OWH: What Recruiting Says About Husker Offense

I think we can have a reasonable discussion of Tommy Armstrong's strengths and liabilities without delving into the breakthrough season Bo Pelini would have had if allowed to coach his 8th season.

I have no problem putting weight on the HC for the growth and performance of individual players, but Mike Riley is not the first or last or worst coach unable to break talented athletes of bad habits, or find a scheme that perfectly utilizes or protects them.

This is happening throughout the NCAA and the NFL with dual threat quarterbacks who will absolutely thrill you one game and fail miserably the next.

Jim Harbaugh got the most out of Colin Kaepernick for two seasons — when paired with an outstanding offensive line, all-Pro running back, and one of the best defenses in the game — but when the supporting talent dropped off, Kaepernick was increasingly exposed and things really unravelled from there.

When I say the inconsistent fourth year starter needs to step up and control his own destiny it's not setting Tommy up to be a scapegoat. It's precisely the opposite.

I'm rooting for the guy.

 
cm husker said:
You're absolutely right in your first sentence. No players are infallible. Not even Tommie Frazier. That's why it's a coach's job to minimize the risk/exposure presented by a player's weaknesses. It's probably a coach's most important job on a tactical level. Last year, I think the staff did a horrendous job in that department, and not just with Tommy. Purdue is a prime example of that failing.

NU had the talent last year to win 10+ games against that schedule and their failure to do so was mostly on the coaches, not Tommy Armstrong. They look to have at least as good of a chance to win 10 this year, and a failure to do so would be mainly on the coaches. Because you have to manufacture wins sometimes. And I haven't seen much evidence that this staff can check its offensive play calling ego at the door and do that.

As to the rest, I'm sure your and others' message board "constructive" criticism is super helpful to these players.
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and even when conceding the players share part of the blame you lay everything at the feet of the coaches.

and if the players are reading message boards to improve, their coaches have been failing them for years.

 
Career completion percentage: 54 percent

Career passing tds: 53

Career ints: 36

Armstrong played the unfortunate role of a transition quarterback for two very different offensive systems and in more ways than just plays, but also in language. To a degree, that explains his challenges. But, there is also no denying he makes critical mistakes and, as a junior, should've made smarter decisions with the football. I think even he would agree with this.

 
Enhance89 said:
Career completion percentage: 54 percent

Career passing tds: 53

Career ints: 36

Armstrong played the unfortunate role of a transition quarterback for two very different offensive systems and in more ways than just plays, but also in language. To a degree, that explains his challenges. But, there is also no denying he makes critical mistakes and, as a junior, should've made smarter decisions with the football. I think even he would agree with this.
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Not to mention that his teammates were also transitioning, and I recall at least two picks that were attributable to a wrong route.

 
Well...every single player "should be" smarter/better/faster/stronger/fumble less/no get called for holding and so on...

But clearly TA is who he is...It is the coaches job to play to the strengths of the players...how or why this is hard for some people to understand is beyond me.

You don't see Mike Leech deciding to run the ball 50 times in a game all of a sudden...it doesn't fit his teams strengths. You don't see Bama throwing the ball 60 times a game...it doesn't fit them. You don't see Syracue coming out of the 2-3 one to play man so they can "confuse" the other team.

The coaches are responsible for setting up a plan that works and that they players can execute. Do you think that in practice TA is perfect, going 25/25 with 4 TD's and 300 yards? Of course not...he clearly has farts in practice and the coaches see that but still put him in poor positions at times, not always, but at times.

 
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Well hopefully after this year we won't have to worry or complain about adjusting the offense to the players. With who we are recruiting and have recruited, the coaches will have a majority of their pieces for their offense.

 
teachercd said:
Well...every single player "should be" smarter/better/faster/stronger/fumble less/no get called for holding and so on...

But clearly TA is who he is...It is the coaches job to play to the strengths of the players...how or why this is hard for some people to understand is beyond me.

You don't see Mike Leech deciding to run the ball 50 times in a game all of a sudden...it doesn't fit his teams strengths. You don't see Bama throwing the ball 60 times a game...it doesn't fit them. You don't see Syracue coming out of the 2-3 one to play man so they can "confuse" the other team.

