As I said last week. If the Huskers lose I'll stay away from RSS for a few days because of the hyperbole and overreaction that RSS is known for. Admittedly on Sunday and yesterday I peaked on here a few times but didn't read any of the threads pertaining to the game. I find it pretty funny though all the topics started by people that you normally don't see on RSS. I figure they just do the opposite of me...they only go on RSS when the Huskers lose. And there's nothing wrong with that. Some of you sound like parents I've heard in the stands over the years yelling and screaming over things you really don't know about. Others have very valid concerns and/or criticisms. Anyways, I'm sure what I'm about to type has already been said on here but forgive me because I have not read any of the opinions on this board. Also, if I have a down or distance wrong I apologize. I'm not the type of person that records the games and goes back and pours through them for analysis. I've broken down enough film of my own to do it for the Huskers or for RSS. I also want to say that I'm absolutely a coaching homer. I usually side with coaches because I was raised by a coach and have been a coach. However, now that the last group is gone...man the deficiencies in recruiting are showing up. I love the walk on tradition and I'm glad the Huskers have young talent. But the face that Riley and Co. had Walk-Ons starting on the O'Line and D'Line is not a good thing. And to have to start 2 true freshman on defense also shows a lack of roster management by the last staff. And these positions factored into the outcome of this game.
Special Teams: Well obviously the kicker struggled at field goals. His kick offs were very good but you're going to be judged on your field goals and a 40 yarder should almost be automatic at the college level. I thought the long snapper did a great job and kudos to the back up punter for stepping in a getting a punt or two off. That is not an easy feat. I also though coverage was good on punts. I would have liked to have seen 2 guys back to start the game because the rugby punt is so unpredictable. But I don't think that ever came back to bite the Huskers. Hopefully Foltz can get back soon.
Offense: QB: I thought he played well for his first time out in this type of offense. He struggled in the 2nd quarter but I think that was because of good adjustments from BYU on defense and poor interior line blocking. He probably tried too hard to keep his eyes down field a few times and could have taken off but overall I was really happy with his play.
RBs: Eh, Wilbon showed flash and Cross had a few good runs. I'm not a believer in Newby. But again when you can't get push in the interior line no RB is going to have a good game. Pass catching looked decent and I really think as timing gets better the screen game is going to be effective. They had to run some screens this past week because they couldn't run the ball.
WR: Pretty good game by these guys. Westerkamp is just really good and it was good to see Moore come out of his shell. Reilly and Hovey are nice compliments but I think Morgan passes them up by midseason. He's just got more talent. DPE...please hurry back.
TE: These guys are doing the best they can but they just aren't super talented and until they get some good TE's this offense won't reach its full potential.
OL: I really think this group struggled on the interior. Kondolo and Utter looked confused and over matched. Reeves looked like he hasn't played in a while. Nick Gates looked good. Alex Lewis played a decent game.
Coaching: I thought the play calling was ok. There is always room for improvement and nobody has to go back and tell the OC that the 3 & 1 1/2 yard QB sneak was an awful play call. The jet sweep on 3rd and short was awful and running the stretch on a 3rd and short was a bad call. The run got abandoned in the 2nd quarter which shortens series and doesn't give the D time to rest. But to be honest I don't blame him much. His O line could not get a push in the 2nd quarter. I'm sure they will be preaching to the QB this week that when you have a lead in the 4th there is a difference in snapping the ball with 6 seconds on the play clock and 1 second on the play clock.
Defense:
DL: I thought the DTs played well. They got good push and BYUs running game was not good. The D ends are what they are...McMullen is a runstoppind D-end. Gangwish (while we all love him) should be a back up DE. He has a great motor and should play significant downs but should not be out there that much. I thought Freedom did some nice things when he was in there as well.
LB: Dedrick Young is going to be really good. Missed a few assignments but it's expected out of a true frosh. Banderas is going to have a nice year. Luke Gifford...we need Rose-Ivey back. Gifford really struggled. They picked on him a lot and he looked lost and out of place. Kind of reminded me of watching Sean Fischer (sp?). Overall I thought the front 7 had a nice game with the exception of generating a pass rush in the 2nd quarter.
DBs: Aaron Williams is going to be a nice player but he has to cool his jets and use his head a little. I thought Kalu did some nice things and Gerry played an ok game. Daniel Davie is a good player. Cockrell disappointed me but he hasn't practiced much and hopefully he plays better down the road.
Coaching: The coaches waited too long to start bringing pressure and it cost them in the 2nd quarter. They made some nice adjustments at the half and really played pretty well the rest of the game until we got to the.....
Hail Mary: How to defend the hail mary has been a debate I've had with my dad going back 10 years now. My dad would have defended they hail mary exactly like Nebraska did on Saturday. 3 DL, 8 in the endzone. And guys I hate to break it to you but that hail mary defense works 95% of the time. 8 v 3 or 4 receivers is a good ratio. We yell at QBs all the time not to throw into double coverage because it's a low percentage throw. I believe in 5 DBs back, 3 DL, 1 Mike backer contacting #3 (or #2 in BYUs case) and an OLB coming off the left edge (after pressing #3 or #2) of the defense for contain and and then 2 DBs running with the #1s. But honestly hindsight is 20/20 on this. The ball was under thrown which always makes it tougher on the DB than it does the receiver. A guy should have been there but I understand why he wasn't.
