formerfan

We got 1 at RB, 1 and LB and 0 JUCO DE's. I don't care how deep you are, if the kid can play get him here. Period. Besides that, did you see how our starters at LB dropped this year to injury? Same thing can happen at RB, or any position for that matter. I guess the main point is you can't have enough good players. Yes, yes, I know you can't know if they are good or not until they play. But that doesn't mean you don't go after kids who look good on paper and tape because really, what else do you have? I mean, you might be able to hire Ms. Cleo, but that would be just dumb. Really, so we need 5 qbs on scholly (only 2 that are Div 1 quality), yet only have 1 safety Already are 4 deep at RB, tons of WRs, quite a few LBs and DEs, yet more were brought in (some of questionable quality), yet still very thin at CB?? I dont buy it.

Oh c'mon. Give me a break. How long are you going to harp on that? Sometimes you gotta look beyond words. I probably shouldn't have said that because a lot of people "read between the lines" when, to the rest of the world, there is simply nothing there. Thats funny, when I "read between the lines" people give me the Bottom line, words have meaning (to most of us). I guess there really wasnt a throat slash . If you really believe that, then I have some great oceanfront property to sell you in Cherry County. Real cheap too, its a steal I guess that last years class with all the "big names" didnt mean much, huh? If this staff really got all they wanted, then guys like Palmer, Vardell, Greg Davis, Ausberry, Freeman, Deas, Cox, Eugene, etc, etc. etc, would never have been offered, and billy c would have been no better than FS. They caught whoever would bite. Possibly, too early to tell. Problem is, NU now needs coaches to develop them.

McNeil and possibly Pierre Allen are both TE's. Harvey from last year as well. With Allens speed, he would be better off at DE. McNeil is one guy that I am pretty high on, but like i said IMMEDIATE need, and a true FR will likely not have that. If the WCO really needs a FAST TE to stretch the field, then Harvey and his 5.0 40 wont get the job done, and would be better served to put on 50 lbs and move to OG or DT. In one part you say Juco's are a HUGE gamble but then go on to say that losing a Juco guy may be huge loss. Which is it? They are a HUGE gamble, but at a position with only one returning player from the 2 deep (a guy who incidentally got almost no snaps last year) a decent JUCO guy would likely have had a starting job wrapped up by the time he stepped off the bus. I listened to 1620 the Zone, and even they said that alot of "recruiting experts" were banging on NU for getting so many Jucos. I can remember 5 JUCOs in recent history that ended up being pretty good players for NU (Farley, D Williams, K Moss, T Wright, T Dumas), other than that, the JUCOs really havent panned out well for NU. So yes, since billy c had 15 in his first 2 classes, the 7 (almost 8) in this class are overkill. 22 out of 85 schollys available to JUCOS Yeah, thanks for pointing that out. Brain fart by me The average Star was 3.27. That is not you typical "Got Frank" class. His last two years were 2.11 and 2.81 by Scout standards. According to Rivals-2003 class was 3.05 average stars, 2002-3.17, 2006-3.27. While the #'s werent there in 02/03, the quality was similar. Also, I believe FSs first NU class was rated something like No 8 nationally, if I remember correctly. I guess I could dig out my old Lindy's mags to get the ratings if needed.

Maybe he should have been out recruiting

Im not going to say that this is a good or bad class, too early to tell, but there were quite a few areas of need that were neglected. It seems like the needed QB was not gotten, NU only has 2 (out of 5 scholly ) Div 1 caliber QBs right now, one is a SR, the other a true Soph with almost no experience. TE was a need that may not have been addressed (immediate help?). Getting some JUCO help at DE, RB, and LB was probably not the best way to go, as those are the deepest positions on the team. Alot of bodies were signed at OL, WR, and DB, I guess time will tell how good they are going to be. JUCOs are a huge gamble, and one of the most touted may not qualify. The class looks reasonably decent, but lacks the big name, high profile guys that this staff was hired to get. I thought that classes like this were the reason that the coaching change was made PS-the potential loss of Palmer could be huge.

