Minnesota- What did we learn?

[Savage Husker]

14 minutes ago, Decoy73 said:

Do we ever go 1s vs 1s?  

 

Somehow these "great practices" and "improving culture" isn't translating into good Saturdays. 

I am curious about those 1s vs 1s scrimmages and what our defense does to our offense. If our O can barely hang with the defense - like reports in the past and judging on what we see weekly - then I also can imagine our D plateauing if they aren’t challenged by the O. 
 

I keep coming back to entitlement as to why they can’t string multiple wins together. Maybe it’s not the reason or even the main reason, but there is simply no excuse for the inconsistent performances and effort -

especially from the O. As soon as they taste success it’s like “We’ve made it and then they get punched in the mouth and can’t recover. 

[lo country]

23 minutes ago, seaofred92 said:

This is what I was saying by I actually agree with Frost when he says we’re “close”. The problem is- a lot of our issues are at the most important positions on the field, and are self inflicted through recruiting and scheme. 

 

First off- I don’t even know where to begin with how putrid we are in the second half. We’ve been out coached and out played in every single second half this season. Have to be a bottom 25% halftime adjustment staff in FBS. Easily. 

 

The DL, ILB, and OL play is noticeably improved. The front 7 is much much much better and it’s why the defense “bends” but doesn’t often “break”. 
 

The offensive problems are 100% on Scott and the offensive staff. I completely understand wanting to establish culture- culture trumps EVERYTHING in any organization and if you don’t have a strong culture you’re doomed to eventually fail. The issue I have is I look at a guy like Marcus Fleming- how much of him getting run off was his own doing versus the staff’s? When you recruit these kids you turn over every stone and ask every single person in their life about them. What could’ve possibly changed so much from the Northwestern game, where Fleming looked like the best WR on the roster- to him going to Omaha getting on a plane and flying home? If you’re doing your homework in recruiting BEFORE they get here, the culture should in essence set itself. In everyday line of work, you don’t hire someone and after they get in start to see if it would be a good fit socially and culturally. You figure that out as part of the process, everything else can be taught.

 

The running back room is a complete and total mess. Don’t even know where to begin. Thompkins has completely disappeared for no reason at all. He was the number 2 back against Ohio State, looked great, and then hasn’t seen the field. As far as I’ve been able to figure out, he’s not injured. So what gives? Rahmir Johnson can’t see the field and for some reason despite showing glimpses of strong play, Marvin Scott is deployed infrequently. What the hell are we doing in this room?

 

As wildly frustrating as the QB play has been at times, Nebraska will not get out of the mud until we find a consistent set of pass rushers. Not just one, but multiple guys that can regularly get home. The DB pre-snap positioning and chin’s soft zone is 100% a reflection of our inability to pressure the QB. I said it in the OP and I’ll say it again now- Nebraska seriously needs to take FIVE (5!) pass rushers per class the next 3 classes until they’ve got a few that work. He’s not a world beater by any means, but Junior Aho who we kicked to the curb to sign Riley and Payne last year has been a pass rushing specialist for SMU this season and in 10 games has 5.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, and a FF. You think that could’ve helped us at all? The best example I can give to what a pass rush would do for NU is the Purdue game- they finally got home (mostly because Purdue OL is atrocious) but it allowed us to have a fantastic defensive performance otherwise. Until we solve this problem, this team will be marginal at best.  
 

 

Great post.  Especially about guys like Fleming.  What's the deal with not keeping guys or turning them into producers....Or a guy showing some flash never to be seen again.

[Huskers93-97]

36 minutes ago, Decoy73 said:

This I know.  Coach Frost is a smart guy.  I wouldn't be worried about any ego issues either.  This season should be enough to humble anyone.  I know some will disagree.

 

I also know he wants to right the ship more than anyone.  As maddening as games like Minny were/are, I think he will do it, but it is going to take a complete re-evaluation of the program.  I'm not calling for firings of coaches because, although we all have our suspicions, I don't know for sure if anyone is underperforming.  I'll trust Coach on that.

 

Play calling?  Yes it looks bad at times, but if the plays work, not so much.  

Confidence?  If the Purdue game wasn't enough to make the players feel confident about a beating depleted/bad MN team, then nothing will.

