Nebraska +9.5 at Wisconsin (ov/un 55.5) Sat 8 ET, ABC

[EidoloN]

Oregon will beat Stanford, LSU plays Alabama, Boise St will continue to fall becuase of their schedule, I believe Oklahomo State can knock off Oklahomo. It's Wiskys to lose.

 

[knapplc]

I will say this one caveat - Wiscy hasn't played a decent defense yet. For all the hype about "All-Americans at each level of the defense" for Nebraska, we have yet to play even remotely close to that level.

Still, Bucky deserves props. They beat our ass the other night.

 

[SidehatchHusker]

Russell. Wilson.

 

[alexhortdog95]

That is a fair assessment. The honeymoon with Bo is definitely over. If he can't fix this defense then there are significant problems, considering defense is his forte.

He's still early in his head coaching career. But for all his talk about execution and discipline and accountability, we're not seeing improvement in many of these phases. And the bottom line is, he's not exhibiting the traits he expects from his players. You're not going to get a lot of respect from guys when you don't walk the walk.

No problem we're seeing from Nebraska is unfixable. I have confidence that we can still turn out a fine season - heck, we are definitely still in it to win the Big Ten. But it's going to take a fundamental turnaround from the top down or this won't be the last game we're trounced in.

Sorry guys, this rant will be a lengthy one...

* The 2008 Blackshirts were among the nation's most improved defenses. The Huskers finished second in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 126.9 fewer yards per game than in 2007.

* Nebraska's 2009 defense was among the nation's most dominant units. The Huskers led the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 13 or fewer points 10 times in 14 games. Nebraska also ranked seventh nationally in total defense.

* The 2010 Blackshirts ranked in the top-12 nationally in four statistical categories, including third in pass efficiency defense, ninth in scoring defense and 11th in total defense.

To hell with the damn defense being the problem. I understand that people are looking at the defense and expecting them to be dominant this year, but for crying out loud, they lost one of the best secondaries in freaking school history. Two years running he had one of the best D's in the country. Hell, he even coached a kid who was up for the Heisman. D AINT' the problem - they're young. I'll bet you they're dominant next year or by the end of the season, they'll have figured it out.

My concerns have always - and will continue to be - with the offense.

When was the last time we had a freaking QB that was consistant and could hit the broad side of a barn???

Ganz passed for over 60% his last year here, and I think prior to that, Berringer was the last guy to complete over 60% of his passes in a season. When in the hell are we going to get a REAL quarterback? When are we going to run a real style offense?!?

Why do we think that we can't get the Russell Wilsons, the Terrelle Pryors here? Because every QB wants to play...at the next level. He's not going to come here if he thinks he ain't got a chance.

I've been going around and around with folks this morning. Get off Bo and the D - get on Bo and the O. The entire Offensive staff needs to be looked at. We need a PRO STYLE OFFENSE. Period. Teams that run a pro style, smashmouth offense?


LSU
Alabama
Wisconsin
Stanford

No surprise these guys are in the top 10 in the country. Hell, even USC runs a pro style offense.

Gimmicky style offenses make me vomit.

 

[alexhortdog95]

Okay, I did a little research on this one.

I looked back all the way to 1990. Since then, how many times in a season has a Husker QB topped the coveted 60% mark?

Three. A QB has passed over 60% four times...in 21 years.

They are

The late Brook Berringer, one of the most beloved Huskers in school history. He passed for 62% in 93, and 63% in 94. A plane crash took his life later on in the 96 offseason prior to the NFL draft, where he was expected to be a early to mid round pick. He's also the only one who is on this list twice.

Bobby Newcombe. Ahhh...Bobby Newcombe. He was the starter until Eric Crouch threw his legendary temper tantrum that benched Newcombe and made Crouch the starter. He passed for 63% in 8 games as the starter in 1998.

Joe Ganz. Ganz was a guy that although he passed for over 60% in a season, he drove people crazy with his bad decision making. He passed for 67% in 2008. That was Bo's First year here, and Ganz was a senior.

So...tell me defense is the problem?

 

[knapplc]

Absolutely defense is the problem. We're hemorrhaging points and yards to weak offenses, man!

We are doing just fine on offense, especially considering the fact that we put in a new system over the summer. Our ranks:

Rushing - 9th in the country
Passing - 104th (no surprise since we're a run-first team)
Total - 48th
Scoring - 23rd

That's pretty respectable, considering we're starting a sophomore at QB, a junior at tailback, a couple of sophomores and a true freshman on the O Line and a couple of sophomores and freshman at WR. We are a VERY young offense, and we're still in the thick of things offensively.

Compare that to our defensive ranks, the side of the ball where Bo excels, and you see a glaring difference:

Rushing - 66th in the country
Passing - 58th
Total - 64th
Scoring - 73rd

Those are abysmal numbers for this unit. We haven't changed from last year's base defense. We have had a large amount of turnover in the secondary, and there's no doubt that they are desperately missed, but considering the fact that defense is Bo's forte, how in the world can you justify the fact that we are not just bad on defense, but really bad?

My biggest question is this: Last year, knowing we were going to lose Gomes, Hagg and Amukamara, why weren't guys like PJ Smith, Courtney Osborne, Ciante Evans and Andrew Green coached up BIG TIME? Why does it look like they're completely lost out there? Where is our player development? These guys have been in the program for years. Every one of them has had a redshirt year aside from Evans. Smith and Osborne are Juniors in their fourth years in the program, and they're playing like true Freshmen.

