What did we learn-Northwestern edition

[zoogs]

What a monster, monster game from Tommy today. He did have some truly baffling throws and I don't think we'll ever be rid of those -- but largely, he made smart decisions, and he made a lot of clutch completions.

Not to mention keying the run game. He was a hero out there tonight, and you get the sense things are coming together on this offense.

Also: was that a coming out party for Mikale Wilbon? Nice work!

Defensively: four sacks, two picks. Yeah, Northwestern got some yards, but a lot of offenses will do so. 13 points. The defense was never out of this fight, and for every play the 'Cats made, the Huskers were always a threat to knock 'em down again on the next one.

^ I love this picture. Looks like a dude who can throw a mean football.

 

[Andrew45]

What a monster, monster game from Tommy today. He did have some truly baffling throws and I don't think we'll ever be rid of those -- but largely, he made smart decisions, and he made a lot of clutch completions.

Not to mention keying the run game. He was a hero out there tonight, and you get the sense things are coming together on this offense.

Also: was that a coming out party for Mikale Wilbon? Nice work!

Defensively: four sacks, two picks. Yeah, Northwestern got some yards, but a lot of offenses will do so. 13 points. The defense was never out of this fight, and for every play the 'Cats made, the Huskers were always a threat to knock 'em down again on the next one.

^ I love this picture. Looks like a dude who can throw a mean football.

I feel like Tommy may have turned a corner, or our playcalling has, either way it looks great. I thought TA made good throws and good decisions for the most part. Even great QB's make a few bad throws a game, but this is the best QB play Nebraska has seen since before Martinez imo. There's never been any question about Tommy's raw arm ability, just decision making. And I'm so happy they gave Wilbon a few carries, and he looked impressive.

 

[Andrew45]

What a monster, monster game from Tommy today. He did have some truly baffling throws and I don't think we'll ever be rid of those -- but largely, he made smart decisions, and he made a lot of clutch completions.

Not to mention keying the run game. He was a hero out there tonight, and you get the sense things are coming together on this offense.

Also: was that a coming out party for Mikale Wilbon? Nice work!

Defensively: four sacks, two picks. Yeah, Northwestern got some yards, but a lot of offenses will do so. 13 points. The defense was never out of this fight, and for every play the 'Cats made, the Huskers were always a threat to knock 'em down again on the next one.

^ I love this picture. Looks like a dude who can throw a mean football.

I feel like Tommy may have turned a corner, or our playcalling has, either way it looks great. I thought TA made good throws and good decisions for the most part. Even great QB's make a few bad throws a game, but this is the best QB play Nebraska has seen since before Martinez imo. There's never been any question about Tommy's raw arm ability, just decision making. And I'm so happy they gave Wilbon a few carries, and he looked impressive. Did think our D was a little shaky against a one dimensional offense, a few bad throws bailed us out. I think with Maurice and Stolty in there we looked solid up front, without them we looked very average at best. But you ard right, teams will put up points from now on. As long as Tommy and langs have this current flow going, I like our chances up until Ohio State. And holy sh#t, I want to like Utter but he can't snap the ball out of shotgun, it was just brutal. At some point they are going to have to bench him, captain or not.

 

[Danny Bateman]

What a monster, monster game from Tommy today. He did have some truly baffling throws and I don't think we'll ever be rid of those -- but largely, he made smart decisions, and he made a lot of clutch completions.

Not to mention keying the run game. He was a hero out there tonight, and you get the sense things are coming together on this offense.

Also: was that a coming out party for Mikale Wilbon? Nice work!

Defensively: four sacks, two picks. Yeah, Northwestern got some yards, but a lot of offenses will do so. 13 points. The defense was never out of this fight, and for every play the 'Cats made, the Huskers were always a threat to knock 'em down again on the next one.

^ I love this picture. Looks like a dude who can throw a mean football.

I feel like Tommy may have turned a corner, or our playcalling has, either way it looks great. I thought TA made good throws and good decisions for the most part. Even great QB's make a few bad throws a game, but this is the best QB play Nebraska has seen since before Martinez imo. There's never been any question about Tommy's raw arm ability, just decision making. And I'm so happy they gave Wilbon a few carries, and he looked impressive.

Agree on both counts.

