huskerstag

Anybody else still workin' at 12:45 the night before Thanksgiving? The real world freakin' sucks.

I'm so glad KSU lost. I was absolutely sick of hearing about them on sports radio down here in KC. There was actually talk of Freeman being Big XII player of the year after that Texas game. The dude didn't even start half the season. So much for all that bs.

I'd be surprised to see Nebraska in the top 10. If we win out I think we would deserve to be ranked in the top 15 but that may not happen either. Beating Colorado and then Texas or Oklahoma should be enough to get us into the top 20, but it looks like we'll be facing Boise St. in a BCS game. Frankly, I think there are a dozen better options than Boise St. but that's just me. At any rate, I don't see the pollsters awarding us much for beating another team ranked somewhere between 15 and 20. Meanwhile you'll have all the media darlings that will probably lose but not drop (USC, Notre Dame, Cal, Tennessee etc.)

I have to agree. While the possibility of us overlooking them exists, I have to believe that we'll be ready to play. With the crowd, the crap that CU's been saying and senior day the players have every reason to be ready. Plus, BC has shown he can really prepare a team with more than one week so I look to see an offense hitting on all cylinders and a stout defense led by Carriker and Moore up front. On a side note, is anyone else glad there's a bye week. With all the 11:00 and 2:30 games and the emotional rollercoaster all of those games have become I'm wiped out every Saturday by about 5:00. Maybe I just can't run with those young bucks like I used to, but I'm only 24. What's going to happen when I'm 50?

We have made huge leaps over the last season offensively. But if our offensive line jells, and we start getting better production out of our tight ends, what we have seen this season is nothing. This offense has the potential to put up huge numbers, striking from almost any part of the field. We are just a couple recruits away. I was noticing last week that we were starting all underclassmen. The only upperclassmen that have really contributed this year are Mann and Austin and maybe Carl Nicks if you want to count him. With both of Mann and Austin out the younger guys have only gotten more experience. This line could be awfully good in a year or two. Couple that with the running backs we've got and some young tight ends and receivers and all that's missing is a talented quarterback. I really really hope that Keller and or someone else steps up and delivers because with the pieces around them they could really put the NU offense on the map. I see a lot of promise for the future on offense.

This is the kind of thing that makes me feel better about being a Husker fan than anything else. NU has been so consistently good for the past 50 years that every team in the north has a massive inferiority complex when it comes to football. For the past 5 years or so they've gotten their moments in the sun, but now that NU is reasserting itself they're back to the same old crap. "I'd rather be a Buff" or "that's all you've got in Nebraska is football". Its a good thing they've got plenty of experience saying those old lines, cuz that's all they'll have to say for another 50 years. What a bunch of sallies.

I don't think your roomate will ever want that remote in his hands again! Where do you keep your remote?

I don't think there's any way Mo goes to the NFL this year. He's set to be the number 1 receiver next year, and his total body of work this year isn't that impressive when compared to the elite receivers around the nation. Don't get me wrong, he's done some amazing things for Nebraska this year and he's a very gifted player. But if I remember correctly he's only got something like 27 catches on the year. I don't think anyone would call him one of the top 10 receivers in the country. He just hasn't had the time to learn and compile the resume' of a Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Jarret or Steve Smith. I'd actually be surprised if he was 1st team all Big XII with the likes of Limas Sweed and that guy from Ok. St. I look forward to seeing him and maybe Meno Holt or Will Henry pulling down jump balls all over the place next season.

In my opinion the only reason it hurts us is because we lost him to another Big XII school, and one in the north at that. It'll probably be a pain to play against him for the next 3 years. He might have been a good quarterback, but given Taylor's performance I'd say that as long as a quarterback has a decent arm and above average intelligence this offense can work. All in all, I don't think the NU offense will suffer.

