Offensive Line and Cotten's future

[Chaddyboxer]

Are ya smokin something?! We have a very solid s&c coach. I don't need to give evidence. LOL. Cotton on the other hand...different story

 

[Danimal]

We now are missing 2 outstanding recruits from the 2011 class, Klatchco and Moore. The OL that was once a symbol of pride for the Big Red . I don't totally blame Cotton for this decline. Boyd Epply once told me, "We recruit bone structure, and build linemen." Evidentially its not happening anymore. Unfortunately Cotton is the figure head and will have to suffer the consequencies and the S&C coach should be right behind him. Husker success on offence lives and dies with these young men.

T_O_B

G>B>R

Klachko being gone has nothing to do with Barney. Illinois can have him.

I wouldn't care and won't be surprised if this is Barney's last season but the line did improve last year. The difference just wasn't really obvious because we were playing against substantially better d-lines than the year before. The penalties obviously need to be fixed but outside of those when our O sputtered it was generally because of skill players making errors rather than the line not blockiing

 

[Stumpy1]

Stai is a volunteer coach and is limited in what he can do with the players. The coaches that should get the blame are Cotton AND Garrison.

I disagree. Garrison came on board and we saw an uptick in performance. That combined with his recruiting prowess makes him an asset to the coaching staff. He basically has filled some of the many deficits created by our head offensive line coach. He should not be blamed for what Cotton is doing. They share duties, but Cottom makes the final decisions. I think if the line under achieves once again this year, then Barney could take a "lateral" position in the AD department.

They " share " duties in coaching but all the blame goes to Cotton? How does that work?

 

[True2tRA]

We are less than a week away from kickoff. We will all get to see first hand if there is any improvement. What if the offensive line comes out and paves roads all over that field, leveling everything in their path. Then we will all have to find a new coach to b!^@h about. Or a new excuse as to why this team still lost four games this season. We could all be pleasantly surprised though when we don't need to point fingers at anything anymore. Til' then, this blame Cotton stuff is just dedhoarse . This offense has to show the opponent that we can and will go to the air whenever they want to cheat up on the run like they have been for the last two years. Martinez looked like a Heisman candidate until teams figured out what he was all about. Then, Lb'ers and Safeties didn't even bother looking for the pass. They were all coming running. Maybe Martinez will prove to opponents that they will have to respect his arm or they will get their asses burned. This will do wonders for the run game, and our offensive line.

 

[tschu]

Waiting for Martinez to somehow blossom into a quarterback

Oh come on...

Tim Beck's 'offense'.

lol

 

[Norhusker]

Stai is a volunteer coach and is limited in what he can do with the players. The coaches that should get the blame are Cotton AND Garrison.

I disagree. Garrison came on board and we saw an uptick in performance. That combined with his recruiting prowess makes him an asset to the coaching staff. He basically has filled some of the many deficits created by our head offensive line coach. He should not be blamed for what Cotton is doing. They share duties, but Cottom makes the final decisions. I think if the line under achieves once again this year, then Barney could take a "lateral" position in the AD department.

They " share " duties in coaching but all the blame goes to Cotton? How does that work?

Cotton doesn't deserve all of the blame. It's just we haven't seen our players develop properly on the line. I can't remember the last time we have had a first team selection at guard, tackle or center positions since Bo took over. Other teams like Wisconsin just keep pumping out quality offensive linemen. Are their players really that much more talented than ours? I doubt it. Garrison is relatively new and should have some time before equal blame is passed to him.

If our line makes significant improvement this season, then maybe this topic will finally fade off.

 

[Comish]

I wonder why internet posters always crucify Barney but give Garrison & Stai free passes? Our Oline was marginal at best during the Clownahan era too (of course, due to Barney).

Good point. It's ridiculous that our offensive line has three staff members devoted to it's progress, yet it's not up to par. Three coaches ought to have this thing firing on all cylinders.

That said, some of you seem to blame the offensive line for all of the offenses struggles, it's clearly not the only problem. I remind you. The Husker rushing record of 310 yards in a single game was set by Roy Helu behind a Barney Cotton coached offensive line. Not an offensive line of the 90's. Not only that, this offensive line is faced with the task of blocking 8 defenders in the box every single snap last year. Every team knew who to watch. They were collapsing on our run game as soon as the ball was snapped. I can't see how you expect these guys to be overly successful facing that every snap. Rex still had 1300 yards rushing by the way. Developing a passing game will do wonders for this offense and it's offensive line. You have to be able to throw the ball effectively.

