What in the heck is wrong with our offense?

[LumberJackSker]

I heard Damon make this point on the radio and it stuck with me. There is notable lack of trust between players and coaches.  Especially on offense. Morrison is told he has an awesome camp and is in the mix for the top spot, he doesn't get a carry. Rahmir is not brought up at all, becomes the lead back in crunch time. Betts is told he has an awesome camp, doesn't play a snap outside special teams. Frost wants to be a physical downhill running team, passes on 3rd and short. Frost wants to cut down on the QB runs to keep AM healthy, AM runs 5+ more times than any of the RBs. 

Frost's words are empty and players know it. I'm not surprised most of our attrition comes from one side of the ball. There is no consistency on what they want the offense to be, he never puts in motion the words that come out of his mouth. 

It's almost like there's no plan

 

[floridacorn]

I said this on another thread that appears to have been deleted:

The problem with the offense is that you have predicated it on location of a "piece" that is nearly impossible to find: a true dual-threat QB.  That is what Martinez was supposed to be, and that is what McCaffrey was supposed to be.  But neither are.  They are running backs that can throw the ball a little bit.

True dual-threat QB's exist at a rate of about 0-2 per year nationally.  So predicating your offensive strategy on having the services of one is unwise.  That is why you lose and lose and lose.  It is a bad plan.

You CAN win.  First seek to possess the ball, play strong D, and prioritize mistake-free disciplined football.  Then add at least two #1 NFL-caliber WR's, plus a game manager QB.  Then you will compete for a title.

Stop with the dual-threat nonsense.  You will only lose again and again.  You are trying to build a machine that requires a "piece" that is simply too rare to locate.  Enough!

I strongly disagree w/this, but I'm over seeing them try to force spread QB's into an elementary air raid system.  

 

[Florida Husker Watcher]

I strongly disagree w/this, but I'm over seeing them try to force spread QB's into an elementary air raid system.  

Not sure which particular part you disagree with.  But I'm sure there's plenty of material that's worthy of disagreement.

My main point is that your every decision has been based on the presupposition that you will have a dual-threat QB.  When, in fact, almost no such QB's exist.  And those that do largely go to Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson.  Frost is trying to repeat the Milton McKenzie miracle.  But that cannot reliably work.  So you fail again and again.

Permit me to be more specific.  You assume you'll have a dual-threat QB to fuel explosion.  So you recruit "explosive" WR's who can't run precise routes, but can freelance and produce YAC.  But you don't have a true dual-threat QB.  You have a running back who can throw a little bit (Martinez, McCaffrey).  ...So, now you have a QB that cannot throw the ball reliably paired with receivers that are not precisely where they should be precisely when they should be there - and who cannot "set up" cornerbacks with exacting route mechanics.  With regard to the WR's, that's not their fault.  They were supposed to be free-lancing explosive types who leveraged preoccupation of the entire defense (secondary included) on the QB.  But that didn't happen.  Because you ended up with a running back for a QB.  Now the whole thing doesn't work.

And this will repeat itself again and again.  Why?  Because there are between 0 and 2 true dual-threat QBs throughout the nation every year.  And you're unlikely to end up with one of them.  SO STOP PREDICATING YOUR ENTIRE FUTURE ON LANDING ONE.  You don't need one to succeed.  It's not the only path - it's just the only path you are pursuing.

 

[Danimal]

Qb.  We have great talent at receiver and TE, and you can’t even tell.  
 

Our 4th-year starter got outplayed by the Illinois back-up. AM's passing was spotty, missed a couple huge passes to wide-open guys. He showed athleticism obviously but his read-option is still more of a guess-option. Gotta love the kid but geez he hasn't developed. That Mario wasn't replaced this offseason is absurd. 

 

[floridacorn]

Not sure which particular part you disagree with.  But I'm sure there's plenty of material that's worthy of disagreement.

My main point is that your every decision has been based on the presupposition that you will have a dual-threat QB.  When, in fact, almost no such QB's exist.  And those that do largely go to Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson.  Frost is trying to repeat the Milton McKenzie miracle.  But that cannot reliably work.  So you fail again and again.

Permit me to be more specific.  You assume you'll have a dual-threat QB to fuel explosion.  So you recruit "explosive" WR's who can't run precise routes, but can freelance and produce YAC.  But you don't have a true dual-threat QB.  You have a running back who can throw a little bit (Martinez, McCaffrey).  ...So, now you have a QB that cannot throw the ball reliably paired with receivers that are not precisely where they should be precisely when they should be there - and who cannot "set up" cornerbacks with exacting route mechanics.  With regard to the WR's, that's not their fault.  They were supposed to be free-lancing explosive types who leveraged preoccupation of the entire defense (secondary included) on the QB.  But that didn't happen.  Because you ended up with a running back for a QB.  Now the whole thing doesn't work.

