Billyball

So you watch this game and combine it with what the team would do if you were the coach, and we go undefeated. I'll be for making you coach and skipping the games. Seriously, we saw the staff at least try a new QB and from that we can figure that they do not believe Lee can get it done. That's about all we know from that game. Any of our QBs would likely had great days against WKU if playing the entire game. What I am certain disturbs the staff is the inaccuracy of his passing. In Big 12 play there would have been some picks. I doubt he runs free against Big 12 foes with anything like the success against wku. So they will work like heck to get him a passing game that fits his ability and try to increase his throwing ability. The latter is not easy to do and unlikely to improve greatly in a few weeks, or good qbs would be everywhere. T Mart reminds me of the QB that Illiniois started in that game against Misery on Sat. His elusiveness and strength) as a runner allowed him to get good yardage and hit short passes. I really thought they behind that frosh with good wheels and an average arm were going to beat misery badly. The second half they put a shadow on him and shut him mown to almost no yardage and I think he threw three or four picks. in our offense, the passing will have to be very accurate with good reads to keep our running game going. We are not Ga. Tech or another true option offense...though with our personnel I wish we were this year and even more so if Green commits. It's not Watson's bag though. Running a balanced attack with T-Mart against good defenses may be difficult. I think right now the optimist would say we have options. The realist would say that the staff; is not happy with there choices and trying to come up with who will give the offense the best chance. My guess is that if Starling and Carnes would have been here one of them would be starting. Your idea that we are better off blitzing a lot to make up for inferior line play this year, leaves me cold. The rush of the front four was what made our D last year. I hope the line improves and Crick becomes Suh like, which I doubt. Our DBs will be hard pressed against better passing teams if we rely on blitzing. Anyway the season is here and we are undefeated. I don't see staying that way nearly as likely as you do. Hope you are right.

Who cares what a teen QB says after his biggest day on the gridiron. If he is the real deal; Dizzy Dean said it best "if you can do it, it ain't braggin.". If he's not, there will be plenty to be humble about and the young man will figure it out.

Oh I'm not the expert that you clearly are if you learned a lot yesterday. I learned we could beat handily a team that has now lost 21 games in a row. My guess is that having to travel and play the Huskers in Lincoln that WKU should be compared with playing our number ones against the 3's, no make that the freshmen and walk-ons. My point was that I recalled the same hype last year when Lee torched the Sunbelt opponents. It was obvious that the sunshine pumpers didn't "learn" as much from the Sunbelt games last year as you claim you did watching the drubbing of our paid Patsy yesterday. Now I hope your keen skills of observation are accurate and this offense will be light years better. No "proof" from that game IMO. " Our offense put points up on one of the best defensive coaches early in the season"...you said while chastising me for not seeing that this offense is better than the one under Lee. Then curiously you defend what can only be described as an inept offense last year? Well we lost the game you seem to think we should have been proud to put points on the board. When you don't win a war or a football game you LOSE. I hope when we play Wash we see a defense shut down a top QB...that will tell us something. Though I don't think their defense is top notch, they will be better than WKU. From that contest perhaps some of us slow learners will get what you came away from the "amazing" victory over the perennial power WKU. Btw...without looking it up I'll bet most don't know the town in Kentucky this mighty team is from. The game was like a title contender hiring a sparring partner to take a beating. You don't know much until the real fight.

This game was fun to watch And a good start. It doesn't really tell us anymore about our team than our Sunbelt Conference "championship" run did last year when some thought Lee was the next Peyton or Drew. When we faced a real defense we sucked. Time will tell but before I get on the T Mart for savior bandwagon, I'll have to see something other than the WKU defense.

