Is this the week Green makes it impossible to keep him off field?
19 comments so far
October 29, 2009 by
I yearn for Cody Green to see the field for the same reason most of you do: Potential. It comes in a lot of different forms. There's his four-star potential, the potential that he'll give the offense a spark, the potential that the best-suited quarterback for the "West Spread" offense is standing a few feet away from the coaches, the potential that the offense will rally around a young kid who might need to rely on his teammates a little more than the experienced guy, the potential that his instinctual "just play football" reactions might be risky but just what this overly cautious offense needs.
All of those seem like very good reasons to give Green a chance simply because he's different than what we've seen so far and, in this case, different doesn't have much of a chance to be any worse.
But we learned a good deal about the Cody Green timetable this week: He'll get on the field when they can no longer afford to keep him off it. I think that time is this week.
Barring the confirmation of bad news--injuries, suspensions, dismissals--we rarely learn anything of note from Nebraska's weekly press conference. But this week there were some interesting quotes from Green, none more so than this one: "If you want spots, go take them."
That was Cody Green reciting what the coaches told the team this week. We can reasonably assume this was always the case, but losing, especially as a prohibitive favorite, serves as a panic button. We've already heard about some changes at wide receiver and you can be sure that Tray Robinson earned himself some more carries with his performance last Saturday, but none of it seems to matter in the face of the ongoing quarterback battle.
For a lot of Husker fans change for change's sake has been enough of a reason to put Green in at quarterback. I've felt that way myself frequently, but that approach seems rooted in some sort of presumed stubbornness on the part of the coaching staff. When I look at the situation with clear eyes, I just can't see the Nebraska staff, or any staff, not giving themselves the best opportunity to win week in and week out. We don't get to, or have to, make that decision. They do. Their job security is predicated on it.
We're also all well aware of the dangers in playing a true freshman quarterback. It's never your ideal situation but losing to Iowa State at home, with all due respect, isn't either. For the past two weeks, a lot of Nebraska fans have considered those risks and decided that they're worth taking. The coaches, who actually see practice, have not and it's created the one situation you never want to see your football team face: a quarterback controversy. It gets ugly in a hurry. The coaches will make their decision based on what they see and the rest of us are left to opine on what we see.
What's generally been lost in that sort of back and forth is that the true wild card in the equation is Cody Green himself. Kevin Kugler read an interesting quote from Green regarding the zone read aspects of the Nebraska offense yesterday on 1620 the Zone (audio link):
"I sit and just itch because that's what I've been brought up to do all through high school. That's really why I'm here. That's why I had close to 2000 yards rushing and, really, 3000 yards passing too because we threw bubble screens off that play too. We're really starting to turn to that and it's really starting to drive me crazy because I really want to get in there and run and show people what I do."
Their question based off those comments was "Is this a quarterback publicly auditioning for the job?" I think it is but, even more importantly, it sounds to me like a quarterback willing and ready to take the job. Green went on to say that he essentially was told to be ready to play last week by the coaches. Then he didn't. Given the way the game went, do you think that isn't frustrating for a player of his caliber?
You start to get the sense that Cody Green really thinks he's the best quarterback for this offense and not just in the usual "I am athlete, hear my confidence" sort of way. I think he sees an offense that he knows he can run. I know he sees the offense he came to Nebraska to run. I have no doubt that he sees an offense that he knows isn't running as effectively as it could.
Now the onus is on him. Bo Pelini after the ISU loss and again on Tuesday emphasized the possibility for significant changes in personnel this week. The one person who can get Cody Green on the field is Cody Green. Not Zac Lee. Not Shawn Watson. Not Bo Pelini. Green.
We haven't heard him speak very much this season, but Green doesn't seem like the sort of guy who is big into lip service. That's why I think you'll see him out there this Saturday.
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tom Oct 29 09
His comments have been those of a starting quarterback. He's acting like he's already got the job, which is half the battle. If he doesn't play this week, I will be shocked. Still not sure if the coaches want to start him, though. They're like a closed book. Like a closed book padlocked in a trunk and thrown in the river.
Glenn Baker Oct 29 09
I think every Big Red fan wants to see Green start this Saturday. He ran the spread offense in one of the biggest high school conferences in Texas. He has all the tools to become a great quarterback. Watching Lee last week try to run the spread was painful. He is not suited for that type of offense but I am not the coach and only a fan that wants the Husker's to score touchdowns. I still trust in the coaching staff to do what they feel is right.
Chris Oct 29 09
I think it is time to make the switch. What sold me was being at the game last week. I don't remember which turnover, go figure, but I think it was Robinson's fumble that I saw the leader of the Nebraska offense, Zac Lee, go walk clear to the south end of the bench. I found that to be very disappointing when the starting quarterback went and sat by himself and away from the rest of his teammates. He wasn't even really watching the game at that point. I guess it made me think it was time to give Green a chance then and there, but it didn't happen. I really hope everyone is right and the young man gets his chance this week. What this offense needs right now is a leader with confidence. Does Green have it? I don't know, but I know the current starter seems to lack it.
