Great article...sadly!

I have to agree with some of his comments. Developing the defensive line has been the biggest issue. We look slow and undersized. The 2013 recruiting class is in desparate need of defensive tackles. We have struck out repeatedly. I think we picked up two decent looking DE's but no tackles so far. I know it is a coveted position , but this is ridiculous. Suh should have boosted our reputation, but instead no one really seems that interested in coming despite the chance for immediate playing time. I don't get it. Maybe it is too complicated.

 
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Jim Hammer said:
This is the most important point he makes in my opinion:

A staff of assistant coaches that never left, creating an environment not only conducive to great game management, but talent development.
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Good coaches can build talent. We used to bring in walk-on linemen and mold them into All-Americans by the time they were seniors. But those assistants didn't have aspirations of being head coaches elsewhere. I think the assistants we have now are talented, but they need experience and that takes time. If we keep these coaches, we could be great again, but it;s going to be years down the road.
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those guys were developed with state-of-the-art strength and psychological programs as well as nutrition, of which EVERYONE is doing now.

I know I hamper on this a lot but it's just the way I see it. Our run in the 90's was great, but it was lightning in a bottle. The first results of revolutionizing the off-field intangibles of college football. Everyone has caught up or surpassed us in these categories and now 9-10 wins and no conference or national championships for nebraska is what we have.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that for once I agree with Dirk. Nebraska needs to find that niche or spark that we can sell and lean on. The playing field is getting more and more level each year, WAY more so than Osborne ever had to contend with.

 
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.

 
The Duke said:
HuskerfaninOkieland said:
That article is written by Dirk who is a d!(k who is wildly critical of Bo. I'll consider the source.
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I won't disagree with you about Dirk's personality or how he goes about his business. I especially think more often than not his attitude towards Bo and the program at press conferences tarnishes his trade profession. Two years ago I thought the article that he wrote about Martinez before the Ohio State game was one of the un-classiest pieces of journalism that I had ever read.

With that being said, I am one that is willing to look at "both sides of the coin" so to speak, and I will give credit where credit is due. This current article that Dirk has written about Nebraska needing to find its identity again and a new edge was both spot on & fair.

Nebraska does need to find an identity that meshes with the culture of this state & it's national fan base. I think a great starting point for the coaches can be summed up in one word: PHYSICAL!

I couldn't help but cringe when I watched the Rose Bowl game this year of both the Wisconsin offense & Stanford Offense running power football. Minus the option it was eerily similar to the smash-mouth type of running we used to dish out to opponents week-in & week-out. Some of the zone blocking and pulling guard power-o's and iso plays the other night were a thing of beauty.

Am I saying this is what Nebraska needs to get back to? Not necessarily. Do we need to go back to an all old-school offense and continually run the option out of the I-formation? No. I wish we could, but we can't because the speed of the game has changed too much in the last 20 years. It can be apart of our offense, but I don't think it can be THE offense.

I think the weapons that Tim Beck has coming back next year on offense can prove to be a really dangerous offense...pertaining they do a better job of holding onto the ball. So if I were the coaching staff I would not change the offense too much next season. I would suggest keeping the hurry-up no huddle, but scale back the number of drop back passes we do each game. Another suggestion would be to keep many of the plays the same, but instead of having 4 or 5 wide receivers spreading the field out, I would take out 2 receivers and replace them with TE's. This would allow the running game to have more of a physical edge, it also gives immediate extra blockers for Taylor when he needs it.

The biggest overhaul that Nebraska MUST make is on the defensive side. In your 4 losses when your offense is average at least 30+ points a game, normally that should be good enough to win. When your defense in those 4 losses is giving up an average of 52+ points per game and an average of over 500+ yards that isn't just a defensive problem...it's a catastrophe! Most Husker fans have another word for it: Unacceptable.

I completely agree with what Tom Shatel wrote the other day when he said if your scheme is too complicated and has too big of a learning curve in order to get your young talent onto the field, "then get rid of the curve."

