With Shawn Watson long since out of the picture as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator, the question has become, what is the Huskers’ offensive attack going to be based on?
I keep hearing everything from a return to smash mouth football to something out of a science-fiction novel with Mike Leach calling plays via broadband internet connection implanted in new offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s brain.
I don’t care what anyone says, no offensive system is any better than any other. If you develop and execue right it will work. I don’t give a damn if it’s running the option out of the power-I, West Coast Offense, Spread, Wing-T, Veer, whatever.
My hunch is that we will see what we saw during the spring game. That would involve a heavy dose of zone read and true option attack with some spread principles based on what Oregon does. Based on the limited look we got during the spring game, I would venture a guess that we are going to see something similar to the pistol set used by Nevada and variations on that.
I would say that the pistol is kind of a next generation or development of the I-formation which gives you the ability to do the best of both worlds in regards to the zone read and true triple option along with passing out of the shotgun. I like what Nevada has done with that system and would be very happy with that that system at Nebraska.
I also hope the offense has no name. Just line up, move the chains and score more than the other guy.
To be successful, the offense needs to unveil everything (base runs and passes) from the start rather than waiting until conference play to see what part of the offense actually works. Nebraska needs to iron out the kinks against live opponents, not just the scout team. The Huskers can ill-afford to face say a Wisonsin or Ohio State and realize their timig is off too much to run an effective option or suddenly realize the pass patterns look a little different when the cornerback plays bump and run.
When asked what offense the team will be running, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini says, “We’re going to be multiple” but that doesn’t tell anyone anything. I agree that you have to be able to run and pass with equal efficiency. However, efficiency should not be confused with frequency. It’s about how WELL you do both, not how OFTEN.
The biggest problem with the offense the last two years was that it featured “a little of this and a little of that.” In addition, there were too many competing philosophies. You have a quarterback (Taylor Martinez) who can run an Oregon like spread, an offensive line coach (Barney Cotton) whose background is the old-school triple-option and an offensive coordinator (Shawn Watson) whose offense of choice is the West Coast Offense. That would be like putting a Tea Party conservative, far left liberal and a libertarian in the same room together. Long term, it is not going to work.
There is a segment of Husker fans that would say, “Let’s just get physical and run it down people’s throats like we did in the 90s.” That sounds good but this is not the 90s. Plus, just lining up in the I-Formation and running the football does not automatically make a team physical. The 2001 and 2002 teams ran plenty of option plays but those were hardly physical teams. Conversely, just because a team lines up with four wide receivers does not automatically mean they are finesse. Whatever that means.
The big question about Beck that we truly will not know until Nebraska faces a critcal juncture in a game is, how much of a risk taker will he be? One school of thought suggests that with the liklihood of Pelini fielding a strong defense on a regular basis, Beck doesn’t need to be a risk-taker. I beg to differ because against equal or superior foes you can’t just “play not to lose.” Granted, I don’t want an offensive coordinator going for it on fourth and five at his own 28-yard line. However, if Nebraska is trailing say, Wisconsin 24-21 with 1:30 left in the game and has a third-and-three at the Badger 35, I don’t think that’s a scenario where you call a low risk running play either.
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