texas game thoughts (blah, blah, blah)
Scott Lawson
This game was the time bomb waiting to explode all year, and
boy did it explode.
The coaches seem to believe this team can run the ball in any situation
despite the results that often prove otherwise. Teams will be able to load
up against the run and not worry about a quarterback who often makes
worse decisions than my 3 year old nephew.
Before anyone else jumps on me for criticizing the players, understand that
I too would root for Nebraska no matter what, but that doesn't mean I can't
state my opinions as to what I believe are glaring weaknesses in the
offensive
philosophy of this program. When you have 3 All Americans on the offensive
line (in 94?) you can run on just about anyone. When you have good but not
great players on the line, you will be exposed when it counts. That's just
the
way football works, always has and always will.
I don't want to hear any talk of work ethics and "this kid has potential"-
that's
fine for the World Herald pre-game section, but if the players can't get it
done
up front, forget it. Hopefully KSU will be down for the game coming up, but
if
they do their homework and show up, that game will be an even bigger blowout
than this one was. I can imagine defenses that line up against us going back
to the
huddle just in disbelief that we continue to run fullback isos and options
on 3rd
and 12, and get 3 yards. It seemed like 4 or 5 Texas defenders were
collapsing
the pocket on every single pass play run in this game, usually unblocked.
As for the quarterback, he simply is a running back who lines up behind
center.
I don't care if he is on this list, there is nothing degrading about saying
that, in fact
he may even be able to make a career out of it in Canada. But in terms of
moving
an offense, he is simply not the person to get it done. What is probably
most
frustrating of all is when he makes 5 bad decisions in a row and then throws
a
perfect strike or busts a 30 yard run. At this point I'm not sure the
freshman qb is
any better, although I do agree with an earlier post about bringing him in
to get
experience, despite the score. This game should have been 45-7 at least, get
the
kid in and see how he responds to a big game atmosphere.
To those listers who will undoubtedly rip me for being so critical, I have
left out the
names of players to protect the innocent. Hopefully they are still having
fun.
Scott in NY