2011 Bold Predictions

[PaulCrewe]

Hagg and Gomes may not be THAT big of a loss next season. Sounds crazy, but humor me. These 2 guys were versatile do-everything players that did a lot out of the nickel and dime positions that the Huskers could have them on the field pretty much full time. Against a good portion of the Big 10, the approach used against the Big 12 will not be as effective. I look for Bo to play a lot more base, with 3 true LB's on the field (David, Compton, Fisher), with Dennard locking down one side, Osbourne and Cassidy patrolling the middle, and Ciante growing into a star on the other side. There should be no shortage of youngsters looking to crack the field and show what they can do as well. Pelini has shown the ability to adjust his defense to his personnel. What the big question mark is what the offense does from here on out. If Martinez learns from this year and grows as a leader, he could turn into something special.

I personally think Hagg is the biggest loss for next year after Alex. Bigger than Prince. He easily could have slid down to OLB if we ran more of a base defense. Eric would have been a perfect OLB in McBride's system. Best tackler on the team, and a hell of a cover guy.

As far as 3 LBs in a game next year, maybe 50% of the conference season if that. Michgan, Northwestern, Minnesota, Penn St, and Ohio St(a lot of the time) all run the spread. Add in Illinois, Purdue and Indiana and you'll find that all these teams last year ran some kind of variable of a spread offense more often than people think. Wisconsin Michigan St. and Iowa are the truest teams that line up in power sets. But will spread it out in a heartbeat. It is just they were most successful going right at people. We will see more Peso than people are thinking.

 

[DJR313]

Hagg and Gomes may not be THAT big of a loss next season. Sounds crazy, but humor me. These 2 guys were versatile do-everything players that did a lot out of the nickel and dime positions that the Huskers could have them on the field pretty much full time. Against a good portion of the Big 10, the approach used against the Big 12 will not be as effective. I look for Bo to play a lot more base, with 3 true LB's on the field (David, Compton, Fisher), with Dennard locking down one side, Osbourne and Cassidy patrolling the middle, and Ciante growing into a star on the other side. There should be no shortage of youngsters looking to crack the field and show what they can do as well. Pelini has shown the ability to adjust his defense to his personnel. What the big question mark is what the offense does from here on out. If Martinez learns from this year and grows as a leader, he could turn into something special.

I personally think Hagg is the biggest loss for next year after Alex. Bigger than Prince. He easily could have slid down to OLB if we ran more of a base defense. Eric would have been a perfect OLB in McBride's system. Best tackler on the team, and a hell of a cover guy.

As far as 3 LBs in a game next year, maybe 50% of the conference season if that. Michgan, Northwestern, Minnesota, Penn St, and Ohio St(a lot of the time) all run the spread. Add in Illinois, Purdue and Indiana and you'll find that all these teams last year ran some kind of variable of a spread offense more often than people think. Wisconsin Michigan St. and Iowa are the truest teams that line up in power sets. But will spread it out in a heartbeat. It is just they were most successful going right at people. We will see more Peso than people are thinking.

Brady Hoke runs a pro style system. Penn St's offense is much of a mystery the same as NU's, maybe not quite as bad. Minnesota has a new coach in Jerry Kill and he ran a strong ground game offense (7th in the nation last year).

Peso may be used, but Pelini will lean on his most experienced personnel most likely, which are the LB's. I wouldn't be surprised if David is asked to fill the "peso" role next year due to versatility and athleticism. We'll see, I see a lot more 2 back, TE sets that the Huskers will face in several years.

 

[huskerscott]

Hagg and Gomes may not be THAT big of a loss next season. Sounds crazy, but humor me. These 2 guys were versatile do-everything players that did a lot out of the nickel and dime positions that the Huskers could have them on the field pretty much full time. Against a good portion of the Big 10, the approach used against the Big 12 will not be as effective. I look for Bo to play a lot more base, with 3 true LB's on the field (David, Compton, Fisher), with Dennard locking down one side, Osbourne and Cassidy patrolling the middle, and Ciante growing into a star on the other side. There should be no shortage of youngsters looking to crack the field and show what they can do as well. Pelini has shown the ability to adjust his defense to his personnel. What the big question mark is what the offense does from here on out. If Martinez learns from this year and grows as a leader, he could turn into something special.

I personally think Hagg is the biggest loss for next year after Alex. Bigger than Prince. He easily could have slid down to OLB if we ran more of a base defense. Eric would have been a perfect OLB in McBride's system. Best tackler on the team, and a hell of a cover guy.

