Position-by-Position: My Observations

[kyle sibert]

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. Tommy will never be a great passer. That's just how it's going to be. He doesn't have the touch needed to do so, but no way would I play Fyfe more. I like Tommy and think he can win a conference championship for us at QB, but we need to run the ball for him to be effective. I truly feel that Stanton is better than Fyfe.

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. When we have Abdullah we are good enough, but I'd like to see Cross take some of Newby's carries.

3. O-line. I'm a little concerned about this unit. They're not bad, but I was expecting more by now. In fairness, if we keep throwing on every other down, then these guys are never going to develop consistency. If I were Bo, I would select one series in the first half and tell his offense, "On this drive, we are not going to throw a single pass." This would let the line settle into a rhythm. Would probably help develop some attitude, as well. Also, seems like Zach Sterup is a step down for us at tackle. It may be due to injury or not playing, but we weren't as good with him in. Also, seems like Pelini got used a few times last night at center. I think Cotton's penalties are overblown: that motion penalty against him in the first half was bunk: the Fresno player was completely in the neutral zone when Cotton flinched. Having said that, I haven't seen a whole lot of power out of our line. I want some aggression. Yes, we sprung a few big runs (which is great), but I'm more interested in consistency. I have been impressed with the pass blocking so far, but the run blocking hasn't been good. Plain and simple. I don't expect to pancake people all game but Fresno and Mcneese aren't good defenses.

4. Wide receiver. Wow, Hovey made us a lot better in short order. With Hovey, Westerkamp, and Bell, we are suddenly a good unit. Moore has dropped too many balls. Kid has talent but needs to work on not using his body so much. I would like to see Allen get more looks. Overall, once we get Burtch and Reilly back this unit is even better. Westerkamp is a stud, of course.

5. Tight end. Still hard to believe that Beck has used our tight ends as much as our fullbacks before last night. Nice to see them back. But, will they remain? Probably not. Beck seems to forget things that work. Don't hate Beck, just that he gets so caught up in trying to fool other teams that he forgets that simple plays can go for big gains. We have tried to throw at them more but Tommy seems to want to over throw them. Carter needs to be used as a true weapon going forward.

6. D-line. Best part of entire team. Totally pleased. However, I felt like I was watching a China doll last night when Randy Gregory played. I kept feeling like he'd get injured at any moment. Agreed, this unit will only get better as the year goes along too. Scary that all 4 starters are 3 sophs and a Jr. Then if we get Moss back next season as well. LOOKOUT. I still think Randy is the best player in the nation. I look for his 14' coming out better next week vs MIA.

7. Secondary. These guys have total attitude and are tough. If we could put half their attitude into the O-line, we'd be awesome. Attitude is great, but lets get a damn turnover.

8. Linebackers. If I could use a food to describe them, it would be vanilla ice cream. No overt power or aggression from them, but no dumb plays. I knew losing Rose would be a big loss. Anderson hasn't stood out as much as I thought he would this year so far. Roach needs some more snaps along with Love.

9. Special teams. Very solid all around last night. Kick coverages were GREAT. That bodes well for us. Rebecca DeMornay was fabulous on kick returns last night. Visions of a freshman Bobby Newcomb. #DPE Well, we scored on a punt. Enough said there.

10. Coaching. I'm not wowwed by our coaching, but not upset. Not sure how to feel about this. I feel about the same at this point in the year. I'd like to use a few more blitzes besides the corner on D. Offense needs to sustain some drives.

I'd like some turnovers, too, and I think they'll come once our dline is going in full gear. A few fumbles by the QB or a rushed throw are usually the most common cause for turnovers. That being said, I don't think Nebraska forces a whole lot. Gerry and Cooper are both downhill players, interceptions aren't at the forefront of their minds. Also, with us playing man so much, I don't see Josh Mitchell being able to steal any "up-in-the-air" passes. He's a great corner, just small. Slightly worrisome, but in my opinion, this is the best I've seen the secondary play in a while. The only guy I had gripes with (in the secondary) was Kalu. Guy is super aggressive and doesn't whiff, but he's lost on D right now. He's only a freshman with time to develop, but right now he reminds me of Courtney Osborne.

[Hunter94]

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

[Stumpy1]

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

And you know this how?

