Adam Carriker

[T_GBR_FAN]

I really enjoy reading Adam Carriker' chronicles about husker football. He is passionate about the Huskers and brings up a lot of thoughtful points I didn't see during the game and/or about the Huskers. I think MR should reach out to him and ask him to join his staff. This only helps build a bridge in the fan base and I think he the players would respect and listen to him.

[ScottyIce]

Lol...

 

Like the guy too. Not sure why he should be on staff though...

[huskerfan92]

A-are you Adam Carriker?

[Danny Bateman]

This week's post:

 

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAdamCarriker/posts/1196931500322421

 

 

THE CARRIKER CHRONICLES

 

1- Yesterday and quite a bit of this season has been frustrating, because I honestly believe the ‪#‎Huskers‬ were the better team in 7 of their 8 games so far this year. The bottom line is, their record is 3-5 and that's what matters. They need to find a way to win, instead of finding a way to lose.

 

2- I think coaching is part of it, but it's almost impossible to judge a coach by what he does in his 1st year with a team. I'm still on the fence about ‪#‎MikeRiley‬ myself. The question for me all along has been, is he the coach that can help get us over the hump and back on the national stage? That question is not even close to being answered right now.

 

3- I think it's too soon to talk about firing Riley right now. It's way too early to make that decision. Even at the end of this season, I thinks it's too soon. Usually I would say after next year is too early as well, but things have gone so bad in the win-loss column so far this year, that we need to see some sort of definite improvement next year. Like I said, it's hard to judge a coach by his first year with a team. Years two and three tell you a little bit more. In my opinion, year four (if we get there) tells you the most, because that'll be his first official recruiting class as seniors (at least the one's who didn't redshirt.)

 

4- We seem to have an identity crisis on offense. Do we pass to set up the run, or do we run the ball to set up the passing game? Last week we ran the ball outside, then came back inside with the fullback. This brought the defense and safeties closer to the line of scrimmage, which then allowed us to affectively pass the ball where the linebackers and safeties used to be. Yesterday we started most of our drives passing. This resulted in a lot of 2nd and 3rd downs with 10 yards to go. We need a consistent identity on offense.

 

5- The ‪#‎Blackshirts‬ only gave up 177 yards in the air, to a Northwestern team that however, doesn't really want to pass. The run defense was pretty good as usual. The biggest issue was the 117 yards they gave up on 2 quarterback scrambles to Wildcat quarterback Clayton Thorson. Rush lanes by the defensive line and pursuit angles once he broke the pocket need to be improved. Those 2 big runs by Thorson played a big part in the outcome of the game.

 

6- Our Special teams had a rough day. Other than Kicker Drew Brown making two 40 plus yard field goals, Northwestern had the clear edge in special teams. They had 141 return yards, to just 37 for Nebraska. I still don't understand why we burned Jordan Stevenson's redshirt to return kickoffs.

 

7- I'm spending quite a bit of time on the coaches this week, because that's all I heard about after the game, from everyone. Bo Pelini showed us who he was as a coach. He was a 9-4 coach who was going to get blown out at least twice a year. No better, no worse. Other college programs (Alabama, Michigan etc...) had to take one step back, to take two steps forward. If you were happy with the status quo (Pelini), and that's all you wanted, then that's your choice. Bo did some good things, but I always believe in striving for more. Hiring Mike Riley was a risk, a similar risk other universities have taken (Pete Carroll was USC's 5th choice) and I believe Husker football deserves the very best, so it's a risk I believe was worth taking. We'll eventually see if Riley was the right guy for the hire. Michigan didn't hire Jim Harbaugh their first time out. One last thing to to mention. If Bo Pelini had been at Oregon St., do you think he would have won 9 games every year there?

 

8- Last thought on the coaches. I think it's time people stop criticizing Mike Riley's personality. Bo was criticized for yelling and being too emotional. Riley is criticized for being too calm and mellow. I say, judge a coach by wins and losses, not by his personality. You can get on Riley about his win/loss record right now, but let's keep it to that. Bill Belichick is about as mellow as they come. Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh are very fiery. Another former ‪#‎Nebraska‬ player once told me the harshest thing Tom Osborne ever said was, "Gosh dang it guys, come on."

 

9- I feel stupid even addressing this, but I hate these fancy smancy uniforms we sometimes wear. We're not Oregon or Maryland. We don't need to change who we are to become somebody, we already are somebody. When you're an established and traditional program (like Alabama, USC & Nebraska) you don't have to try to fit in with the cool kids in school, we already are one of the cool kids in school! I say stick with tradition, that's more impressive than trying to make a fashion statement in pads.

 

10- It's alright to be mad & frustrated fans, it's ok to care! But do not shut down, do not turn your back & do not (publicly or privately) give up on the Huskers...our team.

 

I post the Carriker Chronicles every Sunday night at 7pm CT. Be sure to check them out each week, right here on my Facebook page I created for the fans. So until next week ‪#‎HuskerNation‬...Go Big Red! ‪#‎GBR‬

[Danny Bateman]

Carriker pretty much mirrored my thoughts with #7. Things were stagnant with Bo. Riley wasn't anyone's first choice, but I'm ok with it because it represents a chance at more than 9-4 with nationally embarassing losses every year. Even if it fails, we just try again. Not that I think it will.

