Washington at Nebraska Preview

[HowlingHusky]

Firstly, I'm sure that I will be called a troll, so get that out of your system now. I'm actually a serious poster that likes to engage in topical discussions and not smack talk. I'm a member of the Seattle Times blog with the user name of Howl4Dawgs. The reason that I came to your board is that someone linked to this board to some posts about Keith Price being a sacrificial lamb and Coach Sark calling for heads. Be that as it may, I'd really like to discuss how you view the game this upcoming season and how I view it as well. Best case/worst case and probable outcome. I also write on BleacherReport.com under my real name of Mike Martin. Here's my preview of the Huskies' season last year: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/431603-five-factors-for-a-sucessful-2010-season-for-the-washington-huskies. Turns out my prediction was a bit more accurate than most of the media. For this preview I won't be revealing anything new that is not in print somewhere. I'll be putting my own view and spin things.

Overview of the Washington Huskies for 2011:

The Washington Huskies of the 2010 Holiday Bowl will be a vastly different team from the one that takes the field in Nebraska on September 17th. Sure, the departure of Jake Locker is notable, but the sky hasn't fallen in Seattle. The offensive additions of the #2 Fullback coming out of HS in 2010 Zack Fogerson and the #1 Tight End coming out of HS in 2011. Both represent significant upgrades to the 2010 Huskies. On the defensive side of the ball the Huskies lost two very productive Linebackers in Mason Foster and Victor Aiyewa. Though those losses are huge their departures may turn out to be offset by au'oli Jamora and Josh Shirley.

Offensive Preview:

Newly anointed starting QB, Keith Price will have the weapons that Locker could have only dreamed of: Two elite TE's, an elite FB and a deep, physical WR corp. The two tight ends, Michael Hartvigson and Austin Seferin-Jenkins, are unproven, but, if the Spring was any indication, big targets with great hands and decent blocking abilities. When Jake Locker had a good TE to dump passes off to his completion percentage was 3 points higher when Kavario Middleton wasn't dating Mary Jane. Price will have two big guys to dump passes off to making it so that the defenses have to defend the entire field.

Chris Polk, Jessie Callier, Deontae Cooper. That group speaks for itself.

Throw in Zack Fogerson (the Fogerson kid that's not spending his nights with Mary Jane) who is a good run blocker and has a great set of hands coming out of the backfield and the defensive perimeter is yet larger. Another piece of weaponry is Keith Price. Though he doesn't have the top-end speed of Jake he has an element that Jake didn't really have and that's a bit of shake and bake: he won't bowl you over but he will make you miss.

The Husky WRs learned some valuable, physical lessons in the two Nebraska games last year. Though the Huskies lost D'Andrea Goodwin, the Husky WR corp is essentially the same...Parade Magazine 2010 National Player of the Year, Kasen Williams. At 6'3" 215 he's not one to get pushed around. Husky fans have been licking their chops on this kid since his freshman year in HS. By his sophomore year at Skyline High School scouts were saying that he was D1 ready and he has gotten more dominant as time gone on.

With Kearse and Williams on the outside not being man-handled (word is that James Johnson has beefed up and is getting stronger as well), the new Tight Ends, the new Fullback and a more elusive QB this offense could, and let me stress, COULD be a high-powered.

Defensive Preview:

The Husky Defensive front is unchanged from the Holiday Bowl...but they will be a more mature and deeper. Alameda Ta'Amu won't sneak up on anybody this year. I think he caught Nebraska by surprise in the Holiday Bowl making him a bit more effective-making the entire defense more effective as they tried to adjust to him. There are other up and coming defensive linemen as well.

Exit the #2 tackler in the country, Mason Foster. Enter Josh Shirley. This kid was nearly impossible to Red Shirt last year. At 6'3" and 235 lbs. as a scout team member last year he was said to be unblockable at the rush end spot. Flash forward to Spring 2011 and the reality of the rumor was revealed. He's a freak. Alamdea Ta'Amu is the strongest player on the defense, but at 90 pounds less Shirley is putting up the 2nd highest numbers in the weight room. Once thought to be an afterthought on the run game he's proven he can be a run-stopper, pass-rusher, drop-into-coverage guy. Where he'll line up is anybody's guess. On the other side of the ball you'll find Hau'oli Jamora who's cut from the same cloth.

MLB Cort Dennison was out for the first Nebraska game. He's the defensive QB and, in my opinion, was a big reason for the big blow-out in the first Nebraska game. Playing on either side of him will be the hottest battle going into the Fall. Foster and Aiyewa will be difficult to replace so my best guess is that the tackles will be spread out over several players who are yet to be named.

