Vargas

I would think our personnel fits very well into a Pro Offense style. Minus QB. I think, at least from what we've seen, that would be the only position that would struggle in this transition. With Riley and Langsdorf on staff I'm actually confident that we will see improvement in QB play. But I'm not confident that the level of improvement would put them at a Pro QB style of offense. We have the WRs, our RBs are solid, and I think our OLine could handle the change in assignments. So maybe a Pro Style with some zone read to play to our QB run strengths?

I think kids today really do communicate more and more through different social media platforms and sites. Seeing people that are recruiting active on those platforms just gives them another level of familiarity and connection, in my opinion.

http://athlonsports.com/nebraska-football-how-mike-rileys-recruiting-approach-differs-bo-pelinis Just read that article and pulled a couple things from it. First was the use of social media. As much as it pains me, I feel this is a necessary step forward in the recruiting business. Young people this day (I'm not that far removed from that group) use social media constantly. The fact that Riley is active and is (as far as I've seen so far) often referencing recruits is a plus in my eyes. The biggest thing I read and loved was that Riley uses the satellite camp method similar to what James Franklin did last summer. I remember reading about that and hoping that Nebraska would do something similar. I know we have had the camps at NU, which I personally thought were a good idea. But on top of those it would have been a boon to use these satellite camps to get a group of prospects in front you and start building those relationships. I hope that Riley continues to use the camps while at NU. Texas, FL, CA, wherever he thinks he can pull some athletes. Thoughts?

guessing you didn't read the full transcript? Where's the rip job? That Nebraska has more scrutiny than LSU or Oklahoma? Who here disagrees with that? He follows that up with "If you don't think this is the best place then you shouldn't stay." Like I said previously, that's sound advice at any time. I'll disagree with that. At OU they went 12-1, losing in the championship game. At LSU they had a new coach (honeymoon period) and went 11-2, 11-2, 12-2 with a championship that last game. There's a lot less scrutiny when you win. I guarantee if he'd have hung around there and lost to just about every single ranked team they played, he'd have felt at least as much scrutiny. You disagreed by saying there was less scrutiny there because they were winning? Which in effect means that he was telling the truth? I'm saying he was at LSU and OU when they were at or very near the top. Everything was rosy. Scrutiny comes in times like when you get run over for 408 yards by one player. Things would've been just as harsh at LSU and OU, maybe more so, had that happened there while he was there. Times weren't comparable to his tenure at Nebraska. I know what you meant. I was just pointing out that what Bo said could actually be true. The scrutiny was less intense. I understand it would be ratcheted up if they experienced what we had.

Isn't in private where most people complain about their jobs and bosses? haha I'm just saying... Also, OMG SO MANY EMOTICONS! A whole new world has been opened up.

Do people on this board really believe that Nebraska fans are no more demanding than other "tradition rich" schools? Also, I'm already tired of hearing Bo Pelini being equated to a cult leader. It confuses me that people will shrink at the words Bo used and admonish him for not being "classy" and "professional" but have no compunction when calling him trashy, or a cult leader, or evil, or whatever else thing you can think to say. Sorry, dressing it up with nicer words doesn't actually make it nicer. The expectation you set for him versus yourself makes your opinion hard to swallow. At the time of this recording he was an unemployed guy talking to a group of his former employees in a "semi private" setting since even that is now being debated.

I see what you're saying about the rift. I guess what I'm confused about is this: Can there actually be a rift between football players and administration. How does a football players viewpoint that his previous coach was unfairly fired by an AD / President have any effect on a football program? They have no effect on an AD or his / her job status or daily work. And vice versa. He specifically told his players to keep playing hard and finish season. He didn't say anything negative about the new coach and said to give him a fair shake. I know this follows the trendy "us vs them" doom and gloom that has been talked about last couple months. I personally think that whole thing is overblown. Every quote I can recall where this type of mentality comes up he's telling his players to block out the negativity of media. He tells them don't read the articles, ignore fan comments about you, block it out and rely on your teammates. Really tho, let's say all our football players now completely and utterly hate SE. (which isn't happening) So what? What does it matter? What does this rift affect? They aren't going to stage a walk out. They aren't going on strike. They aren't going to stop competing. So now SE gets called a p***** in a football locker room. Who cares? On a funny note tho, who here thinks that Bo Pelini will never, ever, ever, consider any conversation private that doesn't occur inside his home? hahaha edit: Also, I'm pretty sure this "us vs them culture" exists in more locker rooms than not. Players consider themselves a brotherhood or family. They have to band together through adversity. And yes, sometimes that adversity comes from negativity from local media and fanbase, whether that negativity is warranted or not isn't the issue. We've seen instances where players were called names and harrassed on campus and also attacked personally via twitter. It's just weird times.

