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[huskrthill]

I don't know how to respond to this, honestly. To imply that Burkhead is anything less than one of college football's 5-10 best RBs is absurd. He was the ENTIRE offense in 2011, despite operating behind an inconsistent and undisciplined line and would probably have exhibited more of the scoot you worship if he wasn't toting the ball for 30+ times EVERY game. Behind Wiscy's line, the guy outperforms Ball and is in the Heisman conversation.

Burkhead is a 2nd/3rd round NFL workhorse with a great future ahead of him.

Fresh or otherwise, Burkhead isn't outrunning people for 60 yard TDs. That's just not his game. He's more powerful than some guys, has better vision than others, and has better balance and ball security than some others. But there are plenty that are faster in the open field. It's not a knock on him, as FLAS said. It's just reality. Not every running back has the ability to go the distance like that.

 

[Husker Mort]

Fresh or otherwise, Burkhead isn't outrunning people for 60 yard TDs. That's just not his game. He's more powerful than some guys, has better vision than others, and has better balance and ball security than some others. But there are plenty that are faster in the open field. It's not a knock on him, as FLAS said. It's just reality. Not every running back has the ability to go the distance like that.

I see where you guys are coming from, but I would take Burkhead's skill set in a second over a burner like Abdullah who can flat-out fly -- if/when he finds a whole and gets through the line/around the end.

 

[Husker Mort]

ESPN B1G Line Ratings

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/45322/big-ten-postseason-position-rankings-ol

1. Wisconsin
2. Michigan

3. Nebraska: Despite injuries and inexperience, the Huskers' line held together pretty well in 2011, especially when you consider they operated in a new offensive system. Nebraska finished third in the league in rushing, as the front five paved a path for Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez. Nebraska did a decent job limiting sacks and tackles for loss and kept Martinez healthy for the season.

I don't know how much "paving" was done for TMart, but it seems that the ESPN folks were fairly impressed.

 

[FeelLikeAStranger]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/45322/big-ten-postseason-position-rankings-ol

1. Wisconsin
2. Michigan



I don't know how much "paving" was done for TMart, but it seems that the ESPN folks were fairly impressed.

Using the HMax rating system


1. Excellent/gold standard/gods of OL play
2. Decent, but not great
3. Horriffic
4-12. ????

 

[Husker Mort]

Using the HMax rating system


1. Excellent/gold standard/gods of OL play
2. Decent, but not great
3. Horriffic
4-12. ????

Apologies, FLAS, I did not realize it was such a hassle to follow the link.

4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. Michigan State
7. Purdue
8. Northwestern
9. Indiana
10. Ohio State
11. Illinois
12. Minnesota

 

[Greatest Fan of All]

Huge difference? We're talking about less than one 3rd down conversion per game, and a few extra yards here and there on the ground. These aren't "huge" differences. There is room for improvement, though.

Lol...wow...you really don't understand the significance of increasing your percentage of converting 3rd and 4th downs by more than 20%? You don't think that's huge? I won't even bother.

 

[FeelLikeAStranger]

Apologies, FLAS, I did not realize it was such a hassle to follow the link.

4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. Michigan State
7. Purdue
8. Northwestern
9. Indiana
10. Ohio State
11. Illinois
12. Minnesota

Huh? I was looking for the descriptor that fits 4-12 if #3 is horrific.

 

[Husker Mort]

Huh? I was looking for the descriptor that fits 4-12 if #3 is horrific.

How about "Big Ten" -- generally slow and relatively passive.

 

[akweasel]

You don't think other teams' RB's make their intial cuts in the backfield?

Here's a stat for you...2011

Monte Ball 33 rushing TD's
Rex Burkhead 15 rushing TD's

I love Rex. I love his heart, I love his ability, his leadership, his durability, etc...look up 'football player' in the dictionary and his picture should be there.

But he's not running away from anyone in the open field. He's not breaking big gainers often. He's not putting the ball in the end zone 2-3 times a game. He's a 3-5 yard per carry guy with limited big play potential. That's not a criticism, it's reality. As good as he is and as reliable as he his...he's limited in what he can do once he's gotten into the clear.

We do need guys who can house a 60 yarder occasionally.

Uh, doesn't Monte Ball play for an entirely different team?