On the backside of the defense the Huskies lost Nate Williams...the #2 tackler on the team. As a senior, Quinton Richardson appears to be sliding into the leadership role for the DB's. Nate's football IQ will be difficult to replace, but his athleticism won't be. Although he may be playing in the NFL next year (depending on how this stupid multi-millionaires -v- billionaires squabble turns out) he didn't have the coveted top-end speed needed in the defensive backfield.

What all this means come game time:

On passing downs if Ta'Amu can manage to put some pressure on Martinez like he did in the Holiday Bowl Martinez could be flushed out of the pocket into the waiting arms of Shirley or Jamora. On running downs Ta'Amu should be dominant by occupying two blockers freeing up someone for blitzing.

I don't know enough of Nebraska's wide outs or of their new usual bevy of backs so I'll let you guys counter with how you think the offense could counter what the Huskies are putting out there.

On the offensive side of things the Huskies should try to run first, set things up with play action and things over the middle with some pops down field. I think that the balance of the Huskies, that they didn't have last year, should spread out the Nebraska defense and eat up time on the clock to keep the defense fresh.

What additions to the defense will Nebraska have in 2011? How has losing Suh and Crick to the NFL impacted Nebraska's depth on the DL?

I don't get into smack talk so I'd actually enjoy a bit of a discussion of football.

Thanks!

 

[corncraze]

What additions to the defense will Nebraska have in 2011? How has losing Suh and Crick to the NFL impacted Nebraska's depth on the DL?

Crick is still here... and actually our DL depth is probably our biggest strong point on D. We return 3 starters who have all started for at least two seasons and are three deep at DT and two deep at DE (currently, we could be three if the JUCO Carter plays well). Even further on D, Levonte David, who just recently broke the school record for most tackles in a season, leads an experienced group of starting LBs which consists of RS junior Will Compton and JR Sean Fisher (who was considered to be possibly our best LB last spring until he broke his leg and was out for the season), however depth behind the three is a concern. Even further, we return 3 starters in the backfield headlined by senior CB Alfonso Dennard who is listed by some as a 1st round draft pick for next season. Ciante Evans is one the biggest question marks in the backfield, because he has so little experienced, however he thrived against Missouri after Dennard was benched from injury.

Offensively, the main question is still Martinez. Is he healthy? Is he mature enough to lead the offense during times of pressure? and so on. The big thing this year though, is that OC Shawn Watson is gone and new OC Tim Beck (our previous RB coach) will be implementing an offense that better suits Martinez's abilities. Expect more quick tempo, no huddle offenses, that implement more screens and play actions to keep running lanes open. RB Rex Burkhead is returning, along with three new exalted, but unproven, RBs (5 star fr. Aaron Green of Texas, 4 star Braylon Heard of Ohio, and 3-4 star Ameer Abdullah of Alabama) who might all see playing time this season. At WR, we lose butterfingers Niles Paul, however maintain x WR Brandon Kinnie and gain two big names from spring ball - fr. high school QB Jamal Turner and RS fr. Kenny Bell. Both have been praised for their incredible speed and quickness. The offensive line is maybe one of the biggest issues, however the staff has shown a considerable amount of effort in attempts to improve the OL. There are currently four coaches working with the OL to stress technique and rehash fundamentals.

You are correct that our offense does need to find a passing game, however I will say that the team you guys played in the Holliday Bowl was completely unmotivated and honestly we took the game for granted. WE WILL be a different team in our next meeting in Lincoln, an angry inspired team with a very strong running game and a flashing new no-huddle offense.

Going back to the bowl game, I understand the lack of motivation is somewhat a result of coaching, but you have to see it in our point of view. We were entering the same bowl that we killed Arizona last season against a barely bowl eligible Washington team that we wiped the floor with earlier in the year. Even further, we had just lost the Big 12 Championship in the last minutes (again), making fall short of of our goal of a conference championship.

We see that last bowl game as a complete fluke. Something that got outta hand after the entire team didn't show up in the first quarter. They worked themselves into a jam and then panicked and couldn't find away to get back into the game. It was more a mental issue, than a physical issue.

I'm not going to argue with you because there's no point. It'll all be settled on the field soon enough. However if you have anymore questions about the Huskers feel free to ask. O and welcome to the board by the way!

