2020 Takeaways

[HuskersVsTheWorld]

Biggest takeaways from the weird season that was.

--The "Fire Chinander" talk has cooled down, in a 3-win season to boot. The defense played hard, rarely gave up, and had the pads cracking. Frost was right when saying defense played well enough to win every game this year except Week 1. The group as a whole was probably the most pleasant surprise of the season. My biggest gripe with the coaching, is why on 3rd and short or 4th and short, we have the DB's playing 5-6 yards off of the ball.

--CTB has elevated to the next level. If it were a video game, he'd have the Star icon now. There will be a lot of pressure on him next year to lead a young secondary if the old guys don't return. We also saw good things from Ty Robinson and Nick Henrich. I'm hopeful they can make big offseason strides to help anchor the 3 levels of the defense.

--Martinez looks speedy again, but his downfield vision and accuracy have hit new lows. He could be successful in a run-heavy offense that attempts around 15-20 high-probability throws per game, but you need consistent ground success for that to work, which we don't have yet. And is that even the direction Frost wants to go? The QB room in general has probably been the biggest disappointment of the year and Frost era. High expectations that just haven't panned out yet.

--Questionable play-calling, high snaps, fumbles, poor special teams and field position. Sound familiar? It's the foundation of Frost's team through 3 years. He HAS to fix these issues going forward.

--Frosty is our guy, so get used to him. Guys play hard and have a good attitude, which IS a big deal. I know a loss is a loss but in theory we could've won all but one this year, which is ALSO a big deal. Foundation is set so have to build on that. Two things will make a world of difference for this team. Fix the self-inflicting wounds and get an accurate quarterback. Frost's evaluation period shouldn't have started when he was hired. It should start now.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

Agree with most all except if there are two more years of this, I predict Frost won't be "our guy". Also, Frost's evaluation period started when he took the job and chose to remain coach at UCF through their bowl. If you coach at a place like Nebraska and make as much as you do, a 3-year mulligan should not be expected or given.

 

[HuskersVsTheWorld]

Agree with most all except if there are two more years of this, I predict Frost won't be "our guy". Also, Frost's evaluation period started when he took the job and chose to remain coach at UCF through their bowl. If you coach at a place like Nebraska and make as much as you do, a 3-year mulligan should not be expected or given.

Agreed if the stuff in my 4th point isn't cleaned up in two years, my tune on Frost will probably change. But I think Frost gets a 3-year mulligan because of who he is, simple fact. I really want him to be the guy to turn it around, so I'm willing to wipe his record clean to this point and start anew. Furthermore, he's been given another bad hand with the pandemic, in terms of recruiting. Lots of kids staying close to home this year. That's fine if you're in a hotbed, but Nebraska is not. He still ended up with a decent class, but I may give him another mulligan year due to this.

 

[c3o]

Figure out how to run the ball and limit mistakes The defense hit hard this year and played pretty well IMO. Other than the IL game

 

[HuskersVsTheWorld]

Figure out how to run the ball and limit mistakes The defense hit hard this year and played pretty well IMO. Other than the IL game

What Illinois game? I don't remember playing them. 🤫

 

[CatColumbia]

Biggest takeaways from the weird season that was.

--The "Fire Chinander" talk has cooled down, in a 3-win season to boot. The defense played hard, rarely gave up, and had the pads cracking. Frost was right when saying defense played well enough to win every game this year except Week 1. The group as a whole was probably the most pleasant surprise of the season. My biggest gripe with the coaching, is why on 3rd and short or 4th and short, we have the DB's playing 5-6 yards off of the ball.

--CTB has elevated to the next level. If it were a video game, he'd have the Star icon now. There will be a lot of pressure on him next year to lead a young secondary if the old guys don't return. We also saw good things from Ty Robinson and Nick Henrich. I'm hopeful they can make big offseason strides to help anchor the 3 levels of the defense.

--Martinez looks speedy again, but his downfield vision and accuracy have hit new lows. He could be successful in a run-heavy offense that attempts around 15-20 high-probability throws per game, but you need consistent ground success for that to work, which we don't have yet. And is that even the direction Frost wants to go? The QB room in general has probably been the biggest disappointment of the year and Frost era. High expectations that just haven't panned out yet.

