Things Callahan did right..

[BigWillie]

Big Willie, I agree that the effort wasn't always there. But, it is hard to stay motivated when you are constantly being told to play out of position. I mean, some of the game plans that Coz came up with made absolutely no sense. And to stay with the same scheme throughout a game where we were getting killed and not make the neccessary adjustments, it would have been hard to listen to the coaches and not get frustrated to not let the players just go after teams.

 

I know the past is in the past, but results speak for themself. Osborne and McBride used to make adjustment on the fly. I remember seeing them on the sidelines with a marker board in hand adjusting as the game was in progress. The players always had confindence in what the coaches were doing because the results were there. This can't be said about our defensive coaches last year. I know that there were way too many missed tackles and I was ticked off about our lack of effort too. But when a player listens to his coach and ends up 10 yard out of position time after time, how are they supposed to believe that their coach is making the correct calls and play with the intensity and confidence to win?

 

These are the same schemes we used before. The same one that made Corey one of the top LBs in the country as a sophomore. The same one that made Ruud an All B12 selection as a junior. Those guys were not running their mouth when they were succeeding.

 

The single biggest problem with our defense was not the fact we did not make adjustments, but we did not have the defensive line to cover up the issues of our sorry LBs yet again. Guys like Carriker, Moore, Ola, Cryer, LeKevin and Titus absolutely ate up blocks. They always gave those LBs the chance to play in space without even the thought of getting pounded on by a lineman. Thus is the reason you saw so many tackles by McKeon and Ruud when they were allowed to play in space.

 

This past year, guys like Suh, Dixon, Barfield and Turner could not do the same thing for our LBs. Instead, they were routinely getting pounded on by bigger lineman. Instead of playing their lanes, stepping in to take on blocks, our LBs routinely took themselves out of plays just for fear of getting hit. It had absolutely ZERO to do with Coz's defense, but with the fact they were absolute babies and not football players.

 

Guys like Bo and Corey were an absolute disgrace with their play their year. Not only with their play, but with their attitude as well. They are example 1A and 1B of why our defense was so bad last year.

 

The defense in which they succeeded under before had never changed, only their attitude towards the game did. No one is to blame but themselves and their egos for that.

[bbhusker]

I agree that the LBs should've played better but you need to be realistic. A 225 pound McKeon and a 240 pound Ruud taking on 300 pound lineman isn't exactly going to lead to results. I also agree that the lack of presence up front was a huge factor in the play of our linebackers last year.

 

With your point of the performance of the LBs the year before, it almost sounds like you are praising the play of McKeon and Ruud in 06' but last year they all of a sudden suck. My point about Coz is that when you have an inexperienced line like we had last year, you need to adjust your defense to create angles and put more pressure on the offense with blitzes and different looks. Coz didn't change anything. Cally and Coz would never call a game to better suit our players and their stubborness eventually led to their dismissal.

[BigWillie]

I agree that the LBs should've played better but you need to be realistic. A 225 pound McKeon and a 240 pound Ruud taking on 300 pound lineman isn't exactly going to lead to results. I also agree that the lack of presence up front was a huge factor in the play of our linebackers last year.

 

With your point of the performance of the LBs the year before, it almost sounds like you are praising the play of McKeon and Ruud in 06' but last year they all of a sudden suck. My point about Coz is that when you have an inexperienced line like we had last year, you need to adjust your defense to create angles and put more pressure on the offense with blitzes and different looks. Coz didn't change anything. Cally and Coz would never call a game to better suit our players and their stubborness eventually led to their dismissal.

 

Again you fail to see what I am saying.

 

Being 225 or 235 has nothing to do with being able to take on a block. It is a mindset and has nothing to do with your type of body. Does it make it easier if you are bigger? Sure. But you have to be gung-ho in sacrificing your body for the sake of the team, so your teammates can pick you up to make a play. It's little things like taking on a block and staying in your lane that makes a defense all that much better.

