Don't be surprised if the Husker defense continues to rebound

One bounce back performance does not constitute all being well in the world just yet but after surrendering the second most yards in a game (653 in a 36-30 loss at UCLA) in school history, Nebraska fans were collectively beside themselves with worry about the status of the defense.

And for good reason because in last week’s 42-13 over Arkansas State, the Huskers were facing a spread-oriented offense similar in some ways to UCLA’s unit, which added further fuel to the worries but the Husker defense responded.

Arkansas State’s first touchdown didn’t come until the third quarter, and it was the Red Wolves’ defense that scored it. Tackling technique looked significantly better and Nebraska seemed better able to pursue sideline-to-sideline and defend against the misdirection.

Nebraska ended up surrendering 285 total yards and no offensive touchdowns, which should provide a little comfort to the Husker fans moving forward.

Against a hurry-up offense like Arkansas State, making changes on the fly is a challenge for any defense but Nebraska has struggled throughout the season getting defensive play calls in from the sideline. In each half, Nebraska continued its trend of burning time outs on defense when it couldn't get properly lined up.

The Red Wolves may be one of the hardest teams to align properly for defensively, given the speed with which they play and with the number of new players (notably Zaire Anderson and David Santos) that saw the field on defense, some communication issues were to be expected. However, it is an area Nebraska needs to clean up as the season progresses.

In response to the struggles against UCLA, Huskers head coach Bo Pelini made a number of personnel changes, giving time to players like Anderson, Mohammed Seisay and Santos.

The changes seemed to pay dividends. Overall, the defense showed remarkable improvement from the week before. Of course, some of that had to do with playing Arkansas State at home instead of UCLA on the road but some of it had to do with the athletes on the field. Let’s face it, you can talk about schemes all you want but quality athletes take care of schemes, not the other way around.

Perhaps the play that best showed the change was in the third quarter, when Anderson was able to beat Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin to the corner and shut down a running play. It was Nebraska’s inability to make those stops against UCLA that contributed to the Blackshirts’ nightmare in Pasadena.

Bend, but don’t break is the approach we have come to expect from Pelini’s defense. While it was disturbing to see UCLA bend Nebraska like a yoga instructor, the defense actually does have hope for holding their end of the deal.

Yes, the Huskers are No. 111 in rushing yards allowed (226 yards per game) and No. 25 in passing yardage allowed (174 yards per game) but stats can also be skewed this early in the season.

Nebraska has allowed only five offensive touchdowns (four were in the UCLA game) and the Huskers have played red-zone defense 14 times and have allowed two touchdowns and five field goals.

I honestly believe that Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck tried to “out hurry” UCLA and got caught. This is why UCLA ran over 90 plays. Well, that and some missed tackles but the defense kept points away from the Bruins in 7 of 11 trips into the red zone. Two of the trips resulted in field goals, and two missed field goals. I think a team that allowed those type of yards and plays, but only surrendered 34 offensive points, did not break.

I’m still waiting until after the Ohio State game to decide what kind of defense the Huskers have this year, but I do believe this defense is good enough that the offense isn’t going to have to score 35-plus points to win games.

 

 

How much will Beck evolve as a playcaller?

Perhaps the most scrutinized aspect of offensive football is play-calling.

For years, Nebraska fans clamored for a pass-oriented offense because, “it seems like all we do is run between the tackles.” You heard this argument through much of the Tom Osborne and Frank Solich eras. After Solich was fired, Nebraska did the unthinkable, hired Bill Callahan and adopted the West Coast Offense. Despite what some people think, the West Coast Offense is not exclusively “passing offense.” It is a philosophy and an approach to the game than it is a set of plays or formations. Traditional offensive thinking argues that a team must establish its running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up vertical passing lanes downfield. The West Coast Offense takes the opposite approach – pass to set up run.

Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense differs from traditional offense by emphasizing a short, horizontal passing attack to help stretch out the defense, thus opening up options for longer running plays and longer passes that can achieve greater gains. The West Coast Offense as implemented under Walsh features precisely run pass patterns. With the defense stretched out, the offense is then free to focus the remaining plays on longer throws of more than 14 yards and mid to long yard rushes. Paul Brown, the head coach of the Massillon Tigers, the Cleveland Browns, and founder of the Cincinnati Bengals, was the originator of this playbook; however, he did not name it the West Coast Offense.

Anyhow, the Callahan era saw the Huskers go 27-22 and you heard fans say, “we need to get back to running the ball and being physical.” Current head coach Bo Pelini has constantly stated that he wants the offense to be “multiple.” Pelini kept Shawn Watson as offensive coordinator and as a result Nebraska tried to blend the West Coast Offense with option football and that philosophy led to not having a true offensive identity. With Tim Beck at the helm, Nebraska is still looking to be proficient at both the run and the pass but with more of an emphasis on the former.

While most fans remember the Osborne era for the wishbone option, people also forget that before 1980 he actually preferred a mixture of run and pass. He simply adopted the wishbone option because defenses were having trouble defending conference rival Oklahoma’s version. Osborne’s version of the option later was run out of the I-formation with a Power I look as well.

In 2011, with the possible exception of the Huskers 48-17 loss when running back Rex Burkhead had just six carries in the first half, Beck was very conservative in his play calling. The mentality of ramming it down their throat was certainly there and it seemed like this happened regardless of whether the Huskers were leading or trailing.

I watch certain strong offensive teams such as Oklahoma State and Boise State and they are always attacking on the offensive side. I’m certainly in favor of a strong running game but it just irks me when the defense knows what type of play the offense are bringing on a regular basis. I’m the first to admit the Nebraska offensive line might not be as dominant as it was in the 80’s and 90’s and the Huskers do not have the best passer in the world in quarterback Taylor Martinez. Based on that shouldn’t the Huskers at least try to catch teams off guard a little bit?

It seems like the Huskers have this habit of Burkhead/Martinez right followed by Burkhead/Martinez left and then a third and eight pass that the offense gets pressed into unfavorable down and distance scenarios. This seems to be especially true when the game is tight and the offense is in need of some big plays. Instead, there are often too many scenarios that involve three and out with two running plays and a pass. If you have a weak passing offense, why not use it when teams are not expecting it? Honestly, the idea of “run to set up pass” is an outmoded idea. The pass can set up the run equally well if not better because regularly completing passes on first down would eventually make a run up the middle on first down worth a few easy first downs.

Keep in mind though; Beck was in his first season as offensive coordinator in which case that presents a scenario with growing pains similar to a first-year quarterback. Oklahoma State and Boise State also had attacking style offenses because they had four-year starters at quarterback with 28-year old Brandon Weeden and Kellen Moore. Colt McCoy was also a four-year starter at Texas and in his fourth year especially, the Longhorn offense took a similar approach as Oklahoma State and Boise State.

I think you’ll see more aggression this year on offense from the Huskers but I think staying creative in the run game, getting two viable backs in the lineup at one time with the shotgun option game, and attacking through play action is the key for Nebraska.

Tempo is about knowing when to speed up and slow down

After watching the first year of Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s offense, we saw a lot of different things from him. We also saw some similar things that that the Huskers ran the previous year from former coordinator Shawn Watson.

The tempo was at various times different under Beck. Nebraska ran a lot of no-huddle offense, which is not to be mistaken for a hurry up offense. Just because a team is not huddling up before the snap does not necessarily mean they are in a hurry to run plays. The hurry up offense is more reflective of how many (or few) seconds are left on the play clock when the ball is snapped.

Personally, I liked the way Beck went about calling the offense last year in regards to the tempo. I like how Beck would be up in the skybox, see the play develop, and relay the plays from above down to the field. In a way, it was like how the Huskers been running the offense since 2004, but the tempo was much higher, and it showed with how quickly they lined up.

Because of the way Beck and Bo want balance, I think Beck needs to be in the press-box so he can see more, as opposed to previous Nebraska offenses where it wasn't necessary to have someone in the pressbox overseeing every play.