They all scare me after these first two. Iowa St. game proved last year that this/ that offense is more than capable of losing any game at anytime for us. Until I see reason to think otherwise, I'll be worried about every game. I said earlier that I wish we were rated in the mid teens preseason and were not being talked about as a NC caliber team. Our history of late doesn't predict a legit NC contender. Too much emphasis on the CC and our bowl glosses over many of the weaknesses that were apparent last season. I would prefer to start the season with press that we are a good team, in the top 15 or so and move up slowly. The players will be more hungry and respect every opponent much better if their eyes are not on a NC game in Sept. I recall Misery a couple years ago coming off a good end of season performance being highly rated and soon falling off the map. I don't remember their preseason ranking but it was too high and the scribes quickly found them over-rated and lost interest after they lost a game or two. While I am always hopeful of a very successful year, I don't think those pundits putting the big Red on a national. pedestal have thought this thru. No proven QB? Overall a very pedestrian offense. A hope that Crick will be as good as Suh and the other DT position will be as productive as Crick. Best LB graduaed and major disruptions due to injuries there. All of that will put much more pressure on the D backs than last year. While I think we will be good and if things go well can improve during the season, we have too many ?s to be a to 5 team right now. I think we will lose a couple during the regular season, maybe more and that will disappoint the pundits who put us in a NC mode and cause them to drop us farther in polls than deserved. My hopes for the final big 12 year 1 . Win the. north 2. Win or give a great account of ourselves in the CCG 3. Go to a good bowl and WIN, propelling the program on the upswing in our new coference. If the Yammerers are right and we end up with a NC I'll be thrilled, but if my take is accurate many of you have set yourself up to be bummed over a good season.

That was not "football" and Suh should wise up if he is to stay in the league. This is. Not college ball and if this becomes his rep. he will find himself in an operating room with a long time to think about it in rehab. Teams won't let you be that bush league without getting even. He's a great player and a better person than that.

Good call on Baptiste, especially since no option to take RS year. I've been fawning over WH for, well, since we signed him. And he's done nada so far. But THIS could be the year he SHINES!! Paul and Kinnie seem to have the best chance to produce when we are playing serious competition. I don't think McNeil will contribute much as a wideout and will go back to tight end. It's impossible to say how important the freshman wr can be until a real game. My biggest concern is the ability of our qb to put the ball where it needs to be. If we are rightfully going to feature the running game, we need enough of a passing game to burn a defense that loads up against the run. I don't know if we have that or not but I hope we do before conference play.

LSU us a slight possiblity down the line if Bo would feel dissed or that the Big 10 doesn't look like it will give us a top 10 team on a routine basis. The most likely position that would cost us Bo is "the" Ohio State U. IF something happens there, it will always likely be the king of the Big 10 and is Bo's AM. That would be a tough and unlikely job to turn down. Most other jobs indeed would be lateral moves. It would take a top SEC team with big bucks or OSU in my opinion.

Easy there IMa, I'm a listenin. And I think I heard your thoughts--just didn't buy them. Below was the exchange. It seemed at best "whistling by the grave yard to me". Now last year we were a very good team in our last two games and a pretty mediocre team in the rest, save the victory over the very beat up Zero U team that I mentioned. There was nothing in that performance that leads one to believe that you are correct and that the Bo Pelini era makes injuries to starters or top reserves inconsequential. Just aint there sport, sorry bout facts. Injuries are part of the game, affect performance and I hope we don't have any more. If you don't think they matter and will impact our play, I want what you are drinking. "I am I, on 23 August 2010 - 05:54 PM, said: Injuries affect a team, for sure. But this is the difference between the way Bo has it and others had it: people will get hurt every year, get 2 or 3 deep, and there isn't much drop off; practice everyone hard and get everyone prepared, that way if someone goes down, the next guy is ready....OR practce soft, promise startng roles, dole out unearned depth charts, and practce nepotism, so that when someone gets hurt, no one is ready. The next person will be ready, because they've been PRACTICING to be ready. Sorry, but that is just pure D BS. Most likely these injuries are just bad luck and not the result of improper practices or conditioning. ??IT HAPPENS. but to believe that it does't matter because BP is our coach or it is N U, is silly. Injuries always affect performance on every team. OU was highy rated and loaded last year until the injury bug hit. As a result they lost several games they quite likely would have won if healthy. Let's hpoe we don't have any more serious injuries!, "

Sorry, but that is just pure D BS. Most likely these injuries are just bad luck and not the result of improper practices or conditioning. ??IT HAPPENS. but to believe that it does't matter because BP is our coach or it is N U, is silly. Injuries always affect performance on every team. OU was highy rated and loaded last year until the injury bug hit. As a result they lost several games they quite likely would have won if healthy. Let's hpoe we don't have any more serious injuries!,

