Since our O-Line and QB have been struggling

[C N Red]

Why don't we move the pocket and do some roll outs? This takes pressure off the Line and the QB. However, I understand Lee is having enough trouble throwing the ball from a stationary position, but maybe rolling out he can get away from the rush and have time to set his feet and make some good throws. Anyone else have any ideas on this?

 

[junior4949]

Have you watched any of the games? Lee's completion percentage completely falls off of a cliff when he throws from the run. I'm not talking long passes either. I'm talking like less than 10 yard throws. I think part of the OL's problem is they are thinking way too much who to block instead of blowing off the ball attacking. I also think at times Lee makes them look bad by holding onto the ball too much. It appears to me that if Lee would take off and run with the rock teams would loosen up their D a bit. Right now, teams are stacking the box forcing Lee to beat them with his arm. The problem is that WR's aren't getting open soon enough before pressure gets there or they drop the friggin ball. I also believe we are trying to run the ball into a stacked box out of the wrong sets and formations.

 

[caveman99]

Have you watched any of the games? Lee's completion percentage completely falls off of a cliff when he throws from the run. I'm not talking long passes either. I'm talking like less than 10 yard throws. I think part of the OL's problem is they are thinking way too much who to block instead of blowing off the ball attacking. I also think at times Lee makes them look bad by holding onto the ball too much. It appears to me that if Lee would take off and run with the rock teams would loosen up their D a bit. Right now, teams are stacking the box forcing Lee to beat them with his arm. The problem is that WR's aren't getting open soon enough before pressure gets there or they drop the friggin ball. I also believe we are trying to run the ball into a stacked box out of the wrong sets and formations.

It also seems like Lee's first instinct is to escape the pocket and not move up in it.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

Have you watched any of the games? Lee's completion percentage completely falls off of a cliff when he throws from the run. I'm not talking long passes either. I'm talking like less than 10 yard throws. I think part of the OL's problem is they are thinking way too much who to block instead of blowing off the ball attacking. I also think at times Lee makes them look bad by holding onto the ball too much. It appears to me that if Lee would take off and run with the rock teams would loosen up their D a bit. Right now, teams are stacking the box forcing Lee to beat them with his arm. The problem is that WR's aren't getting open soon enough before pressure gets there or they drop the friggin ball. I also believe we are trying to run the ball into a stacked box out of the wrong sets and formations.

When pass blocking, you don't blow off the ball most of the time. You make initial contact and then step back and wait for the defense to dictate. You pass guys off to a teammate or help a teammate depending on what the DL and LB do. You have to think about who to block while in Pass Pro or you are going to miss blitz pick ups. Blowing off the ball is the problem that Ricky Henry has.

I will say, I don't feel Cotton's approach of not worrying about technique and footwork jives well with Watson's style of offense. If we were a running team, fine you can get away with it. In pass pro you have to have fantastic footwork or you won't get to the guy in time.

Just my .02.

 

[Cy the Cyclone]

The tackles are too slow and get beat to the outside. If Lee rolls out the only thing he's going to see at this point is a DE bearing down on him being chased by a tackle yelling "Look Out!"

 

[Joe_5700]

You know with all of the talk about giving up on Lee and having Green start etc etc. Everyone seems to act like the sky is falling. Last night I was going through some of the preseason college football magazines and when you read the summary of the Huskers every one of them pointed out that our offense was very young and inexperienced. When these magazines came out, nobody complained about this assessment. Now that we are seeing the results of this known fact, why is everyone acting like the sky is falling?

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

You know with all of the talk about giving up on Lee and having Green start etc etc. Everyone seems to act like the sky is falling. Last night I was going through some of the preseason college football magazines and when you read the summary of the Huskers every one of them pointed out that our offense was very young and inexperienced. When these magazines came out, nobody complained about this assessment. Now that we are seeing the results of this known fact, why is everyone acting like the sky is falling?

because 6 games in you should see PROgression not REgression.

 

[crispy]

Couldn't agree more Joe. Really we aren't doing that bad. ESPN early predicted we would have a 3 loss season and win the north. Still Can happen. I agree with Bo that we just need to be more physical push the D lines back and just make the plays that we have in front of us.

 

[Joe_5700]

because 6 games in you should see PROgression not REgression.

Then why not bench Niles Paul? I could not believe what he did on that lateral pass. That play in my opinion turned the tide of that game to Texas Tech. Who was the O-lineman who just watched the tech player scoop the ball and take it in for the score? Bench. For whatever reason Texas Tech just wanted the game more than Nebraska. It was evident on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

because 6 games in you should see PROgression not REgression.

Then why not bench Niles Paul? I could not believe what he did on that lateral pass. That play in my opinion turned the tide of that game to Texas Tech. Who was the O-lineman who just watched the tech player scoop the ball and take it in for the score? Bench. For whatever reason Texas Tech just wanted the game more than Nebraska. It was evident on the offensive side of the ball.

:boxosoap

1. I didn't read the part about benching, and if you bench Niles Paul who plays for him? Have you seen 3 players better up to this point that would warrant him sitting? Hate to break it to everybody, but how many passes has Niles dropped, besides that lateral? Not many, and he is our best guy. When the coach's said he separated himself from the field, I hoped it was he was great. Turns out he is just above average and the rest are just that, average. I also understand he should have been aware, but Lee is supposed to lead him so that is a forward pass to completely avoid that mistake. That play is just as much Lee's fault as it is Niles. (again, I'm not absolving Paul for not chasing after the ball) Same goes for the O lineman you mention.