Although it was not on the level of an "Oregon-Blur" offense, I think it suits Nebraska well given its offensive talent is based on a mix of speed and power. It seemed the Husker offense worked more efficient the faster coaches called the plays in, as at the end of the play, guys were looking toward the side-line, read the signs, got the play, and they were lined up ready to go again within seconds as guys subbed in and out quickly.

It's just another way to wear out a defense, and as Husker fans know all about wearing out opposing defenses.

I'm guessing head coach Bo Pelini saw how some offenses ran their spread/no-huddle against him in previous years, especially Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in 2010, that he decided to incorporate it himself for the offense. Oklahoma State in 2010 was ridiculous against a very solid Nebraska defense, and Oklahoma in the Big XII title game simply wore the Husker defense out, but the offense in the second half didn't do the defense any favors.

I want to see the up-speed tempo continue to keep defenses gassed, off-balance, and would welcome more of it under Beck.

However, I believe if Nebraska is up by 7 or 10 or something to that effect, especially up in the fourth quarter, we need to slow it down, and possibly even come out of a huddle to wind the clock down in our favor. The Huskers should use the tempo to get up in the game, or to come back, but once Nebraska is in a comfortable situation, I think it should use its slowest gear to grind it out and frustrate opponents as to not getting used to the tempo we are running. The Huskers don't need to run a high-tempo offense especially if they are struggling on the road, or trying to close a game out. I think the tempo should be predicated on situation and how the offense is performing.

I thought the no-huddle/hurry up was mostly effective last year. I think Nebraska needs to expand on it and keep making adjustments that both the players and coaches are comfortable with but there are times though when huddling up can be very good for a team too, especially if the game isn't going your way and the players need to refocus. (This is where team leaders really need to make their voice heard).

What I would love to see Nebraska use is a no-huddle/hurry up power rushing offense out of multiple I-formation sets. Have the base plays be ISO, Power O runs, and counters off of those plays. Then have our passing game consist of play-action passes and quick drop backs. Sprinkle in the option here and there, along with some draws and screens.

Need for offensive identity important but overstated

“Identity” – look up the word in a dictionary and is described as “the sense of being oneself but not another.”

Football teams have that same issue. Are you a running team or a passing team? Do you run the spread? The veer? The Wing-T? The option? The West Coast Offense? The Run-n-Shoot? Everyone has their preference but I have never found one offense to be any better or worse than the other. If 11 guys execute their assignment, you can run the simplest fullback dive play time after time and gain consistent yardage. Or you can spread five wide receivers out and not even pretend to care about running the ball.

When I read Nebraska football message boards, the question becomes, will head coach Bo Pelini and offensive coordinator Tim Beck “finally” commit to any offensive scheme? In the Bill Callahan years, Nebraska ran the West Coast Offense. Option-loving Husker fans despised even the thought of it but Nebraska’s ultimate downfall of the Callahan years was more about defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove’s Swiss Cheese defense than Callahan’s offense. After Nebraska fired Callahan at the end of a 5-7 season in 2007, Shawn Watson was retained as offensive coordinator. The problem was that Nebraska tried to mesh West Coast Offense and Spread option with I-Formation option but the results were not good.

Under Beck, Nebraska was clearly a running team but ran everything from I-Formation option to Spread option. Yet, a segment of Husker fans still groveled about lacking an identity. In fact, when asked about the Husker scheme, Pelini continues to say, “We will be multiple.”

Count me among those who think that an offense “having an identity” has been a little overvalued. The Nebraska offense “has” an identity, its option football through multiple formations. There is a huge difference. Having multiple formations is not the “multiple” anyone is referring to, which the Huskers are not by the way. I can’t believe how the discussion comes up on message boards. When you talk about “offensive scheme,” you hear things zone read, option, and diamond. I’m no offensive coordinator but Zone Read IS option football; it’s just not the traditional veer option, power option, load option, etc. Furthermore, the diamond, is NOT a scheme. It’s a formation. Big difference.

I think this concept of having an “offensive identity” is popular amongst fans and not a thought of concern for any coach in the country. I really think the value of such an idea is extremely overvalued.

Whether it’s zone read, I-Formation option or Diamond, Nebraska’s identity is running the football. That’s the basis of the Huskers “identity,” their bread and butter, and what will continue to be the focal point. Formations and personnel grouping will change but what they will do without fail is pound the rock.

Translation = Spread Option is the “offense.” Zone read is a “play within the offense.” Diamond is a “formation within the scheme.” The schemes and offensive identity are fine. Being better on the offensive line and having more consistency at quarterback and wide receiver are the key issues this team faces.

If the line improves and starts knocking people over again, if the quarterback decision making of Taylor Martinez improves (it started to last year) and the passing game (both the QB being consistent and the WR's catching the ball consistently) improves then the scheme will look a LOT better.

Burkhead for Heisman a nice thought but a longshot

The only thing more comical than listening to Heisman Trophy hype is listening to fan reaction such.

Heading into the 2012 season, Matt Barkley (USC) and Dennard Robinson (Michigan), to name a couple, pop into many people’s heads. Part of the reason is because of their outstanding talents along with the notion that both of their teams come into the season with high expectations, especially USC. The Trojans will probably be the preseason No. 1 by more than a handful of pollsters.

Depending on who you hear, Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead could potentially fit into the Heisman Trophy discussion. However, as much as I admire Burkhead’s weekly efforts and the character he exudes, I would consider his Heisman Trophy chances a longshot at this juncture. Below are Burkhead’s numbers compared to Wisconsin’s Monte Ball and Alabama’s Trent Richardson, both were Heisman candidates a year ago before Baylor’s Robert Griffin III won the award:

ATT    YDS    TD       YDS/ATT       REC    YDS    TD       TDS/REC

Ball                 307      1923    24        6.26                 24        306      6          12.75

Richardson      283      1679    21        5.93                 29        338      3          11.66

Burkhead         283      1357    15        4.80                 21        177      2          8.43

Burkhead’s numbers do not stack up with Ball or Richardson. However, it should also be noted that Ball and Richardson had much better offensive lines and a more consistent passing game to balance the scale than Burkhead had.

While it is possible for Burkhead to figure into the Heisman Trophy mix, let’s also keep in mind that Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck has openly talked about reducing Burkhead’s workload in 2012. Burkhead accounted for over 60 percent of Nebraska’s rushing attempts last season. The plus side of that decision, if it comes to fruition, is that Burkhead might be fresher and more productive at the end of the season but will also decrease his chances of putting up Heisman-like numbers. However, if the Huskers go 10-2 and win the Big Ten title who cares if he has 2,400 yards rushing or 24 yards rushing?

You also have to understand Burkhead’s style of running. If Burkhead rushes for say 175 yards on 25 carries, it is most likely to happen as a result of a steady diet of 4-7 yard runs with an occasional 15-20 yarder mixed in rather than say a 65-yarder into the equation. That is not meant to be a negative but let’s face it, the 65-yarders get on SportsCenter.

Nebraska having breakthrough team success also has to happen for Burkhead to be even considered. Remember Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in 2009? Suh put up eye-popping numbers as a senior, recording 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss on the way to becoming one of the most decorated players in college football history. Suh won numerous awards including the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy. He was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing fourth.

Two things played into Suh not winning the Heisman. For openers, defensive players already have their own awards and Nebraska also went 10-4. However, they came within a controversial call of beating Texas for the Big 12 title. It’s still a lousy call today if you ask me but I digress. On the other hand, Nebraska playing in that game also helped Suh garner even more recognition. He recorded 4.5 sacks in that game.

Burkhead may not be a top three “preseason” Heisman pick but to rule out him carrying the label Heisman contender is mistaken. Nebraska still remains a high-profile program, has huge fan base and potential to place in a BCS bowl. All are ingredients for a trip to the New York ceremony.

However, you also have to define the trophy for what it has become. More often than not, it will go to a quarterback with an occasional player from another position winning. If the trophy was awarded per it’s current description (most outstanding college player) then over half of the past 25 winners would not have won.

