Concerns about the offense

[AustinHuskr]

Okay, maybe I'm nit picking here but I do have concerns:

Against WI, UW and the cup cakes we mixed in the pass a lot more and had the WR's nicely integrated with the play calling but against MSU the pass was almost a rarity. Now I get that the offense takes what the defense gives but I also see a trend where we are going back to a lot more option, wing-t, pistol, etc. Basically a lot of run formations. Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses? We can't make a living having TMart on the edge pitching the ball and being so lose with it...... or making the wrong read on a ZR option. We have to be able to throw the ball to keep better defenses off balance.

The irony in this whole thing is that we might not see that great defense all year unless we run the table and play someone like Bama/LSU in the Rose Bowl (or whatever BCS bowl we end up in). Even drawing a team like OU or Stanford won't be easy going against being run heavy. In the B1GC, going up against UW or OSU won't be easy just running a majority of the time..... Don't get me wrong - my sig says "Run the ball...." but I'm concerned that bec. we don't pass it as much lately, TM is not getting the live reps and thereby his accuracy and timing is not getting better.

So..... what gives? Do we continue with this run heavy offense or try to be more balanced? More importantly, what's the point in having big time play makers like Turner, Bell, Reed and Enunwa if they hardly touch the ball?

 

[bale]

Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses?

Are you aware Michigan State has one of the best defenses in the country?

 

[lionsfan93]

What do you mean "good/great defense." That team we pounded last week was supposed to have one of the better defenses in the nation. And we play Penn St. in 2 weeks who, again, is supposed to have one of the best defenses. The B1G is known for its defenses.

 

[NU41SB]

Okay, maybe I'm nit picking here but I do have concerns:

Against WI, UW and the cup cakes we mixed in the pass a lot more and had the WR's nicely integrated with the play calling but against MSU the pass was almost a rarity. Now I get that the offense takes what the defense gives but I also see a trend where we are going back to a lot more option, wing-t, pistol, etc. Basically a lot of run formations. Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses? We can't make a living having TMart on the edge pitching the ball and being so lose with it...... or making the wrong read on a ZR option. We have to be able to throw the ball to keep better defenses off balance.

The irony in this whole thing is that we might not see that great defense all year unless we run the table and play someone like Bama/LSU in the Rose Bowl (or whatever BCS bowl we end up in). Even drawing a team like OU or Stanford won't be easy going against being run heavy. In the B1GC, going up against UW or OSU won't be easy just running a majority of the time..... Don't get me wrong - my sig says "Run the ball...." but I'm concerned that bec. we don't pass it as much lately, TM is not getting the live reps and thereby his accuracy and timing is not getting better.

So..... what gives? Do we continue with this run heavy offense or try to be more balanced? More importantly, what's the point in having big time play makers like Turner, Bell, Reed and Enunwa if they hardly touch the ball?

I'm not necessarily discounting your concerns, but I thought MSU was one of the good/great defenses. I thought they were ranked in the top ten in just about every category, I could be mistaken though

 

[Husker_x]

Our run game just ground up a top 10 defense and opened up the short passing game in the second half.

We're Nebraska. Not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. When Beck gets a quarterback in here who can complete more than 50% of his passes, we'll see a new passing dynamic. Taylor is not that guy, at least not this season. I'd like to see more of the screen game and the quick routes, but frankly you don't mess with success. If we can win the ball running every down, run every down.

 

[sd'sker]

the next defense we have to worry about has, literally, no offense. we may score more points on defense than they score on offense. and yes, i am talking about psu.

 

[shyndy]

at first i thought this was a thread necro, but then i was like :facepalm:

 

[AustinHuskr]

Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses?

Are you aware Michigan State has one of the best defenses in the country?

What do you mean "good/great defense." That team we pounded last week was supposed to have one of the better defenses in the nation. And we play Penn St. in 2 weeks who, again, is supposed to have one of the best defenses. The B1G is known for its defenses.

