Chat with Eric Crouch on ESPN

[da skers]

idk maybe im way out on a limb here, but the guy won a freaking heisman trophy while he was at nebraska and took the team to a MNC game!(granted he didnt win it)he also set 32 team records and had a great career winning percentage, and he did it with a less talented team then what the other great qbs in husker history had. give the guy a break! he played his butt off and represented the school well while he was here. maybe its just me but i dont think all this trash talking is even remotely necessary.

Where did I say he wasn't a great or gifted athlete? In fact I stated the opposite.

Here is a little perspective: Allen Iverson in his prime was no doubt one of the top 2 players in the NBA if not the best. He won almost every thing a guy could. Scoring titles, MVP's, hell his career average for points per game is second only to MJ. But how many people would say he cared more about the team than himself? Hardly anyone. I honestly believe he could have had a half a dozen NBA titles had he learned to put the team first. It doesn't discount the guys accomplishments in anyway but don't assume that because he carried his teams that he put the team ahead of himself. I think its hard for very talented and gifted athletes to that because they are used to being "the guy" who makes things happen. They often have to learn to be a part of the team. The problem is they sometimes never understand its not all about them often until its too late.

 

[tmfr15]

I believed in Newcombe too. I also know that the RB spot was less than fully productive in those Crouch years. I also respect Crouch for what he did for the program. He put the team on his back and carried us all the way to the National Title game. And if you want to hang that Colorado loss on him, you must have missed our defensive performance, or lack there of. Crouch did what he could. Was he without fault? No.

Bashing Crouch now for his failed professional career, then trying to dredge up dirt from the past and nail him further is both counter productive and unappreciative.

Also if we could give T-Mart more than a year to show what kind of player he is....and back off Cody, he's no longer here...

Then that would be a good thing.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation.

Yet he only led the team in carries during one season. <_<

 

[husker_99]

If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation.

Yet he only led the team in carries during one season. <_<

He often came out early of games because we had huge leads. Jammal was able to play a whole quarter sometimes.

 

[Joe_5700]

idk maybe im way out on a limb here, but the guy won a freaking heisman trophy while he was at nebraska and took the team to a MNC game!(granted he didnt win it)he also set 32 team records and had a great career winning percentage, and he did it with a less talented team then what the other great qbs in husker history had. give the guy a break! he played his butt off and represented the school well while he was here. maybe its just me but i dont think all this trash talking is even remotely necessary.

I don't think it's trash talking just that too many people are afraid to admit that Eric Crouch wasn't all that he was cracked up to be. They don't want to admit that there is a darker side to how Crouch got the qb job at Nebraska. Sure he may of put up good numbers and was a great player but at what cost? We never ran the option while he was here cause he never pitched the ball to the running back. If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation. In fact if you stopped Crouch you had us beat. Before you start saying we didn't have any rb's we had a guy named correll buckhalter playing at the same time.

We should have had a NC in 1999... if it wasn't for the avalanche of fumbles. Did Colorado stop Crouch when they put 60+ on us? He was definately not a liability to the team like you seem to be implying.

 

[Landlord]

If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation.

Yet he only led the team in carries during one season. <_<

He often came out early of games because we had huge leads. Jammal was able to play a whole quarter sometimes.

But our runningbacks stayed in til time expired?

If you really want to blame Crouch for his amount of touches, you have to blame Solich equally or possibly (probably) even moreso.

 

[husker_99]

idk maybe im way out on a limb here, but the guy won a freaking heisman trophy while he was at nebraska and took the team to a MNC game!(granted he didnt win it)he also set 32 team records and had a great career winning percentage, and he did it with a less talented team then what the other great qbs in husker history had. give the guy a break! he played his butt off and represented the school well while he was here. maybe its just me but i dont think all this trash talking is even remotely necessary.

I don't think it's trash talking just that too many people are afraid to admit that Eric Crouch wasn't all that he was cracked up to be. They don't want to admit that there is a darker side to how Crouch got the qb job at Nebraska. Sure he may of put up good numbers and was a great player but at what cost? We never ran the option while he was here cause he never pitched the ball to the running back. If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation. In fact if you stopped Crouch you had us beat. Before you start saying we didn't have any rb's we had a guy named correll buckhalter playing at the same time.

We should have had a NC in 1999... if it wasn't for the avalanche of fumbles. Did Colorado stop Crouch when they put 60+ on us? He was definately not a liability to the team like you seem to be implying.

I don't know if we could've beaten Florida St. Even with Michael Vick Virginia Tech still got beaten soundly. Miami stopped Crouch in the NCG. Miami showed class in the second half by not pouring it on.

 

[husker_99]

If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation.

Yet he only led the team in carries during one season. <_<

He often came out early of games because we had huge leads. Jammal was able to play a whole quarter sometimes.

But our runningbacks stayed in til time expired?

If you really want to blame Crouch for his amount of touches, you have to blame Solich equally or possibly (probably) even moreso.

No but when you are going out permanently wth 8-9 minutes left that can be a lot of touches. I never said i didn't blame Solich. I believe Newcombe should have never lost his job when he got hurt. But proved he was a teamplayer by switching to another position unlike Crouch.

 

[Mierin]

While we're judging players 10 years after the fact, Newcombe scrambled way too much and seemed even more hot-headed than Crouch.

and regardless of how selfish (or not) Crouch was, dissing him for not pitching the ball often enough is hilarious. You do what works, and him running the ball seemed to work pretty well.

 

[NebraskaShellback]

This has no merit after all this time.