Right or wrong, it has become an award for the best player on one of the best teams. What it should be about is another story. I can think of several players that won, that in my opinion won because of the team they were on, not because of personal talent. Last year was dead on with the most outstanding player in RGIII. When was the last time an also ran school won the Heisman? It only happens when a player leaves the voters no other choice and still be able to justify their votes. The Heisman has become a sham and more and more fans are beginning to tune out the hype of the Heisman. It’s not as coveted as it once was.

2012 Spring Game checklist

The Nebraska football team takes the field against itself on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Translation, the Red-White spring game will take place. The game can also be seen on the Big Ten Network.

By definition, the spring game is nothing more than a glorified exhibition that says very little how a team will perform from August to January. The spring game means different things to different people. So what really determines a successful spring game? Is it where the starting offense plays against the starting defense? Is it more about wanting to see what the new kids can bring to the table? Since we’re being televised this year, what do you want to show the Big 10?

The Spring Game has to be taken as nothing more than a fun time in the sun with something resembling football as the entertainment. It’s not ever going to be a real game – it’s just an excuse to get out and enjoy spring after a (usually) crappy winter, get a tailgate in, and alleviate some of the boredom in the off-season.

As far as the “game” goes, the first units going against each other with both units making some good plays is always intriguing. Most of all, I want to see signs of progress in the areas that were problems a year ago.

The defense was not as good as what Husker fans grew accustomed to in the Bo Pelini era for large chunks of last year. We need to see development there. Maybe I am just too optimistic but I think we may not have the star power we had last year but I think we could be a better team overall this coming year on the defensive side of the ball. Having a healthy defensive line and development of depth to get people to fill in and elevate their game in the back seven but could be pretty good.

I personally think the Huskers have the potential of being a pretty special offense this year. They have about as good of offensive skill position players as they have had in a while, if the offensive line can come together Nebraska could be pretty tough to stop.

That said here is a checklist on what would be considered a successful spring game:

1-No injuries. While there is never a good time to lose players to crippling injuries, this game would be the worst to suffer that fate.  

2-Progression of the offense/Taylor Martinez’s mechanics. The fact that Tim Beck is in his second season as offensive coordinator means the Huskers can fine-tune what they do instead of learning the basics.

3-No stupid plays/penalties/mental mistakes. All three plagued the Huskers at one point or another last season.

4-Creative, but we won't see it because it's the spring game. Fans may love creative plays but doing this in a spring game makes as much sense as teaching a little league pitcher how to throw a curveball when he can’t throw a fastball for a strike.

5-Aggressive and improved defensive line play. Husker D-Line looked pretty good at times, quite vulnerable at others.

6-Offensive line blowing guys off the line. This is one position that should benefit from not having to learn a new offense.

7-Minimal drops. Two things are equally true: a) Martinez needs to be more accurate. b) Husker receivers dropped far too any catchable passes.

8-Special teams perfection. Besides Brett Maher’s consistency, special teams was a hit/miss proposition.

9-How the kickoff rules will affect the philosophy on special teams. Next fall, teams will kick off at the 35-yard line instead of the 30. Also, players on the kicking team can’t line up for the play behind the 30-yard line, which is intended to limit the running start kicking teams used to have during the play.

Also, touchbacks on free kicks will be moved to the 25-yard line instead of the 20 to encourage more touchbacks. Touchbacks on other plays (for example, punts that go into the end zone, or fumbles that go out of the end zone) will remain at the 20-yard line.

Husker offense at least resembles continuity

For the first time since the 2006 season, Nebraska returns both its offensive coordinator and starting quarterback for a second consecutive season.

OK, hold the snarky comments. Yes, the Huskers finished last season ranked 66th nationally in total offense (379.9 ypg) and 104th in passing offense (162.7). You have to think the Huskers will make significant improvement in both areas in 2012. Right?

Junior Taylor Martinez returns as the starting quarterback and Tim Beck returns as offensive coordinator despite pleas from some Nebraska fans for a change at both positions. However, let’s not diminish the importance of continuity. Does that mean the 2012 Huskers are going to suddenly make us forget the Scoring Explosion of 1983? No. Far from it but when a team has to learn a new system there is so much involved as far as the most basic points of the system. That’s not an excuse by any means but continuity is no small advantage.

After watching a year of Beck’s offense, the Huskers are closer to having a definite identity but are still caught in the ‘tweener phase. Under Shawn Watson as offensive coordinator, the Huskers tried to marry the West Coast offense with the zone read and pistol. With Beck last season, the Huskers alternated between zone read, pistol, and traditional option but with the passing game either being too vertical or horizontal.

There was plenty to like about Beck’s offense and plenty of room for improvement. I’m not looking for so much as “Well, I hope we find someone to play tackle,” as much as “I hope our offense does more of X as opposed to Y.” Either is fine, though, if you believe it pertains. Personally, I hope the offense becomes better tailored to fit Martinez’s strengths, or at least the strengths I think he has. I don’t think Martinez has the agility to run traditional option. He’s too close to the line, doesn’t have that great lateral movement, and didn’t make correct reads very often last year. However, when he’s back in the shotgun with more room to spare, his running skills and read skills seemed significantly better. I hope we see less traditional option and more shotgun option.

On the passing side, I would like to see more short routes (7-8 yards). These are statistically Martinez’s best throws. Use bubble screens and jailbreak screens as long handoffs and the long ball to keep the defense honest and try to force the safeties out of the box.

I hope we see more of the diamond formation. This consists of a quarterback in the shotgun formation flanked by a triangle of running backs. It can be effective for a run or pass play. The diamond fits Nebraska's talent perfectly; it seems that whenever this formation was utilized it produced.

It just creates so many options and matchup problems, not to mention the multiplicity of possible changes at the line of scrimmage without showing your hand. I know a lot of last year was experimenting for Beck in trying to find the right combinations with so many young players and a new offense. I think this year we’ll see a lot more of a focus on certain aspects that we
know are/will be successful, and hopefully the diamond becomes one of those mainstays.

In addition, I say keep the creativity as long as it doesn't make the offense too cutesy. Beck seemed to do a good job last year.

Beck learning but Year One as OC a success so far

The fact that the Nebraska football team is ranked No. 17 in the latest AP poll and sports an 8-2 record entering Saturday’s road game at No. 20 Michigan (also 8-2); it is how the Huskers arrived at this point that is the biggest surprise.


The defense was viewed as the team strength coming into the season but has been inconsistent. The offense was expected to show improvement but with lot of youth and a new coordinator (Tim Beck replacing Shawn Watson) it was hard to say how soon the improvement would come. Without the offense performing at the level it has the Huskers would likely be 5-5 instead of 8-2. Nebraska beat Fresno State 42-29, Washington 51-38 and Ohio State 34-27.

In a Lincoln Journal Star blog entry, however, Beck was pretty critical of himself.
"I think some games I get conservative ... I play not to lose instead of playing to win," Beck said after Saturday's 17-14 win at Penn State. "I think that was evident in some of the games. You get too conservative. The play-calling gets that way.
"As I look back and really thought about it, we have to be who we are, and that's an attacking offense. Sometimes I don't do that. For whatever reason, I don't."
He felt Nebraska's offense was too conservative in the second half Saturday, "with the lead and trying to use the clock," Beck said.
Beck’s point has merit to a certain degree extent but Nebraska also attacked Penn State via the run and pass on Saturday which is important because if you try to making a living by beating a stout defense by running right at them you will starve.

