Between the tackles

[Guy Chamberlin]

Balance is running all over team in week 1.

Week 2 the opponent loads the box so you are effective in the pass game especially the screen

Week 3 you adjust your 1st half strategy to a more successful 2nd half running between the tackles and QB draw.

Yep. You could call that Balance or Multiple or even a WCO if you want.

But it's really just football.

High school teams get enough reps on both passing and running plays to be good at both.

It's not like the demands of this dreaded "balance" are too much for the less talented athletes Nebraska gets stuck with, as CM constantly implies.

 

[cm husker]

To say it's "just football" is to say there's no difference between a Kiffen offense, a Kelly offense, a Herman offense, a Briles offense, a Johnson offense or a Riley offense.

Of course that's not the case at all. There are significant philosophical, strategic and tactical differences.

and you have to pick one - you can't be all things for all defenses, unless you're Alabama, and even they have been exposed as being weak or under productive on offense more often than they've exceeded their talent levels based on production.

 

[zoogs]

Wait, so now everyone's on the "run the ball" bandwagon?

What happened to "We could only run the ball because UCLA was small and terrible at run defense. We can't expect to have that type of game plan going forward."

If we're going down this route, I feel obligated to say "something something we need to stop only running the ball up the middle"

 

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Take what the defense gives you. Make adjustments from one series to the next. We aren't an "impose our will" team yet to where we just take what we want however we want it. Not yet! Run/pass ratio be damned.

 

[84HuskerLaw]

I really think we mix up the plays pretty well against Oregon, particularly. We did some nice things in play type and mix in the UCLA game as well, although we force fed the Bruins a lot of Zig and Cross and they just got pounded into submission essentially. We put a bunch of their guys on the sidelines with lots of bumps and bruises, mostly dished out by those big RBs!

Oregon is very very fast in terms of 'team' speed and across the secondary and even linebackers and of course in the skill spots Even that Oregon QB had dam good speed carrying the ball. But our defense runs pretty well, although not with the 4.4 speed we need to recruit in the future.

A comment above in this discussion suggested our offenses in the 90s was not that fast. I beg to differ - our QBs and especially our RBs (all of them) were VERY fast. We have had dam few I backs over the years (last 15 years excepted maybe) that ran slower than 4.55 and most were under that in the 4.45 area. Guys like Gill, Frost, Frazier, Crouch, Berringer, etc could all run dam well in the 4.6 or under. They were the 'slow' guys in the skill spots with many receivers and nearly all the backs faster. We had fullbacks in the 4.4 range such as Mark Schelleen and those tough Mackovicha boys of course. We could run wide because we were very fast and nearly all our starting I backs were 'take it to the house' speedsters.

Ozigbo is NOT in this category of course. I don't think Newby is either although he may be 4.6 or so. But Ozigbo has about as much 'pile pushin' power as any RB I can ever remember. He is more powerful than big Dan Alexander in my view. I love his style and despite his lack of breakaway pure speed, he is our best RB easily, in my view. I think Oregon's guys would tell you they'd rather defend Newby or others than Big Zig! I don't care if we go inside or outside - just shove the defense down the field and into the end zone about 7 times a game and we will all celebrate a championship of some kind!

 

[BRV920]

My problem with taking what the defense gives you is that it is playing into the hands of the defense.

 

[lo country]

McBride recruited guys who could fly and hit. If they couldn't run, we didn't recruit them.....

His quote:

We recruited runners and hitters and the third thing was size. If the kid couldn’t run, we didn’t recruit him. I think that showed up. One year one of our linebackers ran a 10.4 100 meters and the other one ran a 10.6. Those guys could play defensive back in the NFL, and they did. Our only big linebacker was our middle linebacker, and we had some good ones, but the speed factor was really the thing.

Speed kills.......

 

[Mavric]

Wait, so now everyone's on the "run the ball" bandwagon?

What happened to "We could only run the ball because UCLA was small and terrible at run defense. We can't expect to have that type of game plan going forward."

If we're going down this route, I feel obligated to say "something something we need to stop only running the ball up the middle"

Baby steps....

 

[NU5XChamps]

Yards per carry by quarter:

1st: 2.5

2nd: 4.0

3rd: 5.6

4th: 5.8

I like that stat a lot.

I would have liked to see us recruiting more mobile QBs, but if we demonstrate a true commitment to the run game, I'll be happy.

