Return to Dominance?
5 comments so far
March 27, 2007 by
Nebraska had one of the better offenses in 2006, but some of the work got done with smoke and mirrors. The Huskers were middle of the Big 12 pack in terms of yards per carry and gave up a sack for every eleven pass attempts (putting them near the bottom of the conference).
So how did Nebraska score points? With daring and deception. The Huskers ran trick plays and went for it on fourth down more than most teams. A far cry from having a strong identity and daring opponents to stop what you do well.
Many remember the story of Toniu Fonoti starting as a true freshman. When he didn't know what to do on a particular play, center Dominic Raiola would simply point to an opponent and say, "block him". The opponent then usually went wide-eyed right before getting knocked over.
But since Fonoti (Nebraska's last All-American offensive lineman) graduated, the Huskers have not had the luxury of being that predictable. Only against the weakest opponents has Nebraska been able to plow straight ahead without some deception.
The present array of starters on the offensive line don't exactly scream "All-American" just yet. Lydon Murtha has the pedigree but as of last year still hadn't learned to play within the rules. Slauson seems a good fit for guard but you'd imagine he's at least a year away from having All-American hopes. Carl Nicks has got upside but still has a lot to learn.
The longer term future looks a bit better with youngsters like D.J. Jones and Jaivorio Burkes in the mix. 2008 commits Dan Hoch and Baker Steinkuhler might also have All-American type potential. But that's still some years away. In 2007, Nebraska appears to have some potential for improvement up front, but outright dominance? Probably not.
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Tyler Hughes Mar 27 07
Kudos for going into the vault and posting a picture of Toniu. Unless I'm just buying into preseason hype, I think Carl Nicks become an All-American this year. He's got the size and strength and with DWag's tutelage, he's got a great shot.
darren Mar 27 07
Steve,
I agree with the prediction of "improvement but not dominance", in general. More than one player in the starting unit has the *potential* to be all-league.
I do think they have as good a starting group of linemen as they have had since 2001. The question is about depth, I think. Huff and Hickman must get healthy at guard. And Jones or Haines must step up to create depth at tackle.
IF that happens, they can spell the starters and we'll see even greater improvement.
Steve Mar 27 07
Tyler,
Where I temper my expectations of Nicks is that they didn't move him to the right side until Chris Patrick left. That tells me they thought Patrick was better than Nicks. And I don't think anyone saw Patrick as an All-American candidate.
Darren,
Agreed about the depth. One of the major things the 1994 Husker offensive line had going for it was that they had most of the 1995 line sitting behind them whenever they needed a breather.
I also agree that this is the best the offensive line has looked in a while. It's a good bet that there will be better ones in the Big 12 though. But at least the worst seems behind us.
Brad Mar 27 07
I'm excited about this line. Compared to the last few seasons, it has A LOT more depth and talent. Keith Williams and DJ Jones have a ton of potential, and we have some more great line recruits coming in.
This won't be 1995's line, but it will be good. I'm just happy that things seem to be heading back in the right direction.
Gregory Mar 27 07
Like every other position grouping, a 4th year in the new "culture", will allow for improvement because of the precision that experience brings. The overall timing will be closer to what Callahan wants- something that he'd love to showcase with his system.
Quickness, rhythm, tempo, confidence with assighnments.
I think all position groupings on offense will have improved in those areas- creating precision, creating consistency.