Early expectations for this year.

[Hunter94]

9 wins each season, with never competing or winning a CC or getting to a BCS Bowl game would be disappoinitng, if it went on for 4,5, or 6 years consecutively.......no?........or would some be satisfied with that?

So you are going to give him 3, 4 or 5 more years?

Big 12 Championship Game

2009 21 Nebraska 12–13 3 Texas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

2010 13 Nebraska 20-23 10 Oklahoma Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas notes

 

 

i will qualify my thinking.......obviously 2011 was a loser, if 2012 is a loser as well, do we confidently give him 3 or 4 more years of 9 wins and no CC or BCS appearance AND still keep him on board?.....just trying to gauge what level of "sucess" we are going to be comfortable with as fans?

[The Dude]

obviously 2011 was a loser

I don't know, with that schedule coupled with playing in a new conference, it could have been much, much worse.

[knapplc]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

[ladyhawke]

Interesting thread. Question: For those who think this year will be a 'not so great one' are you only basing your opinion on what has happened in the past few seasons or on the players that will be returning/new coaches (Kaz, etc.) I guess for my part, it would be illogical for me to base everything on what I've already seen. So here's my criteria that leads me to believe that we will have a better season this year than we did last year: This year we have some new variables that we didn't have last year. We have some new coaches, we have some new players, we have some old players who are more experienced. Now on the 'negative' side we don't have David/Dennard/Crick, but I think there will be some new players or more experienced players that will play at least up to their standards-I could be totally wrong. So that is my criteria for being hopeful that we may see a really good season this year.

What is your criteria for the doom and gloom? (I also think it is illogical for posters to say that there has been NO change. Of course there has been change. It might be small but there has been change-just look at Taylor Martinez if you want some criteria for change. When he first started he was intercepted all the time, made poor decisions, wasn't a leader at all but this past year he really stepped up to the plate. Yeah, his stance is all wrong and his throwing motion is weird looking but in many of the games last year he wasn't the reason we lost. It was refreshing to watch him grow. So, I'm sorry but to say that there has been NO change is incorrect.)

Both. Last year we could have had 10 page threads discussing how Crick, Dennard, David, Rex, Kinnie, Reed, etc were going to have great seasons. We had some truly proven (key word there) impact players returning. Pre-season all-American, headed to the NFL draft type guys. Martinez was healed up and should have been back to early 10' form. We had a ton of depth (bodies) on the DL and we were going to be extremely strong up front. The OL was going to improve because of Garrison/Stai and some newcomers. Yada, yada, yada.

 

Sounds excactly like this year...only this year we have 2 returning "proven" impact players. Rex/Martinez. You can argue there are more, but nothing like last year. Nothing even close to David/Crick/Dennard. And Martinez needs to make a HUGE jump to get back to his early 10' impact form. I don't know what happened with last year, and I agree with you that he was certainly not the reason for some of our losses - but his "growth" was completely negated by his regression in other areas of his game. He was not a guy you'd say could take it to the house any give play. He was not anywhere near the running threat he once was, and because of that defenses loaded up on us. I put a lot of this on Beck/scheme not Martinez - but that is a constant, and won't be changing this year either.

 

If you have to stretch so far as to look at Martinez's interceptions to find something different and improved about this team you see the exact thing many of us are worried about. There isn't much. And really - that change was made between 10' and 11', it's not something that will improve much between 11', and 12'...and that's what we're worried about.

Question: What kind of changes would you like to see that would convince you that the team will be better than it was last year? Can you see them before the season starts? (By the way, Martinez was just one example. There were several players that had some really nice numbers last year both offensively and defensively.)

[The King]

Interesting thread. Question: For those who think this year will be a 'not so great one' are you only basing your opinion on what has happened in the past few seasons or on the players that will be returning/new coaches (Kaz, etc.) I guess for my part, it would be illogical for me to base everything on what I've already seen. So here's my criteria that leads me to believe that we will have a better season this year than we did last year: This year we have some new variables that we didn't have last year. We have some new coaches, we have some new players, we have some old players who are more experienced. Now on the 'negative' side we don't have David/Dennard/Crick, but I think there will be some new players or more experienced players that will play at least up to their standards-I could be totally wrong. So that is my criteria for being hopeful that we may see a really good season this year.

