Guy Chamberlin

I have no idea why expecting your groin to heal in two weeks is evidence that Bell should have been able to play the fourth quarter.

I don't think anyone is trying to take him down a peg. Everyone, I think recognizes Kenny's importance to the program. Which is why I was very disappointed he didn't try to make a go of it at least on the last drive. Especially if the injury is insignificant enough that he's ready to go already for Northwestern. Even if not 100% as we saw, his experience being on the field could very well have resulted in the W. I can't recount all the games he's gotten injured in during his career here, but it seems like there have been several where his contributions would have made a difference. Minnesota last year, McNeese St. and Michigan St. this year all come to mind. In all instances he was back relatively quickly, so the injuries may have been minor. I'm not advocating at all that players should play injured if they can't make a go of it, but how many times have we seen Tommie and Ameer shake off a hard hit where something got tweaked and still perform. It's Kenny's senior year, he is a captain, and a leader of this team. If it were me, I suck it up and tell coach, "put me in, I'll do my best to win this game for us," just as Tommie did. Again, as long as our receivers don't run into each other on that last play, we very well could have won. Kenny could have been the difference and could have led to an undefeated Senior year for him and Ameer. If he was sitting out just "to be safe," he gave that opportunity up. So......you're not taking Kenny down a peg. You're just saying his injury was suspect, suggesting he was a candyass for not going back in, and that his lack of desire to play at limited capacity may have cost us the biggest game of the year.

You've got to be effing kidding me, right? Actually if I'm recalling it right, 15% brought their mothers to their first job interview.

To my eye, this Husker team seemed tougher than previous years. A lot of it appeared to come from Abdullah and Armstrong setting a tone, and a more prideful (and probably talented) defense. That may still be the case. I honestly can't tell anymore. I'm holding out the possibility that Michigan State University just has better players and better coaches. Last time we licked our wounds after a big loss, regrouped with a bye week and played Northwestern at home, we came out unfocused, undisciplined and almost crapped the bed. I'd like this time to be different.

If Kenny Bell's receiving stats aren't enough for you, take a gander of his highlight reel of shots delivered to opponets as a blocker or special teams gunner. Absolutely balls-out for a guy his size. I can't think of a more go-to guy, who backed it up almost every game in a long Husker career. What a weird time to be taking our star players down a peg.

IMO, Bo hiring & retaining young and inexperienced staff at almost every position is the issue. He wants to break the bank and put in some rockstar coordinators - I'll be 100% behind the decision. But he had that opportunity, he didn't do, and we both know he won't do it this time either. So ultimately, Bo is the issue. Ultimately yes. he hired them. My point being that Bo can't be all places at once. H took over the D and it has improved. he has taken over the ST and they have improved. OL and offense (against MSU) not so much. Prior to Frank being fired in 2003, I was all for getting rid of Bohl and giving Frank another year to see if he could fix things. 2003, he hires Bo and we go 10-3. Not bad. Same with Bo. With a competent staff, he might be "that guy", but as you and others have said, he's had chances, but failed. If Bo can't get rid of folks, I think that will cost him as it did Cally and Frank before. His poor hires have hurt how good he actually might be as HC. Not saying he would, but no doubt the inexperience at key staff positions would hurt any coach, let alone a guy (Bo) with limited (none) HC experience. I'm still confused. Bo can't be all places at once? Of course he can. He's the head coach. He sets the tone, the desire, and the standard for everything. It's his job to motivate every player on the team before he sends them into a game or off to work with their position coaches and coordinators. He has to motivate those assitants, too, and he can't act surprised by anything they do on a Saturday. On any team in any sport where the players admit they lacked fire, you look over at the head coach. "Mindset" is the singular duty of a head coach. It's what makes them inspirational. Or not. I know you'd love to fire Tim Beck, as if that would exorcise some demon, but it doesn't make sense when you look at the persistent struggles of this team.

On the day Abdullah had 45 yards in 24 carries, Melvin Gordon had 259 yards in 27 carries. Gordon is now the leading rusher in the nation on a team with a poor passing attack. I don't like it, but it's not hard to fathom.

