1620 Round Table

[Count 'Bility]

Rather ironic PJ calling people out. Maybe he should point the thumb. And last I knew, Carl's defense didnt give up 93498232987149327 yards per game.

that's an exaggeration, and you know it.

I know, right. Damn Bo-haters. Always tryin to spin things to promote their agenda.

Anyway, on a serious note in response to what Landlord says. Maybe there were some things that Carl did or taught that were still having an effect on the players and how they played. I'm really bettin on this whole "addition by subtraction" concept is something we really see this year.

One thing that Benning says that will really help this year's team is the lack of coaching turnover this year. The same message and communication from ALL of the assistant coaches will be there for this year, and that is a plus.

Most definitely. it's the first time since 2010 we've gone into a season with the same staff in place as the previous year. I know that really doesnt sound like a long time-we've only played 2 full seasons since-but yet in terms of what we're talking about, it's seems like forever ago.

 

[Mavric]

Segment 8 first gets into the Big 10 championship game against Wisconsin. PJ Smith points out that the performance of that game was 100% on the players. He said Bo had the team prepared for the game and those plays. They went over those jet sweeps countless times. They did it right in practice, but in the game, they didn't do what they were supposed to do, himself included. Bo tried to change things on the sidelines, and the players didn't get it.

Irrelevant. Just because a player says it doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. It has to be that Bo's defense is too complex and he sucks at recruiting.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Segment 9 touched on the end of 2012 and the Big 10 Championship game. Benning thought that the 6-game win streak to end the season was a bit of "smoke and mirrors" for the team, and they were out of gas when the Wisconsin game came. Foreman said that the team tried to play "too fast" when the team fell behind early, and they didn't play well in all three phases.

McKewon says that the team can take things from the 6 game win streak to end the regular season, especially Martinez. TMart really stepped up in those wins, and he can carry forward that game and leadership into 2013.

Smith said that Bo asked him what they can do during the Wisconsin game to change things up. PJ said that they should put some new players in, because there were guys "crying out there". Interesting stuff. Seems like the team was very fragile last year.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Segment 8 first gets into the Big 10 championship game against Wisconsin. PJ Smith points out that the performance of that game was 100% on the players. He said Bo had the team prepared for the game and those plays. They went over those jet sweeps countless times. They did it right in practice, but in the game, they didn't do what they were supposed to do, himself included. Bo tried to change things on the sidelines, and the players didn't get it.

Irrelevant. Just because a player says it doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. It has to be that Bo's defense is too complex and he sucks at recruiting.

My sarcasm meter is high with that post.

 

[Enhance]

Sam did say that he was a little more lenient than others when it comes to the O-line, and that the memories of the 90's O-lines cloud the perception of fans. Benning agreed that the fans are biased and only want to remember the 90's linemen.

I always find these remarks interesting. First, fans are always biased. But, second, the reason fans get hung up on the 90's is because it's players like Benning, Jason Peter, etc., that use the 90's as a point of reference for just about everything they talk about. This is what those former players know, of course, so I'm certainly not saying they have to use difference points of reference because that'd be just ridiculous. But the fans and former players feed off of one another when it comes to 90's references, and like I said, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact former players and analysts regularly use the 90's as a point of reference.

IMHO that's the standard Nebraska should be held to. Maybe not THAT dominant, but at least in the same realm. That's why I don't have a problem using the 90's or being biased towards them. Any team should strive to do things the way we did, the way Alabama is now.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Segment 9 touched on the end of 2012 and the Big 10 Championship game. Benning thought that the 6-game win streak to end the season was a bit of "smoke and mirrors" for the team, and they were out of gas when the Wisconsin game came. Foreman said that the team tried to play "too fast" when the team fell behind early, and they didn't play well in all three phases.

McKewon says that the team can take things from the 6 game win streak to end the regular season, especially Martinez. TMart really stepped up in those wins, and he can carry forward that game and leadership into 2013.

Smith said that Bo asked him what they can do during the Wisconsin game to change things up. PJ said that they should put some new players in, because there were guys "crying out there". Interesting stuff. Seems like the team was very fragile last year.

I wouldnt say fragile throughout the year. You dont face the adversity-self-imposed or not- game in and game out and constantly find ways to battle back. But I will agree they were fragile that night. That was just a perfect storm.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Segment 10 wasn't all that great, but PJ Smith does breakdown the WR's.

Bell--the speed guy, deep threat

Enunwa--the physical, possession receiver. His key routes are the outs, ins, slants

Turner--a man amongst boys, can do it all

Alonzo Moore--a mixture of Bell and Turner, he and Turner need the ball

Westerkamp--nothing specific mentioned about Jordan, but Foreman and Smith had a good laugh about him being a 4-star recruit

At the end of the segment, they touch a bit on Shawn Watson. PJ says that Watson struggled when Martinez was named QB. Watson is good when he has a QB that he likes and trusts.

Sam says that the o-line will be better this year than people think. PJ says it will be the best o-line under Bo. Foreman says that people tend to think about the o-line mistakes (A-Rod false starts against Georgia) rather than the good stuff they did last year (run blocking).

 

[Huskerzoo]

Sam did say that he was a little more lenient than others when it comes to the O-line, and that the memories of the 90's O-lines cloud the perception of fans. Benning agreed that the fans are biased and only want to remember the 90's linemen.

I always find these remarks interesting. First, fans are always biased. But, second, the reason fans get hung up on the 90's is because it's players like Benning, Jason Peter, etc., that use the 90's as a point of reference for just about everything they talk about. This is what those former players know, of course, so I'm certainly not saying they have to use difference points of reference because that'd be just ridiculous. But the fans and former players feed off of one another when it comes to 90's references, and like I said, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact former players and analysts regularly use the 90's as a point of reference.

