tmfr15

Just saying I was hoping Woodlawn was a good football movie. It isn't

Boxing = Rocky Football = Varsity Blues Basketball = Hoosiers Baseball = Field of Dreams My bad, you are right. All these movies have religious references every five minutes. Oh wait, none of them do. Problem with Woodlawn is that it's not a football movie at all. The plot is almost the same as Do You Believe or God's Not Dead. When you tune in for the sports and get a sermon, that's disappointing. Make a good movie. A good movie can have God and Jesus references and also be watchable by those who are not among the faithful. As for all of the sports figures you named, none, or almost none, ram religion down anybody's throats. They have their faith which is fine by me. I don't have problems with any of those guys. Even Tebow, who everyone says is obnoxious about his faith, has always been all classes in any interviews I've seen.

I love football and I love football movies, so I decided to give a look to Woodlawn. I had heard there were religious themes, but was hopeful that, despite my lack of religious devotion, I would still find something worth watching in a football team striving to win and overcome whatever obstacles were in front of it. Right away, upon seeing Pure Flix, my expectation of satisfaction went into the ditch. The opening line of the trailer is something about making a decision for Jesus. Why does it have to be this overt? Hoosiers comes to mind as a movie with a religious message that doesn't completely suffocate the whole plot. In the locker room before the state title game, the players listen to prayers from not one, but two preachers. They quoted the Bible.... something like, And so David took a stone from the bag and flung it at the Philistine and he fell to the ground. And the other was something about .... a large group or a small company... Gene Hackman then gets into the huddle, looks at the players, says, "I love you guys," and they break the huddle. The religion didn't even phase me. The whole scene gave me goosebumps. It was more about the team and the mountain it would be attempting to climb. Why can't we have more movies like that and less movies that really just amount to a tent style revival at the theater?

Let's travel back in time .... and gauge our confidence level. Nebraska just gave up a touchdown and a two-point conversion a moment ago. They just threw three passes incomplete, took almost no time off the clock and are now getting ready to punt. How confident are you that the Huskers will win? What's that? You're not confident? I can't imagine why. In some ways, I am more impressed with the way Nebraska performed in losses to BYU and Wisconsin. Both were quality foes and I feel like we played well for the most part in those games, just couldn't finish. In watching the Minny game, I had the feeling that we were more talented. And yet we kept trying to deal them back into the game. Not good. Take the win. Oh heck YES. We need three more of those to get to a bowl and hopefully get something out of the extra practice time that we will get in doing so. But if anyone is going to say... now we've turned the corner, we beat a Minnesota team that lost 27-0 to a Northwestern team that has lost its last two by a combined 78-10... well, count me out on that one.

A lot of people were talking like the Wisky game had to be a win to get to a bowl. I didn't think so. The games we must win are Purdue, Rutgers, Minnesota and Northwestern. Wins against Michigan State and Iowa are not as likely. We might split, if we are lucky. There is a very real chance that we lose both of those. If we lose this week at Minny or next week at home against the Wildcats, we won't go bowling. If we get blown out in either of those games then I start to think 3-9 or 2-10 are very real possibilities.

Four years... wow. That's just mighty big of ya! Seriously, we should give the guy time. If we don't, well, we are sabotaging our own program because this negativity will just add to misery. It won't lead to a coaching change. And it probably shouldn't.

Different take from me. Good friend of mine lives in Oregon. Didn't go to school at either major institution in the state but considers himself a fan of both and has seen many "civil war" games in person. He says Riley was facing an almost impossible task in going up against the ducks once that program got rolling. He too says MR is a great guy, but he also said that he's a good coach and choice for Nebraska and said given a reasonable amount of time, he would be successful here.

Colorado tried that... bringing in the ex player coach to bring back their glory.... kind of notion. and the result was an EPIC meltdown that the program may NEVER recover from... As for the suppot the program all the time no matter what.... Is he being serious? Yes, you're right Mr. Booker, the stadium has been full every game for over 40 years because we want to see the guys give their all..... no matter what.... and that would we be happy with that and not care if the team won. Fans that care whether the team wins or not are shallow and should be ashamed of themselves. Right? I guess that means the Nebraskans of the 1950s were complete jerks. Glad all those people died off and were replaced by the "Sell Out Streak Generations."