Beck has had a couple of poorly called games but overall, I think he's doing very well considering he is running a new scheme as a first-time offensive coordinator. It'll be interesting to see what this offense does next year. If it improves much, and the defense rounds into form earlier, we should be a pretty formidable team.
But most of the way through Year One of the Tim Beck Experiment, I'm cautiously optimistic about where we're headed.
The cynical side would suggest, “anything is better than Shawn Watson” but I think Beck has definitely hit the ground running. I still cuss at the television on 3rd and short when we run a sweep (as opposed to quarterback Taylor Martinez up the gut) but I’ll live. On the whole, I would call the first year a success as of right now.
The biggest positive that I see here is that Beck recognizes that sometimes he gets too conservative, meaning that he is likely to change. I think this has been the biggest problem with our past offensive coordinators, they don’t know what they are doing wrong and don’t know how to change.
It seems like Beck can watch game film and analyze like a coach and a fan. He can nitpick specifics like a coach, but he can also sit back in the chair like the rest of us and say the same things we do.
After sitting through years of bitching at the television watching Watson's sick joke walk out there and lose games for us, I have to say that I am thrilled with Beck in his first year. There is one major reason why. The Huskers are showing improvement both on offense and at quarterback.

Watson and former head coach Bill Callahan tried jamming a square peg through a round hole for too damn long. Beck is finding what we are good at and using it. Yes he might get astray from it sometimes but can you blame him. The guy wants to learn what we are capable of in game situations. What might work in practice doesn't always work in games.

He is winning ball games and scoring points though. Can you imagine if we could have gotten 20 points a game back when Watson was here? Our defense was so good, that's all we would have needed. Watson found a way to blow it every time.

I might be a overstating it a bit because I have to be honest, I never liked Shawn Watson's offense or his playcalling. So the change really made my offseason. I've been praying for Watson to move on for his entire tenure. I'm rooting for Beck, and I think we have found our guy. As long as Martinez keeps improving, this offense will continue to improve.

Good win followed by clunker loss

Once or twice is an aberration but three times is a pattern. For the third time in as many seasons, Nebraska follows a feel good win with a clunker of a loss at home.


Rewind the clock to 2009, the Huskers rally from a 12-0 deficit after three quarters on a rainy night in Columbia, Mo., to beat Missouri 27-12. Keep in mind, Nebraska had lost four of its last six to the Tigers. The Huskers went to 4-1 but followed with consecutive home losses to Texas Tech (31-10) and Iowa State (9-7). The latter of which had a losing record early in the game.

In 2010, Nebraska ran roughshod over Kansas State in a 48-13 win at Manhatten, KS to go to 5-0 entering a home game against their chief tormentor (Texas). The Longhorns were on the heels of two straight losses at 3-2. Husker Nation was ready for payback. Nebraska, however, lost 20-13 to a Texas team that finished the season 5-7.

Now for the 2011 edition, Nebraska scores an impressive 24-3 home win over Michigan State. The talk after the game is how the disappointing Blackshirts are returning to form and how Nebraska controls its own destiny to reach the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis. The trip to Indy was a straight line entering Saturday’s home game against Northwestern (now 4-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) but in losing to Northwestern 28-25 the Huskers veered to an onramp in Des Moines, Iowa and suddenly need some direction getting back on to Interstate 80.

In the Bo Pelini era, many losses have been clearly defined on which side of the ball is more clearly to blame – offense or defense. In the case of Saturday, the blame is pretty equal. If Rex Burkhead and Quincey Enunwa don’t fumble from the 5 and 25 yard line going in, Nebraska wins the game. Period. End of sentence. Next report.

Northwestern entered the game 95th in run defense while Nebraska was No. 9 in rush offense. However, the Wildcats bottled up Nebraska’s ground game, holding them to 118 yards on 33 carries. The Husker offense also wasted a brilliant passing game of quarterback Taylor Martinez, who completed 29 of 38 for 298 yards, two scores and no picks. Too bad his receivers dropped four passes. Martinez has been heavily criticized as a passer but was flawless in his decision making.

My biggest criticism of offensive coordinator Tim Beck is that why are Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green, Braylon Heard and Jamal Turner getting a combined one touch? Granted, Burkhead is the bellcow of the offense if you are going to burn redshirts on Abdullah, Green and Heard why are they seldom in the game?

And on the defensive side, Nebraska spent a lot of the first quarter on the field as much for their inability to get stops and the offense’s inability to move the chains. At one point in the first quarter, the Wildcats had nine first downs to Nebraska’s one. That heavy load eventually exacted a toll on the Blackshirts. The Huskers had coverage breakdowns against the pass and couldn’t stop the run when they had momentum on their side.

And it was game, set, match.

Huskers must execute a well-conceived plan to beat MSU

The terms “key game,” “big game” and “must win game” are often thrown around too freely. However, let’s not kid ourselves, Saturday’s football game between No. 9 Michigan State and No. 13 Nebraska in Lincoln, NE, is very vital.


Both clubs are 6-1 but the difference is that MSU is 3-0 in Big Ten play and in sole possession of first place in the Legends Division. Nebraska, however, is 2-1 and currently in a three-way tie for second in the Legends Division with Michigan and Iowa. If Michigan State wins, it will strengthen its hold on the Legends Division race but if Nebraska wins, the race becomes very compelling. Potentially until Black Friday.

Many prognosticators tabbed the Huskers as the favorite to win the Legends Division. I didn’t think that was a crazy prediction but given the collective youth on offense and the fact that they were breaking in a new coordinator (Tim Beck), I felt it was premature to book reservations to a BCS Bowl game let along Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game.

Nebraska comes into the game more rested having had a bye week on Oct. 15 and a de facto bye week on Oct. 22 with a 41-14 win over lowly Minnesota. Michigan State has beaten Michigan (28-14) and Wisconsin (37-31). The latter came with a game-ending Hail Mary that was shades of Doug Flutie. Is MSU ripe for a letdown after two emotional wins? Perhaps so but that argument is a slippery slope. The storylines are already written. If Nebraska wins, the angle becomes, “the Huskers won because they were rested and the Spartans were worn down.” If Michigan State wins, the story becomes, “Nebraska had it too easy and Michigan State was more battle-tested.”

The matchups on both sides of the ball are intriguing. The Nebraska defense has been a disappointment throughout the season and that was even before losing defensive tackle Jared Crick (torn pectoral) for the season. The Spartans offense, however, will not be mistaken for the Nebraska “Scoring Explosion” of 1983 as they rank No. 57 in points scored.

Michigan State’s offensive MO is similar to say Bill Parcells’ New Yorks Giants: Move the chains and don’t beat yourself. Senior quarterback Kirk Cousins epitomizes that mindset as he has thrown just four interceptions. While Cousins’ feet are not nailed to the ground, he is more of a classic dropback passer, which is a plus for a Husker defense that has had its troubles with speedy quarterbacks.

If Nebraska’s defense is to have success, it does not necessarily have to sack Cousins but make him throw the ball a fraction of a second too soon. That means get creative with blitz packages but do not show them too early and the cornerbacks must take away Cousins’ first read. The more uncomfortable the Huskers make Cousins, the better off they will be.

The Husker defense, however, also must display a fire – but controlled aggression -- it has not shown all season. Nebraska enters this game ranked No. 70 against the run, No. 27 against the pass and No. 42 overall. Those are numbers that are not normally associated with a Bo and Carl Pelini led defense.

So far, the only Nebraska defenders that have lived up to their preseason expectations are linebacker LaVonte David and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. For the rest of them, time to earn your scholarships. Now. No, make that yesterday.

On the offensive side, if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a zillion times. Quarterback Taylor Martinez brings the pizzazz but running back Rex Burkhead is the foundation of the offense. The numbers bear that idea out. Burkhead is second in the Big Ten with 10 touchdowns. He is also third in the conference with 752 yards rushing.

Though this week, there will be a fine line between getting Burkhead the ball and keeping a rugged Spartan defense that ranks eighth against the run honest. I’m not suggesting that the Huskers should change what they do but if you try to make a living by ONLY running right at the Spartans defense, you’ll starve.

Do things like run a reverse to Kenny Bell. Set up a bubble screen to Jamal Turner. Use Martinez on some misdirections where he has a run-pass option.

What can’t happen is, run Burkhead into a brick wall on first down. Option Burkhead into a brick wall on second down. Oh, it’s third and eight, Martinez throws an incomplete pass. Punt time, here comes Brett Maher. The Huskers must get creative and have to keep this Spartan defense on their toes.

