Reducing turnovers....with a new ball

[BigRedBuster]

I want to point out that this "Tom's fumbles vs. Bo's fumbles" thing is a boondoggle because the game is so different now as opposed to then based on recruiting, the sheer scope of the money involved... dozens of reasons, so I'm not responding to anyone trying to make an issue of my correction here. This is specifically about that point.

They ran the option....leads to higher fumble rates.

Tom didn't turn to the Option as a primary offensive scheme until the early 80s, so the "first six years" thing doesn't apply to Tom's Option years. Prior to that Tom's teams had basically mirrored what Devaney did, which was a pretty even run/pass attack out of a relatively common Pro set.

We also didn't exclusively run the Option - this is a bit of revisionist history by Husker Nation. It's the most well-known of the Osborne-Era plays, but not by any means the most-used play. Tom's offense for the last 20 or so years was heavily run-based, but we ran Iso, traps, dives, bap bap bap. A myriad of plays, including the Option, out of very similar sets. That's why his offense was so hard to defend.

Solich and Crouch is what pretty much turned Nebraska into a damn near option/qb run exclusive offense. So Knapps right about the offenses under TO post-'81 revolution.

Not really.

If you look at carries per game, in their senior years, Crouch carried the ball 16.9 times compared to 14.6 times for Frost. Now, where you saw the big jump was from Frazier to Frost. Frazier averaged only 8.8 carries per game his senior year.

So, statistically, the bigger jump actually happened at the end of the TO era.

Now, what people think about is the difference between Frazier and Crouch which was HUGE. But, they forget now much Frost ran the ball in between the two.

 

[NUance]

If you look at carries per game, in their senior years, Crouch carried the ball 16.9 times compared to 14.6 times for Frost. Now, where you saw the big jump was from Frazier to Frost. Frazier averaged only 8.8 carries per game his senior year.

So, statistically, the bigger jump actually happened at the end of the TO era.

Now, what people think about is the difference between Frazier and Crouch which was HUGE. But, they forget now much Frost ran the ball in between the two.

I'm surprised QB carries jumped that much between Frazier and Frost. The big jump was from Frost's '96 Jr to his '97 Sr year. 126 carries to 176 carries. LINK It wasn't due to the RB since we had Aman Green in both '96 and '97. Go figure.

 

[knapplc]

Maybe - guessing here - it's because Green was the known commodity, the home-run threat, and Frost was perceived as being "not Tommie Frazier" more than anything else? If I'm defending that 1997 Husker team, I'm telling my defense to key on Green on every single Option.

 

[NUpolo8]

Green had turf toe for much of the year as well in 97. So the Makovicka/Buckhalter monster had significant carries/yards as well.

 

[NUinID]

Maybe - guessing here - it's because Green was the known commodity, the home-run threat, and Frost was perceived as being "not Tommie Frazier" more than anything else? If I'm defending that 1997 Husker team, I'm telling my defense to key on Green on every single Option.

Scott Frost was Tim Tebow before there was such a thing. He was a 6'3" 225lb tank that was durable and dished out punishment when he ran. Frost was like running a FB. Tommie Frazier would not have stood up to the punishment if he got 16 carries a game. Besides the blood clots he missed 2-3 other games due to injury.

 

[BaytownHusker]

Just so we can all put the worn pigskin Taylor preferred, as do many QBs elsewhere, to rest. The game balls were balls that were used all week in practice. The worn ball did not just show up on Saturday and surprise everyone else on the team.

I always thought a worn ball has a little better grip once sweat or moisture got on it.

What I always wondered w the game/practice balls that TM preferred was the shape.

I even thought this before this whole controversy got rolling a whole back.

Looking at pictures of the footballs in pictures it always seemed they were so worn in they were a little rounded at the tips, less of a cone point.

I always felt like the ball was easier to carry when it had a point on the end you could split fingers around. Also, the ball in flight has a tighter spiral when it's more pointed.