Four players is deep at TE? (Cotton, Reed, Hill & Long) I can't say that I agree with that outlook. I suspect that the McNiell experiment at WR could be coming to an end if these injury problems don't subside. Considering we don't often use more than one, it is deep. McNeill will stay where he is. Go back and look and you will see that Nebraska has been using the 22 quite a bit the last few years. And yes I agree McNeill stays at WR, IF there aren't more injuries at TE. I disagree and think McNiel will go back to tight. End. He was never fast as a WR and I think his best chance for a mismatch is as a TE.

I don't think we are a program that ought to be chasing another program's problems. Whether out of HS or juco,avoiding troublemakers should be the first criteria of recruiting. I'm not keen on going after another program's trouble. Hope it works out .

Crick and whoever lines up at the other DT. Crick has to show that he can fight thru double teams that he did not have to face with something approaching SUh's ability. Similarly whoever starts opposite has to be up to the performance of Crick who benefitted from Suh's play last year. If those things don't happen, our vaunted secondary regardless of the schemes will suffer. In conference the QBs will be too good if we don't have pressure at the Los like last year. Suh made playing.DB,LB,DE,or opposite DT much easier. Until conference play, we won't know how these two DTs stack up.

It truly doesn't matter because it has not much bearing on what happens on the field, but I'd actually feel a little.better for this team to be rated in the 10 to 15 area to begin the season. If we win, we'll get to the big game, but if we lose a couple games in the first half of the season I think we will be seen as overrated and fall farther than we would from the low teens. I am not convinced we are that much improved, though the schedule is favorable. I am more concerned about winning the North and leaving on an up note,than getting caught up in the NCG hype. We have not beaten a top 20 team in several years even with Suh. I am not sure we will likely beat two or three highly ranked teams to fulfill the espn hype. If we stub our toe after such predictions we will fall like a stone, I fear. The good news, the players control the destiny of this last big 12 adventure!!

Bo can get by with this currently. Fans and the media are convinced the Huskers are back on the bigtime national stage. Bo has put the excitement back. So, perhaps even if he overreacted to the circumstances, it will not hurt him. I suspect a part of the tirade was some frustration over the injuries to the players and the possible impact on the team. That's totally understandable. I threw a fit and I'm just a fan. However, if bo's team fails to live up to the hype, the same behavior that is seen as "taking charge" or "manly"' will be looked on as petulance and bullying. It's always risky to piss off ,the folks that by ink by the barrel. Woody Hays would not have lasted as long in this day and age.

I thing we have a shot at being a very good football team. I don't buy into the NC hype. We have not proven ourselves on that level recently. But just as Pelini says, the last thing this team that lost to IOwafrigin state at home needs is "swagger". They need big doses of hustle and TCOB. They can worry about "swagger" After winning something worthy of husker tradition. If we go swaggering in.to Wash. Manhatten or Ames we are liable to have our Azz's kicked. We have by no means established this team as elite (pre season hype goes bye bye with the first upset). Win a conference championship and a bcs game and swagger is fine......UNTIL spring ball.

Or he really is that good of a player. I see it only as a positive if he plays early. The staff is going to evaluate everyone and put the best players on the field. If thats a freshman, then so be it. It only strengthens the argument that Bo has no favoritism, and by busting your @ss and being the best, you will see the field. Lets recruits see this too. I hope you are right and I want the best player on the field obviosly. However replacing suh with a frosh would say more in my mind about the lack of talent there than that of the newcomer who surely has a huge upside. Seldom is a frosh DT ready to start on a top defensive line. Maybe this time it's different. I hope it is.

I hope he is a redshift and cannot compete for a starting DT as a true freshman. I say that because it would signal a huge drop-off in our defense.