Most of all, allow Martinez to do what he does best. I don’t give a damn what the anti-Martinez crowd says, he is improving. So what if he’s not Andrew Luck. So what if his mechanics are not pretty. Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost and Eric Crouch won’t make anyone forget Drew Brees and the Huskers did just fine.

The biggest thing Martinez has to do is, make sound decisions, don’t predetermine where he throws and if the checkdown receiver is there, take it all day. And while you’re at it, use your feet and run like people are chasing you.

Martinez the least of Nebraska's problems

Welcome to another Monday of addressing knee jerk reactions. If you listen to some Nebraska football fans, message board posters and in some cases mainstream media members, you would think quarterback Taylor Martinez was the primary (and only) reason for the Nebraska football team's problems.


The term problem, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt since many college football teams would gladly take the Huskers problems of being 5-1 and ranked No. 13 in the latest Associated Press poll after Saturday's stunning 34-27 come-from-behind win over Ohio State. Nebraska being 5-1 is not necessarily a problem, only the process most people figured is not what most (including myself) anticipated. In head coach Bo Pelini's four seasons, the Huskers made a transformation from being the worst defense known to man under former defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove in 2007 when they were 114th in the nation in total defense to No. 4 in 2009. The defense was not as strong last season but definitely strong enough in 2009 and 2010 to where if Nebraska had an even mediocre offense, it would have bee good enough to win a Big 12 title.

Fast forward to 2011, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson leaves and Husker fans celebrated pretty much en masse as running backs coach Tim Beck was promoted to offensive coordinator. Watson's departure alone made Nebraska fans dance in the streets. Most people figured the offense would take time to find its way in 2011 while the defense did a lot of heavy lifting. Sure, losses like cornerback Prince Amukamara, safeties Eric Hagg and Dejon Gomes would be felt. However, the Huskers boasted a high end returning player at every level of the defense -- tackle Jared Crick, linebacker LaVonte David and cornerback Alfonso Dennard.

So far, only David has lived up to his preseason hype. To be fair, Dennard is still working his way back into form after missing the first four games to a quad injury. Crick and defensve end Cameron Meredith, however, have been big disappointments. If not for David's mid third quarter forced and recovered fumble of Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller, the Huskers don't even begin to make their second half charge.

So how does all of this pertain to Martinez? Let's talk about that for just a minute. Does Martinez have his issues? Yes. Is Martinez free of fault? No. However, when you look at the Huskers entire body of work over the course of six games, the team's problems are less about him and much more about the defense. In fact, it's not even close.
Forget the Ohio State game for just a nano-second. Let's just assume Nebraska has a defense that most of us come to expect under Pelini. Keep in mind, Nebraska entered Saturday's game ranked No. 73 in total defense. For the sake of discussiom, let's say they are ranked in the top 40 in a worst case scenario. None of the games are even close except for Wisconsin, which was a 48-17 loss.

Even in that game, Nebraska trailed 20-14 late in the first half. The offense actually looked OK at that point before. The offensive line was blocking, running back Rex Burkhead was running well and Martinez was throwing at least decent. If the defense had been playing well, perhaps Beck and Martinez (who let's face it is an average at best passer) wouldn't have been in a position where they felt they constantly needed to score. Though it's easy to hammer Martinez for forcing passes into double coverage, perhaps he would not have been compelled to do so if it did not appear that Wisconsin was going to score on every damn possession.
On Saturday, Nebraska's Blackshirts (if you want to call them that) gave up 246 yards of offense in the first half. If the defense came to play, Nebraska wins this game going away. Keep in mind, Ohio State had a 12-3 minute top of possession edge in he first quarter. So Martinez is not Joe Montana. This may shock the "Bench Martinez's ass" camp but he came up big in the second half along with running back Rex Burkhead.

Martinez completed 16 of 22 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. He also added a rushing touchdown, 95 yards on 16 carries. All of that while guiding Nebraska to its biggest come-from-behind win in school history. OK, Martinez, I know it kills you but give the kid some credit.

The bottom line is quarterbacks will have games where they throw interceptions. In case you have never watched a game in your life, great ones throw the. Average ones throw them. Bad ones throw them. The point is Nebraska's defense is supposed to be good enough to where the offense can make a couple mistakes a game so that they can overome them. At this point, that is not close to being the case.

Speaking of the defense, we'll examine that more during the bye week as the Huskers next play at Minnesota on Oct. 22. However, to take a preliminary look, I ask, at what point does Nebraska play the Peso (4-2-5)? It worked like a charm the last few years. I realize conventional widom says you need a three linebacker defense against the Big 10, but right now conventional wisdom sucks. Are the Huskers served better by putting more speed on the field. Does it pay off to have the linebackers in the game when they are non-productive anyway?
Back to Martinez, here's a late breaking story for football fans. Quarterbacks are going to have incompletions, bad reads, and intereptions at every level. It's part of the game. Has Martinez played as well as he can? No. He definitely needs to improve but it stans to reason that the difference between a top ten Nebraska team and the team we see today is not and has not been Martinez. It has been the defense.
Though I have been a Husker fan for 24 years and a graduate for 14, I simply do not get a certain segment of our fans. I get it that Martinez's throwing motion and decision making can be frustrating but we all need to realize that if we want to put in a quarterback that doesn't throw interceptions, you'll never find one. Gee whizz. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers must al really suck.

So while you are busy being convinced that Martinez is the problem, I say this: Keep a healthy Martinez and fix the damn defense and everything else will fall into place.

Light bulb goes on late for Husker offense but defense suspect in win over Bulldogs

After the No. 10 ranked Nebraska football team's 40-7 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga, much of the angst over the Huskers performance centered around the offense. The Huskers gained 364 yards of total offense (239 rushing, 135 passing) but those stats were somewhat skewed because 99 came on two plays (a 47-yard run by quarterback Taylor Martinez and a 252-yard run by running back Rex Burkhead).


As for the Huskers 42-29 win over Fresno State, yes the offense was still choppy at times but that's to be expected considering the collective youth of the offense and the fact that Nebraska is breaking in a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck). The Huskers amassed 438 yards of offense (232 rushing, 219 passing).

Much like the win over UTC, the Husker offense had a home run or strikeout element. Martinez had a 57-yard run and also had pass completions of 42 yards to Kenny Bell, 53 yards to Kyler Reed and 42 yads to Jamal Turner. That's 194 yards on four plays. However, when it matter most, Nebraska's offense pulled its weight, which can't be said very often the past two seasons. Fresno State cut the Nebraska lead to 35-29 on Kevin Goessling's 37-yard foeld goal with 5:24 left in the game. The Huskers took over and Burkhead carried six times for 34 yards then Martinez scored on a 46-yard run to seal the win. Game. Set. Match. Drive home safely.

The disturbing aspect of Nebraska's game against the Bulldogs, however, is the defensive performance. Fresno State, which like Nebraska has a young offensive line, blew open serious holes in the running game and gave quarterback Derek Carr more than ample time to throw. The Bulldogs rushed for 190 yards (169 from Robbie Rouse on 36 carries). Carr completed 20-of-41 passes for 254 yards. Granted, the Husker secondary is still without starting cornerback Alfonso Dennard, who most believe is one of the best (if not the very best) in the nation at his position. However, the Huskers did not sack Carr once and only pressured him when they blitzed. That's significant because Nebraska (while occasionally dials up blitzes) prefers to rely on the front four to get pressure and for good reason when you have elite defensive linemen like Jared Crick, Cameron Meredith and Baker Steinkuhler.

What was even more disturbing was the resistance against the run that Nebraska showed. Well, lack thereof would be a better description. The Bulldogs opened some huge holes for Rouse. Yes, he is a talented running back who did a good job of following his blocks but that performance evoked memories of Nebraska's 19-7 loss to Washington. Incidentally, that same team comes to Lincoln next week. That performance, however, was at least understandable because at that point in the season the defense felt the burden over the offense's ineptitude. While the 2011 edition of the Nebraska offense is still a work in progress, it is defenitely better than the one that ended the 2010 season. Well, better to the point where they don't lead the world in terrible offense.

