tommie15
11/27/2006, 11:12 PM
QB - Zac Taylor - First off, thank you Norman, OK. You produced a fine young man in Zac and we have been awfully lucky to have him. Zac is definitely not the most physically gifted QB in the world, but he is pretty football smart and very, very tough. I'm sure much of Zac's skin can be found on the Memorial Stadium field turf. Zac is a very hot/cold quarterback, and sometimes his hotness (or coldness) changes from half to half (OSU, A&M come to mind). For all of Zac's strength, mobility is not one of them. Not only is Zac not a good scrambler, he also seems to lack mobility in the pocket. This is one of the areas to watch for in the game. If OU gets consistent pressure, Zac can turn cold pretty quick. Oh yeah, don't hurt him, because we don't have much behind him (you can relate, right?).
RB - Brandon Jackson, Marlon Lucky, Cody Glenn, Kenny Wilson - You Sooners probably won't agree, but most Huskers feel like we have the most talented backfield in the conference. Brandon has really come on this year and is the most complete back, mixing power and speed. Marlon is the most electric in the open field, but he sometimes lacks the vision of Brandon. Cody will run you over and is very fun to watch. Expect to seem him on third and short and goaline situations. Kenny has had a case of fumblitis (as has Brandon, actually) but he may be the most physically talented of the four. He is also probably the fastest. I truly expected him to be the main guy by this point in the season, but that hasn't happened. Don't expect to see much of Kenny.
WR - Mo Purify, Terrance Nunn, Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Frantz Hardy - Those are the main guys and they will all play. Mo is the best WR we have had at NU in a long, long time. I would expect him to go pretty high in the draft next year. He has clearly become the go to guy and is the most likely destination on third downs. The others are all solid. Except for Swift and Mo (for the most part) all of the WRs have had cases of the dropsies. This is a solid unit, but there are no true difference makers besides Purify.
TE - Matt Herian, Hunter Teafatiller, JB Phillips - Nothing specatacular here. Herian is certainly not his old self. Phillips is an adequate blocker. Don't expect too many passes to be thrown to these guys.
OL - This unit has improved, but still isn't great. We still get pushed around sometimes in the run game and the pass protection can sometimes be shakey. We hope to have Slauson and Austin healthy for this week which may make a difference. Carl Nicks is the guy to watch out for. He may become a dominant force at tackle in the near future. I think OU has a pretty clear advantage here.
DL - Adam Carriker, Jay Moore, Ola Dagunduro, Barry Cryer - The starters are all seniors and are solid, but nothing spectacular. We lack speed off the edge when the starters are in, but Barry Turner adds speed when he is in the game. Ndamakong Suh is a freshman DT and is probably the most talented of the bunch. The more time he sees, the happier I am. He may prove to be the best DT at NU since Jason Peter.
LB - Cory McKeon, Stew Bradley, Steve Octavian, Bo Rudd - An average unit with average speed and below average tackling skills. Some of the angles these guys take are horrible. They must play better than they have all year this week. Octavian is the only true difference maker and the only guy who really tackles well.
DB - Andrew Shanle, Tierre Green, Cortney Grixby, Andre Jones - Not a good unit here either. Shanle is bad. That's all there is to say about that. He is bad in run support and bad in coverage. And, for a safety, he is more scared of contact than Ted Haggard in Key West. Tierre is not much better. The corners actually aren't bad, they just never get any help from the safeties. If Major Culbert and Ricky Thenarse (both true freshman) play, this unit becomes much better.
Kicker - Jordan Congdon - Accurate, not much leg strength. Expect to see us go on 4th between the 35 and 20.
Who knows what Callahan's gameplan will be. I know you folks hate him, but he is turning out to be a heck of a play caller.
I expect this to to be a close game with both teams in the mid 20s when the game ends. I won't predict a winner. See you Saturday.
RB - Brandon Jackson, Marlon Lucky, Cody Glenn, Kenny Wilson - You Sooners probably won't agree, but most Huskers feel like we have the most talented backfield in the conference. Brandon has really come on this year and is the most complete back, mixing power and speed. Marlon is the most electric in the open field, but he sometimes lacks the vision of Brandon. Cody will run you over and is very fun to watch. Expect to seem him on third and short and goaline situations. Kenny has had a case of fumblitis (as has Brandon, actually) but he may be the most physically talented of the four. He is also probably the fastest. I truly expected him to be the main guy by this point in the season, but that hasn't happened. Don't expect to see much of Kenny.
WR - Mo Purify, Terrance Nunn, Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Frantz Hardy - Those are the main guys and they will all play. Mo is the best WR we have had at NU in a long, long time. I would expect him to go pretty high in the draft next year. He has clearly become the go to guy and is the most likely destination on third downs. The others are all solid. Except for Swift and Mo (for the most part) all of the WRs have had cases of the dropsies. This is a solid unit, but there are no true difference makers besides Purify.
TE - Matt Herian, Hunter Teafatiller, JB Phillips - Nothing specatacular here. Herian is certainly not his old self. Phillips is an adequate blocker. Don't expect too many passes to be thrown to these guys.
OL - This unit has improved, but still isn't great. We still get pushed around sometimes in the run game and the pass protection can sometimes be shakey. We hope to have Slauson and Austin healthy for this week which may make a difference. Carl Nicks is the guy to watch out for. He may become a dominant force at tackle in the near future. I think OU has a pretty clear advantage here.
DL - Adam Carriker, Jay Moore, Ola Dagunduro, Barry Cryer - The starters are all seniors and are solid, but nothing spectacular. We lack speed off the edge when the starters are in, but Barry Turner adds speed when he is in the game. Ndamakong Suh is a freshman DT and is probably the most talented of the bunch. The more time he sees, the happier I am. He may prove to be the best DT at NU since Jason Peter.
LB - Cory McKeon, Stew Bradley, Steve Octavian, Bo Rudd - An average unit with average speed and below average tackling skills. Some of the angles these guys take are horrible. They must play better than they have all year this week. Octavian is the only true difference maker and the only guy who really tackles well.
DB - Andrew Shanle, Tierre Green, Cortney Grixby, Andre Jones - Not a good unit here either. Shanle is bad. That's all there is to say about that. He is bad in run support and bad in coverage. And, for a safety, he is more scared of contact than Ted Haggard in Key West. Tierre is not much better. The corners actually aren't bad, they just never get any help from the safeties. If Major Culbert and Ricky Thenarse (both true freshman) play, this unit becomes much better.
Kicker - Jordan Congdon - Accurate, not much leg strength. Expect to see us go on 4th between the 35 and 20.
Who knows what Callahan's gameplan will be. I know you folks hate him, but he is turning out to be a heck of a play caller.
I expect this to to be a close game with both teams in the mid 20s when the game ends. I won't predict a winner. See you Saturday.