Nebula

The words "Pat Forde column" make me laugh.

I'd rather watch Steel Magnolias with a bitter gaggle of man hating spinsters than give that guy traffic. Only because his articles are trashbag worthless. I have nothing against Pat personally.

Also, Missouri sucks.

For whatever reason, I've kinda expected this kid to either ride out his time here as kind of a non-factor or transfer. I don't know why...part of it (it being my suspicion that Peat wouldn't be the force in the middle that we'd all hoped) was surely Andrus not coming, but injuries seemed to be a perpetual hindrance...

...and I never really got the sense that Todd wanted to put in the work it takes to be great. That's literally based on nothing, so I'm not making any accusations or informed assertions or anything. Just a weird, intangible sense I've had for awhile.

Which is why I've been keeping a closer eye on D-line recruiting this year than I usually do. Recruiting hype and flame outs/and stars emerging from obscure scout rankings have turned me off of the star watch. But Our D-line scares the bejesus out of me. And I'm not just talking about the bowl game.

Valentine really needs to turn into a special player, and be durable as hell. That's kinda what I'm thinking. (Curry too. Thought his name had been thrown around last summer with some favorable evaluations. We'll see, I guess.)

Congrats, TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH!

Good lord! 22k+?

I also read a good article today from the Athens newspaper that said UGA phenom linebacker Amarlo Hererra and Nebraska's running back are old team mates, it goes on to say that Abdullah was a cornerback his whole life, and Nebraska was the only school that would let him play running back, so that's why Hererra and Abdulla aren't team mates.

What are you trying to say with this sentence?

I don't know who Abdulla is, but Ameer would be a welcomed, regular contributor to any backfield in the nation. That is an inarguable fact.

Is this the best you can do? Obviously you never check facts before spewing garbage out of your mouth. Georgia is short players in 2012 due to transfer, dismissal, and flunking out. We will sign 10 players in December/January that will count on the 2012 scholarship limits. Then in February we will sign between 20-24 players to 2013 scholarships. All legal and within the rules.

Don't you feel silly now?

Nope! Feel just fine!

Good article! Nice find, Nexus!

This is a stupid kind of word nerd complaint, but I hate it when people use any form of the word "notorious" as a synonym for fame or celebrity. It has an implicit negative connotation in addition to meaning that someone or some thing is widely known.

Dork alarm deactivate. Merry Christmas everyone, by the way!

Not that it's officially official, I officially welcome you.

I guess this kid believes in coach Cotton, huh?

Nice!!! Welcome to the Husker family!

No need to get an attitude. You asked a question, I answered it for you. No need to get all offensive.

 

Ricky Henry would be starting if he wasn't injured right now. Hardrick just joined the team two weeks ago.

 

You make it seam like its easy for someone to come in and make an impact right away. It takes most players almost 3-4 years before they even see the field, even in preseason.

 

I take it since your so willing to throw our coaching staff under the bus, that you could obviously put everyone in the NFL and have then starting their first year? Just because your good in college doesn't mean you will last in the NFL.

You asserted your own opinion, and he responded with his own rebuttal. That isn't having an attitude or "getting all offensive."

Point well taken. I don't know what the answer is...and yeah, I suppose it was a bit of a stretch connecting those two points, the only thing I'm convinced of is that more money is not the solution to the problems our program is facing. I have found myself pretty irritable and impatient on this board for a while now, and have seen that the two most common threads being weaved through any topics about coaching over the last few months eventually come down to two main points - winning football games and spending a lot of money. I submit that neither is as close to important as we think.

 

I could probably be a lot more gracious in the way I respond to these things. I have heavy convictions but as you've pointed out, I often need to realize those convictions are not my own and I'm no authority on them. Praise God for people like yourself, Nebula, who aren't scared to bring me down a few notches

 

That being said, I still think "more money" is not a solution we want to commit ourselves to. I don't suppose Tom or Bo do either.

Man, I've needed that so many times in my life. I can't articulate how much respect I have for you for this response. Shows a helluva lot of depth of character. When I was your age, my rebuttal would've almost certainly been vitriolic and totally lacking in self honesty. Just would've lashed out, probably. You've got about a decade head start in life on me in terms of having the character it takes to turn awareness of your own flaws into lessons for wisdom and self-improvement. I'm really impressed.

Here we are talking about the ethics of coaching at Nebraska, and in the same thread our solution to becoming elite is throwing more money at a situation.

Well....I held off for a few hours, but I just couldn't maintain.