The most disturbing aspect of the defense's effort Saturday is the fact that since Bo Pelini took over as the Huskers head coach, he has established a culture of developing players. Yes, some years the talent is better than others but the culture has been such that, you lose one player, the next guy is ready.

While anyone can have a bad game, the Husker defensive performance in the Holiday Bowl and Saturday (that's two of the last three games they've taken the field if you're scoring at home) is that considering the Huskers are in the Big 10 conference that becomes significant. While spread offenses in the Big 10 have become much more mainstream than influential media types believe, it is still a conference much more likely to line up in the I-formation ad run right into the teeth of defenses (as Fresno State often did Saturday) than the Huskers former conference (the Big 12) that is a sinking ship. However, that's another story for another time.

Husker fans need to stop obsessing of Martinez's passing

For all of his great attributes as a runner when healthy, the frequent criticism of Nebraska sophomore quarterback Taylor Martinez are "He can't pass" or "His throwing motion is lousy."


True, Martinez will never be Tom Brady but even those who expect him to reach even the passing accuracy levels of recent former Husker quarterbacks Zac Taylor (2005-2006) or Joe Ganz (2008) are going to be sorely disappointed. Granted, Martinez is still very young and growing into his role as a passer but he hasn't really ever shown serious potential as a pocket passer or someone who can progress through four or five reads. He's never going to be throwing the pretty fade for a corner of the endzone touchdown and nor will he be expert a fitting a pass between an underneath linebacker and an over the top safety on a post route.
The promising thing about new offensive coordinator Tim Beck's scheme, at least based on what we heard throughout the offseason, is that these things shouldn't be as big of a weakness. What the offense should do is maximize Martinez's strengths, which are blinding straight-line speed and some experience with running an up-tempo, spread-option scheme.

For those who want Martinez to become Joe Montana, the Huskers don't need him to be a pinpoint passer, if the offense can get the defense to equally fear runs up the middle, options to the boundary, or screen passes to the likes of Kenny Bell or Ameer Abdullah. That's how Chip Kelly does it in Oregon. He makes defenses try to defend horizontally and vertically, while trying to catch their breath and make adjustments with minimal time against a no-huddle offense. If Martinez can get to the level of say Oregon's Darren James or Texas's Vince Young, rather than expecting he will become an NFL-caliber quarterback, that'll be fine.

Here are Nebraska quarterback statistics since 2004:

2004 - Joe Dailey - 2025 yds, 49.4%, 6.53 yds/att, 17 TDs, 19 INTs

2005 - Zac Taylor - 2653 yds, 55.1%, 6.17 yds/att, 19 TDs, 12 INTs

2006 - Zac Taylor - 3197 yds, 59.6%, 8.18 yds/att, 26 TDs, 8 INTs

2007 - Sam Keller - 2422 yds, 63.1 %, 7.45 yds/att, 14 TDs, 10 INTs

2007 - Joe Ganz - 1435 yds, 58.6%, 9.44 yds/att, 16 TDs, 7 INTs

2008 - Joe Ganz - 3568 yds, 67.9%, 8.50 yds/att, 25 TDs, 11 INTs

2009 - Zac Lee - 2143 yds, 58.6%, 7.10 yds/att, 14 TDs, 10 INTs

2010 - Taylor Martinez - 1631 yds, 59.2%, 8.32 yds/att, 10 TDs, 7 INTs
All quarterbacks listed from 2004-2009 combined for 575 rushing yards while Martinez had 965 on his own in 2010.
Other than Ganz in 2008 (67.9%), which of those years was any of the guys on this list a "more accurate passer" than Martinez last year? Obviously his yardage and touchdowns are down because he plays in a totally different offense but Keller was the only other one to really exceed Martinez's percentage last year and no one did it in their first year as a starter. Keep in mind, Keller started at Arizona State before transferring. In addition, we all remember how much help Martinez got from his wide receivers last year.
I'm not going to argue that Martinez gets any style points for how he looks in the pocket but he is serviceable as a passer. As for this business of throwing motion, people didn't like Phillip Rivers throwing motion either but that's turned out all right for him with the Sa Diego Chargers. Bernie Kosar nearly won a Heisman Trophy and started for years in the NFL throwing side-arm so I don't get hung up on how the delivery looks.
I'd like to see Martinez work through his progressions a little more as well but when he pulled the ball down and ran against Tennessee-Chattanooga, he got a first down more often than not.

Season opener tells little but important signs nonetheless

The 2011 college football season is here and not a moment too soon. As stated here on Wine Country Husker throughout the week, No. 10 Nebraska's 40-7 win over UT-Chattanooga is a game where you view the process more so than the result. Let's face it, if Nebraska beats, say, Wisconsin 10-7 and turns the ball over five times you won't care about the result.


Against a middle-of-the-road Div. I-AA team like the Mocs, however, the process tends to matter more. So what do we take out of Game # 1?

-- Quarterback Taylor Martinez looks to be back to full speed and I liked that he threw some passes away instead of enduring a sack. One of the things Nebraska fans were waiting with baited breath to see was whether Martinez would be back to something resembling the T-Magic of last season. In that sense, he didn’t disappoint, with touchdown runs of 43 and 47 yards. In offensive coordinator Tim Beck's first game in his new role, Martinez showed himself to be healthy enough to have Nebraska’s offense centered around him.

Whether that is a good or bad thing is a question that will divide opinion among Husker fans.

Days before the game, head coach Bo Pelini promised Nebraska’s new offense would be a combination of old-school NU football and the modern day spread. There was a lot of option football being played, warming the cockles of the experienced members of Nebraska’s fan base (say 35 or older).

Nebraska’s inability to consistently run the ball right at Chattanooga, however, will rankle that same fan base. As an example, Nebraska had the ball first and goal at the six-yard line and could not get in the end zone. We're talking UT-Chattanooga, not the UT Volunteers.

The truth of the matter is, a 40-7 rout may make things look good but Nebraska appears to still lack the ability to simply line up and run over teams (especially teams Nebraska has a clear athletic superiority over). That has to be cause for concern.

From what we saw of the Beck offense as opposed to former coordinator Shawn Watson, Nebraska’s offense will include a lot of option, a lot of quick passes and a lot of getting the ball to playmakers and letting them go. However, there were plenty of times where it was clear that not everyone was on the same page. On many occasions, players would run into each other in the backfield, or one player would look for another to see no one there. Against a team like Chattanooga, those types of miscues didn’t make a difference. Against a sturdier opponent, those mistakes could be fatal.

The offensive line, however, play improved as the game went along, and I thought Spencer Long looked pretty good and Andrew Rodriguez might be Nebraska's most phsicl offensive lineman.

Two of Nebraska’s biggest struggles in 2010 were fumbles and penalties. The fumbles were still an issue, although that had more to do with getting used to Tim Beck’s new high-tempo offense than anything else but Nebraska only committed three penalties for 33 yards, and one was an incredibly soft roughing the passer call on defensive end Josh Williams.

One particular bone of contention from last year was the play clock issue, which Saturday appeared to be a thing of the past. The new offense gives Martinez enough time to survey the defense, change a play and snap the ball before the play clock is even close to expiring. Gone seem to be the days of Memorial Stadium groaning in exasperation when a timeout is burned due to the play clock running down.

On the defensive side, Nebraska's line, as expeted looks deep and solid. Defensive end Cameron Meredith looks like he might have a breakout season, and defensive tackle Jared Crick was as advertised.

The linebacker play of LaVonte David and Trevor Roach looked great, and I thought Alonzo Whaley did a nice job too.

The secondary played without the servies of Alfonzo Dennard, who is out with a quad injury. As expected, his replacement (Andrew Green) had his peaks and valleys but the experience of Saturday will hopefuly be a huge difference. The biggest bright spot in the secondary, however, was cornerback Austin Stafford looks like he is going to be a stud. Stafford made tackles against the run and pass with authority.

