cheekygeek

As a lover of satire, I have to say that this WAS pretty funny. But whoever took the news of Sears filing bankruptcy and put that together with Nebraska's National Championship trophies (this fast) must fixate on Nebraska's National Championship trophies EVEN MORE than the average Nebraska fan.

Apparently, unlike some, my expectations for a true freshman (learning a new, complex system after missing his entire Senior football season) has been more than exceeded. Making some mistakes is part of the process, but all you have to do is think of last year to know what killer mistakes look like. It is true, however, that this year’s playing time will pay dividends next season (for multiple freshmen).

I'm probably as shocked as anybody with the winless streak that is starting the Scott Frost era. However, looking at things from a development standpoint, I do see this team getting better. The operative word, however, is TEAM. Even if we only consider the team on the field for a single play, it only takes one player's lapse of discipline to derail what might have been a great play (offensively or defensively) into a negative one for the team. And it only takes one backwards play to throw cold water on series. When it comes to defense, I'm pretty sure that I have seen more three & outs as the season has progressed. (Unfortunately, if they go for it on 4th down, you have to stop them there too.) Similarly, an offense needs to sustain drives. Ideally, an offense is going to grab the lead and the defense is going to preserve it. The defense has been getting a few turnovers in recent games, which is more improvement. To see the team getting better, even as we feared that injuries and lack-of-depth depth would make us more vulnerable as the season wears on, tells me that players are still fighting for these coaches. Yes, we see frustrating mistakes, but I see way more effort and intensity than I did last year. I also think that this season is going to be good for Scott Frost. I think it is going to make the competitive fire burn even hotter in his belly and I think he is learning a lot as he goes through one of the more difficult schedules in the country. Frost & Co. outperformed expectations with their recruiting in Year One (although the jury is still out on more than a few of those players) and they did that while coaching their former squad to an upset win against Auburn. I don't think this snake-bit season will hurt him in recruiting much this year, but time will tell. Opportunities abound for good players wishing to make their mark on this team, with all of the resources that it has to offer. A corner has also clearly been turned on keeping our Nebraska football talent in Nebraska, which is huge. I expect to see our next year's recruiting class address our needs in the trenches and in the defensive backfield in a big way. But we will need to be patient as some of that talent grows up in the weight room and in their mastery of the system and their part in it. There is no "switch" that gets flipped. But the game of football can be a bit of a "teeter-totter" and when an offense gets rolling they can make a rested defense look a lot better (and vice-versa). The biggest concern I have is that "team" is going to be lost from the top down. Frost's post-game answer "#1 I don't call defense" was one of the few times that I think he's let his frustration show and get in the way of "TEAM". There are things that need to be said behind closed doors and there are things that DON'T need to be said in front of cameras, on mic, or on social media. I hope cracks in this "team" are not what the comment indicated. It's just not an answer I would have expected to come from the mouth of Frost's hero Tom Osborne. Bottom line, I would much rather watch this year's squad than the one that looked disinterested in even taking the field at times last year. While I want them to succeed sooner rather than later, it isn't because they are an extension of my fragile ego. I've noticed that, at least so far, the sun still comes up the morning after a Husker loss. I still see a brighter future for Cornhusker football than I have since Osborne retired. #GBR

The word is "schneid".

He just named 4 players in Frost & Co.'s first recruiting class who not only "pass muster" but he sees as destined for greatness. Even if NU only adds 4 such players in every recruiting class, we would be a HECK of a football team in just 6 years. Day by Day... Season by Season... It HAS begun.

Interestingly, it is a quote attributed to Sumner Redstone (cut off in the image above, but seen on Twitter). He is a 95 year old billionaire who would seem to know something about building success.

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Day by Day. By the way, this was retweeted by Maurice Washington.

The defense really excited me at times during the Colorado game. The front 7, as a whole, looked pretty great in that game. Maybe Colorado's O-Line/Offense just made the Cornhusker defense look like world-beaters. It still kills me that we lost that game at the end. It makes me wonder how we would have looked/played against Akron and how that might have affected the Colorado game (might we have looked even sharper)? Then Colorado hurts Martinez and I think the whole team had a let-down against Troy. Coulda, woulda, Shoulda. I'm with the voices saying "Give Chin his first run through the Big 10 to see what he's going to be up against". I do wonder how we run a scout team simulating Big 10 opponents with no fullback on the NU roster, though.

Just a few interesting observations in looking at Northwestern's stats so far this year. Their QB has NEGATIVE 75 rushing yards. He's also thrown as many interceptions as TDs (6). Their Rush/Pass mix is 164/227, with 10 rushing TDs. Their main RB, Larkin, has 5 TDs and a 4.8 yd/carry ave. Their K has no FG attempts under 30 yds and is 2/5 over 30. Northwestern is currently 26th in Turnover Margin (NU is tied for 106th). Fewest Penalty Yds/Game: Northwestern is #49 (NU is #99).

If true, then I'm not sure why he wasn't ahead on the depth chart all along. In any event, has he done so in a GAME? (Serious question).

Pick your poison.

Is that Mazour I see at Duck?

Great point! This is the kind of insightful commentary which all Huskerboard readers crave and too often find lacking.

https://giphy.com/gifs/snl-saturday-night-live-1980s-stuart-smalley-3o7TKnKXMdf5qNtVLi