kchusker_chris

Lost on top, gained on bottom...2008 through this year. That 13 is pretty rough. 26 seems about in line w/ where we've been. We took the risk from the zone-read exchange to the air so we're throwing INTs versus fumbling, but all-in-all about the same. Need to improve certainly, but not as dismal as some make this season out to be. The D needs to figure things out in this area more than the O IMO. 28, 23, 24, 19, 35, 29, 25, 26, 17, 28, 23, 18, 23, 18, 23, 13

109th in fumbles gained, 95th in interceptions gained. This isn't all on Tommy. There's two sides of the story when you're talking turnover "margin" - and the defense isn't keeping up it's end of the deal. They aren't good that's for sure, but also keep in mind the ball wasn't on the turf nearly as much as in past years. In Martinez's first 3 years, through 38 games he had 47 fumbles.

3 year contract - how can they recruit - i though a coach needed a dozen or so years on the tail end of a contract before a kid would even consider the school.

Joe Moglia (2mil), Scott Frost (OC - 1.5mil), Ed Orgeron (DC - 1.5mil). Same premise as before the Riley hire.

this had me pulling out what little hair I have left. the one's through the first half when we should have been destroying this team were so frustrating. the 3 and outs are ridiculous. the fact that they trust a 50% passer on 3rd and 3 over our stable of backs says a lot about this offense.

If you don't think there was a VAST difference between Pelini's exit and Muschamp's then the only thing mindless in this discussion is what you get when you "point the thumb" There was a huge difference, Florida was a dumpster fire, Nebraska wasn't. Exactly. And Pelini was right about Eichorst (doesn't mean he should've said it out loud.) All Eichorst has done is write CYA policies. We weren't talking about the circumstances that led to the exit, we were talking about the exit itself. One handled it with class, the other's exit could better be described as a "dumpster fire." And that's why no one is worried about Florida's former staff, but they are with ours.

59.8. He also was a turnover machine. This guy?

Are you sure he's even throwing the ball? Looks to me like he's catching it....

Since he has this: Scoring "D" - Bo 0.75 to MR 0.33 ...when MR is ranked #45 (giving up 24) to Bo's #53 (giving up 26.6) ranking last year....I'd say he pulled them out of his a$$.

Our DBs turned to look for a ball? Not sure you were watching the Husker game if you saw that...

If you don't think there was a VAST difference between Pelini's exit and Muschamp's then the only thing mindless in this discussion is what you get when you "point the thumb"

Muschamp's response to his firing: "I was given every opportunity to get it done here and I simply didn’t win enough games – that is the bottom line. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get it done and it is my responsibility to get it done. I have no bitter feelings, but this is a business and I wish we would have produced better results on the field" vs.... Pelini's (since he never made an official statement we only have this to go on): “A guy like (Eichorst) who has no integrity, he doesn’t even understand what a core value is,” Pelini told players. “And he hasn’t understood it from the day he got here. I saw it when I first met with the guy. “To have core values means you have to be about something, you have to represent something that is important to you. He’s a f------ lawyer who makes policies. That’s all he’s done since he’s been here: Hire people and make policies to cover his own ass.” “I didn’t really have any relationship with the A.D.,” Pelini said. “The guy, you guys saw him (Sunday), the guy’s a total p----. I mean, he is. He’s a total c---.” “He goes, ‘I disagree that I haven’t supported you.’ I said, ‘Hey bud, you can’t support somebody underneath a f------ rock.’ I said, ‘To do your job at this level, at a place like this, you gotta be a grown-a-- f------ man to lead something.’ I said, ‘You can’t lead anything under a f------ rock.’ I said, ‘You don’t spend any time with us. Our players don’t even know who you are.’ And I said, ‘That isn’t leadership.’ “The guy, you guys saw him (Sunday), the guy’s a total p----. I mean, he is. He’s a total c---.” “I am sure you guys walked out of there, and you’re all smart guys who have been around — and I’m sure and your gut told you certain things. Trust your gut, because your gut’s right. Not knowing how it was going to go — when he told me he would meet with you guys at 8 o’clock, I think he said, ‘I’m going to meet the players later on today,’ and my first thought was: ‘Well, that ain’t going to go real well.’ Because I knew he wouldn’t handle it the right way.