Physicality?  We're clearly bigger and more physical than we've been for a while.  

Scheme?  Perhaps.  I still long for a downhill running attack as part of the offense and I'm not sold on the 3-4 concept--no pass rush, inconsistent run-stuffing.

 

If Coach were to ask me, I'd say the problems are deeper than just just one or two units on the team not cutting it.  Even if AMart completed those 4 or 5 downfield key passes and we had a running back game, we still probably win the game by one or two scores.  Minny was a team that should have been blown out by a good team.  Iowa would have beaten MN by at least 4 scores yesterday.

 

We keep hearing over and over again about how a good week of practices somehow doesn't translate into a good game day.

 

 Is it a stretch to suggest that they re-evaluate every facet of our practices?  

Are morning practices working?  Is the scout team making it difficult enough for the 1s?  Do we ever go 1s vs 1s?  Is the roster to damned big?  Are the players "toughened up enough"?  Is there enough pressure put on the players (especially QBs) during these scrimmage sessions?  Are QBs hit or at least thudded-up?  So many more questions...

 

Somehow these "great practices" and "improving culture" isn't translating into good Saturdays.  I watched Iowa, who has an average offense at best, essentially impose their will on Wisky.  Yes a bad/mediocre Wisky, but still it's Wisconsin.  When was the last time NU did that to any opponent?

 

Practices.

 

That's where I'd suggest he start. 

 

 

 

Just read your own post. There are so many things wrong with this team and program after 3 years. 3 years and 15 million dollars for what we see every Saturday. Sorry but to get that kind of salary and full administration support he should know what to do and the results should be showing by now. Literally we are in year 3, got our a$$ waxed by Illinois. Lovie Smith just got fired. We are so bad in year 3 even Lovie smith beat us. WOW

[Packerhuskerfan]

I haven't seen anything from Frost that shows he can make adjustments in games when things aren't going right.  Nebraska can't score more than a few points in second halves of games.  Anybody could see from yesterday's game that Martinez could not hit anything past 10 yards, yet Frost kept going back to the passing game.  I don't care what Martinez does in practice when he doesn't have to worry about getting jacked by any defenders or any other game day differences.  If he is struggling in the game, help him out by not calling plays that are his weakness.  The only time we won this year was when we had huge leads that we somehow still managed to almost lose anyways.  Frost needs to fire Frost from playcalling.

[Jeremy]

2 hours ago, gorp512 said:

 

 

This just isn't true. The Huskers aren't a military school that needs to run a historic system to be successful. 12/14 B1G teams and the vast majority of the successful programs over the last ten years run the spread. It isn't the system as much as the designers of that system. 

I'm not talking Paul Johnson Flexbone Option. I'm talking I-Formation, Power Run football with Play-action. Hat-for-hat blocking. It's simple, but effective. 

 

We would have an identity. We don't have an identity right now. 

 

What Frost is trying to do ISN'T WORKING and it NEVER WILL. 

[Decked]

7 minutes ago, Jeremy said:

I'm not talking Paul Johnson Flexbone Option. I'm talking I-Formation, Power Run football with Play-action. Hat-for-hat blocking. It's simple, but effective. 

 

We would have an identity. We don't have an identity right now. 

 

What Frost is trying to do ISN'T WORKING and it NEVER WILL. 

Joking but you’re about 65 aren’t you. Good luck running an option offense in 2020 and recruiting guys to that scheme. 
 

 

 

I can agree with a power run & solid D team. But good luck. 

[Jeremy]

Just now, Decked said:

You’re about 65 aren’t you. Good luck running an option offense in 2020 and recruiting guys to that scheme. 

I'm 39. It's NOT AN OPTION OFFENSE. The option is part of it, but only as a way to punish defenses for pinching interior gaps. Other plays, like ISO, Counter, Trap, Toss, and Play-Action are just as important. 

 

How can you defend what happened yesterday, and most of this 2-5 season? Has recruiting been really THAT great for this 5-points-in-the-second-half Offense? Was throwing the ball 31 times on a cold, windy day against a depleted team that was ran over by everyone EXCEPT US the way to go? Should we keep doing the same things, and expecting different results? Has passing the ball EVER brought wins to Lincoln?