guessing you didn't read the full transcript? Where's the rip job? That Nebraska has more scrutiny than LSU or Oklahoma? Who here disagrees with that? He follows that up with "If you don't think this is the best place then you shouldn't stay." Like I said previously, that's sound advice at any time. I'll disagree with that. At OU they went 12-1, losing in the championship game. At LSU they had a new coach (honeymoon period) and went 11-2, 11-2, 12-2 with a championship that last game. There's a lot less scrutiny when you win. I guarantee if he'd have hung around there and lost to just about every single ranked team they played, he'd have felt at least as much scrutiny. You disagreed by saying there was less scrutiny there because they were winning? Which in effect means that he was telling the truth?

Well, I think that's the intent. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's the message I take issue with. As others have pointed out, and I agree, Bo made it about himself. He had to make sure they all knew how badly he, their leader, got screwed. He had to tell his students that their AD probably didn't have a plan, and that they were in a place with an AD who had no values. Bo probably genuinely believes all of those things. He's got a real victim complex going on. And I find the "do what's best for you" part of the message to be pretty disingenuous. In the context of the speech, after all that, "Isn't it miserable here? You guys know. The negativity. Etc etc etc. Look how this place treated me. They probably don't have a plan for you guys." Bo was all over the map. If you want a blueprint for how to properly do the things you suggested, just look at what Muschamp told his players, or what Hoke told his players. Hell, probably what Callahan told his players. Or how about Bill Blankenship (excerpted, w/ emphasis added): Look, football's a tough business. If you don't produce big, and often, you'll be shipped out because there are plenty of other coaches who would love the opportunity to sit in that chair. Not very many can succeed. Heck -- not very many get seven years on the same job. If you're unable to produce football results at Nebraska, I have no hard feelings about this. It isn't an easy task even at Florida. But please go out having kept our NU brand strong and proud, having been a good life teacher for all the NU athletes placed in your care. I think a lot of us expected Bo to go out exactly like that, with class. It fit the Bo that, for all his occasional grumpiness, etc, we wanted to believe he was: a guy who genuinely was good for his players and cared for them. Just look at the cookie cutter speech knapplc typed out for Bo. That was perfect. But, time to face reality. That wasn't Bo. I get what you're saying and I agree it would have been nice to have the whole public statement thing. The problem I have is that those statements are just what knapplc was writing, cookie cutter. To me those are no more impressive than the coaches conference calls where every team "is well coached" and "great fundamentals" and will be "a challenge for our team". And the other half is we have no idea what those coaches said to their players in person. I also agree that Bo could have worded much of his conversation differently. I think people looking at it also have different opinions on what his conversation should have been about, but we don't have a say in that. I've seen several posters start their post saying "This meeting should have been about.." and "He should have taken this time to...". But that's your opinion. That's what you think needed to be said. That's what you think should have happened. That's how you would have handled it. I don't understand how people can take a conversation that he had with his players during a situation he and they were experiencing, and then say he did it wrong. Or he talked about the wrong things. Or his off the cuff talk wasn't neat and orderly. What? This board often goes from conversation on football topics and water cooler fun to deep analyzation of every aspect and nuance. His sentences are getting broken down for deeper meaning and we interpret an off the cuff statement into some overarching scheme or plot. I've read the transcript and listened to the audio. It never once sounds like he is poisoning the well, attempting to create a rift between the players and admins, or asking players to jump ship with him. He does rant about the guy who just fired him. Yep. But to me the rest is him just freely speaking about his situation to his players, telling them to not stress out about their coaches because they will be fine. He says keep your heads up and finish the year strong. Don't listen to all the outside noise now, because it can really eat you up. (Sounds like he is speaking from experience~) He says if you stay here give the new guys a chance.

guessing you didn't read the full transcript? Where's the rip job? That Nebraska has more scrutiny than LSU or Oklahoma? Who here disagrees with that? He follows that up with "If you don't think this is the best place then you shouldn't stay." Like I said previously, that's sound advice at any time.