As far as 3 LBs in a game next year, maybe 50% of the conference season if that. Michgan, Northwestern, Minnesota, Penn St, and Ohio St(a lot of the time) all run the spread. Add in Illinois, Purdue and Indiana and you'll find that all these teams last year ran some kind of variable of a spread offense more often than people think. Wisconsin Michigan St. and Iowa are the truest teams that line up in power sets. But will spread it out in a heartbeat. It is just they were most successful going right at people. We will see more Peso than people are thinking.

Brady Hoke runs a pro style system. Penn St's offense is much of a mystery the same as NU's, maybe not quite as bad. Minnesota has a new coach in Jerry Kill and he ran a strong ground game offense (7th in the nation last year).

Peso may be used, but Pelini will lean on his most experienced personnel most likely, which are the LB's. I wouldn't be surprised if David is asked to fill the "peso" role next year due to versatility and athleticism. We'll see, I see a lot more 2 back, TE sets that the Huskers will face in several years.

I dont think putting David in the peso spot isnt totally out of the question either. We could probably still stay in the base peso against teams like Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa and Minnesota(presumbly) with David in their. I think David size will become a disadvantage to us if he stays lined up between the DEs. He could take a beating against those teams that run it straight up the gut. The only downsize is we really dont know how well Davids coverage skills out in space. Which is something the peso position definitely requires.

 

[HANC]

OK....here are a few of "my takes" on some of "everyone else's" takes...

I think we will somewhere between the OP and the 8-4 (4-4) that Huskerscott...

* You both make great arguements. HotGrill.... You not only refilled on the koolaid, but must have added a nice helping of rum and coke too... The schedule is not as "daunting" as it looks on paper, but still very tough places to play, and the "best" team doesn't always win those games. I just can't see us beating Wisconsin.

* Huskerscott...it is obvious from following your posts throughout, that you are NOT a T-Mart fan, and if you follow mine, you can see that I am still giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he WILL mature into a good QB. My thought on your post is.... I don't see a LOT of Big Ten defenses "built for speed" like the Big 12. Taylor will NOT see the speed on D that Texas, Texas aTm, and OU brought. Look at what Robinson did against those "speedy" defenses, until, YES, just like Taylor, got injured. If Taylor stays healthy, there is NOT a Big 10 defense with the speed to pursue him.

- With that said, it is ALL up to our O-line. These DL / LB in the Big 10 are stoudt. It will be an issue of whether or not our line can push around people and open holes. Plain and simple.... Will not be a QB issue.

I would like to think 9-3 and 5-3 in conference.

 

[robsker]

There is no way we lose only one game without major changes to the offense. I would say three losses if we are lucky.

If we improve on offense a little and cut down a great deal on fumbles and dropped passes and taking needless sacks (never even attempting to through the ball away) then... as you say, we might have only 3 regular season losses. If we do not improve in these areas, then 4 or even 5 losses loom in the future. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State are the only ones to beat us if we improve as listed above --- add two of the three games against Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State as losses too if we play next year at the same level as we played this year.

 

[huskerscott]

OK....here are a few of "my takes" on some of "everyone else's" takes...

I think we will somewhere between the OP and the 8-4 (4-4) that Huskerscott...

* You both make great arguements. HotGrill.... You not only refilled on the koolaid, but must have added a nice helping of rum and coke too... The schedule is not as "daunting" as it looks on paper, but still very tough places to play, and the "best" team doesn't always win those games. I just can't see us beating Wisconsin.

* Huskerscott...it is obvious from following your posts throughout, that you are NOT a T-Mart fan, and if you follow mine, you can see that I am still giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he WILL mature into a good QB. My thought on your post is.... I don't see a LOT of Big Ten defenses "built for speed" like the Big 12. Taylor will NOT see the speed on D that Texas, Texas aTm, and OU brought. Look at what Robinson did against those "speedy" defenses, until, YES, just like Taylor, got injured. If Taylor stays healthy, there is NOT a Big 10 defense with the speed to pursue him.

- With that said, it is ALL up to our O-line. These DL / LB in the Big 10 are stoudt. It will be an issue of whether or not our line can push around people and open holes. Plain and simple.... Will not be a QB issue.

I would like to think 9-3 and 5-3 in conference.

Good post. Your right Im not really sold on Martinez healthy or not. Some of the decisions he has made in the pocket the last couple of games really left me shaking my head. Granted he hasnt had that solid of protection, but when you have 8 seconds to throw the ball, but still get sacked(A&M) thats on the QB. Also the first thing a QB learns not to do is throw across throw body(OU) and not make the Brett Favre flips to avoid a sack(UW2). To me he really hasnt grown as a player through out the season, you really didnt see improvement from game 1 to game 14 all the way around. Some of that could be on play calling or being injured, but by the bowl game I wouldve expected him to be mostly healthy.

