HuskerBob4

I'm not coming on here as a self-proclaimed guru but I have talked, very recently, at length with an NFL scout and a longtime college OC and both mentioned some very interesting points to me about the films that we put together on offense. Both mentioned how slow we get plays in and defenses are recognized and then audibles and checks are made. I don't know about the rest of you, but I definitely notice a drop in efficiency when things are slowed down for us. Lee does a very piss poor job of finding the MIKE and calling out blocking schemes and checks. He continually runs the play clock down near 0...which does numerous things...let's the D time the snap, gets the O-line ansy and a bit jumpy. Those two issues can completely derail a series. Blitzes can be timed better and DEs can pin their ears back more often. The second thing they noticed is how complicated we try to make simple counters and stretch plays. We try to trick every run up instead of just going downhill. We have had success against great run D's in the past by just running straight at them under Watson, see 2005 Cotton Bowl vs Auburn, 2008 Gator Bowl vs Clemson, 2009 at Va Tech...The reason we lose games like today is the terrible schemes in the run game. Not to mention terrible play calls to force the run, see ridiculous double reverse.... I'm not completely sold one way or the other on Watson, but we definitely need to do a much better job of defining what we are on offense and quit with all the "multiple" look focus. Our D line is good enough for us to compete for the Big XII title, but if we can't figure out how to clean up our basic run game and have a better avg. than 2.4 yards a carry or whatever atrocious number it was today, we will always struggle on offense, even against mediocre D's. And let's not get carried away, we were NOT ready to play for a National Title yet and all that talk in the media was obsurd...BUT we are ready to take the Big XII over and even the balance of power. We can still finish 10-2 and play Texas for the Big XII title and a chance to go to Arizona to whip Boise's arse....

No Griffin does not play D, but they do have a potential 1st rounder at LB in Pawelek! I will be there in full force and beg the Husker Nation, especially those in DFW area, to make the trip and make this a "Husker Home Game"! They have 3 guys that are substantially better than everyone we have, besides Suh! (WR Gettis) This could be the game that makes or breaks our season....

WOW! I don't know why you would be up on the stump calling Mack Brown the most overrated coach in college football! He is the best CEO this country has right now... As much as I hate the Longhorns, this is one of the lamest things I hear from Texas haters...this guy wins 10 games a year and he is overrated???? I don't get the logic... And then to add in that you can't wait until Muschamp takes over...when is the last time a hand pick successor has gone on to replace a legend....??? Muschamp is 10 times the hot head Bo ever was and he will always be too involved with the D at Texas to be truly successful. Mack gets it right...he hugs moms when he meets them, he pays and recruits the best assistant's and let's them do their jobs...coach'em up!!! Again, I hate Texas more than anyone on here...but let's be realistic

Well, I figured I would start the season off by tempering expectations! I voted for 0-10% because we will have to play flawless to win in Blacksburg on national TV. Va Tech will be highly motivated for this game one way or another, they will either be out to prove the nay sayers wrong after a loss to Bama or riding high with a win and looking for style points to get into NC race! Tyrod is much, much improved...need I remind everyone they beat us in Lincoln and barely could complete a forward pass prior to that game. I have all the faith in the world, but a new QB in a hostile, top 10 environment is never a formula for success! And our track record the last 8 or 9 years against ranked teams speaks for itself...sorry to rain on the parade...guess the Kool-Aid hasn't made it to my house....YET!!! And in response to the above post...Va Tech win would be great, but a Baylor loss would set us back and keep us out of the BIG XII title game! Rather win the ones we are supposed to, coin flip the rest (including Big XII title game) and head to the Fiesta Bowl!!!

HOLLYWOOD!!! MARLON LUCKY WILL GET LOOSE TODAY!!! AND THE BLACKSHIRTS ARE GONNA PUT A STAMP ON CULLEN HARPER'S DISAPPOINTING SENIOR YEAR!!! GBR!!!! HERE'S TO A GREAT 2009!!!

Cody Green just kicked a game winning FG to send Dayton to the 4A Div. 2 State Championship game!!! This kid is a winner, can't wait to see him in RED!!!

