By Ryan Donohue
- Feed off Present Strengths
This seems obvious, but it’s easy to overlook. As dismal as parts of Nebraska’s season have been, there have been bright spots. Ameer Abdullah and Brett Maher have made special teams “special” again.
Rex Burkhead is running harder than ever and is one of the Big Ten’s best running backs. Freshmen have shown sparks of extreme playmaking ability in Tim Beck’s offense.
Lavonte David is an All-American who just makes plays. Stanley Jean-Baptiste could be the savior of the secondary. It’s the same concept as what Beck did for Taylor Martinez, just on a wider scope. If special teams are your bread and butter, tailor the offense to play the field position battle as best it can. Limit risky plays and know that Abdullah will get you to the 30 or 40-yard line.
Use that to set up a power running game. On defense, let Jean-Baptiste play his butt off. Dial up more blitzes and allow the young linemen to make a name for themselves. Have Lavonte David spy troubling quarterbacks like Denard Robinson.
This is a Nebraska team dampened by outside negativity, but has momentum building. While the fish bowl that is Lincoln, Nebraska has been acidic at times, if the Cornhuskers feed off of the positives, the pH level will balance.
Sometimes the best way to fix what’s going wrong is by magnifying what’s going right and hanging your hat on what you do well. Isn't that right coach Beck?
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