 

[Landlord]

If it wasn't a designed handoff the rb was never gonna get the ball in any situation.

Yet he only led the team in carries during one season. <_<

He often came out early of games because we had huge leads. Jammal was able to play a whole quarter sometimes.

But our runningbacks stayed in til time expired?

If you really want to blame Crouch for his amount of touches, you have to blame Solich equally or possibly (probably) even moreso.

No but when you are going out permanently wth 8-9 minutes left that can be a lot of touches. I never said i didn't blame Solich. I believe Newcombe should have never lost his job when he got hurt. But proved he was a teamplayer by switching to another position unlike Crouch.

A lot of touches that would have been distributed to the second and third string runningbacks and quarterbacks, who have small totals that wouldn't have shaken up the "amount of total carries" count on the team. Mathematically speaking, 'he came out early' has no basis as an argument at all.

 

[Hercules]

Crouch took a lot of touches, but that had more to do with the direction of the offense (it was headed towards an Urban Meyer type of attack, with more shotgun and more dependence on the QB) and our lack of depth at RB. Seriously, in 1995 we had Lawrence Phillips, Damon Benning, Clinton Childs, Jay Sims, and Ahman Green. Every single one of those guys was better than Darrhan Diedrick. We depended on Crouch because of our lack of offensive weapons.

As far as Newcombe-Crouch goes, Newcombe was better before his injury. He was more explosive on the ground and he was a better passer than Crouch (whose passing skills were inferior to Frost or Frazier). In 1997, Newcombe was the second coming of Johnny Rodgers - in the 98 spring game he took the first play from scrimmage around end on an option for a touchdown. Then he got hurt, and he was never the same, not at QB or at WR.

People seem to forget what a freak Newcombe was his freshman year. Newcombe was the kind of guy where anytime he touched the ball, the entire crowd jumped to its feet in anticipation of a touchdown. Everybody in the stands was comparing him to Johnny Rodgers, and that is something. As a freshman, he was one of the most dangerous weapons on a national championship team. It's really too bad about his knee... we might have won a national championship with him at QB and Crouch at RB. Woulda' been nice in 1999 to have a RB that could hold on to the ball.

 

[Hercules]

Also - it's interesting how Husker fans' expectations changed through the Callahan era. Martinez took a lot of flak last year for his throwing ability, but in reality he was about as good a passer his freshman year as Crouch was his senior year.

 

[Husker from Kansas]

Crouch took a lot of touches, but that had more to do with the direction of the offense (it was headed towards an Urban Meyer type of attack, with more shotgun and more dependence on the QB) and our lack of depth at RB. Seriously, in 1995 we had Lawrence Phillips, Damon Benning, Clinton Childs, Jay Sims, and Ahman Green. Every single one of those guys was better than Darrhan Diedrick. We depended on Crouch because of our lack of offensive weapons.

As far as Newcombe-Crouch goes, Newcombe was better before his injury. He was more explosive on the ground and he was a better passer than Crouch (whose passing skills were inferior to Frost or Frazier). In 1997, Newcombe was the second coming of Johnny Rodgers - in the 98 spring game he took the first play from scrimmage around end on an option for a touchdown. Then he got hurt, and he was never the same, not at QB or at WR.

People seem to forget what a freak Newcombe was his freshman year. Newcombe was the kind of guy where anytime he touched the ball, the entire crowd jumped to its feet in anticipation of a touchdown. Everybody in the stands was comparing him to Johnny Rodgers, and that is something. As a freshman, he was one of the most dangerous weapons on a national championship team. It's really too bad about his knee... we might have won a national championship with him at QB and Crouch at RB. Woulda' been nice in 1999 to have a RB that could hold on to the ball.

i know this isnt relevant since it is in the past, but do you think those two would have gotten along well enough to be successful, or would one (probably crouch) been a cancer on the team due to a negative attitude?

 

[Hercules]

Crouch took a lot of touches, but that had more to do with the direction of the offense (it was headed towards an Urban Meyer type of attack, with more shotgun and more dependence on the QB) and our lack of depth at RB. Seriously, in 1995 we had Lawrence Phillips, Damon Benning, Clinton Childs, Jay Sims, and Ahman Green. Every single one of those guys was better than Darrhan Diedrick. We depended on Crouch because of our lack of offensive weapons.

As far as Newcombe-Crouch goes, Newcombe was better before his injury. He was more explosive on the ground and he was a better passer than Crouch (whose passing skills were inferior to Frost or Frazier). In 1997, Newcombe was the second coming of Johnny Rodgers - in the 98 spring game he took the first play from scrimmage around end on an option for a touchdown. Then he got hurt, and he was never the same, not at QB or at WR.

People seem to forget what a freak Newcombe was his freshman year. Newcombe was the kind of guy where anytime he touched the ball, the entire crowd jumped to its feet in anticipation of a touchdown. Everybody in the stands was comparing him to Johnny Rodgers, and that is something. As a freshman, he was one of the most dangerous weapons on a national championship team. It's really too bad about his knee... we might have won a national championship with him at QB and Crouch at RB. Woulda' been nice in 1999 to have a RB that could hold on to the ball.

i know this isnt relevant since it is in the past, but do you think those two would have gotten along well enough to be successful, or would one (probably crouch) been a cancer on the team due to a negative attitude?

Not only is it irrelevant, but it's unknowable. I don't know if one would have had a negative attitude or not. All I know is that it's too bad Newcombe got hurt, because he was truly an unbelievable weapon before his injury.