 

[Hunter94]

welcome to the board, dog. both teams have a lot to prove, lots of new faces and a lot of hype regarding newcomers.

we all would be silly to speculate that either team is going to see major improvements, especially in an early season match up.......there is no excuse for the Holiday Bowl stumble, Pelini has that one on him...pitiful.

 

[okaive]

Welcome to the site. Nice to have other team fans on here without the troll mentality.

Corncraze basically summed it up for me , although I would have just quoted the one line he bolded and erased the rest of your post so it wouldn't be that pain in the a$$ to scroll.

 

[knapplc]

Firstly, I'm sure that I will be called a troll, so get that out of your system now.

We've had quite a few Huskies fans trolling our boards, so if you get some grief, you can thank your fellow fans for that. They have not represented your team well over here. If you're just here to talk football, you'll be welcomed.

I hope you enjoy your time on HuskerBoard.

 

[BIG ERN]

Nebraska by 2+ TD's. Book it

 

[Nebula]

Welcome to the board HowlingHusky! We're all about serious football talk around here, the waters only get muddied when somebody comes around with the sole intent of instigating some BS. You're off on the right foot my friend.

A good rundown of your team. One thing that quickly jumps to mind is that we do not have our "usual bevy of new backs." We've got a three headed monster of top-tier recruits in Aaron Green, Braylon Heard, and Ameer Abdullah...but as we all know, recruiting stars do not equal guaranteed on-field production against college level talent. But if you watch the film on these kids, they're all game breakers. They have elite speed, especially Heard and Green. Rex Burkhead is just about impossible to bring down with the first guy, he always seems to squirm his way past initial contact for 3+ yards every single time, and usually he'll give us 4-6 yards. He's incredibly quick, but he isn't overly straight away fast. But what he does do is give us good yardage situations on 2nd and 3rd down on a regular basis. He keeps us out of those 2nd or 3rd and longs by always falling forward. The thought around here (or maybe hope is a more accurate term) is that we cycle in one of our blazing youngsters to augment Burkhead's steady progress down the field. We have loaded up on our O-line with some of the best recruiting classes for the position in the last couple of years, especially last year. But honestly, the position has underperformed. With the changes to staff in the off-season, and the overall overhaul of our offensive philosophy, we are all hoping for some increased performance out of that unit. The talent (and depth) is there, though. In the passing game, Brandon Kinnie is a big, strong possession guy with a sturdy frame and good hands. He got robbed out of a touchdown in Seattle last year. (Seriously, how do you fall three and a half yards into the endzone and get called down on the two?) Kyler Reed gives fits as a TE hybrid of sorts. Then there are some unknowns. We've heard promising things regarding Kenny Bell and Stanley Jean-Baptiste, but that's just talk out of camp. Quincy Enunwa played as a true freshman last year, but probably should have redshirted.

As mentioned, Crick will be back. That is not good news for you guys. He's bad enough by himself, but we may very well have the deepest defensive line in the nation, especially right up the middle at the tackle spots. We can rotate in 5-6 legitimate starters throughout the game, and that is going to put some heavy strain on your o-line. I don't know how deep you guys are on the line, but if you can't substitute some guys in there your Huskies are going to be panting hard come the 2nd half. Our secondary glitters with potential, but the real star back there is Dennard. Throw the ball in his direction at your own peril. He's a freakish athlete with good instincts. Lavonte David is a top linebacker nationally, based on his production last year. And this gives us the coveted "star at every level" status on D. And that's where we hang our hat around here, on those Blackshirts. Pelini's units are smart, disciplined, and a little chippy. They play with an intimidating aggression, and they'll be hard to move on. You'll have your hands full.

Honest opinion? I think we win this game by a pretty wide margin. I think it is pretty well accepted nationally that we'll (again) field one of if not the best defenses in the nation next year. You guys can't say that about any unit, offense, defense, or special teams. And offensively, we have massively underperformed the last couple of years, which sounds like a good thing for you guys but in reality it isn't because we have real talent back there. If we can get it together on that side of the ball, we'll be a legitimate candidate to win it all. And that isn't the case for Washington. (Next year, anyway )

 

[Lil' Red]

I'd say we'll have a good idea on this game after week 2 when we play Fresno State. If we blow out Fresno State I think you guys will need a legit top 25 team to have a chance. I think QB play will be the key for both teams next season.

 

[carlfense]

It's interesting how similar these preview posts are by fans of ALL teams. (Nebraska included, Husky fan.)

It's almost like you could start with a template and just plug in names.

