[Husker] Callahan play calling (red zone)

[Mike Jaixen]

--- Steve Reichenbach <reich at inetnebr.com> wrote:

> Here are more specific objections.
> 
> Midway through the fourth quarter, NU moves the ball
> to the ISU 3.
> First down from the 3, Ross up the middle for a loss
> of 1.  I love
> Ross, but he isn't going to be diving over the line
> or hitting the
> line with the force that a bigger back has.  Second
> down, incomplete
> pass.  Third down, Taylor scrambles to the ISU 1. 
> NU takes an
> intentional penalty and settles for a FG from the 6.
>  Another first
> and goal from the 3 and NU doesn't get a TD.

Considering the shakiness of our freshman kicker, I
thought this was a questionable call, though it turned
out in the end.  (For the record, I thought Callahan's
decision to kick a field goal from inside the 1 at
Pitt last year was horrible, and when the snap was
mishandled, I set a personal record for obscenities
uttered in 30 seconds.)  


> Don't get me wrong, I have been saying that Taylor
> has looked better
> than his stats have shown and wrote before the game
> that I thought NU
> would get untracked, but I still don't like the play
> calling when the
> team is in position to score.  When Callahan was
> asked about the other
> running backs not getting carries, he said one thing
> he loved about
> this team was that people understood their roles. 
> First, I hope that
> is true, but I think he would say it anyway. 
> Second, I think running
> Ross up the middle on plays from inside the 5 fails
> to put other players
> in roles that they might be better suited to
> perform.

The "roles" the running backs are being used in are
telegraphing the play calls.  Last year, Brandon
Jackson was the short yardage back, and until the
Colorado game, every time he was in the game, he got
the ball.  This year, similar play calling has
occurred with Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn.  The only
time the playcalling opens up is when Ross is in the
game.



Mike Jaixen
Blog: http://huskermike.blogspot.com


		
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