Brutal article from Hali Varsity

BIG ERN said:
Our RBs are avg like 3.6 YPC this year...not enough discussion on this. Add in that our best options for that and WR are Freshmen makes for a tough offense to run. O-line has been atrocious. Play calling and personnel just as bad. 
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Classic chicken or the egg argument.  Is our run game crap because we dont have an o line and a passing attack or is our run game crap because we dont have a legit workhorse at running back?  Probably a little of both, unfortunately all need to see substantial improvement to get the run game going

 
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@gossamorharpy - I hear you. I think Martinez is a better passer when he's rolling out. To me what I feel like I observe is that when he stands in the pocket his brain is only processing getting sacked and not actually focusing on throwing.

But when he rolls out, he knows he's not about to get sacked and can focus downfield.

He honestly had a bit of a Mahomes-esque throw on that touchdown pass in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. He has done that quite a bit when he's rolling out; just click the play button to start it right at that point - rolling out and throwing across his body:
 





I'm not saying Martinez is great as a passer this year at all. He still has that same thing from last year where seemingly roughly 50% of the time when he has to just stand in the pocket, he just doesn't release the ball.

And as it pertains to that, it seems like we have about half of the people saying that's because receivers aren't actually getting open and the other half saying it's because he has decision paralysis/can't process fast enough.

*Edit: LOL, my favorite thing about the above clip is our two guys running into each other in the end zone and one of them just barely coming up with the grab.

 
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lo country said:
To AM, he was solid Fr year.  The only think I can think of is Verduzco.....
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My best guess is that last year's dynamic of the pocket constantly collapsing after just half a second rewired his head to not be able to focus on what is actually happening downfield but rather to just brace for impact. And I can't blame him for that.

He usually has a good game if we can get something going early. It builds confidence into him. I still think Adrian is a measurably better passer than Luke at this juncture, and our scheme/playbook with Luke in the game is like a caricature of ourselves. For me, it's seriously one rung above the level of pathetic offensive play that Riley's offense had in 2017.

 
Seeing good athletes leave our program and have success elsewhere doesn't usually weigh much on my mind. Different circumstances, different coaching. So much goes into it.

That said, Nebraska's been a quarterback graveyard recently. Those guys have so far made much better decisions for themselves and that's tough to see as a Nebraska fan. Not that I don't want them to have success... I absolutely do. It's just tough to see that they couldn't do it here for whatever reason.

 
gossamorharpy said:
Classic chicken or the egg argument.  Is our run game crap because we dont have an o line and a passing attack or is our run game crap because we dont have a legit workhorse at running back?  Probably a little of both, unfortunately all need to see substantial improvement to get the run game going
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I actually think we have two legitimate workhorse RBs, Mills and Scott, and probably even a couple more decent options. Biggest problem I see is that the coaches just don’t use them enough. As soon as the offense starts struggling they revert to nothing but QB keepers and Wandale at RB. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to running the ball, our QBs and Wandale are very good options but neither should be asked to run as much as they are, especially when defenses can stack the box and don’t have to be concerned about any down field passing game. And there’s only so much the O line can do when the D only has to worry about the run game. So I think the answer is the run game is suffering due to lack of any viable passing attack. That is a combination of coaching/play calling, WRs and QBs that for whatever reasons aren’t getting the job done.

 
Lightfighter214 said:
Or is it because the only pass we can complete is a bubble screen or swing pass and teams are loading up on a stopping the run
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I agree with this.  My chicken or the egg comment was more of a generalization that there isn't one concrete answer to explain this and we're just a pile of crap across the board.  Having more for sure passing plays that are successful would certainly pay dividends. 

 
JJ Husker said:
 Biggest problem I see is that the coaches just don’t use them enough. As soon as the offense starts struggling they revert to nothing but QB keepers and Wandale at RB. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to running the ball, our QBs and Wandale are very good options but neither should be asked to run as much as they are, especially when defenses can stack the box and don’t have to be concerned about any down field passing game. And there’s only so much the O line can do when the D only has to worry about the run game. So I think the answer is the run game is suffering due to lack of any viable passing attack. That is a combination of coaching/play calling, WRs and QBs that for whatever reasons aren’t getting the job done.
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There is a reason they revert back to Wandale at RB.. It is BECAUSE the offense is struggling and part of that is because the other backs aren't getting it done. Wandale almost always finds a crease to get upfield through. He is the only one that does that. So yes, it is a kick in the knee that the smallest most dynamic back is also the best at running between the tackles but that is what it is. Mill's lacks the vision. Hopefully Scott or Rhamir have it because we need somebody back there not named Wandale, but it is what it is. You need a RB to create yards? You need Wandale in this current version of offense.

