McKewon: Tommy Armstrong’s reads are key to a steadier Husker offense

[Saunders]

In fact, for all the hot air about whether Riley will embrace the shotgun formation and a more mobile quarterback — he’s said so 17 times and he obviously will, since Oregon shoved it in his face for years and Nebraska gives him the opportunity to hit the ground running — the real debate will be whether Riley can marry his system to a no-huddle, faster-tempo approach.
Can Nebraska get more efficient and stay fast? NU’s offense in the Holiday Bowl produced 42 points against USC and had the Trojans bleeding on the ropes at the final bell. Oregon State scored 10 vs. USC.
If Riley and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf want to best maximize Armstrong’s talent, they do what they can to make tempo and efficiency sing a melody.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/mckewon-tommy-armstrong-s-reads-are-key-to-a-steadier/article_29e47404-4e7e-5539-a88f-eac4faf0c15a.html

 

[mnhusker]

Nice article now we just need to get to the regular season.

 

[Landlord]

I really wonder what the difference was - the real, tangible difference, not just the "oh they let him loose" mentality that doesn't necessarily mean anything - in that USC game, where Tommy really played pretty damn good. He had more than a handful of passes that could have been picked, but he was confident and making really good throws all night.

 

[True2tRA]

I really wonder what the difference was - the real, tangible difference, not just the "oh they let him loose" mentality that doesn't necessarily mean anything - in that USC game, where Tommy really played pretty damn good. He had more than a handful of passes that could have been picked, but he was confident and making really good throws all night.

I was kind of running into the same questions a few nights ago when me and Guy Chamberlain were talking about the offense and what was so different. It just seemed like the flow of the offense was smoother. I truly wonder if the WR's were making less reads. If we had practiced a more pre-determined type of gameplan instead of the check with me - call the "perfect play" offense. Did we just kind of go with it and let Tommy do his thing without hesitating and trying to orchestrate so much?
I need to go back and watch what changed. I still think Tommy can be the next great Husker QB.

 

[zoogs]

I think Tommy had a lot of misses that night. But we ran a LOT of plays and stuck with it. The offense was really up tempo and wide open.

Kinda felt it was the same Tommy really, with a long way to go, just showing what he nonetheless had to offer in a performance to build on.

Tommy was never rattled by a few mistakes and bad throws. That seems clear -- it was Bo all along, and he was so scared of this he kept the reigns tight on his NeBoska Offense. Sound familiar?

 

[Enhance]

I feel like it's easy to lie blame on Bo because he was gone by the time the game played. If we had only managed three points, some people may have said 'well, the team just wasn't really into it.' Either way, I think Bo was going to get little credit and a lot of ridicule, even if the team had won.

I'm not saying I don't think his departure had any impact on the game planning or play calling. It obviously did just by nature of his influence and opinion not being in the room. But, USC had one of the worst pass defenses in the PAC 12, finishing around 10th in the league. Their defense, while decent in the league, was ranked 77th in total defense in the country.

Someone with more time and a keener football eye could probably break down some of those tangible things from the actual game. I'm certain the team took an approach of leaving everything they had on the field and not holding anything back, so that mentality has to count for something. In terms of X's and O's though, I don't think a lot changed. Beck just did things the way he wanted and it worked pretty well. But, I would suggest caution in heaping too much praise on one game, even though I know people here aren't really doing that.

 

[True2tRA]

I've always thought Tommy has a lot of potential and that was long before that game was ever played. That game wasn't the only time the kid has looked excellent.

This board seems loaded with more doubters than those "heaping praise" on Tommy.

Would we consider the Wisconsin game a game that the team would leave it all out there, or hold nothing back? As a competitor, I sure would hope so. You'd think Wisconsin would invoke some competitive spirit.

How about Minnesota in front of a packed Memorial Stadium. Or Iowa, when the beloved Head Coaches job was cleary on the line. Only to scrape together an overtime win.

My point is, I'd agree with you, I don't know what to attribute the somewhat successful showing in that game to but I hope it had more to do with Bo leaving and less to do with these players reluctance to "get up" for a game. Sadly, if being competitive is an issue for the players, we are left right here with the same guys. Lucky for us, the other issue has left. I'll admit, getting up for games seemed like an issue in the past. I'm truly hoping that had more to do with the players being unhappy with certain aspects of that coaching staff. They never really appeared to be having fun out there to me.

If anyone figures out any real changes, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Mavric]

I think Tommy had a lot of misses that night. But we ran a LOT of plays and stuck with it. The offense was really up tempo and wide open.

I think this is a lot of it. I give TA credit because he ended up having a really good game but he was average at best in the first half - 14/27 for 160 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT and hit USC defenders in the hands on about three other throws. But whatever they found to get him comfortable or take advantage of USC worked in the second half. He went 18/24 for 221 yds, 1 TD and 0 INTs and also ran 8 times for 50 yds and a TD. That's a great half.

 

[kozzman555]

I think Tommy had a lot of misses that night. But we ran a LOT of plays and stuck with it. The offense was really up tempo and wide open.

Kinda felt it was the same Tommy really, with a long way to go, just showing what he nonetheless had to offer in a performance to build on.

Tommy was never rattled by a few mistakes and bad throws. That seems clear -- it was Bo all along, and he was so scared of this he kept the reigns tight on his NeBoska Offense. Sound familiar?

I have nothing to contribute to this thread except that you trying to shoehorn "Bo" into "Nebraska" made me sad inside.