HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
This sort of puts things into perspective on how the offense has been doing 3 games into the season.
OWH.com
Chatelain: Suddenly seeing nothing but daylight
By Dirk Chatelain
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy in 2001. That season, he had four carries of 40-plus yards.
Nine years later, a freshman quarterback is drawing comparisons to Crouch.
How many carries of 40-plus yards does Taylor Martinez have?
Four.
Not bad for three games. Martinez has reintroduced a critical component to Nebraska's offense.
Big plays.
“What we're doing now with Taylor is just so explosive,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We've had so many drives that have been three plays, done. Touchdown. Or five plays, done. Touchdown.
“First two games here at home, we sat back and said, ‘This is weird, man.'”
Evidence of weirdness:
• Among the top 10 teams in the country, Nebraska's offense has the most plays of 50-plus yards.
• NU's five plays of 50-plus equal the number it had during the entire 2009 season.
• The Huskers had three plays of 50-plus yards against Washington. That hadn't happened in a game since 2002 (McNeese State).
• Martinez is seventh in the country in rushing yards. Among the top 100 rushers, only two average more than 10 yards per carry. One is Martinez. The other is Roy Helu.
• Nebraska's average touchdown drive takes just 4.9 plays. More impressive is the first seven plays of each game. The Huskers produced 120 yards in that span against Western Kentucky, 57 against Idaho and 116 against Washington.
That equals 14 yards per play, including gains of 55, 46, 34, 28, 24, 24 and 20.
How critical is the big play to an offense? A well-respected defensive mind shared a little insight Tuesday.
“One of my philosophies defensively is you've got to make people earn it the whole way (down the field),” Bo Pelini said. “You can't give up explosive gains. That's a recipe for disaster.”
Pelini talks about “explosive gains” as passes of more than 16 yards and runs of more than 12 yards. He did a study eight to nine years ago as a defensive assistant in the NFL.
His conclusion: If a defense gives up an explosive gain during a drive, the chances of giving up a score increase 30 to 40 percent.
College defenses aren't as stingy, so let's use 20 yards as the standard for “explosive gain.”
Nebraska has scored a touchdown on 13 of 16 possessions in which it has a play of 20 yards or more. That's 81 percent.
When the Huskers don't get an explosive gain, they've scored a touchdown four of 19 possessions. That's 21 percent.
Long drives look nice on paper. Ten or 12 plays, 5 or 6 yards a pop. They make a man — especially a lineman — feel superior. But the longer they last, the more likely something goes wrong.
Rely on third-down conversions, and the margin of error is small. Your offense must execute almost every play properly. One penalty or one missed block, and suddenly it's third-and-long. Here comes the punt team.
How many times do you hear a struggling offense talk about little mistakes? It's just one guy failing to do his job on each play, they say.
You heard it all the time from Bill Callahan's players. His offense necessitated high-caliber execution of a complicated scheme.
But at this level, athletes win, not playbooks.
Look at those Miami and Florida State offenses of the 1980s. Nebraska could perform valiantly on first and second down, force two incompletions. Then third down, one nice throw, one missed tackle and the chains are moving.
Athleticism rules the day. Consistently flawless execution is just the cherry.
Helu, Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul, Brandon Kinnie and Mike McNeill comprise a nice supporting cast. But they don't scare defenses. Martinez scares defenses — specifically, Martinez's legs.
He opens the field for Nebraska's skill players.
He takes “a lot of pressure off those tailbacks,” Watson said.
Martinez is averaging 140 rushing yards per game. Zac Lee had 106 for the entire 2009 regular season.
When a Washington defender went the wrong way, Martinez dashed 80 yards for a touchdown. Lee might've gained 20.
That's no knock on Lee — just an illustration of the value of a dangerous quarterback.
Will the bonanza of big plays continue? Probably not. Pelini called it “an aberration.”
“I don't think that's going to happen all year,” he said. “I hope it does. Some of that obviously has to do with your opponents, too. The better defenses you play, you're not going to have as many of those (big plays).
“But you sure hope you have some.”
Martinez hasn't yet faced a salty defense. Maybe Big 12 defenses will figure him out. But great athletes don't have to be perfect.
Martinez can take the occasional sack. He can make the occasional low throw. Sooner or later, he's gonna get you. If not for 80 yards, at least 30 or 40.
It's funny, a year ago Watson's offense labored for every first down. “Every yard,” Watson said.
At one point, five weeks elapsed without a single touchdown drive of 50 yards or more.
Taylor Martinez covers that distance in about five seconds.
Contact the writer:
649-1461, dirk.chatelain@owh.com
And....
STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Plays of 50-plus yards
• How NU ranks among AP top 10:
Nebraska 5 plays
Oregon 4
Boise State 2
Arkansas 2
Florida 2
Ohio State 2
Alabama 1
TCU 1
Oklahoma 1
Texas 0
• How NU ranks among Big 12 teams:
Nebraska 5 plays
Baylor 3
Missouri 2
Oklahoma State 2
Texas A&M 2
Kansas 1
Colorado 1
Iowa State 1
Oklahoma 1
Texas Tech 1
Kansas State 0
Texas 0
OWH.com
Chatelain: Suddenly seeing nothing but daylight
By Dirk Chatelain
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy in 2001. That season, he had four carries of 40-plus yards.