OK, first of all, I can't believe this stuff, I didn't think there was any way we'd win. Secondly, I apologize. I've tried really hard to defend the defense this season, but I can't do it any more. Shanle is quite possibly the most ridiculous player to have at safety. Yes he's got the experience, but when you have a player who could stuff the opponent on third down and he goes for the strip and gives us up a 40 yard gain, get his rear out of there. Not only that, but that was his interception to make on the halfback pass, but instead he tries to outrun Grixby to the endzone? What the freak man? Get Culbert or Thenarse in there. I don't care if he has experience, if he ain't making plays, get someone some experience. I may be drunk right now, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I just lost five years off my life from that game alone, but KC, hide your children because Huskerstag is coming to town. Who's with me?

I was comparing this year's defense to last year's defense. People were OK with Cosgrove after last season. Everyone was impressed with the sacks and all the preseason hype. But for whatever reason everyone hates him now. Everyone's talking about how much better we were last year and how horrible the defense is this year when in reality, there's not much difference between the two. NU's still just as tough against the run and is allowing fewer points but apparently people only care about sacks and tackles for loss.

Since I've got some time and there seems to be a lot of anger towards Coz and Co. lately I thought I'd compare last year to this year. 2005 Passing Defense - 207.9 yds/game Rushing Defense - 124.2 yds/game Total Defense - 332.2 yds/game Scoring Defense - 21.0 pts/game 2006 Passing Defense - 221.9 yds/game Rushing Defense - 120.2 yds/game Total Defense - 342.1 yds/game Scoring Defense - 17.7 pts/game So is the defense really that bad? A 20 difference in passing yards per game is a fair trade for 3 fewer points per game. After all, isn't it the points that really matter? Frankly, with the injuries sustained to the back 7 this year I'd have to say that Coz and Co. have done OK for themselves. True there were letdowns vs. KU and Okie St. but even the best defenses will give up points. Michigan gave up 26 to Ball St. last week. People fell in love with the sack totals last year, but teams are going to gameplan to defeat your strengths. NU has seen a lot more 3 step drops this year. All USC did was take one step back and throw to Jarret. Eveyone needs to relax, Coz is doing just fine.

There's nothing wrong with WANTING Nebraska to win Big XII and National Championships. But DEMANDING them is another story. People who demand blowout wins and national championships are like those spoiled girls on MTV with their super sweet sixteen parties. Getting a car for your birthday is pretty freakin' sweet, but some people aren't happy unless its the best car ever made and they'll complain and throw a fit if they don't get it. I'd be happy for a consistently good team that usually wins and is always competitive and a team that has that "winner's mentality". Its unquantifiable, but that's what NU lacks right now. Texas has it, and they consistently pull victory from the jaws of defeat. USC has it, when they were down by 16 points to Oregon St. they came within one 2 pt. conversion of tying it at the end. Notre Dame has it and they've come back from huge deficits twice this season. I don't know when NU will get that back, but I do know it takes time. Its not developed overnight and it takes luck to get to that point. NU didn't have it for the better part of 20 years through the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. And make no mistake, there were some serious setbacks along the way. Personally I think we're moving that direction again and at this point, that's enough for me.

2. Coz may not have all the talent he needs or wants. However, after several mistakes and basic fear of contact time and again, why not try someone other than shanle. It appears to me that some defensive players have no fear of seeing the bench. sitting people down for continuous mistakes might make them play better. Coz doesn't decide who plays in the secondary. Elmassian is the secondary coach. He basically said at the midpoint of the season that the Thenarse, Culbert and others were progressing to the point he felt comfortable putting them in the game. Thenarse made a couple plays back against ISU and Culbert played a lot vs. Missouri. If you pay attention you'll see one or the other of them in the game about once every third series. While Shanle may not be the ideal player back there, (likewise with Ruud for some people) there really wasn't/isn't any other choice. You have to choose between an upperclassman who has the experience of doing it all before or you can play the freshman who probably doesn't know what he's doing. In my personal opinion, if the coaches are doing their job then the younger players will always look better than the upperclassmen. If a freshman or sophomore is in the game getting burned every play we'd be screaming at the coaches to get him off the field. The reason Culbert and Thenarse have looked pretty good so far is because Elmassian only puts them on the field in positions where he feels confident they'll succeed. The upperclassmen don't have that luxury and they've got to play every down, even when they may be overmatched.