Frustrated by this piece? I am and for the following reasons. 1. Riley isn't the problem. It's timing and he/s going to need your patience. I don't understand why Husker fans' patience is called into question now or ever. Don't we have, by far, the nation's longest winning streak. Nebraska fans are hopeful on the level of Cub fans these days. We all believe that the next season, next quarterback, next ..... fill in the blank.... will be exactly what we need to get over the top. I too hope that Riley will win and be successful. He seems like a great guy. The trick is that no one had to tell me. And no one has to tell the majority of the board that. We are all here for the long haul. Quit preaching please, especially when those directives are coming from a non-Husker fan. 2. Bo's team doesn't get to overtime. Really. Like you know or something. Michigan State, down multiple touchdowns in the fourth quarter, rallies and loses on an Amrstrong interception.... Wisconsin, in Lincoln, rallies to win; Iowa last year, rallies to win.... Northwestern, winner-winner Hail Mary dinner... Do I need to go on here? The comeback from last Saturday proves we have fighters on this team. They were here last year and they were here in years previous to that as well. So don't site the "They didn't quit" as evidence that Riley is doing well here. 3. Needs time to instill a culture and mold the team. We were told he would mold his style to what we have. That's not true? We were told there was not a culture problem on this team. Is that not true? Can't say things in the preseason like the culture is good and the coaches will adapt and then change that story when the wins don't come. 4. Recruiting is on the up and up. I find it very hard to believe this. And, before you say, that this is only MRs second class and first full class, remember that Cally had a 33-member class in 2005 including 11 4-star guys and a pair of 5-star guys. That class included Zac Taylor. It included Suh and Bowman and Lucky. Is this in any way like what we have right now? No. Is it a start toward that? I would say no. Also, we are told that MR is in the conversation with big time guys. Until those guys bite and come into the fold, it doesn't matter. The Bo talk was the same. OK, so we aren't getting some of the top flight guys yet. But we are in the conversation. We are close. Seven years later, we were pulling the same classes we pulled in years two and three. 5. As fragile as Nebraska is... it could win the West. This is just bunk. Complete and total bunk. It's like the guy jumping off the building and at each floor telling everyone that he's doing fine so far. We have two losses, both out of conference. The following teams stand in our way... Wisconsin, a team that killed us last year at an NCAA record pace; Michigan State, No. 2 in the country and also handled us last year before nearly giving it away .... Minnesota, a team that beat us late in the game last year and that appears beatable but we have to go to their place; Northwestern, a team that's ranked and has beaten a Stanford team that in turn beat USC... and, finally, Iowa, and, before you laugh, they kicked our tail in 2013 and were on their way to doing it again in 2014 until we rallied and clipped them in OT. Iowa has won its games so far, which is somethings the Hawks just haven't been doing. Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois... WIN WIN WIN. After that, it gets a lot dicier and, quite frankly, the best we can do, 6-2 in league play. Maybe 5-3. To get to Indy, we would almost have to to 7-1 in league play. I would love it if that happened. I just don't see it. I have hopes too. And every time I listen to Mike.... that's right, EVERY TIME, I want to be on his side. I want to believe for the best. He seems like a great guy, he handles everything so well, and he seems prepared and schooled up on stats and game situations. But when I read this article. It gets me all matter of ticked off because it appears to be based on total B.S. I would be more inclined to get behind the simple statements that... Nebraska fans are believing Mike kind find the diamonds in the rough recruiting wise ...and ...the resources at Nebraska combined with Mike's knowledge make a winning combo. Even then I am concerned because of Mike's age. If in five years time, Mike makes us a winner, just how long is it until he decides that he's going to ride off into the sunset? Then what do we do? Promote Danny? Will he even be here then? And even if he is.... promoting an assistant doesn't mean that we have continuity. You have to start over to some degree because Danny would want his own guys and plan... not Mike's. We would have to let him pick his guys and have his own ideas for a plan. Those are things we didn't do for Solich and because of that we had to wait until the 2002 season before Frank got his guys and his plan.... which lasted all of one year thanks to S.P. These are trying times to be a Husker fan. The present isn't full of wins and smiles and the future is uncertain. But there is no chance...NONE, that fans like myself are going to quit watching Husker football. I'll be here. Count on it.