Our run game just ground up a top 10 defense and opened up the short passing game in the second half.

We're Nebraska. Not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. When Beck gets a quarterback in here who can complete more than 50% of his passes, we'll see a new passing dynamic. Taylor is not that guy, at least not this season. I'd like to see more of the screen game and the quick routes, but frankly you don't mess with success. If we can win the ball running every down, run every down.

ND hung 31 points on that great MSU defense.

I'm not discounting MSU's defense one bit. I also said - we take what the d gives but sooner or later we're going to go up against a def. like WI's that has the athletes to stop the run. Now few here will say that we "still got yards" running on WI. Yes and no. Not when it mattered.

I'm talking about the future: I'm not convinced that we can run all day on PSU. Then what about the B1GC and BCS bowl? You can bet we'll go up against d's that can slow down the run game. I'm not convinced that our d is all of a sudden a shut down d. Not yet by any means. Bottom line: We have to be a little more balanced - and TM has to be able to throw it better... and the WR's need to be able to make clutch plays.

Do you'll really think NU can keep running it 80-90% of the time and win a BCS bowl?

 

[Enhance]

Every defense is culpable to a hiccup here and there. We had one of the best defenses in school in history 2009, but that didn't stop us from surrendering 30+ points to Texas Tech. I know our offense had a backwards throw that resulted in a touchdown but still...not a good performance that day.

Nebraska has played two very stout defenses - MSU and tOSU, so this somewhat diminishes what you're trying to say. We have another good one in two weeks with PSU. I wouldn't worry so much about throwing the ball as I would making sure we're distributing it effectively. I'm more worried about Rex having less carries than I am about us throwing the ball. Martinez had a better passing game in the second half against MSU, yet nothing went well for him in the first half.

We must not forget - this is year one under a new system with a new staff, although I might argue this offense has looked more consistent than any offense we've had in the last several years. It's not like we're at the position yet where we can play championship caliber offense. That's going to take some time, just as it took time to get our defense back. Now that we have the coaches in place and our kids our getting it, things will eventually fall into place. But this team is a running team - through and through. They're going to keep running it at least 75% of the time. I'd actually rather see us use the diamond, our twist on the flex bone with a slot receiver, etc., than I would us throwing more.

 

[AustinHuskr]

Every defense is culpable to a hiccup here and there. We had one of the best defenses in school in history 2009, but that didn't stop us from surrendering 30+ points to Texas Tech. I know our offense had a backwards throw that resulted in a touchdown but still...not a good performance that day.

Nebraska has played two very stout defenses - MSU and tOSU, so this somewhat diminishes what you're trying to say. We have another good one in two weeks with PSU. I wouldn't worry so much about throwing the ball as I would making sure we're distributing it effectively. I'm more worried about Rex having less carries than I am about us throwing the ball. Martinez had a better passing game in the second half against MSU, yet nothing went well for him in the first half.

We must not forget - this is year one under a new system with a new staff, although I might argue this offense has looked more consistent than any offense we've had in the last several years. It's not like we're at the position yet where we can play championship caliber offense. That's going to take some time, just as it took time to get our defense back. Now that we have the coaches in place and our kids our getting it, things will eventually fall into place. But this team is a running team - through and through. They're going to keep running it at least 75% of the time. I'd actually rather see us use the diamond, our twist on the flex bone with a slot receiver, etc., than I would us throwing more.

Agree - but you are making a HUGE assumption (I think) that we are going to be in close games or low scoring games where we can rely on running..... Are you sure about that with this d? I know I'm not. Until we see this def. stop a team that can run and get off the field on 3rd down, I'm not buying in.

To that end, I feel that we're going to be in a shoot out in the B1GC and BCS - and in order to win those games you'll have to convert a few 3rd and 8's or 3rd and 15's....

 

[HeyBurke]

Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses?

Are you aware Michigan State has one of the best defenses in the country?

