Saturday's Offensive Game Plan

[rcnut223]

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

 

[husker2612]

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

I agree. I think Frost and Co went into this game expecting an easy win and kept things very simple as to not give much away to CU and other teams down the road. However, in doing so South Alabama made a game of it. I have read that CU also kept things very basic and that they have more offensive weapons. Make no mistake this is a game that is top of the list for CU. I mean top, they view it as more important to win than any conf game. This is from a few of my CU "friends"
I hope we kept things very basic on purpose because CU is going to be swinging for the fences in order to win this game. If our offense plays how we played on Sat, I don't see us winning this game. I don't see our D holding them to under 30, so we have to score more than that.

 

[c3o]

From my limited perspective: it was a most basic play call package. And, we failed from what I saw running the package.

However, this week we could easily put up 50 pts and 600 yards

I expect the team to be motivated this week

 

[NorthWillRiseAgain]

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

Honestly it seemed like most drives were an attempt to showcase a certain player. A bit weird and will usually cause issues.

Just seemed like there were drives where Wandale, Washington, Mills, & Martinez we’re almost solely featured.

Just an oddly called game.

 

[TruHusker]

Well, that is an excuse but not a good one. So what you are saying is Frost purposely limited the O even though everything he has ever done is out there on film to see. He even limited it with a team like USA who has never had a winning record as a D 1 school in 7 years. He purposely put his team in peril of losing by not opening up the O? He purposely didn't allow his players to use a larger share of the play book in hopes he could save it all for CU and never really work on it aside from practice? Frost obviously knew he had to keep plays in his pocket and risk not showing and allowing USA to stay close to his Huskers? So since we couldn't execute the basic (vanilla which I predicted a week before the game would be used as an excuse) O, then we really should have opened up the playbook? Did I miss anything beside Frost is now be questioned as a play caller.

I started to go back and watch the game, got through the first series watching and stopping each play 4-10 times to see what everyone was doing. The line play was horrendous, seemed to always be someone making a bad play that disrupted things. This team needs to be some fundamentals down before they take on anything else. I suppose opening up the playbook makes the linemen block better? Oh, that's right, its misdirection and they don't have to block. Got it

 

[Top_Gun_]

Well, that is an excuse but not a good one. So what you are saying is Frost purposely limited the O even though everything he has ever done is out there on film to see. He even limited it with a team like USA who has never had a winning record as a D 1 school in 7 years. He purposely put his team in peril of losing by not opening up the O? He purposely didn't allow his players to use a larger share of the play book in hopes he could save it all for CU and never really work on it aside from practice? Frost obviously knew he had to keep plays in his pocket and risk not showing and allowing USA to stay close to his Huskers? So since we couldn't execute the basic (vanilla which I predicted a week before the game would be used as an excuse) O, then we really should have opened up the playbook? Did I miss anything beside Frost is now be questioned as a play caller.

I started to go back and watch the game, got through the first series watching and stopping each play 4-10 times to see what everyone was doing. The line play was horrendous, seemed to always be someone making a bad play that disrupted things. This team needs to be some fundamentals down before they take on anything else. I suppose opening up the playbook makes the linemen block better? Oh, that's right, its misdirection and they don't have to block. Got it

purposely put his team in peril of losing? that game was never in question.

 

[dinglefritz]

Well, that is an excuse but not a good one. So what you are saying is Frost purposely limited the O even though everything he has ever done is out there on film to see. He even limited it with a team like USA who has never had a winning record as a D 1 school in 7 years. He purposely put his team in peril of losing by not opening up the O? He purposely didn't allow his players to use a larger share of the play book in hopes he could save it all for CU and never really work on it aside from practice? Frost obviously knew he had to keep plays in his pocket and risk not showing and allowing USA to stay close to his Huskers? So since we couldn't execute the basic (vanilla which I predicted a week before the game would be used as an excuse) O, then we really should have opened up the playbook? Did I miss anything beside Frost is now be questioned as a play caller.

