We are second in the Big 10 in yards per carry...

[Tulsa Tom]

...when you add in the fact that we are dead last in the longest rushes (thus our average is inflated the least of any Big 10 team by long runs) our ypc is even more impressive.

BUT...we are 11th in the Big 10 in rushing attempts. (And five attempts away from 13th).

What is wrong with this picture?


http://espn.go.com/college-football.../sort/rushingAttempts/id/5/big-ten-conference

 

[BornNBredRed]

...when you add in the fact that we are dead last in the longest rushes (thus our average is inflated the least of any Big 10 team by long runs) our ypc is even more impressive.

BUT...we are 11th in the Big 10 in rushing attempts. (And five attempts away from 13th).

What is wrong with this picture?

http://espn.go.com/college-football.../sort/rushingAttempts/id/5/big-ten-conference

Great point! Oh wait, did I just say that to you TT?

 

[HuskerLegion]

...when you add in the fact that we are dead last in the longest rushes (thus our average is inflated the least of any Big 10 team by long runs) our ypc is even more impressive.

BUT...we are 11th in the Big 10 in rushing attempts. (And five attempts away from 13th).

What is wrong with this picture?


http://espn.go.com/college-football.../sort/rushingAttempts/id/5/big-ten-conference

Exactly. Run the ball Danny.

 

[vs540husker]

Ozigbo should of had 25 carries.
Why we were passing like that in swirling 30mph winds, is beyond my comprehension.

 

[nebcountry]

Pass happy offense? I got shouted down for starting a thread months ago.

Our OC specializes in teaching qb's how to throw the ball. Don't have to dig very deep for the answer. I will be objective here, there are winning teams that effectively throw the ball in a balanced attack.

So, what do we do? I'm gonna try to tone it down. Riley is here for multiple years, and he could turn out to be a winner. A pyrrhic victory is not really a victory. I will have to turn a blind eye to all the player haters/"we have no talent the coaching staff is great" fans.

Six or eight months ago there were those that wanted to talk objectively about our new staff. There were those that wanted to call other Husker fans names. Clean slate, we all want NU to be better.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Too often people love to bring up some issue they feel like they can pick on and then people start to beat on it. First it was our oline sucks and doesn't have talent. Then, we added Newby to the mix and said he doesn't have talent. The reality is that our oline has run-blocked fairly well...contrary to what the blowhards say.

1. 2nd in Big 10 in ypc (and again...last in longest runs so we aren't inflating #s)
2. We are 6th in Big 10 in sacks per pass attempts. (At least we are in the top half.)

Our oline is pretty good.

 

[TarheelHuskerFan]

The sack Stat is because Tommy can extend plays when he's got a guy in his face.

Of course we're going to have a great ypc stat. We rarely run, the defense is in pass defense.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

So who's fault is it that we rarely run? If the defenses are in pass defense as you say, guess what you should do.

 

[dinglefritz]

So who's fault is it that we rarely run? If the defenses are in pass defense as you say, guess what you should do.

IF we ran more, the YPC would most likely drop and you know that but you bring up a valid criticism. No doubt later in the game Langsdorf figured it out as he DID commit to the run. That said, we needed to have run the ball more early in that game. We put ourselves in some bad spots by coming out and throwing an incompletion on first downs. It DOES in fact help your run game when you are less predictable by throwing the ball on what might seem like a running down, but the weather Saturday should have dictated that we commit to the run and go ground and pound. That said, man there were open guys in the passing game and TA just had a horrible day. Weather again contributed greatly but he forced the ball on multiple occasions that I saw where he had an obviously open guy on a short route if he had gone through his progressions.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

We run the ball really well (at least in comparison to others) so we don't want to run it more because our ypc might go down?

 

[CC_Lemming]

...when you add in the fact that we are dead last in the longest rushes (thus our average is inflated the least of any Big 10 team by long runs) our ypc is even more impressive.

BUT...we are 11th in the Big 10 in rushing attempts. (And five attempts away from 13th).

What is wrong with this picture?


http://espn.go.com/college-football.../sort/rushingAttempts/id/5/big-ten-conference

Prior to the Illinois game, I would have said nothing is wrong with it. Success on the ground correlates with a passing game that keeps defenses offense. But we should have run more on Saturday.

 

[TarheelHuskerFan]

So who's fault is it that we rarely run? If the defenses are in pass defense as you say, guess what you should do.

I agree we should run WAY more. My argument was that our offensive line is not great and that stat is not concrete.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

I agree we should run WAY more. My argument was that our offensive line is not great and that stat is not concrete.

It's about as concrete as it gets for nearly half a season. If we busted off a few 50+ yard runs you may have a wee bit of an argument. The actuality is that we have not had those kinds of runs while other teams have so if anything our ypc is undervalued. I would also argue that to this point we have had a tougher schedule than most Big Ten teams.