I don't think the worn footballs tackiness was such an issue, but it's oblong shape.

Just my 2 cents.

I am with you on this one. Do I think the old balls had much to do with us fumbling.... NO. But I do think they will help with the Qb's throwing much tighter spirals and accurate pass's. The older balls get almost that inflated fat look as they get older and more worn in. Why do you think the kickers like to kick them. Now Neb doesnt look like they had to barrow some old high schools balls and can sling some new leather around.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Busters right the more i think about it. I do remember frosts time-and more specifically 1997- as the real intro of the designed qb runs such as the qb iso and qb sweeps into the offense on a regular basis. Im quite shocked however that the gap in avg carries between crouch and frost is not wider. I wonder what Lord's was. Cuz it sure felt like Solich really escalated the qb run game more than what the stats show.

 

[Landlord]

Busters right the more i think about it. I do remember frosts time-and more specifically 1997- as the real intro of the designed qb runs such as the qb iso and qb sweeps into the offense on a regular basis. Im quite shocked however that the gap in avg carries between crouch and frost is not wider. I wonder what Lord's was. Cuz it sure felt like Solich really escalated the qb run game more than what the stats show.

I'd like to know Crouch's career average versus his senior year average. I feel like his first two years bring that down quite a bit to make it more comparable.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Busters right the more i think about it. I do remember frosts time-and more specifically 1997- as the real intro of the designed qb runs such as the qb iso and qb sweeps into the offense on a regular basis. Im quite shocked however that the gap in avg carries between crouch and frost is not wider. I wonder what Lord's was. Cuz it sure felt like Solich really escalated the qb run game more than what the stats show.

Lord's senior year was 16.5 carries per game.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Busters right the more i think about it. I do remember frosts time-and more specifically 1997- as the real intro of the designed qb runs such as the qb iso and qb sweeps into the offense on a regular basis. Im quite shocked however that the gap in avg carries between crouch and frost is not wider. I wonder what Lord's was. Cuz it sure felt like Solich really escalated the qb run game more than what the stats show.

I'd like to know Crouch's career average versus his senior year average. I feel like his first two years bring that down quite a bit to make it more comparable.

Junior year 15.4

Sophmore year 15

Freshman year 12

 

[Count 'Bility]

So still nearly, if not completely, double the carries per game as Frazier.

 

[knapplc]

Zac Taylor's preference of football:

Not sure how I missed this when I read through this thread earlier today, but I did. Kudos to you, Landlord, for going back through and finding these pics.

One thing, and I'm sorry if I'm picking nits, but it needs to be pointed out. Zac Taylor used brand new footballs fresh out of the box for each game, usually each series.

It's just that he was sacked, smashed and crashed so much because of that horridly porous offensive line that like midway through the first quarter those footballs looked all worn and tattered.

So did Zac, come to think of it.

 

[The Dude]

Back in high school the Wilson basketballs always seemed slick as hell, no matter how broken-in they were. The Spalding were always good to go, though.

 

[True2tRA]

I've never felt worse for any Husker QB in my life. Zac Taylor took more beatings standing in the pocket than most of Nebraska's option Qb's took WHILE RUNNING THE FREAKING OPTION.

The guy just kept on getting up. He's a heckuva good dude too.

http://www.huskerboard.com/index.php?/topic/4148-zac-taylor/

 

[True2tRA]

Zac Taylor's preference of football:

Not sure how I missed this when I read through this thread earlier today, but I did. Kudos to you, Landlord, for going back through and finding these pics.

One thing, and I'm sorry if I'm picking nits, but it needs to be pointed out. Zac Taylor used brand new footballs fresh out of the box for each game, usually each series.

It's just that he was sacked, smashed and crashed so much because of that horridly porous offensive line that like midway through the first quarter those footballs looked all worn and tattered.

So did Zac, come to think of it.

[deleted comment about Landlord and his comparison of Zac and Taylor's balls]