We lost _____, _______, and _________ . . . but _________, __________, and _____________, will be at least as good if not better.

We recruited _______________ last year and he was the _______ best (random position) and he is AWESOME.

The defense last year (was awesome/sucked) but you can be sure that it will be better with _______ lining up at _________.

Did you know that __________ was a Heisman candidate? Yes, he graduated, but _____________ looked INCREDIBLE during spring scrimmages.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[corncraze]

Welcome to the site. Nice to have other team fans on here without the troll mentality.

Corncraze basically summed it up for me , although I would have just quoted the one line he bolded and erased the rest of your post so it wouldn't be that pain in the a$$ to scroll.

Fixed that :thumbs

 

[corncraze]

Kyler Reed gives fits as a TE hybrid of sorts.

How could I space on Kyler Reed?! :facepalm:

 

[HowlingHusky]

Firstly, I'm sure that I will be called a troll, so get that out of your system now.

We've had quite a few Huskies fans trolling our boards, so if you get some grief, you can thank your fellow fans for that. They have not represented your team well over here. If you're just here to talk football, you'll be welcomed.

I hope you enjoy your time on HuskerBoard.

Unfortunately, smack talk is the nature of the Internet...especially around game time, which is why I wanted to use this opportunity to chat before the Nebraska fans raid our boards and Husky fans raid your board. I don't plan on making this my new home, but I am interested in generating some dialog so I can know what to look for beyond the talking heads on tv and the smack talkers on our boards. I'm not one to talk smack even when Washington was relevant on the national scene. I AM very proud to be a Husky so don't let that "Husky Pride" be viewed as arrogant...just like I won't for you either. There's a reason that your and our fans are often viewed as some of the best in the country.

Back when I was a PoliSci major in college I knew both sides of issues to ensure I was well-informed (and rarely would I find even a professor who would debate me LOL) that's what I'd like to do with the information gleaned on here. So thanks for the welcome!

 

[bball_backer]

Washington saw two Nebraska teams last year: a team early in the year with a healthy T-Mart and a perfect record to protect against their first 'real' opponent, and then a team that had an injured T-Mart, a disappointing last few weeks, a boring bowl game, a boring opponent, and nothing to play for.

The team Washington will see this fall will be the same one they saw last September, a motivated team. Sark may have them better, but nowhere near good enough.

 

[HowlingHusky]

Washington saw two Nebraska teams last year: a team early in the year with a healthy T-Mart and a perfect record to protect against their first 'real' opponent, and then a team that had an injured T-Mart, a disappointing last few weeks, a boring bowl game, a boring opponent, and nothing to play for.

The team Washington will see this fall will be the same one they saw last September, a motivated team. Sark may have them better, but nowhere near good enough.

Nebraska saw two different Husky teams as well. Firstly, the defense was without the Defensive QB, Cort Dennision. I felt, going into the Nebraska game, that his absence was was going to be a big factor, but not as big as it was.

I do have some hope for whatever Nebraska throws the Huskies' way this fall. In the Oregon game last year the Huskies handled them better than any team had up to the 6 minute mark of the 3rd quarter with the back up QB Keith Price. The Oregon game was a huge confidence booster for the Huskies as the defense saw that they could hang with the Ducks for most of the game. From that point on the DL turned in good and at times dominant performances...including the Holiday Bowl. I think/hope that is the team that the Huskies have become.

Was Martinez injured going into the bowl game? Seems to me they were saying in the build up to the game that he was back to 100%. Is this your opinion that they're that much better or do you have some substantiation to your remarks? The big reason the Huskies were beaten so badly in the first game was Martinez breaking away on the long runs. This year they're going to have Shirley and Jamora helping to contain the pocket (and making it collapse) and funneling plays inside so Martinez won't be able to break the long ones. I think some good reading for you might be on Josh Shirley reports from last season and of him this spring. I think he's a game changer on defense. He's the sort of hybrid player that teams will be looking for going forward in an effort to offset the spread gimmicky plays that the Ducks and Gators (under Urban Myer) would run. If they 2011 Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking to go that way it will be a nice opportunity to put Josh onto the national scene...if he is, indeed, the player that I see him to be: Unblockable.