People can continue to argue that our running game sucks but the concrete stats don't point out that fact. The only issue is that we don't use it enough.

 

[Archie Graham]

I was frustrated early in the game but from the charted plays I saw we actually relied on the run very heavily in the 4th quarter.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

One other quick note when people bring up we can't get first downs on third and short...

When either Cross or Jankovich are given the ball on 3rd down with between 1 and 3 yards to go we are a perfect 4 for 4. Whenever we pass or give it to a smaller back in 3rd and short we are 3 for 10. So if we get a third and short, why are we not giving the ball to our big backs all the time? How does our offensive coordinator not understand these things?

 

[Tulsa Tom]

I was frustrated early in the game but from the charted plays I saw we actually relied on the run very heavily in the 4th quarter.

We kept running it on the last drive. In the preceding three drives we threw it three times on first down...two of those were incomplete and led directly to punts.

 

[SnohomishRed]

It's about as concrete as it gets for nearly half a season. If we busted off a few 50+ yard runs you may have a wee bit of an argument. The actuality is that we have not had those kinds of runs while other teams have so if anything our ypc is undervalued. I would also argue that to this point we have had a tougher schedule than most Big Ten teams.

People can continue to argue that our running game sucks but the concrete stats don't point out that fact. The only issue is that we don't use it enough.

We have a ton a major problems right now that require some real change in the thought process by these coaches. The first thing they can do to try and stop the negative momentum is:

Run the ball - slow the game down and protect our defense, even if running the ball is not always successful it will serve to slow the game down and keep our defense off the field. Opposing teams are not afraid of TA's arm but they are afraid of his legs - they are hoping we keep chucking it around with a QB that completes 50-55% of his passes, throws int's and makes poor decisions with the ball. If we keep trying to pound the square peg into the round hole, the defenses we will face in the upcoming games are going to kill us

My advice to the coaches unless they want this team to totally implode is run the football - maybe next year you will be in a better position to run the NFL pass happy offense that will never work in the Big10

 

[Archie Graham]

We kept running it on the last drive. In the preceding three drives we threw it three times on first down...two of those were incomplete and led directly to punts.

From what I can recall we did seem to be heavy on first down throws. Frustrating. Though we did leave lots of yards out there between bad throws and balls that need to be caught.

 

[Archie Graham]

One other quick note when people bring up we can't get first downs on third and short...

When either Cross or Jankovich are given the ball on 3rd down with between 1 and 3 yards to go we are a perfect 4 for 4. Whenever we pass or give it to a smaller back in 3rd and short we are 3 for 10. So if we get a third and short, why are we not giving the ball to our big backs all the time? How does our offensive coordinator not understand these things?

I'm very happy with Langs; however, he didn't call a very good game Saturday. I'm hoping that is a fluke.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Then you should be happy with our offensive line too. The stats don't lie.

 

[SnohomishRed]

I'm very happy with Langs; however, he didn't call a very good game Saturday. I'm hoping that is a fluke.

I guess the question should be why??? certainly not because you think the running game is better - I know many think our passing is better but the numbers do not support that claim:

* 1st 5 games 2014 - 53% completion rate - 16.5 yds per completion - 10 TD's - 3 ints
* `1st 5 games 2015 - 54.7% completion rate - 13.5 yds/completion - 12 TD's - 7 ints

We have thrown the ball 66 more times in 2015 with a passing offense that includes a lot of short passes/screens etc and yet our completion rate is about the same - we have a TD for every 8.6 passes completed in 2015 in 2014 we had one in every 6.6 passes, plus the yds per catch were higher in 2014 - we are also throwing int's at a higher per pass attempt clip than we did in 2014

Numbers do not lie - yes I know it seems like TA is passing the ball better but no he really is not - throw in that a lot of these passes are short screens and the passing game has regressed this year.

Not sure where this OC is hanging his hat, but just because you are throwing the ball a lot does not mean you are doing it effectively - they need to try and run because passing is not working

 

[leodisflowers]

I guess the question should be why??? certainly not because you think the running game is better - I know many think our passing is better but the numbers do not support that claim:

* 1st 5 games 2014 - 53% completion rate - 16.5 yds per completion - 10 TD's - 3 ints
* `1st 5 games 2015 - 54.7% completion rate - 13.5 yds/completion - 12 TD's - 7 ints

We have thrown the ball 66 more times in 2015 with a passing offense that includes a lot of short passes/screens etc and yet our completion rate is about the same - we have a TD for every 8.6 passes completed in 2015 in 2014 we had one in every 6.6 passes, plus the yds per catch were higher in 2014 - we are also throwing int's at a higher per pass attempt clip than we did in 2014

Numbers do not lie - yes I know it seems like TA is passing the ball better but no he really is not - throw in that a lot of these passes are short screens and the passing game has regressed this year.