Let's not forget the kicking game. Junior kicker and punter Brett Maher did his best to put the Alex Henery ghosts to rest in his first game as a starter. His first of four field goals was from 50 yards, into the teeth of a howling wind, with plenty of distance to spare. Maher also punted admirably, getting good height and distance even in a tough wind, and getting one punt downed inside the 10.

Going into the season, most observers (including yours truly) thought Nebraska would have a drop-off in production from the kicking game in 2011. After Maher’s performance, it appears that worry may have been unfounded.

So what does this mean in the big picture?

Ultimately, it’s not fair to judge Beck too harshly after the first game. Yes, it was rough in spots. Martinez doesn’t look all that comfortable running the option. Yes, receivers still dropped passes at an alarming rate but there was also a lot of youth that got game experience. The three freshman running backs (Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green and Braylon Heard) all looked very good in their appearances. Jamal Turner, in limited playing time, still electrified the crowd and showed his incredible promise.

So there does appear to be a lot of parts in place for Nebraska’s offense to be successful. But, as a year ago, ultimately that success will revolve around the performance of Taylor Martinez.

Season opener won't tell us much but important nonetheless

The nation is not going to have its eyes glued on No. 11 ranked Nebraska's Saturday matchup against Tennessee-Chatanooga like, say, No. 3 Oregon against No. 4 LSU or to a lesser degree No. 7 Boise State travelling to No. 22 Georgia.


However since Nebraska has to play the game anyhow, the question becomes what will the game tell us? Keep in mind, the Huskers are looking for a fresh start after finishing last season with a 10-4 record that concluded with three losses in its last four games.
Considering that it is a game that the Huskers should win fairly easily by the second half at the latest (given the Mocs total lack of depth on the lines, thin even by FCS standards), the game is a no-win situation for Nebraska. Let's face it, if you win big, it's to be expected. If you struggle like say the 2005 season-opening 25-7 win over D-IAA Maine, the question becomes, what's wrong with the Huskers? On the other hand, you don't want to see a process like the 2004 season-opening 56-17 win over Western Illinois. In that game, the Huskers turned the ball over six times and it proved to be a season long problem on the way to a 5-6 campaign.

That said, from Nebraska's standpoint, being in a position where second and third-stringers getting lots of reps should be expected if for no other reason than to develop your bench players.
Since the Huskers are breaking in a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck), the objectiives should be getting lined up in order, getting off the snap, avoiding stupid penalties, getting plays off in time, avoid wasting time outs, finishing drives, very few dropped passes, and no turnovers. All of those things plaqued the Husker offense a year ago even wen quarterback Taylor Martinez was healthy I seriously do not think we will learn entirely of Beck's new philosophy because executing base plays will be much more important.

On defense, I want to see defensive ends getting pressure on the quarterback to go along with the good push we have seen from the defensive tackles the last several years. I am also curious to see the ends keep better outside containment. I am also interested to see how much does the secondary miss DeJon Gomes and his tackling along with getting better linebacker play from the likes of Will Compton, Alonzo Whaley and Sean Fisher.

On special teams, I would like to see a solid kicking game which includes pinning the opponent deep on punts. Lastly, I would like to see someone returning kicks, and punts, someone with some decent vision and breakaway speed.


Regardless of the score, I am looking for a 38-10 type game with a lot of room for improvement going into game 2, and as most coaches will tell you most teams improve the most between game 1 and game 2. So let's hope for an injury free game and a glimpse of the talent the team has for 2011.

Husker offensive line needs to walk in tall Cotton

While former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson took the brunt of the criticism for Nebraska’s offensive struggles in 2009, and to a lesser degree in 2010, offensive line coach Barney Cotton was a close second.

Running backs coach Tim Beck has since replaced the departed Watson, who is now the quarterbacks coach at Louisville. Cotton remains the offensive line coach and associate head coach. John Garrison is the associate offensive line coach as well as tight ends coach.

Cotton took his share of lumps from Husker fans and while some of it was warranted, the amount of venom was pretty brutal. What one fails to take into account was that a huge reason for the offense’s struggles was the effort to marry too many different philosophies. The disparity in philosophies between Cotton and Watson really accelerated the waffling between power football and influence blocking, resulting in the total ineffectiveness that was witnessed last year up front. Cotton also had no control over the injuries that made a bad situation really ugly. I am in no way excusing his role but a segment of Nebraska fans lay it all of the blame at his feet. Was he part of the reason for the line’s problems? Yes. Entirely? No.

The problem is, too people have the IQ of a pea plant and think, “Well, the O-Line stinks, so Cotton stinks too.” True, the offensive line play has left something to be desired but if you have even a shade of football knowledge, poor line play can also be because of injuries, offensive coordinator, philosophy, bad talent or bad depth. The injuries Nebraska has had up front are a factor along with the lack of recruits present when head coach Bo Pelini and his staff arrived in 2008 along with Watson’s complex West Coast Offense that lent itself to players thinking more so than playing.

Since Watson is a West Coast Offense advocate while Cotton espouses a power running back, it’s fair to say that Cotton was trying to figure out what Watson wanted, and that he actually was like a player, studying the play book, trying to figure out what Watson wanted. Let’s face it, Cotton had a hard time teaching the Watson/Bill Callahan system.


Callahan has been a reputable offensive line coach in both college and the NFL but Cotton was a bad match for the system the Huskers were trying to run 2008-2010 with Watson and without Callahan and Dennis Wagner. It made sense to keep Watson after Callahan was dismissed at the end of the 2007 season and not go through another radical change the way they did in 2004. Bringing in Barney in Year No. 1 was probably one of the few mismatches (short term issues) for Pelini and he is still dealing with it.


So where are we at today? The line definitely needs more consistency considering the Huskers are looking at potentially starting a true freshman, a redshirt freshman, a true sophomore and a redshirt sophomore if Marcel Jones cannot go which is a distinct possibility. And maybe another true freshman will see playing time for Mike Caputo if Nebraska plays 3-4 defenses with a nose tackle that can take advantage of Caputo like Texas A&M did.


The offensive line will need to find its consistency especially in hostile Big 10 road environments like Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State.

What is the State of the Program?

“State of the program.” You hear the term so many times when evaluating anything. Ask any Nebraska football fan “what is the state of the program?” and most will give a forthright answer to such an open-ended question.



After posting a 44-32 record from 2002-2007 (which spanned the last two years of the Frank Solich tenure and the entire Bill Callahan regime), the Huskers have gone 29-12 in Bo Pelini’s three years at the helm. Nebraska has definitely made progress under Pelini, just not BCS Bowl game material progress. The reasonble thinking fans knew it would take time for Pelini to get Nebraska to the prominence it enjoyed from 1961-2001. However, “patience” and “Nebraska football fans” go together like oil and water.


This is also a much different era of college football. Everyone has their theories such as scholarship limitations creating more parity. That angle can be overstated but it has some truth.


That said, the Nebraska football program appears poised for big things. In this day and age of college football, there are plenty of good teams with plenty of talent who can trip you up over the course of the season. Over the past three years the Huskers definitely shown a propensity to let those teams stick around and, in some cases (Iowa State’s 9-7 win in 2009) SU at home) those teams have beaten Nebraska.


That set of circumstances has to change but I think it’s fair to predict that as Pelini grows as a coach and the staff develops together, that there will be improvements on that front. What I do see as a huge positive is that even though Pelini’s win-loss success is similar to Solich’s 58-19 mark from 1998-2003. The reason that Frank got fired )rightly or wrongly) was that in his last three years, the team looked completely outclassed at least twice a year.


In the past two years, Pelini’s teams have shown that they can compete with anyone on a given day. The only losses in the last two years that couldn’t have been a win if one play had gone differently was the Texas Tech game (31-10 loss) in 2009 and the 19-7 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington last December. During that stretch, Nebraska took the No. 2 team (Texa) in the country to the last second before losing 13-12. The Huskers also led Oklahoma 17-0 in last year’s Big XII title game before losing 23-20. The Huskers also lost 18-15 in 2009 a eventual ACC champ Virginia Tech.