 

[HowlingHusky]

Crick is still here... and actually our DL depth is probably our biggest strong point on D. We return 3 starters who have all started for at least two seasons and are three deep at DT and two deep at DE (currently, we could be three if the JUCO Carter plays well). Even further on D, Levonte David, who just recently broke the school record for most tackles in a season, leads an experienced group of starting LBs which consists of RS junior Will Compton and JR Sean Fisher (who was considered to be possibly our best LB last spring until he broke his leg and was out for the season), however depth behind the three is a concern. Even further, we return 3 starters in the backfield headlined by senior CB Alfonso Dennard who is listed by some as a 1st round draft pick for next season. Ciante Evans is one the biggest question marks in the backfield, because he has so little experienced, however he thrived against Missouri after Dennard was benched from injury.

That's the sort of quality of player I expect to be appearing in Nebraska year in and year out. That's the talent the Huskies had prior to 2000 and what they're beginning to field now. We're two years away from being a true Two-Deep team so health this season will be CRITICAL. They One-and-a-half-deeps are 4 and 5 star guys, but they're quite young. I think we're getting there talent-wise, but still at least a year away from there not being a huge talent drop-off if the #1 guy goes down.

Offensively, the main question is still Martinez. Is he healthy? Is he mature enough to lead the offense during times of pressure? and so on. The big thing this year though, is that OC Shawn Watson is gone and new OC Tim Beck (our previous RB coach) will be implementing an offense that better suits Martinez's abilities. Expect more quick tempo, no huddle offenses, that implement more screens and play actions to keep running lanes open. RB Rex Burkhead is returning, along with three new exalted, but unproven, RBs (5 star fr. Aaron Green of Texas, 4 star Braylon Heard of Ohio, and 3-4 star Ameer Abdullah of Alabama) who might all see playing time this season. At WR, we lose butterfingers Niles Paul, however maintain x WR Brandon Kinnie and gain two big names from spring ball - fr. high school QB Jamal Turner and RS fr. Kenny Bell. Both have been praised for their incredible speed and quickness. The offensive line is maybe one of the biggest issues, however the staff has shown a considerable amount of effort in attempts to improve the OL. There are currently four coaches working with the OL to stress technique and rehash fundamentals.

What do you view as the biggest addition through subtraction for Nebraska? For the Huskies it is at the WR position. D'andrea Goodwin was a good receiver but he was easily pushed around. Especially against the physical Husker DB's. In his place will be 6'3" 215 Kasen Williams. The Huskies played the entire season without a TE so I think that's a HUGE addition as well. In the backfield is Zack Fogerson who is compared to USC's Stanley Havili.

You are correct that our offense does need to find a passing game, however I will say that the team you guys played in the Holliday Bowl was completely unmotivated and honestly we took the game for granted. WE WILL be a different team in our next meeting in Lincoln, an angry inspired team with a very strong running game and a flashing new no-huddle offense.

The thing that Shirley gives the Huskies is the ability to not change out a player when the offense goes no-huddle on them. I hope Nebraska does go no-huddle a lot so that the Huskies can have some more exposure to it before the Ducks roll into town. I also think that the Huskies are preparing for Nebraska's no-huddle while preparing for Oregon...and may have an advantage having faced Oregon on a regular basis. I'd much rather lose to Nebraska in Lincoln than lose to the Ducks again in Seattle.

Going back to the bowl game, I understand the lack of motivation is somewhat a result of coaching, but you have to see it in our point of view. We were entering the same bowl that we killed Arizona last season against a barely bowl eligible Washington team that we wiped the floor with earlier in the year. Even further, we had just lost the Big 12 Championship in the last minutes (again), making fall short of of our goal of a conference championship.

When the game was anybody's the Huskies got a sack or came up with a big play one after another...to me the Huskers had to be into the game mentally but the Husky D dominated. I don't think, for one moment, that it was a blow out and that Nebraska was out of it, not when the game could have gone Nebraska's way with one play here or there.

We see that last bowl game as a complete fluke. Something that got outta hand after the entire team didn't show up in the first quarter. They worked themselves into a jam and then panicked and couldn't find away to get back into the game. It was more a mental issue, than a physical issue.

I saw the game differently. The Huskies never allowed the Huskers to get into a decent flow of the game with a disruptive defense. Sure, the Huskies had nothing to lose and everything to prove...and the Huskers may have been out of it mentally to start with, but from where I was sitting I saw a disruptive defensive plan that was executed nearly to perfection.

I'm not going to argue with you because there's no point. It'll all be settled on the field soon enough. However if you have anymore questions about the Huskers feel free to ask. O and welcome to the board by the way!

I'm not interested in arguing. I like that you've laid things out logically so that even a Husky can under stand them ;-).