We are not good

[ForkEmBucky]

Just like the previous two games, this team showed flashes of some really good things, but LOL @ anyone who beats this team and hangs their hat on it. There are some really bad things happening. My list of gripes will begin now.

1. I see Taylor and Armstrong do "okay" in coverage once in a while, but I just don't see how we can sit in a 4-3 base, keep a safety over the top, and let our linebackers handle WRs.

2. Our defensive line is not deep, but they sure as hell are going to have to start rotating them earlier in the game. They had nothing left in the tank by the end. They need to find a way to stretch Beau Allen out for 4 quarters because when Nebraska started getting a push on him, that's when their run game got going.

3. Stave looks like the most poised QB we have, but he's not seeing guys breaking wide open, and he just doesn't seem to understand that he can't just roll away from a DE casually and wait for a receiver to get open. Get rid of the ball buddy.

4. That last play with the fumbled exchange showed me yet one more thing about O'Brien that is going south on him. I don't think he's on the same page the runningbacks, and I am pretty sure I saw him and Ball arguing on the sideline.

5. Can Curt Phillips play? Because this is his last year if I remember correctly. I believe he already burned an injury appeal. He was a real baller once upon a time, and if he's cleared we might as well give him a shot because a quarterback who can move is about all I can come up with for these stalled out drives.

5. Somebody is broadcasting something when Montee gets carries. Either he's got some mind clutter and worry leftover from the offseason and the concussions that he's showing in his expressions, or somebody else is giving it away. 3 out of 5 carries, the defense knows that he's getting the ball, and they know exactly where. The other 2 out of 5 times they just don't know where. I remember Canada saying he was going to "simplify" the language. Not so sure I like that idea now, because the other possibility is that somebody is onto him. They all need to work on their poker faces.

6. Cromartie and Trotter do some really dumb shit sometimes. One of those runs that Martinez took off on, all Cromartie had to do was back pedal and keep himself squared on the QB. Martinez was just hoping that Cromartie would turn toward the receiver before Taylor could shed the block that was on him(I think it was Taylor anyway), and that's exactly what happened. Cromartie turned and took himself out of the play.

7. What the hell is with White and Doe on the kickoffs. Catch the ball and freakin' run, guys. If it looks bad, do you really think it's going to look better if you stand there and let the gunners get even closer to your stupid asses? Scared to build up momentum because it'll just hurt more? GTFO........



But, you know, they played a hell of a lot better than I thought they would. I feel like I see some of the younger guys doing good things on special teams. Derek Landisch and Connor O'Neil particularly, and I think that bodes well for the LB corps since they will have to replace Taylor next season. Doe and Frederick are improving as receivers. Southward is getting a little better on his tackles. Love that Derek Watt is doing well as a freshman, I think that he will only get stronger at FB.

 

[Red_Alert]

Good game guys.

Gilbert, Abbredaris and Borland are 'really' good players. There are a couple others I could give honorable mention to.

Stave made some good reads getting the ball to one-on-one coverages. That he's young and his lack of mobility was the difference last night. It gave NU the ability to key on your running game. Abbredaris, Ball, and White are going to have to carry him along this year, but he's got a nice touch when he's got time. He'll be a lot better as he matures IMO.

I think there's enough gas in your tank to go 5-2 the rest of the way. A 6-1 or even 7-0 is not out of the question if the ball bounces your way in the Mich St/Ohio St games since you've got them in your house.

I see a return to the CCG for y'all.

 

[Smart]

Honestly, this was the worst game in awhile because we saw just how close we are. For 35 minutes, our lines played solid. They weren't dominant like in the past, but they were holding their own. And you know what....they were up 27-10 on the road against a top 25 team. But then, our team reminded us once again that we no longer have elite lines. Holes developed and we got pushed 3-4 yards on both sides. I agree that we are not good, but we are also so close. All we need to do is get our lines from playing D football to B- football.

I'm also disappointed in our safeties. Trotter was playing like crap out there. I saw at least three plays where Martinez was running towards the first down marker and he just waited to jump at him while Taylor ran for the first down. At least one of those was a drive-ending play. In the first half, we saw what Southward could be. Put him close to the line instead of playing him twelve yards back, and then watch him make plays. This team really misses Shelton, but they can't live under the delusion that he is there anymore. Adjust the schemes. In the secondary, I thought Devin Smith played a great game and Cromartie was good at everything besides finishing tackles, which is an improvement for a guy who has gotten burned in the past.

O'Brien is still the best quarterback when given time. Stave is the most poised, and the guy who is going to make the fewest mistakes behind this awful line. I really like Curt Phillips, but he was always a running QB. That mobility is supposedly gone. It'd be like having Taylor Martinez (with a slightly prettier throwing motion) but having him go from 4.4 speed to 4.7 or 4.8 speed. It sucks, but he's never going to be the player he could have been.

I was encouraged by last night. We are now done with our two hardest road games, and we still haven't lost at home since 2009 (and the last time we lost to a non-BCS team at home was 2005...think about that). We'll probably have another two losses, but if one of those is not Purdue, this team should play in the B1G Championship Game. We have two months to get our line issues solved, but if we can, this shitty start can still be for a team that winds up in Pasadena.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

I appreciate that RA, but I just don't see it. Granted, I think everyone in the B1G is a 6 out of 10 at best right now, but you can see how our attrition at DL effected us in the second half. I think that's going to be a problem against Ohio State, and even Purdue. I think Michigan State's defense will get to Stave more than Nebraska's did, but I don't know, I guess maybe now he understands how much football hurts.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Well it doesn't hurt to have a little optimism. I think we need to accept that the next few years, or even the next 5-10 years could very easily look like 2001-2005 at best. Right now, it's looking like 2008 to me. Highly praised linebackers. Problems at QB. Guys arguing on the sideline as games wind down in the other teams' favor. No depth on defense. This new coaching staff better be able to develop players like they have over the last several years, or Barry better start saving away some cash to hire Bob Bostad back.

