So Tommy Decided to Pass?

[QMany]

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game.

Running the play clock down to :01 and calling a timeout would have had no negative consequences. No one is saying they should call a timeout early in the play clock. If Husker Nation doesn't realize that, I don't know what to tell you.

[Husker67]

 

 

 

So they're still going with the story that it wasn't a called pass play? I mean, it HAD to be called a pass play, even if that's not what Langsdorf called.

 

 

He keeps saying it's normally a pass play, but they tagged it as a run. Seems like a no-brainer to just let Jano run up the gut instead of getting fancy

 

This has kind of been my thought all along after seeing it Saturday. How many times was that play, tagged as a run, repped in practice before that. Seems not enough when so many guys seemed lost on the play.

 

Most coaches have plays that are "green" plenty of reps in practice, "yellow" some reps in practice, might use it in a game given the right situation, and maybe "red" plays that haven't been repped enough to use in a critical situation of a game. This terminology may not be exact, but most coaches operate on something of the same premise.

[RADAR]

Riley took responsibility for not teaching better and Tommy took responsibility for doing what he was told not to do. It all sucks, it cost us the game, but its time to move on to Wisconsin and beat their ass on Saturday.^.

[QMany]

Riley took responsibility for not teaching better and Tommy took responsibility for doing what he was told not to do. It all sucks, it cost us the game, but its time to move on to Wisconsin and beat their ass on Saturday.^.

"NOTHING TO SEE HERE, PLEASE MOVE ALONG!"

[74Hunter]

 

 

Riley took responsibility for not teaching better and Tommy took responsibility for doing what he was told not to do. It all sucks, it cost us the game, but its time to move on to Wisconsin and beat their ass on Saturday.^.

"NOTHING TO SEE HERE, PLEASE MOVE ALONG!"

Until the next loss......

[Mavric]

 

Riley took responsibility for not teaching better and Tommy took responsibility for doing what he was told not to do. It all sucks, it cost us the game, but its time to move on to Wisconsin and beat their ass on Saturday.^.

"NOTHING TO SEE HERE, PLEASE MOVE ALONG!"

 

 

[GBRedneck]

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

Not sure if serious . . .

 

Not calling a timeout in that situation was one of the stupidest things I've seen a coach do. But it's becoming a pattern with Riley. He did the same thing before the last FG attempt against Southern Miss.

 

So the question is, do you not understand how clock management works either? Or are you saying that the majority of Husker fans don't understand clock management and would've complained if Riley had done the right thing and called a timeout?

[huskerfan92]

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

 

Uhhhhhh no that would not have happened. Timeouts matter because they can be used to make absolutely sure that your team is set up and prepared properly for the upcoming play. What's important on a play like that is to make sure there's absolutely nothing that can go wrong, and minimize errors. Having your team break a huddle with 8 seconds on the play clock, not having the guys properly lined up, calling a play where that's usually a pass but you want it to be a run is maximizing the degree of difficulty on what should be a simple play. If anyone would've complained about calling a timeout in that situation they would've been viewed as completely irrational and ignored. Not calling a timeout led to a confused team that messed up a situation that should have about a 99.9% success rate, and something we are still talking about today. Unless things turn around in a hurry we'll be talking about that play the rest of the year.

 

As for Tommy making a mistake. Yes he did. But he's not the one to blame in this situation. The coaches put him in a bad spot. They need to stop making it so hard on themselves and call a simple run play in that situation.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

I already posted this, but Husker fans and the media are smart enough to realize that a timeout taken with a few seconds left on the play clock would have been forgiven. Just make sure you run the damn ball on 3rd down.

[NUance]

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

 

Yeah, it seems that way. But it's easy for us to pick that play apart with the benefit of hindsight. On the third down snap Tommy was looking to make a first down and end the game. Or at least not lose yardage and get out of field goal range. He could've done it with a three-yard pass. He probly completes that pass 70% of the time. (Okay, maybe that's debatable.) In any case, even though the coaches called for a bootleg run on that play, nobody could have foreseen that an incompletion could had led to a loss. Or at least they couldn't have foreseen that in the split second right before the three yard incomplete pass to Ozigbo.