 

Regarding #6 and Stevenson, I believe it was his choice to burn the redshirt because he wanted to play now. Reportedly was even going to transfer if it didn't happen. Now, I'm sure any former players, especially from the 90's, would HATE to have a player dictate to a coach about a RS decision-- they'd say let him leave. Ideally, that'd be the case. But we're not in a position to be dumping such talent off the team for a while, until the roster's been turned over and there's some semblance of depth.

[T_GBR_FAN]

I just saying, after reading a lot of posts on here, we as a fan base want Nebraska ties with the program. He is passionate and I doubt he would ask for a large paycheck. Think about it MR, try to hire a former Nebraska player to help you. It would be a great PR move and we do need some help in certain areas. Lastly, no I am not Adam Carriker, lol. If you took off his legs at the knees, we might be the same height and weight 😋

[BigRedBuster]

Carriker pretty much mirrored my thoughts with #7. Things were stagnant with Bo. Riley wasn't anyone's first choice, but I'm ok with it because it represents a chance at more than 9-4 with nationally embarassing losses every year. Even if it fails, we just try again. Not that I think it will.

 

I agree. I am beginning to believe that one major problem in the program is that Bo didn't foster leadership within the team. The way he handled team captains is an example of this. You can come up with lots of reasons for this. However, many times when a "leader" of an organization isn't comfortable with his own leadership skills, he squashes the ability of others to rise up and be leaders also. This can also be seen in his assistant's choices. They were always people who were never going to be viewed by anyone to have more experience or knowledge than him.

 

So....what happens when Bo is gone and there isn't any true leadership within the program? We are seeing it now.

 

This is an area where I think Riley has really improved. There are true leaders on the team now with Janovich, Armstrong, Gangwish, Gerry...etc. I believe these guys are true leaders on the team but it's too few for this large of group.

 

This can improve over time.

[GBRedneck]

2- I think coaching is part of it, but it's almost impossible to judge a coach by what he does in his 1st year with a team. I'm still on the fence about ‪#‎MikeRiley‬ myself. The question for me all along has been, is he the coach that can help get us over the hump and back on the national stage? That question is not even close to being answered right now.

 

HAHAHA! That question was answered correctly by lots of us the day he was hired.

[commando]

 

2- I think coaching is part of it, but it's almost impossible to judge a coach by what he does in his 1st year with a team. I'm still on the fence about ‪#‎MikeRiley‬ myself. The question for me all along has been, is he the coach that can help get us over the hump and back on the national stage? That question is not even close to being answered right now.

 

HAHAHA! That question was answered correctly by lots of us the day he was hired.

 

[QMany]

I found this odd:

 

Last thought on the coaches. I think it's time people stop criticizing Mike Riley's personality. Bo was criticized for yelling and being too emotional. Riley is criticized for being too calm and mellow. I say, judge a coach by wins and losses, not by his personality.

[teachercd]

I found this odd:

 

 

Last thought on the coaches. I think it's time people stop criticizing Mike Riley's personality. Bo was criticized for yelling and being too emotional. Riley is criticized for being too calm and mellow. I say, judge a coach by wins and losses, not by his personality.

 

I am guessing Coach Riley doesn't want to be judged on wins and losses.

[Bowfin]

There are true leaders on the team now with Janovich, Weber, Gangwish, Gerry.

 

I made one substitution. Armstrong may be the quarterback and a fierce competitor, but I think we have better leadership material...who was the player who grabbed Alex Lewis and pulled him away from taunting the fans at the Illinois game?

[BigRedBuster]

 

There are true leaders on the team now with Janovich, Weber, Gangwish, Gerry.

 

I made one substitution. Armstrong may be the quarterback and a fierce competitor, but I think we have better leadership material...who was the player who grabbed Alex Lewis and pulled him away from taunting the fans at the Illinois game?

We will disagree on Armstrong.

 

Just because you may be frustrated with some of his play on the field doesn't mean he isn't a leader.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

There are true leaders on the team now with Janovich, Weber, Gangwish, Gerry.

 

I made one substitution. Armstrong may be the quarterback and a fierce competitor, but I think we have better leadership material...who was the player who grabbed Alex Lewis and pulled him away from taunting the fans at the Illinois game?

We will disagree on Armstrong.

 

Just because you may be frustrated with some of his play on the field doesn't mean he isn't a leader.

 

I think an issue with the "leaders" of the team that are posted above is that 3 of those guys are walk-ons. Nothing against those guys, but the guys who make the best leaders are also among the most talented on the team. In the past, NU had leaders like the Peter brothers, Wistrom, Frazier, Ed Stewart, Mike Minter, Ameer Abdullah, the countless number of stud linemen that NU has had.

 

It's tough to count on guys who aren't the "best players" as the leaders of the team. Yeah, Gangwish is the "leader of the defensive line", and despite all of his effort, he's not dominating on the field. On offense, the leadership needs to come from an o-linemen or two who are all-conference worthy.

[beorach]

People asked, "Who's going to come here for Bo's money that's substantially better?" I never thought that was the question. You have to decide it's worth rolling the dice on an unknown commodity if you can't afford and entice a big name to take the NU post. We didn't get someone whose teams mirror Osborne's. If they win more than Bo, or even win just as much but don't get embarrassed, you've taken a step forward in more ways than one with Riley.