What we learned today...

[Goal-line]

Sorry, I do not coach football still, did when my kid was small, but have coached and trained Olympic level athletes, ran major off road motorcycle and mountain bike teams. I have an idea of coaching.

This defensive scheme has shown to be the worst ever at the University. How is this game different from the last two last year, other than supposedly a less talented team to play against. The trend is down with last nights game. 600 yard 4 times in less than a year. 4 of the 10 worst games to ever be played by Nebraska. Clownahan was gone after two. We most likely will 3 more this year. If history means anything, we are bound to repeat it with scheme. This game screams change is needed.

I totally agree. I have coached various sports at various levels for the past 42 years and there is simply no excuse for a guy making the kind of money Pelini makes to continue down the road he is going. It is time to buck up or pack your bags. And, speaking of last year, we did not have a young team when he got is rear end kicked. What we did have is a bunch of coaches who obviously got out coached.

 

[The Dude]

How many would have Wisconsin or Georgia put up, triple digits is likely. We beat Wyoming by 3, 602 yards, 35 first downs. Yea it is a great scheme.

Yes but the same scheme held opponents to major lows in 2009 and 2010.

The scheme is not to blame...period.

So opponents have four years of film on it, and they've figured out how to defeat it. They adapted, and now it's up to Bo & Co. to adapt as well.

Football is a game of adjustments. From series to series, half to half, game to game and year to year. You cannot do the same thing over and over and expect it to always work.

Nebraska seems to only make adjustments when they're behind. Why is that? In the 2nd half of games is where this coaching staff seems to get torn to shreds, because they understand what happened in the 1st half, and THEN they make changes. It doesn't seem to click with Nebraska with a lead. Just because you have a lead doesn't mean you sit on cruise control and think that what you're doing is going to work the entire game. That Taylor INT epitomizes that IMO. There's a time for everything, and the watch that Bo and Co. is looking at seems to be broken quite too often.

And what I learned: If I never have to see that hail mary play again at the end with our d-line running around like keystone cops, basically a microcosm of their effort of the day, it'll be too soon.

So giving up only 7 points in the first 24 minutes of the second half is getting torn to shreads? You realize that is the case right? They didn't score any points in the second half until 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and then with around 5 minutes left in the game. You realize there had to have been some sort of a decent adjustment to keep them out of the endzone that long right?

You realize it was Wyoming, right? They did what they were supposed to do against an inferior opponent for chunks of the game! Pasadena here we come!

 

[EZ-E]

Again Dude. I am not saying the perfect performance was turned in by 13 freshman that were seeing their first ever college game and I am not saying we are ready to play UCLA. I am simply making clear that this game is not all doom and gloom and there are a lot of positives to take as well as negitives.

We have a long ways to go and anyone saying we don't is wrong. However, this game was not as bad as this board is trying to make it seem. Had we beaten this team 45-21 which wouldn't have been too far off from how it would have been had we decided to show up the last 6 minutes, do people have as big a sh#t stain on their pants as they do? No.

The biggest concerns for me still remain the LBs and the focus. If you can honestly sit there with a straight face having watched the game more than once and tell me that we aren't better on the DL and deeper than you are wrong. If you can honestly say that the potential isn't there to be good on that side of the ball then you are wrong.

Lets have this discussion after UCLA. There is no sense in talking about this game anymore. This place is going to be the biggest sh#t storm in the world this week. The worst part is that there is literally no outcome this next Saturday that the boys can turn in that will satisfy this fan base.

 

[Flood]

I think the season will end up being determined wholly by the response off the field and in the training rooms.

If the young guys resort to simply pointing fingers, we are in serious trouble.

If they, like days of old, go to work on the actual problems, and work on solutions, without passing blame and judgment, they should improve quickly. What I personally THINK I saw, was a whole bunch of potential stars, all trying to play alone in a team sport. Individual efforts were good, here and there, but the group effort was lacking. It almost seemed like the guys who KNEW the ball wouldn't be coming their direction took an opportunity to slow down or let off the gas, and that affected everything.

Just a general thought, as I am certainly not a coach, either.

Also, Wyoming was certainly well prepared. They played a great game, given what should be the difference in talent level.

 

[EZ-E]

I think the season will end up being determined wholly by the response off the field and in the training rooms.

If the young guys resort to simply pointing fingers, we are in serious trouble.

If they, like days of old, go to work on the actual problems, and work on solutions, without passing blame and judgment, they should improve quickly. What I personally THINK I saw, was a whole bunch of potential stars, all trying to play alone in a team sport. Individual efforts were good, here and there, but the group effort was lacking. It almost seemed like the guys who KNEW the ball wouldn't be coming their direction took an opportunity to slow down or let off the gas, and that affected everything.

Just a general thought, as I am certainly not a coach, either.

Also, Wyoming was certainly well prepared. They played a great game, given what should be the difference in talent level.

+1

 

[LumberJackSker]

after a good nights sleep and some time to reflect on last nights game I learned that the defense played like sh#t, but its only the first game of the year and this defense is going to struggle plenty this year with this many freshman on the two deep, if you expected this defense to be shutting people down you drank spiked kool aid. that being said it is never acceptable to give up 600 yards to the other team no matter who you're playing, hopefully this staff can fix whatever caused last nights break downs by the time conference play starts. this team reminds me of last years Miami team good offense with a young and experienced defense hopefully we have better results than Miami

 

[TheSker]

It's also a game of momentum. It shifted when TMart threw the pick. Had he not, worst case scenario we kick a field goal. Kick off and they have no momentum and have 75 yards to go to score.

Playing that game, had Smith not thrown his 2 picks, they probably win going away.

