Watson resolute amid tension

for me, i know i got worn out watching Lee set, then go up to the line, call an audible or change the play, then back to the 'gun.......he wore me out and didn't ever look comfortable. i think Watson was getting out schemed and was so concerned with that, he didn't notice how poorly Lee was throwing the ball.....rain, on the road, etc. it was still pretty pathetic and i was hoping for more diverse play calling....no huddles, quick snaps, anything to break the 3 and out routine.......

 
husker B-rent said:
cmon guys......i have played ball at a high level (i ended up leaving my team after 1 season to focus on academics because i knew i would have no shot at the next level) and playing in the rain and on the road is NOT an easy thing to do no matter who you are!

As a football team you have to play to the weakness of what the other team is doing to have the most success. IE: if the defense is loading the box to stop the run, why the hell would you try to run? that means there are only 3-4 in coverage and you have significantly greater than 50% chance of completing the pass. If the defense is sending 8 into coverage, then run 7/8 times and you are going to have success!

Basically, your offense needs to adjust to what the defense is doing. That is the basic premise of no huddle teams are looking to the sideline to get the call after the defense has lined up. It is so you can see what the defense is doing and adjust yourself offensively to take advantage of the defense.

When all is said and done.......if you are running the ball when the defense is stacking 8 in the box, you are playing right into their hand and you will most likely lose.....we do not run the triple option offense and we simply cannot do that....neither can many other teams in the country......
Click to expand...
Nope...the guys that question Watson's playcall is because we tried running zone reads, stretch plays, and when we got in the singleback...it was a run and Missouri knew it. Missouri has a pretty fast outside play with their defense. They are good at covering that and we played right into it. Now you can't tell me that Nevada can run (attacking the inside which is Missouri's weak point) and we can't. It was a piss poor gameplan by Watson who made no adjustments and can't even trust Rex (who was the #2 guy) to run the ball when all he has done is get the yards. I think we got lucky that the defense stepped up, Niles made the catch to spark us, and also Niles went up to get the ball in a pass that was double covered for his second touchdown. I am still out on whether the offense might be on track this year...we might know more from the Texas Tech game. I am not calling for his head, but it is what it is...Watson had a bad gameplan. The fact that he is defending it makes me say he is stubborn and will never learn. He should take a note from Bo's playbook and just say darn right I should have done some things different and now we need to learn from it and fix things.

 
HuskerGBR said:
husker B-rent said:
cmon guys......i have played ball at a high level (i ended up leaving my team after 1 season to focus on academics because i knew i would have no shot at the next level) and playing in the rain and on the road is NOT an easy thing to do no matter who you are!

As a football team you have to play to the weakness of what the other team is doing to have the most success. IE: if the defense is loading the box to stop the run, why the hell would you try to run? that means there are only 3-4 in coverage and you have significantly greater than 50% chance of completing the pass. If the defense is sending 8 into coverage, then run 7/8 times and you are going to have success!

Basically, your offense needs to adjust to what the defense is doing. That is the basic premise of no huddle teams are looking to the sideline to get the call after the defense has lined up. It is so you can see what the defense is doing and adjust yourself offensively to take advantage of the defense.

When all is said and done.......if you are running the ball when the defense is stacking 8 in the box, you are playing right into their hand and you will most likely lose.....we do not run the triple option offense and we simply cannot do that....neither can many other teams in the country......
Click to expand...
Nope...the guys that question Watson's playcall is because we tried running zone reads, stretch plays, and when we got in the singleback...it was a run and Missouri knew it. Missouri has a pretty fast outside play with their defense. They are good at covering that and we played right into it. Now you can't tell me that Nevada can run (attacking the inside which is Missouri's weak point) and we can't. It was a piss poor gameplan by Watson who made no adjustments and can't even trust Rex (who was the #2 guy) to run the ball when all he has done is get the yards. I think we got lucky that the defense stepped up, Niles made the catch to spark us, and also Niles went up to get the ball in a pass that was double covered for his second touchdown. I am still out on whether the offense might be on track this year...we might know more from the Texas Tech game. I am not calling for his head, but it is what it is...Watson had a bad gameplan. The fact that he is defending it makes me say he is stubborn and will never learn. He should take a note from Bo's playbook and just say darn right I should have done some things different and now we need to learn from it and fix things.
Click to expand...