This is one of those classic posts you put out there with relative regularity: A lofty, morally rooted reprisal that's resonating with self-righteousness.

I bet you're still in your early twenties or so. You sound like it...got all the answers. And those answers are delivered in a voice that's often just saturated in self-satisfaction. Actually cracks me up, 'cause I remember my own days of strutting around like Napoleon very well. I see it so readily in you because I was the same way. Self-assured, prone to speaking with the arrogance that's irreversibly woven into absolute declarations. You tack on moral points though, which I must admit I did not do.

And man, there are few things more insufferable than the person who feels absolutely certain they are qualified to act as a moral authority.

Not trying to actively go after you...but I kinda am, a little. You get on your high horse a little too much for me. I've ignored it for quite a while, but I think I'm done doing that. You'll read this and get pissed, but I'm actually offering you the advice of someone who can relate. Because I used to do some of the same stuff. And after a while I realized how unbearably obnoxious that is.

I'm just suggesting you consider deflating the ego balloon a touch. It's getting to be a little much.

Is it even an opinion that the 2012 offense is better than the 2009 offense?

 

And that the 2009 defense was vastly superior to the 2012 defense?

 

And that you shouldn't have to choose between good offense and good defense, but have a competitive mix of both?

 

 

And that our perfectly well-rested defense has managed to suck from the opening bell?

 

 

And that one of the best rushing offenses in the nation probably hasn't given up on the run?

I was going to respond, but Guy rendered that unnecessary. Gotta big old plus for ya buddy...just get in my van.

Is Nebula well versed or what? Plus one

Nah...I'm just a jackass. We all know it.

Nebula, It's obvious that you do not follow UGA recruiting. For years Richt has under recruited as far as numbers go and really placed us at a disadvantage with teams in the SEC that either oversign and cull out those they don't want or practice the art of gray shirting. This puts us on a level with those schools that get caught with NCAA violations and lose a few scholarships because we are p[laying with less scholarship players than our other SEC schools. You talk about lack of quality depth. Imagine playing Alabama who has a full 85 blue chip scholar athletes playing and you only have about 75 due to not managing your roster very well. That lack of depth might show up somewhere (perhaps the defensive line).

 

The reason Richt is "oversigning" this year is because we are about 10 scholarships down from last year and about ten of these are early enrollees that count towards last years class. What we are doing is playing catch up. Truthfully, we would be better off to have 25 top flight recruits every year and not have to play catch up.

 

On your second point. I was looking at the college teams that send the most players to the NFL and Nebraska is top five. UGA is #7. Nebraska must have some talent somewhere. No disrespect intended, but if that is true then people need to get off of Richt's back, because Nebraska is under-performing worse than Georgia.

 

http://www.nfl.com/n...most-nfl-talent

To be honest...I've actually always kind of liked Richt and Georgia. I just despise what your conference has done to the game.

I even have close relatives that went to Tech, so I root for Georgia annually just to piss them off.

It's not fair to hurl lacerating comments at you through some "guilt by association" justification. That's on me.

None of that changes how I feel about your conference, though. In the battle between integrity and winning, your comrades have scoffed at the former and are throughly unapologetic about Cam Newtoning their way into the latter. Over signing is the one thing that is copped to, but we both know damn well that's only a part of the full equation.

Who is saying that?

I certainly don't fit the protocol of someone "far more qualified to comment" than zoogies (or you, for that matter,) but I'm saying it.

Do you think Martinez's total yardage on the ground against MSU was due to the O-line? Do you think a guy lacking Taylor's near freakish ability for explosive, immediate acceleration and straight line speed would have accounted for equal yardage through grinding Collin Klein style drives?

I'm inclined to say no. In fact, I think that game is a perfect example of how our skill position talent accounted more for the success of our offense this year than the ability of the guys up front. Reiterating, this isn't a bad O-line. They sure as hell had something to do with the output we generated on offense this year. But we have exceptional skill players, and a multitude of them. Not good players, exceptional. And they made us dangerous on offense. Not the line. Which we both agree is the best unit we've trotted out in a while.

Yeah...which would suck. I really, really hope they go for twelve and add Creighton. That would be big for the city, it really would. That's a nice arena, and there could be a solid buzz for those games.

If this doesn't happen, it's gonna be pretty annoying watching Creighton play Indiana State and even Wichita State. (Although, that is usually a pretty entertaining game I have to admit.)