So how many Huskers were making moves, making yards after initial contact and basically being a playmaker all year? NOT TM, or anyone else......nor running back.

My point was there was no one else on the team that was consistently making much out of anything.....much less stacked defenses against the run. Oh, and since you want to compare Ball to Rex:

Rex: 284 carries / Ball: 307
Rex: 1357 yards / Ball: 1923
Rex: 4.8ypc / Ball: 6.3ypc
Rex: 15tds / Ball: 33tds
Rex: 52yards long run / Ball: 54yards long run


For the record Rex ranked 14th and Ball 1st in TD's.

.....and to compare a guy with another RB that had if not the best run blocking OL around to ours.....hilarious. Put Rex at Wisconsin with that line and passing attack and his numbers go up and you know it.

Put Ball at NU with what we have and there would be little to no argument his number go down.

 

[akweasel]

Fresh or otherwise, Burkhead isn't outrunning people for 60 yard TDs. That's just not his game. He's more powerful than some guys, has better vision than others, and has better balance and ball security than some others. But there are plenty that are faster in the open field. It's not a knock on him, as FLAS said. It's just reality. Not every running back has the ability to go the distance like that.

Neither is Ball.....lmao. Longest run was 54 yards

The entire point is everyone knows Rex isn't the fastest guy around.......neither is Ball like some are insinuating. Point is since the discussion was on our O-LINE...is that with the "VERY" limited passing attack we have and with many stacking the box all year the O-LINE held up better than some thought and the stats showed it.

The further point some including me are making is that it is possible those stats are skewed as to the fact Burkhead is better than many give him credit for and with many other RB's......those stats would've looked worse.

Ball, Barry or Emmitt himself......fact is. Rex did a hell of a job back there and I don't see but MAYBE one or two guys in the country that would've done much better if at all. Say what you want about the long runs......I don't see two many plays that were left out there that someone else would've made a difference.

Also funny you bring up Ball......according to CBS NFL Draft 2013 draft prospects 40yard dash times:

Rex ranks 30th

Ball 42st

Hmm.....

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2013_RB?&_1:col_1=8

 

[FeelLikeAStranger]

Maybe Ball isn't the 'homerun' guy either...bad example. He was the first guy that came to mind. But he puts up a helluva lot more TD's. Is it because of his OL, or is it because he's a Heisman-caliber back? Is it because of his QB? There's so many factors there that trying to make the claim that Wisconsin's OL is so far superior and our OL is scum is just crazy, especially when by these statistics we are 3rd best in the conference.

Point still stands, Rex isn't a homerun back. I wouldn't trade him for anyone, but he's not going to outrun a lot of guys to the endzone. We need to find a way to get him in the endzone more. Whether that is continued OL improvement, improved QB play, better redzone play-calling...whatever it is or all of it, it would be much better if he scored more than 1 TD a game.

 

[akweasel]

Maybe Ball isn't the 'homerun' guy either...bad example. He was the first guy that came to mind. But he puts up a helluva lot more TD's.

Think maybe because they can actually throw the ball and that might open up some running lanes?

Is it because of his OL, or is it because he's a Heisman-caliber back? Is it because of his QB? There's so many factors there that trying to make the claim that Wisconsin's OL is so far superior and our OL is scum is just crazy, especially when by these statistics we are 3rd best in the conference.

I never said our O-Line was scum, you did. I pointed out that due to a limited passing attack we face more foes in the box play after play. Not only that you negate the fact that Rex was in the top 20 in rushing TD's and had more TD's this year than Helu ever had in a season....but that isn't enough? Sure I'd like more.....but how many redzone attempts did NU have and of those how many were carries / plays to Rex before you can make such a claim as "his" production wasn't good enough?

Point still stands, Rex isn't a homerun back. I wouldn't trade him for anyone, but he's not going to outrun a lot of guys to the endzone.

Clearly your example was a bad one agreed. However again.......lets talk about our team. Who do we currently have that has any more "speed" at RB in the open field much less could even get yards at Rex's current rate with the type of defenses we played against now?

Again, put Rex with their QB, their O-line.......your point is completely invalid as you'll find most will agree Rex's production would go up. Monte Ball's production at NU would've went down compared to his numbers at Wisconsin.

We need to find a way to get him in the endzone more. Whether that is continued OL improvement, improved QB play, better redzone play-calling...whatever it is or all of it, it would be much better if he scored more than 1 TD a game.