--Questionable play-calling, high snaps, fumbles, poor special teams and field position. Sound familiar? It's the foundation of Frost's team through 3 years. He HAS to fix these issues going forward.

--Frosty is our guy, so get used to him. Guys play hard and have a good attitude, which IS a big deal. I know a loss is a loss but in theory we could've won all but one this year, which is ALSO a big deal. Foundation is set so have to build on that. Two things will make a world of difference for this team. Fix the self-inflicting wounds and get an accurate quarterback. Frost's evaluation period shouldn't have started when he was hired. It should start now.

Well said. I agree with everything but I would have just added that the self inflicting stuff has been a Frost trademark, a continuing tradition that has cost him at least 8 games. Rather than having a putrid 12-20 record it could have very easily been 20-12.

 

[TruHusker]

While I agree the talk on Chins has cooled, there are still concerns there. The interview with McBride was telling. Statistically, this D was not even average, so it depends on the metric you want to use.

Then consider the seniors that are on that side of the ball that will likely need to be replaced. This D is NOT young. Its about time for some of these highly rated guys to step up and we have at least two in the secondary coming off injuries so that is a thin group.

DL - Stille and is Daniels a Senior?
LB - Miller, Domann, Honas
DB - Bootle, Dismuke, Williams
ST - Culp

 

[CatColumbia]

While I agree the talk on Chins has cooled, there are still concerns there. The interview with McBride was telling. Statistically, this D was not even average, so it depends on the metric you want to use.

Then consider the seniors that are on that side of the ball that will likely need to be replaced. This D is NOT young. Its about time for some of these highly rated guys to step up and we have at least two in the secondary coming off injuries so that is a thin group.

DL - Stille and is Daniels a Senior?
LB - Miller, Domann, Honas
DB - Bootle, Dismuke, Williams
ST - Culp

Daniels is a junior.

 

[Capdanjou]

After three years, Frost has completely failed to address basic yet essential aspects of the game: discipline, limiting mistakes, running the ball, coaching adjustments, player development. My head tells me we shouldn't expect anything different next year.

But I was weaned on Husker Kool-Aid, so I imagine I'll always be hopeful in spite of the evidence. If we limit mistakes, we probably win three more games this year. Nobody is mistaking Nebraska for Alabama, but we have plenty of talent to compete and win our division if Frost can get his team to play disciplined football.

Frost has done what his predecessors couldn't or wouldn't do in Lincoln. He's recruited well, including the walk-on program. Our O-line finally resembles a Big 10 O-line, and strength and conditioning is much improved. But he needs to grow as a coach. I hope his ego doesn't get in the way of success.

 

[headcard]

After three years, Frost has completely failed to address basic yet essential aspects of the game: discipline, limiting mistakes, running the ball, coaching adjustments, player development. My head tells me we shouldn't expect anything different next year.

But I was weaned on Husker Kool-Aid, so I imagine I'll always be hopeful in spite of the evidence. If we limit mistakes, we probably win three more games this year. Nobody is mistaking Nebraska for Alabama, but we have plenty of talent to compete and win our division if Frost can get his team to play disciplined football.

Frost has done what his predecessors couldn't or wouldn't do in Lincoln. He's recruited well, including the walk-on program. Our O-line finally resembles a Big 10 O-line, and strength and conditioning is much improved. But he needs to grow as a coach. I hope his ego doesn't get in the way of success.

Running the ball? We were second in the B1G in rushing yards per game and 2nd in ypc. We are also coming off a 360+ yard rushing performance. Rushing offense is pretty far down on my list of concerns.

 

[TruHusker]

Daniels is a junior.

That is what I thought but the roster listed on this site doesn't agree.

 

[Capdanjou]

Running the ball? We were second in the B1G in rushing yards per game and 2nd in ypc. We are also coming off a 360+ yard rushing performance. Rushing offense is pretty far down on my list of concerns.

Yea, but were we consistent running the football? Our top RB was injured much of the season, or not utilized. Our top WR played RB instead of our backup RBs, and our QBs accounted for a ton of rushing yardage. None of this is ideal.

 

[headcard]

Yea, but were we consistent running the football? Our top RB was injured much of the season, or not utilized. Our top WR played RB instead of our backup RBs, and our QBs accounted for a ton of rushing yardage. None of this is ideal.

