Post practice Bo interview. jeez

[HuskerFanChuck]

I find it amazing that people want to criticize Bo... when the man that put us on the map could put Bo to shame, and give Schembechler and Hayes a run for their money. Have folks never HEARD the stories about the Bobfather, and who the man was? The man who would have police officers visit HIS house first if one of his players was arrested? You honestly think HE was better with the media? And I don't want to hear about 'day and age'... the media has ALWAYS been the media, and a good many are much more classless today than they were then. If *I* were Bo or working in media relations? Dirk wouldn't be on the property... EVER. You want to play hard ball? Play hard ball, the same way the White House does. Media has NO rights regarding coverage of sports practices... if stories are given, then fine. I know of NO legal grounds they would have. There are many things required to be open about a public university... but access to sports practices? No. And for what it's worth... I AM an attorney.

Regarding Bo... just stop. There was NOTHING wrong in my opinion regarding what he said. Any problem with it is in the eye of the beholder... and in my opinion is vastly overblown. I admire Bo for his tenacity and his capability. I AM proud to support this program... much prouder than I ever was when headed by either Frank Solich or Bill Callahan. Bo has simply done what Tom did... won 9 games each year. I believe he'll win 9 this year, and I haven't seen anything, INCLUDING the Wisconsin game, to prove me wrong on that front.

All right... I think my rant is done. Just sheesh... there are MANY better things to discuss about this game and this program... it's silly this has gotten legs, and the blame lies with the reporters.

 

[Hercules]

You don't think Brion or the team will take it as a dig when Brion consistently plays as good or better than Taylor in nearly every practice? Mind you, this is not my 'opinion', but the opinion of numerous others (inb4 "SHOW PROOF!"). Kid works his tail off, practices as good or better than the person ahead of him, and when the person ahead of him struggles, he has to listen to his coach says the race isn't even close.

Wait, what?

I can understand what Bo's intent was in trying to build Taylor's confidence by trying to say his job isn't in doubt, at all. But just as Bo has shown in his entire time here, he has never been the greatest man with words and tends to put his foot in his mouth more than get his intended point across. If Bo would stop and think more often, I guarantee he wouldn't run into half as many issues as he does with the media.

And frankly, I DO NOT KNOW if Brion is the answer. What I do know is that Brion practices and scrimmages VERY WELL, and does as good as or better than Taylor in practices as well. I also know that Taylor has thrown more INTs than TDs on the season, and has put the football on the turf 9 times this year as well. If Brion comes in, throws an INT or two, or even fumbles the ball, how is it that much different from what we currently are getting out of our QB position?

It's why it drives me mad when people act like Taylor is clearly the better QB than Brion. No one knows what Brion is capable of, and we never will know at this rate either. What we will continue with is a turnover prone QB with a propensity to make silly mistakes at the wrong time and a complete inability to use ALL of our weapons (i.e., our talented WRs) which limits our offense.

It's just absurd how we have weapons, especially at the receiver positions, but we are content with sticking with a QB who has little ability to get them the ball consistently.

Kyler Reed and Jamal Turner should reserve the right to punch Taylor in the face after every single game for the touches he costs them in every single game. Hell, a LB trying to cover Kyler should result in at least 5-6 targets for that guy alone. But Kyler has something like 5 catches, the entire year.

Just sad at how willing people are to stick with the status quo than at least finding out what we have and what we can do without him.

I'm all for Brion getting touches during games, so he can show what he can do, so he can put his skills on film. By all means, give him a meaningful series in the second quarter, let him develop, and let's build some depth at QB. I'd like to see him enter the game in the 4th quarter too, if Nebraska has a comfortable lead.

As for inserting Brion into a disaster of a game at Wisconsin, with his team down by 30 points, I defer to Bo Pelini and Tim Beck who both said that thought didn't even cross their mind. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but either way they decided it was best for the team to have Taylor play the remainder of the game.

As for the idea that Brion practices better than Taylor on a consistent basis - if that's the case, why isn't he starting? If that were the case, I'd have no problem with him starting. But Bo Pelini knows way more about football and watches way more practice than you or any of of the "numerous opinions" you cited, and Bo Pelini wants to win way more than you do - at the end of the day, that's why I'm not sold on anything you're saying regarding Carnes vs. Martinez.