Overall. This loss was on the coaches and the players and I think they all know that. I think this team will improve greatly as the year goes on and will end up being a 9-3 or 10-2 type of team. Thanks for letting me ramble on guys. I don't expect you to read this but I needed to vent just like everybody else on RSS.
Special Teams: Well obviously the kicker struggled at field goals. His kick offs were very good but you're going to be judged on your field goals and a 40 yarder should almost be automatic at the college level. I thought the long snapper did a great job and kudos to the back up punter for stepping in a getting a punt or two off. That is not an easy feat. I also though coverage was good on punts. I would have liked to have seen 2 guys back to start the game because the rugby punt is so unpredictable. But I don't think that ever came back to bite the Huskers. Hopefully Foltz can get back soon.
Offense: QB: I thought he played well for his first time out in this type of offense. He struggled in the 2nd quarter but I think that was because of good adjustments from BYU on defense and poor interior line blocking. He probably tried too hard to keep his eyes down field a few times and could have taken off but overall I was really happy with his play.
RBs: Eh, Wilbon showed flash and Cross had a few good runs. I'm not a believer in Newby. But again when you can't get push in the interior line no RB is going to have a good game. Pass catching looked decent and I really think as timing gets better the screen game is going to be effective. They had to run some screens this past week because they couldn't run the ball.
WR: Pretty good game by these guys. Westerkamp is just really good and it was good to see Moore come out of his shell. Reilly and Hovey are nice compliments but I think Morgan passes them up by midseason. He's just got more talent. DPE...please hurry back.
TE: These guys are doing the best they can but they just aren't super talented and until they get some good TE's this offense won't reach its full potential.
OL: I really think this group struggled on the interior. Kondolo and Utter looked confused and over matched. Reeves looked like he hasn't played in a while. Nick Gates looked good. Alex Lewis played a decent game.
Coaching: I thought the play calling was ok. There is always room for improvement and nobody has to go back and tell the OC that the 3 & 1 1/2 yard QB sneak was an awful play call. The jet sweep on 3rd and short was awful and running the stretch on a 3rd and short was a bad call. The run got abandoned in the 2nd quarter which shortens series and doesn't give the D time to rest. But to be honest I don't blame him much. His O line could not get a push in the 2nd quarter. I'm sure they will be preaching to the QB this week that when you have a lead in the 4th there is a difference in snapping the ball with 6 seconds on the play clock and 1 second on the play clock.
Defense:
DL: I thought the DTs played well. They got good push and BYUs running game was not good. The D ends are what they are...McMullen is a runstoppind D-end. Gangwish (while we all love him) should be a back up DE. He has a great motor and should play significant downs but should not be out there that much. I thought Freedom did some nice things when he was in there as well.
LB: Dedrick Young is going to be really good. Missed a few assignments but it's expected out of a true frosh. Banderas is going to have a nice year. Luke Gifford...we need Rose-Ivey back. Gifford really struggled. They picked on him a lot and he looked lost and out of place. Kind of reminded me of watching Sean Fischer (sp?). Overall I thought the front 7 had a nice game with the exception of generating a pass rush in the 2nd quarter.
DBs: Aaron Williams is going to be a nice player but he has to cool his jets and use his head a little. I thought Kalu did some nice things and Gerry played an ok game. Daniel Davie is a good player. Cockrell disappointed me but he hasn't practiced much and hopefully he plays better down the road.
Coaching: The coaches waited too long to start bringing pressure and it cost them in the 2nd quarter. They made some nice adjustments at the half and really played pretty well the rest of the game until we got to the.....
Hail Mary: How to defend the hail mary has been a debate I've had with my dad going back 10 years now. My dad would have defended they hail mary exactly like Nebraska did on Saturday. 3 DL, 8 in the endzone. And guys I hate to break it to you but that hail mary defense works 95% of the time. 8 v 3 or 4 receivers is a good ratio. We yell at QBs all the time not to throw into double coverage because it's a low percentage throw. I believe in 5 DBs back, 3 DL, 1 Mike backer contacting #3 (or #2 in BYUs case) and an OLB coming off the left edge (after pressing #3 or #2) of the defense for contain and and then 2 DBs running with the #1s. But honestly hindsight is 20/20 on this. The ball was under thrown which always makes it tougher on the DB than it does the receiver. A guy should have been there but I understand why he wasn't.
Overall. This loss was on the coaches and the players and I think they all know that. I think this team will improve greatly as the year goes on and will end up being a 9-3 or 10-2 type of team. Thanks for letting me ramble on guys. I don't expect you to read this but I needed to vent just like everybody else on RSS.