As bad as A&M is, I would still like to point out that Sherman did coach an NFL Playoff team...granted one of the all time greats was his QB, I don't think Bo should get paid more than him.... PLUS A&M has wayyyyyyyy more cash to burn than we do...

I thought I would follow the Shermanator's lead and take this opportunity to introduce myself. Name: Nolan Mast Age: 25 Hometown: Born in Pender, now in Austin, TX Fav. Husker: Marlon "Hollywood" Lucky Childhood Dream: Being Aaron Rodgers...that is playing QB for the Green Bay Packers Huskers Games attended: all home games 2001, (freshman on Huskers baseball team), all games at Baylor, Texas, A&M, Alamo Dome, at USC in 2006, Cotton Bowl vs Auburn...making first appearance at the renovated Memorial Stadium next week for Huskers thrashing of CU!!! A bit selfish, but hoping for trip to Alamo Dome...EL PASO SUCKS! GO BIG RED!!!

Marlon "HOLLYWOOD" Lucky will be drafted...HIGH! Mark my words...barring major injury, he will join the likes of Correll Buckhalter as far as Huskers RBs making nice coin to play in the league for a long time. It amazes me how quick people that are "die-hard" fans forget what this kid has done with rather suspect blocking around him... Two games that stick out vividly in my mind and the minds of NFL scouts are the Cotton Bowl against Auburn and the game last year at Texas. When he is the "go to guy" and gets the majority of the carries and also a chance to get some mid screens and the ball in space he impresses everyone who watches. One thing Hollywood does really, really well is get his pad level to a point where he has leverage on LBs and even DEs...this goes virtually unnoticed to most, but NFL scouts drool over this type of stuff from a RB. His hands are incredible, no further explanation... One thing that has puzzled me about the Shawn Watson era of Husker offense is the lack of utilization of the athletes and using the players to their strengths...how many screens have we run to Hollywood? how many wheel routes has Hollywood run against OLB? One thing I will give Callahan is that he knew how to use his RBs effectively to get mismatches. Watson does a very poor job of this. Now maybe this is coming down from Pelini moving towards a more traditional smash mouth type offense. Whatever it is, I think Lucky has been lost in the shuffle this year, but trust me, come draft day we will be celebrating Hollywood's draft by the end of DAY 1!!!! (or early day 2...) I think he will test will and the scouts will love his films as far as blocking and receiving go...

Completely agree here. Now if Mirillo can learn how to play we have a chance. That kid looked like a turd in a punch bowl. Completely out of place and makes you wonder WTH. agreed..why the hell was he looking at the qb on that long pass play to michael crabtree?..no wonder he got burned where was the safety? Asante tried to jump the underneath route...Murillo had underneath Crabtree but still should have been on him like stink on.... Take away the long TD on 3rd down in the 1st and we did a great job shutting him down

I just want to throw something out there and see what everyone thinks about my hypothesis.... The main reason we struggle...is lack of identity! What I don't understand is why we have all these scholarships tied up in WRs and only 3, maybe 4, see the field in a game. With the scholarship limitations I don't feel it is necessary to have more than 6 or 7 WRs on schollys, for a team that runs 4 and 5 wide sets. With the offense we are running this year, I think we should only carry 5 or 6 WRs on scholly.... OR....the better idea, GET THE ATHLETES ON THE FIELD!!!! I am a HUGE Lucky fan, but behind this line he is obviously not a great fit in the role he is being used. I would love to see him used in space, much like Reggie Bush was at USC. Imagine for a second that we line up in a formation like this.... .............................S......................................S................................ ................................................LB.................................................. ..DB.............DB...............DE.....DT...DT....DE............DB..............DB..... .Holt............Paul...............LT.LG.C.RG.RT.................Swift...........Peterson.. ...............................................Ganz..................................................... ...............................................Lucky Imagine the possibilities here!!! LUCKY VS. A LB, ONE ON ONE IN SPACE..... I could go into very detailed notes about this type of thing, but I just wanted to see what everyone thought about us running more of a spread and getting the athletes on the field, and taking their LBs off the field... Let me know your thoughts and concerns.... GO BIG RED!!!