Nine years later, a freshman quarterback is drawing comparisons to Crouch.
How many carries of 40-plus yards does Taylor Martinez have?
Four.
Not bad for three games. Martinez has reintroduced a critical component to Nebraska's offense.
Big plays.
“What we're doing now with Taylor is just so explosive,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We've had so many drives that have been three plays, done. Touchdown. Or five plays, done. Touchdown.
“First two games here at home, we sat back and said, ‘This is weird, man.'”
Evidence of weirdness:
• Among the top 10 teams in the country, Nebraska's offense has the most plays of 50-plus yards.
• NU's five plays of 50-plus equal the number it had during the entire 2009 season.
• The Huskers had three plays of 50-plus yards against Washington. That hadn't happened in a game since 2002 (McNeese State).
• Martinez is seventh in the country in rushing yards. Among the top 100 rushers, only two average more than 10 yards per carry. One is Martinez. The other is Roy Helu.
• Nebraska's average touchdown drive takes just 4.9 plays. More impressive is the first seven plays of each game. The Huskers produced 120 yards in that span against Western Kentucky, 57 against Idaho and 116 against Washington.
That equals 14 yards per play, including gains of 55, 46, 34, 28, 24, 24 and 20.
How critical is the big play to an offense? A well-respected defensive mind shared a little insight Tuesday.
“One of my philosophies defensively is you've got to make people earn it the whole way (down the field),” Bo Pelini said. “You can't give up explosive gains. That's a recipe for disaster.”
Pelini talks about “explosive gains” as passes of more than 16 yards and runs of more than 12 yards. He did a study eight to nine years ago as a defensive assistant in the NFL.
His conclusion: If a defense gives up an explosive gain during a drive, the chances of giving up a score increase 30 to 40 percent.
College defenses aren't as stingy, so let's use 20 yards as the standard for “explosive gain.”
Nebraska has scored a touchdown on 13 of 16 possessions in which it has a play of 20 yards or more. That's 81 percent.
When the Huskers don't get an explosive gain, they've scored a touchdown four of 19 possessions. That's 21 percent.
Long drives look nice on paper. Ten or 12 plays, 5 or 6 yards a pop. They make a man — especially a lineman — feel superior. But the longer they last, the more likely something goes wrong.
Rely on third-down conversions, and the margin of error is small. Your offense must execute almost every play properly. One penalty or one missed block, and suddenly it's third-and-long. Here comes the punt team.
How many times do you hear a struggling offense talk about little mistakes? It's just one guy failing to do his job on each play, they say.
You heard it all the time from Bill Callahan's players. His offense necessitated high-caliber execution of a complicated scheme.
But at this level, athletes win, not playbooks.
Look at those Miami and Florida State offenses of the 1980s. Nebraska could perform valiantly on first and second down, force two incompletions. Then third down, one nice throw, one missed tackle and the chains are moving.
Athleticism rules the day. Consistently flawless execution is just the cherry.
Helu, Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul, Brandon Kinnie and Mike McNeill comprise a nice supporting cast. But they don't scare defenses. Martinez scares defenses — specifically, Martinez's legs.
He opens the field for Nebraska's skill players.
He takes “a lot of pressure off those tailbacks,” Watson said.
Martinez is averaging 140 rushing yards per game. Zac Lee had 106 for the entire 2009 regular season.
When a Washington defender went the wrong way, Martinez dashed 80 yards for a touchdown. Lee might've gained 20.
That's no knock on Lee — just an illustration of the value of a dangerous quarterback.
Will the bonanza of big plays continue? Probably not. Pelini called it “an aberration.”
“I don't think that's going to happen all year,” he said. “I hope it does. Some of that obviously has to do with your opponents, too. The better defenses you play, you're not going to have as many of those (big plays).
“But you sure hope you have some.”
Martinez hasn't yet faced a salty defense. Maybe Big 12 defenses will figure him out. But great athletes don't have to be perfect.
Martinez can take the occasional sack. He can make the occasional low throw. Sooner or later, he's gonna get you. If not for 80 yards, at least 30 or 40.
It's funny, a year ago Watson's offense labored for every first down. “Every yard,” Watson said.
At one point, five weeks elapsed without a single touchdown drive of 50 yards or more.
Taylor Martinez covers that distance in about five seconds.
Contact the writer:
649-1461, dirk.chatelain@owh.com
And....
STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Plays of 50-plus yards
• How NU ranks among AP top 10:
Nebraska 5 plays
Oregon 4
Boise State 2
Arkansas 2
Florida 2
Ohio State 2
Alabama 1
TCU 1
Oklahoma 1
Texas 0
• How NU ranks among Big 12 teams:
Nebraska 5 plays
Baylor 3
Missouri 2
Oklahoma State 2
Texas A&M 2
Kansas 1
Colorado 1
Iowa State 1
Oklahoma 1
Texas Tech 1
Kansas State 0
Texas 0
