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Just back from the game

Thanks for sharing
Had a great time with my daughter watching the Huskers put the hurt on Maryland. A few observations.

1. There were very few Maryland fans at the game. Not surprising given the weather, the weekend before thanksgiving and Maryland’s lousy season. Still... it was shocking how few fans were there. I would estimate there were no more than 5,000-8,000 Maryland fans there. There were probably about 20,000 Husker fans there and we made all the noise. Even when Maryland entered the field there were no cheers. Pathetic. The atmosphere outside the stadium before the game was deader than dead. I was at the Rutgers game a few years back and their atmosphere, though lame, was a veritable rock concert compared to Maryland.

2. Martinez played well, but Frost must coach him up with regard to his red zone passing. Ugly. We were lucky Spielman’s touchdown wasn’t a pic too.

3. The defense seemed really jazzed up. They were jumping around before the game and were really flying to the ball during the game. They put some solid hits on Maryland’s runners causing those fumbles.

4. Johnson looked really good running. Good vision for a freshman. And both backs held onto the ball on a cold and wet day.

5. Our defensive backs should have had two interceptions. They need some work on catching the ball.

6. Maryland has a great band. The stadium is small but nice.

7. Luke is a better QB than Martinez. If there is a true QB competition next year he could beat out Martinez.

Thanks for sharing, I'd like to see Luke start against Iowa, at a minimum play 50% of snaps in some fashion. .
 
Had a great time with my daughter watching the Huskers put the hurt on Maryland. A few observations.

1. There were very few Maryland fans at the game. Not surprising given the weather, the weekend before thanksgiving and Maryland’s lousy season. Still... it was shocking how few fans were there. I would estimate there were no more than 5,000-8,000 Maryland fans there. There were probably about 20,000 Husker fans there and we made all the noise. Even when Maryland entered the field there were no cheers. Pathetic. The atmosphere outside the stadium before the game was deader than dead. I was at the Rutgers game a few years back and their atmosphere, though lame, was a veritable rock concert compared to Maryland.

2. Martinez played well, but Frost must coach him up with regard to his red zone passing. Ugly. We were lucky Spielman’s touchdown wasn’t a pic too.

3. The defense seemed really jazzed up. They were jumping around before the game and were really flying to the ball during the game. They put some solid hits on Maryland’s runners causing those fumbles.

4. Johnson looked really good running. Good vision for a freshman. And both backs held onto the ball on a cold and wet day.

5. Our defensive backs should have had two interceptions. They need some work on catching the ball.

6. Maryland has a great band. The stadium is small but nice.

7. Luke is a better QB than Martinez. If there is a true QB competition next year he could beat out Martinez.


McCaffery is not a better QB than Martinez. He's a better athlete, and a more explosive runner.

But Luke has a long way to go before he can effectively run that offense.
 
Hopefully he will bulk up
Careful what you wish for. Look what happened to AM. The coaches aren't stupid, they will play the right guys when they are fully ready to play. We saw on Saturday why so many of the redshirt guys aren't playing more. They aren't big enough and they aren't ready.
 
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Careful what you wish for. Look what happened to AM. The coaches aren't stupid, they will play the right guys when they are fully ready to play. We saw on Saturday why so many of the redshirt guys aren't playing more. They aren't big enough and they aren't ready.


In Big Ten games only, Adrian Martinez is the conference's 5th leading rusher at 78 yards per game, and 5.8 yards per carry. He has 1 less yard rushing in league games than Dedrick Mills, despite playing in two less games.

This narrative about Adrian's size limiting his running ability is a myth. i think he's definitely been less decisive. He's been really confused with zone looks, and he seems to be skiddish vs. pressure.

But, he's running the ball just fine.
 
In Big Ten games only, Adrian Martinez is the conference's 5th leading rusher at 78 yards per game, and 5.8 yards per carry. He has 1 less yard rushing in league games than Dedrick Mills, despite playing in two less games.

This narrative about Adrian's size limiting his running ability is a myth. i think he's definitely been less decisive. He's been really confused with zone looks, and he seems to be skiddish vs. pressure.

But, he's running the ball just fine.
Skiddish is my two-day old underwear. Skittish is me picking it up off the floor.
 
Personally believe that AM is the best QB we have. We have to remember that he was out his entire senior year and missed a few games last year. Sure, teams have adjusted and have forced him to throw more. His hesitancy to run probably does come from his injured prone body. I do believe he will be a stud by his senior year. And McCaffrey will be a stud for us once AM leaves.
 
True, but designed because we can't kick a touchback to save our lives. Which is a real problem.