[Decked]

1 minute ago, Jeremy said:

I'm 39. It's NOT AN OPTION OFFENSE. The option is part of it, but only as a way to punish defenses for pinching interior gaps. Other plays, like ISO, Counter, Trap, Toss, and Play-Action are just as important. 

 

How can you defend what happened yesterday, and most of this 2-5 season? Has recruiting been really THAT great for this 5-points-in-the-second-half Offense? Was throwing the ball 31 times on a cold, windy day against a depleted team that was ran over by everyone EXCEPT US the way to go? Should we keep doing the same things, and expecting different results? Has passing the ball EVER brought wins to Lincoln?

Trust me. I am not defending this s#!t show. 

[Jeremy]

1 minute ago, Decked said:

Trust me. I am not defending this s#!t show. 

Good. Trust me, we can DEFINITELY  recruit running backs and offensive linemen here to run Power. Even now,  Wandale and McCaffrey would EAT if we tossed them the ball and blocked for them. Fidone next year would be WIDE OPEN on play action.

 

Bosworth once said, 'I liked playing Nebraska. They would line up and say, 'okay, let's see who's tougher.' 

 

THAT'S identity. We need to get back to that.

[seaofred92]

57 minutes ago, lo country said:

Great post.  Especially about guys like Fleming.  What's the deal with not keeping guys or turning them into producers....Or a guy showing some flash never to be seen again.

I really don’t understand. These guys are super talented and can clearly help you. Maurice Washington gets the longest leash ever for some reason, and then we essentially box out Fleming who by all reports was the most dynamic punt returner and absolutely electric with the ball in his hands because he likes Instagram and is “immature”? That just doesn’t make sense to me, this team needs TALENT. It’s on the coaches to evaluate every aspect of a prospect before they get on campus and then when they get here help them succeed. It’s really hard for me to believe in a span of 4 weeks it went from Fleming starting at WR and looking awesome to him not being on the team anymore, it just doesn’t add up. If he’s a Jr in 2 years and still acting up then yes, part ways. But as an 18 year old freshman in a pandemic 1400 miles from home? Maybe help that kid out and keep him around when he’s proven he can help and he knows he’s better than guys like Wyatt Liewer and Levi Falck who are getting reps because they block RB swing passes well even though we can’t execute them in games.

 

Nothing about the offensive snap rotation has made any sense or been consistent. 

QB: Joke of a rotation and the McCaffrey insertions are becoming more and more random and disruptive. They’re probably sticking him out there because they don’t want him to leave but... it’s not helping NU win games and it totally throws off Martinez’s rhythm and confidence. They’re just not necessary.

 

RB: The best running back on the team is Luke McCaffrey who really should be a WR. Maybe he said he doesn’t want to play there or WR anymore- fine. But what is insane is then you can argue the next best RB we have is also a WR in Robinson. Here are the leading rushers for NU’s offense in total rushing yards this year in order: 

 

1. Adrian Martinez 364/5.4 ypc

2. Luke McCaffrey 364/5.6 ypc

3. Wandale Robinson 216/5.5 ypc

4. Dedrick Mills 205/3.5 ypc

5. Marvin Scott 62/2.6 ypc

6. Rahmir Johnson 30/4.3 ypc

7. Ronald Thompkins 24/4.8 ypc

 

The “starting” running back Dedrick Mills has played in 5 games and has 59 attempts for 205 yards- good for 3.5 YPC. The next leading rusher from the RB position Marvin Scott averages 2.6 YPC. The two RBs “behind” them- Thompkins and Johnson- average 4.8 and 4.3 YPC respectively  How on Earth is anything with this situation possible? For some reason our red zone back is Wandale Robinson? How does that make sense?

