Zatechka's Take

Good read.

He makes a very good point about identity, which is something we've been saying here for several years now. However, I wouldn't hold my breath for the kind of offense Zatechka is talking about. We've heard the word simplistic but also multiple thrown around at times this off season, and that probably won't change.

I would say, however, that I agree with his concept. We need to push around defensive fronts that clearly aren't as athletic nor talented as ours aka teams like UTC. I think we tried to do that, but just weren't as effective as we would have wanted to be. We probably wouldn't have tried so many options, passes, etc. if we could have controlled the LOS better.

 
Dr. Zatechka was my dad's anesthesiologist last December. Cool guy. Wears a NY Giants bandana in the prep room, for which we gave him a raft of crap.

Very much like that he pointed out that Martinez "is still just a SOPHOMORE." I think people expect him to play like Tommie, Frosty and Crouch did as they remember them most - as Seniors. He's not a Senior, he's a young guy still growing into his role.

 
I've grown so used to this fan base hitting the panic button after 1 game that it's scary how familiar it all feels. I've been preaching about all the offseason expectations guys. Some should listen. Let the kids play the games. Cheer them on. Root for them. Don't quit on them. They are working to get better. They want to win games more than any of you do, right along with their head coach. We aren't always going to be the best team on the field. As long as we play as hard as we can, I am happy though.

 
Diagnosis: Offensively, I thought NU executed OK. I just didn't like what was being called. Same for Martinez, I think he actually executed what was called faily well. There were obvious timing issues on the option plays, especially with the three freshman running backs in the backfield. Lets also keep in mind that Martinez is still just a SOPHOMORE. Burkhead was effective, ran hard, blocked harder, and made the offense look better than it really is. In other words, he did his usual. The O-line, while not dominating, didn't seem to be given the chance to establish a power run game. I thought they executed, at worst, OK.
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Zatechka is a very smart man, much smarter than me. And I'm a huge fan of his. But I don't agree with much of what he has to say, for example, much what is quoted above. I liked most of the offensive calls on Saturday. Now is the time of the year to tinker about with the offense. Find out what works and fix what doesn't. The offensive line, well, they left a LOT to be desired. And it wasn't because of the play calls. If we *had* tried to establish a power running game they probably would have looked even worse. Burkhead did not have a good game. Rex would be the first one to tell you that. Sure he peeled off a couple of big runs, had a few good blocks. But he also made some boneheaded plays. The main thing I agree on with the article is that Martinez looked solid. No more deer in the headlights. He was the team leader on Saturday. And he made a lot of great plays himself.

 
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I get tired of people saying fans are "hitting the panic button" when they are merely expressing disappointing trends in our offense that need to be addressed. There is a difference between disappointment, concern and the "panic button".

 
Yeah, but when people focus on all the bad and fail to acknowledge the good people can view that as being negative. I posted something similar (or at least similar in optimism) in the "Why so much pessimism thread. Knowing that a doctor shares the same feelings as I had makes me feel more confident in what I said.

 
adc7236 said:
I get tired of people saying fans are "hitting the panic button" when they are merely expressing disappointing trends in our offense that need to be addressed. There is a difference between disappointment, concern and the "panic button".
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We won by 33 points, a margin of victory that puts this in the top ten in the category of "largest blowout wins under Bo Pelini," and we did it by basically treating this game like a glorified practice, running the same six plays over and over and over and over and over and over because our OC wanted the guys to get reps. We had a BRILLIANT, award-winning performance by a kicker replacing a bona-fide Husker Legend, and we witnessed the return to health of the best offensive player we've had on the team since Eric Crouch's Heisman year, yet despite all that we have a dozen or more threads decrying the "bad" game.

