huskerstag

My personal opinion is that the next HC doesn't have to have Nebraska ties. However, it wasn't that long ago that Nebraska was really good and the entire football program went about their business with a lot of pride and passion. Having a connection to those days probably wouldn't be a bad thing. IMO that's one of the biggest problems with our defense this year. There's no one who saying "this is how we go about things at Nebraska". I'm not talking about someone who will bring back the same schemes and plays and drills, I'm talking about someone who remembers how much pride and hard work it took just to get on the field. I'm talking about someone who can show today's players and staff what it really takes to be a top notch program. The HC doesn't necessarily need to be one of those people, but I would like it if someone from that era was part of the program.

OK, I'll bite. I'm not one of those saying that Pelini HAS to be the next HC. But I do think he's one of the best options available. I could be completely wrong - but to me the main thing Nebraska lacks is intesity. I think its pretty obvious that Coz hasn't gotten his players to play hard for him - similar to what happened to Bohl. Pelini came in and made a defense instantly better, not with superior schemes or better personnel, but with motivation. I don't think its too much of a stretch to think he could do that for an entire team. As for the K-State blowout, I remember reading something (sorry there's no link - it was 4 years ago) about Pelini not believing the offense could get the job done so mid-way through the 3rd quarter he started calling an extremely aggressive defense trying to force some turnovers. The gamble didn't work out and the rest is history. And honestly, what team (aside from the '95 Huskers) doesn't have at least one defensive melt-down in a season. Pretty much every "expert" has him on their short list of soon-to-be Head Coaches. His move from NU to OU was a byproduct of the raw-deal he received in Lincoln. His move from OU to LSU was a move from Co-DC to DC. So I guess you could say that he's climbed back up the ladder after he left NU. I don't think a certain polish or professional demeanor should be that high of a priority for a football coach. I'm more interested in keeping a clean program and winning football games. Basically, he came here once before and restored pride to the team and many people around here are thinking he's capable of doing it again.

IMO Osborne's the only man for the job. TO's a man who's familiar with the program, universally respected and available now. Not bringing in TO would mean either a lengthy search or a promotion from within. Either way, you lose something that TO brings to the table.

I never really understood all the negativity toward Pelini. I'm not saying he has to be the next coach, but I don't see why he shouldn't be considered. As far as I'm concerned, if the guy runs a clean program and wins football games then I don't care how he handles the media. I'm too young to remember Devaney, but from what I've read and heard, he and Bo may have more than a little in common when it comes to their public relation skills.

My cousin's friend's brother's dog's veterinarian's hair dresser is really close to the LSU program. She says that when Bo found out he decided he could finally stop sneaking into Pederson's house and crapping in his pillow case.

I'm pretty sure that Steele is the DC at Alabama. IMO the only way he'd come to Lincoln is if he got an HC offer - which I don't think is likely. But hey, anything's possible at this point.

It would be nice if it happened, but I'm betting that almost all Big XII coaches have clauses in their contract about going to other Big XII schools. That doesn't mean it can't happen, like Chizik going to ISU, but I'd imagine there's a buyout clause or something like that. Stoops seems like a good coach with good character so he may not stand in the way, but that doesn't mean the administration won't. I'm afraid I don't see it happening.

Frankly I'm glad he was honest. Going off his score prediction i'm sure he's thinking the same thing that many other people are thinking. Nebraska will be able to score points, but the defense won't be able to hold up. Broadcasters should be more than a bunch of talking head sunshine pumpers.

Lucky isn't supposed to be a bruiser who plows ahead whether there's a hole or not. Part of running behind a zone blocking scheme is that you have to be patient and look for a crease or a cut-back. If the play call is a straight up ISO or dive Lucky hits the hole as hard as anyone. It appears that Callahan wants a two back system where one player is more finesse and patience and the other is a bruiser. Lucky is the finesse, don't bag on him because he isn't the bruiser. IMHO, when you look at the total contribution of Lucky to the offense it's on par with what someone should expect from a top tier recruit. He blocks, catches and runs the ball well and began playing a major role in the offense his second year on the team. I'm not saying he's a superstar, but how many 5* players turn out that way? But people don't look at his total contribution, they look at the box score for his rushing yards and use buzz words like "goes down too easy". For whatever reason people expect him to break 5 tackles and run for 50 yards every carry. No one does that. I think part of the reason that he's not tearing up opponents like Darren McFadden or Steve Slaton is because he's not the team's identity. Arkansas structures their entire offense around McFadden. WV structures their offense around getting Slaton and White out in space. For those two teams, their entire MO is to get thier marquee players the ball as much as possible. Nebraska's system is about balance. It's not about a feature running back, or even smashmouth football. Regardless of who the RB is, he's not the focal point of the offense, so of course his numbers won't be spectacular. For whatever reason it's easy for people to see this when it comes to quarterbacks, but with running backs they're blind.