2. No matter what you think the problem is, we have regressed as an offense. Injuries are a big part of this problem. The Rex Burkhead injury looms huge now that we find out about the "chronic" injury Helu has. We don't have developed depth behind Helu. Burkhead got by on pure talent. Losing Q was huge, even though we all tried to downplay it. Ward, Jones, Okafur don't have it, why else would they ponder pulling Dontrayveous' Redshirt?

3. This seems to me to be a re-occurring theme with Watson. Even at CU, they would stink the first half of the year on offense even against lesser talented teams. Then they would have an offensive makeover and come back. This has happened every year at NU as well. I understand changing your offense to fit your player's strengths, but can we maybe make this determination a little earlier in the year? Don't take this as a fire Shawn Watson rant, I'm not in that boat, yet.

4. The offensive line is not as bad as we all let on. When I watched the VT, MU, TT games again this week I used a stopwatch (really) to document the time Lee took to throw the ball. On all but 3 or 4 sacks he took more than the allotted 3 seconds. More than 5 times he had a clear running lane and took a sack or threw a terrible pass when he could have gained solid yardage with a scramble. When blitzed they pick up 5 or 6 guys, the RB are not helping in pass pro like they should be. Burkhead was actually pretty good at this, Helu was against VT, not since then. Maybe this was when he originally hurt that shoulder?

5. Last point, from re-watching those games. Jared Crick has a motor that will not stop. He really is a good player on his own even with the constant single coverage. Missouri went to a chip on Crick as well because he and Suh killed them. Amazing stuff, Carl Pelini is the best position coach on that staff not named Ron Brown. What Carl did with a unit that was the worst part of our team and now made them the best DL in the country with the same talent. Unbelievable. Truly remarkable coaching job.

:rant

edit: spelling

 

[mjmartin1970]

I will say, I don't feel Cotton's approach of not worrying about technique and footwork jives well with Watson's style of offense. If we were a running team, fine you can get away with it. In pass pro you have to have fantastic footwork or you won't get to the guy in time.

I'm not trying to call you out, but is this a fact or just your thoughts? If somebody has quoted or knows Cotton is not worried about technique or footwork, then I am very worried about the future of our O-line (not just this year, but as long has he is coaching). College is the only place these kids really develop technique and footwork. In high school, most of these kids were so more physically gifted than the people they were playing against that they didn't need to really care about technique or footwork. In the pro's, well in the pro's if you haven't already learned technique and footwork you probably won't be one.

Color me shocked if this is fact. (ok not that shocked given our recent performances).

 

[Enhance]

The tackles are too slow and get beat to the outside. If Lee rolls out the only thing he's going to see at this point is a DE bearing down on him being chased by a tackle yelling "Look Out!"

This.

Our tackles are slow on the perimeter.

 

[C N Red]

Have you watched any of the games? Lee's completion percentage completely falls off of a cliff when he throws from the run. I'm not talking long passes either. I'm talking like less than 10 yard throws. I think part of the OL's problem is they are thinking way too much who to block instead of blowing off the ball attacking. I also think at times Lee makes them look bad by holding onto the ball too much. It appears to me that if Lee would take off and run with the rock teams would loosen up their D a bit. Right now, teams are stacking the box forcing Lee to beat them with his arm. The problem is that WR's aren't getting open soon enough before pressure gets there or they drop the friggin ball. I also believe we are trying to run the ball into a stacked box out of the wrong sets and formations.

I've seen every game. Yes, Lee's % goes down and he doesn't do well throwing on the run, but most of the time he is trying to get away from pressure because the O-line didn't block well or he held the ball too long.

However, moving the pocket isn't necessarily throwing on the run. It's relocating the pocket. Now saying that, when you move the pocket the QB really should have time to set his feet and throw, so it's basically like he's still in the pocket. Also, the WR routes become longer and a little slower, but it gives the WR's time to survery what the defense is doing and find open spots easier.

With the line the Tackles/TEs getting beat on the outside is the perfect reason to do it. Rolling the pocket takes away that outside pass rush. The far side DE will have much further distance to go to get to QB and that backside tackle can get help from RB. The onside DE will try to come up field but the Tackle/TEs first step is out and well as Guard and Center. The D-line players get passed down on the slide and have much more traffic/blockers to deal with.

JMHO, but I think it gives everyone on the offense time to really process what to do and execute.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

I will say, I don't feel Cotton's approach of not worrying about technique and footwork jives well with Watson's style of offense. If we were a running team, fine you can get away with it. In pass pro you have to have fantastic footwork or you won't get to the guy in time.

I'm not trying to call you out, but is this a fact or just your thoughts? If somebody has quoted or knows Cotton is not worried about technique or footwork, then I am very worried about the future of our O-line (not just this year, but as long has he is coaching). College is the only place these kids really develop technique and footwork. In high school, most of these kids were so more physically gifted than the people they were playing against that they didn't need to really care about technique or footwork. In the pro's, well in the pro's if you haven't already learned technique and footwork you probably won't be one.

Color me shocked if this is fact. (ok not that shocked given our recent performances).

I'm trying to find the quote, I know it has been posted on here before....

 

[admo]

The tackles are too slow and get beat to the outside. If Lee rolls out the only thing he's going to see at this point is a DE bearing down on him being chased by a tackle yelling "Look Out!"

lol.. yep.. excactly

Good lucky Cy. Your team has been good and playing competitively. Should have beaten KU dammit.