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Husker Monday Review: Virginia Tech Game
Running game still struggling
by Samuel McKewon
September 28, 2008
The Information Superhighway isn’t going to be the kindest place to Shawn Watson and Barney Cotton to visit this week.
Nebraska’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach are in for some message board barbs this week after NU’s 35-30 loss to Virginia Tech. For the third time in four games, the Huskers’ running game resembled the Exxon Valdez.
Against the Hokies, the ground line was thus: 25 carries for 55 yards. Take away quarterback Joe Ganz’s carries and a backwards pass to Niles Paul, and the line looks like this: 16 carries for 41 yards. Just 16 totes for what many believed to be one of the best backfields in the Big 12.
“Do we got to get better? Absolutely,” Cotton said. “But we’re not throwing up any white flags and saying we’re not good up front. We are a good offensive line and we’re going to continue to work hard the rest of the year.”
Husker fans will hear about two other Cotton quotes this week – we’ll call them the “no big deal” and “absolutely not concerned” sound bytes – that were not indicative of his post-game comments. Taken alone, those two statements make Cotton sound aloof. It’s not that. He’s loyal and protective of his guys. Didn’t choose the best words, maybe, but he’s not necessarily paid to do that.
As for Watson, give him this much credit: He stood for 30 minutes after the loss and took all tough questions. Some of his answers, from this vantage point, didn’t quite wash, but he’s called enough games to have a clear idea of how he wants a game to progress.
Husker fans are learning how much Watson likes and trusts his quarterback Ganz. Although NU fans recall the days when Watson, as Colorado’s offensive coordinator, kept the ball in hands of his big running backs, he wouldn’t hesitate to let his quarterbacks, particularly Joel Klatt, fling it, either.
We’ll see if Watson leans on Ganz too much in upcoming games. Know this: Nebraska shouldn’t try to pit him against Missouri’s Chase Daniel or Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell in a shootout. Every time Bill Callahan tried to do it, he more or less failed to make it work.
On with the review.
Five Players We Loved
Senior receiver Nate Swift – A beautiful 88-yard punt return for a touchdown. It took guts for Swift not to call for the fair catch at his own 12-yard line, and his courage was paid handsomely.
Sophomore tight end Mike McNeill – He’s a keeper, McNeill, a natural receiver with terrific size and better-than-average speed. He’s Nebraska’s most consistent big play guy in the passing game. Probably not a good thing overall, but that’s not his fault.
Sophomore defensive end Pierre Allen – It’d be nice to have Barry Turner, yes, but it’s hard to imagine that Turner would be playing any better than Allen did against San Jose State and Virginia Tech. Allen’s one of the great surprises of the season.
Senior linebacker Cody Glenn – Yeah, he made a few mistakes. But the effort, the passion, the sheer ability to be around the ball – he’s in there.
Virginia Tech’s defensive line – Probably the best or second best line NU will face this season. Those four, especially defensive end Jason Worilds – were aggressive and generally disciplined; only at the end of the game did quarterback Joe Ganz get outside of the pocket consistently.
Three Concerns We Have (Besides NU’s Running Game)
Joe Ganz is getting hemmed in: You could tell that San Jose State, and now Virginia Tech, made a concerted effort to have their defensive ends taking outside lanes in an effort to make Ganz step up in the pocket. Ganz doesn’t like it; he makes the right steps, but still wants to scramble around after that. He’s clearly more comfortable in open space, looking at half the field, rather than scanning the whole thing.
Punked by the play action: Nebraska’s linebackers and safeties are too easily getting sucked in by a fake handoff, which either means they’re a little too committed to stopping the run, or they’re not focusing on their keys.
‘It’s not about emotion. It’s about execution’: That’s a quote from head coach Bo Pelini. And he’s right. So why does Nebraska seem to come out of locker room with too much of the former and not enough of the latter? In three out of four games, it’s taken Nebraska a drive or two to settle down and get their legs under them. Against San Jose State and Virginia Tech, that lack of focus cost them. On Saturday, tackles were missed. Niles Paul ran around without a firm plan. The opponents only get stronger from here, and Pelini has to find a way to balance his team for the opening kickoff.
