JJ Husker

Brian Thorson & the Beav's besty Larry Mondello

Jim Halpert & Baker Steinkuhler or is it the other way around.

Derek Foster & Keanu Reeves

Was thinking more Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Keanu but the long hair threw it off.

Going with the theme of the topic title;

Our offense has improved significantly from the past few years and continues to improve week to week and even series to series and is showing signs of possibly being able to achieve greatness.

And our defense..........well my mother taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say........

Yeah, I know, I routinely ignore her advice. Honestly though, there are a few bright spots on the D side here and there but they are still being overshadowed by the numerous opportunities. One thing is for sure, if anyone can fix our defense, I sure am glad we've got Bo and Carl working on it.

It is nice to be able to have hope and optimism. If we were in the same boat with Callahan & Cosgrove.....need I say more.

That totally sucks for this defense and especially for Mr. Crick. There is no questioning that he gave it everything he had and always left it all out on the field and represented the Huskers with class and dignity. He will be sorely missed and I'll be praying for his complete recovery. We have not seen the last of him- he will be playing on Sundays.

I will have to re-watch the 2nd half before I can totally agree but sans the review I am sure you are correct. The fullback position is often over looked and it stands to reason with the gapping holes we had the 4th quarter that Legate was more than likely blowing up defenders. On top of that I am just real impressed with this Legate kid. He seems to be from the same mold as some of our great FB's. I would like to see them get him the ball more on those quick hit first options. Historically those plays have treated us extremely well and also help loosen up later options. I was more dialed in to what our line was doing and I am still somewhat confused about that. Holes started opening no doubt but I still didn't see much surge coming off the line. That tells me that the play calling was excellent and the line was executing very well. O line does not have to push defenders backwards but simply use leverage and the defenders own inertia to steer them where they want and then of course get down field and engage the next level of D. No doubt well called and executed O by everyone including Legate.

I too am excited about what I see developing in our offense. The play calling and adjustments are light years ahead of the past couple years and it seems to keep improving week by week this year. Unquestionably we have a ton of talent and potential in the skill positions- quarterback, recievers, and running backs. And the O-line appears to be getting better all the time. Having said that, I think it is very premature to refer to this offense as "unstoppable" or to say the verdict is in on Beck. What I have seen on the field is 4 games of mediocre offensive productivity and execution, 1 1/2 games I would totally like to forget and never see repeated ever again, and 1/2 a game of excellent play calling and execution against a good defense that I can't help but feel suffered from a lack of confidence in their replacement QB. Is the future bright? Yes it is. Have we arrived at that future yet? We'll have to wait and see.

Call me old fashioned but I preferred the days when it was just a given that Husker fans didn't boo their own team. I sure never experienced it in the 4-5 years I was at UNL. I see no reason why we have to be like all other fans and accept it. I won't say it makes a person any less of a fan but I do believe it would give our general fanbase a better and unique rep if we didn't do it. It doesn't help the team. Booing is all about a person showing their personal dissatisfaction. I won't say you can't do it but last I checked the game on the field wasn't about you. Some of the same people complaining about the lack of noise in the stadium are the same ones saying there is nothing wrong with booing your own team. Why do we want to be loud? To make it tougher on the other team. Why would we want to boo our own team? That sure doesn't help our team or hinder the other team. It seems kind of childish and selfish to me. And yes I will come on this forum and rip elements of our play and yes I will scream at my TV and cus players & coaches. But when a fan is in the stadium part of the job is supporting your team and hindering the other team. If you're doing the opposite, it might be time to leave.

http://eye-on-colleg...156338/32641693

 

Thought this was an interesting link that shows on a state-by-state basis who is ranking Nebraska and where (over, under, even) compared to their final average.

 

Of note--the entire Big XII is underranking Nebraska currently.

 

Also, of note--certain Big 10 states who have undefeated teams that may play Nebraska in the future are over-ranking us according to the map; specifically, Wisconsin and Illinois.

 

Take that for what you will.

Actually Wisconsin has us underranked at #18. Illinois apparently does not get the BTN or any of our games cuz they have us ranked #12.

The map makes pretty good sense. Any state we have played a team from (except Ohio #13 & Tenn #13) and our own state all have us under-rated. That just tells me those voters got a chance to watch us play and they realize we are still in struggle mode. Based on our performance in 6 games, I would say that #14 is maybe a bit high but based on 5-1 record it is probably pretty accurate.

Fresno CA #16

Wash #16

Wyo #18

Wisc #18

Neb #19

If the sieve of a defense we have shown the first 6 weeks does not drastically improve the only given on the remaining schedule is Minny. I won't call you a fool but possibly a misguided kool-aid drinker. I hope you're right and I have to eat my words.

The 3 reviews seem to be genuine and accurate. Based on what I had heard about various B1G teams prior to the last 2 games I thought possibly OSU might have some nasty fans and that Wiscy fans might be a little more hospitable. I stand corrected on both. Out of all of them Neb may be most like OSU. BTW the 180 spur does basically end at the stadium.

I do have to strongly disagree with the guy that ripped on our band. It might be hard for a visitor with no Neb background to fully appreciate our tradional pregame but no way in hell you can say our band is bad. Dotting the 'i' has no meaning for me either.

Hate to be pessimistic but;

Minnesota WIN

Michigan LOSS

Other 4 could go either way so I think we come out of those 2-2 or 3-1 best case.

3 or 4 losses on the season with outside chance at meeting Wisconsin again.

A lot can change for the better in the next 2 to 4 weeks (I hope) but I need to see it before I get my hopes up.

I think our offense will continue to improve and give us legitimate chances to win. I've got my reservations about our D doing the same.