What is your criteria for the doom and gloom? (I also think it is illogical for posters to say that there has been NO change. Of course there has been change. It might be small but there has been change-just look at Taylor Martinez if you want some criteria for change. When he first started he was intercepted all the time, made poor decisions, wasn't a leader at all but this past year he really stepped up to the plate. Yeah, his stance is all wrong and his throwing motion is weird looking but in many of the games last year he wasn't the reason we lost. It was refreshing to watch him grow. So, I'm sorry but to say that there has been NO change is incorrect.)

Both. Last year we could have had 10 page threads discussing how Crick, Dennard, David, Rex, Kinnie, Reed, etc were going to have great seasons. We had some truly proven (key word there) impact players returning. Pre-season all-American, headed to the NFL draft type guys. Martinez was healed up and should have been back to early 10' form. We had a ton of depth (bodies) on the DL and we were going to be extremely strong up front. The OL was going to improve because of Garrison/Stai and some newcomers. Yada, yada, yada.

 

Sounds excactly like this year...only this year we have 2 returning "proven" impact players. Rex/Martinez. You can argue there are more, but nothing like last year. Nothing even close to David/Crick/Dennard. And Martinez needs to make a HUGE jump to get back to his early 10' impact form. I don't know what happened with last year, and I agree with you that he was certainly not the reason for some of our losses - but his "growth" was completely negated by his regression in other areas of his game. He was not a guy you'd say could take it to the house any give play. He was not anywhere near the running threat he once was, and because of that defenses loaded up on us. I put a lot of this on Beck/scheme not Martinez - but that is a constant, and won't be changing this year either.

 

If you have to stretch so far as to look at Martinez's interceptions to find something different and improved about this team you see the exact thing many of us are worried about. There isn't much. And really - that change was made between 10' and 11', it's not something that will improve much between 11', and 12'...and that's what we're worried about.

Question: What kind of changes would you like to see that would convince you that the team will be better than it was last year? Can you see them before the season starts? (By the way, Martinez was just one example. There were several players that had some really nice numbers last year both offensively and defensively.)

 

T-Mart wasn't completely healthy last year, which attributed to his poor running. By no means am I trying to make excuses for him, as I don't think he should be our QB until he learns how to throw. But he was still legitimately suffering from his ankle and toe throughout the year.

 

With that said, our team will be much better next year.

 

People are severely underrating the addition of Kaz and Joseph. I'd be astonished if our D-line wasn't 10x what it was last year. Also expect our secondary to be improved and much more aggressive. Linebacker play will probably be as a whole, better than last year. Yes, we lose David, but look for more production elsewhere.

 

Offensively, Beck was handicapped with T-Marts throwing ability and appears it will be similar this year. Once we get a legitimate arm in the pocket, our offense will be deadly.

 

Jamal Turner, Bell, Enunwa, Westerkamp, Taariq.

Burkhead, Marrow, Abdullah, Cross

 

Thorell and Cassidy no longer in the rotation... Bo had to play them last year, because they knew the D. Definitely not his choice to be in that spot, but only people who knew where to be and when. Although when it came to game speed, they weren't exactly quick enough to run to the correct spot...

 

Finally, our scheme last year and lack of pressure had a lot to do with who we were playing. Our corners at the beginning of the year, sucked. Cant play our D when we can't give multiple fronts because our corners can't stick with our people, or send extra people when our corners are constantly getting blown by. Or when our safeties are too slow/not good enough in coverage. Allows for too many breakdowns in communication. Our D did surprisingly decent if you knew exactly what they faced Pre-season. It's one thing to be inexperienced, it's another to be inexperienced and not athletically gifted enough to make up for your errors.

['SkersRule]

Certain segments of Nebraska fans make me absolutely sick. To ALL you "Bo bashers" please answer me one question...

 

IF WE FIRE BO FOR WINNING 9+ GAMES A YEAR NAME ME ONE COACH WHO WE COULD HIRE TO REPLACE HIM WHO WE COULD GUARANTEE WOULD BE BETTER?

 

(I'll wait as the chirping from the crickets drowns out any feeble response your feeble mind might "offer.")

[bshirt]

Certain segments of Nebraska fans make me absolutely sick. To ALL you "Bo bashers" please answer me one question...

