Helu should start against Mizzou

[captain obvious]

Lucky could run some Wes Welker routes.

It might be interesting to see both Helu and Lucky in the backfield, with Lucky motioning out as a receiver on half the plays. I still think we are going to struggle to run the ball no matter who gets the touches, though.

 

[Igetbored216]

Who cares who starts at RB? It's an obsolete position at Nebraska now. This staff is not interested in trying to establish a run game. They are just in there to be another receiver or to block.

 

[BigWillie]

And from what I have heard in practice from those who can actually see it, Helu has shown himself to be superior. Now why has that not translated to more snaps for him? I don't know. It would be the same as asking why does Wortman, Swift, Peterson, Asante, O'Hanlon see so many snaps but yet Paul, Curenski, Culbert, Thenarse and Fisher do not. Just some crazy stuff going on that I don't understand really.

I agree for the most part, but I think that Swift doesn't to deserve to be on the list. He has played very well for us this season, and really stepped up against VT.

Swift had 1 catch for 3 yards before catching 2 more passes against a prevent defense late in the game.

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

The guy is good at what he does -- provide a possession WR. But he cannot reach his full potential being surrounded by a host of other possession WR's. Either he, Peterson or Holt have to see less PT if our offense wants to evolve.

 

[admo]

BigWillie, you're usually right on about most things. But I think you under appreciate him a tad bit. No one is saying he is all-american. If Ganz would throw more passes to him you would see the playmaking ability.

He played big against Mizzou in Columbia as a frosh.

He had a fantastic TD catch against Ball State in the corner of the endzone.

He made an incredible catch for a two-point conversion at A&M that was zipped.

He scored big against UT in Austin last year.

The punt return was HUGE against VT

He's 30 some catches away from the all-time career Husker record by Johnny Rodgers

And he has been steady all four years moving the chains as a possession reciever as you mentioned.

That's just off the top of my head.

Swift is not an issue with the recievers. He isnt dragging down the offense. I think he needs the ball more. The other spot may need some better play. But not b/c it will make Swift better. But for the sake of the team becoming more explosive, yes.

 

[RedNLeader]

yes seriously! what does the guy have to do get the starting job. im all for the senority and everything but when a underclassman is clearly beating the senior out what else do they want

 

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

Might be because we ran for over 300 yards against NMSU... I dunno...

The guy has, and continues to come up big when we need him. He's solid. But yes I do agree he needs more help around him. Right now, he's the best we've got. Give him the ball.

 

[Captain K]

IMO, Lucky's running style very closely resembles that of last highly-touted running back to wear number 5 at Nebraska....does the name David Horne ring any bells? Inability to hit the hole. All the "experts" spoke about their speed, but rarely did either back show it. Too much lateral movement and juking, not enough running down hill....Trying to force the home run every play instead of letting it develop.

Gee, thanks for mentioning Horne! Anyone see him lately? Of course not, he is still in that wet paper bag I keep him in.

 

[Landlord]

There is more to being a good RB than just running the ball. Marlon is on the field because he is our best all around back. He did a great job last night of picking up blitzes. He gets a lot of undeserved critisism do to the O-line getting pushed around. I agree that Helu should get a lot more touches but Marlon is still our best all around back.

The next time Marlon picks up a blitzer may be the first time. He's an absolutely horrid blocker which will probably hurt his draft stock in the future. Dude could make a killer 3rd down RB in the NFL, except for the fact he cannot pick up a blitzer nor take him on properly at all.

He was the same 2 years ago as he is today. B-Jax likely would have not gotten his shot if he were not so good at pass blocking and Marlon so horrid.

nN2OQOxtbmI&feature=related

2:12

 

[huskered17]

And from what I have heard in practice from those who can actually see it, Helu has shown himself to be superior. Now why has that not translated to more snaps for him? I don't know. It would be the same as asking why does Wortman, Swift, Peterson, Asante, O'Hanlon see so many snaps but yet Paul, Curenski, Culbert, Thenarse and Fisher do not. Just some crazy stuff going on that I don't understand really.

I agree for the most part, but I think that Swift doesn't to deserve to be on the list. He has played very well for us this season, and really stepped up against VT.

Swift had 1 catch for 3 yards before catching 2 more passes against a prevent defense late in the game.

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

The guy is good at what he does -- provide a possession WR. But he cannot reach his full potential being surrounded by a host of other possession WR's. Either he, Peterson or Holt have to see less PT if our offense wants to evolve.

Swift may not be the long threat we need but, he is has the best hands, runs the best routes and will make catches most wide receivers won't. If we had a couple of receivers that could stretch the field, you would see how valuable Swift could really be. Watson really needs to get the ball to him more.

We are going to miss him next year.

GBR!!!

 

[BigWillie]

BigWillie, you're usually right on about most things. But I think you under appreciate him a tad bit. No one is saying he is all-american. If Ganz would throw more passes to him you would see the playmaking ability.