It should not take perfection to satisfy the fans. Yes, it's not too much to say that a lot of people have "hit the panic button." There's not even a solid explanation of what that means.

 
knapplc said:
adc7236 said:
I get tired of people saying fans are "hitting the panic button" when they are merely expressing disappointing trends in our offense that need to be addressed. There is a difference between disappointment, concern and the "panic button".
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We won by 33 points, a margin of victory that puts this in the top ten in the category of "largest blowout wins under Bo Pelini," and we did it by basically treating this game like a glorified practice, running the same six plays over and over and over and over and over and over because our OC wanted the guys to get reps. We had a BRILLIANT, award-winning performance by a kicker replacing a bona-fide Husker Legend, and we witnessed the return to health of the best offensive player we've had on the team since Eric Crouch's Heisman year, yet despite all that we have a dozen or more threads decrying the "bad" game.

It should not take perfection to satisfy the fans. Yes, it's not too much to say that a lot of people have "hit the panic button." There's not even a solid explanation of what that means.
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It's like licking ice cream off a dog turd. Great analysis. You can't panic after beating a Southern Conference team. But you can be a little scared knowing what is coming next.

 
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I certainly don't mean to label the entire fan base. If I came across that way, I was mistaken. I frequent many different sports talk radio shows, and websites, and thought there was an overwhelmingly negative vibe coming from many people. I always know that there are a great number of sane fans out there who will objectively look at some of the struggles we showed Saturday, but also give justice to the positive things we displayed. These negatives can be fixed. I have simply said that many of these negatives should have been foreseen. We are so young on this football team. It may sound like an excuse, but by God it's the truth. These are people's kids out there. True freshman and sophomores, playing on a huge stage like this. I don't know if I remember a Husker team being so young. I just want people to slow down and give these guys a chance. It may not be this year. I think we may lose some games this year. I just think we have a great thing going now. We finally have some youngsters gelling together on the field at the same time. These guys will grow together and will become spectacular. We just can't freak out every time we don't quite look as polished, pretty, and shiny as everyone thinks we should look. Some are panicking, some aren't. For those who aren't, don't take it personal.

 
knapplc said:
Dr. Zatechka was my dad's anesthesiologist last December. Cool guy. Wears a NY Giants bandana in the prep room, for which we gave him a raft of crap.

Very much like that he pointed out that Martinez "is still just a SOPHOMORE." I think people expect him to play like Tommie, Frosty and Crouch did as they remember them most - as Seniors. He's not a Senior, he's a young guy still growing into his role.
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That was the main point I got out of it, good read. Give it time, we will be fine.

 
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NUance said:
Diagnosis: Offensively, I thought NU executed OK. I just didn't like what was being called. Same for Martinez, I think he actually executed what was called faily well. There were obvious timing issues on the option plays, especially with the three freshman running backs in the backfield. Lets also keep in mind that Martinez is still just a SOPHOMORE. Burkhead was effective, ran hard, blocked harder, and made the offense look better than it really is. In other words, he did his usual. The O-line, while not dominating, didn't seem to be given the chance to establish a power run game. I thought they executed, at worst, OK.
Click to expand...
Zatechka is a very smart man, much smarter than me. And I'm a huge fan of his. But I don't agree with much of what he has to say, for example, much what is quoted above. I liked most of the offensive calls on Saturday. Now is the time of the year to tinker about with the offense. Find out what works and fix what doesn't. The offensive line, well, they left a LOT to be desired. And it wasn't because of the play calls. If we *had* tried to establish a power running game they probably would have looked even worse. Burkhead did not have a good game. Rex would be the first one to tell you that. Sure he peeled off a couple of big runs, had a few good blocks. But he also made some boneheaded plays. The main thing I agree on with the article is that Martinez looked solid. No more deer in the headlights. He was the team leader on Saturday. And he made a lot of great plays himself.
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The option is a complicated play to block for. These are young olineman with a new blocking scheme. I've gone back and watched the first quarter so far and I see a lot of missed blocks. I've watched the fullback run right by a defender to block a guy farther down the field. I've saw one run with 3 linemen bunched up on 2 defenders. There was obvious learning and thinking still going on and not enough reacting. It'll take time. I think we could've pushed them off the ball had we chose to line it up in the I and power it.

 
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