[Danny Bateman]

 

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. Tommy will never be a great passer. That's just how it's going to be. He doesn't have the touch needed to do so, but no way would I play Fyfe more. I like Tommy and think he can win a conference championship for us at QB, but we need to run the ball for him to be effective. I truly feel that Stanton is better than Fyfe.

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. When we have Abdullah we are good enough, but I'd like to see Cross take some of Newby's carries.

3. O-line. I'm a little concerned about this unit. They're not bad, but I was expecting more by now. In fairness, if we keep throwing on every other down, then these guys are never going to develop consistency. If I were Bo, I would select one series in the first half and tell his offense, "On this drive, we are not going to throw a single pass." This would let the line settle into a rhythm. Would probably help develop some attitude, as well. Also, seems like Zach Sterup is a step down for us at tackle. It may be due to injury or not playing, but we weren't as good with him in. Also, seems like Pelini got used a few times last night at center. I think Cotton's penalties are overblown: that motion penalty against him in the first half was bunk: the Fresno player was completely in the neutral zone when Cotton flinched. Having said that, I haven't seen a whole lot of power out of our line. I want some aggression. Yes, we sprung a few big runs (which is great), but I'm more interested in consistency. I have been impressed with the pass blocking so far, but the run blocking hasn't been good. Plain and simple. I don't expect to pancake people all game but Fresno and Mcneese aren't good defenses.

4. Wide receiver. Wow, Hovey made us a lot better in short order. With Hovey, Westerkamp, and Bell, we are suddenly a good unit. Moore has dropped too many balls. Kid has talent but needs to work on not using his body so much. I would like to see Allen get more looks. Overall, once we get Burtch and Reilly back this unit is even better. Westerkamp is a stud, of course.

5. Tight end. Still hard to believe that Beck has used our tight ends as much as our fullbacks before last night. Nice to see them back. But, will they remain? Probably not. Beck seems to forget things that work. Don't hate Beck, just that he gets so caught up in trying to fool other teams that he forgets that simple plays can go for big gains. We have tried to throw at them more but Tommy seems to want to over throw them. Carter needs to be used as a true weapon going forward.

6. D-line. Best part of entire team. Totally pleased. However, I felt like I was watching a China doll last night when Randy Gregory played. I kept feeling like he'd get injured at any moment. Agreed, this unit will only get better as the year goes along too. Scary that all 4 starters are 3 sophs and a Jr. Then if we get Moss back next season as well. LOOKOUT. I still think Randy is the best player in the nation. I look for his 14' coming out better next week vs MIA.

7. Secondary. These guys have total attitude and are tough. If we could put half their attitude into the O-line, we'd be awesome. Attitude is great, but lets get a damn turnover.

8. Linebackers. If I could use a food to describe them, it would be vanilla ice cream. No overt power or aggression from them, but no dumb plays. I knew losing Rose would be a big loss. Anderson hasn't stood out as much as I thought he would this year so far. Roach needs some more snaps along with Love.

9. Special teams. Very solid all around last night. Kick coverages were GREAT. That bodes well for us. Rebecca DeMornay was fabulous on kick returns last night. Visions of a freshman Bobby Newcomb. #DPE Well, we scored on a punt. Enough said there.

10. Coaching. I'm not wowwed by our coaching, but not upset. Not sure how to feel about this. I feel about the same at this point in the year. I'd like to use a few more blitzes besides the corner on D. Offense needs to sustain some drives.

I'd like some turnovers, too, and I think they'll come once our dline is going in full gear. A few fumbles by the QB or a rushed throw are usually the most common cause for turnovers. That being said, I don't think Nebraska forces a whole lot. Gerry and Cooper are both downhill players, interceptions aren't at the forefront of their minds. Also, with us playing man so much, I don't see Josh Mitchell being able to steal any "up-in-the-air" passes. He's a great corner, just small. Slightly worrisome, but in my opinion, this is the best I've seen the secondary play in a while. The only guy I had gripes with (in the secondary) was Kalu. Guy is super aggressive and doesn't whiff, but he's lost on D right now. He's only a freshman with time to develop, but right now he reminds me of Courtney Osborne.