 

Imagine Corey or Bo doing that under Pelini or Ekeler. That stuff would be priceless to watch.

 

And no, I am not praising their play before. I am pointing out their attitude while they performed well while having to do little dirty work, but then how it changed the minute they had to get their noses dirty to sacrifice themselves and their stats for the sake of someone else.

 

Blitzing -- look at the Texas game when we cut our defense loose. Very few of them stayed disciplined and in their lanes which led to huge gaping holes which ultimately got us beat. People will say, "well, we played better." That's a crock. As soon as you saw Texas adjust in the 4th quarter, they exploded and made us look silly with how undisciplined we played that game.

 

Our defense had nothing to do with the fact Coz did not adjust, but we had little babies like Bo and Corey on our team that did not want to sacrifice themselves for anyone else.

 

That and the fact our safeties couldn't cover to save their lives.

 

People keep wanting to rag on the coaches for our downfall over the last few years and they do deserve blame. But more of the blame falls on the fact we had so many primadonnas on our team that it was sick.

[bbhusker]

"Our defense had nothing to do with the fact Coz did not adjust, but we had little babies like Bo and Corey on our team that did not want to sacrifice themselves for anyone else."

 

 

Are you serious!? You don't end up being the 112th or whatever it was ranked defense in the nation if you have a Coach that is making the right calls. When Coz got here our defense went down hill. There is a guy that lives here that is originally from Wisc.(where Coz coached befor Neb) and he was ecstatic hear that we hired him. He said that Coz was an idiot and would have a hard time defending a good highschool team. After the last four years, I would have to agree.

 

Also, the game against Texas is a prime example of our defense having everything to do with Coz and not adjusting. They lost the game for us.

[HSKRNOKC]

The D played soft and got their asses kicked regularly. They were playing like candy asses. No emotion = no heart. Coz is as much to blame as anyone for not instilling the toughness and swagger that the Blackshirts stand for.

 

Thank the lord that man is gone!

[Husker_x]

I guess I'll weigh in here. I think to point the finger to either Coz or the players is short-sighted. The attitude was cyclical. Players had no confidence in the schemes, so they didn't trust the coach. The coach sees the players are getting their asses handed to them, so it's hard to trust the players. The attitude infected the whole defense, and yes, McKlown was king among fools last season. Every time I think of his girly rant about how much fun he wasn't having, I want to smash a cinder block over my own head.

 

Anyhow, the point is the schemes sucked, and the players knew it. Their attitude suffered. There was no leadership to correct it. Basically, it was a free fall. I'm just surprised the collapse didn't happen sooner than it did.

 

At least we know one thing. Bo will put the towel boy in before he allows some slackasses to malign the team with their atrocious play. And we've seen his schemes work well in the acquisition of National Championship trophies.

[bbhusker]

Amen Husker x. Blame is to be put on both the coaches and players. "Running through a wall" is not something these players would do for last years coaches, on either side of the ball. Team chemistry is as important as anything when wanting to play for championships on any level. This team was seriously lacking that.

 

Coz really got on my bad side when he stated that it was not his job to motivate his defense. WTF! Defense is built around emotion and playing with fire. The players take on the identity of their coach and from what has been seen, Coz sertainly isn't cut out to be a college coach that can win championships.

[Landlord]

but what if the towel boy slacks and cowers too?

[HSKRNOKC]

but what if the towel boy slacks and cowers too?

 

 

Then we bring in Bobby Beaushe. Change him from water to towel boy and then we have all bases covered.

[Husker_x]

but what if the towel boy slacks and cowers too?

 

Can't happen. Even the towel boy plays with his hair on fire.

[BigWillie]

"Our defense had nothing to do with the fact Coz did not adjust, but we had little babies like Bo and Corey on our team that did not want to sacrifice themselves for anyone else."

