shiftyness

You made a really good point here and just thought I'd add some of my thoughts on the walk-on program. The walk-on program's purpose (at least in my eyes) under Osborne was the catalyst that made the program great. The kids that walked on gave everything that they had to NU football. Most of them never saw the field except on special teams, but the scholarship players would go to practice everyday and see these guys who had very little chance to see action on the field give it their all. This, in turn, instilled the "Nebraska way of life" into these out of state recruits. It provided them with the intangible. This intangible was slowly lost in the last 8-9 years and is the reason we have sunk to where we are now. This is the main reason why many people are pushing for a new head coach with previous ties to Nebraska. They realize the work ethic required to be better than everyone else. Nebraska didn't win national championships because we had better strategy than the other teams, we won because we worked harder and wanted it more. I don't doubt the current staff's game plans, I doubt their passion for the game and their dedication. For us to be successful, our next head coach doesn't need to be a great recruiter or a great x's and o's guy. He needs to be a man of integrity, a man of morals, and most importantly a man who Nebraskans can put their faith in no matter the situation. We had that in Tom Osborne and I have faith in Osborne to find a new head coach who exhibits the same qualities he does. Sorry for the rant, I tend to get off on a tangent, but I think these things are important.

The popular term "West Coast Offense" is more of a philosophy and an approach to the game than it is a set of plays or formations. Traditional offensive thinking argues that a team must establish their running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up vertical passing lanes downfield (i.e., passing lanes that run perpendicular to the line of scrimmage). Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense, however, differs from traditional offense by instead emphasizing a short, horizontal passing attack to help stretch the defense out, thus opening up running lanes. The West Coast Offense as implemented under Walsh features precisely-run pass patterns by the receivers that make up about 65% to 80% of the offensive scheme. With the defense stretched out, the offense is then free to focus the remaining plays on longer throws (more than 14 yards) and mid to long yard rushes.

How about a different BP... Bobby Patrino. If I was him I'd be looking for my first chance out of Atlanta.

Unfortuanately, the only way to bring in high calliber players to Nebraska in today's world is to offer them a stepping stone to the NFL. Our best way to offer them that is a NFL coach.

Nah, I know Dane (was in the same fraternity as him) and he would care less about catching the ball. He was happy with doing what was best for the team. Plus he had terrible hands (don't think he could lift his arms much over his head ).

Did you know that N stands for Nowledge?

Jonas "The Minivan" Gray http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/...tory?id=3038508 Jonas Gray, Running back Pontiac, Mich. (Detroit Country Day) Verbal commitment: Nebraska If Detroit native Jerome Bettis was known as "The Bus," then it is possible that Gray could at least be considered "The Minivan." He, like his fellow Detroit native, is one of the toughest backs in this class and runs with a bulldozing style. Gray is a compact running back who can be a workhorse and wear defenses down throughout the course of a game. He is not very flashy or super elusive, but he has good speed and is tough to tackle. The No. 89-ranked player in the ESPN 150 is leaving Big Ten country and heading to Nebraska, a school with a rich running back history. It seems like a good fit, as the Cornhuskers have utilized several backs in the Callahan era. The West Coast scheme will always need a speedy versatile back, like a Marlon Lucky, but a player like Gray gives the offense a change of pace back who can attack defenses and punish them. The state of Michigan has a handful of good backs in the 2008 class, but the "Minivan" is at the head of the pack.

I would love Junior for you to say such things to this young mans face. Would that not be entertaining. Certainly your manhood would prevail wouldn't it? Nothing makes a man tougher than sitting behind a keyboard talking smack without any accountability. Do the right thing and move away from those keys.

"From the outside looking in you don't understand it. From the inside looking out you cant explain it." Those of you ripping into Mckeon have no idea what it is like to be a blackshirt right now. He goes out and gives the most candid interview of his life and you throw him to the piranahs. Until you walk in their shoe's, I suggest you refrain from questioning McKeon's character when you have no discernable insight into his mind. Else I'll send Mike Gundy to berate you.

wow so gay

Keller is the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Touchdown!!

Thank you chains!

Talk about a great penalty!

Way to go D!

Yea Cody!

Talk about a punt!

...but I don't want to be a pirate!

This is very true, Lucky's best play last week was when he picked up a wake blitz and gave Keller time to throw a touchdown.

I'm a new member, but have been lurking the forums for the last couple months in anticipation of the season. As a recently former student, I really wished I could have been at the game, but work got in the way. Anyways I would like to share how my expectations of the opener compared to the actual game results. 1st quarter: I was actually disappointed in the way we came out and played. Although we didn't play "bad" we did start out a bit slow. I would have liked to see Sam Keller given more passing plays (especially more deep passing routes to begin with). 2nd quarter: Not much to say about this, Nevada played good and Keller seemed like he was overwhelmed by the game speed atmosphere. 3rd quarter: It is hard to say whether Bill Callahan adjusted to Nevada's defense or we just flat out wore them out. Whichever was the case, I was impressed with both our offense and defense. 4th quarter: Scrub clean up duty, Culbert looked impressive as did Helu. Sam Keller: Hard to judge as of right now. Started off slow and seemed a bit flustered... however eventually picked up steam and looked like he will be as good as advertised (even better if our line protects him half as well as they did today). I expected more out of him, but the receivers dropped a couple perfect balls. Lucky: I was impressed by his numbers... (229 yards and 4 touchdowns), but I really think the line deserves most of the credit. He's fast and agile, but doesn't seem like he can break many tackles. While I didn't expect him to run for so many yards, I was expecting him to have better vision and better moves. Castille: Hats off to this guy, very impressive for his first college game. He showed he could put a hat on people and he could make some moves. Can't wait to see this guy more. Glenn: I like Glenn... but he looks like he lost some of his skill and was just average. Culbert/Helu: Both of these guys looked good in clean up duty, these guys could do some damage in the future. Offensive line: Wow... all I have to say is wow.. They created huge holes that resulted in 400+ rushing yards. Also they provided great pass protection. If I remember correctly, I only saw Keller get hit once the whole game. Way to go O-line, you are the heart and soul of the team. Definitely exceded my expectations. Recievers: They had some butter fingers in the first half (Callahan please bench Hardy... he's too inconsistent), but caught Keller's balls eventually. No standout catches or runs after catch. Not too impressed... can't wait to see Purify get back in the lineup next week. I expected more out of them. D-line: Looked good against a mediocre O-line. Nothing special, but they played well against the pistol formation. About how I expected them to play. Linebackers: Octavian is a beast. In my opinion he is the best defensive player we have. He makes plays whenever he is on the field. Lets hope he stays healthy. Rest of the linebacking core did as I expected, solid play and they are all fast to the ball. Defensive Backs: Honestly they look like they did last year. Luckily we were playing Nevada in the opener. Against a pass heavy team, I hope they step up more. It was nice to see nickle packages though. Safety play has definitely improved since last year. Overall I would say they played slightly lower than my expectations. Special teams: Vastly improved. I was impressed with our special teams and they suprised me. Thank God we have Adi. Can't wait to see him in clutch situations and see how he performs. If he can handle the pressure, we have one of the best kickers in the nation.