Questions going in to the season

[jedburks]

Yesterday I went on a 12+ hour football bender. I watched the remaining 8 Husker games that were on my DVR from last year. Some things popped up at me for going into this season.

1. PJ Smith had a lot of almost INTs last year that went in and out of his hands. Thank god he is gone.

2. Can Ameer replace the unbelievable vision and tough yards that Rex had and got for us? Ameer had a tendency to lean through holes last year and not keep his feet under him and just fall forward.

3. Can we please stop with the countless false starts and illegal formations? That is kindergarten stuff that needs to stop.

4. Typically, fumbling!!!!!

5. What mediocre RB are we going to allow to go crazy on us? Carlos Hyde comes to mind.


There were other questions but my brain is fried.

 

[Red_Alert]

That pretty much covers the gambit.

I'll add:

Extending opponents drives by either not stopping a 3rd and long, or committing a penalty.

Ball handlling receiving punts. "Catch the ball 'before' you run".

 

[jedburks]

Oh and I have to admit, I haven't done a complete 180 on Taylor yet but it is about a 110-120. His fumbles and decisions to just flipped the ball anywhere when he is getting sacked at times prevents me from a full 180. But there is no denying his marked improvement and his toughness. The dude gets knocked down and gets right back up every time. He may still fall awkwardly and run right into some hard contact but the dude gets back up.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

It's hard to imagine anyone on the team has put as much work into making themselves and the team better than Taylor has.

When people get pissed and want him on the bench for making a poor decision, they just need to remember that his poor decision likely came due to him trying to make a play to bring his team back. Most of the time that is when he has made poor decisions.

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

Thank God a lot of players are gone. That is the only reason I have hope for this season (and our schedule)

Ameer has the same problem Taylor has, keeping the ball. Cross is our future. He has worked his ass off to get his weight down.. He wants to prove something and most of all has sure hands. With that said though knowing Bo either way Ameer is it. Bo will stick with him through thick and then. Thus the reason we no longer have Heard who would of been far superior to Ameer imo.

Speaking of Bo, that brings us to points 3,4 and 5. These are all on Pelini. These are the constants that have kept us as an average team and him an average coach. I hate to be that fan that says "they didn't beat us, we beat ourselves" but that is true so many times. And the CCG was the epitome of all 3.

 

[GreenNickle]

5. What mediocre RB are we going to allow to go crazy on us? Carlos Hyde comes to mind.

I approve of this question having to be answered.

 

[jedburks]

Thank God a lot of players are gone. That is the only reason I have hope for this season (and our schedule)

Ameer has the same problem Taylor has, keeping the ball. Cross is our future. He has worked his ass off to get his weight down.. He wants to prove something and most of all has sure hands. With that said though knowing Bo either way Ameer is it. Bo will stick with him through thick and then. Thus the reason we no longer have Heard who would of been far superior to Ameer imo.

Speaking of Bo, that brings us to points 3,4 and 5. These are all on Pelini. These are the constants that have kept us as an average team and him an average coach. I hate to be that fan that says "they didn't beat us, we beat ourselves" but that is true so many times. And the CCG was the epitome of all 3.

I can't count the amount of times I have said that!!!!!

 

[iruletheskool]

Braylon was nowhere near Ameer

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

Braylon was nowhere near Ameer

Ameer 5 ypc
Heard 6.7 ypc

In the Iowa game heard had 4 rushes for 46 yards or 11.5 ypc.

I'm not saying Ameer is a bad or even average back but he drops the ball

Both backs can find holes and I give Ameer speed but Heard has the same instinct and power and sure hands as Rex.

Heard also got the short yardage power runs yet still busted loose for large gains. If he was given every down like Ameer he would have had a lot more opportunity and a lot more yards.

The bottom line is Nebraska under Pelini is 35-2 when the turnover margin is even or positive. We are 13-18 when negative.
There were 8 FBS players with 6 or more turnovers losses, two were on our team. Wanna guess who?

My thought on fixing this problem is the bench. You fumble, you sit. As easy as that. We may not have the experience to do that but at least if we did we would be getting the experience. Hell we lose when it matters because of this. It is damned short sighted to keep someone in there who can't hold on to the ball when you have potential on the bench that has to go somewhere else to play.

 

[jedburks]

Braylon was nowhere near Ameer

Your right, because Braylon was better. Better vision, better feet, better hands, better instinct.

Don't know what the hell was happening in practice not to allow him to play more but me and my stupid Joe Fan untrained eye saw more in Heard than I did in Ameer.

As HISL said, not sayin Ameer is bad. Just think Heard was a more complete back and we will miss him!!!!

 

[iruletheskool]

Mine as well have thrown a fence post out there in pass pro instead of braylon

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

I do not agree that Heard was a more complete back than Ameer......just my opinion. I'm actually kinda surprised to hear you guys say that.

I liked Heard, but he just never looked the part......ran straight up and had very little ability to juke.

Of course, we have a very small sample size of Heard to base these opinions off of. We would bring him in for a couple plays out of nowhere and there was almost always a giant hole the size of a semi truck in the general direction which he was running.

He was speady though. But he couldn't get yards after contact like Ameer does.

 

[jedburks]

Ameer is definitely more powerful and overall faster. Heard however, like Rex, saw holes much better and faster than Ameer seems to and Heard gets to that hole in a hurry.

 

[Blackshirt]

Ameer is better than Burkhead and Heard. In my honest opinion Ameer should've been the starter last year instead of Burkhead. I am not saying Burkhead is bad, just Ameer is better. Ameer is athletically more gifted than Burkhead, Burkhead was the starter because his experience and leadership role. That's how I see, regardless of how many people will disagree.

 

[Brasky]

^^^I agree to an extent, but Rex was the better back when healthy. He was an absolute beast in the UGA game. I dont know that abdullah could have matched that effort. Ameer has more upside than Rex did at this point. I always thought heard was the most talented back we had on roster. Would have loved to see him get more touches.

 

[bigred472]

It's hard to imagine anyone on the team has put as much work into making themselves and the team better than Taylor has.

When people get pissed and want him on the bench for making a poor decision, they just need to remember that his poor decision likely came due to him trying to make a play to bring his team back. Most of the time that is when he has made poor decisions.

-------
He also has had a tendancy to make poor decisions merely when he feels a little pressure (and not necessarily him trying to bring the team back). Hope he's outgrown both problems.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Ameer is going to have a really good season......

I have heard he has completely taken over the leadership role on Offense and has worked a ton on different drills and the sech to secure the football.

The kid is an absolute stud. People forget he was just a 19 year old True Sophomore last season....and he looked more like an NFL prospect to me......one who needed to learn to hang on to the ball, but one who could play at the next level.

When I see Ameer I immediately see a guy who just plain and simply has "it." We gotta remember that Ameer was being used as an all-purpose Back while Heard was coming in for specific situations. This should lead to a difference in yards per carry and I think that is why it did.

It's the way Ameer stays low and runs with such reckless andandon that puts him in the Elite category. Everyone is going to see it this season too.

 

[Tomhusker]

Enter some deep, thought provoking post here.....

I forgot what I was going to say.

GBR

 

[Fumble_Rooskie]

Enter some deep, thought provoking post here.....

I forgot what I was going to say.

GBR

I got your back Tom.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]