Joe Dailey, Curt Dukes, David Horne, Frankie London etc. All those guys were going to be the next big thing at Nebraska. Each one of them was going to set the world on fire and no one could understand why they weren't getting to play because the guys in front of them (such as Scott Frost) were clearly terrible players. It was our bad luck that the stupidest guy in the state also happened to be the coach. I thought after we changed the entire coaching staff we could maybe get two or three guys in who know how to coach football, but I guess we're just cursed to have an entire state full of football geniuses and a coaching staff with no brains. :hmmm No one's telling anyone to be happy with where the program is now. While I'd say NU is slightly above average right now, I'd be disappointed if this was where NU stayed for the next ten years or so. However, several of the posters on this board realize that NU is on a journey right now. 2 or 3 years ago we were BAD. Since then we've progressed to slightly better than average. Anyone who expected NU to magically go from 7-7, 5-6 to 13-0 is out of his mind. Would I like to go 13-0? Absolutely, but I understand that's not a realistic possibility for 95% of the teams out there in any given year and I see a program improving each year. And frankly, firing Cosgrove wouldn't get us any closer to a perfect record. If we fired coaches every 3 or 4 years then most of us wouldn't even know who Charlie McBride (or Tom Osborne) is. And for the record, Elmassian decides who plays in the secondary, not Cosgrove, Culbert played a whole lot last week, and Ruud was the Big XII defensive player of the week. So honestly, what's eveyone complaining about?

I don't see how anyone can criticize Callahan's playcalling in this last game. We had a 21 point lead at the half. When you're up by three touchdowns you don't have to keep the pedal to the floor, and its probably wise not to. Missouri had ONE possession in the entire third quarter. NU came out and marched down the field only to have a probable touchdown lost due to a dropped pass. It was the perfect play to call on that fourth down, and wasn't conservative at all. Bear in mind that even going for it in that situation was an aggressive move. He tried to throw the knockout punch right there, but the players didn't make the plays. On the very next drive NU went on a march again and essentially put the game out of reach. Callahan's playcalling was darn near perfect for the entire game and I have no problem with the way he called the second half. This wasn't a situation where the other team could have tied the game at any moment, this was a situation where the lead was always at a minimum of two touchdowns. Stop criticizing the coaches and enjoy the win. And really, what's with the criticism of Keller? Until its legitimately shown he has some sort of problem, why bash the kid on a message board with baseless speculation?

I had a friend in high school who was given three stars initially and when they gave him a fourth he could suddenly leap tall buildings in a single bound and was bench pressing a volvo with one hand.

Teams know all about our defensive line now. Last year that may not have been the case, especially early. Teams prepare for when Barry Turner comes into the game and they design their gameplans to minimize the impact Carriker can have. While sacks are counted and show up in the stat sheet, the defensive end, especially the base end (Carriker's position) is responsible for a lot more than that. Having played the position myself, the most important thing is to control that end of the LOS, which means keeping containment and eating up double teams so the linebackers can make plays. I would also argue that Carriker is being used a bit differently this year. One example would be the Kansas game. Cosgrove more or less handcuffed the DEs that game to eliminate the shovel pass to Cornish. I didn't agree with that decision, but that's why it seemed Carriker and others didn't get much of a pass rush. We've also blitzed less from the linebacker position this year. Due to our thin and at times suspect secondary we're using our linebackers in coverage more this year than last. Offensive lineman are taught to block inside out - which means an offensive lineman will pick up an inside blitz by a linebacker before he'll help the tackle block the defensive end. Fewer blitzes means more double teams for Carriker and Moore. Personally I think Carriker's having a fine year. As I recall, and I don't have the stats to back this up, Wistrom's productivity dropped his senior year, as did Tomich's. That's what happens when you make a name for yourself. Even the good teams won't risk letting you go one on one, there will always be a TE or RB or even another OL to help the tackle in pass protection.

