Shatel: 2014 could be different for Huskers, but believe it when you see it

[Abdullah the Butcher]

 

The Nebraska football seasons now run together. Indistinguishable. A blur of promise, hope and reality.

Even the bowl games and opponents have overlapped. Following Husker football is like watching the movie “Groundhog Day.” Or living it.

Every year you start with hope. There’s always hope. That hope is that this is the year there is no trap door, that they hold onto the ball, that Bo Pelini and his staff figure it out, that the entire program keeps its focus until the end.

But hope becomes a red balloon that you hold onto and eventually let go of, at some point in October or November.

So now they enter the seventh year of the Pelini Era. Call it the Seven Year Itch.

Put me down for a 9-3 regular season and the Holiday Bowl against USC.

If the sun stays out all season, then I’ll be like a lot of forecasters. I’ll say I knew it all along.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/shatel-could-be-different-for-huskers-but-believe-it-when/article_04c032c5-55bb-5e99-b6a9-b81979f788c4.html

[True2tRA]

I can't disagree with anything he says, but the overall feeling of it bothers me a bit.

 

Forgive me for being the naive dumbass that continues to hope, but I've followed this program my whole life and damnit, I get excited to watch them play every year. Even when Callahan coached 'em, I was pumped for the season. Still expecting a turn around.

 

You know Husker fans, I hope we never lose that. Winning sure is important, but it's not all there is. Let's just get this thing respectable again. Let's stop beating ourselves and let's look like we give a damn out there. That's all I want. When we're losing, keep fighting, don't laugh on the sidelines with your teammate all whilst ignoring the action on the field. Rally your brothers and keep your head in it. If you win, let it be by the code, faith and honor held high. If you lose, there's still honor in it, if you know you gave it all you got and you got better for it.

 

Maybe I take it all too seriously as a simple fan, but damn, this is Husker pride. It's the pride of Nebraska. When this team does well, this whole state rides the wave with them. Call it sad, or sappy, or whatever you want, but I call it something special. We take a lot of pride in this damn game, and I for one won't ever lose hope in seeing us return to the glory days. Or, just watching the Big Red play four quarters of some damn good football on my fall Saturdays. Win or lose.

 

GBR

[Ulty]

So Shatel has been perusing Huskerboard for article ideas. Who's gonna be first to call him a hater?

 

 

I share his sentiments exactly, btw.

[lo country]

I can't disagree with anything he says, but the overall feeling of it bothers me a bit.

 

Forgive me for being the naive dumbass that continues to hope, but I've followed this program my whole life and damnit, I get excited to watch them play every year. Even when Callahan coached 'em, I was pumped for the season. Still expecting a turn around.

 

You know Husker fans, I hope we never lose that. Winning sure is important, but it's not all there is. Let's just get this thing respectable again. Let's stop beating ourselves and let's look like we give a damn out there. That's all I want. When we're losing, keep fighting, don't laugh on the sidelines with your teammate all whilst ignoring the action on the field. Rally your brothers and keep your head in it. If you win, let it be by the code, faith and honor held high. If you lose, there's still honor in it, if you know you gave it all you got and you got better for it.

 

Maybe I take it all too seriously as a simple fan, but damn, this is Husker pride. It's the pride of Nebraska. When this team does well, this whole state rides the wave with them. Call it sad, or sappy, or whatever you want, but I call it something special. We take a lot of pride in this damn game, and I for one won't ever lose hope in seeing us return to the glory days. Or, just watching the Big Red play four quarters of some damn good football on my fall Saturdays. Win or lose.

 

GBR

TA commented on this a week or two ago. Talked about guys need to get right. Keep their minds in the game. Cheer when things are going good and keep focused and not "crap the bed" when things start to go south. That is what has ticked me the most, is watching the game slip away or even the all to familiar blow ups, guys laughing and not paying attention on the sidelines.

 

I am optimistic for this season. Really haven't heard the previous coach speak i.e. "best O ever", "shaping up to be really special", most athletic team we have field" etc.... I have heard the players make comments and the fans, but not so much on the coaches.

 

I like the "hell in a helmet" mentality as well. Games are won or lost in the trenches. Seems like the OL has the mindset i.e. play to the whistle and then maybe a step or two beyond.

 

Losing sucks. But the way we have lost under Pelini is downright a kick in the junk. UCLA coming back, blow out in the conference to Wisky etc..... Would love to see us win them all, but would take a "moral victory" as crappy as that sounds, to have us competitive in every game. No more losses because we beat ourselves.

