Jarhead In Red

If you read the opening post of the thread, it clear mentions the idea of a systemic performance issue that goes back several years. That's what I was commenting about.

Actually no, I'm not claiming anything specific about a game. I was just making a general point about comments our players have made, combined with the performance issues they have had over the past several years, and how that relates to their mental approach to the game. I never referenced a specific game at all, or even specifically Offense or Defense. You are the one adding those modifiers and drawing conclusions that I didn't make.

I'm not sure if we should label it "mentally soft" or what, but when players think they can let up, coast, or when the the momentum shifts to the opponent and they can't execute fundamental football, and also think "here we go again", then that is a poison that will prevent a team's progress, and can cause a team to lose games to less talented teams....

One has to love the turnovers that the D is generating. And, it was good to see the Defense dig in and hold CU to a FG in OT, when the pressure was on them. I think the down 3 are better, and able to eat up blocks. Unfortunately, I think there is a recurring theme in that Mo Barry plays poorly way too often. I mean, I like the dude, and he isn't afraid to call himself out, but he just makes too many mistakes and overruns plays far too often for a guy with his experience. The inside backers are key in stopping the run, so now that the DL is doing a better job of keeping them clean, hopefully he and Honas can execute better and make the plays with a little more consistency.

Good point, Cdog. We should do something soon if we want to break out of the funk by conference play...

Agreed. An OL with with a lot of game experience, with much of that playing together as a unit, is huge.

I'm no expert, but I have a few ideas. I think we have some serious mental toughness/performance issues. We can't seem to execute solid, fundamental football for more than a couple of quarters, and that has been going on for several years. I think it has become the culture of Nebraska football, and not many on the roster know what playing 4 quarters/excellence/winning looks like. Listening to players, there is always a mention of a "letup", and then it seems like the players almost expect a collapse when the other team seizes momentum. Behavior like that will get you beat by teams that are less talented. It also seems to me like many players think the "I play for Nebraska" assertion somehow earns them points on the scoreboard. I would like to see them ditch the talk about "how things should be", or "restore the order", because they aren't entitled to anything because they wear the N. Sure, the program has tradition, but the current players have got to start from ground zero again. I would like to see them adopt the mentality of Boise State, who always acts like they have something to prove, and is able to hang with teams more talented than they are.

Very true about AM running the ball. He should be able to eat them alive with the run when they rush 3. He needs to be quicker with his progressions, and then pull the ball down and hit the jets when there isn't anyone open. But, he's holding the ball too long many times. And, I noticed CU was able to pressure AM using 3 guys on a few occasions, mostly using stunts or delayed action...

Morgan wasn't a burner, but man he just seemed to make plays. And, I agree that AM threw downfield well last year. I would like to get an overhead view (like watching it live) of the first 2 games to see how the receivers are spaced and see how many open guys AM is truly missing. We could see on TV in game 1 that AM missed several open guys, but I'm not sure how many he missed vs CU. The TEs should be able to find some room to operate even when teams are using these 8 man coverage zones against us. I'm not sure what has AM unsure in the pocket, but that has to be high on the list of things to fix for The Staff. It will be hard to be successful on Offense if Frost dials up the right plays to get guys open, and AM can't pull the trigger to hit the open guy.........

But, his hand picked QB just took a sack to make the field goal much, much harder, so I can understand how Frost might be a little unsure about which choice was best. The field goal was then a long shot, but the odds of converting 4th and 14 can't be terribly good....

Ya, the Buffs came out on fire. The question is, how do the Huskers capture that mentality and bring it to EVERY QUARTER of every game? With the recent history of performance, and the collapses that have happened, I don't know how in the world they could convince themselves that they have ANYTHING won before the gun goes off.....maybe this collapse will finally be the one that causes a change in how they approach a game....

Offensive Coordinator in 2011. Pelini chose Beck instead. A friend of mine worked with Larry Frost at Parkview Christian, and they keep in touch. Also, here is a link to an article that discusses it: http://www.theindependent.com/huskershq/frost-interested-in-joining-nu-staff/article_87dfbbe1-8af0-5ca8-9933-e18167bd2a38.html

I know much has been said about Frost having a love/hate relationship with UNL, and the fans, but Frost applied for an assistant coach position under Pelini, which would indicate that he doesn't have too many residual hard feelings towards the program and/or fans. With the coaching vacancies due to open up after the regular season ends, the next several weeks will sure be interesting, that's for sure.....

Did your caddie's chauffeur discover that Scott Frost is scheduled to have cable TV hooked up?

You and me both! I will say that the improvement of several Big10 teams has made the schedule much tougher, but I too thought we could win 9 almost by just showing up. This season will prove that is certainly not the case, especially with the rapid rise of PSU, and the improvement of lower tier teams like Purdue, Maryland, etc.......

This Defense drove me absolutely nuts vs OSU. The Diaco Defense is supposed to be a bend but don't break Defense, one that prevents big plays, and one that stiffens substantially when the opponent gets into the Red Zone. It was maddening that we only rushed 3, dropped 8 into coverage, and we still didn't cover anyone, especially in the underneath zones within 10-15 yds from the LOS! The Linbackers, and sometimes the DBs, would just keep staring at the QB, or into the OSU backfield, totally ignoring the WR or TE who just sat down in their zone 3 yards past the first down marker! Add to that the fact that OSU could repeatedly catch a pass and waltz into the end zone untouched, and I wanted to vomit. I mean, what the h$ll? And, listening to Riley and Diaco in the postgames press conferences just pissed me off even further. What a bunch of babbling and excuse making......

I don't know, but I'm thinking they wouldn't fire Riley until a new AD is hired. I do think losing to Rutgers and/or Illinois would seal his fate, but I'm thinking the AD would wait until season's end to pull the trigger. But, I could end up being the Village idiot and be completely off base......

True. Lee does get some credit for checking down to another option. Personally, I would like to see us get the ball to our RBs more often as a checkdown option, but Langsdorf isn't calling me for advice these days.....

I guess I'm not sure why there is all the angst over this thread. Does it really even matter what happens with the NIU game? I mean, I thought we are a volleyball school that just happens to play football....

I think you nailed it, CDog. It sure looks like Lee stares down the TE real quick, and when the LB bails out and covers, then he goes to Morgan as a 2nd option. The ball needs to get to Morgan instantly for this play to have great odds of moving the chains.....

Agreed, Toe. And, for me, even more frustrating were the times Lee missed open receivers. At one point in the second half we had failed to convert our previous 9 third downs. Langsdorf seems a little too pass happy for my taste....And that's a problem when your QB can't even complete 50% of his passes.......

Agreed. Although it WAS nice to see a Husker RB who can break tackles well and get good YAC..........

Didn't Moss already try the indecent exposure thing?

More "we're doing everything right, the players just aren't getting it" mentality. Here's a thought...how about trying something different? What you're currently doing isn't working. That probably sums up my frustration. The clinical definition of insanity is to continue to do the same things, but expecting different results. If what he has done since 2008 still results in penalties, miscues, blown assignments and blow outs change what you are doing. It is obvious that it is not working. If the players are not "executing", try new ones. If the scheme doesn't work, switch it. Again, that is what I am hoping to see against NW. Different players and a different scheme. If it ain't broke don't fix it. This appears broken............ Along those lines, I really don't understand why we still have so much widespread trouble with execution on Defense when we start 8 Seniors! You would think that Seniors would know the system and have worked through those issues by now.

I hope Bo figures it all out and makes the necessary changes. I really don't look forward to the idea of starting all over again. But, I detest watching us getting blown out of these televised road games. Those woodshed beatings can't be good for our image and recruiting efforts.....