So let's call it for what it is. In his farewell speech, Bo attempted to turn his entire team against the administration and athletic department. He led a chorus of sniggers as he called his boss, the NU athletic director, every name in the book. (Real cowardice, by the way) He told players that this place is a (redacted), in part because of "a lot of the former players", among just about everything else. After all the talk about what a miserable place it was, he suggested Nebraska players take a long hard look at if they'll be happy here and to transfer if they won't. All of this is beyond horrifying. And plainly it was not the first time he's talked about this, or like this, to his team. That's the man the University of Nebraska employed for seven years to lead a group of over a hundred of its student-athletes, and to represent UNL in the homes of countless high school students around the country. There's a lot of good things about Bo, too, but there's no getting around that this is who he is, and this is how he's treated this place and the charge he was given. I wish it weren't the case, but it is, and Bo alone is responsible for who he is. To me it seemed like someone offering advice to someone he cared about, instead of staying loyal to a company that no longer employed him. It's the same advice (I hope) you would give a friend or family member. If you're doing something that (most) people will only be able to do for 4-5 years I hope you do it in a way that makes YOU happy and leaves you with no regrets. If staying here and doing it makes you the most happy, do it here. If you need to go somewhere else to find that happiness, then go there my friend. And if you do stay here, hey, give the next guy a fair shake because it's gonna be tough on them, too. That's just good advice. It's not inciting anger and hoping to inspire people to ditch NU. I think a lot of people are reading in between the lines to see and hear what they want to see and hear. Sometimes an apple is just an apple. Sometimes when someone says, "I love you guys like my own kids" he means it. He's not trying to manipulate them.

Are you really comparing a bunch of fans on a message board to a public figure making a speech in front of young impressionable boys? That just made me laugh out loud. Depending on the topic and convo being had these guys go from adults who should know better, smart enough to steer clear of that, to young impressionable boys. I also disagree that this "speech" was a slanderous rip job of the University. Bo called out TWO individuals that he didn't like and tore them apart. He never said anything negative about the school. And in my opinion trashing a school's AD doesn't equate to trashing a school. Everyone who's saying how he is attacking NU is off the mark, in my opinion.

(deep breath) I disagree. It takes a lot of courage to be first.

Why do people who view other people differently than you do have to be bad? If two people watch one comedian, they might both laugh, one laugh one not, or both not laugh. If they differ it isn't because one is evil and one is good. It's because they are different people. It's a pretty common thread in our society today that people on opposite sides of an issue need to view that person as an enemy. We aren't enemies. We're neighbors. I like Bo. I liked him as Coach of NU. He wasn't perfect because he's a human. Everything he did wasn't shiny and awesome. I disagreed with the need to fire him. I also (for the most part) liked what he had to say to his players. He is a brusque and (from his worldview) very honest person. He seems to genuinely care for his players and look out for them. If you disagree me I'm okay with that. It's your right. The way you were raised and / or live causes you to view people and the world differently than I do. You value different things in different ways. I'm going to assume you aren't evil even though you disagree with me. I'm not going to assume you're an idiot because you don't agree with my point. Do me a favor and attempt to view people on the opposite side of whatever issue-of-the-day we are talking about in the same light. Maybe take an extra 10 secs before hitting "Post" and make sure you aren't demonizing someone who doesn't agree with you. I've already seen in 9 pages people called immoral, unethical, lunatics, idiot, etc etc. You really think I must have questionable morals because I don't think Bo Pelini is an a-hole? Really? Just take a breath before you post.

I'm not really that disappointed in what was said. He has always been straight forward in his assessments and his players have always said that he was bluntly honest with them. This hasn't changed that view. People are upset he didn't have a glowing outlook on the University that just fired him? People are shocked and angry that he was honest and told his players they need to make decisions for themselves on what is best for them, whether it be to stay or leave? He also said play your hearts out in the bowl. He also said give the new coach a chance because it's a tough situation. I actually enjoyed reading it. It pulled back the curtain somewhat. Oooh, he called the guy who fired him a p****. Bet 20 year old college kids have never heard that language before. Oh no, now these kids won't respect the administration because Bo called them names. How will they ever play hard again...? There is no connection.