SB Nation - Mike Huff

Big 12 Cob of the Week

Jon Johnston — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:00:06 -0000

Blankman gets in a bit of hyperbole, but both of us have pointed out Mike Huff’s problems as our starting left guard:

Mike Huff - Never before have I seen such an individual whose replacement would make me think a rapid recovery of an offensive line/inside running game. I would take any of the following over Mike Huff: D.J. Jones, Keith Williams, Marcel Jones, Mike Caputo, Cody Glenn, Matt O'Hanlon, Justin Makovicka, Marcus Mendoza, Zac Lee and a rock found by the side of the road.

Husker Mike:

My vote goes to Colorado, who struggled once again with a 1-AA opponent. Eastern Washington led the Buffies 21-7 at halftime and 24-17 with four minutes left in the game, before Cha'pelle Brown returned an interception for the game winning touchdown with just two minutes left in the game. Colorado is now 1-1 lifetime against the "Football Championship Subdivision".

Corn Blight:

My choice goes to the Texas Tech’s defense, who gave up 488 yards to Nevada this past weekend. Nevada may have been one of the better opponents anyone in the Big 12 faced but that isn’t saying much. The Red Raiders were out-gained, 488 to 421, and as a result, they’re currently the 95th-ranked defense in the nation. (HT: Double T Nation) Ouch.

Giving up 224 yards rushing and 264 yards passing is not the way you win the Big 12 South, which is why they won't. Maybe they can fix it by conference play. Maybe they're the same ol' Tech.

Drive Chartin' - Nebraska vs San Jose State

Jon Johnston — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:30:15 -0000

One thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere - TE Hunter Teafatiller started this game. He played one play, left the game and then I never saw him again. His return could be key, as you can see the number of times that Mike McNeill had miscues.

Here is a run down on Nebraska's offensive drives, including notes on blocking. Overall, a sloppy game (thank you Captain Obvious).

Start Time	Time Possesion	Field Position	# Plays	Yards Gained	Result
1Q - 15:00	2:35	Nebraska 35	5	-10	Punt
Lucky, 7 run. Ganz to Swift, 3 yards on a screen. Ganz sacked (TE Mike McNeill badly missed block on right side) Penalty - false start (LG Mike Huff early start on pull for option play) Ganz incompletion (drop by Holt) Ganz sacked (C Hickman, RG Slauson did not properly pick up DL twist)
9:48	4:32	Nebraska 28	9	71	TD
Drive starts at 14 after block in back penalty. Castille minus one yard (Mike McNeil missed block) Ganz incompletion Ganz to Swift completion for 12 Ganz option for four yards Ganz complete to Peterson for 12 Penalty - SJSU offsides Ganz complete checkdown to Helu - 27 yards Helu rush up middle 17 Helu rush four left (TD if TE Dreu Young holds his block longer) Penalty - SJSU (no clue why they called personal foul) Castille 2 yard TD run (LG Mike Huff slow on finding block on pull, Castile powered into the end zone anyway)
3:45	:36	SJSU 0	0	0	Touchdown
Ndamukong Suh interception return for touchdown. What a wonderful play!
2Q - 14:56	2:21	Nebraska 25	5	15	Punt
Lucky for 6 up middle (nice hole, nice blocking) Ganz to Swift, play-action for 23 yards Lucky for 3 yards right (Lucky strung out to sideline instead of heading upfield) Lucky minus two (LG Keith Williams missed block) Three false start penalties in a row. (Niles Paul, Mike McNeill, Menelik Holt) Ganz to Henry (DB outplayed WR Henry for body position, nearly intercepted)
7:09	1:40	Nebraska 13	3	8	Punt
Helu rush -2 (run blitz, too many guys to block) Ganz sacked (poor blitz pick up by Helu, Ganz scrambled, cannot escape) Ganz complete to Paul (good protection, Paul ran route short of first down on 3rd and 15)
1:34	:09	Nebraska 9	1	0	INT
Interception by Ganz (protection good, poor choice by Ganz)
3Q - 13:45	3:40	Nebraska 10	7	29	Punt
Lucky 0 rush (run blitz, Mike McNeill doubled on DT instead of looking to block blitzer) Ganz incomplete (too low for McNeill) Ganz scramble for 10 yards Penalty - SJSU offsides Ganz complete to Swift eight yards on WR screen Castille middle for 2 (eight guys in box, no push on left side, Slauson slow on trap) Castille right for 0 (Burkes missed block - badly) Ganz complete to Holt for 4
6:30	2:10	Nebraska 22	4	-2	Punt
Helu middle for 2 yards (Castille missed block, Mike Huff missed block on LB that made tackle) Helu pitch left (LT Mike Smith missed block) Penalty - (Mike McNeill cut block penalty for -13 yards), Ganz complete to Helu for 5 Ganz rush for 1 (snap early or line missed count)
1:30	1:10	Nebraska 14	4	37	Fumble
Ganz complete to Swift for 12 - WR screen (great blocking Peterson) same play to Swift for 12 (again, great blocking Peterson) Helu right for 12 (Keith Williams misses block on LB at second level, Helu avoids tackle in middle, nice vision on run) Castille fumble on option (blocked well, this is a TD if not fumbled)
4Q - 12:17	:10	SJSU 0	0	0	TD
Niles Paul kick off return for TD. Beautiful. Good blocking downfield by #15 Dennard
11:28	2:23	SJSU 35	5	35	TD
Shanked punt by SJSU. Ganz roll out complete to Holt for 20. Helu left for 7 (nice cut by Helu), Helu middle for 2 (eight in box, DB come up to make tackle) Castille for 2 picks up first down Penalty - holding (Slauson takedown) Helu 14 yards for TD (going off-tackle, FB Lawson misses block, Helu cuts outside, excellent cut by Helu)
7:40	4:37	Nebraska 26	10	74	TD
Zach Potter interception to stop SJSU drive. Ganz complete to Peterson for five yards Ganz checkdown complete to FB Lawson for four yards Lucky middle for 7 (Lucky pushes pile forward) Ganz incomplete (Mike McNeill started blocking on Ganz scramble, never looked for ball) Ganz complete to Paul for 15 (screen, Slauson misses second level block) Ganz complete to Peterson for 21 (great block by Swift, gets second knockdown) Ganz incomplete - misses Peterson Penalty - false start - 5 yards (Burkes) Penalty - holding - 10 yards (Hickman) Ganz incomplete - misses Lucky on screen Ganz complete to Peterson for 21 yards (great protection) SJSU pass interference penalty Lucky pitch right for two yards touchdown (easy run, decent blocking)
1:45	1:45	Nebraska 38	4	12	End Game