Ooops, sorry

Im torn with these situations. Choosing a college to spend the next 3-5 years of your life is a huge step. These young men have alot going on. In a perfect word (one we are all hopeful for ) these guys would make their choice and stick to it. Im as hard as anyone on the younger generation as I see alot of them as being spoiled and lazy, but this is their life, and we all make changes and have regrets. Yes, keeping your word is a great lesson to learn, but its better that they back out now as opposed to clinging to a scholly that another might need (ala Souder, Tray Crayton-db 90's, etc). I personally hope for a perfect world Willie, and these kids backing out on their word speaks volumes about them. For a coach to talk them into a de-commit to come to his school is kind of like marrying the girl you were cheating with. I guess to sum it up, its a double-edged sword (am I rambling ), it sucks, but it is what it is, and sometimes it works out for the better.

All I was saying is that in watching the Alamo Bowl, if UM is really a top 10 talented team, they did not overwhelm NU athletically (same for OU) so I think that the "talent" excuse is slightly unfounded and not the reason for NUs recent struggles. See last sentence. Agreed. I will give you CU, it was the best coached game/gameplan NU has had in 2 years. As for UM, some of the gameplans worked well, but some of the gameplans almost cost NU the game. Example, NU was having good success running the ball (the best all year), yet in the 2nd qtr the coaches almost got NU in to a hole that they couldnt get out of by abandoning the running game while trying to get the passing game going. It almost cost NU the game (2 bad picks, and I dont think NU had any completions in the 2nd qtr-could be wrong). It put NU in a big hole when they had momentum . Also, Im trying to figure out exactly what the defense was doing in the 4th qtr. It seems that there were some "blitz's" called, where the LB would rush the line and just kind of stand there. I saw on more than one occasion, and couldnt figure out exactly what that was about And lets not start on the final play (100% until the whistle blows ). Point being, UM didnt overwhelm NU from a purely athletic standpoint. Either UMs athleticism is highly overrated, or NUs is highly underrated. NU seemed to stick with a couple of other pretty decent teams (Tech, OU) so I dont buy the salespitch that NU is bankrupt athletically. Are they at the level of Texas or USC, no, but they are not as bad as we were led to believe, IMO.

Which comment are you refering to? Like i said..back to the TOPIC titled "Our Head Coach" I agree with you on this one. I'll elaborate. If NU is athletically similar to one of the supposed "top 10 athletic teams" in nation, then why have they struggled so much in the past couple of years?? Product of the head coach, his teachings, and his systems, possibly?

Thats different then my experiences. When I got tickets off of ebay, I got them for less than face, and DJR said he did the same. I havent been to Lincoln on gameday without tickets for probably 6 or 7 years, but the last time I tried, (ISU 99) the cheapest tickets I could find were 100.00 a piece, but I guess prices like that are a tradition of the past. For the Wake game this year, a couple of guys I went with were looking for upgraded seats, and pretty much everything was dirt cheap, comparitively speaking. Seats are much easier to come by the past couple of years, as well as being less expensive.

Here is what the intitial post said. How did people get off topic? It asks people's opinion. I, and probably others, took that as meaning "honest opinion". If an individual wanted all positive banter, call the topic "Things you like about Callahan". That is not very difficult to accomplish, and I would hope so. I somewhat agree. IMO, he still has a lot to accomplish. There is only speculation at this point on how well he might do in the future. I think things are definately looking up, but I could be proved wrong just as easily as those who think we are going in the wrong direction. Some are not "glass half-full" or "glass half-empty" type people. Some simply are drinking out of a different glass. I see positives, but do not disregard the negatives or the unprovens. Disregarding either can be truly harmful. This seems a little donkey and elephant. I think Callahan is sincere, but there is always a level of scrutiny that a head coach needs to serve under. Expectations he needs to achieve. Yes it takes time, but until he does, all viewpoints (good and bad) are completely justified. Except with certain individuals on this board. 2x

