Oct. 6th Practice Report (OWH)

[ColoradoHusk]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

What is the "right" number for fullback carries? Also, as said above, Jano had 2-3 carries as a single back, so it looks like he is replacing Cross as the "big back" for NU.

 

[MoneyBall]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

And yes, when you consider that Jano is a fullback and look at his total number of carries relative to the number of carries our tailbacks got in that game, he got the ball too many times against Illinois. Don't get me wrong, Jano's a baller, but it shows me that MR and staff don't understand how to manage the running game.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

There may have been one or two plays earlier in the game where I was wondering why Janovich was getting the ball, but it wasn't like he carried 15 times in the first 3 quarters.

Also, with Jano's performance against So Miss, he deserved to get a few carries against Illinois.

 

[MoneyBall]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

There may have been one or two plays earlier in the game where I was wondering why Janovich was getting the ball, but it wasn't like he carried 15 times in the first 3 quarters.

Also, with Jano's performance against So Miss, he deserved to get a few carries against Illinois.

See my additional comments (edit) above.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

And yes, when you consider that Jano is a fullback and look at his total number of carries relative to the number of carries our tailbacks got in that game, he got the ball too many times against Illinois. Don't get me wrong, Jano's a baller, but it shows me that MR and staff don't understand how to manage the running game.

My point is that Jano didn't get "too many carries", and if he did it was maybe one or two times in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. NU needed Janovich on that last drive, that is when he got the majority of his carries, and he delivered.

Moneyball, I am not a huge fan of Riley and Langsdorf at this point, but you nitpicking over one or two "too many carries" to the fullback is a little rich.

 

[zoogs]

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

This. As of now, Jano is one of the top 2-3 options at running the ball for us. Ideally those guys are all RBs, but when you have a solid player and need to provide stability in the ground game, can't complain. He might not get 11 carries every game. Guess it depends on how things are going with the other backs.

 

[MoneyBall]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

And yes, when you consider that Jano is a fullback and look at his total number of carries relative to the number of carries our tailbacks got in that game, he got the ball too many times against Illinois. Don't get me wrong, Jano's a baller, but it shows me that MR and staff don't understand how to manage the running game.

My point is that Jano didn't get "too many carries", and if he did it was maybe one or two times in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. NU needed Janovich on that last drive, that is when he got the majority of his carries, and he delivered.

Moneyball, I am not a huge fan of Riley and Langsdorf at this point, but you nitpicking over one or two "too many carries" to the fullback is a little rich.

Lots of "little mistakes" add up to losses.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

This. As of now, Jano is one of the top 2-3 options at running the ball for us. Ideally those guys are all RBs, but when you have a solid player and need to provide stability in the ground game, can't complain. He might not get 11 carries every game. Guess it depends on how things are going with the other backs.

Would anyone have any issues if Imani Cross were the one getting 11 carries? Basically, Janovich has become the "big, short-yardage situation RB" instead of Cross.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

And yes, when you consider that Jano is a fullback and look at his total number of carries relative to the number of carries our tailbacks got in that game, he got the ball too many times against Illinois. Don't get me wrong, Jano's a baller, but it shows me that MR and staff don't understand how to manage the running game.

My point is that Jano didn't get "too many carries", and if he did it was maybe one or two times in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. NU needed Janovich on that last drive, that is when he got the majority of his carries, and he delivered.

Moneyball, I am not a huge fan of Riley and Langsdorf at this point, but you nitpicking over one or two "too many carries" to the fullback is a little rich.

Lots of "little mistakes" add up to losses.

Who should have gotten the 1 or 2 extra carries? Newby had a worse average than Janovich. I could see Ozigbo needing to get a few more touches, but that shouldn't be a knock against Janovich.

 

[MoneyBall]

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

This. As of now, Jano is one of the top 2-3 options at running the ball for us. Ideally those guys are all RBs, but when you have a solid player and need to provide stability in the ground game, can't complain. He might not get 11 carries every game. Guess it depends on how things are going with the other backs.

Would anyone have any issues if Imani Cross were the one getting 11 carries? Basically, Janovich has become the "big, short-yardage situation RB" instead of Cross.

My preference would be that our backs who have breakaway speed and who can find the holes get the ball often. Jano is a great fullback, and Cross is a solid short-yardage back, but those guys shouldn't be getting the ball very often if the offense is working. Jano had his great game against Southern Miss because he was completely unexpected...this won't happen again this season.

I have nothing further to add to this topic...damn, this season is so Texas.

 

[Waterloohusker26]

Were the 6 carries that Jano had on the last drive wasted? I don't think so. I think he and Ozigbo were the best options in that situation.

This. As of now, Jano is one of the top 2-3 options at running the ball for us. Ideally those guys are all RBs, but when you have a solid player and need to provide stability in the ground game, can't complain. He might not get 11 carries every game. Guess it depends on how things are going with the other backs.

Would anyone have any issues if Imani Cross were the one getting 11 carries? Basically, Janovich has become the "big, short-yardage situation RB" instead of Cross

Cross should only get a carry on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1......and I think this will go to Jano now

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Here is a list of Janovich's carries prior to the last series for NU.