I'd also like to see us get the ball to our receivers more efficiently - but I think the Carnes discussion is a huge overreaction to a few bad throws by Taylor against Wisconsin. People are only focused on the mistakes Taylor is making while ignoring the good things he is doing (see the first quarter against Wisconsin), when those two things deserve equal weight in the discussion. He has a bad game where he basically made the same mistake 3 times, and instead of having an ounce of patience and fortitude - instead of trying to coach him up so he can eliminate that recurring mistake - fans jump to the conclusion that he should simply be replaced. I think that overreaction is a result of lack of clarity or focus - it's like a guy who sits down to do a puzzle but can't even figure out where to begin so he just throws his hands up in the air in frustration and knocks the table over.

I don't mean to say that you're that guy, BigWillie, because you obviously have other sources who you trust and who have told you that Brion is better. Forgive me, but I still don't trust you or those sources or any sources that I see on this message board as much as I trust the notion that Bo wants to win as bad as anyone, and he will put the players on the field he believes give him the best chance to do so.

 

[HuskerGBR]

So are we past this yet?

 

[Igetbored216]

I'm all for Brion getting touches during games, so he can show what he can do, so he can put his skills on film. By all means, give him a meaningful series in the second quarter, let him develop, and let's build some depth at QB. I'd like to see him enter the game in the 4th quarter too, if Nebraska has a comfortable lead.

As for inserting Brion into a disaster of a game at Wisconsin, with his team down by 30 points, I defer to Bo Pelini and Tim Beck who both said that thought didn't even cross their mind. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but either way they decided it was best for the team to have Taylor play the remainder of the game.

As for the idea that Brion practices better than Taylor on a consistent basis - if that's the case, why isn't he starting? If that were the case, I'd have no problem with him starting. But Bo Pelini knows way more about football and watches way more practice than you or any of of the "numerous opinions" you cited, and Bo Pelini wants to win way more than you do - at the end of the day, that's why I'm not sold on anything you're saying regarding Carnes vs. Martinez.

I'd also like to see us get the ball to our receivers more efficiently - but I think the Carnes discussion is a huge overreaction to a few bad throws by Taylor against Wisconsin. People are only focused on the mistakes Taylor is making while ignoring the good things he is doing (see the first quarter against Wisconsin), when those two things deserve equal weight in the discussion. He has a bad game where he basically made the same mistake 3 times, and instead of having an ounce of patience and fortitude - instead of trying to coach him up so he can eliminate that recurring mistake - fans jump to the conclusion that he should simply be replaced. I think that overreaction is a result of lack of clarity or focus - it's like a guy who sits down to do a puzzle but can't even figure out where to begin so he just throws his hands up in the air in frustration and knocks the table over.

I don't mean to say that you're that guy, BigWillie, because you obviously have other sources who you trust and who have told you that Brion is better. Forgive me, but I still don't trust you or those sources or any sources that I see on this message board as much as I trust the notion that Bo wants to win as bad as anyone, and he will put the players on the field he believes give him the best chance to do so.

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

 

[Enhance]

If Carnes' struggles, like Martinez has at times, some of you think "well what's the big difference, then?"

The big difference is that Martinez has been there - he knows adversity, he knows defeat and he knows the challenge that is involved with bouncing back. If Carnes comes in and lays an egg you risk destroying his entire psyche. That's not worth it, especially if Martinez is "better", as the coaches eluded to.

If Carnes' takes Martinez' spot, I'll have no problem with it. But until the coaches believe this is the best move for the team, talking about replacing Martinez is unfair and destructive.

I agree with this - but I think Willie's basis for saying we don't get the ball to our playmakers enough is pretty grounded in fact. We have a TE that is a matchup nightmare for pretty much any team, and a set of solid, growing WRs, each of whom brings something different to the table. We're getting something like 21, 22 attempts per game and even that number is being decried as several too high, given what Taylor is good at. So people want to cut that down, let's say to 17, 18, or something - and then on top of that, work in more RB screens. Big waste of some our biggest weapons, if you ask me.

Well I absolutely agree with what he's saying and what you're saying. Kyler Reed is a nightmare for opposing defenses, and we have young receivers that have shown flashes of great playmaking abilities. And the truth is in the stats - these guys just aren't getting the ball like they should, especially Reed.

All that said, I'm merely trying to expound upon the issue with getting them the ball. We know Martinez struggles in the passing game - fact. We also know Carnes is young and inexperienced - fact. I don't think the risk of putting in Carnes with the 50/50 chance of him playing well or playing bad is worth benching Martinez.

