How to Reignite the Offense
10 comments so far
October 22, 2009 by
In some ways, it feels like the waning days of the Frank Solich era all over again. The offense struggles, the defense wears down, and the product on the field leaves fans unsatistied. That may be an unfair way to describe a Nebraska offense that is still in the top 25 in scoring offense, but it's probably an accurate description of how people felt watching Nebraska against Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, and for three quarters against Missouri. So how do the Huskers turn it around?
It's Not Just About Offense
First, take advantage of the opportunities created by the other units. The defense and special teams can create short fields against the opposition that create good scoring chances. That's how the Huskers exploded against Missouri and it's a great way to take the pressure off of the offense going forward. The Huskers failed to get a turnover against Texas Tech, but the special teams actually set NU pretty well in terms of field position.
Don't Do the Opposing Defense's Job For Them
Turnovers not only provide cheap scoring opportunities for your opponent, but they also assure a drive will end in zero points. The misplayed lateral against Texas Tech cost the Huskers at least 10 points (a very makeable field goal and a touchdown the other way). Then Cody Green's interception in the red zone cost at least another three points. Offensive penalties are drive killers as well. A 5-yard delay of game penalty on Cody Green put the Huskers in a 3rd and 15 that set up a failed 3rd down conversion. A holding penalty and false start moved the Huskers backwards from a first down on the Texas Tech 25 to where Alex Henery would left to attempt a 51-yard field goal (that he ultimately missed). A personal foul and false start ultimately killed a first and goal opportunity early in the fourth quarter, that NU failed to convert on 4th and 14. That's between 12 and 20 points the Huskers cost themselves with self-inflicted wounds (and another 7 they gave to the opposition). That means simply by eliminating the turnovers and penalties, the Huskers might have won by a 30-24 margin.
Get Rid of the Ball
If nothing else, the Huskers could have improved their field position by trading their 5 sacks for 5 incompletions. The negative yards (especially on early downs) set up more third and long situations. Sure, you can sometimes make a play by waiting an extra second, but more often, you'll come to regret it. Another piece to think about is whether it's really the end of the world to dump it off to a back short of the first down. Maybe if the defense were weaker you'd need to rely on the big play, but with a standout defense, a punt can be an offensive play in terms of the field position it can ultimately bring.
Remember the Tight End
The Huskers completed only three passes for fifteen yards to tight ends against Texas Tech. Against Virginia Tech, the tight ends caught only a single pass for four yards. Against Missouri, the tight ends caught only two passes for twelve yards. At a position of such obvious depth, why wouldn't you get these guys more involved in the passing game. In the other three games, the Huskers not only scored a lot more points, but they also managed an average of nearly six passes and 80 yards per game in production from the tight end position.
That's hardly the full extent of what the offense can do to get better, but it seems within the grasp of what the current roster can do to get more turnovers from the defense, avoid turnovers and penalties, get the ball out quickly, and look for the tight end. This is an offense that's averaged 32 points per game this season. You want to see at least 30 this week to feel like the offense isn't doomed to ineptitude for the remainder of the season.
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WyHuskerFan Oct 22 09
Huskers remain consistent in one area; unforced errors. It's a sad state of affairs when we're still cussing and discussing dumb drive stopping penalties in the 20th game of the Pelini era. It was one of the areas I thought they would really cleanup after last year and its the one area that could turnaround this offensive without any change in scheme or personnel. For something that seem so simple, it's mind boggling how it continues to be the Achilles heel of this team. GBR!
PSW Oct 22 09
Great points Steve. Think Beamer ball. Play close to the vest and win the field position battle. With this defense we'll win our fair share this year. I could not agree more about the tight ends! For a unit that is considered one of the best in the Big XII and possibly in the country I am completely stupefied at their lack of production and lack of use. These guys create mismatches with linebackers and can either sit in a zone as a big checkdown target or stretch the middle of the field. Find a way to use them!
Señor Negron Oct 22 09
It looks like you placing blame on Mr. Green.
Dustin Oct 22 09
A call to arms to all Husker fans:
Many of you have probably been following the Fan Heisman vote on espn.com. In spite of having 35% of the vote at the time, after Texas Tech Suh was dropped from the ballot. Be sure to keep writting his name in and voting! You all get one vote per day. He's loosing ground to Tebow and Ingram, so vote early, vote often. Be sure to spell it right. (Ndamukong Suh)
Dustin Oct 22 09
Keep in mind the winner of this gets an actual vote. He may not have a chance of winning, but we need to do all we can to get him an invite.
Matt Oct 22 09
One thing I had concerns with regarding this team and playcalling was the lack of involvement (other than blocking) by the tight ends, so I'm glad to see that Steve included that as one of his points.
Frankly, I think our best receivers are in the Tight End corps, and we would be wise to utilize them early and often to free up the wide receivers and running game. Why we haven't is beyond me.
Mind you, you're not going to win National Championships with a Tight End as your best receiver (or a NFL playoff game if you're the Dallas Cowboys ;) ), but you can win a conference championship in Div-1A that way. :)
Dwayne Oct 22 09
Here's a simple solution: Get your head in the game.
willy Oct 22 09
We are not very good offensively, no consistent receivers, no consistent offensive line and no consistent QB. You can't win with a HB and defense alone. We do have great tight ends but we don't use them oddly.
Huskerdeck Oct 22 09
Loved this article, especially the "Don't Do the Opposing Defense's Job For Them" part, I think this has hurt us more than anything. On the Big Red Wrap Up I watch that backward pass to Paul and just can't understand how he could not realize since he was standing behind Zac that it was backward and not get on it. This is stuff that you learn in Junior High football. This ole dinosaur still believes that today's players are bigger, stronger, faster, but in many respects they play dumber than the players of my era. Especially with the bonehead penalities.
Greg Morrow Oct 22 09
It's simply the difference of playing teams of equal and more talent with more coaching experience in their systems.
At least with Solich's offense, you saw the hammer and chisel on an opponent and you could anticipate the possibility of seeing their defense shatter into glass shards. That was the idea, anyway. Though limited, the system was genuinely aggressive and kept the entire team in physical mode.
"Soft" didn't hardly enter into the conversation.
Projecting out, I have no doubt the functioning of the offense will improve, since it always does later in the season and I highly doubt Green beats out Lee this year.
Projecting out further, I've held the view that this offense has two losses built in. Say, for example, Nebraska bridges and exceeds the coaching and athletic talent level of everybody except Bevo and Okie. The offense will still absolutely meet it's match at the top ten level, by the time of conference championships and BCS level bowl opponents.
On the other hand, if the offense soon evolves the way I anticipated it would the day before Solich got fired, you'll have and identity aggressive runs and play action calls. Overall, an offense run at a slightly quicker pace, with slightly fewer reads and of course, slightly simpler plays to run.
Guys like Green can make that happen, by '11, anyway.
Next year, I'd still prefer a 5th year guy, if this is still the exact offense run. You're still trying to win the games and it's pretty obvious what a Senior can do with it.