 

WR: Don’t even know where to begin with how poorly this situation has been handled this year. Robinson is the best WR on the entire team and they keep taking him out of the slot to put him at RB. Betts’ potential is through the roof and apparently we just forgot he existed against Minnesota. Only play we seemingly run for him is one jet sweep per game. Cool. Guy couldn’t even get on the field yesterday against a team playing all backups and we actually were trying to take down field chances for once. The best recruit of the entire class last year was Omar Manning and I don’t even know if he’s on the team anymore and has 1 target the entire season. The best HS rated WR we recruited Marcus Flemming we kicked off the team because he liked Instagram. Alante Brown- where is this guy? Dog house? Nance/Houston/Nixon/Hickman- where the heck are these guys? You’re telling me our issues are perimeter blocking and lack of a downfield threat and we have a 6’6 former TE that we moved to WR who’s played snaps on the edge last year in key games and moments in Chris Hickman who is just sitting on the bench? Oliver Martin has actually been pretty good and a pleasant surprise- where are his targets? Kade Warner for some reason was a starter getting numerous targets and now is totally MIA (which I’m fine with but why was he even out there to begin with with all the options listed above)? Meanwhile (and I don’t mean this with disrespect), the group we currently start and play consistently is a complete non-threat to anyone. Seriously- read through all those names above and then think about how all of those guys are on the bench or not even in uniform while we trot out Liewer, Falck, and Warner. I just do not get it at all. 

 

TE: Tight end has actually been pretty solid. They block really well and Austin Allen has made a massive jump. Vokolek was completely overhyped (NU media overhyping a guy? Shocker!) and Stoll obviously is a cornerstone. They’re underutilized as a group and I don’t know that it’ll change going forward or ever- did you know yesterday was Austin Allen’s first TD ever?

 

OL: Dear God help me. The center finally appears to have fixed the snapping issues but didn’t get benched until the Iowa game of his second season despite not being able to accurately snap the ball to the quarterback. When Jurgens was out, we don’t go to the backup center but we move our RG to C and plug in another backup to the OL at RG? The whole offseason i kept reading about needing Farniok to stay at RG to help Benhart who is young, then Jurgens is out and we immediately throw that out and move him to C when his brother and Wilson both have previous experience with snapping? I’m not an expert in OL play but this unit seemingly has made a jump despite the insanity and inconsistency of the bunch. They struggle with poorly timed mistakes and picks but Nebraska’s entire team does so who knows

 

So yeah. I don’t know what else to say really. We essentially recruit really good classes, then get the super talented players here and don’t play them. Then when they get mad about not playing over guys they’re obviously more talented than, we get upset that they’re mad and tell them “its gonna be tough! You can leave if you don’t like it!” And so they obviously leave. Then we get a spiel about how kids are impatient and blah blah while the team can’t do basic things on offense well like run the ball with a running back up the middle of the field or throw the ball deep. “We lack explosion and talent at WR”- okay, well everyone you bring in that has it is either gone or sitting on the sidelines. I haven’t even dove into the play calling and our inability to put guys in a position to succeed. The entire situation with our roster management is maddening and I seriously don’t understand why anyone who is a talented player would sign up to play in this version of the offense at this moment in time with how the roster is handled/treated. Scott has a LOT of soul searching to do in the coming weeks- the roster management and play calling have been atrocious. He has every right to establish his culture but he needs to lift the hood on who he is recruiting and what he’s doing when they get to Lincoln to see why they’re leaving and where the disconnect is. Then he needs to swallow his pride and 1. Review the actual plays that are not working (there are a lot of them) and determine in sincerity if 1. They aren’t working because of the scheme/design of the play or 2. If they aren’t working because of who is on the field currently. NU currently can’t throw down the field- that is a talent/athlete issue. Would you rather have more athletic WR’s out there that can stretch the field and make explosive plays but it takes out the short swing passes/quick screens we run? I’d argue yes- we aren’t successfully able to execute those short passes and screens correctly as is. 

 

TL; DR- Scott and the entire staff need to review how they are going about managing their roster and implementing the culture. I’m not saying the culture itself is bad or they’re wrong for emphasizing it- I’m saying they need to reflect on how they’re handling each transfer situation and how they’re trying to merge these guys into the culture they’re trying to instill in the program. There is obviously a disconnect- I’d argue it stems from not playing the most talented and explosive players at their positions even if there are likely to be wild swings in production and errors at times. Roster management needs to be addressed and they need to do better in evaluating kids as recruits before they get here to avoid large departures from the team and guys getting frustrated with their roles. 

[Hilltop]

He length of these posts...smh.  I'm not happy that we suck but I think I'll be ok.  Some of you may need to go see a counselor.

