Hunter94

one of the things that made TO teams so good was not only good defenses, but a running game that most often overachieved, which kept the other teams offense off the field......taking time off the clock with long sustained drives is still an affective tactic, but you still must have a legitimate qb that can throw the ball and be a threat that the d must respect...just throwing the ball up and down the field will not wind championships, a great defense with an explosive offense or one that can grind it out when necessary and kkeep the opponents offense of the filed is essential......time of possession, they can't score if they don't have the ball..... hunter

although they will be improved, even winning the big 12 north will be a formidable task......tough to turn things around in just one year, although not impossible, but unlikely hunter

as all have said, his methods and style of leadership leave something to be desired, he needs to try to not get into controversial situations and work on improving creditability......as for his firing of Frank, I still don't think he had a replacement in mind BEFORE he fired him, so he looked a little desperate, yes? anyway, as far as his pick of bc the jury is still out, but so far bc is, IMHO, trying to handle the kids like NFL players and in the long run i don't think that works..... if he has success several years down the road, then i will have no complaints hunter

not surprising he has been to Az., as he is currently at Scottsdale JC.....i think we ought to pursue this kid hunter

it is offical, Marlon Lucky has made his grades and is ready to come to Lincoln, i think this kid will see lots of playing time in the WCO as they can line him up just about anywhere........with Ross it should be a good 1-2 punch.......if they are in there at the same time and if Zac keeps improving the O should have some explosiveness which wasn't there last year hunter

tell you what FF, if the D plays this year like they did last year, with the attraction of better players, then i might start to agree with you.......let's see how the D measures up this season before we jump on Coz, but i do believe he is damn sure suspect as an exceptional coach, no matter how much his passion for the game. hope i am wrong............ hunter

this situation at OK. was bound to be a problem sometime, imagine letting a bunch of kids on the edge of the field with mock guns, harassing the visiting teams players......what kind of misguided AD would allow that activity to take place on on his homefield? OU needs to get their act together and fast....... hunter

i guess not everyone got my point.......how can bc or anyone (coaches)say the competition was too close to call and suddenly less than a week later demote jd to 4th spot? all i am saying is, as many have said, jd was not improving and not practicing well, so why say things are still too close to call? why not give a hint that there was seperation when everyone knew it, especially the coaches! hell, why give the kid false hope when even he knew his play sucked? what is with this deception program? what i am saying is i expect bc and norvell and the whole staff to exhibit some damn consistency, not only in their actions, but in what comes out of their own mouths.......if anyone has a problem with that observation, then it is my opinion and mine alone, but its going to be pretty damn hard to refute! like others have said, i hope this "oakland attitude" does not infect college ball here at Nu.....the players and the fans deserve a helluvalot better! hunter

the only part of this that stinks is bc's comments about the competition was still wide open and we hate to see him leave........common, who in their right mind is going to believe that crap.......he may have not shown much for skills, but he was damned sure shown the door, and bc and norvell should have the balls to just say so.......i think this behavior shown by bc and his staff will hurt the future recruiting process.......right or wrong that is my opinion of what has taken place hunter

the real reason for bc not playing the no.1 o against the no.1 d? need for cohesiveness between the no. 1 units? i don't know if i buy that or if it is a good thing..thougts? how do other top college coachs structure their spring games? hunter

i think cally is willing to risk it all by not having jd start or even practice with the 1st unit....at least he knows what he doesn't like and that is jd at qb...... i can see Taylor stepping up, but there is one big gap between him and whoever else will be back-up qb, and that includes Beck too, due to lack of experience hunter

i will say it again...the 2 areas that better improve a whole lot are punt returns and kickoff coverage. these are special team roles and there better be some damn big improvement in the special teams coaching arena, period! hunter

wow......a lot of folks have big time asspirations for Beck and that is good.......but common guys, how many true freshman qbs have started and played really well after several games into the season? over the years, precious few have pulled it off.....hell, very few players at any other position, much less qb, have gotten the call and gotten the job done.....let the kid learn the system and develop, he will be much better if he is given the chance to adjust, rather than "baptism under fire" if bc is smart he well bring him along slowly and make sure he is ready when called......IMHO hunter

