Seiously, how can anyone blame these blowouts on the offense?! I'm sure martinez doesn't have 200 tackles so he sucks! If the offense scores 30 points we shouldn't lose a single game if the d is doing their job. I honestly question if some people watch the games or even know how the game is played when they question the o for the defenses problems!
While I agree with you that that Beck has been very good this year, let's be fair here. In the three blowout games, our offensive miscues have lead to quite a few points scored by the other team:
(Just going off of memory here, so I might miss some...)
Consider:
UCLA: Offense miscues lead to 12 points (maybe 19 points, depending on your viewpoint)
Ameer fumbles our first possession of the 2nd Half inside our own 20 - FG
Taylor throws an interception inside our own 30 - Missed FG (?)
Taylor takes a sack in the endzone late in the game - Safety/TD on ensuing UCLA possession (good field position...not sure if you pin that on the Offense, frankly)
Taylor throws a pick in crunch time, giving UCLA the ball inside our 20 - TD
Ohio St.: 14 Points
Taylor throws a pick 6 early - TD
Taylor throws another INT inside our own 20, returned inside the 10 - TD
Wisconsin: 14
Taylor throws a pick six on the first offensive snap - TD
Taylor throws an interception inside our 20, returned inside the 5 - TD
I think the most important thing we can improve on offensively moving into next year is the consistency in these big games. Sure, we can put up some points, but the offense has really put our D in some horrible positions in these games as well.
I like Taylor - I admire the heart and work ethic he's shown as a Husker - but as long as he is our quarterback we
will turn the ball over, be it by fumbles or interceptions. Secondly, the blame for this goes on the O-line. They have done a pretty bang-up job in terms of the run game this year, there's no denying the stats. In pass pro, however, they have really struggled against the more athletic defensive lines we've faced (e.g. Ohio St. and UCLA), which has directly led to some of Taylor's poor decisions and TOs. Also, I don't have the stats in front of me, but I think our conversion % on third and less than two was pretty abysmal, something i attribute almost exclusively to the o-line and the OC.
This doesn't even take into account the propensity for the Offense to inexplicably go 3 & out after running 12 seconds off the clock. With more consistency on the offensive side of the ball we should be able to limit the other team's possessions and eat some clock. In most of these games, we rarely let our defense rest and regroup after a long drive - something that the offensive playcalling (and execution) needs to take into account when things start slipping.
So sure, we gave up alot of points in a few games this year, and most of the blame is rightfully on the defensive coaches and players. But don't forget the offense didn't do our D any favors in these games either. While I find most of the criticism of Beck to be irrational, there are some things he does need to improve on moving forward.
The good news is that I think he will. He's shown a TON of potential in his first two years - the improvement of our offense has been tremendous. Hopefully we can keep the guy around for the next couple of years - can't wait to see what he can do with Armstrong/Stanton and some of the young talent we'll have coming through. GBR