 

IF WE FIRE BO FOR WINNING 9+ GAMES A YEAR NAME ME ONE COACH WHO WE COULD HIRE TO REPLACE HIM WHO WE COULD GUARANTEE WOULD BE BETTER?

 

(I'll wait as the chirping from the crickets drowns out any feeble response your feeble mind might "offer.")

 

 

Especially as that would show only "NU" could possibly be stupid enough to fire HCs for 9 or 10 win season twice in the last decade it would then have our chances of getting even an average (at best) replacement HC extremely, extremely dismal.

[flatwaterfan]

Well said

[ladyhawke]

Interesting thread. Question: For those who think this year will be a 'not so great one' are you only basing your opinion on what has happened in the past few seasons or on the players that will be returning/new coaches (Kaz, etc.) I guess for my part, it would be illogical for me to base everything on what I've already seen. So here's my criteria that leads me to believe that we will have a better season this year than we did last year: This year we have some new variables that we didn't have last year. We have some new coaches, we have some new players, we have some old players who are more experienced. Now on the 'negative' side we don't have David/Dennard/Crick, but I think there will be some new players or more experienced players that will play at least up to their standards-I could be totally wrong. So that is my criteria for being hopeful that we may see a really good season this year.

What is your criteria for the doom and gloom? (I also think it is illogical for posters to say that there has been NO change. Of course there has been change. It might be small but there has been change-just look at Taylor Martinez if you want some criteria for change. When he first started he was intercepted all the time, made poor decisions, wasn't a leader at all but this past year he really stepped up to the plate. Yeah, his stance is all wrong and his throwing motion is weird looking but in many of the games last year he wasn't the reason we lost. It was refreshing to watch him grow. So, I'm sorry but to say that there has been NO change is incorrect.)

Both. Last year we could have had 10 page threads discussing how Crick, Dennard, David, Rex, Kinnie, Reed, etc were going to have great seasons. We had some truly proven (key word there) impact players returning. Pre-season all-American, headed to the NFL draft type guys. Martinez was healed up and should have been back to early 10' form. We had a ton of depth (bodies) on the DL and we were going to be extremely strong up front. The OL was going to improve because of Garrison/Stai and some newcomers. Yada, yada, yada.

 

Sounds excactly like this year...only this year we have 2 returning "proven" impact players. Rex/Martinez. You can argue there are more, but nothing like last year. Nothing even close to David/Crick/Dennard. And Martinez needs to make a HUGE jump to get back to his early 10' impact form. I don't know what happened with last year, and I agree with you that he was certainly not the reason for some of our losses - but his "growth" was completely negated by his regression in other areas of his game. He was not a guy you'd say could take it to the house any give play. He was not anywhere near the running threat he once was, and because of that defenses loaded up on us. I put a lot of this on Beck/scheme not Martinez - but that is a constant, and won't be changing this year either.

 

If you have to stretch so far as to look at Martinez's interceptions to find something different and improved about this team you see the exact thing many of us are worried about. There isn't much. And really - that change was made between 10' and 11', it's not something that will improve much between 11', and 12'...and that's what we're worried about.

Question: What kind of changes would you like to see that would convince you that the team will be better than it was last year? Can you see them before the season starts? (By the way, Martinez was just one example. There were several players that had some really nice numbers last year both offensively and defensively.)

 

T-Mart wasn't completely healthy last year, which attributed to his poor running. By no means am I trying to make excuses for him, as I don't think he should be our QB until he learns how to throw. But he was still legitimately suffering from his ankle and toe throughout the year.

 

With that said, our team will be much better next year.

 

People are severely underrating the addition of Kaz and Joseph. I'd be astonished if our D-line wasn't 10x what it was last year. Also expect our secondary to be improved and much more aggressive. Linebacker play will probably be as a whole, better than last year. Yes, we lose David, but look for more production elsewhere.

 

Offensively, Beck was handicapped with T-Marts throwing ability and appears it will be similar this year. Once we get a legitimate arm in the pocket, our offense will be deadly.

 

Jamal Turner, Bell, Enunwa, Westerkamp, Taariq.

Burkhead, Marrow, Abdullah, Cross

 

Thorell and Cassidy no longer in the rotation... Bo had to play them last year, because they knew the D. Definitely not his choice to be in that spot, but only people who knew where to be and when. Although when it came to game speed, they weren't exactly quick enough to run to the correct spot...