"What throat slash?? That was not a throat slash" He later explained that at the time he did that, he was making a reference like he does sometimes with his kids, saying "I've had it up to here." He said he didn't make an intentional throat slash gesture and when the tape was reviewed that was the explanation he gave. He said this on Big Red Report w/Jim Rose. Back to the topic: Are you happy with this coaching staff? I'm glad that 99% of the fan base is. And if not, please give a reason why not? I guess I need to recant my "done with this topic" statement (my apologies), as I feel you were directly asking a question of me. Im not sure about 99.9% of people being satisfied with the staff (I guess maybe 99.9% of fans on the internet are ), but I feel that more people have become accepting of him in the last year, due to NU getting a few more wins and an increasing comfort level. I guess the best way to answer would be to discuss topics brought up by a couple of other posters: Not that I disagree, but I I remember how last year people were pretty exuberant about NU having the 5th best rated class by Rivals and this year it seems a little less than important since NU will be lucky to finish in the top 20. I know that talent is a big issue to many, but after watching the Alamo Bowl, IF Wichigan actually is one of the top 10 most talented teams (according to so-called recruiting gurus), then NU is not far off, and we were sold a line. With the exception of UMs pass rush vs NUs pass blockers, and possibly Breaston, UM was not a more talented football team then NU. While NU certainly isnt at par with Texas or USC, NUs problems the past couple of years are not from being outmanned. Even OU (which is supposedly a very talented team) didnt blow NU off the field from an athletic standpoint. Even though recruiting has picked up some, Im not sure about his philosophy. I could be wrong, but it seems more like an "offer everyone, see if we get lucky" system. Besides, quite a few of the starters from this year are not billy c's recruits. 2004?? I think that the team does. The coaches seem to game plan and call plays that are contrary to this at times. I think that the HC wants to prove that HE is a winner and HIS system is a winner. Maybe, but why did some of the highly touted freshman not see the field this year? Disagree. Normally when they show billy c on TV, he either has his head buried in the playbook, or is spitting. HUGE question Im not sold on the offense, it never has worked very well in college and still is very difficult for full-time college students to learn. Even though I have been hearing about how much progress it made during the last 3 games, they only averaged 29 PPG. Thats not going to get NU back to the upper echelon of college football.

After this, Im done with this topic (even though there is plenty to rebutt): It shows that he had no problem telling a blatant untruth publicly. It calls his honesty and integrity into question. Who knows if he's telling the truth?

"What throat slash?? That was not a throat slash"

Nothing makes me want to more than hearing Jim Rose scream "CORN COAST OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!" after every play.

True. FYI, Nejuar was an all Big 8 center, and Doxon (played in NFL) would have provided needed depth at qb when Frazier/Berringer went down.

Maybe he does, IMO, NU will not be his last job. If he does turn this around, I think he will try to parlay it into an NFL HC job, and if he doesnt, then I think he may end up an OC either in the NFL or college. He just has an NFL mentality, more of an "NFL guy." He also said other things that as it turns out, were not sincere. Im sorry youre not open-minded enough to consider an opinion that is differs from yours. I have my opinion you have yours I do provide something, its called thinking outside the box.

Cant say that he is better than Taylor yet, the kids just a true frosh. At the very least, he has enough speed to play WR or DB, or he would add some quality depth at the QB position. So youre saying that those 3 guys would not be welcome native Nebraskans even though they have performed well at other schools?? Heck, I would have loved to have had Quentin Nejaur ([sp?? ] center/KState) or Todd Doxon at NU in the mid 90's, but you dont think that these guys could add something to the team?

c'mon, youre certainly not comparing nicholls st to ASU in 96 are you?? ASU finished in the top 4 that year, did they not? I would just prefer a game that was a little more competitive, or with a little more highly regarded opponent, would you not agree?

the same could be said about a lot of coaches. what about mack brown, pete carroll, coker, bowden, paterno.. you'd think they would go to the nfl since they are so great... Maybe, but most of these guys are career NCAA coaches (Carroll being the exception, and he was on the 49ers short list last year). I think that billy c yearns for a return to the NFL. Bowden, Paterno, Brown, I doubt you will ever see them in the NFL.

Not sure about this. With all the openings in the NFL this year, wouldnt a team or two come calling if he was so great??

Yes it does. I believe that only (1) 1AA win counts every 4 years towards bowl eligibility. Someone help me out with this??

Thats one thing I will agree with you on I used to love the Lakers, back to the "Showtime" days, and it was great to see Shaq, Kobe, and Phil bring the Lakers back to prominance. Shaq is a great as a character as he a ball player. When Kobe went off crying like a little bi-atch, it made me sick, and now I pull for the Heat.

Yeah, it wont count towards bowl eligibility.

Dunno about that...Seth Olsen, Everidge, and Tarpenian (sp?) are 3 recent players that come to mind that NU could certainly use.