They're having tryouts in KC the next couple of weeks, so theoretically it could be pretty soon, but the questions are pretty tough and they don't put the shows on TV until a few weeks after they tape them. jeopardy

Sorry, I didn't realize my question was such an embarassment to some of us. I never insinuated that he faked an injury and I never said NU would have won if he would have gotten up sooner. I just thought it looked a little funny from the stands.

This is probably really stupid, but I need to have my curiosity satisfied... Does anyone know what happened to the USC player who went down on the kickoff return after NU went ahead 10-7? I've looked and haven't seen/heard anything about him. The reason I ask is because from the stands it didn't look like anyone was very concerned about him, Carrol specifically. If I saw everything correctly (I was a long ways away and a little over-served) it looked like Carrol spent the first 10 minutes or so meeting with his offense while his player layed on the field 30 yards away. I'm wondering if someone told the player to stay down awhile so NU's momentum would melt away and the crowd would get quiet. Did anyone else think the same thing? Or am I just looney?

I'm not too concerned about the full pads vs. half pads isssue. I'd be surprised to find out most teams practice in full pads during the season. We only went full pads once a week in high school. Just because there was half pads doesn't mean there isn't hitting going on. However, the Bowman thing makes me sick too. I can't believe that the other seniors on this defense wouldn't follow his lead. Ruud, of all people, should know what it means to wear a blackshirt. I'm afraid that the defense has taken on Cosgrove's attitude that it wasn't that bad of a game, just a few mental breakdowns and they don't have anything to be ashamed of. Until the defense takes a long look at themselves and their effort, they won't improve. They'll just get indignant and defensive - as we've seen their coordinator do. I know it's foolish to fire someone in the middle of the season and I'm not advocating that. But just to appease the "who would you get to replace him" crowd - I'll throw a few names out there. Kevin Steele - former linebackers/defensive backs coach at NU (who remembers the real blackshirts), currently DC at FSU? We could maybe get him here... Mike Minter/Mike Brown - Minter is already retired, Brown might be after his latest knee injury. Both were blackshirts when the blackshirts were feared. Brown was described by his coach as a defensive coordinator with a helmet on. When Minter played here, he was helping guys get lined up correctly as a true freshman. Admittedly, Brown is a really long shot, but possible nonetheless. Grant Wistrom/Jason Peter/Christian Peter/Trev Alberts - I don't know if I'd make any of these guys a DC, but putting them on the staff would put someone who remembers the real blackshirts back in the mix. They wouldn't tolerate the effort that was put forth last Saturday, or the effort we've seen for the last few years. I think Callahan can coach a team and put a quality offense on the field. I was worried about Cos when the season started - it'll take a tremendous effort for the rest of the way before I have any confidence in our defense again.

I saw him and some of his teammates walking around down by the tailgates. I was just walking by, but I told him he had to come to Nebraska. He said "thanks".

I'm so pumped I head butted my wife and dyed her hair red.

I wish just once they'd play 'Down with the Sickness' by Disturbed. You could synch some mad hits with the music and it'd be the bada$$edest intro in sports.

I don't think this guy has a clue what he's talking about. The offensive line is less physical? Purify is our speed guy? The defense is slow? My guess is the guy looked at last years tape, read through the statistics of the last two games and put some slop together. I say he's an idiot.

Its not that he forgot he is coached to look at the receivers not for the ball. Everyone in our secondary is taught to face guard, or react to the player not the play. Until that is changed we are not going to get better IMO. This is a major issue. Can anyone confirm this? Can't believe it. You have to following your man, obviously, but when the ball is in the air you have to become the receiver--go after it. If you can't follow both your man and the ball, you're in big trouble. The last couple of years the coaches have taught the corners that they should go for an INT if they are in "complete control". For man coverage, that means they have tight coverage on the receiver and either have him pinned against the sideline or they have safety help over the top. In zone coverage its a little more complicated but again the idea is tight coverage and help over the top to prevent a big play. On the face of it, it's not bad advice. That kind of coverage is geared to give the safeties the best opportunities for INTs because they don't have the "complete control" responsibility in coverage and can roam freely to make plays. Of course, when your safeties struggle as they have the last couple years (with the exception of Bullocks) there aren't very many INTs. I think I remember reading about that philosophy changing a bit last spring, but I don't know for sure. As for face guarding - I don't think that's really what they're doing. It's pretty fundamental that if you're in man coverage you focus on the man and don't look for or react to the ball until the receiver does.

I just sent a comment to ESPN. It's posted below. I'll be sending another one about Mark May sometime, but I have to work now... ---------------------------------------------------------- Lou Holtz seems to be a terrible choice as a studio analyst. I expect intelligent thoughts about the week's games from ESPN. Holtz isn't even intelligible, and he may be senile. Last week, when describing his choice to win the Big XII North, he said he chose Kansas, while the screen showed highlights of Mizzou. If he can't remember his own choice to win a division, how can he provide anything of value to the viewer (outside of the unintentional humor of choosing Notre Dame to win every game)?

Nunn and Hardy are the two most frustrating players on the offense as far as I'm concerned. I pretty much expect Hardy to drop as many passes as he catches and I think Nunn is good for two drops per game, which he had last week. For a division I receiver that's inexcusable. I'm hoping that Nunn just didn't have his head in the game, because he played the poorest of anyone on Sat. The two drops, when the game was still in doubt, the botched punt return, catching the ball along the sideline and then trying to turn up-field when time was running out were all silly mental mistakes - like he wasn't really trying. The most frustrating to me though, was a run where it looked like Lucky was going to go the distance and all Nunn had to do was get in a receivers way, but he just kind of stopped short of making the block and the guy made the tackle. Blocking down field doesn't take fantastic athletic ability, it just takes desire. So hopefully he's getting a good ripping today and he'll be ready to go the next couple of weeks.

I saw the same thing. I really don't understant how or why ESPN puts that idiot on the air. I don't know of anyone who takes him seriously. He's completely clueless about any football outside of Notre Dame and USC. The fact the he couldn't remember who he picked to win the North should be a clue that he's past his prime.

I sat there last year for the Missouri game. They don't suck, but they're not the best seats in the house. I could see the game pretty well, I only lost sight of the ball when it was punted or something. The feel of the game isn't the same up there. You don't get the experience of seeing the whole stadium and you don't hear the noise of the crowd very well. But it's still in the stadium and you're still watching the huskers.

If K-State wants to talk smack about the character of our players, then be sure to remind them about this guy. Especially if they're going to talk about someone beating women. MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ A Kansas State University football player is in trouble with the law. Tight end Rashaad Norwood was arrested twice Sunday morning at his ex-girlfriend's apartment in Manhattan. Police say the 22-year-old senior is facing charges of battery, criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, and obstruction. Riley County Police say Norwood was arrested the first time after a brief foot chase. Bond was set at $2,000 and police ordered him to stay away from the woman's apartment. But police say that a few hours after his first arrest, Police say Norwood returned to the woman's home and he was charged with criminal trespass a second time. Bond was set at $3,000. Norwood is from Kansas City, Kansas. Last season he made 10 starts and finished second in receptions with 36 for 358 yards. LINK

Some eyewitnesses claim there was a second TV dropped from over on the grassy knoll, and that when Kenny dropped the TV, his leg went back and to the left.

I can't believe this keeps being brought up. Personally, I think he's right on track to have a very productive career at Nebraska. The way he runs those screens plays is a thing of beauty and I think it's a brilliant way to get him out in space where's he's most comfortable. If he never becomes Adrian Peterson or Darren McFadden, I'm OK with that too. I don't know why anyone would expect that from him to begin with. Callahan has shown he can bring in talented running backs, and it sounds like there's three or four of them ready to step in and push for playing time anyway. Why do people keep bringing this up?