Position-by-Position: My Observations

[Hunter94]

Most of Ryker's passes have been in the dirt so far. He put together a nice drive in garbage time, which was good to see. I'd say at this point the distance between Tommy and Ryker is immense, from what they've both shown on the field. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

Tommy will struggle against much better opponents.

[Moiraine]

 

. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

Tommy will struggle against much better opponents.

 

 

I think this is what most people are thinking about when they complain. He won't have as much time in the pocket or as many wide open receivers when we get into conference play, and the throws he's making into double and triple coverage (while ignoring a wide open Abdullah) will be intercepted more often.

[KingBlank]

I am so glad you're the coach

[Ziggy]

 

The only notable growth from Martinez came from his work with his own QB coach.

 

I don't think there's a lot of truth do this. Calhoun helped him out with his throwing motion/mechanics, which never really became great. Most of his growth came from his improved understanding of the offense and ability to make reads, adjustments, ect. I doubt Calhoun goes over the playbooks of every QB that comes to see him.

 

However, it makes little-to-no sense to carry a TE coach when we hardly utilize the TE in this offense. You're going to use your QB. I don't care that a large percentage of college programs don't have a dedicated QB coach, that's their problem. It doesn't have to be ours as well. Might as well gain an edge where you can. So to that point, I do agree with you.

I thought that it was understood that our TE coach (cotton) is also responsible for the tackles as well, while the center and guard position are under the OL coach (garrison). Which makes sense because the OL accounts for the highest percentage of players on the offense. If anything Beck is the one who should be the QB coach, as the QB is basically the OC on the field, which is how the current set up for coaches is.

 

And Armstrong is still a young QB, who currently has 9 TDs to one pick. Our offense for the most part has been extremely productive for the first 3 games. As far as the TE seam passes being overthrown, it's one of the hardest technical throws for a young QB. It is often overthrown because it's harder to perceive distance and speed vertically than horizontally. Also QBs want to lead the target, while also trying not to under throw and hand the defense an easy INT. Source: I stayed at a holiday inn express

[Ziggy]

 

Most of Ryker's passes have been in the dirt so far. He put together a nice drive in garbage time, which was good to see. I'd say at this point the distance between Tommy and Ryker is immense, from what they've both shown on the field. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

 

Tommy will struggle against much better opponents.

I hope you make a lot of money from your magic crystal ball. How about we wait until we see him play a few of these better opponents before making any projections of certain doom.

[TonyStalloni]

I would think a QB coach with qualities similar to Turner Gill (that ship has sailed) would be invaluable to this offense. If we were mainly a passing team the QB could get off site coaching and be effective but where we expect our QB to run often it would be great to have a coach who understands the offense and explain the finer points of D1 play on a day to day basis. New plays are put in each week to take advantage of that weeks opponents weaknesses. Practicing the right way from the first practice of the week would seem to be to our advantage.

[True2tRA]

I'm a little bit shocked and honestly find it somewhat hilarious how many of you refuse to give our starting QB Tommy Armstrong any credit.

 

Great game by the offense as a whole I thought. I loved some of the play calls and the new formations we were using. The defense played lights out as well. Awesome effort all around. Keep working hard and get better each week. 3-0 start heading to a home game with Miami, should be fun.

[The Dude]

 

 

. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

Tommy will struggle against much better opponents.

 

 

I think this is what most people are thinking about when they complain. He won't have as much time in the pocket or as many wide open receivers when we get into conference play, and the throws he's making into double and triple coverage (while ignoring a wide open Abdullah) will be intercepted more often.

 

Yeah, I guess I'm not seeing what the complaint is. Unless the expectation is for him to make it through the season without throwing any INTs. Which isn't a reasonable one. We can afford a couple from time to time as long as he's not fumbling a lot too, and especially if the defense starts holding up their end in turnover margin. I think that's a bigger or at least an equal concern at this point.

[True2tRA]

 

 

 

. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

 

Tommy will struggle against much better opponents.

I think this is what most people are thinking about when they complain. He won't have as much time in the pocket or as many wide open receivers when we get into conference play, and the throws he's making into double and triple coverage (while ignoring a wide open Abdullah) will be intercepted more often.

Yeah, I guess I'm not seeing what the complaint is. Unless the expectation is for him to make it through the season without throwing any INTs. Which isn't a reasonable one. We can afford a couple from time to time as long as he's not fumbling a lot too, and especially if the defense starts holding up their end in turnover margin. I think that's a bigger or at least an equal concern at this point.

Yea, but we are going to be headed into a daunting Big Ten schedule. Those Big Ten defenses are going to be hell to,deal with. Sense the sarcasm?

 

I've got a hell of an idea though. Instead of talking about the dimensions Tommy has opened for this offense, some of the beautiful throws he's made, and the fact that he's a better runner than we even thought he was, let talk about the negative that MIGHT happen down the road. Yea because less turnovers from our QB is what we've been begging for years now, so we can't jump the kids ass on that, so let's find something else to complain about.

[suh_fan93]

Armstrong has looked better in these 2 games anyway but it's hard to truly judge since the level of talent we've faced hasn't necessarily been the greatest. I still hold my breath every time he throws the ball. I hate that. I counted 3 or 4 passes last night alone that could and should have easily been picks. The problem is back up QB's never really get a chance to develop any sort of rhythm in Bo's system because he's always been so locked down on his starter. Whatever. There' a lot of football left to play.

[Atbone95]

OP - You REALLY need to stop with all these threads. REALLY, PLEASE. DO US A FAVOR. Not only are they redundant, your opinions are essentially crazy. That is all.