I'm not sure about high school sports, the pussification of America or the problem with kids today. Like Glendower, I've heard the same argument made for millennia. But here's something that blew me away: according to one recruiter, 15% of recent college graduates brought a parent to their first job interview.

This is the "mindset" thread. If a head coach has only one duty or skill, it's taking responsibility for the mindset of the team.

It has not been said anywhere that BO=TO. True. But when Tom Osborne went up against the best defense in the conference, or a legitimate bowl opponent, the result was a lot like Saturday's MSU game. Sometimes much worse. Those offenses also feasted on early season cupcakes, then looked flustered when they lined up against more physically talented teams. The glory days of '93 - '97 we like to remember came with great players and killer mindsets no doubt, but the big change over previous years -- by Osborne's own admission -- was to recruit for defensive speed, the thing that had been flustering Husker offenses. We had horses on the OL and top shelf running backs, but they had the luxury of starting slow, keeping it on the ground and wearing the opponent down because our speedy new defense didn't let the other team put us in the hole early. Now that is just crazy talk, Osborne's teams could run on anybody. Oh Lord. Don't make me relive the years when Tom Osborne's Huskers had less than 200 yards total offense against Oklahoma. In one of those games, Nebraska never snapped the ball in Oklahoma territory. Several of the ranked teams, like Miami, Florida State, Colorado and Georgia Tech held us to 2 - 3 yards per carry. Just saying that for some of us who lived through those first 20 TO years, the Michigan State performance wasn't unfamiliar for a "big game." Unless I'm misunderstanding your emoji. That's always possible. In other news, it's easy to envision several scenarios where Bo Pelini doesn't get to Indy but remains hard to fire. I wouldn't put money on it myself. My bet has always been that Bo Pelini will engineer his own departure, probably with the blessing of the AD. Maybe that's the same thing. I wouldn't put money on it, either.

Is Sofia Vergara sitting on your lap when this happens?

Quick addendum: I'm not satisfied. The above post wasn't making excuses. Whether mindset or talent level, it's a head coaching issue. I have no problem shaking my head sadly at Bo Pelini.

It has not been said anywhere that BO=TO. True. But when Tom Osborne went up against the best defense in the conference, or a legitimate bowl opponent, the result was a lot like Saturday's MSU game. Sometimes much worse. Those offenses also feasted on early season cupcakes, then looked flustered when they lined up against more physically talented teams. The glory days of '93 - '97 we like to remember came with great players and killer mindsets no doubt, but the big change over previous years -- by Osborne's own admission -- was to recruit for defensive speed, the thing that had been flustering Husker offenses. We had horses on the OL and top shelf running backs, but they had the luxury of starting slow, keeping it on the ground and wearing the opponent down because our speedy new defense didn't let the other team put us in the hole early.

Dazed and Confused is one of my favs too. I consider it a documentary.

Diamond Dallas has had some Work Done on 'em.

My brother teaches high school. Industrial arts. Says it's still a mix of really talented kids who put in extra effort and thrive, and the numbnuts who spend all semester making a roach clip out of 2 x 4. There were plenty of slackers in the 1970s. Most kids fall somewhere inbetween. But he did notice that some of those smart, motivated, athletic kids, given the choice of getting an afterschool job, some pocket money and a girlfriend, or having a football coach screaming at them morning, noon, nights and weekends, started opting for the money and the ladies. The players the coaches coveted didn't want to play football. And it was hard to argue with them.

I saw a frustrated Tommy Armstrong. I didn't see any panic. And come on. The dude was inches away from becoming a legend. Doesn't mean he can't improve. But far from a dumpster fire. Both Armstrong and Abdullah had the same experience facing a much better defense. No one is taking Abdullah to task. Nor should they. But if our Senior Heisman Trophy candidate couldn't deliver, why is our Sophomore quarterback the target of so much blame and second-guessing?

Again, part of what makes it a big game is that it's against better players. Like Knapp says, what do you do the first time you get punched in the mouth? Or run to the edge and find a much faster player is there waiting for you? By all available evidence, it was the same gameplan that got us to 5 - 0, so it's hard to imagine the players didn't like or trust the plan. Given we're already a multiple offense, it's not like we didn't go to our toolbelt. I think you either need the cold swagger of a team that knows how to close, or the loose, go-for-broke attitude of an underdog. Nebraska is neither. Stuck dead in the middle.