Very interesting. And, correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Osborne in a time of transition too? I mean from an offensive perspective?

I think I speak for a lot of folks on this board who began the season without knowing what expectations to have. I mean, what the heck was reasonable? We had nothing to base expectations on. Would we pass too much? Run too much? Would the defense be bad? Would special teams improve with the new coach that's dedicated to that aspect alone? We have some idea of what there is now. And, its reasonable to say that expectations for this team start and end with bowl eligibility. It is reasonable to think Nebraska can get to six wins and go bowling. Beyond that is a struggle. Two losses in and you have to figure Michigan State and Wisconsin to be losses. Neither have looked world beating, but both likely have more talent that we do. Then there's Minnesota and Iowa. The Gophers are not going to look great. They're the Gophers after all, but we have to play then at their place. It's going to be hard. And Iowa beat us in 2013 and had us on the ropes in 2014. They'll be hard to beat, even at our place, this year. Nebraska may beat Iowa or Minny, but I don't think both. And I am thinking Northwestern might get us. They look good this year too. So that makes us 6-6. That's not high expectations. But here is a thought. Just enjoy the season that we do have. There are going to be rises and some fails. Let's see how this develops. Let's see if some of the walk ons excel. In the high pressure environment of CFB, just take this season in and let the results be whatever the results are. We don't know what comes next. And it's impossible to know. What will the recruiting do this year? Don't know, check back in late January. What's Armstrong going to look like next fall? Don't know. He might not even be the starter. We have this year. We have this moment. It isn't too crazy to say that we should enjoy it as much as possible. CFB will be gone soon enough and then the LONG LONG LONG off season will begin. I am happy here. Right here and now. I don't need expectations for that to be true.

This makes me laugh. When a coach fails that has been here a while, lots of people say... well, he didn't use the walk on program enough. We've got to have more walk ons. I heard it at the end of Bo's tenure. Now we have too many walk ons. Get real people. Please. It's hard on my eyes and ears.

So our run defense wasn't that bad last year, because a lot of those yards were on Jet sweeps? Those were read options if I remember correctly. Melvin kept looking for an angle to run on and he seemed like we forced to the outside pretty well, but had no one to stop him once he got there, thus NCAA record.

Here's what we know about the rush numbers .... First off, the rush vs pass attempts and production were poor in the first half. We were pass heavy. In terms of the overall attempts for the game 37 run and 41 pass is deceptive. Subtract all of Armstrong's runs as they were scrambles. Subtract jet sweeps as they are trick plays, not run set ups. End arounds, or jet sweeps, are plays where you are just hoping like heckler to make the corner. How many times have you seen an end around ball carrier take the ball, stop short and cut against the grain of the defense like an RB would do? Running backs have in their nature to pick through defenders, follow blocks and exploit holes in the defense. Back to those numbers, subtract about 15 rush attempts. Now it's 41 pass and 22 rush, which is about what it felt like, well, to me anyway.

The way I have always thought of the Blackshirt tradition is that you put out a body of work as a player. That body of work leads you to be the top player at your position. And, as a result, you get a Blackshirt. Some times there might be a tie atop a depth chart at say... Mike LB. Then you might award two for that position. Once you had top players at their positions, the only way they lose a blackshirt is if the guy beneeth them on the depth chart beats them out. In this way of thinking, even if we lose and play poorly, the top players at each position remain blackshirts and are not stripped of the title because of that performance. I just think it creates way to much drama to have the shirts getting pulled. When Banker said... you have to play to a standard, it opens up the idea of pulling the shirts after a bad performance. I don't like that aspect of it at all.

As for Riley ... 8-4 or 7-5 with all the games being competitive and the coach carrying himself with class, which we are absolutely certain that MR will ... and I am happy. But let's not concede anything. Those records and that situation is fine, but it's also OK to want for more wins and success.

