Offensive Speed

[huskers1]

For years we have all said we just don't have playmakers on offense. We don't have enough speed to really compete with the best when it comes to our offense. With the recent development of Chris Brooks running a 4.39 electronic 40 at NU's pro day I have to ask the question: has NU really been lacking speed on offense? Last year Lucky ran a 4.53 which is what most running backs run if you're not in the top five or better. Brandon Jackson ran a 4.41. I'll agree that Swift and Peterson were not even near fast but where was Brooks? Where was Brooks this year? Where was the wildcat w/ someone like Mendoza or Bell? Where was the creativity? Brooks was on 1620 today and I was VERY impressed to say the least. He's very humble and didn't blame a single person for not playing. However, they asked him why he didn't get on the field a lot and he said "I have no clue, I did everything I was asked to do". At this point I really have no faith in our offensive coaches. I've been saying for a long while that we have a ton of speed just standing on the sidelines that at places like Oregon, OU, USC would get on the field. I'm not saying these guys are good enough to play at places like that, but they play their speed is what I'm saying, we let ours stand. Bell, Mendoza, Brooks, all have outstanding speed and COMBINED they TOUCHED the ball 22 times all of last year. With an offense that was struggling as bad as we were last year what the hell did we have to lose? The injuries on the O line or running back or wherever had nothing to do w/ Bell and Mendoza not even touching the ball or Brooks hardly seeing the field in his time at NU. I'm almost ready to give up on the O staff right now after hearing that, but I'll still give them the benefit of the doubt and stay behind them for another year. But I ask, is it speed we need or is it new coaches?

 

[Nexus]

Speed is a great asset for any player to have. But technique and the ability to execute the playbook with consistency is more important than speed alone.

 

[mmmtodd]

Screw the speed. I want butt kickers. If the line doesnt shape up and start knocking guys backwards, all the speed in the world will still have nowhere to go. Mendoza or whoever can run down the field as fast as they want to...while Lee or Green are fighting for air with the ball under a thousand pounds of defensive lineman.

Give me a great line and the several good backs we have...and the impact Watsons & Company's 'genius' can have on the team is drastically reduced.

 

[huskers1]

I agree 100%. However, I think creativity from a coach can make average speed look outstanding. We have several players w/ outstanding speed who aren't even getting a chance. I was asking alll year for the wildcat, halfback pass, jet sweep..something, anything to make the defense scared. Instead we run up the middle 90% of the time. I understand that was the gameplan halfway through the year, but in the Texas game why not run a trick play? All we needed was one freakin td to win that game and we couldn't pull out all the tricks? All of the sudden we run the wildcat in bowl game and, surprise!!! it works!! They said they had that in during the season but they couldn't run it. What? Why can't you run the wildcat? Are they saying that nobody else on the team aside from Burkhead can run the wildcat? Nexus, my point is not to say that Bell, Mendoza, or Brooks are an every down impact player like a Dez Bryant or Joe Mcknight or Shipley. But when you watch Oregon or hell even Cinci you see players stepping up w/ a big run or a big return or something. Why not give our guys w/ speed those chances? We just didn't put our guys in positions to succeed. Running jailbreak screens to freakin Meno Holt, running the option w Lee when he's proven time and time again that he can't run it well. Bring Green in and make him a drop back passer. Like I said I just don't have a lot of confidence in the O coaches at this point and hopefully they prove me wrong bc if they can we'll make a run at the NC this coming year.

 

[zoogs]

Speed is a great asset for any player to have. But technique and the ability to execute the playbook with consistency is more important than speed alone.

The thing with Brooks was that he was the most talented pass catcher we had too. I assume that hands and route running all went into the equation there. He was perhaps lacking in run blocking which is why Gilmore never gave him chances. He got some more at the end of last year but our offense was so toned down and struggling he didn't really get to showcase his abilities. Frustrating career.

 

[sarge87]

Speed is a great asset for any player to have. But technique and the ability to execute the playbook with consistency is more important than speed alone.

The thing with Brooks was that he was the most talented pass catcher we had too. I assume that hands and route running all went into the equation there. He was perhaps lacking in run blocking which is why Gilmore never gave him chances. He got some more at the end of last year but our offense was so toned down and struggling he didn't really get to showcase his abilities. Frustrating career.

At first Brooks had problems adjusting to the speed of the game when he arrived, so they redshirted him in 2006. After that, he was plagued with injury problems throughout his career at NU and most of them were to his lower extremities. A knee injury, various ligament injuries, and some serious enough to require a walking boot. This guy was just a bad luck case from the beginning.

 

[Husker Richard]

Speed is a great asset for any player to have. But technique and the ability to execute the playbook with consistency is more important than speed alone.

The thing with Brooks was that he was the most talented pass catcher we had too. I assume that hands and route running all went into the equation there. He was perhaps lacking in run blocking which is why Gilmore never gave him chances. He got some more at the end of last year but our offense was so toned down and struggling he didn't really get to showcase his abilities. Frustrating career.

No doubt, I really feel for the guy.

I think that at some point you have to get the playmakers on the field regardless of whether or not they are proficient in every aspect of the offense.

