playcalling

**theyork** · 10-25-2009, 01:40 PM

one thing i was a little disappointed in was the playcalling. yes i know we won the game and yes that proves everything the coaches did was correct. however i think you'd by lying to yourself if you really EXPECTED to win this game in the second half with that blocked EP looming over our heads.

we took one shot down the field all game and we got a TD from it. then we proceeded to run the ball for 1-2yrds and pass little out routs for the rest of the game.

yes, we won the game but we cannot seriously expect to be so fortunate with a +8 turnover margin in any games in the future. we are going to have to try to win games offensively (with or without AA and Arob) instead of having the defense (and the other team) bail us out time and time again. it was definitely a "don't lose this for us" offensive strategy. sure it worked, but i hope we are a little more aggressive in the future.

i know most will berate me for this opinion since we did indeed win, but it is a discussion board right?

**pyrocyz** · 10-25-2009, 01:44 PM

yes the play calling was conservative, but really, I didn't have a problem with it. Nebraska has a very good defense, and we were starting an all freshmen backfield that had only been working with the #1 offense one week. I can understand keeping it simple. If Tiller has to start again, I hope that they open the play book a little more but otherwise just don't put him a place to make the game losing mistake.

**The_Architect** · 10-25-2009, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by pyrocyz

yes the play calling was conservative, but really, I didn't have a problem with it. Nebraska has a very good defense, and we were starting an all freshmen backfield that had only been working with the #1 offense one week. I can understand keeping it simple. If Tiller has to start again, I hope that they open the play book a little more but otherwise just don't put him a place to make the game losing mistake.

Exactly. Had Tiller turned the ball over early, it could have been a route - NU turnovers aside.

**hurdleisu24** · 10-25-2009, 01:46 PM

I thought this as well but with a young qb in a hostile atmosphere, you have to be conservative and limit what he does. In order to win you can't turn over the ball. Mission accomplished.

**Bobber** · 10-25-2009, 01:47 PM

We start a virgin quarterback and your leading running back is out. You're playing a top 10 defense. We played the only style of play that would win us that game. The team with the least amount of mistakes normally wins the game and that's exactly what happened yesterday.

If Arnaud and ARob are in the game it would have been played a lot differently.

**alarson** · 10-25-2009, 01:50 PM

I dont have a problem with the conservative playcalling yesterday. Its what we needed to do with a new qb in a hostile environment. That said, some variety on first down would be nice. You always knew where that was going.

**Clonefan94** · 10-25-2009, 01:51 PM

No problem with the play calling. It would be exactly what I would expect with the people we had out. I'm sure the idea was stay alive, keep it close and hope things went our way in the end. That's exactly what happened.

Hell, looking back, Nebraska is the ones that should be kicking themselves for playcalling. If I were the Nebraska coaches, I'd have went for a field goal any time we got inside the 30 yard line. No matter what down. If I would have been in my kickers range, I'd have kicked it.

**swarthmoreCY** · 10-25-2009, 01:56 PM

I was very pleased with the overall plan yesterday. Herman and CPR really allowed the game to dictate how much they were going to force on the new guys. Any TO's, and ISU loses the game. Imo, given a new backfield and NU's D, this means being more aggressive would have been fatal. Especially how the game played out (ISU starting in poor field position due to NU TO's). When we did open it up, it was still pretty safe (long TD pass would have acted like a punt if it had been INT) or in the 4th quarter. It was textbook game management.
I also expect them to open it up a little against A$M. The young guys second start, a less formidable opposing D, and an opponent that can score calls for a more aggressive playbook.

**twojman** · 10-25-2009, 01:58 PM

For what the coaches had to work with, I thought the play calling was pretty good. I can think of a time or two where ISU could have tried to stretch the field a bit more but overall I thought it was an excellent game plan.

**mj4cy** · 10-25-2009, 02:02 PM

I think the play calling had to be vanilla. Tiller had enough things to worry about.

**bawbie** · 10-25-2009, 02:19 PM

I thought the playcalling after the deep ball was a classic example of "if the other team is making enough mistakes to lose the game, let them".

You'll notice that when we were behind in the first half, we did the fake punt and the bomb. In the second half, as long as Nebraska was turning it over every drive, all we had to do was play field position and not turn the ball over. I'm convinced if Nebraska had scored again to take the lead, the playbook would have opened up. But they never needed to.

**conmebol** · 10-25-2009, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by bawbie

I thought the playcalling after the deep ball was a classic example of "if the other team is making enough mistakes to lose the game, let them".

You'll notice that when we were behind in the first half, we did the fake punt and the bomb. In the second half, as long as Nebraska was turning it over every drive, all we had to do was play field position and not turn the ball over. I'm convinced if Nebraska had scored again to take the lead, the playbook would have opened up. But they never needed to.

I agree, if we are playing from behind, they would have called the plays differently imho.

**Bigguns** · 10-25-2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by bawbie

I thought the playcalling after the deep ball was a classic example of "if the other team is making enough mistakes to lose the game, let them".

You'll notice that when we were behind in the first half, we did the fake punt and the bomb. In the second half, as long as Nebraska was turning it over every drive, all we had to do was play field position and not turn the ball over. I'm convinced if Nebraska had scored again to take the lead, the playbook would have opened up. But they never needed to.

Great point.

**hursts** · 10-25-2009, 03:33 PM

We won the game. I thought playcalling was brilliant. We didn't beat ourselves. Limit the opportunities for mistakes by Tiller.

**IcSyU** · 10-25-2009, 03:45 PM

We won. Playcalling put us in a position to win. We played more of a "don't lose" than "try to win" game, and in Lincoln, I'm totally fine with that. You have the lead, you believe in your defense, don't let your offense **** it up.