Biggest Concerns?

Toe said:
Eh, they were passable when they wanted to be. On one hand, some are putting too much stock in them simply because of their relatively low sack counts. On the other hand, a lot of their poor performance was due to their own piss-poor half-assed effort. Frost ain't gonna tolerate that, and the worst offender (Gates) is gone now.
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When you go 3 and out every possession, and your bend but don't break defense is giving up 10 minute drives it cuts down on the number of times your QB gets sacked.

 
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OL and DL

Offense - I think we will be much improved at the skilled positions including QB this year.  Even though our QBs are all 'rookies' their skill level and their education under coach V will cause them to be an upgrade over Tanner Lee (no disrespect to Tanner wt that comment).  But as the saying goes, it all starts upfront wt the OL. They have to prove it to earn it (the kool aid).  While I believe we have a much needed coaching upgrade for the OL and S&C upgrade it is still up to these guys who were recruited by MR and Bo to perform.  We can have the best race horses in the stables but if they aren't let out of the gate, they won't accomplish anything near their potential.

DL - I think we will be much improved in the secondary and linebacker positions.  But our anemic pass rush last year must take a huge step forward to allow the back 7 to have success.  Again, we've had a coaching upgrade I believe and we need to see the DL return to being aggressive wrecking balls of havoc to return the D back into the real Blackshirts :throwdabones1: of the past and not pretenders. 

 
Toe said:
Eh, they were passable when they wanted to be. On one hand, some are putting too much stock in them simply because of their relatively low sack counts. On the other hand, a lot of their poor performance was due to their own piss-poor half-assed effort. Frost ain't gonna tolerate that, and the worst offender (Gates) is gone now.
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Sack counts are often reflective of the QB, who in this case has the pocket awareness of Mr Magoo.

 
My biggest fear is that my kegerator won't be delivered to my man cave for the first game- seriously it is 2 weeks past due! 

In all seriousness, I have no fears about the season other than the fan issues already mentioned.  I will be cautiously optimistic about the season but really don't have high expectations.  I think it is very possible that we lose to CU or Troy.  To me, that wouldn't be that big of a deal this early on in the rebuild.   

 
The Murphinator said:
I feel like pass rush is a major concern. We haven't been getting after the qb the last few years, and a good pass rush is vital to help cause turnovers.
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I believe this is almost entirely a scheme issue. D Lineman were (inexplicably, to me) to be responsible for a particular space and getting their hands in the air under Diaco's "system" - NOT asked to get upfield and pressure the QB. Freedom Akinmoladun, for one, has been wasted talent and I think he wants to make his Senior season a memorable one. At the Spring Game, he was responsible for 3 behind-the-line-of-scrimmage stops IN A ROW, on one series (my comment was, "C'mon Freedom. Let somebody else play.). Between the improvement in strength & conditioning and the new scheme, I think we are going to be pleasantly surprised at our ability to disrupt plays in the backfield.

 
Hilltop said:
My biggest fear is that my kegerator won't be delivered to my man cave for the first game- seriously it is 2 weeks past due! 

In all seriousness, I have no fears about the season other than the fan issues already mentioned.  I will be cautiously optimistic about the season but really don't have high expectations.  I think it is very possible that we lose to CU or Troy.  To me, that wouldn't be that big of a deal this early on in the rebuild.   
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Regardless of the W-L record, I am confident that it will be fun to watch Nebraska football again, although it would be a pity if you have to suffer through a game or two without a kegerator.

 
I am I said:
Turnovers 
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Hunter94 said:
agree
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Are you guys just stating the obvious or is this preparing the way to complain later?  I think we all realize this offense will have it's share of turnovers, it's just kinda how it is, especially being a first year system with inexperienced QB's. Hopefully the neutralizer will be getting some takeaways on the other side and scoring fast and often.

 
QB is really my 1 big concern.  Someone who can run this position and do it well is essential to having a good offensive football team. Good QB play is a must.  Michigan is good QB play away from being a legit playoff contender.  The age or lack of experience at the position really doesn't concern me.  If they have it they have it, it doesn't matter if they are Freshman or a Junior.  

I think the team in general has pretty good talent it has been so underdeveloped for such a long time they are starved to be led.  MR and Co did a terrible job of developing this team.  I am not sure that 1 off season is enough to push this team to a 10 win season though.  I think 8 wins is a max and that would be a great season.  Nebraska has potentially 4 great teams on their schedule this year. 

I think some fans are really drinking a lot of kool-aid and have got some really high expectations.  I am not sure those expectations can be met.  I don't think you can really get a feel for this team until the Michigan game.  I think this team can be vastly improved over last year and still only go 7-5. 

 
Mavric said:
They said yesterday that he has hit a 56 yard FG in practice.  It didn't sound like that would be the norm but that's not the norm for very many.  Not sure where they feel comfortable but that's not bad range.
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DeWitt said it was just shy of 56, and didn't put it in context. Could have been a flat trajectory kick  against no rush or not, we don't know. He only spoke of his "surprising range" when specifically asked about it, but he openly talked about his accuracy. 

 
My biggest concern is an injury to our starting QB, Adrian Martinez. With his legs, he has the ability to make a big play even after making a wrong decision. Therefore, he is the guy who will give opposing DCs nightmares. But a QB who carries the ball is going to take some big hits and so I worry about that. Normally, I think this would be a bad idea, but I think it would be best for the team to put your #2 QB in the game as much as possible, if you have the game "in hand". I don't think we are going to have a QB controversy, because I think that Adrian is going to clearly be the #1 guy in Frost's system, but I do think it would be wise to give your #2 as much game experience as is prudent.

 
Comfortably Numb said:
And there it is. Mystery solved. Hopefully Frost reads HB so he knows what to do.
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Frost knew what to do before UCF beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Which is the reason their first call (within the hour after the game) was to Adrian Martinez. Everything I've seen so far is that Adrian has been everything they expected and more. I'm sure they are being fair in their evaluation, but Frost knew what Nebraska's roster lacked before he even took the job.

 
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