4skers89

I was going to take a swipe at Hawkeye fans and reply "Depends on if you are a Husker fan or Hawkeye fan". The difference being Husker fans are smarter and realize what an impact the loss of a player like Suh, Crick or Clayborne has. I can't really say that since I myself am guilty of being stupid. You get used to a group such as the Dline playing well and take it for granted.

Yes he is, and Rex was and is the emotional leader of this team. GBR!!! I believe when the other players see Rex running hard and giving it everything that it motivates them to try harder. Not to take anything away from our other backs but he's a big loss in my opinion.

You do realize that tune changed to that right after we did hire him right? I checked out some message boards for Iowa when the word first started floating around that we were getting him, and it was borderline meltdown. He was their Marvin Sanders. His unit was ALWAYS sound and good, and we came in and got him. They say they couldn't wait to get rid of him now, but within the first couple months, like accountability was stating, they were pissed and frantic. If Coach Kaz had all of his players being 100% right now, everyone would see a completely different defense. When you can rotate guys, keep them fresh, and have your starters, like Valentine and Curry, its a game changer. Valentine was stated he was most likely going to be starter by his athleticism, strength and speed for his size. Due to unfortunate events, he had to take a redshirt because of his injury. If it wasn't for Coach Kaz, we wouldn't have had Aaron Curry either. Reading between the lines I'm starting to piece together what happened during Coach Kaz's tenure at Iowa. He could very well be a good coach but was taking criticism for the Dline starting to underperform. He was having difficulty recruiting talent to Iowa (hence the comment about Nebraska being easier to recruit for) and was getting frustrated with the players he was able to get. He probably rode the players hard trying to get them to play better but was perceived by fans as being a jerk. I hope Nebraska turns out to be a better match for him and what he wants to accomplish as a coach.

When I hear people claiming he plays dirty I like to think of Suh as a big, somewhat clumsy, misunderstood teddy bear that's unaware of his own strength. Obviously that's not the case when you look at some of the things he's done (excluding the play last night). I think he is waging a form of psychological warfare. The image of your QB getting tossed around like a rag doll has to have an effect on how the opposing team plays. I didn't watch the whole game but I noticed Suh getting double teamed and 1 false start. Also, it has to get into the QB's head knowing that this maniac can break through protection and put a hurt on. The fact that he's not above doing something dirty makes it even more effective. I wouldn't go so far as to say the Lion's coaches condone what he is doing but they probably aren't encouraging him to change the way he plays.

I was at the game and I wasn't sarcastically cheering. I was cheering because I was genuinely happy that they caught the ball. I knew if we eliminated turnovers, we had a chance. That punter's kick was not easy to track and get under. I thought we would be better off not trying to catch it.

Since I live here I didn't take the time to futher explore the city but there was a lot to look at on the train ride in. At the game, I sat next to a young couple who just got engaged that day. I thought it was funny because the girl was so excited but I suspect the guy was being shrewd. He proposed during fall, at a football game so that in the future he can convince her to celebrate the engagement each year by attending a Nebraska game. Interestingly they weren't from Nebraska but his aunt was and got him hooked during the 90s. They were fun to sit by and cool even when I asked him to stop dropping the f-bomb. I had ran into another Chicagoan years ago that was a huge Nebraska fan. When he was playing football in high school his coach wasn't happy with the way he was playing and told him to go home and watch the Nebraska O linemen. He's been a fan ever since. Moral of the story being, there may be quite a few t-shirt Cornhusker fans but don't understand or forgot what it means to be a Nebraska fan. A little counseling is probably not a bad idea- when done correctly.

Nothing illustrates that better than the second to last TD pass (if I recall correctly). I've seen other teams run that route and remember thinking that we would fail miserably trying something like that. It requires a nice touch on the pass and good timing between QB and WR.

Not having Rex (a bigger back with speed) for Michigan will be a factor. Add in the leadership and his toughness that I think our team rallies around, it would be a big loss.