 
Husker03 said:
There is a reason they revert back to Wandale at RB.. It is BECAUSE the offense is struggling and part of that is because the other backs aren't getting it done. Wandale almost always finds a crease to get upfield through. He is the only one that does that. So yes, it is a kick in the knee that the smallest most dynamic back is also the best at running between the tackles but that is what it is. Mill's lacks the vision. Hopefully Scott or Rhamir have it because we need somebody back there not named Wandale, but it is what it is. You need a RB to create yards? You need Wandale in this current version of offense.
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Whatever happened to the Duck R hype to get wandale the ball in motion or a little dump pass that Oregon used with great effectiveness while frost was there with a WR/slot guy who could double as rB?  Feel like the only time thats been called were giving it to slow AF kade warner.

Its also worth noting, its very hard to get a run game going when we are constantly playing from behind which we find ourselves in more often than not for the past 6.5 f'n years

 
Undone said:
I'm also still completely convinced that a good sized chunk of our fan base wanted Luke to start after the Northwestern game so badly simply because he's a smashmouth runner and there's this mystical, nostalgic tie to the Osborne Glory Run with that.

I could tell last season that he didn't come into the program with actual blue chip quarterback skills and that the likelihood of him getting up to snuff as a passer was low. As it stands today, those odds still look quite low - but anything could happen.
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HUSKER FANS TWO WEEKS AGO: "We absolutely have to start this freshman who wasn't offered by any P5 schools as a quarterback."

HUSKER FANS THIS WEEK: "Why can't we throw the ball???? Fire Verduzco!!"

 
Husker03 said:
There is a reason they revert back to Wandale at RB.. It is BECAUSE the offense is struggling and part of that is because the other backs aren't getting it done. Wandale almost always finds a crease to get upfield through. He is the only one that does that. So yes, it is a kick in the knee that the smallest most dynamic back is also the best at running between the tackles but that is what it is. Mill's lacks the vision. Hopefully Scott or Rhamir have it because we need somebody back there not named Wandale, but it is what it is. You need a RB to create yards? You need Wandale in this current version of offense.
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I get what your saying and don’t totally disagree but I also think having an offense that prevents the other team from stacking the box against the run would let backs like Mills and Scott be way more than serviceable. It’s a testament to Wandale that he can find little creases in those circumstances but I don’t think it’s anything an offense should have to rely on as much as we do.  Any trace of a viable passing game and Mills, Scott et al would be just fine.

I love Wandale but GD, we keep running him between the tackles and we won’t have him to rely on for very long. He’s popped up every time but.....so far. Same with how much we have to run our QBs. I just don’t think our RB room is a liability. The real issues are elsewhere.

 
Wasn’t there a narrative of the schools trying to hire Frost 3 years ago we were only place willing to let him keep his UCf staff? Prob a good reason for that. Guess the other schools we’re smarter than us and frost 

 
3 hours ago, Undone said:

@gossamorharpy - I hear you. I think Martinez is a better passer when he's rolling out. To me what I feel like I observe is that when he stands in the pocket his brain is only processing getting sacked and not actually focusing on throwing.

But when he rolls out, he knows he's not about to get sacked and can focus downfield.

He honestly had a bit of a Mahomes-esque throw on that touchdown pass in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. He has done that quite a bit when he's rolling out; just click the play button to start it right at that point - rolling out and throwing across his body:
 

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Great point above.  Why don't we have the QB roll out to pass.  Move the pass pro/pocket with him.  It'd give him more time, see the field better (less mass of humanity in his face) and allow for some cut backs or reverses against a D that is already pinning their ears back necause of no vertical passing threat.  I'd love for Frost to dial up one play/series where he makes the D pay.  The pop pass was a good example to Betts, but I havent seen it since.

I can't remember the team or game (maybe Fresno St w/Bo) but the announcers mentioned them rolling out to help the QB with our D.  Seems like we have no idea how to exploit or we don't have the personnel in year 3.  Which is more cause for concern.

 
lo country said:
Article Hail Varsity rights a pretty honest article on the woes of this offense...Basically, we don't have one.......We've beat this horse, but a good take.

https://hailvarsity.com/football/scott-frosts-qbs-are-running-more-than-ever-the-why-is-problematic

Problems add up. NU’s offense has a way of compounding all its flaws until suffocation. 

A change at quarterback didn’t provide air. 

It brought exactly what Frost said it would: a spark, good for a brief run where McCaffrey was the unexpected wild card played at the right time. But sparks go out as quick as they spurt to life. 

No one respects Nebraska’s passing game. There are only five Power Five passing attacks who have produced less through the air than Nebraska’s on a per-game basis. 
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Now do defense.

 
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