McKewon: Talent isn't Nebraska's issue, it's focus, edge and savvy
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knapplc
International Man of Mystery
What, that Cook isn't as good as Kaaya or Taysom Hill? You shouldn't be, because the list of QBs that aren't that good is pretty long.
I feel like a lot of people are seeing "Nebraska has played the two best passing offenses it's going to see all year" as somehow saying Everyone else we're going to play stinks at passing. I don't know why it's being read that way, because it's not what's being said.
BYU and Miami are very good passing offenses. Nobody else we face is as good. It's not a controversial point.
cornographic
Banned
1st of all. Sparty as a team is better than both BYU and The U. Cook is definitely better than Kaaya at this point, due to maturity: he's a better QB. I would also say Cook is a better passer than Hill and just as good overall in terms of leading his team. So, IMO, Sparty will be as good or better than in the passing dpt. based on the strength of Cook as a QB. He will be the best QB we face this year.
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knapplc
International Man of Mystery
We're not talking about "as a team." We're talking about passing offense. Period. Zip. That's it.
Cook is not a better passer than Taysom Hill, nor Kaaya. He's a good NFL prospect, but let's not confuse that with being a better college quarterback. Any fan of Nebraska who lived through the Tommie Frazier years should realize that.
The WR corps at Michigan State, as a group, is not as good as BYU's or Miami's. Again, not really debatable.
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Dr. Strangelove
All-Conference
As far as talent, I think the starting talent at Nebraska is decent and top 25-ish.
Depth is what we lack right now. We have very little outside of our starting 3 LBs (Rose-Ivey is now injured). We have very little at DE, we have very little at QB, we have very little at WR after Morgan, Westerkamp and Reilly. On and on. The starters are pretty good, but to be a top 25 team at seasons end takes depth, and we just don't have it right now.
Depth is what we lack right now. We have very little outside of our starting 3 LBs (Rose-Ivey is now injured). We have very little at DE, we have very little at QB, we have very little at WR after Morgan, Westerkamp and Reilly. On and on. The starters are pretty good, but to be a top 25 team at seasons end takes depth, and we just don't have it right now.
cornographic
Banned
Like I said:
No, sorry, Kaaya isn't as good a QB as Cook. Maybe next year. Kaaya started out hot against us then tapered off the 2nd half. Kaaya has nowhere near the maturity of Cook at this point. So, Sparty will be a better passing team than The U. Cook is also a better passer than Hill, but overall, the 2 teams may be about equal in terms of passing attack. By the time we play Sparty, though, they should be clicking on all cylinders.
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knapplc
International Man of Mystery
Although, there is one spot we do have depth. I'd define "depth" as, guy goes down, next guy steps up and does a good job, if not missing a beat.
The one place we have that - in Nebraska of all places! - is at WR. Demornay goes down? Not much of a problem. We've got good WRs coming out of our ears. Hovey, Reilly, Westerkamp, Zo Moore... heck, Jamal Turner will probably have his career amazing play sometime this year.
Red Five
Heisman Trophy Winner
That is an understatement Minnesota's offense has been average to down right awful this year. Doesn't mean they can't or wont get better, just haven't shown it yet. Illinois throws OK, but nothing like Miami. They just got spanked by a pretty average N. Carolina team.
Not going to say some other team will not have success throwing the ball on NU, but the talent throwing and catching will not be as good as BYU and Miami. Hill was good because you have that added element of his running. Kaaya is just good and his receivers are good. MSU will be close. Cook is a good QB, but he is not going to come in and sling the ball and win the game just purely on passing. They also run the ball very well and play great defense.
Undone
All-American
I'd say Cook has more intangibles as a QB in general. He's tougher; stands tougher in the pocket, can take more hits, etc.
In my opinion, his arm is not as accurate as Kaaya's. And he's surrounded by a better team in general on both sides of the ball.
But regardless of that whole discussion, we can give up the Michigan State game. We really need to do is to win against Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern. The point is, with an adjusted defensive scheme for stopping the run like Banker supposedly has, we're in a better position to do that this year.
cornographic
Banned
Stave ain't no slouch either--maybe a bit streaky.
I think Cook's accuracy is just as good as Kaaya's and Cook can go 4 qtrs. That being said, we can beat Sparty if some things go our way.
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I don't personally see this as Sam flip-flopping. I don't vividly remember the narrative of some of his pieces during the summer, but, he never said this team was bad. The vibe I always got was he thought we had some good pieces but we were lacking in a lot of other areas.
As I've argued in another thread, I think what's happening is we have some "talented" pieces, but we also have a lot of guys that aren't performing up to the expectations we set for them. We only have ourselves and the people covering the program to blame for that.
VV and Collins haven't done much on the interior, but, they're also not getting a ton of help on the perimeter from their ends, for example. And for as "talented" as they may be, they're trying to play within their new schemes and not mistakes. To a degree, they may be hesitant.
The bottom line is I think we're underperforming, but, I'm also not upset about it right now. Folks, we're trying to rebuild a program that's capable of actually winning a conference title. This coaching staff has 15 years of shortcomings they're trying to overcome, and they've been on the job 9 months. It's not easy to develop your starters in one off-season and a season while also developing your schemes for the younger players to learn and latch onto. This may take time, but with each week, these guys are learning from their mistakes and trying to get better. I think this team has a great opportunity to be a lot better by season's end and pick up some momentum heading into the next year.
As I've argued in another thread, I think what's happening is we have some "talented" pieces, but we also have a lot of guys that aren't performing up to the expectations we set for them. We only have ourselves and the people covering the program to blame for that.
VV and Collins haven't done much on the interior, but, they're also not getting a ton of help on the perimeter from their ends, for example. And for as "talented" as they may be, they're trying to play within their new schemes and not mistakes. To a degree, they may be hesitant.
The bottom line is I think we're underperforming, but, I'm also not upset about it right now. Folks, we're trying to rebuild a program that's capable of actually winning a conference title. This coaching staff has 15 years of shortcomings they're trying to overcome, and they've been on the job 9 months. It's not easy to develop your starters in one off-season and a season while also developing your schemes for the younger players to learn and latch onto. This may take time, but with each week, these guys are learning from their mistakes and trying to get better. I think this team has a great opportunity to be a lot better by season's end and pick up some momentum heading into the next year.
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Saunders
Heisman Trophy Winner
IDK, Illinois and MSU can chuck the rock. Even Iowa has been respectable. So far, we haven't kept any of our opponents under their season averages in passing. Hopefully, that improves.