Are you satisfied with Callahan?

[haha]

Shut up, sit back, and let a true CRAFTSMAN like Callahan finish what he started.

let's hope it ends better than the raiders did

Ouch! Touche'!

 

Honestly though... What would T.O. have done with a pro football team?

 

Exactly.

 

And Al Davis' team to boot.

 

Well said.

[diehard]

"Front Butt"

 

That cracks me up!!!

 

[AR Husker Fan]

While I would like to see us ranked higher, and to have beaten either Texas, USC or Oklahoma - to show we are competative with the nation's elite - I'm satisfied with Callahan's performance. Why? Glad you asked...

 

1. I can't think of a recent example in which a coach has come into a program and made the kind of change on offense that Callahan made. Carroll to USC - USC had major talent, and already had the forward pass in its arsenal. Same with Weiss, Stoops, Meyer, et al. To make that kind of change, in the short time Callahan has been here, is incredible, quite frankly. And while I love the option - at least as Dr. Tom ran it - the truth is that we needed an offense that would appeal to elite talent.

 

2. Given the national perception of NU as a "run only" school, I've been impressed with the talent Callahan has brought in. Is it good enough? No - it's still too soon in the process to attract the elite of the elite. But our recruiting has improved substantially.

 

3. Each year the team has shown improvement. Two years ago, we were 5-6. Last year, we couldn't win on the road, and had trouble with mediocre teams at home. This year - we were in the games when we played USC, Texas, and Oklahoma. The offensive line made a huge jump in quality from last year to this, although it still needs more. While the secondary has been poor, that's more a function of the talent - and in his first few classes, Callahan seems to have concentrated on offensive - a wise move, since to make a go of the West Coast Callahan had to commit to it totally and completely to sell it in subsequent years.

 

When I look at the team, I see an offense that is almost there - and if the offensive line can make another leap next year as it did this year, the offense will be fine. And given the youth of the line, that's a good possibility. We are fine at the skill positions. All that's lacking is a play-making tight-end.

 

On defense, I think the major problem is a lack of talent in the secondary, and the need for more speed at linebacker. Our front four looks to be in good shape for next year, and I'm hoping we see more athleticisim in the linebacking core next year. The secondary - that's going to take a couple more years. My guess is that while the backups are more talented in terms of athletic ability, they end up out of position too often in practice, or still don't have the recognition skills needed. I'm hopeful that this year of watching and learning will take care of that, but even if it does, they will be inexperienced. Secondary is my major concern.

 

I'm not sure Cozgrove or his schemes are the problem. When I try and think of how I'd handle the defense, I come back to the same thing - the secondary is such a liability that anything you try exposes some other facet of the defense. Blitzing is nice, but without major speed from the linebackers you don't reach the quarterback, and you expose the middle of the field. Run a nickle or dime package, and you expose the run up the gut. Rotate the safeties over to help, and you have two potential problems - either you leave the deep part or the middle of the field exposed, or the opposing team runs 4 and 5 wide receiver sets.

 

For those reasons, I'm withholding judgment on Cosgrove. I want to see how his defense performs once he has the talent. I suspect he wants to run a Tampa Two defense. That requires corners that can handle man coverage, linebackers that can drop up to 30 yards in coverage, and the ability to get a rush from just the front four. A tall order, and one that requires major talent at all positions. Since we lack that talent at some spots, it means that we are vulnerable, and we can't adequately judge Cosgrove as a defensive coordinator.

 

But it also means something else - that we can go into any recruit's home and tell them that both the offense and the defense are straight from the NFL, and if the recruit wants to get to the next level, he'll get the training in the schemes run in the NFL.