Elf

 

 

 

Everyone talks about the early success of Meyer at OSU, Harbaugh at Michigan and Stoops at Oklahoma. You see Franklin busting through with a nice season in 2016. Was their respective roster situations as bleak as Nebraska's at their hires? People lauded the immediate success of our past HC but it was fools gold after the 4th season.

 

When does the statute of limitation end with Pelini's players as an argument in support of Riley?

When they are all Riley's players.

 

No, it doesn't take that long. By year 3, it's the current coaches team. If the players aren't his recruits, they're at least guys he's coached more than his predecessor. In year 3, you're very likely see what a staff is capable of. For example, James Franklin won the B1G in his 3rd year, after two 7-6 seasons.

 

Every situation is different.

 

Exactly. Expecting these coaches to perform exactly as other coaches have in different situations is ridiculous in the extreme.

Heck, I remember someone crying about us not being able to replace an entire defensive line with underclassmen just because Clemson had done it. Well f#*k, we aren't Clemson now are we? And we certainly aren't the '90's Huskers anymore either.

 

 

 

Consider me a convert. The distance between Lee and POB isn't great, in my opinion, but Lee just looks so much more polished as a pure thrower than POB does. That TD throw to Spielman was one of the most gorgeous throws in Memorial Stadium in years. Now, practice is one thing, and using live rounds against teams like Wisconsin, Ohio State and Iowa will be another, but Lee looks like the man.

 

I'm still sticking by my prediction that in 2 years, 2 out of the 3 QBs that saw a majority of the time on Saturday won't be at Nebraska.

Well... yes, Lee will graduate... and then all you would need is one of the other two to transfer, and considering they both can't win the job... probably?

 

Which I think is the probable route it's going to go. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on POB transferring.

 

What if the guys stick around and be program type players? Why do we have to assume a transfer all the time. Benny Parker could have transferred and didn't, because he loved where he was and stuck it out till the end. it's too easy to give up and transfer in today's world of college sports, and Tom Izzo had a great quote on that. Will it happen? Most likely, but we can worry about that later. Lets enjoy the moment and the fact that we have 4 capable QBs to run the Offense.

 

If we keep recruiting quality quarterbacks, transfers won't be much of an issue. Transfers are bound to happen sometimes and the staff will deal with it when it happens.

 

Nebraska – That new 3-4 defense

 

If you watched Nebraska’s spring game hoping to get a peek at new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s 3-4 scheme, well, you went to the wrong place. The Cornhuskers were as vanilla as possible defensively, showing mostly four-linemen fronts along with some work in the nickel and dime packages.

 

Diaco’s system is supposed to be fast and blitz heavy, but for now secrecy and paranoia reigns in Lincoln.

 

“This game now, being on TV like it is, just becomes another evaluation scouting tool for all of our opponents next year,” said Nebraska head coach Mike Riley. “So there was no way we wanted to do anything out-of-the-box at all. … I don’t want that on tape for somebody. So this was a pre-planned deal. I’m kind of sorry to have to say that, but that’s the way it is. And that’s a really smart thing to do.”

247

 

Nothing wrong with this at all. I suspect we'll see a gradual unveiling of this defense. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a pretty vanilla defense against Ar-Kansas St as well. If it was up to me, (and I understand its not) I wouldn't give Oregon any tape on my defense.

I didn't get to watch all of the Spring Game, but I did make it a point to watch the quarterbacks, and I only missed Bunch.

That said, I think all the others looked really good. I think Lee will be named the starter but O'Brien isn't that far behind him. And Gebbia...well, he is going to be pretty damn good when he finally gets his chance to play. Overall, the quarterback position is looking really excellent this year.

 

WINNER GETS ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO DO COOL STUFF IN THE STUDENT SECTIONS.

 

Please keep all the votes coming you can!

Gotta have students in the student section in order to do cool things in the student section.

 

Says who?

Diaco Intensity feels great.

I hope you don't need a tissue...

If he likes watching film so much the coaches and nutritionists should work together and require him to eat a 16oz chocolate milkshake every time he's in there.

All that sugar would be horrible for him. Could even be the catalyst for diabetes.