What do you mean "good/great defense." That team we pounded last week was supposed to have one of the better defenses in the nation. And we play Penn St. in 2 weeks who, again, is supposed to have one of the best defenses. The B1G is known for its defenses.

Our run game just ground up a top 10 defense and opened up the short passing game in the second half.

We're Nebraska. Not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. When Beck gets a quarterback in here who can complete more than 50% of his passes, we'll see a new passing dynamic. Taylor is not that guy, at least not this season. I'd like to see more of the screen game and the quick routes, but frankly you don't mess with success. If we can win the ball running every down, run every down.

ND hung 31 points on that great MSU defense.

I'm not discounting MSU's defense one bit. I also said - we take what the d gives but sooner or later we're going to go up against a def. like WI's that has the athletes to stop the run. Now few here will say that we "still got yards" running on WI. Yes and no. Not when it mattered.

I'm talking about the future: I'm not convinced that we can run all day on PSU. Then what about the B1GC and BCS bowl? You can bet we'll go up against d's that can slow down the run game. I'm not convinced that our d is all of a sudden a shut down d. Not yet by any means. Bottom line: We have to be a little more balanced - and TM has to be able to throw it better... and the WR's need to be able to make clutch plays.

Do you'll really think NU can keep running it 80-90% of the time and win a BCS bowl?

Notre Dame scored seven more points than Nebraska did and their offense is a much better matchup against MSU's defense than Nebraska's. I'm not really impressed by that statistic.

 

[MJSkers]

Per USA Today defensive stats. 10/30/11 Link

MSU: #2 total defense #14 Rushing Defense

Wisc: #11 total defense #53 Rushing Defense

PSU: #10 total defense #24 Rushing Defense

OSU: #17 total defense #26 Rushing Defense

Statistically speaking, we've played the best defense we will face all year, as of now.

Why fix what's not broken? Do you REALLY want our QB doing what he did against Wisc? Play to your strengths. There is a reason Tommy Frazier and Eric Crouch didn't throw a ton...we had a good running game.

 

[RockyMountainOySker]

Man, you just can't please everyone can you?

 

[Husker_x]

Don't get me wrong, I like that but what happens against the good/great defenses?

Are you aware Michigan State has one of the best defenses in the country?

What do you mean "good/great defense." That team we pounded last week was supposed to have one of the better defenses in the nation. And we play Penn St. in 2 weeks who, again, is supposed to have one of the best defenses. The B1G is known for its defenses.

Our run game just ground up a top 10 defense and opened up the short passing game in the second half.

We're Nebraska. Not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. When Beck gets a quarterback in here who can complete more than 50% of his passes, we'll see a new passing dynamic. Taylor is not that guy, at least not this season. I'd like to see more of the screen game and the quick routes, but frankly you don't mess with success. If we can win the ball running every down, run every down.

ND hung 31 points on that great MSU defense.

I'm not discounting MSU's defense one bit. I also said - we take what the d gives but sooner or later we're going to go up against a def. like WI's that has the athletes to stop the run. Now few here will say that we "still got yards" running on WI. Yes and no. Not when it mattered.

I'm talking about the future: I'm not convinced that we can run all day on PSU. Then what about the B1GC and BCS bowl? You can bet we'll go up against d's that can slow down the run game. I'm not convinced that our d is all of a sudden a shut down d. Not yet by any means. Bottom line: We have to be a little more balanced - and TM has to be able to throw it better... and the WR's need to be able to make clutch plays.

Do you'll really think NU can keep running it 80-90% of the time and win a BCS bowl?

Wisconsin has two losses.

 

[TheCheshireCat]

Ohio State and Michigan State are no LSU or Alabama, but they are tough, talented, aggressive defenses that we have run all over. I can see a big difference between this year and the last couple on that alone - these weren't 80 yard bursts followed by nothing. They were sustained drives that wore the opponent down. I am very excited about the future of this offense. You can't expect miracles overnight, but the fact that we are improving and establishing a method should be very encouraging.