Spring Practice Notes

Mavric said:
I thought I had seen that tracked somewhere last year but I can't find it now.

Not sure if this helps but PFF shows our TEs played a total of 1,109 snaps on 854 total offensive plays last year - Austin 548, Vokolek 342, Hickman 89, Brewington 74 plus 56 from four others.  I don't know how often we were in a three-TE set but I don't think it was a lot.  If I allow 15 snaps in a three-TE set that would leave 1,064 snaps for TEs on 839 plays.  That would be 225 plays in a two-TE set and 614 in a one-TE set, or 26% of the time in a two-TE set.
Click to expand...
Helps a lot.  Appreciate it.  Was hoping TE's would be a huge plus this year, but Fidone down, Hickman wearing a sling today and Vokolek out right now...Yikes!  Hoping we can heal up/develop guys quick.  

 
Being stated on another board that Fidone was taken out by an "overzealous walk-on" who took him out at the knees in a 7 on 7 non contact drill... It's spilt milk however you look at it I guess but damn that really sucks if true..

 
Farms said:
Being stated on another board that Fidone was taken out by an "overzealous walk-on" who took him out at the knees in a 7 on 7 non contact drill... It's spilt milk however you look at it I guess but damn that really sucks if true..
Click to expand...
At this point, this sounds like a bunch of board rumor and nothing more.

 
J-MAGIC said:
Per my charting last year we called a designed run play on 42.5% of our plays, a designed pass play on 47.8% of our plays, and an RPO (a run or pass dictated by the defense) on 9.7 % of our plays. Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin were the only teams that called more designed run plays than us, but Iowa and Wisconsin never use RPOs. So in terms of when we actually ran the ball (our designed run calls plus our RPOs that were runs) we were ahead of Iowa and Wisconsin and trailed only Michigan and Minnesota in terms of when we were actually running the ball (Minnesota doesn't call many designed runs and uses a ton of RPOs that ended up being runs). Also keep in mind that in most of our games we were playing from behind, which is going to inflate our passing numbers even further.

Additionally, of our explosive plays (traditionally defined as a pass or scramble of 16 or more yards or a run of 12 or more yards) 64 percent were passes and only 35 percent were runs.

So (a) we already run the ball more than almost anyone in the freaking BIG TEN, and (b) our runs were not delivering a lot for our offense. And you're complaining that we didn't run MORE?? I imagine if we had been running for 7 yards on three plays every series and punting you'd be pretty upset, but that's what you're advocating for. 

Some of you guys want to be Iowa so badly and it's disgusting haha.
Click to expand...
Yeah, everyone knows we sucked at running the ball. That's the point. The gripe we have is about scheme, technique, and overall philosophy - what they focus on. What they focused on in the offseason, fall practice.  What kind of running plays are we running? What's effective, and what isn't? 

As a coach, if something isn't working, you have to simplify to the basics. You HAVE to pick a few plays, and drill them ad infinitum. You can't just keep adding more plays and more formations. These kids are struggling to keep up as it is. Sometimes Frost talks almost condescendingly about his playing days in Osborne's offense, as though it were a simpler time, beneath him. No, Scott. There's a REASON why that offense was effective. Osborne was a repetition FANATIC, and I wonder if Frost has just forgotten what it takes to get 11 guys to work as one.

Everyone, including him, is bashing 3 yards and a cloud of dust. What's wrong with that offense, if we move the ball down the field? 

Our linemen are big and strong enough, right? Why can't they effectively block smaller defensive linemen and linebackers? Why are there always unblocked defenders shooting through or waiting at the line of scrimmage for our backs?

Personally, I think it had a lot to do with scheme, overall technique, and the fact that our stuff isn't much different than much of the B1G. It's not hard to prepare for Nebraska if the last 2 or 3 teams run similar stuff.

Maybe Raiola and Whipple will turn things around. I sincerely hope so. If Thompson comes out firing, and we look like the Kansas City Chiefs, I'll be the first to eat crow. I just don't see that happening.

Until I'm proven wrong, I will contend that Nebraska will never be 'back,' or even close to it, until we COMMIT to running the ball, where our identity is based on the running game. 

I don't want to be Iowa. I want to be 9-4 Army or 10-3 Air Force.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok Jeremy, let’s assume your charting is fairly accurate for the sake of discussion.  Without the ability to go back and watch the games and make play by play judgements as to the intent and design of plays, I can’t easily debate your figures. 
 

How many of the designed run plays had two or more RBs in the back field at the snap?

How many designed runs didn’t involve 4 or more receivers on the field?

How many designed runs involved the QB keeping the ball ?