I started to go back and watch the game, got through the first series watching and stopping each play 4-10 times to see what everyone was doing. The line play was horrendous, seemed to always be someone making a bad play that disrupted things. This team needs to be some fundamentals down before they take on anything else. I suppose opening up the playbook makes the linemen block better? Oh, that's right, its misdirection and they don't have to block. Got it

The whole offense was out of synch. IMO some of the line struggles were line calls in part due to USA throwing much different looks at our new starters than they saw on video and were prepped for. When you're not quite sure what to do, it's tough to play quick and with confidence. Hopefully just a learning experience for a pretty young line. Heck we think of Wilson as an old pro but he didn't start the whole year last year. The O line thing is going to take some time.

 

[cubsker]

This week just get it out quick to JD, WR, and MoWash and we will be fine.

 

[huskerssalts]

The whole offense was out of synch. IMO some of the line struggles were line calls in part due to USA throwing much different looks at our new starters than they saw on video and were prepped for. When you're not quite sure what to do, it's tough to play quick and with confidence. Hopefully just a learning experience for a pretty young line. Heck we think of Wilson as an old pro but he didn't start the whole year last year. The O line thing is going to take some time.

https://huskers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=15922

The Oline in the middle definitely has some issues to clean up. Cam Jurgens, Will Farniok and Hixson all have something to be working on. I posted Boe Wilson’s info. He played and started 9 games last year and was honorable-mention all BIG 10. Hopefully those guys are playing a cleaner game come Saturday. Colorado is gunning for us as much as we are gunning for them. It will be earned. GBR

 

[huskerssalts]

This week just get it out quick to JD, WR, and MoWash and we will be fine.

Those 3 right there have the “IT” to them. When we play bigger games like this against Colorado....we need to use those “IT” players. Hopefully Frost has his system set up around those 3 for the Colorado Powerpuffs.

 

[Chuck003]

purposely put his team in peril of losing? that game was never in question.

At the start of the 4th quarter, we were up by 7 points.

 

[ZJSARENOTFREE]

This week just get it out quick to JD, WR, and MoWash and we will be fine.

I agree. Just spread them out with all of those weapons and just make plays. That will open up the middle and if Mills can open his eyes, we may see some better O as long as Adrian comes with it as well.

 

[Bugeater]

No pho-king turnovers. Give up the same amount as last week and it will be a loss. The Husker D gave up two td’s last week, just like last year against cu, and in quick fashion.

Nebraska has the players to win, will the players overcome mistakes and find a way to win? We shall see.

 

[SkerInCo]

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

I really hope you're right but I don't quite buy it. There's film out there from Oregon, UCF, and last year. I don't think one game against USA is really going to show them anything they don't already know.

If anything, they were just getting new guys reps at game speed without making things too complicated.

 

[Cornicator]

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

1. They ran one RPO. That was the play where Stoll gained 60 yards down to the 5.

2. The Zone Read was virtually non- existent as it was clear they didn't want Adrian running the football. I think South Alabama gambled this would be the case and did a great job keying on the backs for each inside zone run.

3. Mills is NOT Mo Washington.

4. Nebraska had 210 yards at halftime. It wasn't great, but they weren't exactly getting stymied. They then don't get the football again until the 6:47 mark of the 3rd quarter. They would only have 10 more offensive snaps before the game was basically in the bag at the 7:50 remaining in the 4th mark with a 2 TD lead.

 

[bleedhuskerred]

I guess I will never understand why running a vanilla offense is a thing. If you have more plays, more formations, is there a better time to "practice" them then against U.S.A. It gives you actual game film to watch and correct mistakes before game 2. It was a weird game and I hope not indicative of where we are. I believe Adrian is better than he showed us Saturday, I believe Mills is a better back than what he showed us Saturday and I believe our offensive line will be better.

There is a reason I sit behind a desk and don't coach major college football but this idea that we held back so Colorado wouldn't have some film to watch is dumb.

 

[dinglefritz]

1. They ran one RPO. That was the play where Stoll gained 60 yards down to the 5.

2. The Zone Read was virtually non- existent as it was clear they didn't want Adrian running the football. I think South Alabama gambled this would be the case and did a great job keying on the backs for each inside zone ru.

Funny because Frost specifically said yesterday that when Adrian runs the ball he wants him to "run like an I-back". He wasn't happy with the way Adrian executed from the QB spot in the run game.

 

[Bruce1981]

purposely put his team in peril of losing? that game was never in question.

