Guy Chamberlin

Are you trying to tell me I'm no better than Gino Torretta?

I'm pretty sure all the Heisman winners get to live in a huge mansion and drive free Nissan's the rest of their lives.

I also don't think you can underestimate how helpful it is for Abdullah that the other option on the option play -- an Armstrong keeper -- is at least as lethal.

Miami was gassed. If you have the luxury of sticking with a between the tackles running game, this is the advantage. The fourth quarter is all yours.

But did you notice those two crucial sequences when we got the ball on our own 5 after the interception, Beck ran it three straight times with Abdullah and we were forced to punt? Then again at the Miami 5 yard line, he ran it three straight times with Abdullah and we were forced to kick a field goal? Sometimes three straight passes is no different from three straight runs. Passes aren't cute. They're awesome. And they only help the running game.

16.5 yards per completion is a pretty good thing, btw.

Gotta admit I feel pretty bad because you took a lot of time and your conclusions make no sense. Neither math, nor football, works like this. And since you conclude with the equally faulty and insulting warning "Don't go all Beck!" I feel that all my posts have been in vain. I was really hoping we could wrap it up with "it's all good."

I remember when we put the team on Rex Burkhead's back his Senior year and.... ....oh. Right.

A few days ago I posted my 2,000th post, an impassioned discourse on blocking schemes that brought grown men to tears. When it was written, I was listed as a Heisman Winner by HuskerBoard. That felt good. That felt right. But after I posted I was promoted to......Grad Assistant? How is Grad Assistant an upgrade from Heisman Winner? I could feel all the respect I've earned instantly drain away. Grad Assistant. Sheesh.

Simple Guy. Because it didn't work. I have never understood the "too cute" phrase. It's simply a catch phrase that has caught on with Husker fans whenever a pass play doesn't work. TA back to pass. Incomplete. OH, that (*&(*&$ is getting too cute with his play calling. The play was a great call. The communication between receiver and QB didn't work. A coach explained after the game that the receiver ran the wrong route and that's why the ball went the way it did. If it had worked, it would be a great play. Notice nobody claims the long pass play to Bell was "Beck getting too cute". That of course was a great play call because it went for a TD and caused them to back off their safeties. More things to get wrong with a pass play like Guy said. I didn't say that. Pretty much the opposite. I'm saying in terms of success, failure and turnover, running the ball is essentially as risky as passing the ball. If you think of a forward pass as a handy way of getting the ball past the 7 huge guys lined up to stop every rush, it's much less cute, even bordering on practical. Running plays are preferable in a number of situations, but they fail for the same reason passing plays fail, and perhaps more often than some Husker fans choose to remember. You also bring up the 55% pass completion rate, which some offer as evidence that the passing game doesn't deserve its reps. But if you look at it in terms of actual results, Nebraska is averaging 9 yards a pass play and 7 yards a running play. One could therefore argue we should pass even more. But that would be wrong, too. Guess what I'm saying is.....it's all good.

Agree. But that play might be what led him to run it so much from then on. Yep. Beck finally figured out how to trust his senior leader after another TA mistake. Hopefully, TA learns from this. Honest question: when we fumbled the ball on a rush, and had two key sequences where we handed the ball to Abdullah three consecutive times and failed to get a first down, did you question Beck's insistence on running the ball? Running the ball the third time was a good call. If Cotton picks up the linebacker on the edge instead of blocking no one the play goes for at least three yards and a first down. TA fumble was a misread as there was only six guys in the box at the snap with the free safety back peddling pre snap. If TA gives to Cross and each lineman holds his block, Cross is one on one with the free safety 15 yards away and fleeing. Well you can do the same thing with pass plays; they are often good calls and would have been successful if someting else had happened. I just don't get why an incomplete pass or interception is an example of Beck out-thinking himself or getting too cute, but a fumble or a stuffed run isn't. I'm pretty sure our senior leader loves having a legitimate passing threat that loosens up the linebackers for him.

I'm also holding out the possibility that - as reported - Ameer Abdullah is simply demanding that the rest of the team step up to his standards of dedication and focus.

Huard made a point on Saturday that "this is the year of the running back" and quarterbacks aren't getting the hype. Sure enough only one QB on that list. But without other QB competition, Mariota still looks like the front runner. Just can't see Jameis Winston getting back in the fold, regardless of numbers.

I also like how TA handles the offense. His ability on the option read is so smooth he reminds me of Turner Gill. I just hope he limits the bad throws. He did a good job throwing the ball on Saturday. 9 of 13 was good, but 1 out of 13 interceptions is unacceptable, especially given how wide open Bell was on the play Alabama, Ol Miss, Michigan State, Stanford, Mississippi State, Ohio State and South Carolina all have starting quarterbacks with similar or worse interception to attempt ratios than Tommy Armstrong. Interceptions are never good, but I think he's pretty darned acceptable.

Agree. But that play might be what led him to run it so much from then on. Yep. Beck finally figured out how to trust his senior leader after another TA mistake. Hopefully, TA learns from this. Honest question: when we fumbled the ball on a rush, and had two key sequences where we handed the ball to Abdullah three consecutive times and failed to get a first down, did you question Beck's insistence on running the ball?

If I had one call I could have made Saturday, it would be ejecting the prick who took Ameer Abdullah down by the facemask with extreme predjudice. Could have been a career ender. Worst among several ugly plays. 15 yards didn't do it justice, but Ameer's response came close.

I'll stick with every post I made in this thread, thanks. They were pretty specific and supportable. Also, if you read carefully, none of them suggested it wasn't a bad call. Also, most of it wasn't about the Pereira article. If you do in fact think Bo Pelini is treated fairly by the media in most respects, I apologize.

