Week 2 Reflection

     Well, I avoided writing this reflection for as long as I could. Luckily, a couple of my friends got married this past Saturday, so I was able to avoid watching most of the first half train-wreck live. Going back over the film, there were obviously a lot of bad things that I will touch on, but quite a bit of good as well. Hopefully everyone can hold back on the "Fire Diaco" chants after the Blackshirts second half performance. Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done, but there was improvement throughout the game. Here's my in depth analysis on the game!
     Let's get the bad stuff out of the way early and talk about the defense. Giving up 42 points and over 400 yards in one half was absolutely pathetic. Lamar Jackson (along with everyone else in the secondary) was burned constantly throughout the game and Oregon QB Justin Herbert could've read through all of his textbooks with the time he had in the pocket. There was no pass rush at all throughout the game and the run defense was gashed multiple times by Royce Freeman. I'm not entirely sure what the answer will be, but all areas of the defense need work. I knew it would not be a 180 turn around with the defense, but they looked completely unprepared for Oregon. The secondary gave up another 365 yards through the air, making them the 2nd worst pass defense in the nation. The defensive line still has yet to record a sack on the season, and the linebackers struggled to contain the edge. Again, there were some bright spots. I thought Luke Gifford and Chris Weber both played well in the second half, and Defensive linemen Mick Stoltenberg and Dontre Thomas plugged up holes very well. The second half shut out gives the Huskers a lot to build on as they head into their final non-conference game before opening up BIG 10 play with Rutgers on the 23rd. I think we'll continue to improve on defense, and our next few weeks will give the Blackshirts a great chance to do that. I'm hoping to see a little more pressure on the opposing QBs in the upcoming weeks.
     Looking to the offense, Tanner Lee and Tre Bryant are the biggest concerns. Hopefully Bryant can get back to health soon and the knee doesn't have any issues. He's clearly the number one back and like Nate and I discussed on our radio show, The 2nd String, I doubt any defense is overly concerned with our other backs at this point in the season. Regardless, getting some of the other RBs on roster some carries would not be a bad thing for the offense. Switching over to Tanner Lee, there's a lot he'll need to improve on over the season. He's sitting at just 52.1% completion rating for the season through 2 games, and his performance at Oregon was not stellar by any means. There were some flashes of greatness and accurate throws, but there were a lot of passes where I think he tried to force too much. Tanner finished with 4 picks, but I'll take away 1.5 of them. The first one was off the hands (and helmet) of Stanley Morgan, so definitely not Lee's fault. The reason I only take away half of Lee's last interception of the game is because although his arm was hit while he threw, I personally don't think he should've been throwing that direction. It looked like he was throwing to the sideline at Stanley Morgan, but when looking at the film, Morgan did not have much room and I just don't like the idea of going for it all on 1st down of a potential drive to tie up the game. This goes back to my forcing throws comment. Riley gave him this job because Lee not only has a great arm, but a great ability to read the defense and find the open man. This offense is built around finding the open route and picking apart the defense systematically. I think Lee will recover and be a solid QB this season, but he needs to progress threw his reads instead of forcing throws. That's a lot like Tommy Armstrong used to do at times. My advice would be to trust in the offense and make the reads necessary to be consistent with his throws. But I'm simply a football fanatic.
     Overall, I'm not terribly worried about the offense, but I do believe our ground game will struggle if Bryant isn't able to come back soon. Wilbon is decent out of the backfield, but not quite as decisive or powerful when he runs. No one knows what has happened to Devine Ozigbo, and new comer Jaylin Bradley will likely get his first look at action this weekend. Right Tackle Matt Farniok looked really good in his first start at Oregon, and I would not be surprised or upset to him take over that starting spot full time. Lee will improve, again, this is his first time playing in a couple years and there's a lot that goes into Coach Riley's offense. Defense showed some flashes, just need to put it all together now! Hopefully we can have a solid win against Northern Illinois this week and prep up for BIG 10 Conference play next week! Thanks for reading and GO BIG RED!

#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando