The Backwards Plan at RB

[StPaulHusker]

I believe there will be a little more attention paid to the running game beginning with Wisconsin. Armstrong didn't look good at all throwing and the WR's didn't help matters.

 

There is no denying what Ozigbo did in a close game. And Janovich has shown he can be a formidable player as well.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

IMO what we say on Saturday is the best combination we have seen all year. We just need to see more of it. Ozigbo looked very good. Can anyone explain to me why they really only ran that sweep that he scored on a few times. He had 2 nice runs with it. I think they really like Ozigbo. I liked him to, he looked like a B1G running back. He looked like what we need. He and Janovich looked decisive and got what they could running the ball no dancing. That is what this league is. It may not be pretty, but it works. Cross should have become a linebacker after his Sophomore year. Newby is a good change of pace a good third down back, but he doesn't appear to be an every down back.

 

I think Wilbon's pass pro must be so poor that they don't trust him at all or he pissed off someone very badly or his attitude must be bad. It is one of the three or any combination of the three.

Cant be that he pissed off some one or has a bad attitude.. Example I am sure Alex Lewis ahd pissed some one off and he starts and plays every down.

 

Cant really say riley doesnt know how to use his backs cause he has had some good ones at OS and used the heck out of them.

 

But these Rushing numbers this last game I dont get,

 

Jano 11 for 43 / 3.9 avg

T.A 8 for 38 / 4.8 avg

Ozigbo 7 for 70 / 10 avg

Newby 5 for 15 / 5 avg.

 

 

I just dont get it.. Unless he wanted to make sure he brought down Jano's yards per carry stat from last week...

 

They went to Jano as their power back, and to close out the game. That's why Jano got more carries that usual and his YPC were so low.

 

Newby, 3.0 avg.

 

Newby is not a good RB if they line isn't blocking well. We have seen that.

[NUance]

So maybe you fine folks at Huskerboard, with your calm approach and obviously HUGE brains, can explain this whole RB situation to me because it seems to be the opposite of how I thought it would go.

 

So coming into the year we knew we had a battle at RB for the starting spot. I figured non-conference schedule would be a great time to spread some carries throughout the top 3-4 guys, let's see who establishes themselves as the real front runner. By the time Big Ten play rolled around, we should be set with who THE GUY is.

 

So we start the year with Newby as number one, he's getting plenty of touches, but Wilbon and Cross are getting a few too. I don't remember Ozigbo being involved much.

 

Suddenly, Wilbon, who I thought looks like the most talented of the bunch, disappears completely. The excuse is that he can't pass block. An excuse I don't altogether buy. When we call run, in running situations, there's no reason Wilbon couldn't be carrying the ball. No we don't always audible to pass, even when the defense is showing run blitz.

 

Regardless, Newby maintained carries, Wilbon is gone, Cross is getting a few here and there and I still don't remember Ozigbo doing much if anything.

 

Game 3 I believe it was, suddenly Newby is the only RB on the roster. He gets every carry in the game. Nobody else does anything. It left me thinking, well they've settled on their guy, though I'm not all too impressed with his running style, he's supposedly a good pass blocker, sadly I don't see it as a positive if that's the best thing you can say about your RB, but whatever. They fed Newby the ball, and I've assumed this is the direction we are headed.

 

Cross fades away, has a terrible fumble on one of his lone carries. Wilbon is gone. We hear grumbling about Ozigbo, but haven't seen a ton.

 

Big Ten play opens up and Ozigbo explodes, but the coaches refuse to keep feeding him the rock. Newby is in and out. But as we leave the Big Ten opener, I'm thinking.....hell, I'm more confused about the RB situation than I ever was.

 

Why did I see this playing out in the completely opposite way? Was I wrong in how I thought they should approach it? It seems like six games into the year, as a coaching staff they should kind of be done with some of the "experimenting". Isn't that what the non-conference schedule is for?

 

That's a pretty good recap of what we've seen at RB so far. It's odd that on Saturday we didn't see the guys who got most of the carries a month ago. And instead saw a couple of RBs who didn't have any carries at all the first couple of games. That said, I think Ozigbo is a bright spot at RB. And Janovich is a beast--when he's used correctly. But it's perplexing that Wilbon has totally disappeared. And I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see Adam Taylor in any of our OOC games. I really don't know what to expect from here on out. :

[VectorVictor]

Ozigbo and Jano need to be running the ball exclusively now. Just wish the coaches were a little more committed to the ground game.

 

Um...add Tommy to this list, and I'm down.