 

 

 

So Osborne and Tommie Frasier next year??

It's the University of Nebraska Athletics HOF. Osborne didn't attend undergrad and play sports at UNL.

 

Osborne and Devaney can't make it in as coaches? What about the volleyball coach that put us on the map? He can't make it in either?

 

I would rather see it reserved for athletes. I'm not sure about the HOF rules, but that's just my opinion. Give credit to the players. There is enough credit given to the coaches.

 

How do you NOT put Osborne in the Nebraska Athletics HoF? How is that possible? One of the greatest coaches of all time. Anywhere.

 

So Osborne and Tommie Frasier next year??

It's the University of Nebraska Athletics HOF. Osborne didn't attend undergrad and play sports at UNL.

 

Osborne and Devaney can't make it in as coaches? What about the volleyball coach that put us on the map? He can't make it in either?

 

WOW, it took this long to get two of the more famous football players on this list. The lyrics are correct, there is no place like Nebraska.

Kind of.

 

This is only the third class. The first year they only took one from each sport and Remington was the football pick. Last year they took Rodgers and Shields. So these are the #4 and #5 picks. So that's not very far down the list.

 

Rimington. Dave Rimington.

Just saying...

 

 

 

Bob is absolutely masterful with his words, could sell ice to eskimos at 5x face value.

He must not be a good businessman then, 5x zero is still zero............

 

Last time I checked they sold ice at convenience stores..... Just sayin..

 

Yes down in the lower 48, but for an Eskimo where ice is all around, I am betting the starting value is zero.

 

A good salesman will prove the value of ice even to Eskimo's.

I have a brother that could do this. He'd leave with a huge order and leave behind a bunch of Eskimo's that were convinced they got the better end of the deal.

Looks Riley is going to sink or swim with ole Langs and Cav. Hope it works out.

Right! Because he has shown zero willingness to fire under performing coaches.

I don't disagree but it takes more than just saying you want it and it will require seemingly more emphasis on good O line play. Yes, an effective passing game, screens and draws will help the offensive line achieve but it also just plain takes a commitment to building a good O line and establishing the running game. I wonder if they are really willing to make the necessary commitment. You can't do it if you revert to slinging it around so readily. How much harder will it be for them to commit to the running game if they actually have a QB that can throw the ball. They didn't make the commitment with a guy who was not particularly good at reading and throwing so what now...?

The level of commitment to the running game that you desire is not going to be there. We are going to "sling it around" as long as Riley is our head coach.

Who is Leigh?

 

 

If the OL sucks this year, the only choices I want Cav to have in 2018 are where else to coach as Riley lets him go.......Do t think this is Riley's make or break, but it needs to be Cavs.

The offensive line was doing pretty well last year until the injuries started piling up.

 

I think that coincided with playing tougher teams

 

That too.

When we needed our starting line the most, that's when they were the most screwed up by injuries.

I fully support redshirting the linemen we have redshirted. The vast majority of linemen play out their full eligibility. Having them for 5 years in the program is a big benefit when you look at how their bodies develop over those 5 years.

 

If you have a line that is thin on talent when you get to a school, it can take years to develop the depth needed to really have a room full of good linemen to step in when needed.

Agree with all of this.

I understand it was a bit painful watching our o-line towards the end of the year knowing we had kids redshirted that might have been able to play to help out but I also understood that Riley and Cavanaugh were building for the future. They are trying to get us out of the mess we were in concerning our depth issues and that takes time if you're going to do it right.

If the OL sucks this year, the only choices I want Cav to have in 2018 are where else to coach as Riley lets him go.......Do t think this is Riley's make or break, but it needs to be Cavs.

The offensive line was doing pretty well last year until the injuries started piling up.

 

While the line is young, it was Cav's choice to redshirt those freshmen linemen in 2016. If Cav is going to use inexperience as an excuse, it's his own fault for not getting guys experience in 2016.

This. In talking about the other three guys listed that needed experience I look at the second half of the OSU game as a huge example of bad management. Cav kept his starting five in for the whole thing. Decker, Barnett and Gaylord should have been inserted there. Going against OSU's twos and threes would have been far more of learning experience than mop up non conference snaps.