Who does that sound like? Here are a some hints.

He stunk as a head coach

He did an excellant job in every area

He has some sort of a jaw thing

His house in Walton is still for sale

He felt things were techincal for us

 
HuskerGBR said:
husker B-rent said:
cmon guys......i have played ball at a high level (i ended up leaving my team after 1 season to focus on academics because i knew i would have no shot at the next level) and playing in the rain and on the road is NOT an easy thing to do no matter who you are!

As a football team you have to play to the weakness of what the other team is doing to have the most success. IE: if the defense is loading the box to stop the run, why the hell would you try to run? that means there are only 3-4 in coverage and you have significantly greater than 50% chance of completing the pass. If the defense is sending 8 into coverage, then run 7/8 times and you are going to have success!

Basically, your offense needs to adjust to what the defense is doing. That is the basic premise of no huddle teams are looking to the sideline to get the call after the defense has lined up. It is so you can see what the defense is doing and adjust yourself offensively to take advantage of the defense.

When all is said and done.......if you are running the ball when the defense is stacking 8 in the box, you are playing right into their hand and you will most likely lose.....we do not run the triple option offense and we simply cannot do that....neither can many other teams in the country......
Click to expand...
Nope...the guys that question Watson's playcall is because we tried running zone reads, stretch plays, and when we got in the singleback...it was a run and Missouri knew it. Missouri has a pretty fast outside play with their defense. They are good at covering that and we played right into it. Now you can't tell me that Nevada can run (attacking the inside which is Missouri's weak point) and we can't. It was a piss poor gameplan by Watson who made no adjustments and can't even trust Rex (who was the #2 guy) to run the ball when all he has done is get the yards. I think we got lucky that the defense stepped up, Niles made the catch to spark us, and also Niles went up to get the ball in a pass that was double covered for his second touchdown. I am still out on whether the offense might be on track this year...we might know more from the Texas Tech game. I am not calling for his head, but it is what it is...Watson had a bad gameplan. The fact that he is defending it makes me say he is stubborn and will never learn. He should take a note from Bo's playbook and just say darn right I should have done some things different and now we need to learn from it and fix things.
Click to expand...
see i dont think he needed to do anything different.

MUs defense was thinking exactly like you are.....they were thinking that conventional wisdom says to run the ball in those conditions and they were defending us running the ball but they were leaving passing lanes open, just like Lee said, mostly on the outside although they did occasionally leave the middle open as well.

We dont necessarily have a power back on scholarship right now ( helu is the biggest at about 215 i believe) and if a team stacks against us we arent going to be able to run up the gut of the defense. So what do we have left?

ans: the outside! which is fine when you are playing a slow team, but MU is a fast team that is going to also be able to defend us on the outside. What does that leave?

ans: the passing game! 3/4 of the time MU was trying to stop the run and putting minimal coverage on the pass, hoping that the rain would take care of that for them and it did until the 4th quarter when the rain let up a little and we were able to execute because they did not adjust to what we were doing!

 
husker B-rent said:
HuskerGBR said:
husker B-rent said:
cmon guys......i have played ball at a high level (i ended up leaving my team after 1 season to focus on academics because i knew i would have no shot at the next level) and playing in the rain and on the road is NOT an easy thing to do no matter who you are!

As a football team you have to play to the weakness of what the other team is doing to have the most success. IE: if the defense is loading the box to stop the run, why the hell would you try to run? that means there are only 3-4 in coverage and you have significantly greater than 50% chance of completing the pass. If the defense is sending 8 into coverage, then run 7/8 times and you are going to have success!

Basically, your offense needs to adjust to what the defense is doing. That is the basic premise of no huddle teams are looking to the sideline to get the call after the defense has lined up. It is so you can see what the defense is doing and adjust yourself offensively to take advantage of the defense.