Will be interesting to see if this is a stop gap until Langs and Riley can move back to what they have stated is their preferred type of O or if they stay with this going forward.

Biggest unanswered question is "what is our identity?"

Although I don't think we'll win many, if any, championships with a wisconsin or Stanford approach to O, I think we'll win a lot more than if we try to be a true WCO system.

What the hell are you talking about here? They have said from day 1 that they want to be balanced. Last year they were like 51/49 run/pass ratio. That was up 1% from 2014. This year they are 62/38 run/pass ratio. They want to be balanced!!! Get over it, "run the damn ball guy", they are running the damn ball.

 

[Enhance]

My problem with taking what the defense gives you is that it is playing into the hands of the defense.

Yes and no. You're always trying to attack a defense's weaknesses or sometimes call an audible out of a play if it doesn't look good.

I think people sometimes get caught up in what we've heard over and over again about some of Nebraska's best teams - 'we'd tell them what play we were going to run and they still couldn't stop it.' I think that over-simplifies everything. Plus, Nebraska just isn't that type of team right now.

All that said, I've been pleased with their strength in the run game down the stretch this season. I think it shows we've been more physically fit than some of the opposition and that we're able to make some really good halftime adjustments.

 

[cm husker]

Yards per carry by quarter:

1st: 2.5

2nd: 4.0

3rd: 5.6

4th: 5.8

I like that stat a lot.
I would have liked to see us recruiting more mobile QBs, but if we demonstrate a true commitment to the run game, I'll be happy.

Will be interesting to see if this is a stop gap until Langs and Riley can move back to what they have stated is their preferred type of O or if they stay with this going forward.

Biggest unanswered question is "what is our identity?"

Although I don't think we'll win many, if any, championships with a wisconsin or Stanford approach to O, I think we'll win a lot more than if we try to be a true WCO system.

What the hell are you talking about here? They have said from day 1 that they want to be balanced. Last year they were like 51/49 run/pass ratio. That was up 1% from 2014. This year they are 62/38 run/pass ratio. They want to be balanced!!! Get over it, "run the damn ball guy", they are running the damn ball.

Check your numbers.

 

[cm husker]

My problem with taking what the defense gives you is that it is playing into the hands of the defense.

Yes and no. You're always trying to attack a defense's weaknesses or sometimes call an audible out of a play if it doesn't look good.
I think people sometimes get caught up in what we've heard over and over again about some of Nebraska's best teams - 'we'd tell them what play we were going to run and they still couldn't stop it.' I think that over-simplifies everything. Plus, Nebraska just isn't that type of team right now.

All that said, I've been pleased with their strength in the run game down the stretch this season. I think it shows we've been more physically fit than some of the opposition and that we're able to make some really good halftime adjustments.

Other than county scholarships, there's no bigger myth than the notion that NU simply overpowered and out athleted most teams they played.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

To say it's "just football" is to say there's no difference between a Kiffen offense, a Kelly offense, a Herman offense, a Briles offense, a Johnson offense or a Riley offense.

When you lump together every team that is neither Run First nor Air Raid, you're doing the same thing.

Good teams run well and pass well. Smart teams adjust between games and between quarters. Every coach has his own style and philosophy within that.

But not many worry that passing plays will take away too many rushing reps at practice.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

My problem with taking what the defense gives you is that it is playing into the hands of the defense.

Another way to look at it is the exact opposite of this.

Seriously. Can you find a single coach in any sport that doesn't exploit an opponent's weakness?

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

My problem with taking what the defense gives you is that it is playing into the hands of the defense.

Yes and no. You're always trying to attack a defense's weaknesses or sometimes call an audible out of a play if it doesn't look good.
I think people sometimes get caught up in what we've heard over and over again about some of Nebraska's best teams - 'we'd tell them what play we were going to run and they still couldn't stop it.' I think that over-simplifies everything. Plus, Nebraska just isn't that type of team right now.

All that said, I've been pleased with their strength in the run game down the stretch this season. I think it shows we've been more physically fit than some of the opposition and that we're able to make some really good halftime adjustments.

Other than county scholarships, there's no bigger myth than the notion that NU simply overpowered and out athleted most teams they played.

Yet coaching and scheme didn't do it alone.

Nebraska landed plenty of great athletes. Then handed them to Boyd Epply.

Let's go easy on the false dichotomies.