Shawn Watson is the offensive coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was retained after the former head coach Bill Callahan and his staff were fired.
Yes, Bo Pelini gives him the thumbs-up. It is my opinion, however, that he needs to take a step back and re-evaluate his position concerning Mr. Watson. The reasons why are many, if you happen to know who Nebraska has on offense and you watch any of the games. While it's true that Watson was dealt a bad hand without much depth at quarterback, there are still some glaring faults.
First of all, Nebraska's offense has a lot of talent at many positions. We have big-time playmakers that make the ESPN highlights and get the talking heads talking. (On that note: ESPN, please relax the Taylor Martinez hype. He's an unproven freshman with a long way to go. Yes, he shows great promise, but for God's sake just shut up about him for awhile and let him grow.) It is these playmakers that, in the end, cover up Shawn Watson's bad decision making and short-sightedness. Over the course of so many games, he has been lucky that Roy Helu, Taylor Martinez, and Rex Burkhead have been able to do the things that they have with the obvious help of the offensive line. It has been their performances that have saved Watson's image in the eyes of many. But no longer. Just as it had with Bill Callahan's and former defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove's bad decisions, Watson's are catching up to him, and the typical Nebraska fan's patience with incompetence (due to their practice of trying to rationalize other reasons why things fail) won't last much longer. It's time to replace him.
Why? Allow me...
1) His play calling is transparent. He is totally predictable, just the same as when he worked for Callahan. There was some variance in the beginning of this season when Martinez was healthy, but that is now gone. During yesterday's game against Texas A&M, I counted about six plays where A&M didn't know what was going to happen before the ball was snapped. We send in the running back that we're going to hand off to, and that's that. With Martinez unable to run, the single back who lines up is who's going to get the ball, except on those rare occasions when it's a fake that ends up a pass attempt (that usually fails). I must stress that this season is not unique where patterns like these are concerned. As I stated before, Watson's been lucky that these single backs have been able to make big plays (thanks again to the Nebraska offensive line).
2) #44 Mike McNeill, Tight End/Receiver. Read about him here:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=325002
In my opinion, we have one of the best tight ends in all of college football. He's 6"4", has great hands, and he's hard to bring down. If he's getting tackled, he's good at falling forward for that extra yard (or two!). He can make catches that others simply cannot. There have been so many times we've been on second and third down and short that he could have been utilized to get the first down with ease. Whether it's a quick out pattern or just dumping it to him in the middle, he can make it happen. Even if he failed on a second down attempt, it would at least make the opposing defense think that there might be another angle of attack to watch out for. So, Watson, WHERE IS HE? INSTEAD OF MAKING PLAYS TO OUR TIGHT ENDS AN ACT OF DESPERATION, MAKE THEM THE NORM. This is one lack of strategy used by Watson over the past years.
3) We have some of our talent in the wrong places, and/or they just aren't being utilized to their fullest ability. I don't know if this is Watson's fault or not. Perhaps this lies on the shoulders of Bo Pelini. I'm going out on a limb here to assume that since Bo is a well-known defensive mind, he has trusted player's positions to Watson's judgment. Even if it isn't Watson's fault, it's happening on his watch. These players are seniors, and while I don't know if they are 4th or 5th year or what their intentions are on returning if they can, this needs to serve as an example of changes that should be considered. Here's one that's pretty simple: Switch Niles Paul and Roy Helu if you're going to keep them locked into single positions. Paul, at 6'1", can't catch the ball, but once he has it, he's simply dangerous. He can burst for yards quicker than Helu and he's much better at running side-to-side. If you need a reference point, watch his kick returns and dropped passes. Helu, on the other hand, is an inch shorter but is built differently and runs differently. He is not a good side to side runner where short bursts are concerned (watch the replays if you don't believe me). He has long strides, and while it takes him a couple extra to really get going, once he's in open space no one can touch him. With his long arms, he would be devastating to our opponent's defensive secondaries. It should be noted that he was an accomplished receiver as well as running back before he came to Nebraska. These are two multi-dimensional players that are being stifled by Watson's lack of vision. It makes you wonder who else we have on the sideline whose true talent may never be known.
Niles Paul:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=831272
Roy Helu:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=831215
4) He's just not good at calling the right plays when the chips are down. With all the talent we have, we should be dominant on offense. But we're not. At the very least, we shouldn't have a problem scoring touchdowns when things are OK. But we do. During the game against Texas, when we came at them with the same old looks that Texas had prepped for, Watson insisted on trying to run it up the middle. If you have watched Texas games over, say, the last FIVE YEARS, you would know that it's almost impossible to push Texas around and make holes in the middle. With the exception of the zone-read plays that failed miserably, he didn't deviate. He didn't adjust. HE FAILED. I was begging Watson to get the ball to Mike McNeill on short outside routes. It would have made all the difference. How did UCLA beat Texas? They outsmarted them. They showed Texas different looks on offense that kept them confused for the whole game. People give Rick Neuheisel a hard time due to his sketchy reputation, but he did what we could not. And all it took was a little planning. During the game against Iowa State, I was begging Watson through the television to put in Rex Burkhead to get our drives going. He didn't do it. He must have gotten the message from someone, however, because he sure did for the Texas A&M game. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.
There are so many examples of his bad judgment that I can't even quantify it. When I remember more, I'll post them. Hell, I might have to hire someone well versed in the statistics to do it for me. Then again, it may even be too much for two people with jobs to handle. Thanks for reading this, and I hope it does some good down the line.