 

[Nexus]

I agree 100%. However, I think creativity from a coach can make average speed look outstanding. We have several players w/ outstanding speed who aren't even getting a chance. I was asking alll year for the wildcat, halfback pass, jet sweep..something, anything to make the defense scared. Instead we run up the middle 90% of the time. I understand that was the gameplan halfway through the year, but in the Texas game why not run a trick play? All we needed was one freakin td to win that game and we couldn't pull out all the tricks? All of the sudden we run the wildcat in bowl game and, surprise!!! it works!! They said they had that in during the season but they couldn't run it. What? Why can't you run the wildcat? Are they saying that nobody else on the team aside from Burkhead can run the wildcat? Nexus, my point is not to say that Bell, Mendoza, or Brooks are an every down impact player like a Dez Bryant or Joe Mcknight or Shipley. But when you watch Oregon or hell even Cinci you see players stepping up w/ a big run or a big return or something. Why not give our guys w/ speed those chances? We just didn't put our guys in positions to succeed. Running jailbreak screens to freakin Meno Holt, running the option w Lee when he's proven time and time again that he can't run it well. Bring Green in and make him a drop back passer. Like I said I just don't have a lot of confidence in the O coaches at this point and hopefully they prove me wrong bc if they can we'll make a run at the NC this coming year.

The thing with Brooks was that he was the most talented pass catcher we had too. I assume that hands and route running all went into the equation there. He was perhaps lacking in run blocking which is why Gilmore never gave him chances. He got some more at the end of last year but our offense was so toned down and struggling he didn't really get to showcase his abilities. Frustrating career.

I understand where both of you are coming from and it's duly noted, but I'm just a fan like you are. I accept that I'm not privy to what the coaches know on matters like these. I can armchair coach with the best of you, but I came to the realization a long time ago that I really have no clue what I'm talking about and I'm not going to pretend to think that I do. I'm an outsider trying to look in. My point of reference is a TV and various news articles. That's as close as I'll ever get to understanding the ins-and-outs of Husker football which is a very limited reference to work with. Therefore I put it in the staff's hands to make all those tough decisions because at the end of the day, that's what they get paid to do. My job as a fan is so much easier than theirs and I'm okay with that.

 

[Count 'Bility]

If your goin to put playmakers regardless of profenciancy, then you have a team that blows a major play for every great play. aka, the Callahan era. That's just stick with consistency. Look what happened to O'Hanlon after VTech. This wondering about the offense talk is sure gettin old. As far as creativity goes, there was no experience to execute creativity. Look here, the team went 4-3 by opening up the offense, turning the ball over(3 wins against sunbelt teams nonetheless). Then the off goes into a shell and they finish 6-1, shoulda been 7-0. I'm not the least bit worried about the offense cuz there IS enough excuses (yes, i call them excuses, forgive me) to explain last years struggles.

 

[huskers1]

Ya I understand I don't know .0001% or less of what the worst coach on NU's staff knows. But I would really like to know how a team like Cinci or Oregon can have such explosive offenses when the talent is pretty comparable. I'm not trying to pretend I know the x's and o's of our offense or any other one but when I see Oregon running 3 or 4 different types of options or Cinci having guys that weren't offered by hardly anyone blowing up it just makes me wonder why NU can't at least try to run something like that. When I see Lee run the zone read and triple option time after time after time and getting one yard at a time it doesn't take a genius to realize it's not going to work. Just things like that that make me wonder. Now after years of not having a lot of speed on the field it gets released that a guy who hardly played runs a 4.39? Amazing.

 

[Nexus]

Ya I understand I don't know .0001% or less of what the worst coach on NU's staff knows. But I would really like to know how a team like Cinci or Oregon can have such explosive offenses when the talent is pretty comparable. I'm not trying to pretend I know the x's and o's of our offense or any other one but when I see Oregon running 3 or 4 different types of options or Cinci having guys that weren't offered by hardly anyone blowing up it just makes me wonder why NU can't at least try to run something like that. When I see Lee run the zone read and triple option time after time after time and getting one yard at a time it doesn't take a genius to realize it's not going to work. Just things like that that make me wonder. Now after years of not having a lot of speed on the field it gets released that a guy who hardly played runs a 4.39? Amazing.

Not sure how old you are or how long you've followed Husker football, but Osborne got the same type of criticism throughout his career as well.

Now we have a completely different coaching staff with a completely different offensive system, yet we still ask the same questions that we asked when Osborne was at the helm. It's just the nature of being a fan when things don't go our way.

 

[huskers1]

Well I hope Wats proves me wrong like he proved his doubters wrong.

 

[Husker Richard]

If your goin to put playmakers regardless of profenciancy, then you have a team that blows a major play for every great play. aka, the Callahan era. That's just stick with consistency. Look what happened to O'Hanlon after VTech. This wondering about the offense talk is sure gettin old. As far as creativity goes, there was no experience to execute creativity. Look here, the team went 4-3 by opening up the offense, turning the ball over(3 wins against sunbelt teams nonetheless). Then the off goes into a shell and they finish 6-1, shoulda been 7-0. I'm not the least bit worried about the offense cuz there IS enough excuses (yes, i call them excuses, forgive me) to explain last years struggles.

I didn't mean at all times. Look around the college FB landscape and you'll see teams utilizing their playmakers creatively. They don't need to be a staple of the offense play in and play out, but they need the chance to make a play and they don't get one sitting on the bench.

 

[bshirt]

Screw the speed. I want butt kickers. If the line doesnt shape up and start knocking guys backwards, all the speed in the world will still have nowhere to go. Mendoza or whoever can run down the field as fast as they want to...while Lee or Green are fighting for air with the ball under a thousand pounds of defensive lineman.

Give me a great line and the several good backs we have...and the impact Watsons & Company's 'genius' can have on the team is drastically reduced.

Bingo.

Give me a smashmouth OLine, any Gill/Frazier/Taylor/Lord/Frost/Crouch qb and the rbs we have and our "multiple" 3 & out offense is history.

 

[Hunter94]

i would say this is the year the offensive coaches will not get a pass, no matter what......it is time for them to man up and make a statement or fold their tent and get the hell out! personally, i am in no mood for half assed excuses any longer, time to produce! :steam