I have us at 8-4 headed to the Alamo Bowl... Mizzou - Could get really ugly Tech - Close loss Iowa St - We take them to the woodshed and take out three weeks of frustrating losses Baylor - Continue rolling...BIG W OU - Surprising close loss Kansas - Surprising lopsided victory Kansas St - Tight win Colorado - Tight win Alamo Bowl vs. Illinois....VICTORY!!!

Everyone needs to put the kool aid down and call a spade a spade... Many of you begged for Bo for his passion... which you got, along with his stupidity! This is the same coach that berated an opposing coach after a game for "running it up" because his D couldn't stop them... This is the same coach that has had numerous flags thrown on him for berating officials...ask Stoops and Les Miles... You hire a D coordinator, expect two things to happen.... 1 - The offense will struggle, maybe lack of prep time or attention to detail, not sure just know it happens (ie Auburn) 2 - The bonehead will come out in him when his D struggles.... Whether or not the Suh hit was a penalty is debatable, as for me, I say let em play, but the fact our HC was penalized at that point in the game shows a total lack of restraint on his behalf... For all the Bo backers, chalk this up on games he directly cost us.....

This thread is comical for many reasons.... 1 - The post about all the RB's coming out is great, I love how everyone acts like the NFL really cares about College stats. Without the benefit of seeing all these guys at a combine, running, lifting and catching, it doesn't really matter what they did in college. YES, durability, attitude, field awareness and many other factors weigh in, but who really thought Brandon Jackson was going in the 2nd round BEFORE he ran a blazing 40 in the combine..... 2 - Building a successful program is about continuing to produce championships and individuals who excel and go on to play on Sundays. We need some WRs (Purify), RBs (Jackson, Lucky), QBs (???) to go to the NFL so recruits see that we produce Championships and send players to the LEAGUE... 3 - We are talking about the crapshoot that is "playing RB in the NFL"...By that I mean look at some of the NFL rosters, hell the Packers took the Giants trash and found a starting RB (Ryan Grant, who spent 2 years on Giants practice squad), Samkon Gado was a 4th string RB in college and ended up starting for the Packers and then the Texans. It's all about being in the right place at the right time, and for those of you out there who thinks Lucky lacks the skill set to play on Sundays, you may want to take a closer look at your favorite team's roster and find out the back story for each of those guys....YOU WILL BE AMAZED!!!! As a Husker fan I would love to see him leading us to a BCS game next year, but as a realist, (especially with the uncertainity) I think he will be better served to leave early.... (Another negative for the Huskers, but positive for Marlon and Mo among others is they will have a head start getting prepared for the COMBINE....

I made a very bold prediction that Lucky would end up drafted in the 2nd round in this year's coming draft, before the season.... That prediction alone shows I am a true believer there is greatness inside this kid... After this season, I still think he will be someone in the late 2nd to early 3rd round. I would love to get him back for one more year, but knowing the fact a RB's shelf live in the league is soooo short lived, I hope he goes to the LEAGUE.... He has alot of things working in his favor....damn good numbers in an inconsistent offense, good size (room for 10-15 more pounds), speed (not Peterson fast, but in the upper echelon) PLUS not alot of solid backs entering this draft. McFadden is obviously going to be a top 5 pick, but outside of him and Slaton, there aren't alot of "can't miss" guys....Hart doesn't have the size, speed or hands to be picked in top rounds...I think Lucky falls into the mix of Tashard Choice, Jonathan Stewart, Allen Patrick, and Dantrell Savage, and his pass catching ability and familiarity with a pro style offense gives him a nice edge Love to see him stay, but will be glad that he is moving on to bigger and better things!!!

You can say the playcall was insane, but Shanle dropped that ball! I blame Callahan for having Shanle there instead of one of our real athletes!!! The play works if he hangs on to the ball!

Isn't it a little early to start dissing the next NU quarterback? At least let him play a game first. I'm not sure if rkhufu7 was dissing him or not, but trust me, if he WAS Major, he would be on the field already! Major was UT's version of Zac Taylor!!! If Ganz was all that, we would not have bothered bringing in Keller for one year....

As crazy as it may sound....Me and family are making the trek up to Lawrence and then over to KC for the Packers game on Sunday...we are in the market!!!

