Pelini Unhappy?

[NUpolo8]

Through a teaser on yahoo sports, (but not fully covered due to a certain site requiring one to be a member) I hear Pelini ripped the team a new one today, calling "every facet of play unacceptable."

 

Thoughts?

 

Actual facts?

 

Anyone?

[hack]

i dunno. tough love?

[real'97champs]

It worked for B.J. Upton...

[real'97champs]

just found THIS

[HUSKER 37]

Through a teaser on yahoo sports, (but not fully covered due to a certain site requiring one to be a member) I hear Pelini ripped the team a new one today, calling "every facet of play unacceptable."

 

Thoughts?

 

Actual facts?

 

Anyone?

 

 

 

May be (partially) a subconscious attempt to reign in fans exploding expectations?

I mean, besides the obvious getting the players attention to the need to buckle down.

 

 

Huskers not sharp; Bo is blunt

 

Huskers not sharp; Bo is blunt

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

 

 

 

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LINCOLN — The first day of Bo Pelini's first game week at Nebraska didn't go quite as the first-year football coach had hoped.

 

Pelini was abrupt with the news media after the Huskers, as fall semester classes opened at NU, restarted preparations for Saturday's 6 p.m. opener at Memorial Stadium against Western Michigan.

 

The coach used all of two minutes to burn through 15 questions after Nebraska's two-hour workout on the grass outside of the Hawks Center.

 

"It was average at best," he said of the practice. "We've got a lot of work to do. We didn't play well enough. We didn't coach well enough.

 

"We didn't compete. It wasn't good enough."

 

 

 

 

Senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, in line to land a Blackshirt for the first time, said he believes that the defenders still must earn their prized practice jerseys.OK, but are the Huskers ready to play a game?

 

"I'm not worried about the game," Pelini said. "I'm worried about the next day of practice."

 

When can we expect a depth chart?

 

"You'll get that when we get it to you," he said.

 

Any plan to hand out Blackshirts?

 

"No."

 

You get the picture.

 

Pelini said he's looking for "perfection." Clearly, Monday fell well short of his standard. The coach made a point to not criticize his players' effort at practice.

 

Their focus and attention to detail, though, according to several Huskers, needed improvement.

 

"The coaches know that we started school today and that we have a bunch of different distractions," nose tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "But the main thing is that we're five days away from a game. We've got to maintain and be focused."

 

Monday marked the Huskers' heaviest work yet against the scout team. According to strong safety Larry Asante, it disrupted the tempo. Mistakes followed.

 

Still, it's no excuse, said the senior.

 

"There were a lot of missed assignments," Asante said. "At times, we didn't get the right keys as a defense."

 

Suh seconded Asante's assessment.

 

"Things needed to be sharpened," Suh said. "It was just little things that need to be tightened up. You have to understand what you need to do to get it done, go out and execute it and get off the field."

 

Offensively, senior receiver Todd Peterson said, the tempo must improve.

 

"Getting in and out of the huddle faster, being more physical," Peterson said. "I missed a couple blocks today that probably would have got teammates blown up, and that's just unacceptable. We need to come out and have our heads screwed on straight."

 

As for the absence of Blackshirts, traditionally delivered in this week before the opener to the starting defense, it's a non-issue with the Huskers.

 

Senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, in line to land a Blackshirt for the first time, said he believes that the defenders still must earn their prized practice jerseys.

 

"It's something that we can't just be given," Wortman said. "We really have to deserve them."

 

Practices like this one, the Huskers said, illustrate that the Blackshirts aren't ready to stand separate from their teammates.

 

"I think (Pelini) is making a statement about what the jerseys mean," Asante said. "The Blackshirt is not just a practice jersey. It's a mentality that the starting 11 have to take on. You have to perform out there.

 

"We're not worried about it. All we're worried about is Western Michigan."

 

 

• Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I like the straight-forwardness of the coaches. None of this "we're doing excellent in all areas of the game" crap we kept getting fed last year when we sucked big green slimy ones. Just hope the players respond to this in a positive manner

[ray233]

Which do you prefer?

 

Coach 1 : "Our guys were really challenged and progressing in every aspect of football today. They really got after it and challenged themselves, improving on both sides of the football. Our staff is just doing an incredible job preparing and prepping our players for play in the non-conference arena, as well as in the Big-12.

