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This quote is why NU could very well be 4-4 on Oct. 28th


Foppa

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I've kept this article up on my laptop ever since I read it. Not that I want a recap of the NU-OSU game...but what I try to make out of what was said. I read it daily. It never gets any better. It is a quote from DC John Papuchis in the huskeronline.com article from Robin Washut...

 

"It's real frustrating," defensive coordinator John Papuchis said. "We didn't do a very good job planning it, and we didn't do a very good job of executing the plans. So it's really frustrating because we knew coming into the game that he was what we needed to stop, and we weren't good enough to do it or we didn't have good enough focus to get it done."

 

Maybe this article...or this quote directly, has been scrutinized in the last week and a half. I don't know. I don't have 38 hours a day to read all the meltdown threads. But I did think this quote needed to be specifically addressed, as it was quoted.

 

This quote really, really concerns me. What the first part tells me, is that the coaches did not do a good job of planning to contain Braxton Miller. Ok. So the 'plan' wasn't good. The next part of the quote. "we didn't do a very good job of executing the plans." So by saying this, Papuchis basically said that the defense didn't execute a game plan that wasn't any good to begin with. If I'm a player, and I'm told to drop back into coverage every play, and I only manage to drop back into coverage every so often while the QB racks up 500 rushing yards...who is at fault? I guess the players because they didn't execute a bad game plan properly?

 

Reading on. "we knew coming into the game that he was what we needed to stop" So now you knew what you had to do, couldn't come up with a game plan to do it, and the players didn't execute what you didn't know how to do.

 

"we weren't good enough to do it" Do what? You just said you didn't know how to do it. How are the players supposed to do it if you don't come up with the proper system to do it?

 

"we didn't have good enough focus to get it done." So again...what were the players supposed to focus on? A bad game plan that didn't include focusing on the one player you knew you needed to stop and plan for all week?!?

 

I realize there are personnel issues. But this quote does not give me much hope that the coaching staff will be any more effective in stopping the same style of QB that, coming from the DC's own mouth, they had no idea how to stop or plan for two weeks ago.

 

Here's hoping for 6-2 on October 28th. Here's wishful thinking we can split and be 5-3 due to a home game. Here's expecting, after this quote, to be 4-4.

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Not every team/QB is going to be as talented as OSU or Braxton Miller.

 

Pretty sure we won't be 4-4.

 

Ohio State was flat out better than us. More talented. Better coached. Executed better. Focused.

 

We played poorly, didn't handle Braxton very well (after his long run), and lost. Time to move on. Ohio State is by the far the most talented team we will play, and honestly, they are one of the more talented teams in the nation.

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Not every team/QB is going to be as talented as OSU or Braxton Miller.

 

Pretty sure we won't be 4-4.

 

Ohio State was flat out better than us. More talented. Better coached. Executed better. Focused.

 

We played poorly, didn't handle Braxton very well (after his long run), and lost. Time to move on. Ohio State is by the far the most talented team we will play, and honestly, they are one of the more talented teams in the nation.

They may well turn out to be.................BUT, before that game there were multiple posters stating we were equal talent wise...........

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Not every team/QB is going to be as talented as OSU or Braxton Miller.

 

Pretty sure we won't be 4-4.

 

Ohio State was flat out better than us. More talented. Better coached. Executed better. Focused.

 

We played poorly, didn't handle Braxton very well (after his long run), and lost. Time to move on. Ohio State is by the far the most talented team we will play, and honestly, they are one of the more talented teams in the nation.

They may well turn out to be.................BUT, before that game there were multiple posters stating we were equal talent wise...........

 

I think talent wise we are pretty equal with OSU, with one glaring exception, Braxton Miller. I thought he was a game changer before the game and I still think so. He is a special player. I mean Cam Newton special. After watching OSU play quit a bit this year, I think they tend to play down to their compition. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if they rolled Wisky and Michigan, yet struggled agianst some lesser opponents.

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Not every team/QB is going to be as talented as OSU or Braxton Miller.

 

Pretty sure we won't be 4-4.

 

Ohio State was flat out better than us. More talented. Better coached. Executed better. Focused.

 

We played poorly, didn't handle Braxton very well (after his long run), and lost. Time to move on. Ohio State is by the far the most talented team we will play, and honestly, they are one of the more talented teams in the nation.

They may well turn out to be.................BUT, before that game there were multiple posters stating we were equal talent wise...........

I still believe they aren't THAT MUCH better than NEB. Sure, they are a better team overall IMO....but the overall team stats tell otherwise.

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Not every team/QB is going to be as talented as OSU or Braxton Miller.

 

Pretty sure we won't be 4-4.

 

Ohio State was flat out better than us. More talented. Better coached. Executed better. Focused.

 

We played poorly, didn't handle Braxton very well (after his long run), and lost. Time to move on. Ohio State is by the far the most talented team we will play, and honestly, they are one of the more talented teams in the nation.

They may well turn out to be.................BUT, before that game there were multiple posters stating we were equal talent wise...........

I still believe they aren't THAT MUCH better than NEB. Sure, they are a better team overall IMO....but the overall team stats tell otherwise.

I agree with that...........just pointing out how perceptions change after an a$$-kicking....

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We will learn some this weekend, if NW beats us, we will be 4-4 going into November and this board will be a mess

Slight correction..........I think we will learn a LOT this weekend..............

 

And although it's common to say every game is of equal importance..............THIS game truly is..............especially if it's a loss....... :ahhhhhhhh

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I'd say there is a pretty decent possibility that we could be 4-4 pretty soon even when we play somewhat decent football.

 

I'm sitting here listening to Pat Fitzgerald's interview with 1620 right now, and he's said a couple of things that ease my mind a little bit. He said about the Nebraska offense, "I haven't slept since Sunday... We know we aren't going to stop them, that's all there is to it."

 

We have a damn good offense when they take care of the football and avoid penalties. If we take care of that side of the ball, the fate of this game rests on the defense. I hope our guys find it within themselves to put up a defensive performance that's good enough to win the game on Saturday.

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People will look at each week as the breaking point for the season from here on out.

 

I think Saturday's game will determine if it's broken. The defense needs to show improvement to give any hope for the remaining games. If the defense plays mediocre and we win then the remaining games are a toss up but Michigan will be a blowout. If they light it up then I'll get excited for the rest of the season. I think Michigan will still be a loss but at least I would expect us to make it respectable.

 

That isn't a reassuring quote by Papuchis. OSU's offense was still mostly Braxton but we didn't have a clue how to stop him?

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Northwestern is beatable provided our defense ( including coaches) wake up from their lethargy. Beating Michigan will require our defense to pull a 180 in terms of fundamentals, discipline and game planning. Not likely based on what i've seen this season........ I hope we split the next 2 games and not get embarassed at home against Michigan.

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I think (through no fault of our own) that we tend to read too much into the words used when reviewing what happened. These guys aren't wordsmiths, they aren't going to pick the right words to say.

 

Let's see what happens on Saturday, these next two games are really going to be testaments to how well our defense practiced and changed their mindsets over the last two weeks.

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