Time to start implementing more option

[n.e.husker]

This was our first season in this offense with a new cordinator with no previous D1 play calling experience. My guess is that we will continue to get better as a whole offensively.

This has nothing to do with a new cordinator. This has everything to do with player personnel. We simply don't have a good passing qb with receivers that can constantly catch it.

I thought this thread was about running more option consistantly...

We have a young QB with young Receivers that are learning a new offense under a young cordinator(This has a lot to do with Beck and his offense as it takes time to implement it and run it efficiently).

 

[hskerprid]

This was our first season in this offense with a new cordinator with no previous D1 play calling experience. My guess is that we will continue to get better as a whole offensively.

This has nothing to do with a new cordinator. This has everything to do with player personnel. We simply don't have a good passing qb with receivers that can constantly catch it.

I thought this thread was about running more option consistantly...

We have a young QB with young Receivers that are learning a new offense under a young cordinator(This has a lot to do with Beck and his offense as it takes time to implement it and run it efficiently).

That's about the time you knock on the A.D's door, no? Look, to run the option you MUST have the proper athletes in place for it to work effectively. It must be repeated and practiced until they dream it at night. Dr. Tom missed one key piece to all of his option teams ( I know, I know NU didn't run a pure option ). When he received the commitment from Tommie, Osborne knew he had all the pieces in place for a dominant team.

Hell we don't even know what base offense we run let alone commit the time to the option that it deserves. Not to mention that we really don't have the athletes with the skill set to run that offense. These players aren't "built" like that.

 

[HeyBurke]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

 

[husker_99]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

That seems to be the mantra that it's always better next year. meanwhile it's exactly the same as last year. If Bo doesn't do it already he needs to tell the team that every position is open to create competition and get the best athletes on the field.

 

[HuskerBCS]

We ran plenty of option this season, and it was rarely effective. We don't have the personnel to consistently run it effectively.

I don't really think the problem with our option offense was our personnel. I believe it stems back to the supporting scheme we try to run with the option. The option can only be effective if there is a dedication to a POWER running game between the tackles. Running between the tackles forces the linebackers and safeties to stay home and cover the middle of the field. All of our running game is dedicated around a ZONE blocking scheme and is mostly off tackle. This allows linebackers and safeties to roam the field and fly to the edges.

Now if the problem that we don't run a power running game is because of our personnel (ie. linemen), I might be more inclined to agree with you.

Until we dedicate ourselves to a power run game between the tackles, as well as having the MAJORITY of our pass plays come from play action, the option game will continue to be relatively ineffective. I also believe we would need to run everything from under center.

The offense they are trying to run now is a jack of all trades. I have serious doubts that Pelini and Co would ever commit to only a power run game with option and play action. They like their spread.

 

[Enhance]

We ran plenty of option this season, and it was rarely effective. We don't have the personnel to consistently run it effectively.

must of been the couple of games i missed watching. From what i saw we rarely ran it. Plus you need to include your fullbacks too to make it effective.

Well, think about it this way. If you run an option play, and at most you're only getting four yards, what's different between that and just an ISO play?

Watching the option this year, I can whole-heartedly say it wasn't pretty. Osborne used to say he treated his option attack like an extension of the passing game, meaning he wanted each of his option plays to get at the least 8 yards (which is a pretty average passing play). So even though he would "run" the football 70 times and pass 10, if you consider the option plays as passes, it'd be more like passing 25 times.

Martinez did not run it effectively, our line didn't block it effectively, and we had pitch discipline issues at times. Martinez would start streaking down the line and then either misjudge a read, pitch too early or too late, or he'd get blown up in the backfield. I love the option and I wish we would use it more, too, but it has to be run effectively and the correct way.

I bet if you rewatched all our games, watched for option-specific plays and saw how many yards they garnered, it'd be like the rest of our offense - average.

 

[HeyBurke]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

That seems to be the mantra that it's always better next year. meanwhile it's exactly the same as last year. If Bo doesn't do it already he needs to tell the team that every position is open to create competition and get the best athletes on the field.

That's because the offense has been different every year.

In 2008, it was the west coast offense.

In 2009, it was some weird spread, power running game.

In 2010, it was the spread option.

In 2011, it was a combination between the spread, zone-read option, and triple option.