I want to see Xavier, Marquette, all those types of teams coming through here. And yeah, you definitely have a good point about the big fish small pond deal, but I feel like joining a league like that would open the door for Creighton in new recruiting areas, and for some high caliber kids they wouldn't have been in the running for anyways.

I don't hate the fact that he's had an extra year to grow into his frame. S is a huge position of need, so good stuff! Welcome aboard D.J.!

You have 30 commits already for this class. Either you are unware of this, or you tacitly accept and encourage cheating. In which case, you have no integrity. Since that can't be the case, I urge you to contact your conference and demand a return to honorable practices. You are honorable people, right?

As for the game, it isn't real. It's a team that has inflated it's talent level through dubious means (You, Bulldogs) vs a team that hasn't in us. We have no right winning this game...after all, we're at a severe disadvantage because we aren't in the SEC, land of Wonderlic 4s who are...gee...somehow college grads.

Piss off if you aren't disgusted with the impropriety. A win should be an embarrassment for you. Victory is only worth anything if you attain it honorably.

So, just wanted to gauge the feelings of a potential big increase in national prestige with a move from the quaint but, let's face it, relatively marginal Valley. (When the Salukis were rolling, and N Iowa was stout and a few other teams were making real noise, the Valley was a legit conference. But it's been downhill for awhile now.)

From the outside looking in, this looks like an automatic acceptance. The opportunity to play the likes of Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, and a host of other established upper tier college basketball programs seems like a HUGE step up in how Creighton is defined as a national program. This seems like a chance to shed the b-side feel of the Jays, saddled with the "yeah, but who do they play?" caveat every year. You knock off #9 Georgetown in their barn (coming in at #19 or something) you're getting big coverage. One hell of a lot more than if you dumped 85 on Drake for an easy win. Nothing against the Vally, but this seems pretty exciting. Hell, I'M excited, and I'm definitely Nebraska basketball first.

FULL DISCLAIMER: It is literally impossible for me to care any less than I already do if you've got a problem with this, but I root for Creighton too. I go to all NU home games, I don't own any Jay gear...but they play out of my hometown, and bluntly, I've been rewarded for my loyalty to NU with decades of irrelevance. I wanna watch some games that matter, and if that means I'm rooting for Nate Funk to drain a three, then I'm doing that. I'm not rooting for Duke, Butler, or Kentucky. So I like Creighton, except for those two hours we play each other.

Mainly, I wanted to gauge the feel of Po and some other Creighton fans on this thing. Excited? Disappointed? Nervous?

If they stick at 10, you're prob out, correct? So need 12 teams, and then...maybe a sweeping change in your program with HUGE repercussions. So what are you guys hoping for? Personally, I think the GU's of the world will be shocked when they get to the Quest Current Sponsor Stadium. It's a legit facility. Word will trickle. And CU may start plucking some higher caliber athletes out of places they never had any presence in. Big deal. (IF it even happens.)

This is the best offensive line we've had in probably a decade. Sure, I wouldn't call it elite. But that's hardly grounds for calling for someone's head.

 

I understood it in 2009, even in 2010 to some extent. But it's been complete horsesh#t for the last two years.

 

 

Personally, I think it's only a matter of time before he's no longer on the staff anyways. I don't think that will mean instant elite offensive line year in and year out.

I don't know man...complete horsesh#t to me is calling for a guy who won 10 games this year to be on some kind of hot seat. (Never heard you intimate that view, just to be clear. Referencing those that made that leap, not you.)

Thinking that NU should be capable of having some lines that are punishing, disciplined, and feature some depth seems reasonable to me. Not every year. But at least SOME years, for god's sake. Best line in a decade? That's possible. And step back and think about what you're saying. A decent to sometimes pretty good line is our best in ten years, and the the guy steering that unit has been around for a good while.

Decent to pretty good. Best in years. That's not going to get it done.

I'm patient, I really think I can make that assertion with a degree of confidence. You know my opinions to at least some degree: I'm not a reactionary, "burn down the world when we lose" guy. I think enough time has passed to say that if this year represents what we can expect from our line under Cotton when they're "better then they have been for x amount of years" then it's time to weigh our options and consider making some changes. Maybe at CU, where the facilities are sh#t and support is nil, you accept what we've accomplished under Cotton. With our facilities and resources, there is no good reason to be so frickin mediocre on the line year in and year out.

You know what is never discussed? It baffles me because it seems so simple. (I didn't read this whole thread. Maybe someone did mention this.)