Not sure where this OC is hanging his hat, but just because you are throwing the ball a lot does not mean you are doing it effectively - they need to try and run because passing is not working

Armstrong is throwing the ball better minus this last dreadful game. If you can't see that, than I don't know what to tell you, but his mechanics and decision making have been much better. He looked like the old TA in the Illinois game. I'm not sure I love Langs like the quoted post says, but Tommy has looked better.

 

[SnohomishRed]

Armstrong is throwing the ball better minus this last dreadful game. If you can't see that, than I don't know what to tell you, but his mechanics and decision making have been much better. He looked like the old TA in the Illinois game. I'm not sure I love Langs like the quoted post says, but Tommy has looked better.

I agree and disagree - Yes TA has looked better but no his results are not better - This is the problem I have with this staff in a lot of areas - Recruiting is well organized and they work hard - results mehh so far - So yes TA has looked better but is he actually better in the results no cannot say he is - he is doing worse or equal as compared to last year at the same time - and yes every game counts

 

[Archie Graham]

I guess the question should be why??? certainly not because you think the running game is better - I know many think our passing is better but the numbers do not support that claim:

* 1st 5 games 2014 - 53% completion rate - 16.5 yds per completion - 10 TD's - 3 ints
* `1st 5 games 2015 - 54.7% completion rate - 13.5 yds/completion - 12 TD's - 7 ints

We have thrown the ball 66 more times in 2015 with a passing offense that includes a lot of short passes/screens etc and yet our completion rate is about the same - we have a TD for every 8.6 passes completed in 2015 in 2014 we had one in every 6.6 passes, plus the yds per catch were higher in 2014 - we are also throwing int's at a higher per pass attempt clip than we did in 2014

Numbers do not lie - yes I know it seems like TA is passing the ball better but no he really is not - throw in that a lot of these passes are short screens and the passing game has regressed this year.

Not sure where this OC is hanging his hat, but just because you are throwing the ball a lot does not mean you are doing it effectively - they need to try and run because passing is not working

Lots of reasons. But if you are only going to look at final stats I'm not interested in a deeper discussion.

 

[Bay_Area_Husker]

Not to mention the fact that running equals more time of possession, which limits the amount of time our defense (ranked over 100) is on the field.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Lots of reasons. But if you are only going to look at final stats I'm not interested in a deeper discussion.

Stop...you act like you want people to have depth to their discussions. These stats here are depth. The reality is that people's thoughts about last year are skewed by the fact we had a maniacal twit running the sidelines. There were plenty of games that Tommy was pretty good and a few where he stunk. But people just remember all the bad last year.

The stats people are putting up here don't lie. We are running the ball well but choose to pass it far too often. We have deluded ourselves into thinking we now are some kind of passing machine after stinking it up last year. We are at the same spot...and probably a bit worse.

If we had a coach who could better recognize when to run the ball...when to slow it down...when to run the big backs on third and three...when to quit zinging it way downfield...when to run on first down instead of pass and get behind the chains...we might be undefeated.

 

[little a]

...when you add in the fact that we are dead last in the longest rushes (thus our average is inflated the least of any Big 10 team by long runs) our ypc is even more impressive.

BUT...we are 11th in the Big 10 in rushing attempts. (And five attempts away from 13th).

What is wrong with this picture?


http://espn.go.com/college-football.../sort/rushingAttempts/id/5/big-ten-conference

Don't

 

[little a]

I just don't get it--- why coaches outsmart themselves. Is it the pressure that they panick? Anyway I need to look into being a college coach--- get paid and make mistakes junior high coaches don't.. No joke my sons junior high coaches are better than this

 

[HuskerDana]

Stop...you act like you want people to have depth to their discussions. These stats here are depth. The reality is that people's thoughts about last year are skewed by the fact we had a maniacal twit running the sidelines. There were plenty of games that Tommy was pretty good and a few where he stunk. But people just remember all the bad last year.

The stats people are putting up here don't lie. We are running the ball well but choose to pass it far too often. We have deluded ourselves into thinking we now are some kind of passing machine after stinking it up last year. We are at the same spot...and probably a bit worse.

If we had a coach who could better recognize when to run the ball...when to slow it down...when to run the big backs on third and three...when to quit zinging it way downfield...when to run on first down instead of pass and get behind the chains...we might be undefeated.

I never thought I would say this, but good post, TT.

 

[SnohomishRed]

Lots of reasons. But if you are only going to look at final stats I'm not interested in a deeper discussion.

deeper discussion ? rather than the results on the field of play - I am not sure what you are going for here - Maybe you saying the coaches are willing to suffer a little to get NU changed into a passing program? if so I am not in agreement with this

Bottom line so far is that our passing game has been no more effective than it was last year at this time - now we are entering the part of our schedule with the best defenses - maybe it will show better or maybe it gets worse like it has in the past