The wide receiver screen proved to be a great weapon against a defense that was stacking against the run. Swift and Peterson complimented each other extremely well, both excelled at blocking and receiving.

The false starts can be corrected. What's troublesome is how slow the offensive line is in coming off the ball and getting into the defenders. Not only were they slow, but they weren't physical. They don't have the attitude or the swagger that an offensive line should have.

Far too many missed assignments. You can forgive McNeill and Dreu Young somewhat, they're fairly inexperienced. You can't forgive Mike Huff or Mike Slauson, they simply have to play better.

Nice thing - the 2007 team would have lost this game. They wouldn't have pulled themselves together, but this team did that in the fourth quarter. You'll notice that in the two TD drives, they overcame mistakes (penalties) and got the job done.

Below is the animated drive chart for the game.

Full Screen Version

Comments? Thoughts?

Shooting Pointe Blank: San Jose State

Blankman — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:29:19 -0000

Well that was…interesting. While Nebraska looked more confused than a bi-sexual Lou Holtz in the first half against San Jose State, the second half (okay, I’ll be honest - fourth quarter) was far more promising. I went back and had a look at my gripes from last week to see if they had been addressed. We had left off with Doc Oz’s thoughts that from game one to game two, you’re going to see the biggest improvements.

Not Good #1: The Running Game – 99 yards on 30 attempts? Yikes that’s harsh.

Not Good #2: Pass Defense - In a way I’m happy that Nebraska had the game that they did because it’s a severe wake up call to what they’re going to see out of the Missouri Tigers. On the other hand there were still far too many players not picking up their assignments properly and even getting straight up beat (I’m looking at you, Asante). Suh and Potter were the highlights. Everything else was concerning.

Improvement #1: Conditioning - With four quarters of mostly starters playing in this game, there was good rotation, effort seemed consistent and spirited throughout. There didn’t seem to be the sense that people were dragging and I commend the staff responsible for that.

Improvement #2: The Young Not Quite so Restless - A lot of the newbies got to see time and played well. Helu Jr. and Paul made their presence felt. I was very happy to see guys like Pat Witt and Marcus Mendoza get time even if it was brief. I feel fairly confident in saying that should the game have been more of a 55-7 affair, they would have seen a good five to six minutes at least.

In the end, some good, some bad, but there’s a problem: Some new very bad has cropped up.

Penalties: 12 penalties for 103 yards. That’s right, Nebraska gave up a football field’s worth of free yards and three of those penalties came right in a row when two wide receivers and a tight end of all positions decided to flinch.

