Danimal

On 1/16/2024 at 8:43 PM, DefenderAO said:

OC and Tight End coach.  

 

SMH.

Only scratching my head because we gave-up on this plan last year when Peetz fell-through, should have moved on to another candidate. Rhule had been down this road with Satt before at Temple. Situation was made worse by going after a project like Sims. He was a questionable get either way but worse when you have questions about ability to coach-up qb's. 

Since Satt isn't going anywhere can we at-least go back to the plan of having a designated qb coach and Satt coaching TE's. If Peetz still isn't available then go find somebody else. Back at Temple Rhule changed Satt's position responsibility from qb's to rb's for a reason. 

15 hours ago, admo said:

It hasn't quite been 24 hours yet, but there has been plenty of time since the game ended to form some real thoughts about the game.

 

Was very happy to see the Huskers win

Was very happy for the team to experience a win

 

Northern Illinois had the least talented, and least athletic offense I have seen since we played Fordham and North Dakota.  

 

Their QB was awful, and their receivers were terrible.  Their running game was pathetic.  Their scheme was flat and played like Fordham and North Dakota.  

 

The Blackshirts shut them down pretty much, which is what a good defense does.  So that was great to see.  We all loved that.  The Blackshirts were aggressive and did what they should do to a s#!tty opponent.  And I do mean s#!tty.

 

The offense made some plays, and I'm sure everyone was happy to clap for those 3-6 yard QB runs.  Haarberg ran hard with the ball.  Played physical.  So did Ervin and Grant.  It was old fashion 2000's style football.  And he made some nice throws too.  

 

I'm glad when the Huskers can prove they can win these type of games.  You know they can, but you want to see it happen to believe it.  And it wasn't sloppy either, which is a bonus.  One turnover isn't terrible when the offense runs 60-75 plays.  

 

Overall, I'd say the Huskers did everything pretty well to beat a s#!tty Northern Illinois team.  Will be interesting to see if they can win two in a row.  

 

Our goal of getting 6 wins and a bowl game is still alive and on the table.  This was a really good dominating win.  Now we can look at our schedule for 5 more wins.  One at a time, but LaTech, NW, Illinois and Purdue look more winnable now then ever.  Just got to take care of business and get it done.  The 6th win would be impressive.

 

And finally, Matt Rhule must have been eating salty sunflower seeds and pretzels between plays.  WTF was that?  And if you are a coach or AD, talk to him about it.  And remind him that if the team can change, he can change too and stop the tongue thing too.  

 

A couple of weeks ago I'd have said there's little chance of a bowl coming out of our first four games 2-2. But the BIG West sucks and MSU has gone to hell. Our defense is good enough that if we can do what we did against NIU, field a mediocre O that doesn't turn the rock over, we can win enough to get to six wins. That's a mark we haven't reached in a long time.  Shows progress to the team, NIL-funding fanbase, and recruits/transfers while also giving us extra practice time. 

7 hours ago, Hilltop said:

Our fan base still overreacts when we play good against a weak opponent.   HH played ok but the defense he faced was significantly weaker than Sims faced in the first 2 weeks.   That said,  I think you have to continue the trial by fire with him until it doesn't work.   

Playing at home versus Boulder does make a difference but in terms of overall quality NIU's defense is plenty comparable to CU's. We handed CU four turnovers on a silver platter and that sent the game snowballing out of control. Now on offense NIU does struggle plenty,  their receiving corps should get a NIL deal with Butterfingers after their performance last night. Not going to say HH was great  and we've found our guy to take us back to glory but he made solid reads in both the pass and run-game, passed and ran solidly, and took care of the ball. He had one fumble but that was more the fault of a major protection breakdown. He looked like a legit starter out there against a decent defense. If he can keep it up he should remain starter. Sims is athletic enough that we could find way to keep him involved in the O. 

On 9/1/2023 at 10:57 AM, hskrpwr13 said:

The OP isnt wrong. Yet, wonder if pushing them back 5 yards really changes the outcome. Hartzog made a bad play. 

True,  but Minn's qb made a garbage pass that his wr had to make an outstanding catch to bring-in. Maybe from 5yds back it's not a completion at all. 

I thought Sanders was intriguing but too risky, a feast or famine situation where we can't afford another failed regime.. I do think he made solid coordinator hires to shore things up into a P5 staff. Of particular smarts was getting the Kent State HC to quit to become Prime's OC/qb-coach and bring along his O-line coach. Kent State's O was nasty, now CU's is humming in game-one. On the positive side I do think Rhule will eventually get it done and unlike Sanders would he considers this his final station. 

17 hours ago, thatguy said:

While I don’t support calling a player garbage, there’s simply no excuse for having zero quarterbacks on the roster. There’s no excuses for not having someone who can read a defense and look a safety away, the line play notwithstanding. 

Yes, the pooch was screwed in terms of qb. It was hubris to push Thompson aside on the assumption that we'd fix the major issues Sims exhibited over many starts at GT. Staring-down receivers rather than going through reads, eating sacks, and throwing a crap-ton of picks is still what he does. The situation is made worse by not landing a qb in the '23 class. We don't have a qb of the future to put in to learn on the job and be ready in '24. Now we'll probably be left running a dumbed-down O for the season then trying to find a portal qb for next season. 