 

[Top_Gun_]

View embedded media

our win probability never once dipped below 90%

like I said, that game was never in question.

anything else to add, bruce? keeping that arm warm in the courtyard of your apartment complex?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

purposely put his team in peril of losing? that game was never in question.

I never felt the game was in doubt, even as poorly as we played.

But I also don’t think the offense was intentionally vanilla. I think the execution was poor on bread and butter plays. So without executing base plays it is difficult to build on the base from a play calling standpoint.

 

[The_Glove_Man]

Be concerned. Unless you think Frost also counseled Adrian to not see open receivers, throw into coverage, unless you think Frost put bad snaps into the game plan, unless he called plays that sent Mills into the wrong holes. A more likely explanation is that the O looked slow and inept because they were confused and overthinking.

The best thing Frost can do for this week is simplify.

i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about the type of plays called on Saturday.
I was at the game, in my opinion the offense was very vanilla, on purpose.

It appeared to me and those in the stands around me that we were not showing our cards , so to speak, on Saturday.

For example most run plays were between the tackles. Only one screen was called that I remember. Yes, we ran a jet sweep or two, but this was not the whole offense

My hope is that is what was hindering the offense , if not I am concerned .

 

[Trumplestiltskin]

I agree. I think Frost and Co went into this game expecting an easy win and kept things very simple as to not give much away to CU and other teams down the road. However, in doing so South Alabama made a game of it. I have read that CU also kept things very basic and that they have more offensive weapons. Make no mistake this is a game that is top of the list for CU. I mean top, they view it as more important to win than any conf game. This is from a few of my CU "friends"
I hope we kept things very basic on purpose because CU is going to be swinging for the fences in order to win this game. If our offense plays how we played on Sat, I don't see us winning this game. I don't see our D holding them to under 30, so we have to score more than that.

Well, those of us that live out here and follow CU can assure you they held nothing back.

 

[z28craz]

I re-watched the game yesterday and thought it was vanilla as well. It didn’t hit me that there wasn’t much too the offense until near the end of the third quarter during the second watching. But it did seem a little bland. I expected more motion and RPO and both were limited if not nearly non-existent.

 

[TruHusker]

The whole offense was out of synch. IMO some of the line struggles were line calls in part due to USA throwing much different looks at our new starters than they saw on video and were prepped for. When you're not quite sure what to do, it's tough to play quick and with confidence. Hopefully just a learning experience for a pretty young line. Heck we think of Wilson as an old pro but he didn't start the whole year last year. The O line thing is going to take some time.

Did you watch the film? If not, go back and tell me what those different looks were. It is easy for a coach to say they didn't do what we expected, fine, that is what half time is for. I certainly didn't see anything exotic and even if they did do something, they are USA for crying out loud. You are giving them far too much credit.

 

[z28craz]

purposely put his team in peril of losing? that game was never in question.

I agree with this. Never once thought we were going to lose that game. Even when it was close I didn’t think it was that close.

 

[Top_Gun_]

Did you watch the film? If not, go back and tell me what those different looks were. It is easy for a coach to say they didn't do what we expected, fine, that is what half time is for. I certainly didn't see anything exotic and even if they did do something, they are USA for crying out loud. You are giving them far too much credit.

the film? hahahahahahahaha you're a message board poster who may or may not have watched the sped-up replay once.

give me a break, bill belichick

 

[TruHusker]

the film? hahahahahahahaha you're a message board poster who may or may not have watched the sped-up replay once.

give me a break, bill belichick

Well, hot rod, there is this new technology called DVR. I can stop and stop, single frames and all that good stuff. Obviously, one doesn't need to be a genius to do it, I bet even you could do if you wanted to rather than blow your mouth off about me but whatever makes you feel better.

 

[Top_Gun_]

Well, hot rod, there is this new technology called DRV. I can stop and stop, single frames and all that good stuff. Obviously, one doesn't need to be a genius to do it, I bet even you could do if you wanted to rather than blow your mouth off about me but whatever makes you feel better.

DRV, never heard of it. thanks for the tip, coach!

 

[TruHusker]

DRV, never heard of it. thanks for the tip, coach!

Kind of like DVR. I think you could figure it out if you tried real hard.

 

[Top_Gun_]

Kind of like DVR. I think you could figure it out if you tried real hard.