Arm Tackling: When a player slips through your arms, it’s contagious like sneezing or booing Lee Corso. A lack of confidence spreads to teammates and even to the coaches regarding your ability when it is seen multiple times and does not bode well for anyone in your uniform. Far too many times there were people going for legs and jersey instead of body. I know well enough that Bo does preach himself a good fundamental and that tackling drills will more than likely be a frequency this week.

Play Timing: Okay, so we’re running playaction to the weak side, wait, what, you sure? Hey why's the play clock say "five"? This sort of ties into the penalty aspect as…again, seriously, three receiver/tight end penalties in a row? Confusion seemed to rear its ugly head today and, hey, we’re all human. We’re going to make mistakes. If Nebraska cannot learn their snap counts and to keep their mitts away from the facemask, they will pay for it and soon.

In the end, Nebraska learned that they have a long way to go to put together a solid season and maybe it’s for the best. It gives them all of the incentive to treat New Mexico State as Missouri (don’t feed me the “one game at a time” BS on this one). I liked how the staff addressed an attempt at establishing the run. It shows that they are actively looking to correct problem areas and for that they get a gold star, but as quickly as that Is affixed to their foreheads lack of fundamentals pop up.

The younger guys are coming along nicely but Asante continues to find himself out of position. The constant 5-7 yard hook route was constantly there for SJSU today in front of #4. Culbert’s presence was a welcome addition. Also, will someone please bench Mike Huff? Jon said it before me, but I echo it. I don’t care how well he grades out. Put D.J. Jones in there and let’s see how poorly the line does after he gets comfortable. Huff’s been at Nebraska how many years now and he can’t seem to grasp simple concepts? The mind boggles.

Regardless, Nebraska is in fact 2-0 and along with Big 10ers Ohio State and Michigan had some trouble today but came out on top. That said I think OSU gets creamed next week by the eventual National Champions in USC. Nothing personal Buckeyes, but I think USC is just that damn good and a good waist above everyone instead of head and shoulders. As for the Big Red? Still a work in progress in my eyes. That Suh guy's pretty good, though.

Next Up: New Mexico State (0-0 Nicholls State game postponed)

Poll

After two games, what do you the viewers at home think?

What we saw is nothing that can't be fixed easily

6 votes

A few mistakes troubled me, but it's still only game two

91 votes

All I ask is a 10-foot pole and a 10-foot seat near the panic button

32 votes

Oh crap Virginia Tech...then Missouri?!

68 votes

We're screwed.

26 votes

223 votes | Poll has closed

San Jose State Postgame OverReaction - Humble Pie/Eating Crow Edition

Jon Johnston — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:46:04 -0000

All week long I’ve made fun of our opponent coming into this game. There was the 72-3 preview (which I wasn’t serious about 72-3, but maybe hopeful). There was the 56-20 prediction. Humble pie or crow, you can take your pick, but I deserve every bit of crap that anyone wants to give me this week.

- Time to adjust your expectations about this season. For those of you who pegged us at 10-2, what are you thinking now? Still possible with some corrections?

- Mike McNeil has to do a better job of blocking from the end position.

- Mike Huff is driving me crazy. The guy isn’t finishing his blocks. That can be corrected, but it’s reflected in the play of the rest of the line. The coaching staff can track all the pancakes they want, but until they start releasing the statistics or mentioning them you can be sure of one thing - this line isn’t being NEARLY as physical as it should be.

- On that same regard, Barney Cotton can defend his guys and he should. He’s right when he says that we can’t block five guys with four, but they’d better figure out how to correct the lack of a running game because we’re going to see that all season long

- For the game day thread, I made a reference to the movie ‘300’, stating that “They’re gonna get killed. The only question is whether or not they’ll be as dramatic in the process.” The Spartans played tough football, congratulations to them. They died when Kyle Reed left the field.

- I like the idea that Castille was back in the game not long after his fumble on the option play.

- Defensive line played very well. Two interceptions by defensive linemen? Think they have something to prove?

- Linebackers, secondary.… ah... not so much.

- Adi Kunalic is an underrated weapon that will serve us well in Big 12 play. Think Jeremy Maclin.

- After seeing the play several times, I am guessing that Barry Turner is done for the year.

- We found a return guy. Niles Paul changed the game, thank God.

- Penalties. Need I say more?

Reviewing The First 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers Depth Chart

Jon Johnston — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:00:07 -0000

The first Bo Pelini depth chart was released today not too many surprises, but worth a discussion.

Offense:

Quarterback: 1 - Joe Ganz, 2 - Patrick Witt, 3- Zac Lee.

