post EZ, and I think many share some of those sentiments, and others understand them.

 

Recently, however, we have began to transition away from zone. We have really started to run power sweep, G toss, Belly G, and straight power much more in the run game. I think that has a lot to do with the OL improvement this season and the fact that negative plays have nearly disappeared. Downhill, as some like to call it. Much less read, cut. Ameer's vision is still awesome in the hole but his cut is now coming at the second level as I'm sure you've noticed. We still run some zone out of shotgun, but the pistol looks are getting more and more away from that.

 

I'll have to look back at those plays to see what you mean. What I am talking about is when we are in the gun depending on where Ameer lines up tells the defense where the play is designed to go. I think you touched on it in your post.

 

Ya, I have noticed this trend throughout football. High school level even. Start in a pistol and then shift to the side you want to tip the defense to. One more thing a DC has to worry about, are they tipping me to go that way or a they going to misdirection off of it?

[NebraskaHarry]

Where was the talent last season when we got slapped around by tOSU and Wisky and UGA? We are average in an average conference. Do you see us being one of the top 4 teams in the country with Bo as HC with his current staff?

Okay, so you want Bo fired. Anything else you want to get off your chest?

 

My favorite color is blue, not a really bright blue or a really dark blue but a blue that is a bit in between the two. Thank you for allowing me to get all of this off my chest

 

Good. I shouldn't have to see any more posts from you regarding your thoughts on Bo.

 

But tell me more about this blue color.