Player Leadership

[FriscoTXHusker]

I'm just trying to find something to talk about that's not just more venting. That's not easy given that there's little or nothing positive one can grab onto in this crises.

 

I think we have pretty much the same talent level as last year. My concern last year was with inconsistency, but we seemed to have solved that problem this year. My biggest concern at the beginning of this year was whether or not the players could pull together as a team.

 

Last year it seems Taylor was able to get guys to play for him. That made me wonder how much you guys think that team leadership, or lack thereof, contributes to the current meltdown. Ignore staff problems/coaching for now if that's even possible to keep this thread from degenerating into a fire the staff vent like every other thread on here. How important is player leadership and how much does this contribute to the current situation?

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

There are no leaders on this team. No one, save for Bowman, has made any attempt to show leadership potential. No one, save for Bowman, has made any effort to get this team on the right track. IMO, the current "leaders" on this team are leaders simply because of seniority and not because of their actions on and off the field. I'd rather have a fired-up true freshman as a leader than a Senior who doesn't care.

[FriscoTXHusker]

Early on in the season I thought Keller was shaping up to be a leader, but that seems to have tanked. I don't mean to suggest that this is Keller's fault. There's only so much one guy can do.

 

Keller doesn't seem to be able to find any of his guys down field. Maybe they're not getting open, but it's hard to believe nobody is ever open. Also looks like we've got a 50:50 chance on a pass play being a dropped ball or an interception.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I think Keller is still trying to find a way but isn't having any success at all and without any help from other players, he's left floundering around. You have to wonder if he wishes he would've stayed at ASU instead of transferring

[AuroranHusker]

I'm just trying to find something to talk about that's not just more venting... How important is player leadership and how much does this contribute to the current situation?

 

The lack of substantive team leadership (from within) is a HUGE concern......... holding themselves accountable for effort & determination on a team is a HUGE factor in the equation, primarily in the development of team chemistry & the idea of playing for one another (out of love & respect for each other). That leadership void is a HUGE contributor to the lack of team success, IMO.

[treeeman]

All sucessful coaches will tell you that it's not their team, but the senior's team. Sucessful coaches let the seniors have alot of say in how problems are handled within the team; ie Unity Council.

 

Whereas Callahan is an NFL type control freak.

 

Maybe Suh's being suspended had something to do with how they played sat. If you don't like the coaches decison, lose a couple of games and put him on the hot seat.

[ToddB10000]

Here's my take on it - when we had 185 guys on the walk-on squad, these were guys that grew up and dreamed their whole lives of putting on that white helmet with the simple red N. The guys that got to wear that helmet on Saturday knew what it meant to put that helmet on - it meant something. Very few of the Huskers teams I've ever seen had superstars. Only rarely did one man stick out above the rest - for the most part it was 80 guys on Saturday that were so jacked up to wear that helmet that when they hit the field they were ready to run through brick walls or eat glass so they could wear that helmet the next Saturday.

 

Now our recruiting classes are top 10 lists of guys from all over the country - their loyalty hasn't been at NU since they were 2, and in far too many cases their loyalty is directly tied to the number of touches they get. Anyone remember Huskers doing endzone dances in the 80s or 90s? Maybe they did, but I don't remember it. I remember guys hitting the endzone, dropping the ball on the ground, and trotting back to the sideline as if nothing unusual happened. They were expected to score, and score often, and when they did, they had the personal satisfaction of knowing they had earned the right to wear that helmet.

 

Leadership? Well if someone wasn't cutting it, the certainly had plenty of role models around them, and I'm sure that nobody had to be reminded of anything more than once.

 

Until we build the CORE of our team out of die-hard Huskers - and that means the coaches - we won't have the kind of leadership that we want.

 

And I do NOT blame ANY of the guys that wear the helmets today. I put all of the blame, all 100%, on Stevie P's head - he brought in Businessman Bill, and that's who is supposed to be molding our young men. BIll is a failure at this.

[treeeman]

Here's my take on it - when we had 185 guys on the walk-on squad, these were guys that grew up and dreamed their whole lives of putting on that white helmet with the simple red N. The guys that got to wear that helmet on Saturday knew what it meant to put that helmet on - it meant something. Very few of the Huskers teams I've ever seen had superstars. Only rarely did one man stick out above the rest - for the most part it was 80 guys on Saturday that were so jacked up to wear that helmet that when they hit the field they were ready to run through brick walls or eat glass so they could wear that helmet the next Saturday.

 

Now our recruiting classes are top 10 lists of guys from all over the country - their loyalty hasn't been at NU since they were 2, and in far too many cases their loyalty is directly tied to the number of touches they get. Anyone remember Huskers doing endzone dances in the 80s or 90s? Maybe they did, but I don't remember it. I remember guys hitting the endzone, dropping the ball on the ground, and trotting back to the sideline as if nothing unusual happened. They were expected to score, and score often, and when they did, they had the personal satisfaction of knowing they had earned the right to wear that helmet.

 

Leadership? Well if someone wasn't cutting it, the certainly had plenty of role models around them, and I'm sure that nobody had to be reminded of anything more than once.

 

Until we build the CORE of our team out of die-hard Huskers - and that means the coaches - we won't have the kind of leadership that we want.

 

And I do NOT blame ANY of the guys that wear the helmets today. I put all of the blame, all 100%, on Stevie P's head - he brought in Businessman Bill, and that's who is supposed to be molding our young men. BIll is a failure at this.

You hit the nail on the head