How good of a coach is Barney Cotton....

Cotton will definately look good in a run orientated offense. If that is the way Nebraska is headed (and, hopefully it is) then Barney will come off looking like a genius. If, however, the Huskers plan on relying on an offense that emphasises the passing game...measure Lee for a coffin. Barney has always proven to be a bit lax when it comes to teaching pass blocking fundamentals.....

 
Just as suspected. No one is really spewing venom in Barney's direction. We for the most part all agree the OL improved last year. All in all, I can only remember one person in the past year ever really show emotion in a negative way towards Cotton. However, a lot of us just haven't seen enough here to annoint him the next best thing.

 
huskers1 said:
I'm not sure how Cotton will end up doing here but man, give him more than one year. I remember one post saying how Cotton told the players he wasn't concerned as much with technique or forget technique, something along those lines. He went on to say that no good o line coach would say something like that. IMO he was probably just trying to get them to quit thinking so much, just get back that nasty attitude that great o lines have. Callahan was so concerned with technique that I think the players were thinking of where to step instead of just blowing off the ball. I think Cotton was trying to get them to be more explosive and not be so concerned with "your step was a half an inch to far right". They made good strides last year, I'm hoping for better things this year.
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I think that quote was messed up. I have a feeling he probably said, "We practice technique over and over, so when you get into games don't over analyze and think about technique, because if you do you will be slow and get beat. You practice technique during practice, when live scrimmaging/games are going on, the O Lineman needs to react to the guy he's blocking, and the technique should come out when blocking him because it will just be second nature." Basically, repetitive actions become habits. You don't think about them, you just do your job and your body uses it's habits.

 
How long do you give an assistant? Depends on what he started with and what he's done with what he had. We didn't have anything like a classic "pipeline" to begin the season last year, and we saw improvement from game one to the bowl game.

Give them all a couple of years to get the kids in they want and train them up. You can't make a decision based on one year's worth of kids they didn't recruit.

 
Hunter94 said:
Technique is important, but having a good motor and giving your all on every play is just as important if not a little more important. If players start worrying more about how to step then actually knocking the guy down, then bad things can happen.
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you can teach technique, you either have a motor or you don't.
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I agree that some people have more drive than others, but everyone can have a motor. Having a motor and going balls to the wall is a state of mind, not a physical hurdle. It's all about the try. I remember when Jay Moore got alot better his senior year and he was asked what he thought helped him. He said he didn't just go through the motions in practice anymore. He put everything he had into practice just like he would in a game. That's a mental hurdle, not a physical. Physical attributes are hard to change, mental ones are not as much. Just goes to show how the old saying is right, you play like you practice.

 
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I used to tlell my students that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Do it right or don't do it at all.

 
It is hard to trash Barney based on last year. They did make improvements...but they were trying to get use to the new regime. With that being said, they need to continue to improve in order to protect the QBs and help the RBs make long runs. I would assume if this is not getting done, as stated above, Leee (or whoever else it is) will be getting seriously hurt. I am sure Watson will not stand for that and Bo sure as hell won't stand for it.

I have faith in Barney to get the job done...

 
all i can say is the guy is a Division I football coach and we are not, so guessing he knows what he is doing.

 
Cy the Cyclone said:
Cotton will definately look good in a run orientated offense. If that is the way Nebraska is headed (and, hopefully it is) then Barney will come off looking like a genius. If, however, the Huskers plan on relying on an offense that emphasises the passing game...measure Lee for a coffin. Barney has always proven to be a bit lax when it comes to teaching pass blocking fundamentals.....
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I expect to see Pelini make the offense a little more run oriented than last year. I think he knows Cotton is a good o-line coach when it comes to running the ball; it's Cotton's forte. I agree about the pass block fundamentals, as well. In all fairness though, pass blocking is a lot harder than run blocking, and offensive linemen love to run the ball a lot more than they do protecting the QB.

 
Cy the Cyclone said:
Cotton will definately look good in a run orientated offense. If that is the way Nebraska is headed (and, hopefully it is) then Barney will come off looking like a genius. If, however, the Huskers plan on relying on an offense that emphasises the passing game...measure Lee for a coffin. Barney has always proven to be a bit lax when it comes to teaching pass blocking fundamentals.....
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why can't we just keep teaching the old pass block fundamentals and implement new run block methods too?

 
skersfan said:
I used to tlell my students that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Do it right or don't do it at all.
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That's exactly what my ex-marine elementary school PE teacher said - you didn't teach at Sheridan Elementary in Lincoln? That would make you about 90 yea . . . . oh, never mind.

 
Despite people implying or outright saying I was overly concerned with the not teaching technique issue, I still needed some assurances.

I finally found a little comfort in the matter. The following is a quote directly from Barney, mentioned as an afterthought in an unrelated article from Sipple/LJS.

* I liked what I heard from Husker offensive line coach Barney Cotton in his appearance Monday on “Sports Nightly.” “The toughest guys win,” he said, referring to his emphasis on physical line play. “We work hard on technique during the week, then on Saturday we teach the kids that toughness is going to be the difference.”
Nebraska returns three full-time starters on its O-line. The Huskers have decent talent up front. But the line too often has lacked a hard edge and general nastiness ever since, well, about 2001. Or maybe my expectations are just too high. …
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If I had seen him say anything like that before, I would have never gotten worked up. Maybe Cotton read my quotes here and was speaking directly to me. :laughpound

I officially retract my stance, I just needed to hear him say something like that. Carry on.

:w00t

 
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