Unless, of course, Carnes truly is the better player out there. But is this worth finding out right now? Is it worth playing quarterback roulette yet? I definitely don't think so. If we cut down Martinez' attempts, we just have to give our playmakers the ball in more creative ways. If this means doing quick hook routes with Reed, wr screens or short wr dump passes, I'm all for it if it means Martinez will have an easier time getting them the ball. I just don't want to see Martinez trying to complete difficult timing routes when he obviously struggles with them.

 

[Hercules]

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

When I brought up the metaphor of the guy who sits down to do a puzzle but gets overwhelmed and can't even figure out where to start, this is the sort of statement I was talking about. You're looking at the table, and there are puzzle pieces everywhere, and instead of patiently looking through the pile for the one puzzle piece that is the right fit, you throw out a tremendously broad statement that has no respect for the nuances of the game of football, like "He struggles against good defenses."

Everyone struggles against good defenses. If you're waiting for an offense that doesn't struggle against good defenses, you might as well go back in time to 1995.

What the coaches are doing is they're looking for that next piece in the Taylor Martinez puzzle. They've already built about 1/3rd of the puzzle, and they're just looking for that next piece (not forcing the ball downfield, letting the game come to him - going through his reads and finding his checkdowns). They're focused on the details, on the process through which Martinez will become a more complete football player.

The fan base, on the other hand, has decided that this puzzle's too hard to figure out, let's move on to the Brion Carnes puzzle. And then when Brion Carnes gets some of his weaknesses exposed by a "good defense," which will happen because he's a redshirt freshman, the fan base will knock that table over and call for RK3. And then we'll all look forward to the arrival of the savior of Nebraska football, Tommy Armstrong. And everything will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 10 years.

Be patient with Martinez. If we can find the next couple puzzle pieces, even if it's not until next year, he's going to light the Big Ten Conference on fire. Besides, the reason people were most frustrated with the offense the past two years were because it wasted championship-caliber defenses. That's not going to be the case this year, so let's have some patience and let the kids develop.

 

[bshirt]

I'm all for Brion getting touches during games, so he can show what he can do, so he can put his skills on film. By all means, give him a meaningful series in the second quarter, let him develop, and let's build some depth at QB. I'd like to see him enter the game in the 4th quarter too, if Nebraska has a comfortable lead.

As for inserting Brion into a disaster of a game at Wisconsin, with his team down by 30 points, I defer to Bo Pelini and Tim Beck who both said that thought didn't even cross their mind. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but either way they decided it was best for the team to have Taylor play the remainder of the game.

As for the idea that Brion practices better than Taylor on a consistent basis - if that's the case, why isn't he starting? If that were the case, I'd have no problem with him starting. But Bo Pelini knows way more about football and watches way more practice than you or any of of the "numerous opinions" you cited, and Bo Pelini wants to win way more than you do - at the end of the day, that's why I'm not sold on anything you're saying regarding Carnes vs. Martinez.

I'd also like to see us get the ball to our receivers more efficiently - but I think the Carnes discussion is a huge overreaction to a few bad throws by Taylor against Wisconsin. People are only focused on the mistakes Taylor is making while ignoring the good things he is doing (see the first quarter against Wisconsin), when those two things deserve equal weight in the discussion. He has a bad game where he basically made the same mistake 3 times, and instead of having an ounce of patience and fortitude - instead of trying to coach him up so he can eliminate that recurring mistake - fans jump to the conclusion that he should simply be replaced. I think that overreaction is a result of lack of clarity or focus - it's like a guy who sits down to do a puzzle but can't even figure out where to begin so he just throws his hands up in the air in frustration and knocks the table over.

I don't mean to say that you're that guy, BigWillie, because you obviously have other sources who you trust and who have told you that Brion is better. Forgive me, but I still don't trust you or those sources or any sources that I see on this message board as much as I trust the notion that Bo wants to win as bad as anyone, and he will put the players on the field he believes give him the best chance to do so.

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

Missouri had a decent defense (47th total defense) last year & Tmart torched them.

Pray tell.....just who "consistently" excels vs good defenses? I guess there LOTS & LOTS of qbs (hint.... ALL of them) that you "suspect their ability to play qb".

 

[Igetbored216]

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

When I brought up the metaphor of the guy who sits down to do a puzzle but gets overwhelmed and can't even figure out where to start, this is the sort of statement I was talking about. You're looking at the table, and there are puzzle pieces everywhere, and instead of patiently looking through the pile for the one puzzle piece that is the right fit, you throw out a tremendously broad statement that has no respect for the nuances of the game of football, like "He struggles against good defenses."