[Saunders]

 

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

I already posted this, but Husker fans and the media are smart enough to realize that a timeout taken with a few seconds left on the play clock would have been forgiven. Just make sure you run the damn ball on 3rd down.

 

Exactly this. Taking a timeout with :01 on the playclock to ensure that you properly execute the most important play of the drive (or game) is entirely the reason you have timeouts.

[zeWilbur]

 

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

 

Uhhhhhh no that would not have happened. Timeouts matter because they can be used to make absolutely sure that your team is set up and prepared properly for the upcoming play. What's important on a play like that is to make sure there's absolutely nothing that can go wrong, and minimize errors. Having your team break a huddle with 8 seconds on the play clock, not having the guys properly lined up, calling a play where that's usually a pass but you want it to be a run is maximizing the degree of difficulty on what should be a simple play. If anyone would've complained about calling a timeout in that situation they would've been viewed as completely irrational and ignored. Not calling a timeout led to a confused team that messed up a situation that should have about a 99.9% success rate, and something we are still talking about today. Unless things turn around in a hurry we'll be talking about that play the rest of the year.

 

As for Tommy making a mistake. Yes he did. But he's not the one to blame in this situation. The coaches put him in a bad spot. They need to stop making it so hard on themselves and call a simple run play in that situation.

 

You are working off a few large assumptions though.

First, the play difficulty is irrelevant. If a timeout had been called then the play would have never been run so it does not matter what would have been called.

Second, that TA would have made the savvy play by calling the timeout with one second left. Breaking the huddle late meant he would not have too much time to call it early but his decision making lately does not fill me confidence for a perfect execution.

So really you would have likely had a third down where they broke the huddle late and ended up calling a timeout with a few seconds left because they didn't like the look/feel. That would have been complained about on any drive. Being a crucial third down to try and ice the game only makes it worse. For a fan base that enjoys pitchforks and torches so much it still would have been an issue.

[True2tRA]

 

 

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

I already posted this, but Husker fans and the media are smart enough to realize that a timeout taken with a few seconds left on the play clock would have been forgiven. Just make sure you run the damn ball on 3rd down.

 

Exactly this. Taking a timeout with :01 on the playclock to ensure that you properly execute the most important play of the drive (or game) is entirely the reason you have timeouts.

 

You're missing the point Saunders. Again.

 

Didn't say it wasn't important, didn't say that wasn't why you have timeouts.

 

I said he was right. If Nebraska had called a timeout, people would've came to this board and said "what the f#*k are they doing calling a timeout there and letting Illinois defense prepare for that third down play!" blah blah blah!.......That's exactly how it would've went.

 

These same people claiming that they would've been "okay" with the timeout in that situation, are the same ones that were flipping out after the BYU game after we actually DID call a timeout to make sure we were on the same page for that Hail Mary play. and those same people said "what the f#*k are they doing calling a timeout there and letting BYU offense prepare for that play!" blah blah blah!.......

 

This isn't a debate about the importance of timeouts, or when to use them, the point that you've missed obviously, was about the reactions of dumbass Husker fans is usually negative no matter what the f#*k the team or coaches do.

[Undone]

So really you would have likely had a third down where they broke the huddle late and ended up calling a timeout with a few seconds left because they didn't like the look/feel. That would have been complained about on any drive. Being a crucial third down to try and ice the game only makes it worse. For a fan base that enjoys pitchforks and torches so much it still would have been an issue.

 

No. You're missing the point so badly that it's getting kind of ridiculous.

 

Riley should have called the timeout. And Riley/Langsdorf should have called a dive/trap/isolation handoff play.