Honestly Robinson is a more dynamic player than Martinez is. Robinson makes guys miss in the open field, Martinez just shoots to the corner to beat the LB,DE, or safety, then goes down on first contact.

Im not saying Martinez doesnt need to see the field. I think this offense can use his athletic ability in package plays, but Im just not sold on him in being the guy under center.

 

[zoogs]

DJR, Hagg was a swiss army knife and I think it will be hard not to miss him big time. The whole defense was really built around him. I think Gomes will be hard to replace too, simply because the guy was a phenomenal playmaker. Somehow or another, he came up with a lot of huge plays. Even if we do add two linebackers and move away from the peso, some big question marks and I think 'serviceable' is a best case scenario at this point for the replacement players. Then again, at this point we don't even have a LBs coach, so that could change. Hard to know how the corner situation will pan out. Ciante looked good in the action he was pressed into, but who knows what can happen until next year.

 

[HANC]

OK....here are a few of "my takes" on some of "everyone else's" takes...

I think we will somewhere between the OP and the 8-4 (4-4) that Huskerscott...

* You both make great arguements. HotGrill.... You not only refilled on the koolaid, but must have added a nice helping of rum and coke too... The schedule is not as "daunting" as it looks on paper, but still very tough places to play, and the "best" team doesn't always win those games. I just can't see us beating Wisconsin.

* Huskerscott...it is obvious from following your posts throughout, that you are NOT a T-Mart fan, and if you follow mine, you can see that I am still giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he WILL mature into a good QB. My thought on your post is.... I don't see a LOT of Big Ten defenses "built for speed" like the Big 12. Taylor will NOT see the speed on D that Texas, Texas aTm, and OU brought. Look at what Robinson did against those "speedy" defenses, until, YES, just like Taylor, got injured. If Taylor stays healthy, there is NOT a Big 10 defense with the speed to pursue him.

- With that said, it is ALL up to our O-line. These DL / LB in the Big 10 are stoudt. It will be an issue of whether or not our line can push around people and open holes. Plain and simple.... Will not be a QB issue.

I would like to think 9-3 and 5-3 in conference.

Good post. Your right Im not really sold on Martinez healthy or not. Some of the decisions he has made in the pocket the last couple of games really left me shaking my head. Granted he hasnt had that solid of protection, but when you have 8 seconds to throw the ball, but still get sacked(A&M) thats on the QB. Also the first thing a QB learns not to do is throw across throw body(OU) and not make the Brett Favre flips to avoid a sack(UW2). To me he really hasnt grown as a player through out the season, you really didnt see improvement from game 1 to game 14 all the way around. Some of that could be on play calling or being injured, but by the bowl game I wouldve expected him to be mostly healthy.

Honestly Robinson is a more dynamic player than Martinez is. Robinson makes guys miss in the open field, Martinez just shoots to the corner to beat the LB,DE, or safety, then goes down on first contact.

Im not saying Martinez doesnt need to see the field. I think this offense can use his athletic ability in package plays, but Im just not sold on him in being the guy under center.

I don't disagree with any of your points, and even if I did, I couldn't argue against them. You have pretty much said it "spot on"... I didn't see growth. Once again, I kind of sound like an "apologist", but I really, honestly do think the injury had a lot to do with his lack of success. I still think he is learning to play QB. I am hoping that will happen... I was just pointing out that the Big 10 defenses are NOT as fast as the Big 12. If Taylor breaks to the 2nd level, he will have the pure speed to break to the corner for huge gains. His pocket presence will improve with experience and "coaching" (use that term loosly). His numbers were somewhat comparable to Robinson until both got hurt.

Nice post

 

[Hunter94]

right now, this team and the coaches haven't resolved a damn thing.....7-5 until we get some real news regarding real changes...we have a sh#t load of work to do! <_<

 

[HANC]

right now, this team and the coaches haven't resolved a damn thing.....7-5 until we get some real news regarding real changes...we have a sh#t load of work to do! <_<

I really hate that almost every topic gets changed into "we need a new OC or we need a new QB" thread. I am not "singling" you out, becuase I am guilty as charged (see above posts)... I agree with you Hunter.... I truly think some of the problem is the fact that our offensvie coaches are not on the same page all of the time. The guys on USC touched on this today.

It is like we have an O-line coach who is "pretty good" at coaching a power running game. He has success as our O-line coach under Solich... but, with an OC that is constantly changing the identity of the offense, it throws EVERYONE and EVERYTHING for a loop. Someone needs to decide WHAT kind of offensive team we want to be. If is isn't a power team, then Cotton might as well be gone. If it is a power team, then let's act like it. It is like Watson tries to adapt an offense around his skill people....leaving the OL and WR hanging out to dry as their assignments change yearly.

