Some of last nights coaching decisions were baffling

[Count 'Bility]

Yes. We gave Sparty the ball AND the wind to start the game. Why is this a big deal and a major blunder? It obviously affected decisions to not kick field goals at the 13:35 from 48, 5:45 from 53, and most definitely affect the fade route to kenny bell at the 3:48 mark the was a pick.

[tschu]

Punting from the 31 was horrible.

[Bigred_inSD]

Not giving the ball to imani after that muffed punt. Thr wildcat was a terrible idea. Mainly because we tripped our own player that led to the perfect punch to cause a fumble

[tschu]

Yes. We gave Sparty the ball AND the wind to start the game. Why is this a big deal and a major blunder? It obviously affected decisions to not kick field goals at the 13:35 from 48, 5:45 from 53, and most definitely affect the fade route to kenny bell at the 3:48 mark the was a pick.

 

It's not that big of a blunder. We deferred, Sparty took the ball, we decided that we wanted the wind in the 2nd quarter rather than the 1st. In reality you might get a small percentage advantage just because teams receiving the ball to start the half will have a greater probability of possessing the ball slightly longer in that quarter, but it's by percentage points. What if we had taken the wind, and had a bunch of field goal attempts in the second quarter when the wind was against us? You can't time that sort of thing.

 

So yeah, technically it was a mistake, but not a gigantic blunder.

[Haspula]

Also, if we didn't go for those two 2-point conversions in the 2nd half and instead just kicked the extra point, it would have been 24-27 after the demornay TD and the MSU missed field goal. So, with a little less than a minute left in the game, right before the INT, the score is 24-27. We could of played more conservatively, preventing an INT, and tried to get into field goal position to tie the game and send it into OT

 

I'd trust our defense in overtime, they played great down the stretch. And the offense would have some momentum going since they scored 24 straight points. I could see NU winning in OT when you factor both of those reasons.

[Ratt Mhule]

Also, if we didn't go for those two 2-point conversions in the 2nd half and instead just kicked the extra point, it would have been 24-27 after the demornay TD and the MSU missed field goal. So, with a little less than a minute left in the game, right before the INT, the score is 24-27. We could of played more conservatively, preventing an INT, and tried to get into field goal position to tie the game and send it into OT

 

I'd trust our defense in overtime, they played great down the stretch. And the offense would have some momentum going since they scored 24 straight points. I could see NU winning in OT when you factor both of those reasons.

Did anyone honestly think we were going to get the game that close at the end? I know I didn't. Not like the coaches knew we were going to make an amazing comeback. They were trying to get the game to be a two poss. game rather than a three poss game. I have no problem going for the two. It was the right call at the time with what was going on in the game.

 

Same with onside kick. We needed that ball back and we had no timeouts. One first down and game over. I even said to my friend after the punt return TD, "now we need to get the onside kick" I would have done it and Im sure most of you would have to. Easy to second guess when youre not making the decisions and things don't go your way...

[NUinID]

The only one I disagree with is the first. Either try the FG or go for it on 4th. I do understand the thought though, play field position on a wet night. I prefer to be more aggressive.

[HuskerNation1]

Did any of you catch Sipple's editorial out this morning.

 

http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/sipple/steven-m-sipple-another-wild-ride-leaves-huskers-woozy/article_9669d092-456a-5bb1-a2d7-d45d1581f512.html

 

He made some good points that everybody would agree with, but this one baffled me...."Its hard to blame Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck."

 

What the heck? I don't understand why Sipple feels the need to suck up to this coaching staff and not call it like it is. While I agree that Armstrong and the O-line didn't play well, TA didn't get really razzled until the 2nd quarter, and up until that point in time, the playcalling was horrendously predictable. It was obvious that MSU was keying on Abdullah, so why not mix up the rushing attack by using the Jet Sweep, or putting Cross in with Abdullah to create confusion. Instead, time and again, we see Ameer back there alone with Armstrong with absolutely no variation. This team desperately needed some early creativity to gain confidence that they could build upon through the rest of the game, and unfortunately it wasn't until late in the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter when the playbook opened up and we had MSU guessing what we were going to do. So while some of the players underperformed, I completely disagree with Sipple's refusal to put any accountability on Beck.

[Warrior10]

Haha keeping Ryker in...wondered when I'd see this. You act like he took the ball 80 yards. He made one 7 yard completion, sailed a wide open TD and then handed the ball to Ameer, then messed up the 2 point conversion.