 

There is no denying what Ozigbo did in a close game. And Janovich has shown he can be a formidable player as well.

 

I think we all agree on the boards here. Unfortunately, unless the coaches have a Huskerboard account, no one on the coaching staff appears to believe this...and that's just damn pathetic.

[Redux]

I think we see more this week.

I think we see it featured heavily in the 2nd half against Miami.

I think we see a 50/50 dose against S.Miss.

I think we all but abandon it against Wisconsin.

I posted that after the BYU game. Sub out Wisconsin for Illinois, I wasn't far off.

[BaytownHusker]

 

So maybe you fine folks at Huskerboard, with your calm approach and obviously HUGE brains, can explain this whole RB situation to me because it seems to be the opposite of how I thought it would go.

 

So coming into the year we knew we had a battle at RB for the starting spot. I figured non-conference schedule would be a great time to spread some carries throughout the top 3-4 guys, let's see who establishes themselves as the real front runner. By the time Big Ten play rolled around, we should be set with who THE GUY is.

 

So we start the year with Newby as number one, he's getting plenty of touches, but Wilbon and Cross are getting a few too. I don't remember Ozigbo being involved much.

 

Suddenly, Wilbon, who I thought looks like the most talented of the bunch, disappears completely. The excuse is that he can't pass block. An excuse I don't altogether buy. When we call run, in running situations, there's no reason Wilbon couldn't be carrying the ball. No we don't always audible to pass, even when the defense is showing run blitz.

 

Regardless, Newby maintained carries, Wilbon is gone, Cross is getting a few here and there and I still don't remember Ozigbo doing much if anything.

 

Game 3 I believe it was, suddenly Newby is the only RB on the roster. He gets every carry in the game. Nobody else does anything. It left me thinking, well they've settled on their guy, though I'm not all too impressed with his running style, he's supposedly a good pass blocker, sadly I don't see it as a positive if that's the best thing you can say about your RB, but whatever. They fed Newby the ball, and I've assumed this is the direction we are headed.

 

Cross fades away, has a terrible fumble on one of his lone carries. Wilbon is gone. We hear grumbling about Ozigbo, but haven't seen a ton.

 

Big Ten play opens up and Ozigbo explodes, but the coaches refuse to keep feeding him the rock. Newby is in and out. But as we leave the Big Ten opener, I'm thinking.....hell, I'm more confused about the RB situation than I ever was.

 

Why did I see this playing out in the completely opposite way? Was I wrong in how I thought they should approach it? It seems like six games into the year, as a coaching staff they should kind of be done with some of the "experimenting". Isn't that what the non-conference schedule is for?

 

That's a pretty good recap of what we've seen at RB so far. It's odd that on Saturday we didn't see the guys who got most of the carries a month ago. And instead saw a couple of RBs who didn't have any carries at all the first couple of games. That said, I think Ozigbo is a bright spot at RB. And Janovich is a beast--when he's used correctly. But it's perplexing that Wilbon has totally disappeared. And I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see Adam Taylor in any of our OOC games. I really don't know what to expect from here on out. :

 

 

You can expect to see Taylor at a Texas school in 2 years..

[StPaulHusker]

 

 

So maybe you fine folks at Huskerboard, with your calm approach and obviously HUGE brains, can explain this whole RB situation to me because it seems to be the opposite of how I thought it would go.

 

So coming into the year we knew we had a battle at RB for the starting spot. I figured non-conference schedule would be a great time to spread some carries throughout the top 3-4 guys, let's see who establishes themselves as the real front runner. By the time Big Ten play rolled around, we should be set with who THE GUY is.

 

So we start the year with Newby as number one, he's getting plenty of touches, but Wilbon and Cross are getting a few too. I don't remember Ozigbo being involved much.

 

Suddenly, Wilbon, who I thought looks like the most talented of the bunch, disappears completely. The excuse is that he can't pass block. An excuse I don't altogether buy. When we call run, in running situations, there's no reason Wilbon couldn't be carrying the ball. No we don't always audible to pass, even when the defense is showing run blitz.

 

Regardless, Newby maintained carries, Wilbon is gone, Cross is getting a few here and there and I still don't remember Ozigbo doing much if anything.

 

Game 3 I believe it was, suddenly Newby is the only RB on the roster. He gets every carry in the game. Nobody else does anything. It left me thinking, well they've settled on their guy, though I'm not all too impressed with his running style, he's supposedly a good pass blocker, sadly I don't see it as a positive if that's the best thing you can say about your RB, but whatever. They fed Newby the ball, and I've assumed this is the direction we are headed.