 

 

Are you serious!? You don't end up being the 112th or whatever it was ranked defense in the nation if you have a Coach that is making the right calls. When Coz got here our defense went down hill. There is a guy that lives here that is originally from Wisc.(where Coz coached befor Neb) and he was ecstatic hear that we hired him. He said that Coz was an idiot and would have a hard time defending a good highschool team. After the last four years, I would have to agree.

 

Also, the game against Texas is a prime example of our defense having everything to do with Coz and not adjusting. They lost the game for us.

 

I could give a s*** what a Wisconsin fan thought of Coz. That is irrelevant to what went on and most of what you say is pretty much irrelevant to what I have told you.

 

Look at '04 when our offense could not stay on the field. We still fielded a top 50 defense and one of the best run defenses in the country.

 

Look at '05 when we fielded a top 25 defense.

 

Look at '06 when we had a top 60 defense with some of the worst DB's in the country.

 

Did Coz have his flaws? Hell yes. The minute he didn't bench some of the guys I mentioned is one of his major flaws. But to go on playing the blame game against these coaches as if they are the sole reason for our problems is complete BS on your part and anyone who tries to do so.

 

I was the first to say how glad I was BC and Coz got canned. We all needed a change, because this entire program was divided down the middle and the only way to fix the problem was a change. Does that mean the coaches deserved to be fired? Some of them undoubtedly did, but not so much on some of them. Unfortunately, it was best for our program to go forward.

 

However, this hatred fired at some of our coaches like BC and Coz is unjustified for the most part.

 

In no way should you throw all this blame on them, while certain players get a pass for the BS they pulled last year. That's just a complete crock on your part.

[zoogs]

Here's an interesting soundbite for all of you who railed against Callahan for being a 'my way or the highway' kind of guy:

 

"Our coaches are pushing us to work hard, which I really like to see. And they're not taking any crap from guys. They're saying, 'It's our way. We're going to do it our way or you're going to get out.' That's really pleasing to me," said Peterson. "Every team I've ever been on that's been successful that's the way it works."

[bbhusker]

Big Willie, why don't you take a second to look back and read a few post and read that I laid blame on both the players and coaches. Sometimes you need to realize that other people on this board have valid points too and let your ego relax. Their were good points made by an number of different members here.

 

We're just talkin football, no reason to get pissy.

[Igetbored216]

I could give a s*** what a Wisconsin fan thought of Coz. That is irrelevant to what went on and most of what you say is pretty much irrelevant to what I have told you.

 

Look at '04 when our offense could not stay on the field. We still fielded a top 50 defense and one of the best run defenses in the country.

 

Look at '05 when we fielded a top 25 defense.

 

Look at '06 when we had a top 60 defense with some of the worst DB's in the country.

 

So how do we go from top 60 defense to bottom of the barrel with the same coaches in place?

 

Answer: The defensive line and others that had been taught the fundamentals by Solich and Company. As soon as these individuals left, it went downhill real fast because there was new talent that had not been coached, and according to recent interviews, there was not a whole lot of coaching during Cally's era, period.

 

I didn't really want to respond to this thread at all, because what's done is done. I don't have a problem with Coz or Cally. However, it pisses me off to see somebody say that it wasn't soley Cally's fault. Last time I checked, he was head coach. Head coach is responsible for the team's performance, including: how much effort each of the players put forth every game, practice, in the classroom, etc. If these players were not putting forth effort, they should have been benched. This did not happen.

 

Let's take a look at some of the flaws I noticed with the Cally/Coz regime:

 

1) Practice attitude - Repetition, repetition. That was the key to the practices. Stupid. That's what I say. Especially since half the time they were practicing the wrong thing, and since the coaching staff didn't correct mistakes until AFTER they were off the field, these players could have been practicing the wrong thing for many, many reps. Brilliant.

 

Both coaches had a laid back attitude about practice. Most of the time, the players take on the attitude of the coaches, and well, there was alot of attitude missing from these coaches. Granted when T.O. coached, he wasn't running around on the sideline, but ask any player who played for him and you would get the same response, "I would run through a wall for Coach" Would you get the same response for Coz or Cally's players?