 

[oldjar07]

The whole offense was out of synch. IMO some of the line struggles were line calls in part due to USA throwing much different looks at our new starters than they saw on video and were prepped for. When you're not quite sure what to do, it's tough to play quick and with confidence. Hopefully just a learning experience for a pretty young line. Heck we think of Wilson as an old pro but he didn't start the whole year last year. The O line thing is going to take some time.

That's why you can't completely rely on what's on film. You need to be ready for things that aren't on film. And South Alabama never really did anything exotic. Even if it was completely different than on film, USA was running basic stuff that the players and coaches should have been able to adjust to.

 

[huntered]

rpo right, rpo up the iddle, and rpo left this week. martinez will be running.

 

[barney44]

I never felt the game was in doubt, even as poorly as we played.

But I also don’t think the offense was intentionally vanilla. I think the execution was poor on bread and butter plays. So without executing base plays it is difficult to build on the base from a play calling standpoint.

IMO this is exactly the problem. If they can’t get their bread and butter going then how are they expected to get anything else to work effectively? No doubt that we were very vanilla on offense but I’m not sure I’d say it was by design.

 

[dinglefritz]

Did you watch the film? If not, go back and tell me what those different looks were. It is easy for a coach to say they didn't do what we expected, fine, that is what half time is for. I certainly didn't see anything exotic and even if they did do something, they are USA for crying out loud. You are giving them far too much credit.

Just repeating what Frost said. Are you calling him a liar?

 

[dinglefritz]

That's why you can't completely rely on what's on film. You need to be ready for things that aren't on film. And South Alabama never really did anything exotic. Even if it was completely different than on film, USA was running basic stuff that the players and coaches should have been able to adjust to.

With a fall arriving JUCO RB, I'm assuming the game plan had to be fairly simple. Honestly I haven't broken down the film nor would it do me any good to attempt to. I'm just repeating what Frost said. I'll choose to think he's not a liar.

 

[Bruce1981]

our win probability never once dipped below 90%

like I said, that game was never in question.

anything else to add, bruce? keeping that arm warm in the courtyard of your apartment complex?

What was our win probability against Northwestern last season after our last score, Simple Jack?

 

[TheNewNU]

1. They ran one RPO. That was the play where Stoll gained 60 yards down to the 5.

2. The Zone Read was virtually non- existent as it was clear they didn't want Adrian running the football. I think South Alabama gambled this would be the case and did a great job keying on the backs for each inside zone run.

3. Mills is NOT Mo Washington.

4. Nebraska had 210 yards at halftime. It wasn't great, but they weren't exactly getting stymied. They then don't get the football again until the 6:47 mark of the 3rd quarter. They would only have 10 more offensive snaps before the game was basically in the bag at the 7:50 remaining in the 4th mark with a 2 TD lead.

We ran plenty more than one RPO, I saw at least 8 RPOs when I charted things. That play you're referring to was a play action off of Power. I do know the broadcast team called it an RPO but that color guy was a twit.

USA absolutely took away Adrian in the run game. They made every effort to not let him beat them with his legs, they used spies and stayed home on him all day. They wanted him in the pocket making reads and it worked very well for them holding the Offense to 2 scores.

I agree Mills is very mediocre from what I saw game 1.

 

[Bruce1981]

We ran plenty more than one RPO, I saw at least 8 RPOs when I charted things. That play you're referring to was a play action off of Power. I do know the broadcast team called it an RPO but that color guy was a twit.

USA absolutely took away Adrian in the run game. They made every effort to not let him beat them with his legs, they used spies and stayed home on him all day. They wanted him in the pocket making reads and it worked very well for them holding the Offense to 2 scores.

I agree Mills is very mediocre from what I saw game 1.

If South Alabama can take things away, what will the Big 10 do?

 

[keilwitzg]

Didn’t Adrian say a while back (game week) or so that he was watching film of Troy’s offense d/t the fact that their coach/coordinator was on USA or that they ran a similar offense/scheme? And didn’t one of our coaches say “he better not be, we aren’t playing Troy!”
IDK? Something to think about???

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

If South Alabama can take things away, what will the Big 10 do?

Martinez was under the weather and the team had a bad week of practice. Are you not paying attention?

All joking aside, it was 1 freaking game. Time to move on.