Everyone struggles against good defenses. If you're waiting for an offense that doesn't struggle against good defenses, you might as well go back in time to 1995.

What the coaches are doing is they're looking for that next piece in the Taylor Martinez puzzle. They've already built about 1/3rd of the puzzle, and they're just looking for that next piece (not forcing the ball downfield, letting the game come to him - going through his reads and finding his checkdowns). They're focused on the details, on the process through which Martinez will become a more complete football player.

The fan base, on the other hand, has decided that this puzzle's too hard to figure out, let's move on to the Brion Carnes puzzle. And then when Brion Carnes gets some of his weaknesses exposed by a "good defense," which will happen because he's a redshirt freshman, the fan base will knock that table over and call for RK3. And then we'll all look forward to the arrival of the savior of Nebraska football, Tommy Armstrong. And everything will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 10 years.

Be patient with Martinez. If we can find the next couple puzzle pieces, even if it's not until next year, he's going to light the Big Ten Conference on fire. Besides, the reason people were most frustrated with the offense the past two years were because it wasted championship-caliber defenses. That's not going to be the case this year, so let's have some patience and let the kids develop.

He already has 17 starts under his belt. By the end of this season, he will have anywhere between 24-26 starts. My point is, just how patient do we have to be before this puzzle is complete?

 

[Hercules]

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

When I brought up the metaphor of the guy who sits down to do a puzzle but gets overwhelmed and can't even figure out where to start, this is the sort of statement I was talking about. You're looking at the table, and there are puzzle pieces everywhere, and instead of patiently looking through the pile for the one puzzle piece that is the right fit, you throw out a tremendously broad statement that has no respect for the nuances of the game of football, like "He struggles against good defenses."

Everyone struggles against good defenses. If you're waiting for an offense that doesn't struggle against good defenses, you might as well go back in time to 1995.

What the coaches are doing is they're looking for that next piece in the Taylor Martinez puzzle. They've already built about 1/3rd of the puzzle, and they're just looking for that next piece (not forcing the ball downfield, letting the game come to him - going through his reads and finding his checkdowns). They're focused on the details, on the process through which Martinez will become a more complete football player.

The fan base, on the other hand, has decided that this puzzle's too hard to figure out, let's move on to the Brion Carnes puzzle. And then when Brion Carnes gets some of his weaknesses exposed by a "good defense," which will happen because he's a redshirt freshman, the fan base will knock that table over and call for RK3. And then we'll all look forward to the arrival of the savior of Nebraska football, Tommy Armstrong. And everything will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 10 years.

Be patient with Martinez. If we can find the next couple puzzle pieces, even if it's not until next year, he's going to light the Big Ten Conference on fire. Besides, the reason people were most frustrated with the offense the past two years were because it wasted championship-caliber defenses. That's not going to be the case this year, so let's have some patience and let the kids develop.

He already has 17 starts under his belt. By the end of this season, he will have anywhere between 24-26 starts. My point is, just how patient do we have to be before this puzzle is complete?

If he was a senior right now, we wouldn't have time to be patient. But he's a sophomore. He has two more years after this one. Even if he only figures it out by his senior year, it will be worth it.

 

[Marf]

... I AM an attorney.

All I could think of after reading that....

 

[Hunter94]

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

When I brought up the metaphor of the guy who sits down to do a puzzle but gets overwhelmed and can't even figure out where to start, this is the sort of statement I was talking about. You're looking at the table, and there are puzzle pieces everywhere, and instead of patiently looking through the pile for the one puzzle piece that is the right fit, you throw out a tremendously broad statement that has no respect for the nuances of the game of football, like "He struggles against good defenses."

Everyone struggles against good defenses. If you're waiting for an offense that doesn't struggle against good defenses, you might as well go back in time to 1995.

What the coaches are doing is they're looking for that next piece in the Taylor Martinez puzzle. They've already built about 1/3rd of the puzzle, and they're just looking for that next piece (not forcing the ball downfield, letting the game come to him - going through his reads and finding his checkdowns). They're focused on the details, on the process through which Martinez will become a more complete football player.