For many reasons, looking at that list it is not just unlikely that we perennially attract a top 10 class,it is a pipe dream. The talent has moved south and east. Those kids in the vast majority of cases won't give us even a sniff. Texas,your talking about sloppy second or thirds , or fourth choice in almost every instance, Green hopefully an exception. We do not have and likely will not have a program that will cause the elite athletes that grow up in these tropical climes, watch teams in their area stacked with kids like them dominate the top 10, en mass say " Gee I want to spend the next four winters In Nebraska". We should set our sights on between 15 and 30 with a very rare 5 star every few years, a few four stars hopefully each year, with the main contingent 3 stars. The good news is that the league we are moving to; all the teams have the same geographic challenges. The competition will not be as tough as the sec. So by competing well in conference, we should open new recruiting areas, albeit not with the concentration of elite athletes that say Fla, Texas OU has. You won't win NC s with this situation, where the elite are stacked with four and five recruits in every class, but we can play very good FB in the B10, go to good bowls and keep a winning tradition with the greatest fans in FB. Times have changed and I hope some fans manage their expectations.

While we "should" win and I think we will; we will go into the game with as a huge favorite with a pretty high national ranking. That ranking will likely be somewhat overstated for the 2010 Huskers; due to it being based on the last two games of last season and the first easy 00C games this year. A team or two might have fallen and we be even high single digit ranking. That's dangerous for a young team on the road, especially without a leader at QB. Lochler will put up some points almost certainly. If we are inept on offense, as we've shown the ability to be, it could be a long night. I think we win but would not in any way take that for granted. If I were betting the game, I imagine we will be huge favs and would take Wash and the points. It will give us a good feel for how things will play out in conference cause it will get much tougher. Not a classical "trap" game, but certainly one where if we are not very careful could stub our toe early.

I'd most want to beat Mizzou. They took away the QB who shall not be named; that would have our offense rolling. We've only won one in the last three years and they hammered us by 5 TDs in our house the last time we invited them. I'd like to return the favor on their last visit to our house. And it is also necessary or at least very important if we go to the CCG. I don't think it will be as easy as many have made it out to be. While concentrating on Texas, overlooking the Tiggers is dangerous. GBR

1) And you know this how? 2) And we can expect a great offense this year due to great QB/OL play? The truth is we sucked on O last year and we sucked badly. Any true fan is just hoping for improvement and not making excuses. I hope we are better but I'll believe it when I see it!

The problem with your theory is that the players you mentioned were all position players. Bubba is a pitcher. I think pitchers can go throught the minors alot faster than position players. like Ez said earlier pitchers can put extra strain on there arms by throwing extra innings. why not go to the minors out of high school make a couple mil and work your way to the majors. I agree. To see him on the field in Red; we need to see his baseball fortunes fall. If he is a first/2nd rounder with substantial bonus money coming, he would have to have rocks in his to play college fb. He has to look no farther than Z Lee who had one or two arm surgeries this offseason. How much would that impact his mlb career?

Good point. If TO was running the offense that's not a problem at all. But SW running a power/option offense?? Well...... Having three names mentioned for our starting QB and some love for all of them is something only homers would believe will bode well. We are likely in SERIOUS trouble at the QB position for the second year in a row. Last year was likely the low point of Big Red football on the O and the high point in a long while on D. We have the same cast back on O and lost huge on D. In spite of the love some rags give us; the truth is there are big problems. Some claim that Martinez is the answer with his legs. Unlikely at best that we put in a successful whole new offense in fall practice. Likely a disaster if we try. Others say that our RBs will take the pressure off of Lee and he'll only throw a few times a game and that will make him more effective? So we're saying we have the same QB that is subpar and the same RBs we had last year and that this year we'll be better. Talk about doing the same thing and hoping for a different result. Helu has not proved to be a durable RB. If he is hampered; you are right back to where you were last year. We have a huge QB problem and to believe otherwise is simply drinking koolaid now. I think with any of the top 20 QBs in the country we could be great. Without one of them, I can see a lot of disappointment. I hope I am wrong but 100 yards against Tejas will not get it done. Though there are problems at reciever; one decent QB is what I believe will be our achilles heel.

Kid has major league high draft choice written all over him. I would say the chances of him seeing the field for the Big Red are well under 50%. Big bucks right out of HS will be hard to turn down knowing the chances of never being worth as much if an injury were to occur.