I think Taylor throwing a much more catchable ball this year is the biggest reason our WRs look better. Last year we were complaining about the drops. It's difficult to catch the ball when you have no idea where to expect it. This year TM is hitting them a lot more accurately so the WRs can focus on running the route and getting open rather than worrying about adjusting to make a catch. Props to the WRs for making the catches though. They just need to be improve their ball security after the catch when trying to gain the extra yards. Funny how our expectations rise as performance improves. Last year I would have been happy with the number of completed passes. Now that Turner has had some catches I think it has motivated him to finish his routes. Good post, it's easy to be negative so we should make extra effort to praise the good things.

Michigan likes to drop Robinson back for a pass and then have him run through a hole in the pocket- kind of a long developing draw play. I'm looking for our D-line to be disciplined and push the pocket in a more contained way and not take the path of least resistance. Or create the hole ourselves and have a LB ready to meet him in.

It was a good time and I think the players really appreciated the support. When we were down 28-16 I thought we could win 30-28. The defense got the stops to give the offense a chance to win. Too bad the defense didn't come out after the game so we could show our appreciation. Kenny Bell is such an attention wh0re and was soaking up the cheers instead.

I thought I saw Fitz go over and help Kenny B up after he was hit late out of bounds. It could have been another coach but Fitz is cool. I have a lot of respect for him and what he is doing at NW.

Fans at the game were excited for the win. I'm trying to figure out the HB reaction...

Not sure if your serious with that statement I'm not sure either. I can seriously say I was glad they didn't do a 90/10 split with Kolter/Siemian at QB. Agree completely. Northwestern had a horrible game plan. Had they played Kolter at QB for the majority, if not all of the snaps, this game ends differently IMO. Before the game I wanted them to use Kolter at QB exclusively to see how our defense performed against a mobile quarterback and give us a clue what to expect against Michigan. Given that it was such a close game and we could get the W I'm glad they didn't. I think the defense played well which makes me optimistic for Michigan. The TD off of a read option concerns me though. I still don't understand why Compton wouldn't just always tackle the RB on that play. Anyone who has watched NW play knows the Venric Mark is quick and dangerous. It looked like we had a DB or another LB that could have tackled the quarterback had he pulled the ball. I hope it was just a case of Compton not doing what he was supposed to do and trying to do too much.

The only thing I know about the subject are the theories of Sigmund Freud. He theorized that the reason people make negative posts on sports forums pointing out the inconsequential is related to a shortcoming in sexual performance. Everything is fine for me in that department so I feel like I should stay positive.

I'm glad you mentioned this What the hell was Compton doing? He was unblocked, and literally stutter stepped his way to the QB. Just lay the f'n wood man. Another example of thinking way too much instead of just playing the game. It would make sense if it was Simien. We wouldn't want to hurt him and leave only Kolter as QB. Remember what happened last year? Maybe we learned something. Not sure if your serious with that statement I'm not sure either. I can seriously say I was glad they didn't do a 90/10 split with Kolter/Siemian at QB.

This is starting to really aggrevate me. Why in the hell are we trying to slam a 185lb Abdullah into the line on 3rd and 2, and then a while later have Cross next to Martinez in the shotgun? I dont get it. Maybe the same reason NW uses Siemian for zone reads and Kolter for passing on occasions.

I'm glad you mentioned this What the hell was Compton doing? He was unblocked, and literally stutter stepped his way to the QB. Just lay the f'n wood man. Another example of thinking way too much instead of just playing the game. It would make sense if it was Simien. We wouldn't want to hurt him and leave only Kolter as QB. Remember what happened last year? Maybe we learned something.