Your post had a lot about Bo in it. It did. Too much of it. Time to never type that name again. :0)

The Nebraska football program's history was forged, for about a 25-year period, by a man whose integrity was never questioned. He had a very difinitive plan, some would say he was stubborn to a fault, but he worked that plan to the tune of nine win seasons and consistent championship contention. People jumped his case each year that we lost a bowl game or failed to win "the big game." At the end of the day, however, it was very easy to see how close Nebraska was to getting those wins and championships. We all could reasonably expect that, with continued hard work on the recruiting trail, we would be able to run down a title at some point. Then the dam broke and we won three titles in a four year stretch. Magic. Maybe that created unrealistic expecations and that led to the firing of Frank, the train wreck of Billy C, the return of Bo from his southern D.C. stints. At the end of the day, we have to compare Bo, not with the train wreck of Billy C. or the Solich administration that followed the greatness of T.O. The comparison is directly to T.O., sans the championships. We need a coach that carried himself with great integrity, who worked hard to make Nebraska great and one whose legacy was more than nine win seasons. He needed a legacy of competitive teams that gave Nebraskans hope that someday, with continued hard work, we might get a breakthrough. How did Bo do? Integrity? Please. After his failures, he blamed the media, the fans, the administration and the officials for his shortcomings. He carried himself with almost no class at all. The outburts after the 2009 title game in Texas and the 2010 blow up at Texas A&M are, by themselves, a reason to fire someone. It was embarassing. And then there are the results. In 2011 against Wisconsin and Michigan. We didn't just lose games. We fell apart and were destroyed. That's Ok. It's just one year. In 2012 against Ohio State and Wisconsin. We didn't just lose games. We fell apart and were destroyed. In 2013 after a solid half of football against UCLA, we didn't just lose. We fell apart and were destroyed. In 2014, against Wisconsin again. We didn't just lose. We fell apart and were destroyed. If our losses were in games like the Minnesota loss last year, this would not be a topic of discussion. We were very close to winning there. If Bo's obsurd sideline behavior was limited to one or two incidents, we would not be talking about it. He would still be here. But the combination of blow out losses, the knowledge that we were close to losses in a handful or more other games, and a continued insistance on blowing up and embarrasing everyone in the university if not the entirety of the state of Nebraska. Well that was too much. Firing was all that could be done. It wouldn't have gotten better. Bo was doomed to fail. There is no way I see us breaking through. Sure, judge Mike Riley for what the team does or does not do on the field, but look for the integrity, the hard work and the evidence that we can reasonably expect future success. Leave Bo out of the discussion. He didn't belong here and he is gone.

Big plays negate field position.

Riley has been the coach for some time now and I still get the feeling that his relationship with Tom isn't all that friendly. Am I imagining this? I do appreciate that Mike has said he wants an association with TO that's not contrived or forced. Is Tom so pissed over the firing of Bo that he'll never be able to get behind Mike's hiring?

What is the consensus here at HB as far as direction of the transition? We all know there is going to be a transition from whatever Beck/Bo ran to what Riley is going to run. The specific plan is not all that important to me. It is my feeling that, given the right personnel and coaching, most, if not all philosophies, will work out just fine. Transition is key though. From watching the spring game, I got the hopeful feeling that Riley would work off the schemes the guys were used to and phase in his system as time goes by and as recruiting classes arrive and become acclimated. I am just fine with eliminating clap cadence and having the QB work from under center a bit more, but beyond that, I still think we should run some read option and feature an assortment of runs, plus play action passing and targeted roll outs with one or two reads to make before either running or throwing the ball away. In my scorched earth scenario, Riley insists Callahan style that we must adopt his full plan now and just "go through the growing pains." It is my feeling that if he does that..... get ready for 5-7.... cause its coming. Like I said, the spring game gave me hope. I do remember the Callahan initial spring game and it was a full pro style .... west coast adoption. Are we all feeling like Riley is smarter that Callahan and therefor will choose to phase this thing in slowly?

Bowl games overall..... I just want to go to one... and see an interesting opponent for a night game. I am a night owl anyway, so my brain doesn't even begin to register reality until sometime after noon. Plus, as someone who watched the Huskers in the '80s, I appreciated the thought of an Orange Bowl and that kick off was at night. I used to think of the Rose Bowl as the warm up for the Orange Bowl.