And this will repeat itself again and again.  Why?  Because there are between 0 and 2 true dual-threat QBs throughout the nation every year.  And you're unlikely to end up with one of them.  SO STOP PREDICATING YOUR ENTIRE FUTURE ON LANDING ONE.  You don't need one to succeed.  It's not the only path - it's just the only path you are pursuing.

IMO, you don't need Justin Fields or whomever fits the ideal dual-threat prototype.  But, you can't ask or expect a player like AM or LM to be a consistent drop back QB.  I can explain more in-depth, but to keep it simple, this team should never do anything but run or play action pass outside of true passing situations and in those situations they should call a solid percentage of draws & screens.  I believe you can win and win big w/a dual threat QB who is a limited passer, but you can't if you ask him to be a pocket passer.

 

[Enhance]

Too many are going by what the commentators were saying about receivers not getting open. Toure and Martina were open all day. Plus, they played a lot of zone. That’s up to QB to find open spots

Yeah I don't know what the commentators were on about there either. There were obviously some plays where Illinois' backs were playing tight enough coverage to make certain throws ill-advised, but there were several plays where receivers were open. This is college football. The ceiling gets better almost every year which means you're going to have to make plays. And on those plays, AM either didn't see them, didn't have the confidence to make the throw, or missed the throw entirely. So that takes up a huge chunk of this offense's potential. And then on other plays where there are opportunities, either the OL fails or the receiver makes a route mistake.

It all piles up into a crap show, but you have to look to the QB first and foremost. A four year starter shouldn't be making the kind of errors he is.

 

[Enhance]

Our 4th-year starter got outplayed by the Illinois back-up. AM's passing was spotty, missed a couple huge passes to wide-open guys. He showed athleticism obviously but his read-option is still more of a guess-option. Gotta love the kid but geez he hasn't developed. That Mario wasn't replaced this offseason is absurd. 

I agree about AM's lack of growth, but I'm not sure the bolded is that absurd. Frost is a dude's dude and supports his guys, and I'm sure he has a lot of confidence in Mario. The fact that he hasn't been replaced may be more of an indictment against AM than anything else.

That said, and to argue against myself a bit, it's been four seasons and they can't find a consistent quarterback to execute this offense efficiently. It's ultimately the coaches' jobs to a) find talent and b) develop that talent. So far, the quarterback position grade would get a solid D (maybe a C- or C at best) grade when looked at in totality of the last three years.

 

[Dansker]

Why can’t we ditch the whole spread offense philosophy? We tried to run power in the B12 in 2008 if you guys remember and we went to more of a spread offense. Why can’t we be multiple and just go back to a basic power run play action pass team? Drop the no huddle crap use it when it’s absolutely necessary. Never underestimate the power of a huddle.
 

I think he needs to do the hard part which Solich figured out in 2003 and that is he needs to revamp his entire offense and replace his entire weak offensive staff. Frost is way in over his head. 
 

Our defense is built for B1G offenses why can’t offense be built for B1G defense as well? We’re never going to consistently recruit 5 star receivers. We’re never going to be able to do what Ohio State is doing. Face it we need to be doing what Iowa and Wisconsin are doing and that’s producing NFL line talent with solid running backs and a difference maker at tight end/receiver. Beat our craft over and over, simple basic fundamentals,

I knew the offense Frost would bring from UCF wouldn’t go over well with our fan base. They expected good old fashioned Husker Power like the glimpse we saw vs OSU last year where I-Formation was working. We didn’t expect this s#!t show.

 

[Danimal]

I agree about AM's lack of growth, but I'm not sure the bolded is that absurd. Frost is a dude's dude and supports his guys, and I'm sure he has a lot of confidence in Mario. The fact that he hasn't been replaced may be more of an indictment against AM than anything else.

That said, and to argue against myself a bit, it's been four seasons and they can't find a consistent quarterback to execute this offense efficiently. It's ultimately the coaches' jobs to a) find talent and b) develop that talent. So far, the quarterback position grade would get a solid D (maybe a C- or C at best) grade when looked at in totality of the last three years.