Yeah but then again strategy wise, it perfectly blends in with the aggressive style of defense that wants to force turnovers. If we always kick it short with a lot of backspin the way we were doing against Maryland, there's bound to be muffs/fumbles every now and then. Just have to be able to live with the opponent having decent to good field position any time we don't get a turnover...
 
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McCaffery is not a better QB than Martinez. He's a better athlete, and a more explosive runner.

But Luke has a long way to go before he can effectively run that offense.

You very well could be correct sir. But it's outrageous fun watching our TMart clone leaving opponents in the dust. Haha.....well, he's not "that" fast but he's got some high tuned wheels for sure.
 
Yeah but then again strategy wise, it perfectly blends in with the aggressive style of defense that wants to force turnovers. If we always kick it short with a lot of backspin the way we were doing against Maryland, there's bound to be muffs/fumbles every now and then. Just have to be able to live with the opponent having decent to good field position any time we don't get a turnover...

And there's bound to be a TD runback every now and then (i.e. the Badgers). I would take a touchback 10 times out of 10.
 
Yeah but then again strategy wise, it perfectly blends in with the aggressive style of defense that wants to force turnovers. If we always kick it short with a lot of backspin the way we were doing against Maryland, there's bound to be muffs/fumbles every now and then. Just have to be able to live with the opponent having decent to good field position any time we don't get a turnover...
Kicking it short against Maryland yielded one turnover. All of the other times it yielded great field position for Maryland. I hope Nebraska does not follow a similar strategy against Iowa. We will get killed if Iowa starts every drive on the 40. And now that Iowa can see on film our strategy of kicking it short, they will be ready for it from the get-go, unlike Maryland, whose fumble was the result of getting caught short.
 
And there's bound to be a TD runback every now and then (i.e. the Badgers). I would take a touchback 10 times out of 10.
Exactly. My hunch is that the short kickoff thing is the result of a few factors. First, we do not have a kicker who can kick it into the end zone. Second, given that fact, there will be a kick return and we suck at covering kicks. Third, this was Maryland, not Iowa so we thought we could get away with it and we did. Try that shit this week against Iowa and we will live to regret it. Are we really so awful on kick coverage that we have to do this? Sheesh.
 
McCaffery is not a better QB than Martinez. He's a better athlete, and a more explosive runner.

But Luke has a long way to go before he can effectively run that offense.

Yes, but Martinez has struggled quite a bit, so he seemingly has a ways to go as well. Whether it be because he isn't decisive, can't read a defense, or just can't physically execute the play, he is far from mastering it. Knowing that Luke is smart and is a film junkie gives us reason to believe that he'll get a hold of it quickly. I just really hope Frost lets this be a truly open competition next year, because I'm getting the feeling that Martinez if Frost's boy come hell or high water, which ain't good. Just get the best guys on the field to get it done.
 
Yes, but Martinez has struggled quite a bit, so he seemingly has a ways to go as well. Whether it be because he isn't decisive, can't read a defense, or just can't physically execute the play, he is far from mastering it. Knowing that Luke is smart and is a film junkie gives us reason to believe that he'll get a hold of it quickly. I just really hope Frost lets this be a truly open competition next year, because I'm getting the feeling that Martinez if Frost's boy come hell or high water, which ain't good. Just get the best guys on the field to get it done.
All coaches, to an extent, play favorites. And they have to. The internal chemistry of the team is something that fans usually have no clue about. Nor do we often take it seriously enough as a main contributor to success. What are the buzzwords? Culture. Buy-in. And so on.

So a college coach can't just take his two year starter and sit his ass on the bench the next year because he lost the spring/fall practice competition. In the pros you can do that, but in college you have to be very, very careful. These are young kids with easily bruised egos. They are also emotional and make decisions in the heat of the moment. Players develop loyalties to their leaders. That is why they are the leaders. lol. The respect they command is natural and it is real. If a coach comes in and messes with that there can be hell to pay.

Yes, yes, ideally you want to play your best guy. You want to play the guy who gives you the best chance to win. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that. And it is more art than science.

So it is more complicated than "have a competition and may the best man win". I remember back in the Osborne years people complaining that Osborne would often play a less talented Senior ahead of a more talented sophomore. But he did that to build team leadership and chemistry. He did it to teach the young talent patience and team loyalty over individual ambition.
 
Personally believe that AM is the best QB we have. We have to remember that he was out his entire senior year and missed a few games last year. Sure, teams have adjusted and have forced him to throw more. His hesitancy to run probably does come from his injured prone body. I do believe he will be a stud by his senior year. And McCaffrey will be a stud for us once AM leaves.

