c-husker

this is nuts. Can you even use "dieters" and "pork rinds" in the same conversation? I felt my arteries hardening as I read this post.

As usual, I agree with everything you say. Except that he is Benedict the 16th. Did you hear that a new record was set for attendance at the naming of the new Pope? Pathetic. I think all new Papal records should have a HUGE asterisk, or crucifix, or whatever next to them until Pedersen is out. Ben-nerd

I have been willing to go along with Steve Pedersen and his subpar football staff so far, but I can't take this anymore. Today, Pedersen named German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Predictably, when I called his office, they denied having anything to do with the naming of the Supreme Pontiff, proving once again what a complete and total liar Pedersen is. So, thanks to Pud, we now have our first Nazi Pope. Yeah...look it up, it's all true. Furthermore, what has Ratzinger ever done at any of his other appointments that makes Pud believe that Ratzinger can lead the Roman Catholic Church back to glory? For those of you who are smart enough to receive the truth, you will probably remember that many at Ratzinger's last job hated him. There was much dissension, especially among the more liberal and progressive Catholics, between Ratzinger and his subordinates. I can guarantee, GUARANTEE, you that we will see the same now that he is in charge of the Big Catholic Machine. He has been the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981, has produced no conference or national championships, and millions, literally millions of Catholics have transferred since that time. Once again, we are being lied to by the front office in South Stadium. You should have heard how confused the lady who answered the phone acted when I called to complain. Pedersen's got them all on the same page. Plus, how predictable that he would choose another Catholic. First Irish Catholic O'Callahan as NU's coach, now Ratzinger. Plus, I see where Ratzinger picked one of the most common names in Papal history, Benedict. The 17th. 17th?? Come on, is this the type of innovation we can expect to see for the next five years?? Mark my words, I will not attend another mass until this current staff is out. I am sick of Pud thinking that he can play God, and that we will just all blindly follow him like sheep. Come on, people, get your head out of the sand and see what's going on. I am a fan of God, and always will be, but I can guarantee you that I am done buying any of his gear (that goes for Jesus is my Homeboy shirts, too), tithing, or spending any more of my money on a subpar product. I feel sorry for all of you who can't see the divine truth that I am sharing. FormerWorshipper

FormerFan, I apologize for my previous condescending manner. You are right, I was only voicing my opinion, and I should not have presented it as the truth. I want to take issue with you on two topics. First, in this thread you said "It's not like these coaches have produced anything that resembles that sort of dominance in the past, so why would they in the future?" From what I know, Bob Devaney was at Wyoming before he come to Big Red Country, and had produced no national titles. Tom Osborne was an assistant under Devaney after his attempt at playing in the NFL was over, and took over with no previous head coaching experience. So it goes without saying that he never won a championship prior to coaching at NU. How are these situations different from our current staff in respects to championships won? The other thing you said was in a previous thread, and I'll have to paraphrase because I can't remember it word-for-word. You were talking about the lack of unity between Coach Callahan and staff and our players, and said something to the effect that Osborne never had this problem. I thought that Osborne was concerned about this, which is why he had Jack Stark start the UNITY council in the early '90's. Starting this council seems to be an acknowledgement that there was, at least, concern. It seems likely that you are simply going to point out that Callahan has done away with the UNITY council, which is true. But don't you think it's unfair to say that Osborne never had this problem? c-husker (the 'C' stands for condescending)

**Patient sigh** OK, FormerFan's nonsense aside, I had at least one concern today. I thought that the red team had a little too much success on kick returns. Last year we gave up two for TD's, is that right? I think only four teams in the nation did that. It seems like we might still have a very long way to go in this area. FormerFan, I'm gonna type slowly so try to comprehend something. First, you said that this "should no longer be called a spring game..." You followed that up with the observation that any records from the Callahan era "should have a huge asterisk next to them..." And my favorite gem: "We may just see another 60 point pasting by a middle of the pack Big 12 team..." When called on these statements, you replied "Truth hurts, I know!" Now, even if I ignore the fact that your reply would be below average wit for a seventh grader, I feel compelled to point out that only the last of your statements even has the possibility to be truth. The first two are your biased opinions. The last one may eventually become truth, but until then, it's a prediction. Your bias has become a bore. To say that no Husker fan can talk "until this staff wins a NC again..." seems a little unfair, especially when you add that "until then, this is a 5-6 staff, a 70-10 defensive coordinator, and a 4-12, first to worst head coach" Really? Those things all apply until we win another national championship? It seems like there's a lot of room in the middle there. Maybe your black or white way of looking at things is just final proof of your inability to consider anything that might be contrary to what you already believe. In any event, it's boring. And that, friend, is the truth.

He is Michael Jackson, and he is dead because people hate child molesters.

Honestly, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to me to have Dailey as the backup, and wouldn't be surprised if it ended up that way. Having a battle-tested backup is a valuable commodity, regardless of what you think about Dailey's prowess. I'll bet Davis and Ganz are only ahead of Dailey to get more reps at this point (presumably starting for a year would have given Dailey all the reps he needs). I guess we'll see. Oh, and Former Fan... the reason John Blake didn't win is that he's not a very good head coach. He's a brilliant recruiter and an asset as an assistant, which is probably why we hired him in that capacity. As far as your "hall-of-fame" Raiders go, you're comparing apples to oranges there, and you know it. But nice try with the quotes.

Ok, this is a stupid thread. My bad. Put the inspirational quotes back up. At least that was interesting.