 

I've been an advocate for rotating guys up front. At least you'll find out pretty fast with what ya got.

 

Milt Tenopir never had a rotation for his linemen and we did pretty welll under his tutelage. I'm not saying Milt never substituted linemen, I'm just saying he never had a set rotation. So I don't think rotating the offensive linemen is a huge deal personally.

This might help in getting coaches out of the NFL. The guys who love to coach but hate to recruit.

I might be wrong on this, but I don't think this recruiting department is going to eliminate or even reduce the need for coaches to recruit. I'm pretty sure the NCAA has rules on how many people and which ones (coaches) can be in contact with potential recruits.

 

 

As we saw this past season, talent is important but it is only one of many factors. I don't think our starting talent per se lagged behind anybody in the conference except tOSU. So, in that respect Devaney is sort of right. But that talent has to perform on the field and there are probably numerous reasons ours didn't. A lot of our talent wasn't available when we needed them due to injuries, grades and whatnot. While other times they just plain didn't get the job done- Iowa game comes to mind. That can be development and coaching or it can be players just not giving a sh#t.

 

I don't like the injury excuse because that really is just an indictment of your depth, which is another way to look at overall talent and development. So yeah, we had a bit of a talent problem due to lack of depth but I don't think it's one that can't be overcome with a little better preparation. This coming season should tell us a lot more about what we really have with these players, coaches and system.

OMG,another wait until next year.............

 

At this point in time what are the other options?

You got something in mind that doesn't involve waiting to see how it goes? I'm all ears...

 

Considering this is the offseason, there is nothing we can do but "wait until next year".

I'm cautiously optimistic moving forward. I still have reservations about Riley and his ability to win a championship, but he's making the right moves, recruiting well and shoring up deficiencies on the coaching staff. My hope is he's at the point now where they can really make some headway in 2017, because 2018 is going to be here real fast.

 

At Michigan

At Wisconsin

At Ohio State

Michigan State

At Iowa

That has the potential to be really, really, brutal.

Let's hope the brutality is only felt by our opponents!

 

Geez, I wasn't expecting to come here to so much pessimism.

 

I think 10-2. I think we see immediate improvement with the defense. Not to mention the fact that our offensive line completely changes next year. We lose Ohio State because JT Barrett is in his 10,000th year of eligibility. We lose Penn State because playing them in the 2nd half of the year always seems to be a death sentence.

How is the offensive line completely changing? A new center? Mayyyybe a new right tackle? I'm not super optimistic about the o-line, I don't see a reason to be.

 

Unless we have ridiculous injury issues along the 0-line again, imo, the O-Line must improve if Cavanaugh wants to keep his job. Read and Banker might have some words of advice for him.

We should have better depth and experience on the line this year. It will help both the running and passing game if we can complete a higher percentage of our passes next fall.

 

I'm not going to any lengths to "finesse". That's what you do.

 

Pretty sure I'm not the one using that word wrong, and you're forgetting, you used it first.

intricate and refined delicacy.

"orchestral playing of great finesse"

synonyms: skill, skillfulness, expertise, subtlety, flair, panache, elan, polish, artistry, virtuosity, mastery

"masterly finesse"

2.

(in bridge and whist) an attempt to win a trick with a card that is not a certain winner.

synonyms: winning move, trick, stratagem, ruse, maneuver, artifice, machination

"a clever finesse"

verb

1.

do (something) in a subtle and delicate manner.

"his third shot, which he attempted to finesse, failed by a fraction"

2.

(in bridge and whist) play (a card that is not a certain winner) in the hope of winning a trick with it.

"the declarer finesses ♦J"

I accept your apology in advance.

 

The state that kind of surprised me was illinois. I don't recall many but perhaps that was from many years gone by? It would be interesting to see the numbers if you count on scholarships and then only for the past 50 years. Not sure but I am guessing the above numbers include lots of walk ons and by gone days from way back.

Wilbon and Westy are both from Illinois that's two right there.

 

Wasn't Joe Ganz from Chicago?

 

So we're really gonna consider the streak to still be active even though Eric Martin was on the practice squad?

 

Made me laugh!