This is a fair enough excuse, 3-4 years ago. But those miscues have become a trend to the point that they're a mainstay of Pelini's program. I don't think there's any question it's a coaching issue at this point. I agree and I'm a pelini supporter. I agree with this also. The staff HAS to find a way to get the team to focus. Holding on to the ball, catching the ball, penalties, most all of these are a focus problem that I can not figure out, it is crazy. Rewatched the game today. Kyler's fumble was probably less about focus and more about trying to do too much. He made a great catch and released one hand on the ball to push off the defender trying to gain more yardage, possibly score. The team needs to gain confidence that they don't need to rely on the big play. Take the catch, protect the ball and have confidence that they can keep moving the ball from there. Same thing with Enunwa's catch against OSU that was ruled incomplete when he tried to extend for a touchdown. Sounds like Bo has already recognized this and will address it. I noticed that we had no QB/RB fumbles in the game which were a problem previously. Do the coaches get credit for this? I believe the punt fumbles were caused by the way they were punting the football. He had a heck of a spin on the ball and was making it curve a lot. You can see it in Bell's fumble. He had to drift over 5-7 yards just to get under it. They would have been better off leaving Ameer in to field the punt since he had a better feel for it and had already seen it. Bell has better hands which is why he was put in but his fumble was due to not being used to the curve ball they were kicking. We need to catch them irregardless. I wonder if the penalties for lining up too far off the line are related to pulling and they were cheating to get around the line. If that's the case the coaches should have noticed that in practice and corrected it. Didn't we have this problem last year?

I liked your stadium, kind of cozy and your fans were great. Thanks for being great hosts and I apologize for some of our younger fans that haven't learned how to be good winners. I'm suprised that half the stadium was Nebraska fans. NW alums should be excited for their team this year with players like Marc and Colter. They may not win the B1G but you certainly have a lot to be proud of. Good luck with the rest of the season.

I loved how Ameer looked around like. "What did I miss? What happened?" - Oh nothing Ameer, we are just REALLY psyched that you guys caught a punt return finally. Huge roar on all of the fair caught punts! Glad we shut down their punt game. They were killing us with it

Tmart is not a big guy so I wouldn't expect him to run someone over. I expect him to run around people but I'm kind of glad he's more of a straight line runner rather than trying to make a lot of cuts. I've seen B. Miller injur himself twice - last year against us and this year's MSU game. Tmart's the horse we need to ride so whatever it takes not to get hurt. I agree he made a couple of questionable throws but I believe there were a couple of times he didn't make a bad throw and took a sack. I see improvement in the decision making. I don't need him to run over people, just not look for a soft place to land in the middle of his run. LOL. That's a good way of describing it. It seems like if he has open space he's going to take off. If a defender is in his way and he knows he can't run around him he is looking for a soft landing. I think he's getting coached to do that. He's been giving it all the last few games so I think if he had his choice he would try to make more of the play.

Tmart is not a big guy so I wouldn't expect him to run someone over. I expect him to run around people but I'm kind of glad he's more of a straight line runner rather than trying to make a lot of cuts. I've seen B. Miller injur himself twice - last year against us and this year's MSU game. Tmart's the horse we need to ride so whatever it takes not to get hurt. I agree he made a couple of questionable throws but I believe there were a couple of times he didn't make a bad throw and took a sack. I see improvement in the decision making.

I saw more tipped balls at the line and by our corners and safeties (linebackers to) than any game I've seen all year. They covered well, and contained properly, for going up against one of those dreaded mobile QBs. Take away that 80 yard TD run and NW has 221 yards and 100 rushing yards. They had 121 yards passing. Take away the fumbles and they have 111 yards passing and 211 yards total and 14 points. There were not a whole lot of broken tackles. I don't know what more you could ask for. The defense played well. Offensively, it was frustrating at times. Some of the playcalling and offensive line play was annoying. But regardless, we put up 543 yards (342 passing, 201 running) on 26 first downs and scored 29. Without the turnovers it could've been more. Now doing this for one game is great. If we can do this against Michigan, I'll be pleased. But at least improving off of a win will be much easier than improving off a loss. This sums up why this whole thread is ridiculous. Aside from the 80 yard run, their biggest plays were 2 punts. We shut down their punt game by catching the ball I've never heard fair catches get such huge cheers but it was a lot of fun. How do you turn a punt into a curve ball? I swear it curved 15 yards in the air and looked difficult to catch.

SJB was getting tired. I think they kept rotating receivers on him but he didn't rotate out and NW kept throwing it his way. I believe he was playing closer to the NW sideline so NW coaches saw it but Nebraska coaches didn't. I thought it was strange that NW kept going after him since he had good coverage until the TD.