Armstrong Leading the QB Race

Husker_x said:
Dr. Strangelove said:
BigRedBuster said:
Dr. Strangelove said:
Just based on the tweets, we still have a QB game that is a liability and not an asset at this point. We need to lean on the run and hope for some Connor Cook like improvement as the season goes on.
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Pardon my stubbornness but, I'm not going to take the word of a couple outside reporters that watched one day of practice when they were working on 3rd down plays to decide if our passing game sucks.
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Right, forget the 8 starts from last year. Need a better sample size before we jump to conclusions.
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Sarcastic or not, that's exactly right. We do need a bigger sample size because the sample we have is muddled by a whole lot of external factors.

Starting a week from Saturday we're going to see an offense that's (hopefully) built around TA's skill set and that he has actually prepared for a full offseason to run. Ideally this version of the offense will not rely on a dropback passer slinging it around fifty times a game. Tommy's prowess throwing the ball had better not be the difference between a good season and a season that goes into the toilet, or we are likely looking at a season about to go into the toilet.

Give me a QB who is neither a liability nor an asset. Abdullah, Cross, Bell, Newby, Turner, etc. are the assets. Lean on them and watch Tommy grow into his role. Hopefully by season's end he's opened some eyes.
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I don't agree with the statement that we can win the conference with a QB who's just a 'game manager'. Unfortunately with the schedules of Iowa and Wisconsin, we have no room for error this season. We have to develop a QB who is an asset in order to win the division and conference.

Now, I would say if our offensive identity has been option oriented for several seasons, and something we've recruited specifically for, I might agree with you. But moving to a option offense (or not sticking with any identity on offense) on the fly during one season and through fall camp is not ideal.

 
I think a game manager would fit the bill fine for this year. I'd love to have a game-changer at that position but someone who gets us in the right plays, completes a good percentage of passes and doesn't turn it over will go a long ways.

 
Dr. Strangelove said:
Husker_x said:
Dr. Strangelove said:
BigRedBuster said:
Dr. Strangelove said:
Just based on the tweets, we still have a QB game that is a liability and not an asset at this point. We need to lean on the run and hope for some Connor Cook like improvement as the season goes on.
Click to expand...
Pardon my stubbornness but, I'm not going to take the word of a couple outside reporters that watched one day of practice when they were working on 3rd down plays to decide if our passing game sucks.
Click to expand...
Right, forget the 8 starts from last year. Need a better sample size before we jump to conclusions.
Click to expand...
Sarcastic or not, that's exactly right. We do need a bigger sample size because the sample we have is muddled by a whole lot of external factors.

Starting a week from Saturday we're going to see an offense that's (hopefully) built around TA's skill set and that he has actually prepared for a full offseason to run. Ideally this version of the offense will not rely on a dropback passer slinging it around fifty times a game. Tommy's prowess throwing the ball had better not be the difference between a good season and a season that goes into the toilet, or we are likely looking at a season about to go into the toilet.

Give me a QB who is neither a liability nor an asset. Abdullah, Cross, Bell, Newby, Turner, etc. are the assets. Lean on them and watch Tommy grow into his role. Hopefully by season's end he's opened some eyes.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with the statement that we can win the conference with a QB who's just a 'game manager'. Unfortunately with the schedules of Iowa and Wisconsin, we have no room for error this season. We have to develop a QB who is an asset in order to win the division and conference.

Now, I would say if our offensive identity has been option oriented for several seasons, and something we've recruited specifically for, I might agree with you. But moving to a option offense (or not sticking with any identity on offense) on the fly during one season and through fall camp is not ideal.
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I think there were times he was a asset last year (Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, SDSU), and times he was more of a liability (Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State). You can even look closer at each game and find times where he did some good things, and then some not-so-good things. The idea is to limit the situations he's a liability, and he'll inherently become more of an asset. Tim Beck has a huge hand in this equation.

 
Mavric said:
I think a game manager would fit the bill fine for this year. I'd love to have a game-changer at that position but someone who gets us in the right plays, completes a good percentage of passes and doesn't turn it over will go a long ways.
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Exactly. I think a game changer comes along once every 15-20 years. When you look across college football, you aren't going to count more than 10 or so "game changers". It's would be ridiculous to think we're going to be on that list every year. Nebraska needs to find a way to consistently ride a game-manager to 10+ wins. That means correctly utilizing their skill set, putting them in high percentage situations, and distributing to your playmakers.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
A lot of what we're describing as our dream offense is actually the West Coast Offense.

The WCO was never a pass-happy offense and the playbook didn't have to be huge. It was a way to use all your offensive threats in high-percentage executions, making it hard for a defense to clamp down on anything. It never hurt to be Joe Montana or Brett Favre, but several thousand of their yards came on short outlet passes to wide open receivers, often the RB or fullback who just slipped out of a block, or tight ends waiting safely on the sideline. They ran first, but they were never afraid to pass. When defenses committed to stopping the run -- which they often did -- the passing game could maintain sustained drives with a dink & dunk. A lot of the long bombs we see in football are the result of a wide receiver lobbying the quarterback, because he's consistently beating his man deep.
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I mentioned this a couple weeks ago. The WCO is simple (despite Husker lore), a dozen or so pass plays and a handful of running plays run out of different formations. You spread a defense with the horizontal passing (which we do plenty of now). I don't want to see us substituting run plays for pass plays though. I think Marlon Lucky had a hell of a lot more skill than he was able to show at NU. It's why he's on the career receptions charts, and not the career rushing charts. Also, the timing thing between QB and WR is always going to be tough to master at this level. It almost requires a junior/senior QB and seasoned WRs. That's why Taylor and Ganz worked so well in it. Get someone like Armstrong playing in that offense last year and we would have really struggled.