[Scarlet]

52 minutes ago, Jeremy said:

Good. Trust me, we can DEFINITELY  recruit running backs and offensive linemen here to run Power. Even now,  Wandale and McCaffrey would EAT if we tossed them the ball and blocked for them. Fidone next year would be WIDE OPEN on play action.

 

Bosworth once said, 'I liked playing Nebraska. They would line up and say, 'okay, let's see who's tougher.' 

 

THAT'S identity. We need to get back to that.

I'm not sure what the reason is for the collective allergy on this board to having the option in the arsenal.  Hell, I even see Belichik use it now.  It's really the same concept as the swing passes we use except Martinez probably wouldn't throw it the dirt.

[seaofred92]

2 minutes ago, Hilltop said:

He length of these posts...smh.  I'm not happy that we suck but I think I'll be ok.  Some of you may need to go see a counselor.

Lol I’ve held a lot in all season but it’s just frustrating to watch us make the same errors over and over again

[Scarlet]

8 minutes ago, seaofred92 said:

Lol I’ve held a lot in all season but it’s just frustrating to watch us make the same errors over and over again

You're good.  Thanks for the analysis

[lo country]

23 minutes ago, seaofred92 said:

I really don’t understand. These guys are super talented and can clearly help you. Maurice Washington gets the longest leash ever for some reason, and then we essentially box out Fleming who by all reports was the most dynamic punt returner and absolutely electric with the ball in his hands because he likes Instagram and is “immature”? That just doesn’t make sense to me, this team needs TALENT. It’s on the coaches to evaluate every aspect of a prospect before they get on campus and then when they get here help them succeed. It’s really hard for me to believe in a span of 4 weeks it went from Fleming starting at WR and looking awesome to him not being on the team anymore, it just doesn’t add up. If he’s a Jr in 2 years and still acting up then yes, part ways. But as an 18 year old freshman in a pandemic 1400 miles from home? Maybe help that kid out and keep him around when he’s proven he can help and he knows he’s better than guys like Wyatt Liewer and Levi Falck who are getting reps because they block RB swing passes well even though we can’t execute them in games.

 

Nothing about the offensive snap rotation has made any sense or been consistent. 

QB: Joke of a rotation and the McCaffrey insertions are becoming more and more random and disruptive. They’re probably sticking him out there because they don’t want him to leave but... it’s not helping NU win games and it totally throws off Martinez’s rhythm and confidence. They’re just not necessary.

 

RB: The best running back on the team is Luke McCaffrey who really should be a WR. Maybe he said he doesn’t want to play there or WR anymore- fine. But what is insane is then you can argue the next best RB we have is also a WR in Robinson. Here are the leading rushers for NU’s offense in total rushing yards this year in order: 

 

1. Adrian Martinez 364/5.4 ypc

2. Luke McCaffrey 364/5.6 ypc

3. Wandale Robinson 216/5.5 ypc

4. Dedrick Mills 205/3.5 ypc

5. Marvin Scott 62/2.6 ypc

6. Rahmir Johnson 30/4.3 ypc

7. Ronald Thompkins 24/4.8 ypc

 

The “starting” running back Dedrick Mills has played in 5 games and has 59 attempts for 205 yards- good for 3.5 YPC. The next leading rusher from the RB position Marvin Scott averages 2.6 YPC. The two RBs “behind” them- Thompkins and Johnson- average 4.8 and 4.3 YPC respectively  How on Earth is anything with this situation possible? For some reason our red zone back is Wandale Robinson? How does that make sense?

 

WR: Don’t even know where to begin with how poorly this situation has been handled this year. Robinson is the best WR on the entire team and they keep taking him out of the slot to put him at RB. Betts’ potential is through the roof and apparently we just forgot he existed against Minnesota. Only play we seemingly run for him is one jet sweep per game. Cool. Guy couldn’t even get on the field yesterday against a team playing all backups and we actually were trying to take down field chances for once. The best recruit of the entire class last year was Omar Manning and I don’t even know if he’s on the team anymore and has 1 target the entire season. The best HS rated WR we recruited Marcus Flemming we kicked off the team because he liked Instagram. Alante Brown- where is this guy? Dog house? Nance/Houston/Nixon/Hickman- where the heck are these guys? You’re telling me our issues are perimeter blocking and lack of a downfield threat and we have a 6’6 former TE that we moved to WR who’s played snaps on the edge last year in key games and moments in Chris Hickman who is just sitting on the bench? Oliver Martin has actually been pretty good and a pleasant surprise- where are his targets? Kade Warner for some reason was a starter getting numerous targets and now is totally MIA (which I’m fine with but why was he even out there to begin with with all the options listed above)? Meanwhile (and I don’t mean this with disrespect), the group we currently start and play consistently is a complete non-threat to anyone. Seriously- read through all those names above and then think about how all of those guys are on the bench or not even in uniform while we trot out Liewer, Falck, and Warner. I just do not get it at all. 