When all is said and done.......if you are running the ball when the defense is stacking 8 in the box, you are playing right into their hand and you will most likely lose.....we do not run the triple option offense and we simply cannot do that....neither can many other teams in the country......
Click to expand...
Nope...the guys that question Watson's playcall is because we tried running zone reads, stretch plays, and when we got in the singleback...it was a run and Missouri knew it. Missouri has a pretty fast outside play with their defense. They are good at covering that and we played right into it. Now you can't tell me that Nevada can run (attacking the inside which is Missouri's weak point) and we can't. It was a piss poor gameplan by Watson who made no adjustments and can't even trust Rex (who was the #2 guy) to run the ball when all he has done is get the yards. I think we got lucky that the defense stepped up, Niles made the catch to spark us, and also Niles went up to get the ball in a pass that was double covered for his second touchdown. I am still out on whether the offense might be on track this year...we might know more from the Texas Tech game. I am not calling for his head, but it is what it is...Watson had a bad gameplan. The fact that he is defending it makes me say he is stubborn and will never learn. He should take a note from Bo's playbook and just say darn right I should have done some things different and now we need to learn from it and fix things.
Click to expand...
see i dont think he needed to do anything different.

MUs defense was thinking exactly like you are.....they were thinking that conventional wisdom says to run the ball in those conditions and they were defending us running the ball but they were leaving passing lanes open, just like Lee said, mostly on the outside although they did occasionally leave the middle open as well.

We dont necessarily have a power back on scholarship right now ( helu is the biggest at about 215 i believe) and if a team stacks against us we arent going to be able to run up the gut of the defense. So what do we have left?

ans: the outside! which is fine when you are playing a slow team, but MU is a fast team that is going to also be able to defend us on the outside. What does that leave?

ans: the passing game! 3/4 of the time MU was trying to stop the run and putting minimal coverage on the pass, hoping that the rain would take care of that for them and it did until the 4th quarter when the rain let up a little and we were able to execute because they did not adjust to what we were doing!
Click to expand...
I might be bias here, but I really had a problem with being in the shotgun most of the day. The run plays he did call just didn't seem to fit with the weather (they should have been under center with a lead blocker), but in Watson's defense he probably knows more about injuries and what not. I.E.-Helu had the flu and Lee's thumb issue. I do remember though we set up on 3rd and 2 with a double tight set. Rex had like an 8 yard gain there. That formation also worked towards the end of the game and Missouri might have given up by then so who knows if those runs mattered. I do think we could have run the ball effectively with a more power set with 2/3 TE's. But we were snapping to the QB in the shotgun in the pouring rain and still having Lee pass. I am just having a hard time seeing that the whole scheme we had was not a bad one. But once again, I think we need to wait to see how the Texas Tech game goes...I think this one will tell us a lot about the offense.

Edit-I also want Watson to man up and admit when he is wrong. He did the same thing with the redzone deal at VT. He called some bad plays and we know it...just man up to it is all I am asking of him.

 
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We won didn't we? You guys are complaining about someone who called plays which enabled us to score 27 in the 4th quarter and win by 15 points. If you don't think that the rain had a huge effect on the playcalling, not to mention Helu being sick, then you're a moron. Wait until he loses us a game before you start complaining about Watson. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 
HuskerGBR said:
husker B-rent said:
HuskerGBR said:
husker B-rent said:
cmon guys......i have played ball at a high level (i ended up leaving my team after 1 season to focus on academics because i knew i would have no shot at the next level) and playing in the rain and on the road is NOT an easy thing to do no matter who you are!

As a football team you have to play to the weakness of what the other team is doing to have the most success. IE: if the defense is loading the box to stop the run, why the hell would you try to run? that means there are only 3-4 in coverage and you have significantly greater than 50% chance of completing the pass. If the defense is sending 8 into coverage, then run 7/8 times and you are going to have success!