In this day and age in college football, the first thing a top program needs to do is be in every game. Clearly Nebraska needs to win those games and its track record in those situations has not been good but we only have a sample of two years to examine considering how bad the 2007 team Pelini succeeded happened to be.


The reason the Huskers haven’t been far more successful the last two years has been the offense, which has been absolutely putrid at very important points of the season. The posters who have pointed out the fact that the biggest contributors to that failure are still around have a great point. The offensive line has not been able to pass block for two years and has been supremely undisciplined, false starting way more than is acceptable. For an offense which is so weak that it needs down and distances to be favorable, this is not promising. Additionally, for the naysayers, it’s not like we revamped our offensive staff and brought in a proven coordinator with a track record of success. So, overall, I understand arguments against our improvement on offense.


However, I have more hope than the antagonists. I think that the Huskers performance over the last few years has been as bad as it can possibly get. Sometimes a situation can evolve where otherwise capable individuals fall into a trap of stagnation. More than anything I thought that former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got too caught up in his own head and became a terrible playcaller. I hope that a fresh face will improve things and that the addition of John Garrison will result in more eyes on the offensive linemen watching their bad habits and identifying the things that confuse them so that those things can be rectified. If Nebraska’s offense progresses to middle of the pack Big 10, which there is no reason not to expect, its fortunes will change significantly.


As for our defense, I think that Pelini has assembled a staff of great defensive minds capable of game planning for any opponent. As long as the loss of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders does not prove disastrous (and it could considering how amazing our secondary has been), the Huskers should be able to count on that unit to keep us in every game.


So overall, I think Nebraska’s prospects are bright. I think that the Huskers will be competitive against everyone and should be able to win their division more often than not. I think that their biggest competition will be Michigan and they will have a slight advantage there because Michigan’s cross-division rival, Ohio State, is slightly stronger than Nebraska. The years to be concerned will be when Iowa is (Nebraska’s main rival), plays Purdue while Nebraska plays Penn State. At least the Huskers will have the opportunity to play Iowa in the last game of the year, though, so they’d have to build a two game lead to eliminate Iowa’s chances of a division title before the end of the season. Once you win your division the conference becomes a one game crapshoot.


There are, obviously, points of concern. The Husker offense may not progress as hoped. The defense may not be as rock solid every year. Northwestern is scrappier than they have any right to be. Minnesota has no business being as bad as they are considering their large population base and excellent facilities. Overall I think that the Huskers are poised to be very successful in the new conference. Again, success in my mind is measured by winning the Division at least five out of every ten years (if not more) and winning the whole thing at least two or three times every ten years. That can be done. The State of the Program is probably better than we could reasonably expect it to be.


The dismal collapse at the end of last season along with the attendant negative publicity generated when Pelini went ballistic on the sideline in the 9-6 loss to Texas A&M, followed by the mail-in at the bowl game led to an extremely negative offseason both locally and nationally. Imagine trying to look forward to another season in which the offensiive coordinator attempts to prove his cleverness at the expense of winning games, while everyone else tries to figure out what happened to the electrifying Taylor Martinez that disappeared after Missouri.


Instead, Nebraska is in a new conference better suited to to it in a myriad of ways who actually seemed to embrace what the Huskers bring. Nebraska has new blood to help offensve line coach Barney Cotton, a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck), fresh energy in the form of new coaches, vastly improved national exposure and respect and a badgered conference badly in need of positive press into which the Huskers fortuitously slipped.


Oh, and by the way, Nebraska has a defense and speed. I’d say the State of the Program is looking good.

Sometimes simpler is better

Through spring practices, the buzz surrounding Tim Beck’s appointment as Nebraska football offensive coordinator was about “keeping things simple” and “sticking with what works.”



When Bill Callahan was the head coach, he had a tendency to at times call the same play even if it was not working but also had a tendency to out-think himself. When Shawn Watson was the Huskers offensive coordinator, he fell into the latter category.


Husker fans are counting on Beck’s simplified approach leading to more consistent results. After all, the Nebraska defense played well enough the last two seasons to win Big 12 titles but a subpar offense cost Nebraska consecutive conference crowns.


Beck’s offensive philosophy is about what happens at the point of attack. Basically, there’s no point running six yards to gain two and no point throwing three straight passes when it’s first-and-goal from the 1.


The challenge Beck faces is that Nebraska will be young on the offensive line. The Huskers have 29 offensive linemen on the roster but only four of which are seniors. The good news is three have starting experience. In the meantime, there are three juniors, eleven sophomores, three redshirt freshman and eight true freshman.


The root of Beck’s simplified approach will revolve around keeping which plays have worked but using simplified verbiage rather than having it take a full sentence like the West Coast Offense.


On the passing side, look for the receivers to run where the defenders are not so as to include option routes within the play to get open and put the defender at a disadvantage.


On the running side, the simplified approach is more likely to be guys firing off the ball and knocking people down. The key is to get a real play action and normal passing game going that compliments the run game or can be gone too just for the heck of it for fun.

I believe Beck can and will accomplish those things in time.


The key to success this season will be how fast Beck can adjust to being the guy in charge. Some people can handle it and others are not very good at it. When there are 85,000 fans watching your every move even if you are hiding out in the sky box, the results will be seen on the sidelines, getting players on and off the field, getting plays in timely and last but not least, what happens once the ball is snapped.


More to the point, however, is that football is not a hard game if you outexecute your opponent,

Like it or not -- patience will be required of Husker offense

Not long after taking over as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator to replace Shawn Watson, Tim Beck indicated the Huskers are starting with a clean slate on offense.


After two consecutive years that saw the team fall short in the Big 12 title game, Watson resigned and is now the quarterbacks coach at Louisville. Beck had been Nebraska’s running back coach the previous three seasons.

Neither Beck nor head coach Bo Pelini have been openly definitive about what direction the offense will go other than “being multiple.” That statement can mean any number of things. Part of the criticism of Nebraska’s offense, even dating back to the Bill Callahan era that spanned from 2004-2007 was that the unit had no identity. Were they a running team? Were they a passing team? How quickly some people forget that the Huskers had a true identity for 30-plus years under Tom Osborne and Frank Solich as an option team that run the ball down opponents’ throats. That offense was the greatest thing known to man from 1993-1997 when the Huskers went 60-3 and won three National Championships. Then in 2002-2003 when the team went 17-10, the offense was stale.

More than likely, Beck’s version of the Nebraska offense will include a steady diet of zone reads but after that, who knows? Given how a suspect offense wasted outstanding defensive efforts in back-to-back conference title game losses, change was necessary. Change, however, requires patience as players and coaches make the adjustments. Will the players be fully comfortable with the changes in time for their first season in the Big Ten? Will fans be patient?

Husker fans being patient? Good luck. The dynamic behind the concept of change after the fact is that most people will back change until Nebraska does not win big. Then the complaining will begin. It may start with a trickle, but it will grow. That is until the Huskers start to win big again.


Just as an example, ask any random Husker fan about Coach Osborne now and you hear words like “legend” and “icon.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, those same bipolar fans were saying things to the effect of, “The game has passed him by” or “Option football is dead. The defenses are now to fast to run that type of offense against.” See seven consecutive bowl losses. However, Osborne stuck to his guns, and went on to coach Nebraska to three national titles.


As for coach Beck, Husker fans love him now because he’s not Watson. Just wait until the first time Nebraska’s offense struggles, you’ll hear plenty of groaning.


This change isn’t about having a good offense this season. It’s about having a killer offense for the next ten years or more.


Maybe it will happen fast. Or, more likely, it will take some time to iron out the kinks in the new offense. Keep in mind, it would time whether Pelini hired Tim Beck or Urban Meyer or Tom Osborne to be his offensive coordinator. This kind of overhaul doesn’t happen all at once, and fans throwing temper tantrums about it won’t make it happen any faster.