Smith threw 1 pick. The one by Jean-Baptiste. Evans pick was not thrown by Smith....and kudos to Gerry (I think it was) who disrupted that pass. But your point is taken. Whether they "probably win going away", I don't know. What I do know is Martinez' INT resulted in a potential 14 point swing. We had two turnovers.....both Martinez. And I agree the turnover battle is important. Thus my disappointment in our senior 4 year starter.

 

[walksalone]

The good, the offense at times was unstoppable when they committed to the run, and didn't try to run plays hurry up style and worry about how many different formations they could use. Beck was out thinking himself, especially with the ill advised pass play during the 4th quarter...

The bad, the defense. The have one game to their "scheme" right before we see UCLA. From what I saw last night, UCLA would have put it on us big time with the lackluster defensive performance from last night. Pap needs to make adjustments on the fly, and when something works, stick to it...

 

[Hunter94]

It's also a game of momentum. It shifted when TMart threw the pick. Had he not, worst case scenario we kick a field goal. Kick off and they have no momentum and have 75 yards to go to score.

Playing that game, had Smith not thrown his 2 picks, they probably win going away.

Smith threw 1 pick. The one by Jean-Baptiste. Evans pick was not thrown by Smith....and kudos to Gerry (I think it was) who disrupted that pass. But your point is taken. Whether they "probably win going away", I don't know. What I do know is Martinez' INT resulted in a potential 14 point swing. We had two turnovers.....both Martinez. And I agree the turnover battle is important. Thus my disappointment in our senior 4 year starter.

this, TM is a turnover machine..has shown a consistant ability to be unable to hold on to the ball.

 

[HuskerJax]

I'll tell you what, we might have an all freshmen/sophomore Defensive line at some point this season. Ankrah has got to turn it on and I just don't think Randle has what it takes.

Wouldn't surprise me t'all if that happened. Also, WTH were they doing putting Gregory @ LB last night, what was that all about? He was, like, running with receivers.

He wasn't technically a linebacker. He was a drop end. They use him as a decoy and bring a blitz from the other side, and if I recall correctly it worked decently on the plays they used it. He also doesn't "run" with a receiver man to man. He drops into a zone defense. It was a new wrinkle they were working on.

EDIT - The point of it is to make the QB have to think about what he was doing and in the end, if they throw short routes they'll have to key on him at one point or another to see if he drops back or if he is rushing them, which makes the QB rush through his progressions.

Problem with this theory is, without pressure, without forcing the QB to hurry through his progression, then none of this matters. Smith did a great job of creating time for himself. His pocket presence remarkable, his ability to find an open lane and extend plays was spectacular. But there was plenty of times when he was able to stand back there and find an open man, or he was able to take off and run. Now, nobody can expect to stop these things all of the time. What is scary is that teams with this sort of offense have done these same things to us for a few years now. You would think we would have a few adjustments for this thrown in here or there. Yet according to most accounts it looked like Wyoming was doing a lot of the same things over and over, and Nebraska really was not adjusting to them much.

I understand Bo not waning to give up the big play. But when we blitz, it seems to work in our favor almost every single time. The thing about blitzing is, although it can make you susceptible to the big play, it can also give you an opportunity to make a big play. In the end, it puts the pressure in the opposing offense to BEAT YOU. Instead of hoping they BEAT THEMSELVES. This bend don't break, allowing opposing teams to move down the field on us while we patty cake with their offensive line and pray for a mistake, well.....it has to go.

Get outta my head!

 

[The Dude]

Speaking of Martinez's 2 turnovers, and things we learned today:

Today I learned on BTN's Final Drive that Nebraska has had at least 2 turnovers in each of their last 14 games. 2nd longest streak in the nation.

 

[sd'sker]

have not read this thread, but here is my take. i would love to see what this team could with better discipline and fundamentals. that might be all it takes. hope to see it next week.

 

[TheSker]

Two reasons I'm optimistic about our defensive possibilities as the year progresses were plays from Randy Gregory and Nathan Gerry. Gerry disrupted the pass that Evans picked. Gerry's speed and pursuit will serve us well. And even though it was a play that Wyoming scored on, it was Gregory who was downfield on the play that was reviewed for one of the Wyoming touchdowns. Gregory's motor and mobility is something we just didn't have with Cameron Meredith. Our defense has definitely been upgraded with speed. Our pass defense generated a couple of turnovers. We need Martinez to stop committing them for us.

 

[Army_Allen]

If they are so talented, that shouldnt have happened, regardless of experience.

You are implying talent is more important than experience? Did you see the Ohio State or Alabama game? Ohio State replaced one offensive lineman and Buffalo bullied him. Khalil Mack and co. were all over Miller at one point and would've been down a field goal if not for a penalty called on a turnover. Alabama won 35-10 but if you watched it it was not a decisive win. They replaced most of they defense and their offensive line and from a team in VT where most picked them to get blown out in a rebuilding year they actually out gained 'Bama. Not to mentioned Vt had 153 rushing yards while 'Bama had a measly 2.5 yard rushing average. This coming from a team that consistently gets a top 5 recruiting class from a Saban coached team that always comes to play. While I respect talent, you can't overlook experience. First game jitters, the anxiety of a new football season, whatever it may be, this isn't an isolated only 'Nebraska' thing. Dear Husker Nation- It gets better.

This ^

Best post of the thread.

Uh, VT and Wyo hardly make a good comparison to base one's viewpoint, if yer feelin' me here.

VT's quarterback wishes he had half the talent of Brett Smith.

You mean Logan Thomas? One of their many great qb's?

 

[BOurNe sUpremacy]

have not read this thread, but here is my take. i would love to see what this team could with better discipline and fundamentals. that might be all it takes. hope to see it next week.

we've been waiting for that for 5 yrs now. imo, it's not going to happen. what we see is what we get and what we are going to get: sloppy.