[True2tRA]

God dang man, I don't know what Beck could have done. What offense in the history of the sport moves without an offensive line?

 

Look at the photo attached to that article. Tommy and Abdullah got their asses kicked all night long. The fact that we were in this game is a credit to some guys that kept fighting, and a credit to the defense all around.

 

Tommy should have made some throws that we're gimmes, but he didn't. That was atleast a credit to Beck for trying those simple passes. Tommy missed them. I put that on him a bit, but in that stadium facing that pass rush, as young as Tommy is, I bet that was a bit intimidating. He knew he had to make quick decisions and he was rushed all night. NFL QB's fall apart in that kind of pressure.

 

If the offensive line doesn't feel ashamed after that performance then I'll feel it for them. That was disgraceful. Missed assignments, miscommunications, guys half efforting, guys standing around blocking nobody. Where's the hunger? Where's the attitude of wanting to put someone on their ass? I blame the offensive line and the offensive line coaches. This offensive line has been patchwork and spotty for the entirety of Pelini's tenure here. This zone blocking scheme, or whatever we are trying to do (I admittedly don't know a lot about it) it needs to go. I know that easier said than done because it changes the entire offense but for once I'd just like to see our linemen beat the piss out of the guy across from them. Nothing more. None of this complicated crap. Just win your battle.

 

This loss,is on the offensive line and their coaches. Period. The fact that I'm saying that about Nebraska, a place where the offensive line used to be the pride of this program, well that's the sad part.

 

It's time for some coaches to reach out and get educated from some guys who know what the hell they're doing. If its a scheme issue, change it. If its a teaching issue, get help teaching it so the kids understand it. If its an effort issue, then pull that kids ass off the field.

[NebraskaShellback]

Yep - some are at it again! Get over it.

[PaulCrewe]

My only gripe is the onside. Kick it deep. Two first downs end the game either way. However getting a stop after kicking it deep potentially helps your field position immensely, especially with a sorry game clock. Secondly kicking it deep and getting a hold could have allowed the best offensive weapon from last night another crack at breaking one. That being DPE.

 

Bo kicked it deep two years ago in a similar situation, shocked he didn't do it again.

[Savage Husker]

How about Tommy keeping the ball on the zone read more often and not making it so predictable that it's the Ameer show? MSU crashed hard on Ameer every play, even if Tommy gets a no gain or minimal gain, keep the defense honest. Dantonio is the only coach since McNeese St to follow their gameplan and it worked. Take Ameer away and force Tommy to make decisions. Combo that up with gawd awful OL play and we're toast. There is nothing the coaches could call that would change what the players did on the field. How many dump passes did Tommy miss? How many out routes did he skip? There's now three items on the list of things Husker fans can count on...death, taxes, and Alex Lewis penalized 3-4 times a game.

 

Leaders aren't just there to make sure people get their reps in and work hard at practice. That offensive unit needed to call each other out when mistakes were being made. Tommy waited too long to chew out Mark Pelini. He should have chewed out the whole dang line. The WRs should have chewed out Tommy. Ameer should have chewed out the team. It's OK to yell at eachother on the field/sideline, if you aren't mentally tough to be called out when it's needed, then they'll continue to lose these games.

 

With that said, I love the no quit attitude of the program. We saw that in 2012 when we had 3-4 comebacks. It's the identity of the program and I love the heart that they have. Sparty's Cook had the "finish" mantra this week, welp Sparty, you didn't finish well and you barely escaped. I question the toughness of that team and their ability to close teams out. I can't wait until we play them again this year. Kinda sucks they have to wait two weeks to get this sour taste out of their mouths, I see them overcoming this and destroying Northwestern. Having a week to heal up will be good though too.

[C N Red]

The other thing is not running any g-scheme. Power football with straight ahead blocking could have helped the oline.

[Bowfin]

I think putting Tommie Armstrong back in was the right call. Ryker didn't look particularly sharp, and missed a wide open throw in the end zone.

 

I do think Ryker needs to get into games more. Bo always has a penchant of over playing his starters when games are decided, exposing them to needless injuries and wear and tear, while at the same time depriving his backups of needed real game experience.

 

Every time we have a good punt return this year, I want to go back into time and give the Nebraska coaching staff a hard punch to the (fill in the blank) for forfeiting that part of the game all last season. This one issue, more than anything else, gives me some doubts as to how sharp Pelini is.