The fan base, on the other hand, has decided that this puzzle's too hard to figure out, let's move on to the Brion Carnes puzzle. And then when Brion Carnes gets some of his weaknesses exposed by a "good defense," which will happen because he's a redshirt freshman, the fan base will knock that table over and call for RK3. And then we'll all look forward to the arrival of the savior of Nebraska football, Tommy Armstrong. And everything will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 10 years.

Be patient with Martinez. If we can find the next couple puzzle pieces, even if it's not until next year, he's going to light the Big Ten Conference on fire. Besides, the reason people were most frustrated with the offense the past two years were because it wasted championship-caliber defenses. That's not going to be the case this year, so let's have some patience and let the kids develop.

He already has 17 starts under his belt. By the end of this season, he will have anywhere between 24-26 starts. My point is, just how patient do we have to be before this puzzle is complete?

If he was a senior right now, we wouldn't have time to be patient. But he's a sophomore. He has two more years after this one. Even if he only figures it out by his senior year, it will be worth it.

well, i keep waiting for the basics to emerge with this guy, he throws off the wrong foot, can't seem to read or go through his progressions and makes really bad decisions, instead of throwing the ball away.....he did that last year too........guess it is only fitting he will do it again this season.........maybe next year, eh? i won't even go into the fumbles and his ball security issues, same as last year........

 

[Hercules]

It's not so much the Wisconsin game...at least for me. He lights up subpar defenses, but then when he goes against a halfway decent defense, he struggles. I think the Ohio St game will be very telling because while their offense is crap, their defense is very good. Until he excels against good defenses consistently, I will be suspect at his ability to play QB.

When I brought up the metaphor of the guy who sits down to do a puzzle but gets overwhelmed and can't even figure out where to start, this is the sort of statement I was talking about. You're looking at the table, and there are puzzle pieces everywhere, and instead of patiently looking through the pile for the one puzzle piece that is the right fit, you throw out a tremendously broad statement that has no respect for the nuances of the game of football, like "He struggles against good defenses."

Everyone struggles against good defenses. If you're waiting for an offense that doesn't struggle against good defenses, you might as well go back in time to 1995.

What the coaches are doing is they're looking for that next piece in the Taylor Martinez puzzle. They've already built about 1/3rd of the puzzle, and they're just looking for that next piece (not forcing the ball downfield, letting the game come to him - going through his reads and finding his checkdowns). They're focused on the details, on the process through which Martinez will become a more complete football player.

The fan base, on the other hand, has decided that this puzzle's too hard to figure out, let's move on to the Brion Carnes puzzle. And then when Brion Carnes gets some of his weaknesses exposed by a "good defense," which will happen because he's a redshirt freshman, the fan base will knock that table over and call for RK3. And then we'll all look forward to the arrival of the savior of Nebraska football, Tommy Armstrong. And everything will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 10 years.

Be patient with Martinez. If we can find the next couple puzzle pieces, even if it's not until next year, he's going to light the Big Ten Conference on fire. Besides, the reason people were most frustrated with the offense the past two years were because it wasted championship-caliber defenses. That's not going to be the case this year, so let's have some patience and let the kids develop.

He already has 17 starts under his belt. By the end of this season, he will have anywhere between 24-26 starts. My point is, just how patient do we have to be before this puzzle is complete?

If he was a senior right now, we wouldn't have time to be patient. But he's a sophomore. He has two more years after this one. Even if he only figures it out by his senior year, it will be worth it.

well, i keep waiting for the basics to emerge with this guy, he throws off the wrong foot, can't seem to read or go through his progressions and makes really bad decisions, instead of throwing the ball away.....he did that last year too........guess it is only fitting he will do it again this season.........maybe next year, eh? i won't even go into the fumbles and his ball security issues, same as last year........

I disagree with this analysis. I'm not sure his throwing mechanics are going to get much better, but I don't think they have to in order for him to be dangerous. If he remains a threat on the ground, and Nebraska's running game stays as dangerous as it is, he'll have receivers open that he's able to find even without being the most accurate passer.

Improvements he made on last year: He's much more consistent running the zone read option, he's shown awareness and tried to take care of himself by sliding (while putting his shoulder down and fighting for extra yards when it's necessary), he HAS shown improvement in ball security even if he's not perfect (he's more consistent in covering the ball up going into contact, and several of his fumbles have actually been on the center), and he's been better about not taking sacks and throwing the ball away.

He has to get more accurate if he can, but most importantly he needs to make better decisions and he needs to stop forcing the ball downfield without reading his progression.