[Abdullah the Butcher]

OP - You REALLY need to stop with all these threads. REALLY, PLEASE. DO US A FAVOR. Not only are they redundant, your opinions are essentially crazy. That is all.

[HuskerinSunDiego]

OP - You REALLY need to stop with all these threads. REALLY, PLEASE. DO US A FAVOR. Not only are they redundant, your opinions are essentially crazy. That is all.

Atbone, never quite understand how a guy gets all frazzled when he sees a thread he doesn't like. Just trying to make some observations. My bad. Sorry to ruin your day.

[Kernal]

I just don't understand the lack of appreciation for Tommy Armstrong. Has he played perfectly? No. But has he played very, very well? Yes, in my opinion, he has. 7-1 TD to INT ratio and 3-0 in games this season. The biggest improvement to me over the past few years is that Armstrong is delivering the ball to our playmakers much more consistently, and when it's time to pull that ball down and run, he runs with great effectiveness. No lost fumbles this year by him yet, either.

 

Armstrong's stats this year

vs. FAU: 15-29 (51.7%) for 271 yds. and 2 tds, 0 ints, plus 7 rushes for 62 yds. and 1 td.

vs. McNeese: 16-31 (51.6%) for 242 yds. and 2 tds, 1 int (pick 6), plus 11 rushes for 131 yds. and 1 td.

@ Fresno St.: 12-21 (57.1%) for 260 yds. and 3 tds, plus 9 rushes for 65 yds.

 

I'm not sure what you guys who think Armstrong hasn't been very good are expecting. A better completion percentage? Fewer close call non-interceptions?

 

One thing I've noticed this year is that we are throwing the ball down the field more often. Armstrong isn't "padding" his stats with a ton of dink-and-dunk passing. I'm not a division 1 QB, but I think making those downfield throws are more difficult and typically lead to lower completion percentages. The upside is that completions go for more yardage.

 

But the real way to look at it, I believe, is to ask one's self: is Armstrong being effective? In the larger sense, yes, we're winning games. Armstrong is managing the offense such that the RBs, the WRs, the QB, and even now the TEs are having good statistical years. Compared with the past few years where we lived and died by the QB making or not making plays on his own, for the most part, this year has been a revolution so far.

 

A complaint can still be made about the lack of sustained drives against McNeese and Fresno. I'm not a big fan of the explosive plays when they come at the expense of sustained drives. Some of those drives seemed to have stalled out due to poor reads by Armstrong in the passing game, though it's hard to blame it all on him without going through the games series-by-series. We've also had inconsistent line play and constantly revolving WRs, both of which make the QB's performance much more difficult.

 

For what it's worth, I was very impressed with Fyfe last night. He zips that ball out faster than any QB since Ganz, in my opinion. It was the first time I'd seen him get into a rhythm as a QB and I could see how he was pushing Armstrong for the starting job. That competition is a GREAT thing for our QBs, as they all know complacency isn't an option. Stanton I was less impressed with, though he didn't get as much time and one never knows when the "lights" will come on for a player.

 

One final thought, and I hate to do this because it's generally not fair to the players, but take a look at this stat line:

 

6-14 for 105 yds. with 1td. and 2 ints, plus 16 rushes for 199 yds. and 2 tds.

 

Not super impressive if you just look at the stats. But those are Tommie Frazier's numbers from the Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida for the 1995 MNC- a game that many Husker fans used as definitive proof that Frazier was robbed of the Heisman that year. My point with this is it's not always about completion percentage. It's not always about interceptions. Stats are something you can go back and look at and maybe gain some insight from, but to say that we definitely need this, this or this just isn't very persuasive.

 

So, long story short: Armstrong is a sophmore QB who has made big improvements over last year commanding an offense now catering more to his strengths. We'll have a better idea of his mettle when we face tougher opponents, but until then, he hasn't given me much reason to have anything but optimism about how he will perform when we do.

[Atbone95]

 

OP - You REALLY need to stop with all these threads. REALLY, PLEASE. DO US A FAVOR. Not only are they redundant, your opinions are essentially crazy. That is all.

Atbone, never quite understand how a guy gets all frazzled when he sees a thread he doesn't like. Just trying to make some observations. My bad. Sorry to ruin your day.

 

I mean, I do, I like what you're trying to do. I just completely disagree with what you are saying, and I find it a little ridiculous. I am sorry, though - should have been more constructive.

 

 

1. QB. Something's just missing. Armstrong is decent. Not saying he's done a bad job, as he's 10-1. However, he misses quite a few throws by a significant margin. I honestly wish that Ryker Fife would get some meaningful action. I think his throw is much more natural than Tommy's. Not hating on Tommy. Just saying that we should keep both options open. Of course, Bo will never do that as he believes in giving starters every minute possible.

 

2 RB. Ameer is Ameer, so no need for analysis. I was somewhat surprised that Newby looked very ordinary last night. Not sure what to think of that. This may sound crazy, but I'm not that overly impressed with Cross and Newby. I'm just glad that Adam Taylor will be back next year.

 

4. Wide receiver. Wow, Hovey made us a lot better in short order. With Hovey, Westerkamp, and Bell, we are suddenly a good unit.

This was the one that was laughable to me. Really? Fyfe? Dude was so inaccurate last night, it was awful. How many balls can he spike in the dirt before you stop calling for playing time?

 

Again - You're talking about a player who has never stepped on the field and played a down for this team. And you are glad he's going to be back, because the people in front of him are terrible, blah blah blah...

 

You're talking about a receiver who caught 3 passes. Really? Yes, he was good, but you want him to start all of a sudden (that's how I read that)?

 

Not trying to be a dick. Just really don't agree with a lot of the points you were making.