No surprises here, although you have to ask yourself what happens if Joe Ganz goes down with an injury. What does that do to the season?

I-Back: 1 - Marlon Lucky -or- Roy Helu -or- Quentin Castille

So there are three backs listed as co #1's. There seems to be a lot of buzz about this, and I'll be honest, I don't get it (the fuss, that is). Running backs get the holy crap beat out of them much worse than they used to, so you are not going to make it through a full season without your main guy getting banged up.

What is sad here is the name that's missing - Kenny Wilson. It's doubtful he'll play again due to his leg injury. It's easy to forget the potential that was there, but don't.

Fullback: 1 - Thomas Lawson, 2 - Justin Makovicka

No surprises, remember that while Callahan didn't use fullbacks on the run, Lawson caught three TD's last season which was as many as Nate Swift and Marlon Lucky, and more than the entire receiving corp besides Swift and Peterson.

Wide Receiver X: 1 - Nate Swift, 2 - Menelik Holt, 3 - Will Henry, 4- Chris Brooks

No surprise, although I guess I'm a little surprised that Chris Brooks is all the way down at #4.

Wide Receiver Z: 1 - Todd Peterson, 2 - Niles Paul or Curenski Gilleylen

Again, no surprise here.

Tight End: 1 - Mike McNeill, 2 - Dreu Young, 3 - Ryan Hill, 4 - Ben Cotton

Obviously Tyson Hetzer hasn't recovered enough from his spring knee injury to be listed on the roster at this point. Perhaps he'll join in later in the season. This position is more critical to offensive success than people are giving it, here's hoping they can perform well this season.

Offensive Line:

They're a unit, and we treat them like a unit.

LT: 1 - Mike Smith, 2 - Jaivorio Burkes
LG: 1 - Mike Huff, 2 - Keith Williams
C: 1 - Jacob Hickman, 2 - Mike Caputo
RG: 1 - Matt Slauson, 2 - DJ Jones
RT: 1 - Lydon Murtha, 2 - Marcel Jones

Lydon Murtha moves back to right tackle. Murtha is an enigma - the guy has the body size for a prototypical NFL left tackle, but gives that spot up to Mike Smith. Go figure. Burkes at #2 behind Mike Smith is a little surprise, but we'll see how the rotation comes out.

The key to this line is that some of these guys can move around to different positions. Slauson has played both guard and tackle, while Hickman has played guard and center. An incredibly solid group, with plenty of depth and experience.

Defense:

Nose Tackle: 1 - Ndamukong Suh, 2 - Shukree Barfield, 3 - Terrence Moore

Defensive Tackle: 1 - Ty Steinkuhler, 2 - Jared Crick

Base End: 1 - Zach Potter, 2 - Clayton Sievers

Open End: 1 - Barry Turner, 2 - Pierre Allen

No surprises here. Obviously losing Kevin Dixon hurt, but I don't see this group as thin as a lot of other people. Note that Baker Steinkuhler isn't listed - hopefully a redshirt season is in the works for him.

Linebackers:

Will Linebacker: 1 - Cody Glenn, 2 - Blake Lawrence

Mike Linebacker: 1 - Phillip Dillard, 2 - Will Compton, 3 - Colton Koehler

Buck Linebacker: 1 - Tyler Wortman, 2 - Sean Fisher

Obviously the linebacker position is of huge concern. Will Compton and Sean Fisher are both true freshmen. Dillard is a solid middle linebacker with experience, so the hope would be that Compton and Fisher aren't needed this season which will give them time to get stronger and learn. LaTravis Washington is not listed here due to injury. Nor is Nick Covey.

Is there a Husker fan who isn't cheering for Cody Glenn's position switch to work out well? Even beyond the sake of the team, you have to admire the guy for moving there. Lot of guts, love that guy.

Defensive Backfield:

Right Cornerback: 1 - Anthony West, 2 - Prince Amukamara

Left Cornerback: 1 - Armando Murillo, 2 - Eric Hagg

Strong Safety: 1 - Larry Asante, 2 - Major Culbert

Free Safety: 1 - Rickey Thenarse, 2 - Matt O'Hanlon

The starting four are a pretty decent group. What you have to ask is what happens when we move to using five or six defensive backs, ala defending Texas Tech. Amukamara has never played corner before, so the first three games may be key to getting him valuable experience. Eric Hagg and Major Culbert should be able to step into the extra roles if needed, so keep an eye on them should they get into the game against Western Michigan.

I realize I tagged everyone on the depth chart with this post, but hey it was my chance to check out our rosters, and make sure everything is okay. Corrections will be made!