 

Thank goodness. I was starting to think I was on crazy pills or something for having this same gripe. I'm starting to worry that Bo's scheme just doesn't lend itself to takeaways unless it has phenomenal players. Luckily, right now, on the DL, we do, so I'm hopeful we may get some anyway.

 

The linebackers look lost a lot and if we're going to play a ton of man with a LB on the RB out of the backfield, we're going to have that matchup exploited a LOT this year. Also, we're going to need real aggressive defensive back play if they're manned up in order to jump throws from any decent QB. I've been impressed by Mitchell, Davie, Cockrell, and Kalu so far, but we've all seen the earfuls players get after blown assignments from Bo, and one would think that would lend itself to players being more cautious and less aggressive. Kalu will be fine. He's playing well for a freshman. He'll get better with time.

 

Gerry's been fantastic as well. He seems like he's really coming into his own this season. Glad we kept him and safety and didn't try to force LB on him-- that was nonsense. Haven't heard a peep from Coop yet this season-- but that's probably a good thing. Safety is one of those positions where no news can be the best news, unless you're just an absolute ballhawk. I'll take solid if unspectacular safety play anyday.

 

LB worries me a bit. Anderson is solid. Bando and Santos need to get things figured out quick. Santos has some making up to do after Saturday. Roach deserves a look. Bando ought to spend less time riding bicycles and more time riding the pine.

[NUinID]

A couple of observations.

 

1. TA is doing quite well. The only things he needs to improve on right now is probably his check downs to outlet passes in the flats. Everyone is really worried about his completion percentage, which is silly. Look at his TD to INT ratio that is what I like to see a 7-1 ratio right now. If that keeps up we will be pretty good.

 

2. The O-line has not imposed their will on the last 2 team, but think about these two things.

 

FSU and McNeese St. have sold out to stop the run and that is why you see a lots of big plays or lots of bad plays.

 

NU has played a lot of bodies on the O-line so far 10-12 guys have seen significant time. It takes a lot of time to get run blocking fits down and work as a unit. When they are mixing and matching it may not look as pretty. Pass blocking is actually easier to work on as far as subbing is concerned. They are building depth.

 

3. I liked the subbing on defense most notably the line. The defense was dialed into the game and played really well in the heat and that up tempo style.

[The Dude]

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

While I'm not as confident his lunch will be eaten (depending on what you mean by that), Miami may legitimately be the 2nd or 3rd best defense we face this year. It's going to be a good test for him and our offense at large.

[Landlord]

Can we just give HuskerinSunDiego his own thread to update weekly with all of his observations and thoughts after each game?

[HUSKER FREAK]

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

I think right now I am more worried about their speed getting to the edge on offense than how good their Defense is right now. They are going to run to the edge and pass out in the flats all game long, and we still haven't proved that we can stop it.

[TheSker]

 

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

I think right now I am more worried about their speed getting to the edge on offense than how good their Defense is right now. They are going to run to the edge and pass out in the flats all game long, and we still haven't proved that we can stop it.

 

I'm not so sure that's as true with Gregory's return. Our DL looked much better and nobody was happier about Gregory's return that Valentine.

[QMany]

I re-watched some of the game last night. One-on-one, Valentine is a terror for an offensive line. Gregory's return is huge for this D.

[HUSKER FREAK]

Speaking Of Gregory how awesome was that when he dropped back into coverage and completely annihilated the receiver in the middle. Man that Dude is really good. And, yes so is VV and the rest of the line. My concern as main concern is the LB's. I am sure they will get it figured out. I am guessing we will be in Dime a lot this week again which is awesome I think Kalu is fun to watch

[HUSKER FREAK]

Ok that was a little contradicting but I am concerned about our LB's and agree a little bit more of Roach's aggression would be nice.

[The Dude]

Man that Dude is really good.

[Hunter94]

 

good defenses will eat tommie's lunch, Miami is good enough to do that.

While I'm not as confident his lunch will be eaten (depending on what you mean by that), Miami may legitimately be the 2nd or 3rd best defense we face this year. It's going to be a good test for him and our offense at large.

 

i am worried tommie will under estimate the defenders speed and throw a bunch of picks........hope not.

[HUSKER FREAK]

Ha Ha Ha The Dude lol