Basically, your offense needs to adjust to what the defense is doing. That is the basic premise of no huddle teams are looking to the sideline to get the call after the defense has lined up. It is so you can see what the defense is doing and adjust yourself offensively to take advantage of the defense.

When all is said and done.......if you are running the ball when the defense is stacking 8 in the box, you are playing right into their hand and you will most likely lose.....we do not run the triple option offense and we simply cannot do that....neither can many other teams in the country......
Click to expand...
Nope...the guys that question Watson's playcall is because we tried running zone reads, stretch plays, and when we got in the singleback...it was a run and Missouri knew it. Missouri has a pretty fast outside play with their defense. They are good at covering that and we played right into it. Now you can't tell me that Nevada can run (attacking the inside which is Missouri's weak point) and we can't. It was a piss poor gameplan by Watson who made no adjustments and can't even trust Rex (who was the #2 guy) to run the ball when all he has done is get the yards. I think we got lucky that the defense stepped up, Niles made the catch to spark us, and also Niles went up to get the ball in a pass that was double covered for his second touchdown. I am still out on whether the offense might be on track this year...we might know more from the Texas Tech game. I am not calling for his head, but it is what it is...Watson had a bad gameplan. The fact that he is defending it makes me say he is stubborn and will never learn. He should take a note from Bo's playbook and just say darn right I should have done some things different and now we need to learn from it and fix things.
Click to expand...
see i dont think he needed to do anything different.

MUs defense was thinking exactly like you are.....they were thinking that conventional wisdom says to run the ball in those conditions and they were defending us running the ball but they were leaving passing lanes open, just like Lee said, mostly on the outside although they did occasionally leave the middle open as well.

We dont necessarily have a power back on scholarship right now ( helu is the biggest at about 215 i believe) and if a team stacks against us we arent going to be able to run up the gut of the defense. So what do we have left?

ans: the outside! which is fine when you are playing a slow team, but MU is a fast team that is going to also be able to defend us on the outside. What does that leave?

ans: the passing game! 3/4 of the time MU was trying to stop the run and putting minimal coverage on the pass, hoping that the rain would take care of that for them and it did until the 4th quarter when the rain let up a little and we were able to execute because they did not adjust to what we were doing!
Click to expand...
I might be bias here, but I really had a problem with being in the shotgun most of the day. The run plays he did call just didn't seem to fit with the weather (they should have been under center with a lead blocker), but in Watson's defense he probably knows more about injuries and what not. I.E.-Helu had the flu and Lee's thumb issue. I do remember though we set up on 3rd and 2 with a double tight set. Rex had like an 8 yard gain there. That formation also worked towards the end of the game and Missouri might have given up by then so who knows if those runs mattered. I do think we could have run the ball effectively with a more power set with 2/3 TE's. But we were snapping to the QB in the shotgun in the pouring rain and still having Lee pass. I am just having a hard time seeing that the whole scheme we had was not a bad one. But once again, I think we need to wait to see how the Texas Tech game goes...I think this one will tell us a lot about the offense.

Edit-I also want Watson to man up and admit when he is wrong. He did the same thing with the redzone deal at VT. He called some bad plays and we know it...just man up to it is all I am asking of him.
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i think that he really does think that what he is doing in those situations, even in hindsight, are the best things to do.

the only thing i could fault him on would be possibly overthinking the situation and trying to surprise the defense. that can be good if done occasionally but you cant do it all the time.

you are correct that sometimes you need to just line up and run the ball down the defenses throat and impose your will on them but there is a time and a place for that...and that is typically near the goal line.

Even in our triple option days we threw the ball more than a lot of people give us credit for which loosened up the opposing defense so we could continue to pound the ball. If we would have run the ball every down then teams would have just put all 11 guys in the box.

now, i would love to see us be able to run the ball like we used to but a WCO is predicated on the short passing game trying to control the clock and keep the opposing D off of the field and thats how we practice so that is also how we should play the game.....

just my opinion obviously and i think we both make very valid points!