 

[EidoloN]

I don't mind Nebraska, and I always root for the Big10. But Martinez QB play is limiting the NU O, IMO. A run-first QB just isn't successful in football with D's this fast. If he doesn't have his first read, he takes off or throws a pass into coverage. Denard used to do the same thing, and Brax is doing it now. If defenses key on the run against NU, I think they will keep running into bad situations like rushed passes, and sacks and minimal gains. Martinez will break free sometimes, I understand that, but not enough to win games. The D will grow, but they just played the best team in the Big10 and a powerhouse in all of college football. Add in the argueably best QB in the nation as well, and not many teams can even stand a chance against Wisky.

 

[alexhortdog95]

We are doing just fine on offense

Just fine on offense?

Our ranks:

Rushing - 9th in the country
Passing - 104th (no surprise since we're a run-first team)
Total - 48th
Scoring - 23rd

Sorry to say bud, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. You want a glaring stat? Look up Martinez in the NCAA stats for this year in Passing offense.

Can't. He's not there.

Look him up on passing efficiency. He's 87th out of 100, and the ones below him aren't household names, either. I'd almost argue that he was a more efficient passer as a freshman than he is now.

My biggest question is this: Last year, knowing we were going to lose Gomes, Hagg and Amukamara, why weren't guys like PJ Smith, Courtney Osborne, Ciante Evans and Andrew Green coached up BIG TIME? Why does it look like they're completely lost out there? Where is our player development? These guys have been in the program for years. Every one of them has had a redshirt year aside from Evans. Smith and Osborne are Juniors in their fourth years in the program, and they're playing like true Freshmen.

You're only concentrating on the secondary, my friend. The secondary is young, and everybody in the country knows that. The guys lost to graduation were in the system 3 years.

We can't say they're not coached up. What I DID see happen on Saturday wasn't all coaching. Don't get me wrong - I still don't know why Beck got away from the run when it was working. Must have went into Callahan mode.

Much of what I saw was a lack of execution. Here's some points:

Stafford getting burned on a double move.
P.J. Smith losing containment on Wilson
Fisher getting his pants juked off on National TV by Wilson
Osborne getting a personal foul in the last few moments of the game
Martinez throwing 3 picks

Coaches coach. Players play. Yes, it's the coaches' job to put the players in a position to win. But the players have to do their part as well.

Am I hard on the players? Yes. I was a coach for seven years, LOL. But one thing you will hear from me is that Bo dropped the ball when the offense was moving the ball. They panicked, and it showed. THAT's coaching.

The rest? Execution. Just my honest and humble opinion.

 

[knapplc]

That 104th in the nation is actually about on par with our greatest teams ever. We never had a prolific passing offense through the 80s and 90s, and that stands to reason when you focus on the run as much as we're did, and as much as we're going to in the future. You can't cherry-pick a stat and say that makes our offense bad. We're not bad, we're just not a passing team.

The worst thing about Martinez is that he's not working through his progressions and he's not finding the open receiver. That's bad, but again, that's not supposed to be the focus of our offense. It's also a product of the O Line not giving him the time he needs to learn to be comfortable back there.

But the defensive stats are overall bad. I'm not just picking on the secondary. The front seven is responsible for shutting down the run, and they're getting gashed. It's a systemic problem on defense, and Bo basically said that in his presser today. We have personnel recruited for the Big XII's Spread Offenses, and we're trying to stop power running teams with them. It's only worked well so far against Wyoming when we put Stafford in at Peso. Otherwise we've been gashed by both Wisconsin and Washington, and to an extent Fresno State.

I agree with you that a lot of this is on the coaches. They have a lot of work to do. We'll see what kind of improvements come this week. Hopefully there are a bunch, because we have a lot of talent on Defense.

 

[alexhortdog95]

It's only worked well so far against Wyoming when we put Stafford in at Peso.

Techically, we haven't run much Peso. Now, THAT's a definate head scratcher that I had until I saw the Wyoming game, LOL.

I will say that unless we get LaVonte cloned to play the other two linebacker spots, we're going to have the same issue all year long, because Compton and Fisher aren't playing up to par.

 

[knapplc]

I will say that unless we get LaVonte cloned to play the other two linebacker spots, we're going to have the same issue all year long, because Compton and Fisher aren't playing up to par.

This is something I don't get. Whaley played OK early on last year, but he hasn't seen the field since. Fisher is almost useless out there. Unlike at QB, we DO have other options at LB, so why aren't they seeing the field? Baffling.

 

[DallasHusker]

I don't mind Nebraska, and I always root for the Big10. But Martinez QB play is limiting the NU O, IMO. A run-first QB just isn't successful in football with D's this fast. If he doesn't have his first read, he takes off or throws a pass into coverage. Denard used to do the same thing, and Brax is doing it now. If defenses key on the run against NU, I think they will keep running into bad situations like rushed passes, and sacks and minimal gains. Martinez will break free sometimes, I understand that, but not enough to win games. The D will grow, but they just played the best team in the Big10 and a powerhouse in all of college football. Add in the argueably best QB in the nation as well, and not many teams can even stand a chance against Wisky.

Good analysis, can't argue with any of that.

 

[buchtelgrad04]

Look at the bright side knapplc, your defense is going to look fuckin' stellar this weekend.

 

[DubCoffman62]

Oregon will beat Stanford, LSU plays Alabama, Boise St will continue to fall becuase of their schedule, I believe Oklahomo State can knock off Oklahomo. It's Wiskys to lose.

I think that Stanford will take Oregon to the woodshed.

 

[Taosman]

Just guessing but I think the Nebraska by 9.5 just went up a bit! Yikes!
At least Adams presence should help with the O line . Maybe we get Philly Brown back, too!