This d-line is pretty rough. I was excited by Collin's after spring/fall but I think that domination is more reflective of our OL than of his abilities. No sacks by those guys in 3 games? And it's not like they are lined up 2 yards off the ball playing patty-cake which Pelini used to employ...they are making a push, just not having any impact. So I don't think it's scheme up front, it's lack of talent. And w/ the secondary - they aren't very physical up front. I don't see em stick a receiver, or try to push them off their route ever. That was something I always respected about Pelini's secondary - they were physical at the snap. That is just as effective as a pass rush IMO. But if you have neither? Yikes.

We did that with Bill Callahan. Had he tossed Cosgrove out he may still be here. Coaching hires are like the lottery, very few actually win. You need to find the right coach for your program & all his asst need to fit as well or you need a guy who will make the tough choice & fire his friend. If you want to see how long it can take to find the right guy, check out Alabama's coaching list. We should have thrown money at Ed Orgeron. Instead, we ended up with Hank Hughes. Very much this.

What about the 2006 season makes you think Bill should have known Cosgrove was in over his head going in to 2007. It's easy to say after 2007, but Bill never got a chance to rectify that season so everyone that complains about Bill's "sticking with Cosgrove" must be looking at 2006 unless you think firing him mid-2007 would have mada a difference right? So, 2006. 5 losses. What about those 5 losses makes think Cosgrove was in over his head? Held USC to less than 400 yards and 28 points on the road while the offense wasn't doing anything - that was an 11 win highly ranked team. Not exactly a rough outing considering what we've witnessed the last few years. Maybe Texas? The 340 yards, only 38 on the ground on 24 attempts...to a 10 win team. Oklahoma St. is where we got our real red flag. The D held up fine against Oklahoma (307, 21pts) and Auburn (230, 17 pnts) though. Both losses, but certainly not on the D in either of them. That team only gave up a little north of 18 points a game that season. Chunks of yards often, but points were really only yielded to the point it would be tough on the offense once, 41 to Okie St. As a reference, Bo gave up 24.8, 24.8, 27.6, 23.4 his last 4 years in the B1G...not exactly the scoring explosions of the B12 teams...and certainly not the schedules Cally played. I just don't see why you'd fire the D-coordinator in that situation. The D wasn't the issue going into 2007.

+1 You saw why that ass clown was fired as this team is void of talent in a lot of areas. Recruiting is the only way this is going to get fixed. This team isn't remotely void of talent. Is it top 10? No. But it's not bad. It isn't bad compared to what? Northwestern? Iowa State? Compared to our conference, division, and the team we just lost to. Are you trying to say that we have comparable talent to Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin? If you are, then you may want to watch those teams play more often. OSU, no. Sparty, probably. Wisconsin? Definitely. I'm not trying to say it either. I'm saying it's backed by recruiting rankings. The difference is coaching. Rankings...those highly ranked teams Pelini signed is what you're going to? There shouldn't need to be 5-6 freshman on the field for most of the game if they were so great. Those rankings were boosted by 4* talent like Tyler Moore, Peat Jr, Aaron Green, Jackson, Klachko, TUrner, Reeves, Santos, Starling, and Sterup. Yeah...that group really proved their 4* worth on Saturday.... ...or what about the next years great class that included McMullen, Thurston, Alenxander, Curry, Afalava, Moss, Brown and another Cotton. Follow that with a Martinez, FInnin, Hart, Johnson, Joseph, Carter, Kondolo, Love, Gladney, Suttles, Mixon, Natter, Dixon, etc. Bo's classes...they're all gone. 75% of everyone that they based those rankings on is playing somewhere else. The 14' class looks promising, but we say that every year. It would be nice to get a core group together one of these days though. We consistently undersigned by 4-8 players, we had some HUGE misses, followed by a TON of talent walking out the door. Todays roster is likely void of at LEAST 1.5 recruiting classes. There needs to be a huge infusion of talent into this team for us to stand a chance against the teams above. Our 2 deep on OL is a prime example of this teams lack of talent. Half that line wouldn't sniff the starting rotation of the teams above.