I tend to do the same thing.

You mean from this game? Because the offense sucked and the defense was decent. If you mean overall in the last few years, well then Pelini has gotten a ton of criticism. Overall. Last few years. Wouldn't dream of suggesting Pelini hasn't been criticized, but the vitriol at Beck seems very different than the vitriol aimed at Carl Pelini or John Papuchis, even though he's delivered a statistically better unit. Carl - What's not to love? His units were good statistically, and he loved himself a good stripper and a better cigar. Pap - I think people are hesitant to criticize him because they suspect his main job is not to spill the the McCafe trays on the way from the car to the film room. Bo - You'd probably have to get into psychology for this. Bo is like the boyfriend that everyone is pretty sure is a huge a******, but that same, alpha personality actually contributes to the girlfriend being extremely attached. Beck is just the normal boyfriend who, once the lust for his hair wears off and all the good Netflix shows have been watched, doesn't have a hold. Also, although Beck has put up solid numbers on average, he often freezes up and looks like crap in big games, especially if he doesn't have access a once-in-a-generation-speed QB that can break off an 80-yard run at any moment. Nice analysis and psycho-graphic. I'd still argue the whole team freezes up and looks like crap in big games, a crisis of confidence and focus that seems to infect offense, defense, special teams, the sideline and the fans. And Beck actually lost his once-in-a-generation QB after only 5 games and had to work with damaged goods for another 3 seasons. Given the potentially nightmarish 2011 season, I thought the Martinez/Burkhead dual read-option attack was a pretty good solution. Basically, Nebraska looks like a team that can put together a #25 recruiting class every year. At which point the coaching staff molds them into the #25 team in the nation.

Mechanics - and especially footwork mechanics - are very hard to change because most guys have been doing things a certain way for many years before they get here. Old habits and all. Honestly, I think Tommy's main issue is he has such a strong arm that he's always been able to get away with sloppy footwork. Kind of like Brett Farve in a way with a great arm and gunslinger mentality he thinks he can always get the ball where he wants. That's not totally a bad thing but at the college level the windows are smaller and there are different routes that he probably didn't throw a lot in HS where it doesn't works as well. It's been said by the coaches that he has improved in that are but, as is very common, when the heat gets turned up it's easy to revert back to how you've always done it. I'm going to borrow from the world of baseball, but there are tons of stories about perfectly good players, high-school and college stars talented enough to make MLB rosters, who got mired in slumps or simply couldn't break out of the minors until someone recognized a small mechanical problem and showed them how to correct it. Pitching. Gripping a bat. Posture. Adjustments of no more than an inch. The difference was considerable and virtually instant. The player just didn't recognize it himself, and no one had mentioned it before. I mean, Tiger Woods still hires a swing coach.

I do know that when you call a nice little high-percentage sideline pattern, it's much harder to complete the pass when the QB is both backpedaling and fleeing laterally to avoid several speedy defenders.

This has come up several times over the years. I'm not sure what the players are describing is a lack of emotion. I think it's nerves and anxiety and frustration when things aren't working. Those are all emotions. For some reason it sounds better to say "we didn't play with emotion" than "we were uptight and easily intimidated." For all the talk about playcalling and schemes and adjustments, Nebraska's persistent issue is mental toughness and killer instinct. That's why my concerns revolve around the head coach more than the coordinators and assistants.

Normally, I hate nothing more than finger-pointing, excuse-making and "what-ifs." But I like the idea of promoting Clap-Gate into the halls of the Big 10, and any legitimate media coverage that might earn. Puts a bug in the ear that Nebraska's first three quarters were an anomaly, and maybe Ameer and the Husker's weren't on a level playing field. Even if that isn't necessarily true. It also forces the Nebraska offense to revisit their snap count and focus at the line of scrimmage, suddenly worried about their predictibility, regardless of the cheating bastards on the other team. None of this will matter if we're just not that good, but hey. Lemons. Lemonade.

Good day, sir.