Was just saying to the GF tonight: Remember how PO'd people were last year when it was announced Riley was the HC and not someone like Tressel or Herman? And how we were all up in arms after the awful start to the season last year and things not really getting all that much better?

Really glad we gave it a year. Maybe what we're seeing now is the result of TA having a full year and offseason to be coached up by Riles. If so, he's made a marked improvement in TA's quarterbacking. He looked really amazing on the ground, too. He was gashing them with the keeper, knew when to get down (and how to do it safely), and and of course had a couple highlight reel scampers. Of course, I'm most impressed with his improvement with his arm. He's just playing a lot smarter this year... and we're catching breaks when he doesn't.

Wilbon looked very capable as well. That long run of his had some ankle-breaking cuts in it.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Juat got done with DVR. Nick Gates. Bad man. Count out.

 

[Elf]

We left a pair of touchdowns on the field today and had way to many 15 yard penalties but we overcame the mistakes and the outcome was never really in doubt.

And we learned that next year the B1G announcers will have to say, 4 out of the last 6 years...

 

[theknife]

-Nice to see Wilbon show what all the spring and fall hype was about. Even nicer to know we have 4 RBs on the roster who can compete and the coaches aren't afraid to go with the hot hand.

-Probably the most effective use of Armstrong to date. He had a couple WTF throws, but he also hit a couple check downs, threw the ball away when no one was home, and ran like a man possessed.

-We need to get the ball to Cethan Carter more often and have been doing so. Hopefully he continues to become more prominent in this offense.

-The Dline still leaves a lot to be desired. I like the DT tackles in this recruiting class, but don't think a JUCO DE would be a bad idea to line up next to Freedom next year.

-LBs continue to be the best part of the defense, but the secondary is generally solid as well.

-Bruce Reed continues to feel like an overpaid slouch.

-

 

[Xmas32]

Our D-line has to get better but I'm not sure we have the guys on the team right now for that to happen. We're going to have a rough time against Wisconsin and Ohio State because we can't get any QB pressure without a blitz.

Otherwise, pretty good game except for the fumbles.

find me tape of teams that routinely get pressure with 4. Go ahead. Illwait.
This obsession is so misplaced. Not just you. But i see it all the time. And its not just here. First of all. Its 5 on 4. Sometimes 6 on 4. So getting pressure with 4 isnt supposed to happen anyway.

Our defense was solid tonight. With everythinv that went on. And in the 4th, it was the DEFENSE that closed this game out. Ppl better realize that. 13 points folks. Not 35. Team willgain yards. Teams will move the ball. Watch some football outside Nebraska and the desire for 18 sacks and 0 ppg week in week out.

+1 to you sir. Wholeheartedly agree. There is one, maybe two or three teams I can think of that can routinely get pressure on the QB with 4 guys. One is Alabama. The other two are in the NFL. Our DL isn't quite in that category. And yes, that is some heavy sarcasm.

 

[KCBuc]

The Dline is athletically challenged with the exception of Collins. The other DT is young. It's rare NU's DE beats his guy and makes a play on the QB. They simply do not have the speed to win the matchups on throwing downs. I see DE's for other teams push the pocket in college and not get stonewalled. I imagine I will see it with better talent from NU.

I think the problem is a result of poor recruiting from the previous staff. A quality JUCO would be a welcome addition next year.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

The Dline is athletically challenged with the exception of Collins. The other DT is young. It's rare NU's DE beats his guy and makes a play on the QB. They simply do not have the speed to win the matchups on throwing downs. I see DE's for other teams push the pocket in college and not get stonewalled. I imagine I will see it with better talent from NU.

I think the problem is a result of poor recruiting from the previous staff. A quality JUCO would be a welcome addition next year.

Collins is now playing for the Cowboys.

 

[stargazer]

DPE still seems a little timid taking punts... can hear fans growing more discontent with each fair catch (it was ironic to see that big return last week, on the ONE catch, he probably should have fair caught).

 

[Count 'Bility]

The Dline is athletically challenged with the exception of Collins. The other DT is young. It's rare NU's DE beats his guy and makes a play on the QB. They simply do not have the speed to win the matchups on throwing downs. I see DE's for other teams push the pocket in college and not get stonewalled. I imagine I will see it with better talent from NU.