i agree with many posters here...what is up with getting a play called? wouldn't you think an ex NFL coach would have a reliable system for calling plays hunter

sounds like bc has made his choice, even though he denies it......tyalor will be starting next fall hunter

one thing about the WCO, you can spread the D with formations and threaten them with a running game that opens up with those formations. i think you will see Ross and Lucky both gain alot of yards, IF we can execute some mid and long range pass completions and get some consistency out of the wide outs. remember when OU couldn't run the ball, their passing game was not near as affective....... i think we will be glad Ross and Lucky will be a threat to run at any time, as a balanced attack keeps the D off-balance hunter

it is much easier to make a defensive play if you are in the right position..that is not only the result of intensity, but good coaching makes it happen more often hunter

i think you have seen the begining of a long term trend, recruit the best in the land, every year, that is how you win championships. go toe to toe with the big name schools and expect to get results. with a winning program, recruiting gets easier over time, but the successful programs never stop recruiting the best athletes available, they all reload every year. hunter

i will say it again.........both Coz and bc coached how they wanted, their own schemes, regardless of talent. maybe after watching film all winter, it occurred to them that you coach to your players talent, not force the same damn square peg in the same damn round hole! if the talent and athletecism is there, sure man to man makes sense, but it takes ALOT of fast, talented players to make it work, so it maybe just makes sense to play zone, while occasionally mixing it up some. as bc said , the Husker D gave up way too many 20 plus yard gains, IMHO, mostly due to man coverage.....think of it in baseball terms, why would you put the best arm (pitcher) on 1st base? same deal, evaluate, measure and mold the D and O around the talent and go with the scheme that takes advantage of your best talent hunter

i find it interesting that bc made the comment that the d should go back to the zone. seems like he is directing coz to reevaluate his coaching philosphy so i do have to give him credit for getting involved with the d scheme and not just developing the o strategy hunter

thanks for the post blackshirt, interesting stuff.......we will see if bc's actions speak as loud as his words ring true.......you would think that Pederson told him that he would be given a limted amount of time to turn the program around, yes? although we all expect the record to improve from 5-6, my real barometer of sucess this year will be to see if he can coach the team (both O and D) to play as a unit......regardless of w's and L's that should be the aspect we use to grade out this new coaching staff......they also better be able to motivate and get this team to play with some real intensity, because i did not see that last year......4 or 5 guys going to the ball on D, every play, that is what i expect from the D side of things hunter

what bc did last year,IMHO, was to install the WCO with players that could not execute the system. he had to do it, in order to attract recruits for the future, but he sure sacraficed the season. if he would have coached and played to the stength of his players, the WCO never would have gotten off the ground. hence his attitude of "we take what we want" not what the defense gives us. strong words, tough attitude, but no chance to make it happen. i agree with many here, a smart coach takes what the defense gives you......why bang your head against a brick wall, when you can jump over it? now even with the WCO, one would think that execution would be based on the opposing teams weaknesses, right? if you can run AND pass, why wouldn't you spend more time doing what the opposing team could not stop? surely he is smart enough to look for the physcial mismatches, just as is done in the pros?.....that is how games are won, by exploiting your opponents weaknesses.......and above all, avoid turnovers, don't beat yourself hunter

i agree wuth Eric........this guy should come alive this year with one under his belt and the confidence he has experienced in the classroom and on the field....he should be a real threat in the WCO, now that he has had time to learn it...i think he will be a real surprise.. hunter

IMHO I just don't think you get too many new guys into the captain role, without proving themselves through a whole season, one with ups and downs, as we are likely to have this coming fall......Cory ross is my only obvious choice, the rest I couldn't make a call on....if bc makes a bunch of new guys captain, what message would he be sending to the rest of the team? hunter

DaveH makes my only point.........a good kicker could have gotten us a couple wins and into a bowl game last year. i don't care who kicks this year, i am simply stating this guy may be the answer, maybe not......at least we made an attempt to upgrade the kicking game. hunter