* That is HS football to some extent. At HS, you don't recruit (unless private), so you play the hand you are dealt. At division 1, you develop your identity, the RECRUIT guys to fit your style, not the opposite.

*** Sorry to HotGrill for getting off topic. I hope your Koolaid (and RUM) are right. :cheers

 

[mnhusker]

Well they are bold .......... I think we may lose both Wisconsin and Ohio, however Ohio at home is a big deal. Penn State concerns me because despite their struggles we may be out coached, Michigan will be great and I hope that by then we are a 1 loss team looking to serve notice in the big house. Iowa we can win because we are at home. My concern is that once again we lose focus and lose in the championship game. Let me also say that I hope the fans are ready to rain hell on Washington to start the season with a bang I want to kick their a$$es and I want the fans invested. The team can go prepare to play and we fans should get ready to light it up. When I saw the bold predictions I was not satisfied with a marginal win against Washington.

 

[zoogs]

right now, this team and the coaches haven't resolved a damn thing.....7-5 until we get some real news regarding real changes...we have a sh#t load of work to do! <_<

I really hate that almost every topic gets changed into "we need a new OC or we need a new QB" thread. I am not "singling" you out, becuase I am guilty as charged (see above posts)... I agree with you Hunter.... I truly think some of the problem is the fact that our offensvie coaches are not on the same page all of the time. The guys on USC touched on this today.

It is like we have an O-line coach who is "pretty good" at coaching a power running game. He has success as our O-line coach under Solich... but, with an OC that is constantly changing the identity of the offense, it throws EVERYONE and EVERYTHING for a loop. Someone needs to decide WHAT kind of offensive team we want to be. If is isn't a power team, then Cotton might as well be gone. If it is a power team, then let's act like it. It is like Watson tries to adapt an offense around his skill people....leaving the OL and WR hanging out to dry as their assignments change yearly.

* That is HS football to some extent. At HS, you don't recruit (unless private), so you play the hand you are dealt. At division 1, you develop your identity, the RECRUIT guys to fit your style, not the opposite.

*** Sorry to HotGrill for getting off topic. I hope your Koolaid (and RUM) are right. :cheers

It's not Watson that is messing around with the identity of the offense.

I hope that, having taken the lumps we have, the future direction of the offense is somewhat settled. But if we are going to mess with it anymore - now's the time to do it.

 

[EZ-E]

:koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2:

No way in hell we only lose 1 regular season game next year. Tougher schedule, with a defense that loses a lot of depth in the secondary....barring some sort of miracle, it's not gonna happen. We will lose between 3 and 4 games next year.

THIS IS A LIE! WHO WILL WE LOSE TO? THIS IDEA OF "BIG TEN SUPERIORITY HAS TO STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[corncraze]

Have you not forgot we lose Prince, Hagg, and Gomes?!

I think that's a double negative.....so I'll say no??? Yea - huge loss, but hey - what can I say? I'm nuts.

Hagg and Gomes may not be THAT big of a loss next season. Sounds crazy, but humor me. These 2 guys were versatile do-everything players that did a lot out of the nickel and dime positions that the Huskers could have them on the field pretty much full time. Against a good portion of the Big 10, the approach used against the Big 12 will not be as effective. I look for Bo to play a lot more base, with 3 true LB's on the field (David, Compton, Fisher), with Dennard locking down one side, Osbourne and Cassidy patrolling the middle, and Ciante growing into a star on the other side. There should be no shortage of youngsters looking to crack the field and show what they can do as well. Pelini has shown the ability to adjust his defense to his personnel. What the big question mark is what the offense does from here on out. If Martinez learns from this year and grows as a leader, he could turn into something special.

Forgive me but Hagg is a HUGE loss! People really downplay the importance he had on this team. Remember that Marvin Sanders said he would pick Hagg first if there was a some sort of a player draft.

 

[Hercules]

I think given the types of offenses we're going to face in the Big 10, and given our current strengths on defense, we're more likely to move Lavonte David to OLB/Peso, have Will Compton as the other linebacker and Sean Fisher as the MLB. I think we're often going to be running more of a 4-3/heavy peso (?) base, rather than constantly running dime sets like we had to in the Big 12. I don't think there are any teams like Missouri in the Big 10, where even when it's 1st and goal at the 1 yardline, they're still going to line up in the shotgun.

If we do sort of modify our scheme to a slightly heavier front 7, and if that scheme works, we're sort of mitigating the losses of Hagg, Gomes, and Prince. We're basically replacing those positions, not the players themselves, and we have the personnel to do that. The only new starters would be Ciante Evans and Sean Fisher, both of whom we know are very talented players.

It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds, but as long as Pelini is in charge, I don't think I'm ever going to worry too much about the defense.