 

That defense is a heck of a defense; really pushing us to improve and progress every day. Our guys are being mentally challenged, along with having their focus challenged in every period. We are improving, progressing and getting better in every aspect."

 

 

OR

 

 

Coach 2 : "It all sucked. We need to practice better. We want perfection."

 

 

 

If you tell yourself and your team that everything is 'working well in every aspect' enough times, you'll start believing it. You'll believe it even when you're 5-7. That's fantastic if you're a fan of:

 

[cornhuskers4ever]

I don't really think he's trying to tear the team a new one, I wonder if maybe he's trying to keep Nebraska under the radar or if Nebraska really needs that much work. Maybe he's looking for that stand out moment or momentum breaker. I wonder if the overall intensity of the players was a little flat. I imagine that Pelini is going to express to the team that every game is a big game, and to not overlook anybody, I imagine by the end of this week, Nebraska will be ready.

 

As far as breaking down a team, on one of the Husker videos I have (It might be A day in the life of Husker Football), Coach McBride is seen telling a Nebraska Defender "If you move any slower, your heart will stop!"

Pelini might be wanting to see the team kicking it up another notch and is trying to figure out how the team AND the coaches can reach that next level.. Maybe they're not horrible, he just isn't satisfied with the team leveling out. Even if you're a average team, if average is good, (Average being when he was at Oklahoma and LSU?), or at least you're getting the job done, he might be expressing the desire needing to take them to the next level.

 

I agree with hating the comments that Callahan would make about the team, "We're excellent in all areas", Um, Coach, the 1995 team was excellent.

Given time, I think Pelini is going to have the Cornhuskers back to the dominating ways of the 90's. We can't expect leaps and bounds, but we have to show we're heading in the right direction.

[HuskerExpat]

I would not be surprised if Pelini turns out to be one of those coaches who seem displeased at every press conference during the season. That might just be his plan for dealing with the media, but doesn't mean he is exactly the same with the players. It will be interesting to see what he is like on the Bo Pelini Show, or whatever it is going to be called...

[zoogs]

I don't really think he's trying to tear the team a new one, I wonder if maybe he's trying to keep Nebraska under the radar or if Nebraska really needs that much work. Maybe he's looking for that stand out moment or momentum breaker. I wonder if the overall intensity of the players was a little flat. I imagine that Pelini is going to express to the team that every game is a big game, and to not overlook anybody, I imagine by the end of this week, Nebraska will be ready.

 

I think you're deluding yourself. For whatever reason, Pelini wants to tear the team a new one. Why would he do this just to keep Nebraska under the radar? I think a fairly clear picture has emerged from all the reports through spring, summer, and fall, that the team still has a LOT of work to do. We'll find out when the season starts. Maybe.

[Hunter94]

no, no, no....what he is trying to do is bring a sense of urgency to practice and game preparation....you play like you practice, you display the same intensity, everyday, every practice, every time your ass hits a field. the kids aren't there yet, there are still mental lapses from last season, probably for the coaches as well. being much better, being better prepared, all that....is NOT ENOUGH....to win all the time. the pursuit of perfection is how you get there....he is going to demand that active pursuit from his coaches and his players...to get better, you have to want to get better and DO IT during practice....i get it.

[SkerMin8r]

no, no, no....what he is trying to do is bring a sense of urgency to practice and game preparation....you play like you practice

 

I don't get the impression that he's one to play head games. I believe he was displeased with the effort (mentally and physically) that he saw on the practice field and that he's calling his players to a higher standard.

[Apathy]

Well when Pelini got hired he told Husker Nation that he'll place a product on the field that we should be proud of and he wants to promise us that guarantee.

[HuskerTrucker]

no, no, no....what he is trying to do is bring a sense of urgency to practice and game preparation....you play like you practice, you display the same intensity, everyday, every practice, every time your ass hits a field. the kids aren't there yet, there are still mental lapses from last season, probably for the coaches as well. being much better, being better prepared, all that....is NOT ENOUGH....to win all the time. the pursuit of perfection is how you get there....he is going to demand that active pursuit from his coaches and his players...to get better, you have to want to get better and DO IT during practice....i get it.

After last year, there better be a sense of urgency for every game including any scrimmages against the volleyball team for that matter...I think they could have beat out defense last year...even some of the defense last year was dressing up as volleyball players just to make themselves feel better...

[BOBELIEVER]

" I wouldn't be here if the expectations weren't high " -Bo Pelini