3 hours ago, Toe said:

Damn, sux2b Syracuse today.

 

I'm rather relieved. Was somewhat expecting to be stuck with Mike Siravo learning to DC on the job despite already having inexperience at LB and DL. White has legit experience and seems like a legit up-and-comer. Interested to see if he sticks with the 3-3-5 or goes with the 4-3 Rhule has said we'd run. 

4 hours ago, twofittyonred said:

I find it somewhat amusing to read comments lambasting a guy that was handed a shyt sandwich and told to make it taste good in less than a yr.  wonder how that equates over to the MJ love we seen..?? 

We got better under MJ, not enough better to garner the HC job but better. O-line didn't get better under Raiola, thus he has less of a case than MJ. 

Is Raiola as bad as he seemed this season? Could he be good down the road? I can see that. But why not hire an O-line coach that is actually proven to be good? 

7 hours ago, sho said:

While I share the hope for someone like Schumann, I do hesitate, as Rhule as mentioned one of his biggest mistakes at Carolina was not having guys he worked with before and trusted.   So far, everyone of his hires is someone he's worked with, in some capacity.   That makes it seem like a big stretch that one of the most important hires would be a coach that he has no visible connection that I can see.  I hope I'm wrong, as it seems like Schumann will be a homerun hire.

I've seen that quote and it seems to me Rhule should be looking at why he wasn't better at networking and interviewing to land the right guy, that's something coaches that succeed over the long term are good at. Of course coaches hire guys they have prior experience with, that's expected, but they shouldn't limit themselves to only that talent-pool. Yes Rhule is demanding but he's far from alone in that and all coaches have their style that their staff must fit. Successful coaches can find good coaches that fit, from there trust and relationships build quickly enough. 

21 hours ago, RedDenver said:

Those teams are just as likely to get better as we are. Actually I think those teams are more likely to improve than we are given the turmoil in the Husker program. It's possible we do better, but I think next season is 1-2 wins with the year after when we'll see if Rhule can rebuild the program or not. Although I'd be super happy with more wins of course.

 

We're just as likely to lose players as gain them, especially the more talented have more options and the older players may want to go somewhere more successfully instead of trying to rebuild. Plus the players we gain still need time to develop and gel as a team. Fans can be as pissed about the record as they want, but Rhule - or any coach - can't just magically wave a wand and make everything better. Even if we got the right coach, it's going to take time.

If this staff is worth a damn they'll be able to attract players. We were able to do it this year despite Frost losing for four seasons and going into this one obviously on the hot-seat. You aren't getting my point about year-one. Unlike when Rhule took over Baylor he not only has more ability to win now but also has motivation to win-now rather than go into "develop and play for the future" mode. He needs to keep the players bought-in so they stay and fans bought-in so they keep the coffers full. Plus the team needs wins to get their belief and confidence up. I never implied he can wave a wand and make everything better but what he can do is bring experienced players and plug them in rather than throw young guys to the wolves as seen in Baylor year-one. I'm not saying we can be good, I'm saying we can achieve mediocrity. 

20 hours ago, macroboy said:

That's a good keep by Fickell. Would have been cool to get Leonhard here.

Very nice way for Fickell to start his tenure, he'll have the typical tough Wiscy defense and his offense can only be better than the Mertz-led crap seen this season. If Wiscy makes good portal acquisitions on O they'll be a tough team. 

On 11/28/2022 at 7:07 PM, RedDenver said:

Just looking at our roster, I think we'll manage 2 wins next year. If Rhule can do some amazing development of the lines in a single off-season, then 4-6 wins. But given that Rhule had 2 wins in his first year at Temple and 1 win in his first year at Baylor, I'm expecting 1-3 wins.

 

Of course anything is possible so we could suddenly win 7+, but I think that's extremely unlikely. I think Rhule will rebuild the program, but we won't see tangible results until year 2 or 3.

We play a weak noncon, the BIG West isn't that good, plus we get MSU and Mary out of the east. With the noncon and NW that's four bad teams then you have several fairly average ones. Six wins is doable without vast improvement, we have been a very competitive team, we just haven't finished games well. 

As far as Rhule's previous stints go they weren't in the NIL and transfer-portal era. A roster turnaround can be pulled-off much more easily now with what we have to offer. This is a hell of a lot different than Rhule starting at Baylor with 45 schollie players in the wake of the rape scandal. Plus I'd hope Rhule recognizes he can't afford to just sacrifice year-one. NIL and the transfer portal are a double-edged blade. Players now bounce penalty-free and the better ones will get outside NIL offers while still on your team. Meanwhile our fans won't be so free with that NIL money to buy and keep players if they're pissed-off we went 2-10. It's just a different game now, keeping your players and fans bought-in is important. Plus this is a team with a damaged psyche that expects to blow games, more losing means feeding the monkey on their back. I can also see Rhule putting more into winning some games now because this team really needs that boost. 

