Position-by-Position: My Observations

[HuskerinSunDiego]

These are my gut instincts about how I feel. Please, don't overwhelm me with statistics. Just going off my gut (which has gotten larger lately). As it stands, I'm still not fully convinced about us after last night. We were like a home run hitter that misses a lot. Here are my insights on various positions thus far.

1. QB. Something's just missing. Armstrong is decent. Not saying he's done a bad job, as he's 10-1. However, he misses quite a few throws by a significant margin. I honestly wish that Ryker Fife would get some meaningful action. I think his throw is much more natural than Tommy's. Not hating on Tommy. Just saying that we should keep both options open. Of course, Bo will never do that as he believes in giving starters every minute possible.

2 RB. Ameer is Ameer, so no need for analysis. I was somewhat surprised that Newby looked very ordinary last night. Not sure what to think of that. This may sound crazy, but I'm not that overly impressed with Cross and Newby. I'm just glad that Adam Taylor will be back next year.

3. O-line. I'm a little concerned about this unit. They're not bad, but I was expecting more by now. In fairness, if we keep throwing on every other down, then these guys are never going to develop consistency. If I were Bo, I would select one series in the first half and tell his offense, "On this drive, we are not going to throw a single pass." This would let the line settle into a rhythm. Would probably help develop some attitude, as well. Also, seems like Zach Sterup is a step down for us at tackle. It may be due to injury or not playing, but we weren't as good with him in. Also, seems like Pelini got used a few times last night at center. I think Cotton's penalties are overblown: that motion penalty against him in the first half was bunk: the Fresno player was completely in the neutral zone when Cotton flinched. Having said that, I haven't seen a whole lot of power out of our line. I want some aggression. Yes, we sprung a few big runs (which is great), but I'm more interested in consistency.

4. Wide receiver. Wow, Hovey made us a lot better in short order. With Hovey, Westerkamp, and Bell, we are suddenly a good unit.

5. Tight end. Still hard to believe that Beck has used our tight ends as much as our fullbacks before last night. Nice to see them back. But, will they remain? Probably not. Beck seems to forget things that work. Don't hate Beck, just that he gets so caught up in trying to fool other teams that he forgets that simple plays can go for big gains.

6. D-line. Best part of entire team. Totally pleased. However, I felt like I was watching a China doll last night when Randy Gregory played. I kept feeling like he'd get injured at any moment.

7. Secondary. These guys have total attitude and are tough. If we could put half their attitude into the O-line, we'd be awesome.

8. Linebackers. If I could use a food to describe them, it would be vanilla ice cream. No overt power or aggression from them, but no dumb plays.

9. Special teams. Very solid all around last night. Kick coverages were GREAT. That bodes well for us. Rebecca DeMornay was fabulous on kick returns last night. Visions of a freshman Bobby Newcomb.

10. Coaching. I'm not wowwed by our coaching, but not upset. Not sure how to feel about this.

 

[HeyBurke]

Why the hell should Ryker get more minutes? Two quarterback systems are stupid. We saw that last year. Ryker will get garbage time minutes, just like he did last night.

 

[HuskerinSunDiego]

Why the hell should Ryker get more minutes? Two quarterback systems are stupid. We saw that last year. Ryker will get garbage time minutes, just like he did last night.

Unlike Ron Kellogg (who, otherwise, was a really cool dude), Ryker actually has talent. This situation sorta (I said "sorta) reminds me of the year when Sam Keller started over Joe Ganz. Ganz never got any meaningful playing time, when he should have. This isn't the NFL where they constantly try to preserve the ego of the QB. This is college. Each position is supposed to be up for grabs each week. Tommy is not that much ahead of Ryker (if at all). If Ryker had played all 4 quarters, he almost certainly would have been able to match Tommy's numbers. My knock on Bo is that, once a guy is a starter, he never lets the backup up dislodge him.

 

[The Dude]

Most of Ryker's passes have been in the dirt so far. He put together a nice drive in garbage time, which was good to see. I'd say at this point the distance between Tommy and Ryker is immense, from what they've both shown on the field. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

 

[HeyBurke]

Tommy has certainly had his struggles, thus far, but he there is no question about his starting spot. Tommy is the best quarterback on the roster, hands down. I don't know what the hell some of y'all are seeing out of Ryker Fyfe that makes you think he's more capable than Tommy.