 
TheCheshireCat said:
We won didn't we? You guys are complaining about someone who called plays which enabled us to score 27 in the 4th quarter and win by 15 points. If you don't think that the rain had a huge effect on the playcalling, not to mention Helu being sick, then you're a moron. Wait until he loses us a game before you start complaining about Watson. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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very well said sir...

 
Actually it is broke. It took the defense to win that game. Missouri is not a great defensive team. We played into their strengths. We tried to run the ball with less men up front to block then missouri had to defend. As soon as we switched to 4 tight ends...touchdown drive all runs. And I don't think their D was worn out since we hadn't been able to sustain any drives all game long. If we just say "who cares we won" it'll eventually cost us against a better opponent.

1. It's raining and catching the ball is an issue this includes snapping the ball to the qb in shotgun . Put him under center. We had a fumble from a poor snap.

2. Missouri is too fast for thos stretch plays. Up the gut and give 8 and 9 guys a chance to push their 8 and 9 (in the box)

If we don't establish a running game we can forget about keeping the ball away from good offenses like Tech. Say what you want. Does anyone here believe we will completely smother their offense saturday?

 
irafreak said:
Actually it is broke. It took the defense to win that game. Missouri is not a great defensive team. We played into their strengths. We tried to run the ball with less men up front to block then missouri had to defend. As soon as we switched to 4 tight ends...touchdown drive all runs. And I don't think their D was worn out since we hadn't been able to sustain any drives all game long. If we just say "who cares we won" it'll eventually cost us against a better opponent.

1. It's raining and catching the ball is an issue this includes snapping the ball to the qb in shotgun . Put him under center. We had a fumble from a poor snap.

2. Missouri is too fast for thos stretch plays. Up the gut and give 8 and 9 guys a chance to push their 8 and 9 (in the box)

If we don't establish a running game we can forget about keeping the ball away from good offenses like Tech. Say what you want. Does anyone here believe we will completely smother their offense saturday?
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for starters, you cant have it both ways.....the defense definitely played better because of the rain and the offense definitely played worse because of the rain!

second, look back and you will see that we only rushed for 111 yards and took them to overtime! we can beat tech while focusing on the passing game...but we wont need to...

 
Point taken. Wasn't able to watch that game only listen to it. There are more ways to play ball control. Here's to the offense stepping up saturday.

 
irafreak said:
Point taken. Wasn't able to watch that game only listen to it. There are more ways to play ball control. Here's to the offense stepping up saturday.
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dont get me wrong bro, i completely agree that ball control is key to this game and against any high powered offense.

If our gameplan this week is not to keep their offense off the field as much as possible then i will begin to question watson, but until then i just dont think we have seen enough to question the man yet. both average performances came in games with extreme circumstances....

 
True. And don't misunderstand me I'm not in favor of calling for watson's head or anything...just seen some red flags. For me anyway.

 
I can't believe people are sticking up for Watson in this one. I like the guy, but there's no way you can convince me that was the best possible playcalling available Thursday. That gameplan could have been better. I have watched Missouri this season, and prior to playing us their defense looked very, very average. Sure we scored 27 points on them in the fourth, but that was mostly due to our DEFENSE. How do you explain getting shutout--completely, 100% shutout--for three quarters? Are you really going to blame it on a wet ball? You can't be serious.

Cheshire: "Wait until he loses us a game before you start complaining."

Ummm... you remember when we only scored 15 points against Virginia Tech, right? And you remember when we couldn't even pick up a first down to end the game, right? And you know, we LOST that game... right?

Total yards against the great Tiger defense:

Illinois (worst team in the Big 10): 325

Bowling Green: 320

Freaking FURMAN: 398

Nevada: 364

Nebraska: 263 (LESS THAN 200 before we ground out the final drive)

You're really going to try and convince me this was because of the rain? Absolutely not buying it for a second. I didn't see one ball slip out of Lee's hands on a pass. The rain is a bad, bad excuse. We sucked on offense. That's it. Quarterback play was bad, run blocking was mediocre, and playcalling most certainly could have been better.

 
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