We have some coaches in now who I really like. Eddie Faulkner and Ben Strickland seem like the kind of guys who have what it takes to get the most out of their players. So all I really care about this year is seeing guys improve. I want these sophomores getting playing time to start looking like they know what they're doing by the end of the season.

I won't pass judgment on Canada yet, but to me his play calling is getting pretty well bitch slapped. Chryst was a genius.

 

[Smart]

I appreciate that RA, but I just don't see it. Granted, I think everyone in the B1G is a 6 out of 10 at best right now, but you can see how our attrition at DL effected us in the second half. I think that's going to be a problem against Ohio State, and even Purdue. I think Michigan State's defense will get to Stave more than Nebraska's did, but I don't know, I guess maybe now he understands how much football hurts.

The winner of the Wisconsin @ Purdue game is going to the CCG. That's gonna be our biggest game of the year by far.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Oh, and we need to start looking for a replacement for the Chris Ash/Charlie Partridge duo.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Also, I'm calling it right now. Bart Houston wins the QB battle next fall.

 

[Red_Alert]

I appreciate that RA, but I just don't see it. Granted, I think everyone in the B1G is a 6 out of 10 at best right now, but you can see how our attrition at DL effected us in the second half. I think that's going to be a problem against Ohio State, and even Purdue. I think Michigan State's defense will get to Stave more than Nebraska's did, but I don't know, I guess maybe now he understands how much football hurts.

I'm actually fairly confident Wisky will beat Mich St.
They do have a good defense yes, but their offense sucks and Wisconsin plays disciplined football.

1 Fumble ( miscommunication on last offensive play)
Penalties (2 for 15yds)

Y'all aren't as bad as you think. Not enough to panic anyway.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

You may be right, RA, and I'm not saying they're a terrible team I just think they're very....mediocre.

 

[Red_Alert]

Your losses are nothing to be ashamed of..they were both close.

Oregon St (3-0) all vs BCS opponents


Nebraska

Rushing Offense 5th
Total Offense 13th
Scoring Offense 10th
Pass Efficiency 11th

It's your QB play. He's young but he reads well and has good touch. He'll need to be carried by your skill players, but he'll come along IMO.

 

[Doctor Krieger]

I'm just sick and tired of the same old thing...no pass rush, soft pass coverage, no movement up front, dumb ass runs up the middle for no gains etc.

The thing that gets me the most fired up are the runs up the middle...how many times a game do we run off tackle or even outside? It can't be many...If we aren't getting some movement straight ahead, let's see what we can do on the move a bit.

And as always....GIVE MELVIN THE BALL!

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Your losses are nothing to be ashamed of..they were both close.

Oregon St (3-0) all vs BCS opponents


Nebraska

Rushing Offense 5th
Total Offense 13th
Scoring Offense 10th
Pass Efficiency 11th

It's your QB play. He's young but he reads well and has good touch. He'll need to be carried by your skill players, but he'll come along IMO.

I respect your opinion, and I don't want to get into it too much out of respect for the way the Huskers hung in their last night, but I don't put a lot of stock in statistical categories this early in the season. I just don't think any of us are that good, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how the Beavs and the Huskers handle the rest of their schedules..

Bottom line, if our 3 linebackers couldn't run sideline to sideline the way they do, do you really think that we even had a chance? They made some damn good plays on those outside runs throughout the first half, but as soon our DTs wore down without a decent rotation...Abdullah, Burkhead, and Martinez were able to attack the interior of the line. And the sad thing is, there was absolutely nothing we could do. Your OL looked like our 2010-2011 OL and you know they're not THAT good. This Badger defense just won't be able to close games, man. That's a scary problem for a team with CCG aspirations.

 

[Red_Alert]

I respect your opinion, and I don't want to get into it too much out of respect for the way the Huskers hung in their last night, but I don't put a lot of stock in statistical categories this early in the season. I just don't think any of us are that good, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how the Beavs and the Huskers handle the rest of their schedules..

Bottom line, if our 3 linebackers couldn't run sideline to sideline the way they do, do you really think that we even had a chance? They made some damn good plays on those outside runs throughout the first half, but as soon our DTs wore down without a decent rotation...Abdullah, Burkhead, and Martinez were able to attack the interior of the line. And the sad thing is, there was absolutely nothing we could do. Your OL looked like our 2010-2011 OL and you know they're not THAT good. This Badger defense just won't be able to close games, man. That's a scary problem for a team with CCG aspirations.

You can absolutely use stats when the two teams have played similar schedules. Wisky and NU each played 1 difficult OOC and 3 cupcakes.

Regarding the rushing...

Wisky had to respect that NU has good receivers and TE's. They couldn't stack the box.
NU had to respect Abberdaris, but not a r/s freshman pocket QB and could key Wisky's run.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Well anyway, good luck on the rest of the schedule Huskers.

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

Good game Badgers.
Regarding point 6 though Forkem that is part of our option. He goes to the receiver qb run. If he fills the hole throw to the receiver. And TM has gotten much better at reading the defense this year and waiting to see what opens up.

And also I think you will see (or at least hope) as the year goes on our O-line is greatly improved from last year. I wouldn't say a great but we are approaching good.

Any way good game yesterday after watching boring blow outs all day I was very happy with this game (after I realized you were not going to blow us out)

Good luck with the rest the year. Hope to see you in Indy.