 

[sd'sker]

the one constant on this board is that no matter what the evidence suggests and no matter how well the starter is actually doing, the backup qb always deserves more of a chance.

 

[Blackshirt39]

Why the hell should Ryker get more minutes? Two quarterback systems are stupid. We saw that last year. Ryker will get garbage time minutes, just like he did last night.

Unlike Ron Kellogg (who, otherwise, was a really cool dude), Ryker actually has talent. This situation sorta (I said "sorta) reminds me of the year when Sam Keller started over Joe Ganz. Ganz never got any meaningful playing time, when he should have. This isn't the NFL where they constantly try to preserve the ego of the QB. This is college. Each position is supposed to be up for grabs each week. Tommy is not that much ahead of Ryker (if at all). If Ryker had played all 4 quarters, he almost certainly would have been able to match Tommy's numbers. My knock on Bo is that, once a guy is a starter, he never lets the backup up dislodge him.

Tommy's fine. He's a sophomore, and playing very well for one. We have zero empirical evidence to state that Ryker would have matched/exceeded Tommy's output. When our QB situation starts to look like Rutgers, then we can talk about making a change. Right now Tommy is our best option period.

 

[zoogs]

If Tommy developed his short passing game and progressions to the level people are asking of him, he'd be one of the top QBs in the country.

Let's hope he gets there.

 

[clyde40]

It's not that Beck doesn't use TE's it's that last year every time we threw to Cethan Carter it seemed to turn into a drop. I remember at least 5-10 plays from last year just like his touchdown from last night where he was wide open down the seam off of play action but couldn't haul them in.

 

[Nebraska All The Way!]

It's not that Beck doesn't use TE's it's that last year every time we threw to Cethan Carter it seemed to turn into a drop. I remember at least 5-10 plays from last year just like his touchdown from last night where he was wide open down the seam off of play action but couldn't haul them in.

If I remember right a lot of them were overthrown

 

[Danny Bateman]

Count me as one that thinks TA needs to be getting every snap he can.

He's a sophomore. He was handpicked by Beck as his guy. He came in with a great pedigree for winning and being a team leader.

Think about how good he could be the next 2 and a half years if he continues leading our offense. If his development has been slowed at all, it's due to the fact we don't have a dedicated QB coach giving him personalized instruction. I REALLY wish we'd eliminate another staff position in favor of a QB coach. The only notable growth from Martinez came from his work with his own QB coach.

You'd think if there's one position you want to maximize potential of on your offense, it just MIGHT be your QB...

 

[Mavric]

It's not that Beck doesn't use TE's it's that last year every time we threw to Cethan Carter it seemed to turn into a drop. I remember at least 5-10 plays from last year just like his touchdown from last night where he was wide open down the seam off of play action but couldn't haul them in.

If I remember right a lot of them were overthrown

This. We tried quite a few times. The completion in the Gator Bowl was the first time I remember it being a catchable ball.

 

[RedDenver]

Most of Ryker's passes have been in the dirt so far. He put together a nice drive in garbage time, which was good to see. I'd say at this point the distance between Tommy and Ryker is immense, from what they've both shown on the field. Tommy has quietly put together a nice season thus far. Can't complain too much about 9 TDs to 1 turnover. I mean, people are complaining about it, but I'm not sure it's entirely justified.

So much this.

Fyfe has looked poor to below average passing the ball thus far. He rushes his delivery and doesn't set his feet well, but most importantly he's bouncing the ball off the ground well short of the receiver. We've only a seen a handful of throws, so that doesn't mean much, and he looked better after a few misfires. But it most certainly is not indicative that he's a better passer than TA.

 

[BIG ERN]

1. QB. Something's just missing. Armstrong is decent. Not saying he's done a bad job, as he's 10-1. However, he misses quite a few throws by a significant margin. I honestly wish that Ryker Fife would get some meaningful action. I think his throw is much more natural than Tommy's. Not hating on Tommy. Just saying that we should keep both options open. Of course, Bo will never do that as he believes in giving starters every minute possible. Tommy will never be a great passer. That's just how it's going to be. He doesn't have the touch needed to do so, but no way would I play Fyfe more. I like Tommy and think he can win a conference championship for us at QB, but we need to run the ball for him to be effective. I truly feel that Stanton is better than Fyfe.