Agreed......I'd personally love to see NU score 5 TD's a game rushing, throwing or rolling into the endzone....I could care less how we do it. We need more scoring...but to base that off of 33 TD's by another guy that was as high of total as Barry Sanders epic season....ludicrous. Compare him to NU's RB's of the last 10 years he is stacking up very, very well.

 

[huskrthill]

Neither is Ball.....lmao. Longest run was 54 yards

The entire point is everyone knows Rex isn't the fastest guy around.......neither is Ball like some are insinuating. Point is since the discussion was on our O-LINE...is that with the "VERY" limited passing attack we have and with many stacking the box all year the O-LINE held up better than some thought and the stats showed it.

The further point some including me are making is that it is possible those stats are skewed as to the fact Burkhead is better than many give him credit for and with many other RB's......those stats would've looked worse.

Ball, Barry or Emmitt himself......fact is. Rex did a hell of a job back there and I don't see but MAYBE one or two guys in the country that would've done much better if at all. Say what you want about the long runs......I don't see two many plays that were left out there that someone else would've made a difference.

Also funny you bring up Ball......according to CBS NFL Draft 2013 draft prospects 40yard dash times:

Rex ranks 30th

Ball 42st

Hmm.....

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2013_RB?&_1:col_1=8

I'm not entirely sure if you are responding to me or someone else. I haven't mentioned Montee Ball specifically. I've just said that Rex isn't the fastest back in the world. In fact, your own link apparently says that 29 running backs are faster in the 40.

Maybe you think I'm being critical of Burkhead, or that I have some sort of problem with him. I don't.

 

[huskrthill]

Lol...wow...you really don't understand the significance of increasing your percentage of converting 3rd and 4th downs by more than 20%? You don't think that's huge? I won't even bother.

I understand the significance, and I also understand that it is nowhere near an insurmountable obstacle. As I said, we're looking at one extra 3rd down conversion per game. Maybe it's a dropped pass. Maybe it's one less penalty. Maybe we can get a better push on short yardage. There are obviously opportunities out there, and we need to take advantage of them.

4th down conversions are a little different, as there are a number of factors involved in that. Where are we at on the field? Can we kick a field goal? Too close to punt? This is a statistic that can really fluctuate significantly. For example, in 2010 we converted on 9 of 14 (64.29%) 4th down attempts.

So laugh all you want, but we're not looking at an overall 20% increase, as you seem to be claiming. You can't just add the percentages together.

Wisconsin's conversion percentage on 3rd and 4th down combined was 50% (90 of 180).
Nebraska's conversion percentage on 3rd and 4th down combined was 41% (87 of 210).

There's always room for improvement, but it's really not as much of a difference as you are trying to make it (20%??). Hopefully we can be more successful on 1st and 2nd down to increase our chances on 3rd down.

 

[BigMacHusker]

Neither is Ball.....lmao. Longest run was 54 yards

The entire point is everyone knows Rex isn't the fastest guy around.......neither is Ball like some are insinuating. Point is since the discussion was on our O-LINE...is that with the "VERY" limited passing attack we have and with many stacking the box all year the O-LINE held up better than some thought and the stats showed it.

The further point some including me are making is that it is possible those stats are skewed as to the fact Burkhead is better than many give him credit for and with many other RB's......those stats would've looked worse.

Ball, Barry or Emmitt himself......fact is. Rex did a hell of a job back there and I don't see but MAYBE one or two guys in the country that would've done much better if at all. Say what you want about the long runs......I don't see two many plays that were left out there that someone else would've made a difference.

Also funny you bring up Ball......according to CBS NFL Draft 2013 draft prospects 40yard dash times:

Rex ranks 30th

Ball 42st

Hmm.....

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2013_RB?&_1:col_1=8

Most fans have no idea how fast 4.54 really is. He certainly isn't the fastest, but you don't have to run 4.4 to play in the NFL. Mark Ingram (didn't he win some kind of award?) ran 4.62, but he was also one of the fastest over the first 10 yards.....burst. That's one of the things Rex does very well, burst through a hole that may or may not actually be there. A 40 time is a valid measurement, but it is also the most overrated measurement going. As important as speed is, it has become the most overrated obsession of fans.