He might be, but excusing his play is sort of tiring. The discussion last year was "boy he looks good, and he missed his senior year!" Now it is "he's struggling, but don't forget he missed his senior year." His knee was an issue for a couple games, but there doesn't appear to have been any issue with it since he came back, so no, his hesitancy probably doesn't have anything to do with it. The guy needs good coaching, period. If Martinez isn't better, early, next year, McCaffrey better be given a legit shot.
 
All coaches, to an extent, play favorites. And they have to. The internal chemistry of the team is something that fans usually have no clue about. Nor do we often take it seriously enough as a main contributor to success. What are the buzzwords? Culture. Buy-in. And so on.

So a college coach can't just take his two year starter and sit his ass on the bench the next year because he lost the spring/fall practice competition. In the pros you can do that, but in college you have to be very, very careful. These are young kids with easily bruised egos. They are also emotional and make decisions in the heat of the moment. Players develop loyalties to their leaders. That is why they are the leaders. lol. The respect they command is natural and it is real. If a coach comes in and messes with that there can be hell to pay.

Yes, yes, ideally you want to play your best guy. You want to play the guy who gives you the best chance to win. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that. And it is more art than science.

So it is more complicated than "have a competition and may the best man win". I remember back in the Osborne years people complaining that Osborne would often play a less talented Senior ahead of a more talented sophomore. But he did that to build team leadership and chemistry. He did it to teach the young talent patience and team loyalty over individual ambition.

Yeah, you're right, getting a better player out there doesn't necessarily mean that the team gets better, but does this team strike you as one that has good chemistry? They've been a mess for much of the year. Of course a coach can sit a two-year starter on the bench if he isn't getting better or is getting outplayed, especially when all we hear about is how mature that two-year starter is as a person. Everybody wants the best for him, but that doesn't mean you keep him out there if he's costing the team. You want to talk about how to lose your players? Keep a guy in there that everyone on the team knows shouldn't be playing and who could be costing you wins. If a lesser player is a great leader and rallies the troops and makes the guys, collectively, better, then by all means he's got a good reason for being on the field, but if the lesser player isn't a great leader or is costing the team games, then by all means, he should be holding a clipboard on the sideline. You can save the "kids with easily bruised egos" for someone else. This is college and the perfect place to learn life lessons.
 
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Yeah, you're right, getting a better player out there doesn't necessarily mean that the team gets better, but does this team strike you as one that has good chemistry? They've been a mess for much of the year. Of course a coach can sit a two-year starter on the bench if he isn't getting better or is getting outplayed, especially when all we hear about is how mature that two-year starter is as a person. Everybody wants the best for him, but that doesn't mean you keep him out there if he's costing the team. You want to talk about how to lose your players? Keep a guy in there that everyone on the team knows shouldn't be playing and who could be costing you wins. If a lesser player is a great leader and rallies the troops and makes the guys, collectively, better, then by all means he's got a good reason for being on the field, but if the lesser player isn't a great leader or is costing the team games, then by all means, he should be holding a clipboard on the sideline. You can save the "kids with easily bruised egos" for someone else. This is college and the perfect place to learn life lessons.
I agree with all of this. It is, as I said, more art than science. But eventually you do have to get your best players on the field. Heck, even Osborne in 1992 benched senior starter Mike Grant in favor of true freshman Tommie Frazier because there was no way you could make a case for not doing so.
 
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Seriously, the short kicks were designed. Jesus.
Evidently you were not at the game.....short kicks with no air time at all will not work against good teams. I think we would be better off punting....if we had a punter and if it is legal?? We were talking about that every time we kicked off if we would be better off punting. Anyone know that rule?
 
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And there's bound to be a TD runback every now and then (i.e. the Badgers). I would take a touchback 10 times out of 10.

That kick was much less strategic positioning and was more so just a lack of boot to get it there (and poor coverage/tackling to boot). What Isaw against Maryland was more strategic and had purpose, of which we saw one (almost two) go our way.

Not saying I'm a fan of the approach or that I think it should be employed all the time. Just that it indeed matches the aggressive defensive philosophy. Doing it 1-2 times a game though I'd be in favor of. Catch them off guard. Do it all the time and the opponent will know to just field their hands team on kickoffs lol.
 
Exactly. My hunch is that the short kickoff thing is the result of a few factors. First, we do not have a kicker who can kick it into the end zone. Second, given that fact, there will be a kick return and we suck at covering kicks. Third, this was Maryland, not Iowa so we thought we could get away with it and we did. Try that shit this week against Iowa and we will live to regret it. Are we really so awful on kick coverage that we have to do this? Sheesh.

Don't you hate it when you're right?
 
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