Trap Blocked

copyright 2011/Kenneth Jarecke/Contact

Saturday night we saw a Husker team that was well prepared, played hard and avoided a potential trap game by not looking past the Cowboys towards those Badgers in Wisconsin next week.

That's important. I'm not sure you could say the same thing for last year's team (or this year's fans). This team has shown a very serious nature when it comes to playing this game, and they continue to improve from week to week.

I'm excited to see what they bring to Madison. They have a confident attitude, I think more so than many of us. True, as a fan there's that feeling of helplessness, you can watch, sometimes see what's coming, but you can't do much to change what happens on the field. Unlike last year, when I imagine a few TV sets payed the ultimate price, this team doesn't get stuck in a rut. The play calling has been very smart and quite successful. They find what works and stick to it. Once it's established they build off of it into something new and unexpected.

That's smart football.

I think a lot of the fan frustration is a holdover from last year. This new offense has shown none of the tendencies of last years model to get stuck in a groove. They're trying different things and they've proven themselves to be good closers.

Speaking of smart, whether they run the wildcat or not, Wisconsin is going to be spending practice time preparing for it. This offense is looking very clever and unpredictable. There's not a skill position on the field that can be overlooked.

You also have to give huge credit to the offensive line. It's obvious they've worked hard and improvement is showing.

The downfield blocking has been neat to see and is paying off. Almost as neat as seeing Martinez lead Burkhead down the field (above).

Now, the defense. I guess nobody saw this coming, or at least the perception of what's coming.

Somehow they've got a lot of fans worried. True, it's been frustrating at times to watch. Not so much the schemes, but the missed tackles. The tackling problem has got to be fixed and I think it will be. Tackling is as much about form as it is about attitude. There's been a few glimpses of attitude this year, but then coverage breaks down or a tackle is slipped and momentum is lost.

There's been a lot of experimenting, mainly with personal. I think at this point, with both Dennard and Crick on the field and a better understanding of who is going to do what in the coach's minds, you'll see the true picture of what the Husker defense is going to look like this year.

Right now, Wisconsin is probably thinking they'll enjoy success passing the ball. Thus they'll work to establish the run on early downs then feel confident in converting long third downs... I think this is a trap. I think the Huskers will bring a sophisticated blitz package that Nebraska hasn't shown this year and one that Wisconsin certainly hasn't seen.

These Pelini brothers have a habit of shutting down great quarterbacks. I think this what will happen again on Saturday night.

Remember, time is short to reserve your copies of the book.

Here's the HuskerMax shopping cart.

Thanks again, Ken

Here's your slideshow of game action from Laramie too!