Blowing out ISU and KSU has nothing to do with the goals this team has for itself. This team's most immediate goal for the season (as far as I know) is to win the North, which has nothing to do with margin of victory. Beyond that, winning the Big XII and going to a BCS game also have nothing to do with margin of victory. Personally, I don't see why everyone's so obsessed with our ranking right now anyway. I don't think anyone here expects us to be playing in the BCS Championship Game this year. The step just below that is playing in a BCS game, which NU can accomplish even if they win the rest of their games in overtime by one point. The most important thing is to win the game. Personally I feel confident that BC will call the plays that need to be called to win the game. I really don't care what he does after that.

To all those who think Callahan's playcalling has gone conservative in the second half, I'd like you to consider this: 2 weeks ago Brandon Jackson rushed for over 90 yards in the first half. Last night Brandon Jackson rushed for just under 90 yards in the first half. In each of the last two games Nebraska has established a first half lead by RUNNING the ball down the field and in each game went into halftime with a 14 point lead. Now my question is what coach in his right mind would GO AWAY FROM WHAT'S WORKING (the running game) to see if he could score more points with the passing game. It makes absolutely no sense. Any coach whose team has a 90 yard rusher in the first half should keep pounding the ball. Its not playing conservative, its sticking with what's been working. Why would our coaches go into halftime and decide to go away from the run to try to "knock the other team out" when clearly the run has been giving them the most success? Its complete stupidity, and I suspect that if Callahan had made that decision, we'd all still be complaining about what a stupid coach he is. Some people are never happy. What I find the most amusing about all this is that 2 years ago everyone was complaining that Nebraska should be about power football and none of the finesse passing crap. Now everyone's complaining because Nebraska's playing power football and won't throw it enough. Absolutely Ridiculous.

I really don't care how much NU wins by. True, the pollsters like to knock a team for not having a flashy win, but anyone who knows football knows that NU dominated KSU last night and completely controlled the game vs. ISU the week before. As far as I'm concerned a three touchdown lead is a big enough lead to pull back the reins. As for the convincing or "signature" win - Callahan knows that NU will have to get past Texas, probably twice to win the conference, so trying to blow out a lesser team like KSU really doesn't make sense. Blowing out KSU or ISU in no way affects Nebraska's goals for the season, so why try to keep the pedal to the floor when you've got the victory in hand?

Says who?

I can't imagine this wouldn't get picked up for PPV. Its a game between two of the top three contenders (record wise) in the North. Add that to the fact that Nebraska's playing, which is like gold to the PPV folks because so many people will buy it, and you've got a pretty substantial audience for this game. Forget that FSN or whoever didn't want to air it, personally I think its because they weren't going to be able to meet their obligation to show each team a certain number of times. I'll be shocked if this isn't on PPV.

What exactly is wrong with sitting on a two touchdown lead on the road? I'm only asking because personally I think that's exactly what the great Tom Osborne and even the less great Frank Solich would have done. When you build up a solid lead you run the ball and play defense. That's been the Nebraska philosophy for the last half century. True, ISU could have scored a TD and brought it back to a one possession ball game, but the bottom line is they didn't. By calling the game that he called and eliminating risks BC made sure that NU's lead was never in serious jeopardy. We also saw how the constant pounding wore down ISU's defense in the 4th quarter. And some of y'all are going to criticize him for allowing Nebraska to pretty much control the entire football game? Just because you wanted to see more points on the board? Get over it already. It was a solid win for the team and an excellent job of game management by BC and Co.

:asshat :hmmm