I just want the interviewing/hiring process to be low key and under the radar, much like Iowa State did it. I don't want another fiasco where the Husker Jet touches down in Fayetteville, and the whole town knows within a half hour! Iowa State's AD did the meetings in Dallas, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a hole in the wall town...

This play calling is a wide spread problem outside of Les Miles....UT fans complain weekly, I see it time and time again in the NFL, and more times than I can count on Saturdays....

Husker Faithful, I have been thinking about what to write, but I have been struggling to find words or a good explanation for what has become of the Big Red Machine... Over many hours of discussion, I have come to the following conclusions: 1 - The Search Committee (aka Dr. Tom) needs to build a criteria for the next HC. Here is mine: A - Must be a proven winner. Winning breeds more winning, he doesn't need to necessarily be a major school HC, BUT he must be surrounded by winning, whether it be a coordinator from Florida or a HC from UNI, he must come from a culture of winning. B - Young, enthusiastic and family oriented C - Must understand running and putting in place a dynamic offense, if Mizzou and Tech can win, imagine what a great defense can do to bolster there chances of winning week in and week out. D - MUST be able to effectively recruit in the South, Florida and/or Cali 2 - The Search Committee should pursue and interview the candidates that fall into these categories under the radar. After meeting with them, if they like them, put them on the short list 3 - After all the "under the radar" candidates are weeded out, then begin talking to obvious replacements and weed them out. 4 - Meet the Final 4 in Memphis or some random town and have final interviews and contract talks, find out there specific staff wants and what recruits they could bring with them from the school they are leaving. 5 - MAKE THE HIRE! My list of "under the radar" guys would include: Farley from UNI Peterson from Boise State Strong from Florida Muschamp from Auburn Mullen from Florida My front runner is Strong for the following reasons: 1 - Has access to Florida recruits 2 - Has access to Urban Meyer's dynamic offense and could bring a position coach or two with him 3 - Young, full of energy, coaches one of the fastest, most aggressive D's in the country 4 - WINNER!!! Understands winning and what it takes to win consistently 5 - Has access to Southern, black families (can't hide from this...recruits said "no thanks" to Frankie, Dr. Tom was on another level!! He shows you have to be able to get in good with these recruits) I also love the potential of Peterson...Boise fans have said he ran the show even when Hawkins was there! Plus he POUNDS THE ROCK!!!! He has access to Cali athletes and great relationships with high school coaches up in no-man's land I will admit, I don't have all the answers or time to research every "under the radar" candidate, but I bring up these points because I fear we will follow the past mistakes that OU and UT committed by continually rewarding the "old regime" for staying loyal. Put me down for a NO on Turner Gill...he needs to prove himself on the miniscule stage that is Buffalo before he is even considered for the Nebraska job...ALSO, we need to be cautious with BO! I say this because I don't think he has strong enough relationships at his former jobs to bring in a fully qualified staff that understands BO completely, could turn into a revolving door at the coordinator and position coaching spots.... Everyone has their opinion, I just hope the Husker Nation proceeds slowly and thinks outside the box!!!

ENOUGH WITH THE TURNER GILL TALK..... OFFENSE/DEFENSE TEAM STATS OFFENSE DEFENSE Points/Game 25.4 (135th) 30.9 (176th) Total Yards/Gm 351.1 (159th) 399.9 (168th) Rush Yards/GM 145.9 (146th) 170.6 (156th) Pass Yards/GM 205.3 (136th) 229.3 (158th) IN THE MAC....NO THANKS!!!

PEOPLE WAKE UP....TOP 3 THAT WE CAN GET MUSCHAMP - AUBURN, PATTERSON - TCU, AND STRONG - FLORIDA!!!

So why does everyone have such a cheeser for Watson???

The NCAA actually has no rule that forbids contacting coaches during the season. However, ADs typically don't do it. Rather, they hire a search firm, and that firm puts out "feelers" to coaches' agents. That allows the coach to say, "I haven't been contacted" or "I haven't spoken with..." and the AD to say, "I haven't contacted anyone". Somewhat silly, but it helps reduce the kind of "bad feelings" that can come from so-called "poaching". Supposedly A&M has gotten permission from LSU to speak to Pelini too...