The Nebraska football team has had some problems giving Casey Thompson the time to find the open man from time to time this year. However, offensive coordinator Mark Whipple believes that he’s figured out what’s at the root of that problem. While it will take some time to figure out if things have been solved, the OC believes that communication key.
While interim head coach Mickey Joseph had been keeping things rather tamped down when it came to his assistants talking to the media, this week was the beginning of a real return to normalcy. That included Whipple speaking about what he sees as one big way to fix the offense.
Speaking during the weekly press conference, Whipple said the Nebraska football team has worked a lot on communication over the last few weeks. That communication involves talk between the offensive line, the running backs and the quarterback.
He went on to say that quite a few of the sacks that he’s seen this season have come because the communication among the Huskers hasn’t been great. He believes that communication issues have been fixed and the sacks will be less of a problem.
That would certainly be nice. Though just what has caused the sacks isn’t universally agreed upon. The offensive line, for the first part of the season, has been pretty bad.
According to PFF, of the offensive lineman who has gotten real playing time, only Trent Hixson has a pass blocking grade above 75 (77.5). The line is going to be put to the test against Indiana.
While the Hoosiers don’t have an elite defense by any stretch, they do have a very good pass rusher in Dasan McCullough. IU as a team has recorded 12 sacks and 39 quarterback hurries through four games.
Considering that the Nebraska football team has looked overmatched against the other two Power 5 defensive squads it’s faced off against this season, if Whipple hasn’t fixed the communication issues, it could be a long night for Casey Thompson.