I don't know why most of you seam surprised that Crick is struggling and especially in the first two B1G games. I tried to tell you all that both he and Steinkuhler would struggle in the B1G because they are both undersized DT's. They were perfectly sized for big12 style offenses, but now can't get off blocks or fight through double teams and are basically getting pounded on.

Some of you may think they're underachieving, but I just think they're struggling with the physicallity of this league.

I would agree with that. Also it is very hard to hold Crick to any reasonable standard of play. He was so over-hyped that we expect Suh type results. When it doesn't happen (hasn't yet and probably won't) we are more disappointed than we should be. I think he is doing a pretty good job, just no where near what we expected or experienced with Suh. He for sure isn't the biggest problem this D has. I have my doubts that the 2 gap system will pay many dividends in the B1G.

I've got to say no. I think Miller leaving and Bauserman coming in hurt them mentally, probably even more than the drop off in QB skill. Sure we got some big MO from the David strip but if Miller stays healthy and mobile I think they continue to move the ball on our D and I also think their D doesn't drop off as much as it did. I liked the way our O line played later in the game but I have my doubts that we wore them down or started playing light years better. I think Miller going out deflated their confidence to a level our guys could deal with. We started opening holes but it still didn't seem like we were controlling the line of scrimmage. BTW- Miller hurt his ankle cutting on the turf before the sack. I'll sure take the W but I think they gave it to us more than we earned it.

You aren't the only one.

I can appreciate the W as much as anyone but how you get it and who from has to figure into the equation.

This kind of follows a "what did we learn" type thread.

1- I was somewhat impressed with our offense, more so with Taylor, and extremely more so with Rexy. We seemed to wear down and move the ball against what is purportedly a good defense. The O-line really struggled controlling the line of scrimmage the first half but managed to open some holes in the 2nd half. I still don't feel like they "controlled" the line but still very glad they didn't quit and got the offense moving. How much of that was the result of tOSU getting gassed remains to be seen.

2- Also on offense I was very pleased with the play calling in the 2nd half. I think Beck shows a lot better ability to adjust in game, especially at halftime, than Watson ever did. But, as happy as I was with 2nd half play calling I was even more disturbed by the first half play calling. It seemed some of the more critical lessons from the Wiscy game were not properly learned by the coaching staff. They did not shy away from putting Martinez in the very same, apparently unwinnable, situations that he was put in the Wiscy game particularly towards the end of the 2nd quarter. It was virtually like a replay of the Wiscy with the interception and then giving up a field goal. Should've went in down 17-6 and regrouped.

3- I learned that momentum in college football is maybe the most important intangible. The David take away, Miller getting injured and Bauserman coming in were huge. I can't get over the feeling that this win had alot more to do with their meltdown than it did with our play. I always feel better when we control our own destiny and it didn't seem like that is what took place.

4- Our defense is not good. The preseason hype was misplaced. We have playmakers here and there but the overall effectiveness is, well, ineffective to say the least. Tackling is bad. Secondary play (yes I realize they are young) does not seem to follow good fundamentals, and we appear very slow considering it was thought we would be so much faster in the B1G. I have serious doubts about the 2 gap system working in the B1G or even working anywhere without a Suh type player. We can not and have not gotten any pressure with our front four. Our D line has looked extremely slow against every QB we have faced. Bauserman may be the only exception to this but plainly put, he is not good. We lose containment regularly. IMO Carl called a totally worthless game for our defense. I realize they have some serious execution problems but did they not watch any film from the MSU-OSU game the week prior. OSU had severe problems dealing with blitzs. So what do we do, we don't blitz. Terrible effort on the part of our DC. Last thing is size. Not much we can do about this for awhile but I will be really surprised if we can continue to have any success in the B1G with under-sized LB's and D-line. I like the idea of being a bit smaller and quicker but I'm not seeing the speed and I am definitely seeing the line push both Wiscy and OSU got against us. Week after week, I think the size/weight difference is going to take a toll on us. The D is the huge elephant in our room. It will be a long year or two if that doesn't get rectified and quick. Luckily I still believe in the Pelini's for defense but another couple game plans like this one and not sure I'll feel the same level of confidence in their ability to adjust.

5- I am disappointed in some of our fans. Whether or not a fan has the right to boo their own team is not the issue. At Nebraska, it simply isn't done. Period. If you don't like it you can pack it where the sun doesn't shine. If you've got nothing better to offer than booing your own QB or coach or play selection then stay the F home. If you want to act like so many of the other classless organizations in sports then it is as simple as attending their games instead. Don't tell me how much you support the team or how much you paid for your ticket. I don't care. This is not to say you can't criticize. I have been doing it every week in front of my television set. The difference is the players can't hear it. If this game showed you nothing else it should have showed you that they actually do care and are trying. The players aren't quitting on us and we cannot quit on them.

Bauserman must b the key to making our d finally look good

Wisconsin 2.0

Take away a facemask penalty and 2 kick returns and this joke is 17-0 with nothing good. Sounds like they're falling apart on sidelines too. Done being angry. This is just sad.

F&co this. Game is going off. I'm gonna watch something more manly than this defense. Momma Mia should work.

Next 11 please. No blackshirts this year. I am worried about every game on the schedule. D flat out sucks.

Our D is making them look like an offensive juggernaut.

well done....only one small hiccup during the prayer there...

Sorry. I did not realize this was a set deal. I thought it was an ad lib. My bad I guess. But ya got to admit, never knowing defeat fit in there.

Last week NU got introduced to the B1G. Well today is the day the B1G gets introduced to the Big Red. Sorry tOSU, you're the sacrificial lamb.

Never knowing defeat.