Reviewing the Five Keys
Beating Beamer at his Ball Game: Didn’t happen. Nebraska did get Swift’s punt return and Alex Henery’s 49-yard field goal, but lost every other key play in the special teams phase. The Hokies were the real deal there and in the turnover game, as the Huskers didn’t even seem close to forcing a mistake out of quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Instead, it was Ganz who blinked, on a play that Macho Harris and Virginia Tech seemed to know was coming.
Bud vs. Wats: Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster won when it mattered, through the first three quarters. He put on a new coverage scheme at end of the first half that confused Ganz and thwarted any chance for a two minute drive. He successfully kept Ganz in the pocket for three quarters. Watson, meanwhile, seemed to call a reactive, instead of proactive, game.
Spread cred: Virginia Tech stuck to its power game, and it worked nicely. But – when the Hokies needed to answer Swift’s touchdown, Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring stuck Taylor in the shotgun and made with a quarterback draw and two designed quarterback sweeps, a play Stinespring held until the very end. It was nicely done.
Sea of Red: Well, first, it wasn’t. Way too many Nebraska fans wore black Saturday night, which, at this point, simply doesn’t make sense, because the Huskers have no Blackshirts – Pelini hasn’t handed them out. Let me explain again: The team currently has no Blackshirts. Until Pelini deems the defense worthy of them, the fans should leave that attire at home.
As for the noise level – the most was made after Pelini protested Ndamaukong Suh’s late hit penalty, in the form of lusty boos.
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?
Three Questions We Still Have
Is Nebraska better off in a nickel defense? We’ll find out, because the Huskers aren’t going to be playing anything but that or dime for some time. Missouri, Texas Tech and Baylor all run versions of the spread, which means defensive back Eric Hagg, and not linebacker Tyler Wortman, will be getting most of the snaps.
How does Watson attack teams that want to play basketball, not football? Again, we’ll find out. NU might outscore one of its next three opponents, but it prefer to control the tempo and game clock. That’s why a running game is important; if you don’t chew the clock against offenses like this, you risk wearing out and demoralizing your defense.
Which way will the Huskers go? It’s too optimistic to expect Nebraska to beat the best team in Missouri history. Could it happen? Sure. But, more importantly, does NU begin to resemble the team that can win the seven or eight games needed to secure a successful season?
Husker Monday Review: Virginia Tech Game
Running game still struggling
by Samuel McKewon
September 28, 2008
The Information Superhighway isn’t going to be the kindest place to Shawn Watson and Barney Cotton to visit this week.
Nebraska’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach are in for some message board barbs this week after NU’s 35-30 loss to Virginia Tech. For the third time in four games, the Huskers’ running game resembled the Exxon Valdez.
Against the Hokies, the ground line was thus: 25 carries for 55 yards. Take away quarterback Joe Ganz’s carries and a backwards pass to Niles Paul, and the line looks like this: 16 carries for 41 yards. Just 16 totes for what many believed to be one of the best backfields in the Big 12.
“Do we got to get better? Absolutely,” Cotton said. “But we’re not throwing up any white flags and saying we’re not good up front. We are a good offensive line and we’re going to continue to work hard the rest of the year.”
Husker fans will hear about two other Cotton quotes this week – we’ll call them the “no big deal” and “absolutely not concerned” sound bytes – that were not indicative of his post-game comments. Taken alone, those two statements make Cotton sound aloof. It’s not that. He’s loyal and protective of his guys. Didn’t choose the best words, maybe, but he’s not necessarily paid to do that.
As for Watson, give him this much credit: He stood for 30 minutes after the loss and took all tough questions. Some of his answers, from this vantage point, didn’t quite wash, but he’s called enough games to have a clear idea of how he wants a game to progress.
Husker fans are learning how much Watson likes and trusts his quarterback Ganz. Although NU fans recall the days when Watson, as Colorado’s offensive coordinator, kept the ball in hands of his big running backs, he wouldn’t hesitate to let his quarterbacks, particularly Joel Klatt, fling it, either.
We’ll see if Watson leans on Ganz too much in upcoming games. Know this: Nebraska shouldn’t try to pit him against Missouri’s Chase Daniel or Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell in a shootout. Every time Bill Callahan tried to do it, he more or less failed to make it work.
On with the review.
Five Players We Loved
Senior receiver Nate Swift – A beautiful 88-yard punt return for a touchdown. It took guts for Swift not to call for the fair catch at his own 12-yard line, and his courage was paid handsomely.