2 RB. Ameer is Ameer, so no need for analysis. I was somewhat surprised that Newby looked very ordinary last night. Not sure what to think of that. This may sound crazy, but I'm not that overly impressed with Cross and Newby. I'm just glad that Adam Taylor will be back next year. When we have Abdullah we are good enough, but I'd like to see Cross take some of Newby's carries.

3. O-line. I'm a little concerned about this unit. They're not bad, but I was expecting more by now. In fairness, if we keep throwing on every other down, then these guys are never going to develop consistency. If I were Bo, I would select one series in the first half and tell his offense, "On this drive, we are not going to throw a single pass." This would let the line settle into a rhythm. Would probably help develop some attitude, as well. Also, seems like Zach Sterup is a step down for us at tackle. It may be due to injury or not playing, but we weren't as good with him in. Also, seems like Pelini got used a few times last night at center. I think Cotton's penalties are overblown: that motion penalty against him in the first half was bunk: the Fresno player was completely in the neutral zone when Cotton flinched. Having said that, I haven't seen a whole lot of power out of our line. I want some aggression. Yes, we sprung a few big runs (which is great), but I'm more interested in consistency. I have been impressed with the pass blocking so far, but the run blocking hasn't been good. Plain and simple. I don't expect to pancake people all game but Fresno and Mcneese aren't good defenses.

4. Wide receiver. Wow, Hovey made us a lot better in short order. With Hovey, Westerkamp, and Bell, we are suddenly a good unit. Moore has dropped too many balls. Kid has talent but needs to work on not using his body so much. I would like to see Allen get more looks. Overall, once we get Burtch and Reilly back this unit is even better. Westerkamp is a stud, of course.

5. Tight end. Still hard to believe that Beck has used our tight ends as much as our fullbacks before last night. Nice to see them back. But, will they remain? Probably not. Beck seems to forget things that work. Don't hate Beck, just that he gets so caught up in trying to fool other teams that he forgets that simple plays can go for big gains. We have tried to throw at them more but Tommy seems to want to over throw them. Carter needs to be used as a true weapon going forward.

6. D-line. Best part of entire team. Totally pleased. However, I felt like I was watching a China doll last night when Randy Gregory played. I kept feeling like he'd get injured at any moment. Agreed, this unit will only get better as the year goes along too. Scary that all 4 starters are 3 sophs and a Jr. Then if we get Moss back next season as well. LOOKOUT. I still think Randy is the best player in the nation. I look for his 14' coming out better next week vs MIA.

7. Secondary. These guys have total attitude and are tough. If we could put half their attitude into the O-line, we'd be awesome. Attitude is great, but lets get a damn turnover.

8. Linebackers. If I could use a food to describe them, it would be vanilla ice cream. No overt power or aggression from them, but no dumb plays. I knew losing Rose would be a big loss. Anderson hasn't stood out as much as I thought he would this year so far. Roach needs some more snaps along with Love.

9. Special teams. Very solid all around last night. Kick coverages were GREAT. That bodes well for us. Rebecca DeMornay was fabulous on kick returns last night. Visions of a freshman Bobby Newcomb. #DPE Well, we scored on a punt. Enough said there.

10. Coaching. I'm not wowwed by our coaching, but not upset. Not sure how to feel about this. I feel about the same at this point in the year. I'd like to use a few more blitzes besides the corner on D. Offense needs to sustain some drives.

 

[The Dude]

The only notable growth from Martinez came from his work with his own QB coach.

I don't think there's a lot of truth do this. Calhoun helped him out with his throwing motion/mechanics, which never really became great. Most of his growth came from his improved understanding of the offense and ability to make reads, adjustments, ect. I doubt Calhoun goes over the playbooks of every QB that comes to see him.

However, it makes little-to-no sense to carry a TE coach when we hardly utilize the TE in this offense. You're going to use your QB. I don't care that a large percentage of college programs don't have a dedicated QB coach, that's their problem. It doesn't have to be ours as well. Might as well gain an edge where you can. So to that point, I do agree with you.