 

TE: Tight end has actually been pretty solid. They block really well and Austin Allen has made a massive jump. Vokolek was completely overhyped (NU media overhyping a guy? Shocker!) and Stoll obviously is a cornerstone. They’re underutilized as a group and I don’t know that it’ll change going forward or ever- did you know yesterday was Austin Allen’s first TD ever?

 

OL: Dear God help me. The center finally appears to have fixed the snapping issues but didn’t get benched until the Iowa game of his second season despite not being able to accurately snap the ball to the quarterback. When Jurgens was out, we don’t go to the backup center but we move our RG to C and plug in another backup to the OL at RG? The whole offseason i kept reading about needing Farniok to stay at RG to help Benhart who is young, then Jurgens is out and we immediately throw that out and move him to C when his brother and Wilson both have previous experience with snapping? I’m not an expert in OL play but this unit seemingly has made a jump despite the insanity and inconsistency of the bunch. They struggle with poorly timed mistakes and picks but Nebraska’s entire team does so who knows

 

So yeah. I don’t know what else to say really. We essentially recruit really good classes, then get the super talented players here and don’t play them. Then when they get mad about not playing over guys they’re obviously more talented than, we get upset that they’re mad and tell them “its gonna be tough! You can leave if you don’t like it!” And so they obviously leave. Then we get a spiel about how kids are impatient and blah blah while the team can’t do basic things on offense well like run the ball with a running back up the middle of the field or throw the ball deep. “We lack explosion and talent at WR”- okay, well everyone you bring in that has it is either gone or sitting on the sidelines. I haven’t even dove into the play calling and our inability to put guys in a position to succeed. The entire situation with our roster management is maddening and I seriously don’t understand why anyone who is a talented player would sign up to play in this version of the offense at this moment in time with how the roster is handled/treated. Scott has a LOT of soul searching to do in the coming weeks- the roster management and play calling have been atrocious. He has every right to establish his culture but he needs to lift the hood on who he is recruiting and what he’s doing when they get to Lincoln to see why they’re leaving and where the disconnect is. Then he needs to swallow his pride and 1. Review the actual plays that are not working (there are a lot of them) and determine in sincerity if 1. They aren’t working because of the scheme/design of the play or 2. If they aren’t working because of who is on the field currently. NU currently can’t throw down the field- that is a talent/athlete issue. Would you rather have more athletic WR’s out there that can stretch the field and make explosive plays but it takes out the short swing passes/quick screens we run? I’d argue yes- we aren’t successfully able to execute those short passes and screens correctly as is. 

 

TL; DR- Scott and the entire staff need to review how they are going about managing their roster and implementing the culture. I’m not saying the culture itself is bad or they’re wrong for emphasizing it- I’m saying they need to reflect on how they’re handling each transfer situation and how they’re trying to merge these guys into the culture they’re trying to instill in the program. There is obviously a disconnect- I’d argue it stems from not playing the most talented and explosive players at their positions even if there are likely to be wild swings in production and errors at times. Roster management needs to be addressed and they need to do better in evaluating kids as recruits before they get here to avoid large departures from the team and guys getting frustrated with their roles. 

I won't speak to the whole post, you covered it very well.  I think the comments on Fleming are spot on.  I look at the opportunities  Mo was shown and then Fleming was on Instagram and made some comments.....Really?  Let our most dynamic guy, in a depleted position group leave...Then even rumors last year of Mills getting into some "trouble" for being late to practice and sits...The culture Frost is establishing, from the outside looking in (and rumors) is causing some issues in the locker room IMHO....Gotta show the same to guys across the board. We sure do seem to lose as manu as we "get".  And that's hurting us.