Tom Shatel of the World-Herald had a real interesting interview last week with Husker Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson. The full article is here. I know there's been plenty of chatter about what Coach W said, but I want to add my 2 cents as well.
It was great to read how the Pelini regime continues to interact with the Osborne era brainpower. That came out right away, when Coach Watson told how he's been in on periodic get-togethers with both T.O. and Milt Tenopir to get more acquainted with their methods in run-game development. This, of course, continues to distance the program in a very positive way from the shield-out-the-past notion that dominated the Callahan years.
Coach W also made a huge remark in talking about the Holiday Bowl offensive performance when he said, "healthy people". And then went through the whole list of guys we knew about being hurt, guys we didn't know as much about being hurt, and guys whose extent of their injuries were vague for many weeks. (This last one is specifically Zac Lee.) Basically, the whole darned O-line was fighting some injury issue almost the entire last 2/3 of the season. With that going on, no wonder the game plan turned more vanilla. And I agree with him big time that, as he said that T.O. reminded the coaches last season, "Style points don't matter." Sometimes there are games---heck, sometimes there are seasons---where a team just has to grind it out. And this team and its coaches were willing to do that in 2009.
The coach also said a mouthful and then some regarding how they had to hustle Cody Green out of there during the Oklahoma game. I could not agree more. I remember watching that game and thinking that CG represented a turnover just waiting to happen. Hopefully, of course, Cody turns in a good spring. It's all out there for him since Zac L will be rehabbing after the shoulder surgery.
Which brings me to---Lee's condition and how the coaches played it cool. Good for everyone involved. Zac did what he could, and the coaches never used his injury as an excuse, nor did they let on that something was wrong so the opposition could run with it. (They probably could see something wasn't working on the tapes, but why confirm it?) From a coaching standpoint, this playing it cool to me shows again just how much of a professional Shawn Watson is. He said about not making a big deal out of it, "That's my job."
There's one other thing about the way Coach W handled the questions, and that is---not once did he mention the receivers and their catching problems. We all know that Nebraska had only one dependable wideout last season--Niles Paul. (Yes, Brandon Kinnie made a catch or two against Texas, but Paul was truly "the man".) And, we also know that at least a couple guys were disappointments as the season went on. But the coach never pointed fingers, never called the guys out for subpar performance.
So now, where do we go from here? Well, we wait for spring practice info. And conjure up thoughts of the Wildcat offense. Considering how this outfit methodically took Arizona apart, I am excited for what's ahead. Who knows? We may be seeing an offense in 2010 that in its own way--its own physical way--makes its mark like the 2008 team did.
And one more note: To me, the fact that Coach Watson was able to do this interview at all is to me a sign of just how much Bo Pelini trusts him. I don't know if every offensive coordinator would be given that kind of leeway in doing something like this. I think this is a very strong signal that the head coach and the offensive coordinator get along very well. And I like that!
Go Big Red!!
The Old Husker Fan
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