True

 

[oldjar07]

Biggest takeaways from the weird season that was.

--The "Fire Chinander" talk has cooled down, in a 3-win season to boot. The defense played hard, rarely gave up, and had the pads cracking. Frost was right when saying defense played well enough to win every game this year except Week 1. The group as a whole was probably the most pleasant surprise of the season. My biggest gripe with the coaching, is why on 3rd and short or 4th and short, we have the DB's playing 5-6 yards off of the ball.

--CTB has elevated to the next level. If it were a video game, he'd have the Star icon now. There will be a lot of pressure on him next year to lead a young secondary if the old guys don't return. We also saw good things from Ty Robinson and Nick Henrich. I'm hopeful they can make big offseason strides to help anchor the 3 levels of the defense.

--Martinez looks speedy again, but his downfield vision and accuracy have hit new lows. He could be successful in a run-heavy offense that attempts around 15-20 high-probability throws per game, but you need consistent ground success for that to work, which we don't have yet. And is that even the direction Frost wants to go? The QB room in general has probably been the biggest disappointment of the year and Frost era. High expectations that just haven't panned out yet.

--Questionable play-calling, high snaps, fumbles, poor special teams and field position. Sound familiar? It's the foundation of Frost's team through 3 years. He HAS to fix these issues going forward.

--Frosty is our guy, so get used to him. Guys play hard and have a good attitude, which IS a big deal. I know a loss is a loss but in theory we could've won all but one this year, which is ALSO a big deal. Foundation is set so have to build on that. Two things will make a world of difference for this team. Fix the self-inflicting wounds and get an accurate quarterback. Frost's evaluation period shouldn't have started when he was hired. It should start now.

The defense has not improved at all. They gave up more ppg than last year and gave up about the same total yardage. Just because our offense sucks doesn't mean our defense isn't bad too. Chinander hasn't come close to sniffing a top 40 defense and will never be able to do it consistently. If Frost wants to keep losers on staff like Chinander, he won't last more than another year here.

 

[huntered]

DISCIPLINE

 

[CatColumbia]

DISCIPLINE

Discipline and special teams go hand in hand. No surprise we’re the worst at both.

 

[Reditus]

I like the idea of running more pistol formations as suggested in another post. It lends itself better to a power offense which is useful in this league and the holes are a little more developed so it's easier for young backs to read and it's suited for big backs like Morrison,Scott and Ervin. I think we need more north/south plays vs sideways. I also think the QB is closer to the LOS so that might help with the snaps.

 

[inWV]

Run. The. Damn. Ball. The team has to have a back on the roster that can do at least what Mills could do when healthy. I thought Thompkins showed a little against tOSU, then he went on the milk carton. NU has to have a back that it has confidence in to keep the offense on schedule during drives. And it opens up the other offensive options. If the RB has it going, less attention gets paid to the QB, making the QB runs more productive. Let's face it, for a chunk of the season, opposing defenses knew to expect a QB run when 3rd down yardage was on the line.

 

[HuskersVsTheWorld]

Run. The. Damn. Ball. The team has to have a back on the roster that can do at least what Mills could do when healthy. I thought Thompkins showed a little against tOSU, then he went on the milk carton. NU has to have a back that it has confidence in to keep the offense on schedule during drives. And it opens up the other offensive options. If the RB has it going, less attention gets paid to the QB, making the QB runs more productive. Let's face it, for a chunk of the season, opposing defenses knew to expect a QB run when 3rd down yardage was on the line.

So true. Maybe it makes sense to miss a few years on a quarterback, but you'd think you'd always have a solid running back or two. Take it all the way back to the Callahan years and we've always had a dependable guy back there (Cory Ross, Marlon Lucky, Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead, Ameer Abdullah, Terrell Newby, Devine Ozigbo). Newby is the least of these, and right now I'd take him in a heartbeat.

 

[inWV]

So true. Maybe it makes sense to miss a few years on a quarterback, but you'd think you'd always have a solid running back or two. Take it all the way back to the Callahan years and we've always had a dependable guy back there (Cory Ross, Marlon Lucky, Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead, Ameer Abdullah, Terrell Newby, Devine Ozigbo). Newby is the least of these, and right now I'd take him in a heartbeat.

Newby/MIlls or Ozigbo/Mills would have certainly changed the nature of the offense this year.