WyHuskerFan Oct 29 09
The demeanor of Lee is disappointing. He's all high fives when they score and strangely distant when things go poorly. I've yet to see him going up and down the bench trying to rally his offense like I've seen other Husker QBs do for decades. I don't know how one becomes a starting QB at the D1 level without being an effective leader. He certainly can't claim he leads by example, or maybe he has! Whatever Zach's upside is it hasn't produced wins which is the bottom line. We need a fiery passionate leader to get this team back on track. I hope they give Cody a shot in the first half. If he doesn't produce Zach will have the opportunity to win it and shut up his critics. At this point I really don't care who or how they get it done. Just do it. GBR!
Matt Oct 29 09
I've said before that my only concern with Green is that side-arm delivery of his. It's going to lead to more than the usual amount of tipped/batted balls at the line.
Otherwise, I say let 'er rip. Can't do worse than last week...
PSW Oct 29 09
I've been a PIG for a couple of weeks now. Confounded that he didn't see the field against ISU. He sounds like he is chomping at the bit to get this team on track. That's what a leader does. Zac still feels like the whole state of Nebraska is against him. He didn't exactly give us any reason to think he is the 'guy' to get it done. I honestly don't like the fact that this is falling on Green's freshman shoulders but that is the situation. This team needs to step up this week and get this back on track. I think Green gives them the best shot. Let's hope we get to find out.
James Moore Oct 29 09
Sorry to all but this first part is not a football related post but I could not help but post this link. Could you imagine whatever did this looks like? Not doctored, but REAL. This thing is REALLY out there, somewhere. "I'll find him 3. But I'll catch him, and kill him for 10. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/6442974/Tourists-in-Australia-warned-of-6m-monster-shark.html
As for Green, well the defense can carry him and he is the future. Might as well be now. If we're going to show spread principles then we should use someone with the tools to best run it. Outside of that, just get 11 people carrying out 11 assignments on each and every play. Do that and things will sort themselves out. We have a National Championship caliber defense this year, and probably next year too. We've got a chance to bring a guy up from freshman year to senior year. This is the perfect guy to start with. . .
OU7TIMES Oct 29 09
it does not matter who you cornboys start come nov 7 we will show you who the real big red is
love,
Captain spell check
OU7TIMES Oct 29 09
WOW you boys at BRN can't even get the score right on the last cornboy game i believe the score was 9-7 cyclones not 10-7 cyclones
Love,
Captain spell check
Brandon Oct 29 09
James,
Always feel free to leave shark related comments on my posts. That photo is unbelievable.
Word is the locals have taken to calling the monster shark "Big Mr. Suh."
scott Oct 29 09
Lee is not the reason we lost to ISU. Turnovers are the reason and they're defense created a lot of them.
I think it's garbage that most people think Green is our savior when all he's seen is scrub time against worse teams and worse subs. The coaches are trying to give the team the best chance to win now, not next year or two or three years from now. They're at practice everyday and we're not.
Why don't we focus on other positions that need more attention than at QB? Where is the write-up on the O-line? Receivers? Someone at BRN help me!
OU7TIMES Oct 29 09
Scott no one cares about the o-line or recievers the QB gets all the credit win the team wins and does well the QB gets all the blame when the team loses and struggles just the way it is
Love,
Captain spell check
OU7TIMES Oct 29 09
WOW captain spell check misspelled when unbelievable
Matt Oct 29 09
Scott's right. That right side of the O-Line is where we have the most problems out of anywhere on the offense, but we've seen nary a report on how Bo and Co. will fix that gaping hole.
Of course, having a QB that's a legitimate threat to run will help the O-Line somewhat, but it can only do so much.
tom Oct 29 09
Scott and Matt,
Every week in the post-mortem I have been pointing out one of two things: dropped passes by the receivers and penalties against the offensive line (false start, hold, etc). It's obvious something is not clicking with them, but we've only seen depth chart moves from Bo (like Khiry Cooper this week). That's how he communicates - by changing things on the field. We just have to try and interpret it. The lack of change when a position is suffering means that they're nobody else to cover someone who is not up to par.
tim Oct 29 09
i dont know if cody green should be starting it is an awful lot to ask a 18 year old kid to be the savior of a football team but i would love to see him get 10 or 12 plays a game
donfl Oct 30 09
To all those that think CG should be the QB, do a little what if? and ask what if he had been the QB in the I State game and the RB's and WR's turned the ball over like they did. Would you all be happy with the results. Zac Lee did not lose this game, it was the inept "skilled" players who when they did catch the ball fumbled it away. Have faith guys we can still be a great team. GBR
kw Oct 30 09
I don't think anyone is saying Lee lost last weeks game. But it's glaringly apparent that things aren't clicking. Sometimes getting some new blood in there can be that missing piece. I agree that Lee has not proved himself to be a leader. And if we're going to run a spread offense that requires the QB to run the ball occasionally, then Green obviously is the better option. What ever happened to the reports that Lee was a better runner than Ganz? I'm yet to see it. He runs tentativley and I don't think he likes contact. Lee's had his shot, now let Green have a try. What's the worse that could happen? 8 turnovers?
James Moore Oct 30 09
"What ever happened to the reports that Lee was a better runner than Ganz? I'm yet to see it. He runs tentativley and I don't think he likes contact."
Kw I was one of those people who thought so too and I have to say I was wrong. And your assessment is absolutely right. No question about it. . .