[Husker] Re: Momentum and FSN on DirecTV

[rczeranko]

I agree with SteveG's comments about discipline and penalties (it was a
very good post, IMHO).

I have mixed feelings about Coach Pelini's 'wearing his emotions on his
sleeves' though. There were times when I felt that Coach Osborne was too
stoic, almost aloof. I cannot recall him getting upset until the 1993
Orange Bowl against Florida State. I remember thinking that it was good
to see him emotional, instead of having a 'well, it's just the way it
goes sometimes' attitude.

I do agree that not only the players, but most we fans and the media got
sucked into the 'Nebraska is back' hype after the Missouri win. Beating
Missouri in Columbia was a big step for the Huskers, but at the time no
one really knew how good Missouri really was (there was a lot of
preseason buzz about Illinois, but that has proved to be just that -
buzz).

It will be interesting to see how the Huskers bounce back after this
loss. We will learn a lot about the team this week and next. I am more
worried about the Baylor game than the one this week. Nebraska should
beat ISU handily, but if they over look Baylor (even with their QB out)
and look ahead to OU and have a few turn overs or inopportune penalties
the Baylor game could get ugly.

I also agree that the defense (and the defensive line is the heart of the
D) cannot carry this team. I guess that is what I liked about the
Missouri win, that the offense didn't let the defense down. Heck, holding
TTech to as few as yards and points as they have should have been enough
to win the game. In their two losses, TTech only scored 24 and 28 points.
TTech's offense only scored 24 points, so the defense had done it's job.

I also agree that Zac Lee may indeed be the 'sacrificial lamb', but he
didn't play all that poorly. He does need to become a threat to tuck and
run if all the receivers are covered. He has a tendency to always try to
throw it. I have been worried that sometimes when he does tuck it and
then pulls up to throw that Nebraska may have linemen down field that are
attempting to block for him. Since he not a threat to run, then the
defense gets coverage sacks. He needs to see that his receivers are
covered, then tuck and run. This is an area where Cody Green has one up
on Zac. Another issue is all the plays in the offensive playbook. As I
posted previously, there are in the neighborhood of 300 offensive plays.
While it may be a wealth of plays, it does make the offense very
complicated. I would like to see Nebraska simplify things. Remember the
complicated defenses that Coach Cosgrove tried running? When Coach Pelini
took over one of things they did was simplify the defensive schemes.

Which leads me to my next topic, the offensive line. This line was
essentially put together to do what Coach Callahan wanted out of his
offense. I do not believe that Coach Pelini has the same offensive
philosophy that Coach Callahan did. And while Nebraska is going to be
more balanced offense, it still favors the passing game over the running
game. It will be interesting to see how the line is in a few years after
all the previous linemen cycle out of the system. I don't get wrapped up
in the post game analysis of counting up running versus passing plays to
determine balance. You see it during the game. Last week, Nebraska
favored running the ball in the second have for a while and that boosted
the run vs pass numbers. For me, balance is being a dual threat to run or
pass to make yardage. I have never like the run and shoot or fun and gun
style offenses because as the field gets shorter, they become less
affective. And I cannot stand the tendency in the NFL to pass on first or
second and goal when the ball is less than five yards from the end zone.

A balanced attack should keep defenses guessing at what will come next.
This puts the offense a step ahead of the defense and keeps the down and
distance on schedule. One of the most idiotic comments made during a game
it the one that states 'nobody has a play for third and long'. Well, no
duh! Even if the running game is getting two or three yards, third down
will still be manageable.
As I have posted previously, a good ground game will open up play action
for big play. Coach Osborne's team made a living off of this. The offense
needs to take what the defense is giving them. I just don't see a
coherent game plan on offense yet. While Nebraska is not as experience in
receiver as they were last year and the running back is experienced, then
why the heck isn't this years offense built around Roy Helu, Jr and the
running backs? The receivers could then be worked in week after week to
create that balanced offensive attack.

PS If you have DirecTV watch the game on either Fox Sports Midwest
(channel 671 - non HDTV, 671-1 HDTV) or Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
(channel 683 non HDTV & HDTV) if you have the sports package, especially
if you live outside of those regions. In Arizona, if  I am watching the
game on Fox Sport Arizona and it bleeds over past kickoff for the Pac-10
game, they switch to the Pac-10 game. This won't happen on the Midwest or
Rocky Mountain channels, there they join the Pac-10 game in progress.

Well, it is late (3:42 AM in Chandler, AZ) I need to get up in a few
hours.

Go Big Red!

Rob Czeranko
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