 

Maybe...maybe not. The point is the coaching staff was seriously lacking in the "win" attitude. When you say, "Hey, you know, a win is a win........Husker fans," or, "Well, this loss is only one game...Husker fans," it shows lack of passion for winning. Almost like winning is not important. Sure winning isn't everything, but when the coaches are being paid to win, it has to be important.

 

2) Not coaching - This is self-explanatory, and kind of ties in with 1. From many articles circulating recently (and from the performance on the field), you can see that the fundamentals were not being taught, and many were confused about what they were supposed to be doing.

 

3) Not making adjustments - This, to me, was one of the most annoying things. When it was obvious something wasn't working, they kept sticking with it anyway.

 

If I was in that position and kept doing what I was told to do and it wasn't working, after a while I would kind of play half ass.

 

3-3-5 was not working against Mizzou, but NU stuck with it by-golly because, "that's what was practiced during the week." God.

 

Those are just a few. But to keep with the subject of this post:

 

1) Recruiting - he did recruit alot of talent, and I have a feeling this season, we will see what that talent can do with a little bit of talent development.

 

I hate it when people say NU doesn't have any talent on their team. I would strongly disagree.

 

Almost the entire O line was recruited by Cally (I believe), and they are being labeled by Bo as, and I quote, "One of the best offensive lines I have ever been around." Don't forget about Ganz or Lucky. Both are returning this season, and I am confident they will have a super season, barring any injuries (please no!).

 

On the defensive side, we should have a great D line. Potter and Turner both look great after losing a little weight and bulking up the amount of muscle (FYI: muscle does NOT weigh more than fat...it is however, more dense). Don't forget about Suh and Steinkuhler.

 

My point is that there is talent currently at NU. The only problem is trying to convert that talent by teaching them the correct way to do things within the new system (both offense and defense). Offense obviously has the edge, but with Bo helping alot on the defensive side of the ball, I think the D shouldn't be too far behind.

 

2) Winning Big 12 North - Hey, he did win the Big 12 North and even though they lost, did make it to the Big 12 Championship.

 

3) New offense - In my opinion, this was one of my favorite things Cally did right. While he wasn't a good head coach, he was and still is a great offensive coordinator/play caller. Watson said he thought he knew it all, but when he talked to Cally about play calling/offensive schemes, it was like he (Watson) learned 10 years of information in 10 minutes.

 

His system worked pretty good (keep in mind, the players made it work though...it was not just the system). The power running game mixed with option we had during the 90s was fine, but once Solich took over it showed some pretty big flaws. Namely, it was very difficult to come back from a medium to large defecit without a solid passing game.

 

The WCO, in my opinion, is a great offense because it seeks to take control of the clock. If our offense is on the field a majority of the time, the other team's offense cannot be out on the field. I like this style of play. It also has the ability to come from behind if needed by passing the ball down field for huge chunks of yardage.

 

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out the way it was planned most of the time.

 

To summarize: yes, Cally did have some huge flaws. But in my opinion, he did some good things before his departure.

 

Let's just look ahead and get pumped for the new season to begin. It's getting closer and closer...

[Husker_x]

Look, to try and play the blame game for what happened last season is kind of like trying to figure out what's wrong with Africa. Where the hell do you start? As I said in my other post, a lot of this stuff can be cyclical. The sheer volume of problems is incredible. What's even more incredible is that some of this stuff never leaked before it did.

 

Half-pads? Are you friggin kidding me? The examples have long been catalogued. It was just a bad situation for a lot of different reasons. As BigWillie said, the only thing that was going to sort this mess out was a big change (and not in the arbitrary Barrack Obama sense of the word), but a genuine, specific list of viewpoints and practices from the new staff. Pelini's mentality, I think, is the same as the one that made Nebraska what it was in the past. Effort, physicality, accountability, and attitude.

 

Let's hope these players catch onto this quick.