 

Cross fades away, has a terrible fumble on one of his lone carries. Wilbon is gone. We hear grumbling about Ozigbo, but haven't seen a ton.

 

Big Ten play opens up and Ozigbo explodes, but the coaches refuse to keep feeding him the rock. Newby is in and out. But as we leave the Big Ten opener, I'm thinking.....hell, I'm more confused about the RB situation than I ever was.

 

Why did I see this playing out in the completely opposite way? Was I wrong in how I thought they should approach it? It seems like six games into the year, as a coaching staff they should kind of be done with some of the "experimenting". Isn't that what the non-conference schedule is for?

 

That's a pretty good recap of what we've seen at RB so far. It's odd that on Saturday we didn't see the guys who got most of the carries a month ago. And instead saw a couple of RBs who didn't have any carries at all the first couple of games. That said, I think Ozigbo is a bright spot at RB. And Janovich is a beast--when he's used correctly. But it's perplexing that Wilbon has totally disappeared. And I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see Adam Taylor in any of our OOC games. I really don't know what to expect from here on out. :

 

 

You can expect to see Taylor at a Texas school in 2 years..

 

I doubt it would be an FBS school. He would have to sit his Jr year and only have one year to play.

[BaytownHusker]

 

 

 

So maybe you fine folks at Huskerboard, with your calm approach and obviously HUGE brains, can explain this whole RB situation to me because it seems to be the opposite of how I thought it would go.

 

So coming into the year we knew we had a battle at RB for the starting spot. I figured non-conference schedule would be a great time to spread some carries throughout the top 3-4 guys, let's see who establishes themselves as the real front runner. By the time Big Ten play rolled around, we should be set with who THE GUY is.

 

So we start the year with Newby as number one, he's getting plenty of touches, but Wilbon and Cross are getting a few too. I don't remember Ozigbo being involved much.

 

Suddenly, Wilbon, who I thought looks like the most talented of the bunch, disappears completely. The excuse is that he can't pass block. An excuse I don't altogether buy. When we call run, in running situations, there's no reason Wilbon couldn't be carrying the ball. No we don't always audible to pass, even when the defense is showing run blitz.

 

Regardless, Newby maintained carries, Wilbon is gone, Cross is getting a few here and there and I still don't remember Ozigbo doing much if anything.

 

Game 3 I believe it was, suddenly Newby is the only RB on the roster. He gets every carry in the game. Nobody else does anything. It left me thinking, well they've settled on their guy, though I'm not all too impressed with his running style, he's supposedly a good pass blocker, sadly I don't see it as a positive if that's the best thing you can say about your RB, but whatever. They fed Newby the ball, and I've assumed this is the direction we are headed.

 

Cross fades away, has a terrible fumble on one of his lone carries. Wilbon is gone. We hear grumbling about Ozigbo, but haven't seen a ton.

 

Big Ten play opens up and Ozigbo explodes, but the coaches refuse to keep feeding him the rock. Newby is in and out. But as we leave the Big Ten opener, I'm thinking.....hell, I'm more confused about the RB situation than I ever was.

 

Why did I see this playing out in the completely opposite way? Was I wrong in how I thought they should approach it? It seems like six games into the year, as a coaching staff they should kind of be done with some of the "experimenting". Isn't that what the non-conference schedule is for?

 

That's a pretty good recap of what we've seen at RB so far. It's odd that on Saturday we didn't see the guys who got most of the carries a month ago. And instead saw a couple of RBs who didn't have any carries at all the first couple of games. That said, I think Ozigbo is a bright spot at RB. And Janovich is a beast--when he's used correctly. But it's perplexing that Wilbon has totally disappeared. And I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see Adam Taylor in any of our OOC games. I really don't know what to expect from here on out. :

 

 

You can expect to see Taylor at a Texas school in 2 years..

 

I doubt it would be an FBS school. He would have to sit his Jr year and only have one year to play.

 

Either way it will be a Texas school.. Or that Green and Yellow team!!!

[suh_fan93]

It's simple. They aren't committed to the running game, and it's only used as a changeup to keep from become too predictable.

 

This and I'll also add that it's clear they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the run game specifically. The personnel choices they've made, the play calling. The whole thing. The running game looks lost/confused.

 

[3rd and long]

In regards to Taylor, he's a guy I've been excited about since he came here, but I've gone along with the school of thought that "the coaches know best" about who to play. I'm less inclined to believe that any more. I would really like to see him at least get a chance, there is no arguing the talent. He might well be a bust and be no help, but I sure would like to see him at least an opportunity.