 

Are you actually not understanding how much better the situation would have been had Riley called a timeout with, say, 5-7 seconds left on the play clock while we were lining up for that 3rd down play and helped ensure that we got set correctly? Idiots who don't understand the game entirely notwithstanding, this is painfully easy to see.

 

*EDIT* Not calling you an idiot, zeWilbur. Trying to say that of course there would be people who truly do not understand football getting on here after the fact complaining about this...but that there's a much, much bigger point about the way that Riley/Langsdorf managed that last series on offense.

[huskerfan92]

 

 

 

How hard is this to get? It looked like a pass play because it was a supposed to. He was told not to throw it but he did. If someone can legally drive, gamble, drink, and vote for President I would hope you can trust him to run the ball. It is OK to blame a player if they screw up. Especially when they admit it.

 

What do the timeouts even matter? Had they called one, Husker nation would have torn them apart for stopping the clock while trying to run out the game. Reporters would have asked why and been given the same info about lining up wrong, etc. Then some of you jackals would have piled on about how poor the coaching is that we can't even line up correctly so no wonder there is poor clock management. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't.

 

I don't totally disagree, Tommy takes some of the blame on this regardless. It was stupid to even have a pass play called, but if they told him not to throw it, then he shouldn't have. If Tommy didn't understand the situation they were in and the consequences of letting that ball fly, then that's an issue too.

 

To me, you get the impression Tommy doesn't have a grasp for some of this stuff. I see it with a few of the guys. They just seem to lose awareness.

 

 

And as for the second bolded part, you're totally right. That's exactly what would've happened and anyone that says otherwise is a farkin' liar.

 

 

Uhhhhhh no that would not have happened. Timeouts matter because they can be used to make absolutely sure that your team is set up and prepared properly for the upcoming play. What's important on a play like that is to make sure there's absolutely nothing that can go wrong, and minimize errors. Having your team break a huddle with 8 seconds on the play clock, not having the guys properly lined up, calling a play where that's usually a pass but you want it to be a run is maximizing the degree of difficulty on what should be a simple play. If anyone would've complained about calling a timeout in that situation they would've been viewed as completely irrational and ignored. Not calling a timeout led to a confused team that messed up a situation that should have about a 99.9% success rate, and something we are still talking about today. Unless things turn around in a hurry we'll be talking about that play the rest of the year.

 

As for Tommy making a mistake. Yes he did. But he's not the one to blame in this situation. The coaches put him in a bad spot. They need to stop making it so hard on themselves and call a simple run play in that situation.

 

You are working off a few large assumptions though.

First, the play difficulty is irrelevant. If a timeout had been called then the play would have never been run so it does not matter what would have been called.

Second, that TA would have made the savvy play by calling the timeout with one second left. Breaking the huddle late meant he would not have too much time to call it early but his decision making lately does not fill me confidence for a perfect execution.

So really you would have likely had a third down where they broke the huddle late and ended up calling a timeout with a few seconds left because they didn't like the look/feel. That would have been complained about on any drive. Being a crucial third down to try and ice the game only makes it worse. For a fan base that enjoys pitchforks and torches so much it still would have been an issue.

 

 

For the bold statements in order:

 

1) Thank goodness that play would not have been run, that situation calls for a simple play and the coaches made it a difficult one.

 

2) This is college not the NFL. Honestly I don't see college players calling timeouts very often, the coaches are the ones that do that.

 

3) Being a crucial third down is all the more reason to call a timeout in that situation. It is the biggest play of the game, and you're sitting there with 3 timeouts, watching your team look confused, how do you not call a timeout? The reason we are still talking about this situation is because the coaches handled it so poorly we still can not wrap our heads around it. If they call a timeout, call a simple run play that keeps the clock going, and give Illinois the ball back with 10-15 seconds on the clock we aren't talking about how we blew the game. We certainly aren't talking about a timeout we took on the final drive, that would've been the least of our concerns. The story line then would have been how we escaped Illinois with terrible offensive play calling, but would be looking at the bright side for how the defense played.