If Frost isn't just protecting his boy then our recruiting/handling of the qb position hasn't just been bad but absolutely abysmal. So AM just can't be developed but we passed on Burrow and chose AM over Gebbia to start the s***-show then in the next three seasons we don't get a high schooler or transfer that can take the starting spot?  Hell Milton was available this offseason. If Mario's coaching isn't the issue then he and Frost are bumbling fools when it comes to player analysis and running the qb-room. 

 

[Savage Husker]

If Frost isn't just protecting his boy then our recruiting/handling of the qb position hasn't just been bad but absolutely abysmal. So AM just can't be developed but we passed on Burrow and chose AM over Gebbia to start the s***-show then in the next three seasons we don't get a high schooler or transfer that can take the starting spot?  Hell Milton was available this offseason. If Mario's coaching isn't the issue then he and Frost are bumbling fools when it comes to player analysis and running the qb-room. 

I was thinking about this last night. Kid is cleared 100%, nice write up on his recovery in the last week. I hope they at least pursued him, I do not know or remember any details, but there is something to be said about him not being in Lincoln. 

 

[Undone]

Permit me to be more specific.  You assume you'll have a dual-threat QB to fuel explosion.  So you recruit "explosive" WR's who can't run precise routes, but can freelance and produce YAC.  But you don't have a true dual-threat QB.  You have a running back who can throw a little bit (Martinez, McCaffrey).  ...So, now you have a QB that cannot throw the ball reliably paired with receivers that are not precisely where they should be precisely when they should be there - and who cannot "set up" cornerbacks with exacting route mechanics.  With regard to the WR's, that's not their fault.  They were supposed to be free-lancing explosive types who leveraged preoccupation of the entire defense (secondary included) on the QB.  But that didn't happen.  Because you ended up with a running back for a QB.  Now the whole thing doesn't work.

I agree with the overall take here. And I think it's why even a team like Northwestern will occasionally have a great (for them) season here and there; they'll consistently have a "throwing-first" guy who is quick enough to run get paired up with a couple really athletic wideouts, a decent enough RB, and if the defense does its job you've got a complete team right there.

 

[Cy the Cyclone]

. If Mario's coaching isn't the issue then he and Frost are bumbling fools when it comes to player analysis and running the qb-room. 

Not a big surprise when you consider the best performances on Saturday came from two transfers (Tourre, Martin) who were developed by another team's coaching staff...

 

[alexhortdog95]

Here is what is going on....

I looked at stats all the way back to 1998.  Not a totally deep dive into them, mind you, but I was interested in a couple of things:

1. How running the ball equated into more wins
   
2. How passing the ball equated into more wins
   
3. I did not factor in penalties or turnovers
   

Here's what I came up with.  I took the three best statistical seasons for each coach from Solich to Frost.

If you look, I also included the number of rushing attempts, total yards gained per rush, passing attempts-completions-picks and I got a percentage from that.

I included the passing yards as well for that entire season.  Down below, you see the average per rush for that entire season, along with the passing percentage.

I did not factor in any defensive stats either, such as turnovers gained or points off turnovers.  I only wanted to see how the teams were rushing the ball

under certain coaches, and how they were passing the ball under certain coaches. 

Also keep in mind - I didn't factor in if the team was behind or not.  Understandably, you pass more when you're down multiple scores.

If you look - the coach with the worst record has the best overall completion percentage has less yards passing and wins.

The most glaring stat - there has been one 1,000 yard rusher in the last 6 seasons.  ONE.

The irony?  In the 1997 year (in which the current head coach won a National Championship), they rushed for almost 5,000 yards, had two 1,000 yard rushers (including the current head coach - and Green almost rushed for 2k that season), and had 57 total penalties that season for 500 yards.

Last season, Frost's football team had 54 penalties for 485 yards.

There is a lack of old school, run it down your throat physical toughness in Lincoln, and it's been missing for quite some time.  That, and a lack of fundamentals and discipline which hasn't been there since Solich left.

 

[hskrfan4life]

Remember when we got upset when we asked Taylor to stand in the pocket and throw? That's where I'm at. Also I'm done with the talk about a downhill running team. Show it. There were plenty of opportunities to run the ball on Saturday.

 

[OreGUNHusker]

Taylor and Adrian are the same.. not just in last name.. Horrid passers... amazing runners.. no one to hand off to.. and we have no fullback.. Tommy Armstrong could throw and we had Devine Ozigbo... and Jano .... that was the last REAL zone read...  we are doomed...  without a real power runner.. Mills last year was AWESOME in the Rutgers game... showed us what we COULD have... for just 1 game then it was gone again...  we have to have a power back.. what happened to Yant?