1st Q - 1st & 10 -- gain of 2

2nd Q - 1st & 10 -- gain of 4

3rd Q - 1st & 10 -- gain of 7

4th Q - 1st & 10 -- gain of 4

4th Q - 1st & 10 -- loss of 4

I would consider a first down carry of at least 4 yards a success. That keeps the offense in manageable situations. Janovich failed the 1st time, was successful 3 straight times, and then failed the last time. Who knows if the failures were "his fault" or if Illinois blew up the O-line. I would argue that even the last carry (where he lost 4 yards) was warranted after 3 straight solid first down carries.

Moneyball, you want the ball to go to our backs who have breakaway speed and can find holes? Have you watched the Huskers play this year? Those RB's don't exist. Newby has a terrible time finding a hole and reaching top speed. Ozigbo might be that guy to do that, but I don't know if he has the breakaway speed you want.

I think we all want Langsdorf and Riley to run the ball more in general. At this point in the season, Newby, Janovich, and Ozigbo are the 3 RB's who will get the most carries going forward.

 

[MichiganDad3]

I just think we need to cut down on the FB carries. J's not a feature back who should be pushing fifteen carries a game. Set it up with lots of fakes and surprise them, sure, but it was one of the head-scratchers last weekend. Fan service?

Janovich had 11 total carries, 6 of them were on the "last drive" of the game for NU, when NU was trying to run out the clock. Jano gained 30 yards on those 6 carries and he had 2 carries that resulted in first downs.

That means he only had 5 carries in the first 55 minutes of the game. Is that too many carries? Now, Jano only had 13 yards on those 5 carries, with is not a great YPC. But, that's what you get sometimes with the fullback.

I guarantee you, with all the hype surrounding Jano's performance in the Southern Miss game, Illinois was keying on him every time he was on the field...and our coaching staff should have taken that into account...we wasted a few plays on Jano last Sat.

And yes, when you consider that Jano is a fullback and look at his total number of carries relative to the number of carries our tailbacks got in that game, he got the ball too many times against Illinois. Don't get me wrong, Jano's a baller, but it shows me that MR and staff don't understand how to manage the running game.

My point is that Jano didn't get "too many carries", and if he did it was maybe one or two times in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. NU needed Janovich on that last drive, that is when he got the majority of his carries, and he delivered.

Moneyball, I am not a huge fan of Riley and Langsdorf at this point, but you nitpicking over one or two "too many carries" to the fullback is a little rich.

Jano did not get too many carries. He got one carry that he shouldn't have; the sweep play, and he did not get one carry that he should have; 3rd and 7. If Jano gets the 3rd and 7 carry we win the game.

 

[MichiganDad3]

I love a back with break away speed, but I always get a warm and fuzzy feeling when we have a long drive with a majority of running plays that go for less than 10 yards. When the OL, TEs and non-carrying backs are hitting the LBs and defensive backs, it wears on them. Defenders like to do the hitting. It takes the fun out of the game for defenders to have offensive players hitting them every play..

 

[84HuskerLaw]

In discussing the running backs and their successes, failures, skills and fortes, it appears the one key thing we all need is some basic data and the most glaring piece of missing information is the accurate 10, 20 and 40 times for each. We used to get those back in the day when spring testing occurred and the sports information people put the entire team's results out. All were electronic and appeared to be honest. We used to read a lot of this stuff on possible recruits. Of course, we used to recruit many of our RBs out of Omaha so data was a little more available to most fans.

I ask you guys: can anyone on here actually report the respective speed and agility and quickness times for the stable of backs we have on the team? Without the basic data, we are all just speculating. When we read all spring and fall articles in the papers about the quality running backs, we all were just speculating on their speed and ability to run inside, outside, break off the big plays, etc. Sports writers had no hard numbers to go by either. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but true speed is measureable. I would suggest that NONE of our running backs has the speed or quickness of Ameer and as it turned out his 40 time was not exactly blazing! If he is dramatically quicker and faster than all the backs we have, (he ran something OVER 4.5 in the 40, then we have NO real breakaway backs. Without 4.35 speed, we should NOT be running plays to the outside much and stretch plays are out of the question. Those plays require the back to outrun the defenders to turn the corner and run up the sideline. We really don't have those backs and unless we block the play perfectly, they are not going to be successful consistantly.

Therefore, the better option is the keep the ball between the hash marks and run right at our opponents with power and 'slashing' type runners. (That would be Ozigbo, Jano and Cross mostly). The reverse plays and receivers on jet sweeps is an obvious attempt to introduce more speed into the ball carriers in an attempt to run wide. When you can't out run the defenders to the sidelines, you have to fool them into over pursuing and running the wrong direction. Effectively, use their speed advantage against them. Running up the gut is the way a power team overcomes a speed team. Also, screen passes, swing passes, throw backs, shot gun passing, etc. are all techniques used to help the offense deal with a team speed disadvantage.