The coaches are responsible for setting up a plan that works and that they players can execute. Do you think that in practice TA is perfect, going 25/25 with 4 TD's and 300 yards? Of course not...he clearly has farts in practice and the coaches see that but still put him in poor positions at times, not always, but at times.
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They also see that Tommy Armstrong is their best chance to win among the quarterbacks they inherited, that their wide receivers are probably better and deeper than the post-Abdullah stable of running backs, and that this very same Tommy Armstrong can play very well in the scheme some games and much less so in others. They can protect him from a lot, but they had a hard time keeping him from going rogue. The ability to improvise on the fly is both Tommy's strength and weakness. As mentioned, plenty of respected coaches have this problem with their dual-threat quarterbacks.

Riley did not shove Armstrong into a role he was unfamiliar with. The new offense was similar to what Tim Beck was running with Tommy. Given some control over his own run/pass ratio, Tommy too often opted for the home run pass this year, to the clear frustration of the coaching staff.

Tommy's first live performance with Mike Riley in the stands was the 2015 Holiday Bowl against a very athletic USC defense. That Tommy Armstrong went 33-51 for 380 yards and 1 int in a crisp, no-huddle offense.

Either that was proof that Tommy could do what this offense asked of him, or it's evidence that Barney Cotton should have been our new HC.

Should be interesting to see how Tommy and the Coaches work together this year. Anything is possible.

 
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Guy Chamberlin said:
teachercd said:
Well...every single player "should be" smarter/better/faster/stronger/fumble less/no get called for holding and so on...

But clearly TA is who he is...It is the coaches job to play to the strengths of the players...how or why this is hard for some people to understand is beyond me.

You don't see Mike Leech deciding to run the ball 50 times in a game all of a sudden...it doesn't fit his teams strengths. You don't see Bama throwing the ball 60 times a game...it doesn't fit them. You don't see Syracue coming out of the 2-3 one to play man so they can "confuse" the other team.

The coaches are responsible for setting up a plan that works and that they players can execute. Do you think that in practice TA is perfect, going 25/25 with 4 TD's and 300 yards? Of course not...he clearly has farts in practice and the coaches see that but still put him in poor positions at times, not always, but at times.
Click to expand...
They also see that Tommy Armstrong is their best chance to win among the quarterbacks they inherited, that their wide receivers are probably better and deeper than the post-Abdullah stable of running backs, and that this very same Tommy Armstrong can play very well in the scheme some games and much less so in others. They can protect him from a lot, but they had a hard time keeping him from going rogue. The ability to improvise on the fly is both Tommy's strength and weakness. As mentioned, plenty of respected coaches have this problem with their dual-threat quarterbacks.

Riley did not shove Armstrong into a role he was unfamiliar with. The new offense was similar to what Tim Beck was running with Tommy. Given some control over his own run/pass ratio, Tommy too often opted for the home run pass this year, to the clear frustration of the coaching staff.

Tommy's first live performance with Mike Riley in the stands was the 2015 Holiday Bowl against a very athletic USC defense. That Tommy Armstrong went 33-51 for 380 yards and 1 int in a crisp, no-huddle offense.

Either that was proof that Tommy could do what this offense asked of him, or it's evidence that Barney Cotton should have been our new HC.

Should be interesting to see how Tommy and the Coaches work together this year. Anything is possible.
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He did have a solid game vs USC...But wasn't there like 3-4 passes that USC defenders basically just dropped?

I like TA but I really think that by this time he is who he is...I just don't think he will be some 65% completion QB

 
I'll take 60% completion Tommy, half the interceptions, and slightly more frequent rushing attempts.

It's not too much to ask.

Unless it is.

We'll find out in a few months.

 
With QB Gebbia, the recruiting momentum will escalate, I think, rapidly now. Look for several and perhaps half a dozen or so to commit by the end of the spring game. The class will fill pretty fast as good recruits will need to get in line quick or spaces will fill up fast. We have a large number of offers out to a large number of very talented players. It seems to me that this staff will be pretty welcoming to each and all who speak up. Think about it this way: if we offer a 4 or 5 star player and he delays making his choice, his place in this class (which as of now has the potential to be a top 10 or even better class) could be gone. We already appear to have one of our TOP targets in WR and QB. Both are clearly amongst the nation's very best in my view. These coaches will no doubt try to make room if possible but you only have so many spots.

 
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