 
StPaulHusker said:
Mavric said:
Brian Christopherson ‏@HuskerExtraBC 2m
Bo said there is no plan to have Fyfe come in a certain series like NU did last year with QBs. Armstrong starts. Game dictates from there.
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While it's nice to hear Fyfe's name get thrown around, it is equally disappointing not hearing Stanton's name.
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I am not sure I agree. If he was a RSSoph/Jr I think I'd be worried. We have to remember Stanton is RSFR who: played in a option/wishbone offense in HS with minimal passing and missed his senior season/first spring here and some of the summer with a ACL tear.

 
Warrior10 said:
StPaulHusker said:
Mavric said:
Brian Christopherson ‏@HuskerExtraBC 2m
Bo said there is no plan to have Fyfe come in a certain series like NU did last year with QBs. Armstrong starts. Game dictates from there.
Click to expand...
While it's nice to hear Fyfe's name get thrown around, it is equally disappointing not hearing Stanton's name.
Click to expand...
I am not sure I agree. If he was a RSSoph/Jr I think I'd be worried. We have to remember Stanton is RSFR who: played in a option/wishbone offense in HS with minimal passing and missed his senior season/first spring here and some of the summer with a ACL tear.
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Sure. He is battling through some things. I was just hoping he would have overcome them and killed it this year.

 
Everything I've heard about Johnny is that when he's on, he's a gamechanger.

Trouble is he's off more often than not. He'll keep growing and finding consistency and knowledge and those moments of getting it will be more frequent.

 
StPaulHusker said:
Warrior10 said:
StPaulHusker said:
Mavric said:
Brian Christopherson ‏@HuskerExtraBC 2m
Bo said there is no plan to have Fyfe come in a certain series like NU did last year with QBs. Armstrong starts. Game dictates from there.
Click to expand...
While it's nice to hear Fyfe's name get thrown around, it is equally disappointing not hearing Stanton's name.
Click to expand...
I am not sure I agree. If he was a RSSoph/Jr I think I'd be worried. We have to remember Stanton is RSFR who: played in a option/wishbone offense in HS with minimal passing and missed his senior season/first spring here and some of the summer with a ACL tear.
Click to expand...
Sure. He is battling through some things. I was just hoping he would have overcome them and killed it this year.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, I can agree with that. I have seen some reporters say they expect a huge jump from him between now and this time next year.

 
Warrior10 said:
StPaulHusker said:
Warrior10 said:
StPaulHusker said:
Mavric said:
Brian Christopherson ‏@HuskerExtraBC 2m
Bo said there is no plan to have Fyfe come in a certain series like NU did last year with QBs. Armstrong starts. Game dictates from there.
Click to expand...
While it's nice to hear Fyfe's name get thrown around, it is equally disappointing not hearing Stanton's name.
Click to expand...
I am not sure I agree. If he was a RSSoph/Jr I think I'd be worried. We have to remember Stanton is RSFR who: played in a option/wishbone offense in HS with minimal passing and missed his senior season/first spring here and some of the summer with a ACL tear.
Click to expand...
Sure. He is battling through some things. I was just hoping he would have overcome them and killed it this year.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, I can agree with that. I have seen some reporters say they expect a huge jump from him between now and this time next year.
Click to expand...
Hope so.

 
Planning for success: Big Ten

LINCOLN, Neb. -- When Tommy Armstrong Jr. took over the job as starting quarterback four games into last season, his Nebraska teammates found him in quiet moments and offered encouragement.
You were made for this, they told him. We wouldn't want anyone else back there.

As Armstrong, now a 20-year-old sophomore, prepares to start on Saturday at home against Florida Atlantic, the roles have reversed after an offseason of transformation for the quarterback.

"He talks more," senior I-back Ameer Abdullah said. "He talks a lot now. He actually talks too much."

Armstrong went 7-1 as a starter last season. Still, his inexperience showed. Backup Ron Kellogg III saved Armstrong with a Hail Mary to beat Northwestern and replaced him early in Nebraska's win at Penn State. Armstrong struggled to find consistency, completing 51.9 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.

But he created a foundation. Over the past eight months, Armstrong has continued to build upon a solid finish to his rookie year -- a Gator Bowl victory over Georgia -- by developing into a trusted leader of the Nebraska offense, according to coaches and teammates.
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I didn't look but who ever wrote that article forgot to mention that RKIII often replaced him at the worst times and I think Bo when asked if he is planning packages for Fyfe in every game he quickly stated that they are not afraid of playing him at any time or Stanton for that matter, but they wont be making a change just to make a change.

I liked hearing this because the majority of the time it hurt us more than it helped us. And, I think this is what he indirectly was saying.

 
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