I think the problem is a result of poor recruiting from the previous staff. A quality JUCO would be a welcome addition next year.

but do these other teams routinely get the pressure from 4? This is where reading comes in. Its a critical part. I didnt say that getting pressure with 4 is impossible. Or that it doesnt happen. I said that it doesnt happen routinely. Unless you have that elite NFL ready pass rusher, which less than a handful of teams do. But there are so many dynamics at play that have slowed pass rushing since the days of Wisrom Tomich Harris Jones Alberts Hill flying upfield collapsing pockets. QBs have become light years more athletic and rogue pass rushing is a thing of the past in college football. If you wanna be good. Lots of attention put on spacin and rush lanes over just simply getting there. The qb run element and quick playactions utilizing pulling pass pros that play havoc with secondary keys. Hot reads and option routes much more utilized. Its just a lot harder to do. And, like i said earlier. Its 5 on 4. Sometimes 6. So its never gonna be just easy peasy unless its some ungodly mismatch.
Now. Do i wamt better? Yes. Of course. Never be satisfied. But my point is, the 4 man pass rush always seems to be low hanging fruit.

 

[AFhusker]

The Dline is athletically challenged with the exception of Collins. The other DT is young. It's rare NU's DE beats his guy and makes a play on the QB. They simply do not have the speed to win the matchups on throwing downs. I see DE's for other teams push the pocket in college and not get stonewalled. I imagine I will see it with better talent from NU.

I think the problem is a result of poor recruiting from the previous staff. A quality JUCO would be a welcome addition next year.

but do these other teams routinely get the pressure from 4? This is where reading comes in. Its a critical part. I didnt say that getting pressure with 4 is impossible. Or that it doesnt happen. I said that it doesnt happen routinely. Unless you have that elite NFL ready pass rusher, which less than a handful of teams do. But there are so many dynamics at play that have slowed pass rushing since the days of Wisrom Tomich Harris Jones Alberts Hill flying upfield collapsing pockets. QBs have become light years more athletic and rogue pass rushing is a thing of the past in college football. If you wanna be good. Lots of attention put on spacin and rush lanes over just simply getting there. The qb run element and quick playactions utilizing pulling pass pros that play havoc with secondary keys. Its just a lot harder to do.
Now. Do i wamt better? Yes. Of course. Never be satisfied. But my point is, the 4 man pass rush always seems to be low hanging fruit.

The talent level could always be upgraded at any position. IMO the main issue with our DL is quality depth as we don't have much if any to keep guys fresh.

 

[KCBuc]

I was merely pointing out the lack of impact that our DEs make on a continual basis.

Try not to be a douche when you have an opinion.

The Dline is athletically challenged with the exception of Collins. The other DT is young. It's rare NU's DE beats his guy and makes a play on the QB. They simply do not have the speed to win the matchups on throwing downs. I see DE's for other teams push the pocket in college and not get stonewalled. I imagine I will see it with better talent from NU.

I think the problem is a result of poor recruiting from the previous staff. A quality JUCO would be a welcome addition next year.

but do these other teams routinely get the pressure from 4? This is where reading comes in. Its a critical part. I didnt say that getting pressure with 4 is impossible. Or that it doesnt happen. I said that it doesnt happen routinely. Unless you have that elite NFL ready pass rusher, which less than a handful of teams do. But there are so many dynamics at play that have slowed pass rushing since the days of Wisrom Tomich Harris Jones Alberts Hill flying upfield collapsing pockets. QBs have become light years more athletic and rogue pass rushing is a thing of the past in college football. If you wanna be good. Lots of attention put on spacin and rush lanes over just simply getting there. The qb run element and quick playactions utilizing pulling pass pros that play havoc with secondary keys. Hot reads and option routes much more utilized. Its just a lot harder to do. And, like i said earlier. Its 5 on 4. Sometimes 6. So its never gonna be just easy peasy unless its some ungodly mismatch.

Now. Do i wamt better? Yes. Of course. Never be satisfied. But my point is, the 4 man pass rush always seems to be low hanging fruit.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Tommy can fake a pass and hand off the ball at the same time.

We left 14 points on the field, which normally against Northwestern means a loss, but they overcame their mistakes and won by 11.

The defense didn't seem as sharp tonight as they have other weeks, but they stepped up when it mattered most (3rd and 4th downs).

I have confidence that our offense can make plays when called upon.

Mike Riley going for it on 4th down on our 30? Loved it.