How many designed run plays involved O line blocking with power forward / push the LOS type blocking methods?  
Why is the offense purportedly a predominantly RPO based system if that is so rarely used?   
What real benefit is the RPO ‘option’ if the run vs pass decision is made before the snap?

How many called / designed pass plays became QB runs because the passer did not throw the ball?

Do you have the pass vs run play breakdown for just the conference games (excluding the non-conference)?

I really want to understand the Frost offense and its defenders that seem to almost complain we have run the ball too much!  For me, it’s more about moving the chains, sustaining drives, winning the time of possession, and scoring TDs. We average only about 3 TDs and a FG per game out of about 13 possessions and roughly 20 first downs.
 

We lose possession time by 3 minutes a game when we should win it by a couple minutes. And that’s without Frost using his ‘tempo’ offense.  Our average drive time is at or under 3 minutes.   These are reasonable targets for our defense, not the offense.  
We average about 35 yards per possession which is not bad but when we give opponents more time to pressure our defense, our 4th qtrs become tough. 

I also might add that sometimes raw - unadjusted - stats don’t match the eye test or give a good indication of the which team is physically ‘winning’ the game, irrespective of the scoreboard. 
 

For example, I prefer to deduct sacks and sack yards lost from passing yards. And those attempts be added to pass attempts. Those are pass plays, not runs.  Imo. 
So, I tend to believe our run game, even as poorly executed and designed as it may be, is more like 4 yards and a cloud of Astro turf. Not very good, but it’s not as bad as seems.   If we improve it some and do it more, it can lead to more first downs and TDs quite frequently, while opening up the passing game.  We get quite a few completions but not so many TDs because teams over cover the pass.   

 
Jeremy said:
No, Scott. There's a REASON why that offense was effective. Osborne was a repetition FANATIC, and I wonder if Frost has just forgotten what it takes to get 11 guys to work as one.
Click to expand...




You nailed it! I'm sure Scott, who has played under or coached with Bill Walsh, Tom Osborne, Bill Parcells, Bill Belicheck, Tony Dungey, Mike Tomlin, Jon Gruden and Coach Kelly, has forgotten how to practice in such a way as to make an offense run well.

 
84HuskerLaw said:
Ok Jeremy, let’s assume your charting is fairly accurate for the sake of discussion.  Without the ability to go back and watch the games and make play by play judgements as to the intent and design of plays, I can’t easily debate your figures. 
 

How many of the designed run plays had two or more RBs in the back field at the snap?

How many designed runs didn’t involve 4 or more receivers on the field?

How many designed runs involved the QB keeping the ball ?

How many designed run plays involved O line blocking with power forward / push the LOS type blocking methods?  
Why is the offense purportedly a predominantly RPO based system if that is so rarely used?   
What real benefit is the RPO ‘option’ if the run vs pass decision is made before the snap?

How many called / designed pass plays became QB runs because the passer did not throw the ball?

Do you have the pass vs run play breakdown for just the conference games (excluding the non-conference)?

I really want to understand the Frost offense and its defenders that seem to almost complain we have run the ball too much!  For me, it’s more about moving the chains, sustaining drives, winning the time of possession, and scoring TDs. We average only about 3 TDs and a FG per game out of about 13 possessions and roughly 20 first downs.
 

We lose possession time by 3 minutes a game when we should win it by a couple minutes. And that’s without Frost using his ‘tempo’ offense.  Our average drive time is at or under 3 minutes.   These are reasonable targets for our defense, not the offense.  
We average about 35 yards per possession which is not bad but when we give opponents more time to pressure our defense, our 4th qtrs become tough. 

I also might add that sometimes raw - unadjusted - stats don’t match the eye test or give a good indication of the which team is physically ‘winning’ the game, irrespective of the scoreboard. 
 

For example, I prefer to deduct sacks and sack yards lost from passing yards. And those attempts be added to pass attempts. Those are pass plays, not runs.  Imo. 
So, I tend to believe our run game, even as poorly executed and designed as it may be, is more like 4 yards and a cloud of Astro turf. Not very good, but it’s not as bad as seems.   If we improve it some and do it more, it can lead to more first downs and TDs quite frequently, while opening up the passing game.  We get quite a few completions but not so many TDs because teams over cover the pass.   
Click to expand...


I do not have the time or desire to answer all of your questions, and frankly even if I did I'm sure you'd come up with some other justification to support our offense going in the opposite direction that every other successful coach has been going for the last decade.

But if you'd like to view the charting for yourself and answer your own questions, you can find them here: https://black41flashreverse.substack.com/archive

 




seems the consensus that Trey Palmer is standing out on offense.  Like the way Rogers describes Tommi Hill breaking on balls and breaking up passes.  I think the D has lacked that from corners.  Last year we saw more attempts at it but didn't get the results.  

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top