He played big against Mizzou in Columbia as a frosh.

He had a fantastic TD catch against Ball State in the corner of the endzone.

He made an incredible catch for a two-point conversion at A&M that was zipped.

He scored big against UT in Austin last year.

The punt return was HUGE against VT

He's 30 some catches away from the all-time career Husker record by Johnny Rodgers

And he has been steady all four years moving the chains as a possession reciever as you mentioned.

That's just off the top of my head.

Swift is not an issue with the recievers. He isnt dragging down the offense. I think he needs the ball more. The other spot may need some better play. But not b/c it will make Swift better. But for the sake of the team becoming more explosive, yes.

You're missing the point entirely. It isn't directly about Swift, but our entire receiving corps. You cannot trot 3 possession guys out on the field and expect them to loosen defenses up. That is my original point and it's still my overall point. If Swift is the guy who has to see less PT to get a deep threat on the field, so be it. If it's Peterson, so be it.

And I'm glad Swift can make clutch catches. It still doesn't take away from my original point. To further evolve the offense we have to get one of our current WRs off the field. As I said before, Swift is good at what he does. The same as Peterson. But they both cannot be on the field together, it just will not and cannot work against quality competition.

In the past two years we were able to mask this problem a bit because of Mo. The only reason we were able to mask it with Mo is thanks to his obscene talent level, route running ability and hands. He was actually able to draw coverage without even being known as a speedster. No one on out of our current WR crop can do that who currently get the PT.

Let me say again -- this is not solely direct at Nate Swift. But Swift AND Peterson AND Holt.

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

Might be because we ran for over 300 yards against NMSU... I dunno...

The guy has, and continues to come up big when we need him. He's solid. But yes I do agree he needs more help around him. Right now, he's the best we've got. Give him the ball.

You can't get him the ball if he cannot get open. That's the entire point I am making. A deep threat opens the field and loosens coverage underneath for our large group of possession WR's to break up these zone coverages being thrown at them. No safety has to play deep because are they really worried about Swift, Peterson or Holt burning them deep? Those safeties are able to creep underneath and CBs are able to cheat on routes due to the lack of playmaking ability.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

BigWillie, you're usually right on about most things. But I think you under appreciate him a tad bit. No one is saying he is all-american. If Ganz would throw more passes to him you would see the playmaking ability.

He played big against Mizzou in Columbia as a frosh.

He had a fantastic TD catch against Ball State in the corner of the endzone.

He made an incredible catch for a two-point conversion at A&M that was zipped.

He scored big against UT in Austin last year.

The punt return was HUGE against VT

He's 30 some catches away from the all-time career Husker record by Johnny Rodgers

And he has been steady all four years moving the chains as a possession reciever as you mentioned.

That's just off the top of my head.

Swift is not an issue with the recievers. He isnt dragging down the offense. I think he needs the ball more. The other spot may need some better play. But not b/c it will make Swift better. But for the sake of the team becoming more explosive, yes.

You're missing the point entirely. It isn't directly about Swift, but our entire receiving corps. You cannot trot 3 possession guys out on the field and expect them to loosen defenses up. That is my original point and it's still my overall point. If Swift is the guy who has to see less PT to get a deep threat on the field, so be it. If it's Peterson, so be it.

And I'm glad Swift can make clutch catches. It still doesn't take away from my original point. To further evolve the offense we have to get one of our current WRs off the field. As I said before, Swift is good at what he does. The same as Peterson. But they both cannot be on the field together, it just will not and cannot work against quality competition.

In the past two years we were able to mask this problem a bit because of Mo. The only reason we were able to mask it with Mo is thanks to his obscene talent level, route running ability and hands. He was actually able to draw coverage without even being known as a speedster. No one on out of our current WR crop can do that who currently get the PT.

Let me say again -- this is not solely direct at Nate Swift. But Swift AND Peterson AND Holt.

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

Might be because we ran for over 300 yards against NMSU... I dunno...

The guy has, and continues to come up big when we need him. He's solid. But yes I do agree he needs more help around him. Right now, he's the best we've got. Give him the ball.

You can't get him the ball if he cannot get open. That's the entire point I am making. A deep threat opens the field and loosens coverage underneath for our large group of possession WR's to break up these zone coverages being thrown at them. No safety has to play deep because are they really worried about Swift, Peterson or Holt burning them deep? Those safeties are able to creep underneath and CBs are able to cheat on routes due to the lack of playmaking ability.

I agree completely with this post. Swift is a great possesion guy, and he is the guy that needs to fill that role, but we can't have two of the same player on the field. I personally feel that Niles Paul is going to see a lot more playing time coming up shortly. I could be that these two guys playing now looked like superstars in camp and the spring because they were playing against our secondary! That is probably what is going into the coach's thinking. SOMEBODY has to be a deep threat.