I had no idea Jamal Turner picked it off with a torn achilles. Anybody ever stop to think that Bo never heard the roughing call and was yelling because he just thought they were PFs, and then saw Miami had a first down? I know in the stadium you couldn't hear the ref on the PA system so there's a good chance Bo never heard the full ruling either, hence why he calmed down quite a bit after the he had it explained to him. Something old Mike never considered before all but calling Bo and idiot. Absolutely. It's obvious that Bo was misinformed somewhere along the way because he freaked out as soon as he realized Miami retained possession. I freaked out, too.

Are you sure the bolded isn't exaggerated? That was the chickensh#t press conference, iirc, and while that may not fit the definition of "laced" it was chosen for effect by a coach who decided he didn't give a sh#t what people were going to say about him after a mystifying beatdown by Iowa, where the chickensh#t call had nothing to do with a 21 point loss to an unranked team at home. I have this big thing about taking responsibility, and blaming the media generally strikes me as cowardly.

Sorry. My points weren't solely about this article. I just think your ongoing conviction that Pelini is treated unfairly by a national press with a vendetta/agenda to be easily disproved, tiresome and counter-productive. If you'd be so kind as to point out where I've said the bold... That would be here: Assuming that the "they" who put Bo's face on camera is the national sports network broadcasting the game, and that they were willfully ignoring the 99% boring Bo in order to highlight something negative about Nebraska. Hence "unfair." I don't want to paraphrase from old posts, but it's the same basic case you've made repeatedly. Something got under Pereira's skin, and my guess is it's blind loyalty to the officials, but he didn't write a "Bo must go" piece. He wrote a "Bo needs to get a flag next time he comes that far out on the field and makes the wrong argument." Bit of a difference. I think there's too much thin skin all around.

Sorry. My points weren't solely about this article. I just think your ongoing conviction that Pelini is treated unfairly by a national press with a vendetta/agenda to be easily disproved, tiresome and counter-productive. Guy, probably for the last two years Bo hasn't done anything that most other coaches do. The fact is, in the media, he has a reputation (by his own fault from his first few years) of being a hot head. So, every little argument he gets into get blown way out of proportion by someone. It's total BS. it has been pointed out time and time again where other top coaches around the country get angry no the sidelines and nothing gets said in the media. Heck, earlier this year, I was watching an Alabama game and Saben absolutely went off on a few players in a time out. The camera was on him and the entire world sees it. is there anything said in the media? Is he looked at as a hot head? He does this a lot. He is a football coach just like Bo. Wait. Are you guys saying that Bo Pelini isn't any more hotheaded than most college football coaches? Can we say we like Bo's fiery nature, then pretend it isn't any more fiery than the average coach? Bo Pelnii was throwing clipboards and getting into players' grills last week at Fresno State in a game Nebraska was winning big. Less than 12 months ago he was having a huge spat with his own defensive coordinator mid-game, prompting players to intervene. Six games and less than 10 months ago he had a petulant, profanity-laced post-game outburst virtually daring the AD to fire him. A sizeable contingent of Husker fans weren't necessarily opposed. That wasn't a creation of the media. Hardly ancient history either. He has generally gotten better at the microphone, and his PR efforts appear both sincere and savvy, but whether you think his anger Saturday was justified or not, it's vintage angry Bo. Does he get angrier more often than most coaches? Yes. He does. Are there other coaches who get just as angry? Sure. How do we know? Because like you say, when Nick Saban goes off, the camera is on him for the world to see. For some reason you're assuming the world don't consider Nick Saban a hothead. Or that Pat Haden storming out on the field doesn't make news. The media actually treats Bo Pelini the same way it treats other coaches who act the same way. Some notorious hotheads happen to be good coaches, too. Or to look at this another way: can you accurately describe Bo Pelini using words that you don't mind the national media using?

Interest bit from McKeown today that went under my radar. I'm assuming this was a new twist: » A creative use of tight ends. Beck cleverly deployed Cethan Carter and Sam Cotton as extra physical blockers, often on linebackers or safeties. Though both tight ends occasionally lined up next to tackles, they also worked as H-backs, arcing around a Miami defensive end — who was left alone to be read by Armstrong — so they could wall off pursuit in case Armstrong came running their way. But a few times, those tight ends served as true lead blockers, bolting through to surprised linebackers who, by then, were probably looking for the arc block.

Sorry. My points weren't solely about this article. I just think your ongoing conviction that Pelini is treated unfairly by a national press with a vendetta/agenda to be easily disproved, tiresome and counter-productive.

For the record, Pat Haden running out on the field, forgetting that he was a member of the Football Playoff Committee got a lot of press. The Navy clip demonstrates that networks show ANY confrontation between coach and ref, as they should.

Well Pereira — whose sole purpose on TV is literal interpretation of the rulebook — is noting that Pelini was making the wrong argument with the refs. The roughing call was bullsh#t, but the interception didn't negate the call. If Pelini is taking a risk by going on the field and getting in a ref's face, he shouldn't waste it on the wrong argument. The perception that Pelini has approached or crossed the line with refs isn't new or unfounded. The big change is that this team decided to double-down instead of falling apart. There will be other sh**ty calls this season. The only revenge is shaking them off and winning in spite of them. For those who didn't watch the coverage on ESPN2, Brock Huard spent the fourth quarter mocking Miami; if you want to talk trash, you better stop the other team from walking all over you. And Nebraska is running through Miami at will. That's how I like this team to respond.