Sophomore tight end Mike McNeill – He’s a keeper, McNeill, a natural receiver with terrific size and better-than-average speed. He’s Nebraska’s most consistent big play guy in the passing game. Probably not a good thing overall, but that’s not his fault.
Sophomore defensive end Pierre Allen – It’d be nice to have Barry Turner, yes, but it’s hard to imagine that Turner would be playing any better than Allen did against San Jose State and Virginia Tech. Allen’s one of the great surprises of the season.
Senior linebacker Cody Glenn – Yeah, he made a few mistakes. But the effort, the passion, the sheer ability to be around the ball – he’s in there.
Virginia Tech’s defensive line – Probably the best or second best line NU will face this season. Those four, especially defensive end Jason Worilds – were aggressive and generally disciplined; only at the end of the game did quarterback Joe Ganz get outside of the pocket consistently.
Three Concerns We Have (Besides NU’s Running Game)
Joe Ganz is getting hemmed in: You could tell that San Jose State, and now Virginia Tech, made a concerted effort to have their defensive ends taking outside lanes in an effort to make Ganz step up in the pocket. Ganz doesn’t like it; he makes the right steps, but still wants to scramble around after that. He’s clearly more comfortable in open space, looking at half the field, rather than scanning the whole thing.
Punked by the play action: Nebraska’s linebackers and safeties are too easily getting sucked in by a fake handoff, which either means they’re a little too committed to stopping the run, or they’re not focusing on their keys.
‘It’s not about emotion. It’s about execution’: That’s a quote from head coach Bo Pelini. And he’s right. So why does Nebraska seem to come out of locker room with too much of the former and not enough of the latter? In three out of four games, it’s taken Nebraska a drive or two to settle down and get their legs under them. Against San Jose State and Virginia Tech, that lack of focus cost them. On Saturday, tackles were missed. Niles Paul ran around without a firm plan. The opponents only get stronger from here, and Pelini has to find a way to balance his team for the opening kickoff.
Reviewing the Five Keys
Beating Beamer at his Ball Game: Didn’t happen. Nebraska did get Swift’s punt return and Alex Henery’s 49-yard field goal, but lost every other key play in the special teams phase. The Hokies were the real deal there and in the turnover game, as the Huskers didn’t even seem close to forcing a mistake out of quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Instead, it was Ganz who blinked, on a play that Macho Harris and Virginia Tech seemed to know was coming.
Bud vs. Wats: Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster won when it mattered, through the first three quarters. He put on a new coverage scheme at end of the first half that confused Ganz and thwarted any chance for a two minute drive. He successfully kept Ganz in the pocket for three quarters. Watson, meanwhile, seemed to call a reactive, instead of proactive, game.
Spread cred: Virginia Tech stuck to its power game, and it worked nicely. But – when the Hokies needed to answer Swift’s touchdown, Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring stuck Taylor in the shotgun and made with a quarterback draw and two designed quarterback sweeps, a play Stinespring held until the very end. It was nicely done.
Sea of Red: Well, first, it wasn’t. Way too many Nebraska fans wore black Saturday night, which, at this point, simply doesn’t make sense, because the Huskers have no Blackshirts – Pelini hasn’t handed them out. Let me explain again: The team currently has no Blackshirts. Until Pelini deems the defense worthy of them, the fans should leave that attire at home.
As for the noise level – the most was made after Pelini protested Ndamaukong Suh’s late hit penalty, in the form of lusty boos.
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?
Three Questions We Still Have
Is Nebraska better off in a nickel defense? We’ll find out, because the Huskers aren’t going to be playing anything but that or dime for some time. Missouri, Texas Tech and Baylor all run versions of the spread, which means defensive back Eric Hagg, and not linebacker Tyler Wortman, will be getting most of the snaps.
How does Watson attack teams that want to play basketball, not football? Again, we’ll find out. NU might outscore one of its next three opponents, but it prefer to control the tempo and game clock. That’s why a running game is important; if you don’t chew the clock against offenses like this, you risk wearing out and demoralizing your defense.
Which way will the Huskers go? It’s too optimistic to expect Nebraska to beat the best team in Missouri history. Could it happen? Sure. But, more importantly, does NU begin to resemble the team that can win the seven or eight games needed to secure a successful season?