Those are pretty much my thoughts exactly. I'm firmly behind Callahan. But, in retrospect, I was firmly behind Doherty. When Joe Forte went pro, I figured "to hell with him, he's a punk, and not one of Doherty's recruits." But then McCants starting acting up, and got branded a troublemaker and a pouter. Then I didn't know what to think, because Doherty brought McCants in, and here McCants couldn't stand him. I was pissed when they fired Doherty. But I was elated from day one when they hired Williams. One important distinction here is that there's no Williams on the horizon for NU anyway. Who would be the closest? Alvarez? C-Husker

I am a Nebraska football fan primarily because I've lived here most of my life. But I'm also drawn to tradition and excellence, which is, I suppose, why I have remained a fan. The latter is also the reason that I am so passionate about North Carolina basketball. Now I know this is not tarheelblue.com, and nobody on here really wants to hear about Carolina, but because I follow these two teams so closely, I have noticed some parallels that I'm sure others have noticed regarding the fall from grace that the two programs have suffered, and the return to prominance that the Heels have made, and that the Huskers hope to. Here's UNC's story for those who don't know with parenthetical comparisons to the Huskers. A few years ago, a legend who now has the playing surface named after him, Dean Smith (Tom Osborne) stepped down on the condition that he could name his replacement. He chose Bill Guthridge (Frank Solich) a long-time assistant and friend. Guthridge did OK the first couple of years, but it was evident that he was not getting the players that Smith was, and that the program was headed in a bad direction. The University made the difficult decision to let him go. He was replaced with a younger coach with ties to the program and a reputation for intensity and attention to detail, Matt Doherty (Bill Callahan). Doherty had achieved success at his previous job under tremendous pressure at a place with a huge and loyal fan base, Notre Dame (Oakland Raiders). True to his reputation, Doherty brought in the big guns, but suffered unprecedented failure in his first season, going 8-20 (5-6). The Heels weren't playing in any post-season tournament for the first time in over three decades (Huskers, since the '60's), but they had snagged three of the top players in the nation, Sean May, Rashad McCants, and Raymond Felton (take your pick-- Zack Bowman, Harrison Beck, Marlon Luckey). However, there were grumblings. The players felt that Doherty didn't listen, and was resistant to make changes to things that he thought should work. Some players left the program, some tried to go pro early, and some were threatening to leave. Despite improvement in his second season, Doherty was let go and Roy Williams was hired. Williams will take Doherty's players and try to win a national championship tomorrow. The seniors were the group that went 8-20 as freshmen. So, does anybody think that Callahan is our Doherty? Are we a year away from success, or a coach away? Or do I need a hobby? (Admittedly, comparing basketball to football is a stretch...) C-Husker

Okay this is cool.,

You've seen the results, now you grade it. What do you think?

No, no, no. Thank you HuskerBoard. This is the coolest sh#t going, and it gives the big dog a place to prowl when looking for the best information. Let the good times roll, baby... Callahan and Co (yes, even Pedersen) are leading us back to the promised land!

that could be good in the spring. That is prime time for the dog to prowl. Are the Tigers in town anytime?? Love them. Couch-Dogg

I have heard some good things about this kid, but only from one person. And only one person. Don't mistake this person for anyone else. aooooooooooooo couch-dog

Which is better: throwing promising freshmen to the wolves because of the lack of talent left by benard's boyfriend Solich, or using the "band-aid" juco's to do something they've done before (play college football) until the younger kids get ready? If the cupboard wasn't so bare, we wouldn't have to resort to this. Personally, I'm glad that we have these guys coming in, because they can buy time for the HS kids to develop and learn the game rather than getting their brains beat in. By the way, has anyone ever seen formerfan and benard together?

I think he is one of the original Beach Boys, but I had no idea that he had any college eligibility left.

Give me a little Smith and a little McKinney and I be doin' alright!!

I also question his decision to run almost exclusively man-to-man coverage. If you are going to do that all the time, then why weren't we blitzing. Isn't that why most teams play man coverage, because it gives them the opportunity to rush at least six guys? Playing man and rushing only four didn't fit our talent (or lack of) this year. But, I guess running the WCO with an option team didn't really fit our talent either. To be fair, I agree with hoyamann. We'll probably have to wait until Coz gets the talent he wants to run things the way he wants them run.

Beating a dead horse: I don't care what you think Eric was trying to say, what he said was that Solich had more integrity AND RESPECT FOR THE GAME than Osborne. I don't know how one measures such things, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with just pulling a random comment out of his ass. Plus, didn't I hear that Solich was screwing around on his wife? Is that more or less valid than Eric's assertion that Devaney was a philanderer?

Heisman Winner / First Round NBA Draft Pick... Charlie Ward.

Julius Peppers. Jesus, Eric, do you even read your sh** before you post it, or is it a mad dash to earn more HuskerBucks?

I find it interesting that Eric thinks Osborne lacks integrity for his handling of the Lawrence Phillips situation. What if integrity is living up to what you say you're going to do? For instance, if Osborne made a promise to try to do what is best for Phillips, especially in light of the fact that Phillips had no family, then that's what he did. The decision he made was the best thing for Lawrence Phillips. Certainly not for Tom, or the University. I'm sure Osborne made it clear that any further transgressions would not be tolerated, and if something else had occurred, I'm confident that Osborne would have again showed integrity and dismissed him from the team. That's just another way to view the situation.

you make a curious point about substituting players. If that was the case (JoePa subbed mercifully, while TO run it up mercilessly) then why was NU the so much more dominant team the following year? Shouldn't JoePa's liberal subbing led to some depth for ol' PSU? Meanwhile, cold-hearted, run-it-up, win-at-all-costs Osborne managed to win or share a couple more in the following seasons. Something doesn't add up here...

I'm not making ANY picks until I hear what Terrific Tom has to say about the subject. Where ya at, big guy? c-husker