Coaching to Win Against KU

Husker Richard

Husker Richard

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In my opinion, if Taylor is healthy Saturday, he needs to start and play until the victory is no longer in question.

I'm not a fan of the following attitude: We should rest Taylor this Saturday because we won't need him to beat KU, and we'll really need him at 100% against Texas A&M.

This is not how a football game should be approached. Nothing is guaranteed, as we saw last week in Ames.

KU may or may not be a cakewalk. I would err on the side of caution because we cannot afford to lose to KU. We are lucky to enjoy the cushion we currently have in the Big 12 North. A loss to KU eliminates that cushion and makes the next 2 games must-win situations.

The night game at Texas A&M is sure to be a battle, and it would be nice to know that even with a loss there we could still win the Big 12 North. Of course, that would require a victory over KU, which means that against KU, the staff needs to coach to win, rather than coaching not to lose.

 
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Husker Richard said:
In my opinion, if Taylor is healthy Saturday, he needs to start and play until the victory is no longer in question.

I'm not a fan of the following attitude: We should rest Taylor because we won't need him to beat KU, but we'll really need him against Texas A&M.

This is not how a football game should be approached. Nothing is guaranteed, as we saw last week in Ames.

KU may or may not be a cakewalk. I would err on the side of caution because we cannot afford to lose to KU. We are lucky to enjoy the cushion we currently have in the Big 12 North. A loss to KU eliminates that cushion and makes the next 2 games must-win situations.

The night game at Texas A&M is sure to be a battle, and it would be nice to know that even with a loss there we could still win the Big 12 North. Of course, that would require a victory over KU, which means that the staff needs to coach to win this Saturday, rather than coaching not to lose.
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+1

Taylor need's every opportunity he can to play in games. He needs to see as many defensive looks and schemes as he can so he can grow as a player, not starting him just because people think KU will be a cakewalk for us is just stupid. The experience of any game especially when you're a freshman is priceless. KU is a very winnable game, but Taylor needs to play and have that confidence especially going in to a hostile college station the next week.

 
I think that Taylor and Bo and Watson and everybody else already know this. If Taylor doesn't start that game that means he's too injured to play. IMHO.

 
nemajordude said:
I think that Taylor and Bo and Watson and everybody else already know this. If Taylor doesn't start that game that means he's too injured to play. IMHO.
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If Taylor and Lee can't play then we should just borrow Turner Gill off of the Ku sideline. LOL

 
I'd love to see Tmart play Kansas too. Just to "make sure" we win and get him some more experience.

But, if he's not close to 100% I'd much rather rest him for the Kansas game and have him ready to roll vs TAM. The Aggies are coming on strong and I very highly doubt we can beat them without Tmart. I agree with the other posters that any game can be lost but TAM game to me is ten times more dangerous than the Jayhawks.

We'll need our "A" game for the 12th man.

 
I realize we are talking mostly about TM's status here, but let me ask for a clarification on what 'Coaching to Win' means, gameplan wise.

To me, it means playing ugly if it gives you a better shot at winning, and eschewing style points in favor of keeping us in the best position to win. In other words, what we did for a good part of last year (by absolute necessity) and in the 2nd half against Missouri once we put up 31 (more of a judgment call there, I guess), and why we ground it out so much against ISU as opposed to letting Cody throw it more (at least until we were getting stopped and the game was still very much in doubt).

The above strategies often seem to be confused with 'Coaching Not to Lose' though. Whereas 'Coaching to Win' seems in most people's eyes to involve "keeping our foot on their throats", taking shots and taking risks, scoring lots of points (both style and actual) and putting up lots of eye-candy highlights. I agree that sometimes, in order to win, you have to be aggressive and take chances. But for clarity sake, which is really coaching to win?

I think I'm in the camp of the former. Grab a lead and grind out the clock until it's over. A defender that gets a pick at the end of the game should fall down. If an offense can win with a field goal and is in range, it should run out the clock before trying the field goal. That sort of thing.

In this situation, with Taylor, so much depends on something we know very little about (Taylor's injury situation) that it's really hard to advocate one thing or another. If I had to choose, I'd say shut him down totally this week and let him prepare for A&M, both physically and mentally, while the team moves forward with Cody and LaTravis (and Rex).

 
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Biggest focus, has to be on "D". If we can shut them down, maybe even catch a break and score on a fumble or pick six, that is of the utmost importance.

We can pound the rock all day between R&R, maybe even some more wildcat with Rex.

 
I would like to see the defense play better in this one. Some thing doesn't seem right. Are we that banged up, that some of the starters are out there because we are thin at some positions, and can't get them a breather when needed? Ever since Okl St game, doesn't seem like the team is as confident. We seem to give up big plays when we need a big stop. Not all the time, but just at a crucial spot in the game. This defense seems weak against the run, much more than one would expect from the comments Bo made before the season started. The wind and a lob pass, is the reason for last weeks win. Should not have come down to that. JMO

:bonesflag:

GBR!!!

 
One thing that intrigues me a little is how well KU shut down Georgia Tech's running game in the 2nd game of the season. SDSU showed if you put enough people in the box we can be slowed down. Whether T-Mart or Green starts, I look for KU to force us to pass first, run 2nd. I think this game will be decided by our receivers early. Hopefully Paul comes pissed off to this game to make up for his blunder against ISU.

 
ICT HSKR 10 said:
One thing that intrigues me a little is how well KU shut down Georgia Tech's running game in the 2nd game of the season.
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I dont think I would go as far as to say KU shutdown Georgia Techs rushing offense. They shutdown Josh Nesbitt (15 carries 33 yards 2.2 YPC with 2 TD's) but the rest of the team was a combined 37 carries for 258 yards and 6.9 YPC. That is a total of 52 carries 291 yards 5.6 YPC and 2 TD's. If we are anywhere near those numbers on Saturday we will do just fine.

 
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Husker Richard said:
In my opinion, if Taylor is healthy Saturday, he needs to start and play until the victory is no longer in question.
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Define "healthy". If he's recovered, of course he should play. If he's still gimpy but our best choice even at less than 100%, probably not. That would make him much more exposed to re-injury.

Look at this realistic case: TM gets hurt in the first quarter so now the KU game is in a lot of danger. Plus it's bad enough that he's out for A&M or not nearly 100%. So now you could blow your cushion in the KU game, and have to go into A&M with big questions.

None of us know the extent of TM's injury. Heck I still don't know if it's an ankle or a bone bruise or what with the iron curtain Bo puts up. I don't see how any can judge whether TM should or should not play.

 
The opposite of losing is winning so in order to win you have to not lose and in order to lose you have to not win so playing to not lose is playing to win and playing to win is playing to not lose, so every team every week plays to not lose or also to win. :moreinteresting <_< :ahhhhhhhh :facepalm: :nanalama :wacko: :dunno

 
zoogies said:
If I had to choose, I'd say shut him down totally this week and let him prepare for A&M, both physically and mentally, while the team moves forward with Cody and LaTravis (and Rex).
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I would like to see LaTravis get on the field and run some Zone read/play action..even if it's just to get some game speed reps.

 
GM_Tood said:
zoogies said:
If I had to choose, I'd say shut him down totally this week and let him prepare for A&M, both physically and mentally, while the team moves forward with Cody and LaTravis (and Rex).
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I would like to see LaTravis get on the field and run some Zone read/play action..even if it's just to get some game speed reps.
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Yes. I would like to see LaTravis on the field this year, and this is the perfect game and situation to do it.

 
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