[Undone]

This is a good thread, and a good OP by True. I agree with your thinking and the confusion of what's happening both with the running game and with our RB situation.

 

A 'glass half full' response might be that even the fact that Ozigbo was featured at all shows that this staff isn't actually *completely clueless* in the run game. I'm somewhat hopeful in that respect.

 

Maybe I'm way off here, but this is where I'm at - I have a much bigger problem with our coaches' approach to our first down presence than anything else. Way, waaaaaaaay too many lobs down the field (as Chatelain said, "like a grade schooler playing '500') on first down. Run the damn ball on first down, and set yourself up to *at least* play field position on the other team. That's Big 10 football - it's undeniable.

 

We're going to fail miserably down the stretch if Riley fails to see this.

[ColoradoHusk]

Benning and Sharpe brought up an interesting quote. For Nebraska/Riley/Langsdorf, instead of "CAN you run the ball when you need to?" it's become "WILL you run the ball when you need to?"

[84HuskerLaw]

I tend to agree with much of the sentiment expressed that the Riley offensive system gives too little attention and emphasis to the run game. The runs are used only to complement the passing game. The trouble with the passing game is - in my opinion - it is just like the old saying in basketball that 'You live by the jump shot, you die by the jump shot!" and You live by the pass, you die by the pass!. The running game is like the inside game in basketball. Without one, you can have an exciting team and score lots of points but you don't win many championships. In basketball, winning 75% of your games is considered excellent and a coach tends to keep his job for a long time, championships or not. But at Nebraska, where many fans understand the game at its very core and essence, it is generally understood that you must RUN the ball well (effectively) to win championships and to win those few extra (key or big) games to keep you in the elite rung. Do you have to lead the nation in rushing yards per game? No, but if you do, you will be winning a lot of games and be 'in the hunt' for a title. If not leading the nation, you must be in the top ten of rushing yards per game (statistically I would say at or above 300 yards per game). Very few pass first and run as a complement teams EVER win titles and few win championships. But offense sells tickets to games (Callahan and Dollar Bill Byrne knew this certainly).

What Riley needs to understand (and very few outside of Nebraska understand it so it is not a mortal sin to be this way), is that Nebraska fans are somewhat unique! We LOVE to run the football. I used to joke with those in my section in the stadium when I would say we need more "4 yards and a cloud of astro turf!" Three yards on first down is NOT enough. You need a minimum of 4 and 5 or 6 is much better. Three yards (which is where Nebraska has been far too many plays the last several years) triggers the time to pass glands to secrete their juices and coaches like Watson, Beck, Meyer, Spurrier, Riley, Callahan, etc. will throw on the next three downs no matter what the success or failure rates are on each. For most of these guys, a four yard gain is still a strong 'pass' indicator and it goes against their grain to run on 2nd down after gaining 4 yards on first, even though for Nebraska fans, we look at the remaining six yards as getting just 3 yards per carry on two more plays - advantage Huskers!.

[clyde40]

I think that Newby and Cross can both be successful if they are used correctly. To do that Riley and Langsdorf might have to go outside their comfort zone a little bit. We saw during the USA game that Newby can be very good in space, but against better competition there aren't always all those wide alleys when you run a lot of zone and stretch plays. I would like to see them try Newby on the jet sweep, I know that Moore has done a great job and DPE is going to be 100% soon, but it would give Newby a chance to get to the edge quick which is his strength IMO. I think he would also be successful with the swing pass motion like UCLA does. If he can get matched up with a linebacker and can catch the ball and go instead of hesitating that can be dangerous. As for Cross I don't know why the old staff and the current staff call stretch plays when he is in the game. He should be in there in short yardage situations but can also come in on first and 10 if they call an iso or just something that gets him North and South instead of running to the outside. Wilbon and Ozigbo seem to be the most complete backs for running the ball thus far. If they struggle with catching and pass protect that's fine but they definitely deserve some playing time. There's a lot of talent at the RB position so they might as well try to find a way to use these guys even if it requires a lot of rotation.

[Hunter94]

 

It's simple. They aren't committed to the running game, and it's only used as a changeup to keep from become too predictable.

 

This and I'll also add that it's clear they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the run game specifically. The personnel choices they've made, the play calling. The whole thing. The running game looks lost/confused.

 

 

Riley had the whole pre season to sort out the run game, and it is still f'd up!