Ok...
"OL: Our recruits and current lineman are all very long. I’ve never seen a 6’10 lineman. But we are recruiting one. These boys now are very tall. Why?
TE: 6’6. 6’8. 6’7 … heck…. 6’5 seems small with our group. Again … why are we going after very tall TEs?
WRs: 6’2 and up. These guys are starting to really put on the muscle. Again, is this part of an offensive shift?
I’m just curious if we are starting to see a more power scheme. OR …. More outside zone with big WRs, TEs and OL.
I’m more of a defensive guy. So I’m curious about you offensive gurus and your opinions."
- You recruit long lean OL with the thought of adding muscle to their frame. It can get a 6'8" Benhart to 330lbs and him not look like a tub of gew. You also look at OL in general. Think of boxing where they always talk about reach. If I punch you first I got the advantage. You also have longer lineman that helps you in pass pro because the DE has to run farther to get to the QB.
- Same story as OL. Plus think about catch radius. Think of that catch Allen had vs Cockeyes. You increase your chances with that kind of frame.
- Same as TE with the catch radius, but also gives them an advantage blocking on the peremiter where that 10 yds run turns into 50. Watch some of Stanley's senior year highlights. When was the last time you saw Martinez trust a WR to win 1-1? Did you expect JD to win if he was covered? Wandale?
To me the end game is changing slightly, but what they feel they need to get there is changing more. You aren't seeing as many short slot guys and seeing size taking a bigger emphasis.
"I do wonder what our offensive identity is in year 4. Especially concerning when we hired a young offensive genius.
what few plays can we hang our hat on to get 3-5 yards?"
I'll say that we want to be a downhill run team from spread. No I don't think he will be fine with 3-5yds a carry. Once you add QB run game and rpo's you really need to have more explosive plays involved.
"What's funny about that highlight package is Adrian was doing some of the same "bad things" he did as a Sophomore and a Junior. He would throw off balance. He would throw low, he would throw off his back foot. He even had two big completions into double coverage.
What's the difference?
The pass catchers were better. I do think he was lighter and a little more fleet of foot, but for the most part, his pass game execution worked because Morgan, JD, and Mo were better.
Imagine what Nebraska could be if they could play competent defense, run the ball better between the tackles, and had athletes who could force the whole defense to defend the whole field.
I believe all that will come into fruition in 2021 and Nebraska will be much more competent offensively."
I'm cautiously optimistic that this will happen. RB, OG and WRs gelling with QB are my concerns and in that order.
If we get the RB run game taken care of I'm pretty confident we will be very happy with the offense.
I was told that this offense could be a top 3 in the conference.
Listen it isn't a talent issue anymore. We have more talent than any team in the west and I would say only Ohio state, Penn state and maybe Michigan.
This year good or bad will be on the coaches.
"In order for this running game to work out of this offense, the offensive tackles need to be freaks in the run game with lateral quickness and the ability to effectively pull moreso than most offenses. On top of that, they also need to still need to execute effective pass pro.
But the bigger issue is becoming more physical on the perimeter in both the passing game so you can out physical a DB, highpoint a ball, and hit a dude in the mouth upfield to support Outside zone or a perimeter passing game to the running back.
Lubick apparently has been working hard with a lot of self study evaluation along with the opposing defenses in the Big Ten."
I agree with a lot of this.
"As someone who played LB, I would LOVE to see us get a receiving threat out of the back field again. Those wheel routes are tough to guard when mixed in and disguised well. Do we have a receiving back currently with half the receiving skills Maurice did? Could Nixon be that type of guy?"
"Absolutely.
The passing TD numbers of Nebraska football with Mo Washington and then after are like night day. Teams were absolutely fearful of his talent out of the the backfield.
Ervin caught a lot of passes in high school. Hopefully he can fill a role."
Sark said at his coaches clinic that a receiving threat from a RB spot is one of the most difficult things to defend.
It is a really good listen....
It is the reason I loved how they used Wandale last year. I also think Nixon isn't talked about near enough imo. He is bigger than Wandale and has a higher top gear than him. Wandale had great vision, balance and short area quickness. Wandale was fucking slow for size on top end speed. Remember when he was caught by a NW LB from behind?
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