Steven M. Sipple: Healthy Murtha a welcome sight
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Maybe Nebraska’s offensive line needs only a nudge to get its engine started.
Or perhaps it needs a dose of nastiness.
Enter Lydon Murtha. You would think a 6-foot-7, 315-pound senior tackle with less than 10 percent body fat — and a propensity for cocksure aggressiveness — might be able to help matters in some fashion.
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“You don’t find too many guys in the world like Lydon,” says Nebraska senior defensive end Clayton Sievers.
Murtha missed the first two games because of an arm injury and a staph infection in his leg. He returned to practice this week and is set to start tonight.
Lydon to the rescue? Nebraska has been waiting for Murtha to emerge as a consistent force for some time now. The kid’s got a bona fide NFL frame. We’ll see.
“Lydon’s just a physical beast out there,” Sievers says. “He’s probably the best tackle I’ve gone against since I’ve gotten here. His freshman and sophomore years, he had troubles in pass protection. But he’s a really good run blocker, and he’s improved his pass protection.”
Entering this season, Murtha was set to start at right tackle alongside 6-5, 320-pound senior guard Matt Slauson.
We’ll gauge tonight how well Murtha holds up physically. But Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and offensive line coach Barney Cotton earlier this week were already beaming about Murtha’s return.
Yes, Nebraska needs Murtha — right now. There’s some urgency here.
Some Nebraska fans might regard tonight’s game against New Mexico State as a yawner, another tuneup before a rugged stretch (Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, Missouri on Oct. 4, and at Texas Tech on Oct. 11). I say tonight’s game is critical in light of not only what lies ahead on the schedule, but also because of NU’s rather uneven performance last week against San Jose State.
Big Red took a step backward last Saturday and needs to avoid a recurrence. The Huskers were outgained 353-315 by the Spartans, who were the aggressors coming out of the gate. NU’s defense reverted to last season’s sloppy tackling early in the game before rebounding admirably. This unit has improved dramatically, especially the D-line, although overall depth will be an ongoing concern.
Nebraska’s offense is the bigger issue. It’s too early to panic about this group, but not too early to wonder. NU managed only 99 rushing yards (3.3 yards per carry) last week after also struggling to find rhythm in the running game in the opener. Establishing rhythm and continuity is what tonight’s all about for the Husker offense.
New Mexico State’s defense might be vulnerable. The Aggies return seven starters from a group that ranked 107th nationally in scoring defense last season. They feature a new defensive coordinator (Joe Lee Dunn), who favors a funky 3-3-5 alignment. Because tonight marks the Aggies’ first go-round using the new scheme, it’s easy to imagine plenty of botched assignments. Can Nebraska take advantage?
This much is certain: Dunn will dial up pressure on quarterback Joe Ganz. Dunn moves defenders around and makes blockers’ minds race. San Jose State’s defense used a four-man front, with lots of movement along the line, while New Mexico State features a three-man line and sometimes even a two-man front “with an awful lot of fast and athletic guys running around and getting in all sorts of different positions where you really have to be assignment-sound and make sure you’re putting a hat on a hat,” Cotton said.
If you bleed Nebraska red, you want to see the Huskers crank up their ground game because being one-dimensional may not cut it against upper-tier Big 12 teams or even against Virginia Tech and standout cornerback Macho Harris (five picks last season), who might just shut down one side of the field all by his lonesome. You want to see NU’s offensive line executing as a unit. You want to see fewer mental errors. That goes for the entire offense.
“But we need to clean up a lot of those,” Slauson says of the line. “I just think guys were so excited about our running game being back this season that they went out and tried a little too hard. I mean, the effort was there. The aggression was there. But I think guys’ focus was a little off because they were trying to make a huge play or huge block.”
Sometimes an offensive line needs a few games before it develops rhythm and continuity. Sometimes it just needs a little push to get going. So, maybe Murtha really will be the answer. We’ll see. In the run game, he can mash people with his sheer size. Plus, with his huge wingspan, he can be difficult for pass rushers to loop around. Also, the NU offensive line is generally a quiet group of fellows that maybe could use Murtha’s bravado.
“Lydon’s strong, physical, and he’s a little dirty at times,” Husker defensive end Pierre Allen says. “He’ll push you after the play. Murtha will get you right. He’ll prepare you.”
Nebraska’s offense is hoping that’s the case.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