However, you are dead wrong on Lucky's blocking ability. He is a fabulous blocker, Mel Kiper ranked him at one point this offseason as the best senior blocking back in the country on espn.com. Also, if you go back and watch the game Lucky had several very good runs. The problem is we are not letting him get in a rhythm. No back can be great if he only gets a few carries a game. Hell BJack had way more carries than this, so did Cory Ross. Lucky would be great if they would leave him in.

And while I'm on it, Quentin Castille is never going to be an Iback. He is too slow, and can't pass block. Look for him to play fullback next year full time. He is already taking the majority of his snaps from that position.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

From Sam McKewon at NEstatepaper.com:

Playmakers: Nebraska is struggling on offense, and getting better on defense. The Husker running backs aren’t getting the touches needed for them to take over, and receivers Swift and Todd Peterson aren’t open enough. Now, let’s be clear: It is good that Ganz wants to make plays downfield. Being Sam Keller, and tossing check down after check down, won’t win a lot of Big 12 games.

But there has to be a true deep threat and, right now, Swift isn’t it. If Ganz had to throw a 40-yard go route up the sidelines, to whom would he throw it?

--------Pretty much exactly what we've been arguing here, wouldn't you say?

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

I think we all pretty much agree that Helu and Lucky should both play at the same time. Just think about some OLB or Safety trying to cover Lucky in the slot, that ain't going to happen.

If you ask me we are trying to figure out how to replace one of our two top playmakers with the other one.

Play them at the same time it is pretty much that simple.IMO

 

[HuskerFan505]

There is more to being a good RB than just running the ball. Marlon is on the field because he is our best all around back. He did a great job last night of picking up blitzes. He gets a lot of undeserved critisism do to the O-line getting pushed around. I agree that Helu should get a lot more touches but Marlon is still our best all around back.

:yeah

 

[admo]

BigWillie, you're usually right on about most things. But I think you under appreciate him a tad bit. No one is saying he is all-american. If Ganz would throw more passes to him you would see the playmaking ability.

He played big against Mizzou in Columbia as a frosh.

He had a fantastic TD catch against Ball State in the corner of the endzone.

He made an incredible catch for a two-point conversion at A&M that was zipped.

He scored big against UT in Austin last year.

The punt return was HUGE against VT

He's 30 some catches away from the all-time career Husker record by Johnny Rodgers

And he has been steady all four years moving the chains as a possession reciever as you mentioned.

That's just off the top of my head.

Swift is not an issue with the recievers. He isnt dragging down the offense. I think he needs the ball more. The other spot may need some better play. But not b/c it will make Swift better. But for the sake of the team becoming more explosive, yes.

You're missing the point entirely. It isn't directly about Swift, but our entire receiving corps. You cannot trot 3 possession guys out on the field and expect them to loosen defenses up. That is my original point and it's still my overall point. If Swift is the guy who has to see less PT to get a deep threat on the field, so be it. If it's Peterson, so be it.

And I'm glad Swift can make clutch catches. It still doesn't take away from my original point. To further evolve the offense we have to get one of our current WRs off the field. As I said before, Swift is good at what he does. The same as Peterson. But they both cannot be on the field together, it just will not and cannot work against quality competition.

In the past two years we were able to mask this problem a bit because of Mo. The only reason we were able to mask it with Mo is thanks to his obscene talent level, route running ability and hands. He was actually able to draw coverage without even being known as a speedster. No one on out of our current WR crop can do that who currently get the PT.

Let me say again -- this is not solely direct at Nate Swift. But Swift AND Peterson AND Holt.

His PR was great, but lets be real about what he has done lately. Even against NMSU he disappeared with only 1 catch for 10 yards. He was great against WMU and SJSU, but put that in perspective for a minute.

Might be because we ran for over 300 yards against NMSU... I dunno...

The guy has, and continues to come up big when we need him. He's solid. But yes I do agree he needs more help around him. Right now, he's the best we've got. Give him the ball.

You can't get him the ball if he cannot get open. That's the entire point I am making. A deep threat opens the field and loosens coverage underneath for our large group of possession WR's to break up these zone coverages being thrown at them. No safety has to play deep because are they really worried about Swift, Peterson or Holt burning them deep? Those safeties are able to creep underneath and CBs are able to cheat on routes due to the lack of playmaking ability.

I do get your point. I dont think Mo was that great. He was good. He wasnt fast. He could jump. He had size. But also dropped a lot of balls. I dont remember him creating separation running routes. He was a threat from inside the 5 yard line. But mostly a possession reciever - believe it or not.

The fact is if guys get the chance, they need to show it. Niles, Holt, Cure, even Brooks have had some opp's. Guys like Cooper & Cure do need some more opportunities, yes. But it still seems everyone is better in their mind then on the field.