Defensive scheme should be the #1 focus of this coaching staff this offseason. I know Bo trusts his current scheme, but the numbers speak for themselves. When he doesn't have NFL talent on that side of the ball his above average defensive players struggle, where in another simplified scheme they would more than likely thrive playing at a faster speed and with a higher degree of confidence.

If Bo is the "defensive genius" that many tagged him with years ago, then he will keep the things that he likes about his current scheme, but will also simply other parts of the scheme so that his players can play faster and with that higher degree of confidence...not just in the scheme, but with themselves.

In closing, I usually have a hard time agreeing with much of what Dirk Chatelain has to write, but this time around I will give credit where credit his due. He is spot on. Nebraska must find it's new edge.
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Pretty much agree with everything, and 100% agree that Dirk was spot on.

A Husker fan can choose to not like Dirk's style, but this article was an honest, intelligent opinion, not a hatchet job.

 
knapplc said:
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.
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In that case, it'd really only be fair to ban discussion of any opinion article.

(For the record, I'm assuming you're being facetious. Just making a point.)

 
knapplc said:
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.
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Ha ha! +1 Knapp. He & the Omaha World Herald really do get a lot of free publicity here when you step back and think about it.

 
Hammerhead said:
knapplc said:
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.
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In that case, it'd really only be fair to ban discussion of any opinion article.

(For the record, I'm assuming you're being facetious. Just making a point.)
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Not being facetious, and I'm not interested in being "fair." The guy writes hatchet pieces on the Huskers. I have no patience for that, no matter how many accurate or intelligent articles he's written before or since.

The OWH is also the most militant local media outlet about their content. We've been notified on more than one occasion when people have quoted their articles that they want the article taken down. They have the right to protect their material and I'll defend that right, but at the same time we give them a TON of free advertising here. Tons. So if they're going to be pissy about the use of their articles here, I don't see why we can't do the same. No free ads. Period.

 
Yeah, that'd make this place great for Huskers discussion. Ban articles about the Huskers because they don't agree with your opinion. Can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully the rest of the mods/staff will actually use some common sense if you really try this.

 
knapplc said:
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.
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But to objectively step back from his content for just a second, I think the biggest problem is that we forget that journalism is trending more and more towards simply being the biggest trainwreck possible to make you turn your head and stare. It's there to sell ad space. Dirk is selling his.

That's what we need to remember - he's providing entertainment. Can it be hurtful, and even detrimental? Yes. But it is what it is, it's journalism; a field that's losing integrity almost literally daily.

 
Assuming your job is to write about Husker Football, what else would you write at this juncture?

(Most of us write about Husker Football when it isn't our job -- often while at our real job -- but I guess that's another story)

 
EbylHusker said:
Yeah, that'd make this place great for Huskers discussion. Ban articles about the Huskers because they don't agree with your opinion. Can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully the rest of the mods/staff will actually use some common sense if you really try this.
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Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. In fact, I agree with this article. I'm saying we're not here to provide free advertising for local media, especially when they don't reciprocate. The hatchet jobs are part of it.

 
knapplc said:
Hammerhead said:
knapplc said:
I'm getting pretty close to banning Dirk Chatelain article discussion around here. All we're doing is giving the guy free advertising.
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In that case, it'd really only be fair to ban discussion of any opinion article.

(For the record, I'm assuming you're being facetious. Just making a point.)
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Not being facetious, and I'm not interested in being "fair." The guy writes hatchet pieces on the Huskers. I have no patience for that, no matter how many accurate or intelligent articles he's written before or since.
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At which point you stop being a Moderator.

 
knapplc said:
The OWH is also the most militant local media outlet about their content. We've been notified on more than one occasion when people have quoted their articles that they want the article taken down. They have the right to protect their material and I'll defend that right, but at the same time we give them a TON of free advertising here. Tons. So if they're going to be pissy about the use of their articles here, I don't see why we can't do the same. No free ads. Period.
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I like this idea

 
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