Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked Some data to ponder in the off season-Fumbliitis

[Lesley Presley]

Year-by-year, this is Nebraska’s fumble data:’11: 32 offensive fumbles/11 lost; 16 fumbles forced/8 recovered (-3 turnover margin)
’10: 45/16; 16/4 (-12)
’09: 21/11; 26/8 (-3)
’08: 31/17; 17/5 (-12)The totals: 129 offensive fumbles/55 lost; 75 defensive fumbles forced/25 recovered.

So the Huskers have put the ball on the ground 54 more times than their opponents in Pelini’s four years. They’ve lost 30 more fumbles.Compare Nebraska to the other top 20 programs. As you’ll see, minus-30 is last.Oklahoma: 79/32; 106/52 (+20)
Ohio St: 63/26; 95/43 (+17)
Oklahoma State: 83/44; 91/60 (+16)
LSU: 77/26; 111/41 (+15)
Stanford: 76/37; 96/50 (+13)
Missouri: 66/32; 87/43 (+11)
Virginia Tech: 81/34; 93/43 (+9)
Texas: 72/42; 107/46 (+4)
USC: 72/37; 83/40 (+3)
Wisconsin: 69/39; 82/41 (+2)
Penn State: 87/34; 64/35 (+1)
Alabama: 67/30; 74/28 (-2)
Iowa: 61/36; 74/32 (-4)
Oregon: 103/58; 91/54 (-4)
Michigan St: 76/37; 74/32 (-5)
Cincinnati: 87/38; 79/31 (-7)
Auburn: 88/45; 81/36 (-9)
West Virginia: 102/56; 82/37 (-19)
Florida: 98/47; 68/25 (-22)
Nebraska: 129/55; 75/25 (-30)

Don't know how much they empahsis and practice protecting the ball in practice. But whatever we are doing we need a new drill to help eliminate this issue.​

 

[cm husker]

You should probably cite to the article where you pulled that info.

And I don't get dc's ax to grind with Martinez and Bo.... are turnovers the only thing he has to talk about this off season?

 

[Scrollsker]

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/01/27/dirks-brunch-bites-jan-27/

You should probably cite to the article where you pulled that info.

And I don't get dc's ax to grind with Martinez and Bo.... are turnovers the only thing he has to talk about this off season?

Uhhh, turnovers are a big deal. Buckhalter was good...really good but sometimes I think that is why he was never a feature back for us.
I also think that 30 fumbles is quite the startling number and that is regardless of who is carrying the ball.

 

[cm husker]

http://sports.omaha.com/2012/01/27/dirks-brunch-bites-jan-27/



Uhhh, turnovers are a big deal. Buckhalter was good...really good but sometimes I think that is why he was never a feature back for us.
I also think that 30 fumbles is quite the startling number and that is regardless of who is carrying the ball.

Never said they weren't a big deal. But this is the second article in a row on topic from this guy... almost like he doesn't think his first article got enough attention.

But all he really did was compile some stats, like an intern at ESPN might. Where's the analysis?

Oh wait, he asked the readers to weigh in with the analysis.

Dirkle has been after Martinez for some time, and this is just another shot at him ("magical recovery rate").

Whatever... at least he didn't editorialize quite so much in this one... just listed a few rhetorical at the end.... valuable contributions; wonder who is his editor.

 

[Lavaman]

we need to stop fumbling the football if we want to get back to elite status, it is as simple as that...

 

[Bearkat Husker]

Dirk's article just reminds everyone what we have at the QB position, a kid who cant consistently throw or take care of the ball. Is Dirk continually banging away, looks like it, but its hard to not to take notice of the fumble stats. Whether he's acting like a stats geek or sportswriterI dont really care. His "brunch bites" remind me of several posters on this forum.

 

[rawkfanseth]

Never said they weren't a big deal. But this is the second article in a row on topic from this guy... almost like he doesn't think his first article got enough attention.

But all he really did was compile some stats, like an intern at ESPN might. Where's the analysis?

Oh wait, he asked the readers to weigh in with the analysis.

Dirkle has been after Martinez for some time, and this is just another shot at him ("magical recovery rate").

Whatever... at least he didn't editorialize quite so much in this one... just listed a few rhetorical at the end.... valuable contributions; wonder who is his editor.

The analysis is at the bottom of the page...the section where he draws conclusions from the data.

 

[cm husker]

The analysis is at the bottom of the page...the section where he draws conclusions from the data.

This is "analysis"?

> What do you make of the recovery rates? Are they based in luck or skill? Nebraska’s offense has lost only 43 percent of its fumbles; most teams lose close to 50 percent. Meanwhile, the Blackshirts have recovered just 33 percent of opponents’ fumbles, a startlingly low number.>> Look at those 19 other programs on the list — all competitive peers of Nebraska. Combined, they had just four seasons of 30-plus fumbles. Florida had one. So did Penn State, West Virginia and Cincinnati. None had more than 34 fumbles (Florida in 2010). Nebraska, on the other hand, had three 30-fumble seasons: 31 in 2008, 32 in 2011 and 45 in 2010.That’s all I have for now. Let me know if you have questions — or if you spotted an error. Also, drop me a comment. What do these numbers mean? Are they significant? Trivial? How concerned should Bo Pelini be? And what can he do to fix them?​

 

[ThotDoc]

Ball security problems cost us the NW game this year and probably the So Carolina game as well.

 

[Husker Country Doc]

IMO, the answer to the fumblitis problem is this:

When a player fumbles because he doesn't have the ball put away, he sits a series.

Same for an OL when they jump.

Depth or no depth, PLAYING TIME is the commodity that a coach can control, that the player DEARLY wants.

THAT will get the player's attention. If a player fumbles a second time in a game, that's probably all the playing time they will see that day.

 

[Greatest Fan of All]

You should probably cite to the article where you pulled that info.

And I don't get dc's ax to grind with Martinez and Bo.... are turnovers the only thing he has to talk about this off season?

Actually, he was being very nice to Bo...calling us a top 20 program. The inability of our coaches to get offensive players to prevent fumbling or the defensive coaches inability to get defenders to create fumbles is perplexing--but he's just reporting the facts.

I compiled fumble numbers for Nebraska and the other top 20 BCS programs over the last four years (measured by winning percentage).

 

[huskernut]

I thought the comparatively poor performance on the defensive side was bigger news than on the offensive side. It's obvious we haven't been getting a lot of turnovers, but I didn't know the numbers were that pronounced.

 

[PaperIsDead]

Ball security problems cost us the NW game this year and probably the So Carolina game as well.

Four turnovers (3 fumbles, I believe) cost us the Michigan game as well. Three interceptions off boneheaded playcalling doomed us in Madison.

Turnovers are HUGE.

 

[mjw11]

interesting article....we cant beat the good teams if we are beating ourselves

 

[HuskerWeatherman]

I find the most interesting part of the article the fact that Martinez has fumbled 30 times in the past two seasons -- but only lost 7.

I pointed this out earlier in the season... how incredibly lucky Nebraska seemed to be in getting back on the ball when he dropped it. That's a turnover less than 1/4 of the time. Amazing really.... and a lot of luck. And typically, over the longer period, the odds catch back up closer to where they should be.

If you look at the other teams... fumbles vs fumbles turned over... just eyeballing it, teams that fumble the ball, give it up to the other team 40-45% of the time. In fact, it's over 50% for some teams.

I kept saying last season, if Martinez continues to put the ball on the turf, eventually it will catch up with him (and the Huskers). Pretty darn fortunate so far... pretty darn lucky. I wouldn't count on this rate staying true another season... Martinez fumbles resulting in a turnover less than 1/4 of the time.