[TheSker]

This is the line most sports writers will probably take......it's the Phil Steele line....."historical perspective". Some writers might even sound defeated because the "influence" of their keystrokes ended in unfounded speculation. But there is something potentially different now......the emphasis in recruiting recently is maturing itself. When was the last time there was discussion the entire front four was NFL caliber? That wasn't even true during the Suh years......

[sd'sker]

This is the line most sports writers will probably take......it's the Phil Steele line....."historical perspective". Some writers might even sound defeated because the "influence" of their keystrokes ended in unfounded speculation. But there is something potentially different now......the emphasis in recruiting recently is maturing itself. When was the last time there was discussion the entire front four was NFL caliber? That wasn't even true during the Suh years......

what the hell does the two underline sentences even mean?

 

and if you are asserting that recruiting has gotten better, i will wait and see. i guess you could say that claim is unfounded speculation.

[TheSker]

 

This is the line most sports writers will probably take......it's the Phil Steele line....."historical perspective". Some writers might even sound defeated because the "influence" of their keystrokes ended in unfounded speculation. But there is something potentially different now......the emphasis in recruiting recently is maturing itself. When was the last time there was discussion the entire front four was NFL caliber? That wasn't even true during the Suh years......

what the hell does the two underline sentences even mean?

 

and if you are asserting that recruiting has gotten better, i will wait and see. i guess you could say that claim is unfounded speculation.

 

1. It means the media influence didn't get Pelini fired. 2. It means we've had less recruiting whiffs, especially on the DL and they are ready to make a significant impact.

[Hannibal]

 

 

This is the line most sports writers will probably take......it's the Phil Steele line....."historical perspective". Some writers might even sound defeated because the "influence" of their keystrokes ended in unfounded speculation. But there is something potentially different now......the emphasis in recruiting recently is maturing itself. When was the last time there was discussion the entire front four was NFL caliber? That wasn't even true during the Suh years......

 

what the hell does the two underline sentences even mean?

 

and if you are asserting that recruiting has gotten better, i will wait and see. i guess you could say that claim is unfounded speculation.

1. It means the media influence didn't get Pelini fired. 2. It means we've had less recruiting whiffs, especially on the DL and they are ready to make a significant impact.

Had he been fired at the end of the regular season last year, do you seriously think it would have been the fault of the sports media and not the fault of Pelini himself?

[The Dude]

He stole my Groundhog Day reference. I'll be expecting a check in the mail.

[TheSker]

 

 

 

This is the line most sports writers will probably take......it's the Phil Steele line....."historical perspective". Some writers might even sound defeated because the "influence" of their keystrokes ended in unfounded speculation. But there is something potentially different now......the emphasis in recruiting recently is maturing itself. When was the last time there was discussion the entire front four was NFL caliber? That wasn't even true during the Suh years......

what the hell does the two underline sentences even mean?

 

and if you are asserting that recruiting has gotten better, i will wait and see. i guess you could say that claim is unfounded speculation.

1. It means the media influence didn't get Pelini fired. 2. It means we've had less recruiting whiffs, especially on the DL and they are ready to make a significant impact.

Had he been fired at the end of the regular season last year, do you seriously think it would have been the fault of the sports media and not the fault of Pelini himself?

 

I didn't use the word fault. I used the word influence for a very specific reason.

[tschu]

Shatel is spot-on imo

[RedDenver]

Shatel is spot-on imo

Shatel hasn't been spot-on anything in decades. This whole article is almost a copy of what Phil Steele said months ago.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hard to disagree with him here. This is the first season in a long time that I find myself hard to get excited about. I'll tune into every game and cheer my heart out, but deep down I know the road schedule is just too difficult to get a breakthrough 11-1 season. 9-3 or 8-4 seem likely.

 

No conference championship. No division title. And if TA hovers around the same stats, low 50s completion percentage and 1/1 TD to interception ratio, I'll have a hard time getting excited for 2015.

[Ratt Mhule]

Hard to disagree with him here. This is the first season in a long time that I find myself hard to get excited about. I'll tune into every game and cheer my heart out, but deep down I know the road schedule is just too difficult to get a breakthrough 11-1 season. 9-3 or 8-4 seem likely.

 

No conference championship. No division title. And if TA hovers around the same stats, low 50s completion percentage and 1/1 TD to interception ratio, I'll have a hard time getting excited for 2015.

 

Sucks for you...

[Branno]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. There is no team on our schedule that is a guaranteed loss. Not Michigan State (if not for 5 unforced turnovers that's a win last year), not Wisconsin, and sure as hell not Iowa (again turnovers killed us). Does this mean we go 12-0? Probably not, but I see no reason not to be excited about this year. If we can improve in one area, turnovers, we can have a breakout season.