Armstrong was the big question mark going into the game - and I think he played relatively well. Not sure what his deal was rolling to the right, but otherwise he was fairly efficient. What I wasn't expecting was a non-existent rushing attack - specifically the OL struggles. So QB play has been switched with the rushing attack - which I think is easier fixed. I also think this team improves as the season goes on, which wasn't something I expected out of the Huskers the last few years. Usually what you saw week 2 was what you'd watch against Iowa the last week. There were also a lot of young faces out there, and that's only going to continue w/ injuries. IMO with Rose-Ivey we win that game. With DPE we win that game. It never comes down to a HM. So, they'll struggle early - but improve late. I'm going for 2008ish replay, slow start that picks up steam at the end. 9-4 w/ a toilet bowl win.

This is kind of an interesting read, mainly because it was written after Pelini's first year: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/97365-history-of-the-blackshirts-at-the-university-of-nebraska For many years, the jersey was left hanging in a player's locker before the start of the week's practice. During the Callahan era, members of the top defensive unit receive their Blackshirts the week of the season opener in a team ceremony and were presented to all first-unit players, including starters in different defensive sets. So you could say that the Blackshirts had become watered down as more than 14 players were awarded the shirt instead of earning it. This started to show on the field as well. ..... Pelini’s concept, the Blackshirts were not given out at the start of the season as had been the normal practice. Instead, Pelini did not award them until the 10th game of the season, Nov. 11, 2008, to be exact. This sent a clear message to his team, that team awards such as the Blackshirts had to be earned; they were not just given out for the sake of it. I can also assure you that if the defense fails to live up to the expectations, they will be taken away, count on that. Also, only 11 of the Blackshirts were given out, to the starters. This is all part of the "Restore the Order" that Pelini and his staff has been using as their motto.

When the day came that players were refusing their blackshirts (for any reason whatsoever) - then it had become a joke. Hopefully those days are past us.

Seams like we were hearing the EXACT same thing when Bo was hired. We can "own" the state, but if the talent isn't here it doesn't make much of a difference. Bo certainly missed on a few that should have been offered though - but it's not as though it would have made that much of a difference in the end.

such a difference from the last few years where we knew EXACTLY how things were going to go.

I'm not ready to write him off just yet. It could end up being a season/career changer but, until that is actually the case, I'm going to hold out hope for the best. Broken bones take 6 to 8 weeks to heal....fact of science. The foot can be tricky but it could also heal up and be just fine. My son broke his tibia in ice hockey (right at the top of his boot) and he was back playing in 7 weeks, actually skating in only 5-6 weeks. A little different deal but just saying. could be something worse...like a toe.

I can see the "handcuff" argument as having some merit. I don't think the Arizona game after canning Watson (IIRC), or the USC game after Bo got canned can be ignored. Those were the ONLY 2 games that Beck had complete control over the offense. Both games were huge departures from our normal offense. (nevermind it wasn't Beck - Watson was still coaching the ASU game and that's where we started to see the shift to zone-read) I do believe Bo controlled the offense to an extent after the A&M game. The defense began to crumble as he became more involved in the O (which was documented plenty in the media). In retrospect he should have stuck w/ the D, he might still have a job.

I was an arrogant prick well before I wrote that so I don't want you to think I just turned into one - though I would like to learn how to "tease" through an argument sometime. I googled it, found a big psycholinguistic study out of Italy. Read some of it but got pretty bored after the first page. Can you cliffs notes it for me?