On 12/1/2022 at 10:49 PM, chamrocck said:

That @ Minnesota game right out the gate is a tough draw. They’ve been at a steady rebuild and identity for awhile. I would love to win that game but we likely get grinded down. 

Wish the BIG would quit hamstringing us with these games til we get on our feet as a program again. 

4 hours ago, HANC said:

My take…. if you are deciding “if” you want to retire or come back, you can’t give the effort you or the program deserve. Anytime the going gets tough, you will have that thought in the back of your mind that you should have retired and begin looking forward to the end of the year…. Trust me on this !!!

I know he's Rhule's guy and a quality DC but I gotta agree. If he was truly all-in he'd have already been announced. I could take him as DC if we have a hotshot Co-DC Snow can groom then hand the reins to. Would be a great analyst hire and that could fit where he's at in life, wouldn't have to schmooze teenagers year-round or work the long hours but he's still be in football. 

Of the "Rhule tree" guys that have been mentioned- Snow, Robinson, and Collins, I like Collins the best. Already explained Snow. Robinson hasn't been a DC before, may not be good at it, and if he is good he'll be a hot name we lose to a HC job. Collins is a proven DC  and after that crappy stint as GT's HC he won't get any HC offers that pay more than coaching D here. We could be set well at the position for a long time. 

9 hours ago, krc1995 said:

Ed Orgeron is out there. Press conferences with Rhule and O would be epic!

2 hours ago, sho said:

 

Actually there's no tangible proof of that.  He's outclassed his opponents at a lower level.   And I have run out of fingers of successful coaches at a lower level that have absolutely ished the bed moving up to P5 coaching.   Heck, we just need to look at Scott Frost as a prime example of that.   He's proven he can recruit based on his name, he'll be able to recruit to Colorado, but he won't drastically out recruit Oregon or Washington (or USC and UCLA while they are in the Pac12) like he can in the SWAC and he we will see how he will do against Kyle Whittingham, Kalen DeBoer, or Dan Lanning.   He's a big question mark in terms of actual coaching ability, I think he's worth the risk, but there's a lot of risk with him.

The SWAC plays the MEAC in a bowl because those cons got sick of getting their asses kicked in the first round of the FCS playoffs. With his recruiting and connections it's not really that hard to win in the FCS's equivalent of the G5, big jump from that to winning in the P5 of FBS. I'm not saying Prime won't be a success, could be huge, but it's silly when folks act like he'd be a sure thing. 

16 hours ago, roadrat said:

I don't like to criticize players but didn't Grant regress as the season went on? Seems like he was constantly getting the hand-off and running lateral. He had much more success running straight ahead. Note how Rhamir Johnson ran in Iowa. He went straight ahead.  you would think Applewhite would have noted this and coached him to hit the hole quickly. Felt like sometimes he made our offensive line worse than they were. 

I wouldn't say he regressed as much as  the east-west JUCO running wasn't cutting it once we started playing solid defenses. Unfortunately Applewhite wasn't able to break Grant's bad habits. Annoyed me when we left him in there against Iowa. That late 3rd and 1 where Grant wouldn't just lower his shoulder and fight for a yard didn't end-up costing us but it easily could have. 

4 hours ago, Decoy73 said:

On offense for sure.  We could have hung 42 on them, but nope.  Shut it down and almost screwed it up.  I’m glad we won, but jeez….step on their damn throats.   

Agree, love that we got the W but it could have easily become another heartbreaking L due to our piss-poor game management. 

4 hours ago, sho said:

 

I think he understands he won't be the HC, I'm hoping he can stay WR coach and RC

I want to keep him around but disagree about making him RC. He is our go-to salesman. I want him out on the floor moving our product not spending a substantial amount of his time back in the office running things. 

3 hours ago, Huskerfollower4life said:

Hasn't Colorado made a offer already to him plus they are a power 5 school which is their benefit. USF has the recruiting advantage.

Yes USF is in Prime's hunting-grounds, plus they'll admit some guys that CU would say no to and they're a G5 team.  They would be easier to turn around. CU is obviously the bigger program, has the advantage of being P5, but I really doubt Prime considers Colorado his forever-home. Either would be considered a stepping-stone, I can see him taking the stepping-stone with surer footing. 

16 hours ago, caveman99 said:

Calhoun is a good coach for sure, Monken has won 4 of the last 6 vs the zoomies. AF is also largely considered the easiest of the 3 academy jobs to win at for a variety of reasons, but largely tied to their recruiting advantage.

I'd prefer Calhoun because he was a NFL OC when he took over Air Force, he's proven he can run a more balanced offense at a high level. 

On 11/16/2022 at 7:06 PM, jamesbond said:

I think Nebraska should build a brand new stadium that seats around 70k.

IMO we should have built a new stadium rather than repeatedly building onto the old but since we've done all that work there's no going back. 

On 10/27/2021 at 10:05 PM, Guy Chamberlin said:

Bugeaters is a better name than Cornhuskers. 

IMO we should have rolled with Mankilling Mastodons