SIAP - Rivals reporting tonight Raiola being retained ...
- Thread starter RedCap_rivals330392
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At least I know what I don’t know.
. My fellow keyboard kowboys have been bashing him nonstop and I just had this feeling that he was doing a better job than he was getting credit for.
At some point some of my fellow posters need to realize that we don’t know as much as we think we know.
It appears most people believe that each position group is somehow autonomous and are able to teach things that are contrary to the design of the coordinator.At least I know what I don’t know.
I readily admit that I’m not an Xs and Os guy but even I understand that. Between Whips offense, the suspension, the injuries and the talent limitations I thought our O linemen made some progress this season. Man we need to find at least one tackle and a center now.
Time will tell. This whole notion that the O-line got marginally better as the season went on is the same case for the whole team this past season. The D-line, linebackers, defense as a whole progressed a lot more than the O-line as the season went on. The running game seemed to get worse. No QB aside from apparently super quick blinker Casey Thompson could do ANYTHING behind a line that a quarter of the time they let defenders go by, it was because they didn’t even attempt to block them. This line regressed a lot from last season and that’s saying something.At least I know what I don’t know.
Raiola did absolutely nothing to win any favor from fans with his position group this year. Nothing. That should be extremely obvious watching his group “play”. Just atrocious. Even the Bears’ offense is light years better without him. I’ve been super optimistic about Rhule and this just dropped a big ol’ mud monkey on my buzz.
Before everyone freaks out, Donovan Raiola just joined us. No, he wasn’t a miracle worker in his first year with us, but in both the college level and pros he has a lot of experience. If Rhule sees something in him he likes, I am not going to second guess it. Frost’s problems were established long before he joined us.
Geez the Bears are better because of Fields. Period. All Raiola did for the bears was work with their young linemen and practice squad players. He was an assistant O line coach.
We lost a freaking high NFL draft pick center and replaced him with a walk on. WTH did you expect.
I know. Out of nearly everyone who was on the old staff though, he probably did the least to warrant being retained, next to Duval. I would’ve kept everyone else before those two.
You have to judge him based on the improvement that group showed given their talent level. Whips offense was not well suited for those guys. Raiola could only work with what he inherited.
Again, had Jurgens returned and Nouili not been suspended, it's a different functioning OL.
40% of the OL was gone from 2021. Especially a stud like Cam.
Gosh, perhaps if The Strangler had dumbed down the offense like Busch dumbed down the defense, there would have been similar progress made in the run game. Instead, we continued to throw the ball all over and blame the OL coach for not being able to teach blocking technique in his first year with the squad. Hell perhaps the previous OL coach, a former nebraska player could have just improved the OL enough to be serviceable.
And Hixson was arguably our best lineman this year. Throw Nouri and Teddy in the mix and the line would have looked vastly different. Yes it sucked, but it did improve some too.
At least I know what I don’t know.
At Nebraska, the coach of any disappointing position is subject to scorn, even if they just walked in the door. The idea that things take time to develop is quaint.
Rhule will find that much of our fan base is so beaten down after Frost that they are ready to jump off the ledge at any moment for little or no reason.
I agree with that, but there were so many simple gaffs that are squarely on the O-line coach that we didn’t even see last season. And again, so many other positions grew MORE than the O-line…Raiola did not prove anything more than any other position coach did. Sean Beckton??? The tight ends grew leaps and bounds. Worst O-line I’ve ever seen at this school by far this past season.
Beckton doesn’t know Rhule’s offense and Rhule’s pick for OC also coaches TEs. Why would he keep Beckton?
It's just strange to me that Rhule talked a lot about the importance of Offensive Line and how everything starts up front, yet OL is the one position where he hires a coach who he has no experience working with before.
The hardest thing for relatively young O linemen to do is pass protect. Add to that the fact that our OTs weren’t the quickest guys and drop back passes with little deception is a recipe for sacks. Purdy those first couple of games created problems by leaking backwards in the pocket. Lots of factors this year out of Raiola’s control and Rhule knows that by watching the video
And Raiola knows Rhule’s (Satterfield’s) offense?? “Why would he keep Raiola” with that logic…? Beckton, btw coached different offenses the past 2 seasons where his position group greatly excelled in each. If his OC coaches TE and they won’t be used much anyways, so be it but I maintain that retaining Raiola after this past season was not earned in any way. There are A LOT of those fish in the sea.
Coaching O line is different than teaching receivers. Again, Rhule’s OC COACHES HIS TEs. WTH would he keep Beckton?
If I use my imagination, I picture a conversation between Rhule and Raiola where Rhule asks about the status of the OL room, and Raiola says, “Well Coach, I noticed back in the spring that our guys needed a lot of extra help with footwork. I went to coach Frost about adjusting the S&C schedule to get more agility work in, but I was told that they already had a plan which was built around getting the guys stronger in their legs…. and well I feel like that approach was at the root of what transpired during the season. I believe in these guys and feel that with an offseason working properly on foot speed and agility, they carry a ton of potential. It’s really that simple, and keeping some chemistry there will be ideal to move forward efficiently.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda something I had actually considered from afar,” Rhule replied. “Now go recruit.”
With Jurgens declaring and Nouili getting suspended, along with Teddy going down as well as Keith Williams and the raw material was weak for any P5 team.
Combine that with CT's injuries and then his missing games, during that period, and the "QB Coach" shares much of the "blame" for the offensive woes.
2022 was a season to just turn the page and try to look forward to a new coaching staff and hope NU has better luck with injuries.
It is interesting how many of the new coaches have coached OL as a position group themselves. Rhule obviously but also Foley a number of years and Satterfield at least a year himself. Seems like Raiola must’ve shown he knows his stuff, and he is not going to be on an island on this one — a lot of coaches around him who know OL coaching too.
I already made peace with that, man. I had forgot Satterfield was going to coach TE also. I was simply comparing a coach that did a great job with his position vs. one that didn’t. Coaching success that you can see on the field. The TE’s excelled at far more than just catching the ball. Bill Busch, Ruud, Travis Fisher. All guys I would’ve kept as no brainers over Raiola. All I’m saying is that he didn’t show anything to be retained. People knew we were grasping at straws when we hired him, as an assistant who was basically laid off by the bears, and here we are again, extending his contract…it just doesn’t make sense.
I think there is a younger one. I don't think that's why Rhule kept Raiola though.
You forgot to mention in the middle of the conversation, Donovan got a call from his nephew asking him how he liked the new coach and did he still have the NU job.
Won’t matter when he’s knocked out for the season after the 3rd game due to zero protection. Never fully gets his arm back to 100% after surgery and is yet another Nebraska bust.