Making ammunition extremely difficult to buy is doable. There are WAY too many guns to actually rid the landscape of the weapons themselves, but you suddenly make the bullets sparse as sin? Those guns become about as valuable as a brick. Maybe less.

their arrival also coincided with another assistant's leaving.

Does this mean that the assistant leaving made the unit perform better?

Or was it the time spent by Garrison and Stai teaching technique and extending wisdom gleaned from their own personal experience?

It's a real question, not trying to sneer at you. I have to say, in this case, I'm leaning towards the added insight and coaching being substantially relevant in the improvement. It's going to be a hard sell to convince me this was a purely an addition by subtraction situation. Hard, but not impossible. Make the case. If you want. Who really gives a sh#t? I want to win big games. I'm still pissed about Wisco, full disclosure.

And for both you and the Dude: Did you see how f'ing fast the Badger D got in the backfield on Martinez's miracle TD? It was like *that*. Which is why the 8th in the nation thing doesn't satisfy me in terms of representing proof of the line's production, and especially Cotton's ability as an o-line coach.

I'll say it even though anyone who has read my posts know this is intrinsic in most any view I offer, but these are my opinions. They are not the infallible products of an omniscient sentience. So...feel free to tell me why you disagree. I see arguments for Cotton. He isn't a disaster.

I think we can do a lot better.

Just because people like to believe that, doesn't make it true.

 

It's clear that Barney is a scapegoat, and many aren't willing to give him credit regardless of how well his group performs.

This applies to an almost infinite number of concepts. For example:

"Keith Richards is a better guitar player than Neil Young."

"I disagree. Just because you believe that doesn't mean you're right."

"I didn't say frogs develop from tadpoles. I made a subjective observation."

Stating the obvious(?): The mere fact that one disagrees with the beliefs of someone does not necessarily negate the conclusions asserted.

It is not clear that Barney is a "scapegoat." It is clear that we haven't had anything resembling an elite offensive line for a good stretch of time now. Yes, it has improved. Directly after we went from one coach manning the unit to having a full three people working full time on the position. Why bring in TWO additional assistants if you have complete faith in the person who led prior to their arrival? Three guys! That's...well, find me another school that has three full time people devoted to one specific position. You might find it. I'd be interested in that.

Martinez, Ameer, Braylon, Bell, Enunwa, Turner, Reed, and Cotton. (Never got the credit he deserves for being a stick moving machine. Never ran a route two yards shy of the marker. Solid, sure hands. Solid blocker. HUGE Ben Cotton fan.)

Dude, that's about as rich a yield of skill position players we've had in an awfully long time. And you watched the games just as intently as I did. How often did Martinez have a guy in his face immediately? How often did he make something out of nothing? What if he'd been throwing to Frantz Hardy or Wilson Thomas? Or handing off to David Horne? Or not been Martinez at all...instead, Keller or Dailey taking snaps?

A line featuring some pro talent and excellent coaching can make a David Horne a 1,000 yard rusher. I think Ameer reached that number because he's a special player, his quarterback is dangerous as sin and thus diverts focus off him, and Bell, Enunwa, Turner, and Reed were all field stretching targets that thinned out holes. 8th in the nation rushing. I know that. Joe Dailey and Horne could've done that with our best O-Lines. No chance in hell we're in the top 25 with those guys, with this year's line.

Again - my opinion. Which doesn't make it irrefutably accurate, nor does your disagreement represent empirical evidence that directly refutes my stance. Agree to...whatever

EDIT: Oh yeah...Bell and Enunwa were also vicious down field blockers. They sprung 8-13 yd runs into 40+ yd gains a whole bunch of times.

^And the point of that is the O-line has been marginal for an extended period of time. Cotton has not shown the ability to produce upper-tier performances from the position. He's had plenty of time. More than enough.

I don't agree with this at all. The offensive line has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years. I'm not sure of the stats, but we're one of the top rushing teams in the nation, in a conference that's loaded with quality linebackers. That flat out does not happen with a "marginal" offensive line.

 

We're definitely not where we were in the 90s, but we probably have a top 10 offensive line in the nation. That's something that takes a hit with the loss of Jackson, however.

That I absolutely do agree with. And that improvement seemed to correlate directly with the arrival of Stai and Garrison to help with the position. Coincidence? Possibly. (Not sarcastic, it IS potentially coincidental.)

No question the line improved from the '09 constant false start/holding nightmares. I'm inclined to give Garrison and Stai a significant portion of the credit for that. Just my opinion, though. (Obviously.)

Absolutely not.