This ^^

Barney gets (and deserves) some of the blame but the false starts and mindless penalties are on the participants. Even so, if (WHEN) we have a credible passing threat, Barney's troops will appear to have magically ingested a higher degree of coaching.

 

[Enhance]

Waiting for Martinez to somehow blossom into a quarterback, magically losing some of our best recruits.

Taylor Martinez is statistically a better thrower than Tommie Frazier, has eclipsed Frazier's highest single season rushing yards both years as a starter, and has a slightly lower career YPC average (Martinez at 5.3 and Frazier at 6.0). Yet, most of us don't bat an eye lash when asked who is better - most will say Frazier. Intangibles aside, Martinez is the better quarterback, but the one thing that truly separates these two is line play, imho.

Simply put, as a head coach, you have to hire coaches that get the job done, not former friends and acquaintances.

There's nothing wrong with hiring former friends and acquaintances if you believe they can get the job done. For the most part, that's how all coaches make hires - they go by who they know, who gets recommended, or who they like the best. It becomes a problem when, like you mentioned, a coach doesn't get rid of the "friend" in the name of playing better football. But as an initial hire, I don't think Cotton was a terrible choice.

The 2007 defense giving up 67 points per game was hardly Cosgrove's fault. It is up to the players to make tackles and keep them from scoring.

Several things played into Nebraska's downfall in 2007, but Cosgrove definitely deserves some heat. I vividly remember reading an article in the year following Callahan's firing saying Cosgrove's linemen were taught not to put their hands up to deflect passes. WHAT!? That's defensive line 101 - you always put your hands up to deflect the pass if you can't get to the quarterback.

 

[HuskersNC949597]

The penalties could possibly be explained by guys being forced to switch positions on the line too often, which is also what supposedly limited the effectiveness of Callahan's o-lines. That is Barney's fault.

 

[Danny Bateman]

Garrison doesn't deserve equal blame as Barney simply because he was brought on board later.

When Bo arrived, he made Barney the head man in charge of the offensive line. I think most fans still think of it that way, even though Garrison is assisting now. I know personally I still think of it as Barney's OL, i.e., if Barney wanted them to do one thing and Garrison disagreed, Barney would win out. That may not be how the chain of command works though- I just honestly have no idea.

But I think in most people's minds, Barney is the head honcho in charge of the OL and therefore he takes the brunt of ire for lack of discipline and poor play. At the same time, I think a lot of people believe the improved play last year was due at least in part to Garrison joining Cotton, so it's really a lose-lose situation for ole Barnstache. The line sucks, it was his fault. It improves, it was all Garrison.

This chatter is fine for the offseason-- but it's GAME WEEK! For once even I can set aside my vitriol for Barney for another day and just want to concentrate on rolling USM In 6 days! Kool Aid time!\

:koolaid2:

 

[Polarhusker]

As much as I cannot stand to listen to Lou Holtz, I remember how correct he was when he criticized Callahan by saying, (paraphrasing) "The hardest thing for a head coach is not the recruiting, the x's or o's, or the game plan on Saturdays. It is firing the friends you have hired as assistant coaches when they are costing you your own job". Barney Cotton is the Kevin Cosgrove of Bo Pelini. Cotton is the albatross of the current Husker program. Simply put, as a head coach, you have to hire coaches that get the job done, not former friends and acquaintances.

Very well said. But Cotton is gone (as a coach) after the season...Beck has already taken away the schemes and blocking assignments from Barney. It's just a matter of time before he is given a new job somewhere else in the AD so he can continue to steal more money from the school.

Didn't you start this same sh#t last year?

 

[Polarhusker]

The penalties could possibly be explained by guys being forced to switch positions on the line too often, which is also what supposedly limited the effectiveness of Callahan's o-lines. That is Barney's fault.

Hmmmmm it's alway's bad to have OL learn other positions. :confucius :confucius :confucius :confucius

 

[HuskersNC949597]

The penalties could possibly be explained by guys being forced to switch positions on the line too often, which is also what supposedly limited the effectiveness of Callahan's o-lines. That is Barney's fault.

Hmmmmm it's alway's bad to have OL learn other positions. :confucius :confucius :confucius :confucius

Not if they're not allowed to get comfortable at one spot first, which is the allegation. Too often* is the key. Barney is supposedly fine at teaching technique, but his personnel management blows chunks and could be the main reason the line looks great one moment and then lousy the next. Lack of consistency, you play like you practice...

 

[The Dude]

Then again, it might not be the main reason.

 

[NUance]

Offensive Line and Cotten's future

I'm late to this party I know, but who is this fellow Cotten? :lol:

/I know. Spelling smack. I am an a$$.