 

[n.e.husker]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

That seems to be the mantra that it's always better next year. meanwhile it's exactly the same as last year. If Bo doesn't do it already he needs to tell the team that every position is open to create competition and get the best athletes on the field.

That's because the offense has been different every year.

In 2008, it was the west coast offense.

In 2009, it was some weird spread, power running game.

In 2010, it was the spread option.

In 2011, it was a combination between the spread, zone-read option, and Belly G Option.

FIFY

 

[Blaze1up]

It's all about the O-line and your pulling guard. The reason we had so much success in the 90's was because ours was the best in football which is far from today.

 

[HeyBurke]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

That seems to be the mantra that it's always better next year. meanwhile it's exactly the same as last year. If Bo doesn't do it already he needs to tell the team that every position is open to create competition and get the best athletes on the field.

That's because the offense has been different every year.

In 2008, it was the west coast offense.

In 2009, it was some weird spread, power running game.

In 2010, it was the spread option.

In 2011, it was a combination between the spread, zone-read option, and Belly G Option.

FIFY

BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G

 

[bshirt]

This offense tries to do too many things to be ultra effective at the option game. There are so many intracasies to running the option perfectly that you would have to be 99% committed to only running the option if you want the same results as we had with Frost, Crouch, Frazier, etc. Currently we do not have the O linemen and I doubt they commit the required practice time to doing it much better than we see on Saturdays. I really think Martinez could learn to run it but not when he has so many other things to consider with the other formations etc. He doesn't make defenders commit on the corners but I think that is a product of coaching emphasis and not due to any limit of his ability.

The OP stated that we won all the tough conference games by running and lost the others because we passed too much. While that appears true on the surface, the real problems with those losses were that we were forced into passing situations for many different reasons. Inability to run the ball, inability to gain yards on 1st or 2nd down, penalties, game time issues that caused the play calling to go to the pass rather than the run, etc. It's not just that we passed too much it's that we HAD to pass too much. And then there's the whole issue of simply being outplayed and generally looking like crap in those games. I too would like to see us run more option but it requires a lot more than simply calling more option plays.

Very well said. 100% accurate that we were forced to throw the ball wayyyyyy more than we wanted to. Even with Rex breaking tackles behind the LOS almost every game we still couldn't get anywhere close to a consistent run game.

We don't have anywhere close to a road-grading OLine whatsoever, our TEs Reed can't block well (at all) and Cotton is out. Guys like Turner & Bell can't block anybody. As others state, we don't practice it near enough either (Uncle Milt's #1 requirement).

Sadly, we won't be good at that for a long while.

 

[JJ Husker]

No. We start running more option and that just sets the offense back a few more years. Nebraska's offense is extremely young and inexperienced. They'll be better next year.

That seems to be the mantra that it's always better next year. meanwhile it's exactly the same as last year. If Bo doesn't do it already he needs to tell the team that every position is open to create competition and get the best athletes on the field.

That's because the offense has been different every year.

In 2008, it was the west coast offense.

In 2009, it was some weird spread, power running game.

In 2010, it was the spread option.

In 2011, it was a combination between the spread, zone-read option, and Belly G Option.

FIFY

BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G BELLY G

Is that you Urban?

 

[lo country]

Martinez is not an option QB. Period. To successfully sell the option, the QB MUST step into the pursuit and make them commit to either QB or RB. Martinez is not built physically nor mentally to take the beating that would be required to establish a true option. An option QB gets hit almost every play. Look at how he runs in the open field, ie slows down and stands up to get hit, no cuts or moves, just straight ahead blazing speed. He is a threat, but not as an option QB.

I cannot remember the game that Carnes actually played and he stepped right into the LB and pitched. This is what makes the option. An attacking QB who forces the D to commit. Martinez, instead of going straight down the line or angled towards the D, he drifts back towards the RB, this allows the D to close and get a good enough angle that both guys get stuffed.

If you really want the option, it won't be run with Martinez. Maybe a play or two or three, but not enough to make DC's worry about it. Martinez is becoming better, no reason to try an make him something he is not.

 

[The Dude]

I've seen Martinez do all the things we've declared he can't do in this thread. He just needs to do it in a consistant basis. I think that's more of an experience and reps issue than it is a matter of "welp, he just can't do it".

 

[Hercules]

I wanna see more quadruple option. That was awesome. We should use it against Ohio State too, and have the cameras zoom in Urban Meyer freaking out.