 

Finally, our scheme last year and lack of pressure had a lot to do with who we were playing. Our corners at the beginning of the year, sucked. Cant play our D when we can't give multiple fronts because our corners can't stick with our people, or send extra people when our corners are constantly getting blown by. Or when our safeties are too slow/not good enough in coverage. Allows for too many breakdowns in communication. Our D did surprisingly decent if you knew exactly what they faced Pre-season. It's one thing to be inexperienced, it's another to be inexperienced and not athletically gifted enough to make up for your errors.

I will be anxious to see if going to the quarterback camp helped T-Mart's throwing abilities. I think that his footwork was the greatest concern. At least he cares enough to try to change. I also hope that he runs more this year. I agree with your analysis. I'm excited to see what this team brings to the table this year. My biggest concern from last year is that they did not consistently play all four quarters. I would like to see them come in and play 4 quarters of physical football. I think with the addition of Kaz and Jospeh we're going to see some changes. I also think that Bo will have the defense in better shape not having to contend with his brother. GBR!

[Nebula]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

Yep. Equally entertaining as it is annoying.

 

(It's crazy, though. This is really what some people think. Thank god they don't have any say on personnel.)

[NUpolo8]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

Yep. Equally entertaining as it is annoying.

 

(It's crazy, though. This is really what some people think. Thank god they don't have any say on personnel.)

 

Not as absurd as the premise that every team NU plays next year will have grown and matured by leaps and bounds, yet NU will not.

 

Lots of leaps in logic here in order to have the sadsies for the upcoming season.

[knapplc]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

Yep. Equally entertaining as it is annoying.

 

(It's crazy, though. This is really what some people think. Thank god they don't have any say on personnel.)

 

Not as absurd as the premise that every team NU plays next year will have grown and matured by leaps and bounds, yet NU will not.

 

Lots of leaps in logic here in order to have the sadsies for the upcoming season.

 

That's the problem, though - often it doesn't matter how good or bad the opposite team is. The biggest opponent is between this team's ears - or those of our coaches, hard to say which. I'm not going to run down the litany of bad teams we've struggled against - or lost to - because we all know them. But it happens too often to dismiss, or to think that it's going to go away this season.

 

I am more than ready to be proven wrong.

[Hunter94]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

Yep. Equally entertaining as it is annoying.

 

(It's crazy, though. This is really what some people think. Thank god they don't have any say on personnel.)

 

Not as absurd as the premise that every team NU plays next year will have grown and matured by leaps and bounds, yet NU will not.

 

Lots of leaps in logic here in order to have the sadsies for the upcoming season.

 

That's the problem, though - often it doesn't matter how good or bad the opposite team is. The biggest opponent is between this team's ears - or those of our coaches, hard to say which. I'm not going to run down the litany of bad teams we've struggled against - or lost to - because we all know them. But it happens too often to dismiss, or to think that it's going to go away this season.

 

I am more than ready to be proven wrong.

 

 

it almost sounds like the program is infected with a virus we can't cure........

[The Dude]

The entitlement in this thread is reaching absurd levels.

Yep. Equally entertaining as it is annoying.

 

(It's crazy, though. This is really what some people think. Thank god they don't have any say on personnel.)

 

Not as absurd as the premise that every team NU plays next year will have grown and matured by leaps and bounds, yet NU will not.

 

Lots of leaps in logic here in order to have the sadsies for the upcoming season.

 

That's the problem, though - often it doesn't matter how good or bad the opposite team is. The biggest opponent is between this team's ears - or those of our coaches, hard to say which. I'm not going to run down the litany of bad teams we've struggled against - or lost to - because we all know them. But it happens too often to dismiss, or to think that it's going to go away this season.

 

I am more than ready to be proven wrong.

 

 

it almost sounds like the program is infected with a virus we can't cure........

And the only prescription is more cowbell.

[huKSer]

Certain segments of Nebraska fans make me absolutely sick. To ALL you "Bo bashers" please answer me one question...

 

IF WE FIRE BO FOR WINNING 9+ GAMES A YEAR NAME ME ONE COACH WHO WE COULD HIRE TO REPLACE HIM WHO WE COULD GUARANTEE WOULD BE BETTER?

 

(I'll wait as the chirping from the crickets drowns out any feeble response your feeble mind might "offer.")

Clownahan, obviously (where's the sarcasm button)