IMHO that's the standard Nebraska should be held to. Maybe not THAT dominant, but at least in the same realm. That's why I don't have a problem using the 90's or being biased towards them. Any team should strive to do things the way we did, the way Alabama is now.

I think that you have to put all of this in perspective. The 90's are a rarity. Of the 125 schools out there, only 1 seems to own a decade. We had the 90's, bama has this decade locked up, etc. What Nebraska is doing right now is on par with the 80's. Yeah the losses are happening at the wrong part of the season and that costs us ranking, but still. I think that this is a fair place to expect our team to be. If we start losing 5, 6 games a season, somethings gone horribly wrong. It's completely unrealistic to hold our team to the standard of the 90's. Why? Because when a team gets dominant the rest of the league figures out how to counter it, the nature of football is its cyclical. The teams that value football will find ways to stay relevant, the teams that don't won't.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Segment 11 gets into Ameer Abdullah and gets the thoughts from the panel

McKewon--good competitor, may not get to 1500 yards, but it's not a crucial bench mark. YPC and yards per touch is more applicable. Having someone else do returns will help him. Ameer was able to outwork Heard and Green to get ahead of those guys from the same recruiting class.

Foreman--good athlete and be productive. He must be able to take a hit and not fumble against big competition. He needs to perform better against top competition.

Benning--thinks Ameer can be special. If he gets 18-23 touches (carries and catches) per game, he can be a steadying force for the offense. He doesn't have to get a high volume of touches, but just the circumstances of those touches. He says that Ameer was the type of competitor that would have fit well on the 90s teams (Foreman disagreed).

Smith--thinks he will have a breakout season (1500 yards)

Shatel--it will be key to save Ameer for November (at Michigan, at Penn State). Ameer needs to be healthy for that stretch run.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Westerkamp--nothing specific mentioned about Jordan, but Foreman and Smith had a good laugh about him being a 4-star recruit

Please explain.

 

[Enhance]

I think that you have to put all of this in perspective. The 90's are a rarity. Of the 125 schools out there, only 1 seems to own a decade. We had the 90's, bama has this decade locked up, etc. What Nebraska is doing right now is on par with the 80's. Yeah the losses are happening at the wrong part of the season and that costs us ranking, but still. I think that this is a fair place to expect our team to be. If we start losing 5, 6 games a season, somethings gone horribly wrong. It's completely unrealistic to hold our team to the standard of the 90's. Why? Because when a team gets dominant the rest of the league figures out how to counter it, the nature of football is its cyclical. The teams that value football will find ways to stay relevant, the teams that don't won't.

Holding them to the exact, dominant mid-90's standards is unrealistic. You're right. But, I believe it's realistic to hold them to the standard that Nebraska had for three decades. Losses are going to happen, and bad losses are going to happen. But, we should still be expectant on winning at least conference championships and not suffering 70-30 type blowout losses. Those standards are more than reasonable for any fan to hold, imho.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Westerkamp--nothing specific mentioned about Jordan, but Foreman and Smith had a good laugh about him being a 4-star recruit

Please explain.

Foreman basically said "I thought he was supposed to be a stud? He was a 4-star recruit!!" It was basically Foreman just giving the recruiting services a jab. He doesn't have anything against Westerkamp.

Smith basically said that being a stud recruit doesn't mean anything once the kid gets on the team, and that everyone is treated the same by the coaches.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

A Michigan fan asks the panel about John Papuchis and whether they "believe in him". The Michigan fan is asking this because Benning is critical of Al Bourges (OC at Michigan). The Michigan fan is mistaken because he is saying it's JP's 3rd year in the role, while it's only his 2nd year.

Benning--probably his favorite coach on the staff, loves his personality, good defensive mind, difficult spot because he is a DC for a hands-on, defensive head coach. The verdict is out there, but he thinks that Paps is a great recruiter, great mind, understands defenses. Paps is probably the most complete coach on the staff, but it's hard to get a gauge because we don't know what responsibilities he has on the D (with Bo there). There is also a difference in philosophy from Carl to JP.

Smith--loves JP. Paps was his recruiting coordinator. All the players were happy when JP got the DC job. Smith said something about Carl, won't go into too much detail, but says JP is 1000 times better.

Foreman--thinks JP is in a good position to learn from Bo. Compares JP to Frost at Oregon. Says the DC can do as much to put the players in the correct position, but it's still the players to do it correctly.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Segment 13 goes into the Newcomer of the Year for each Panelist

McKewon--Randy Gregory

Foreman--Nathan Gerry, he's a DB who morphed into a LB, like getting another LB in the recruiting class. He can read pass plays like a DB, but at the LB level.

Benning--Zaire Anderson (although he played a bit last year)

PJ Smith--Alonzo Moore, he's a freak

Shatel--Josh Banderas

A question is asked about the draw play, and stopping it. Foreman says the d-line needs to hold ground and make the play. Smith says it's tough because the safeties read pass at first, and then have to come up for run support.

PJ makes a joke that teams should run a QB sneak the first play of the game, because it would probably gain an easy 5 yards.

Foreman says the fans should give the defense a longer leash, because the youth will cause a lot of mistakes.

PJ says that he and other players don't care what fans/media say. TMart has taken so much criticism, but doesn't let it impact him. The coaches are just trying to protect their players.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Segment 13 goes into the Newcomer of the Year for each Panelist

McKewon--Randy Gregory

Foreman--Nathan Gerry, he's a DB who morphed into a LB, like getting another LB in the recruiting class. He can read pass plays like a DB, but at the LB level.

Benning--Zaire Anderson (although he played a bit last year)

PJ Smith--Alonzo Moore, he's a freak

Shatel--Josh Banderas

A question is asked about the draw play, and stopping it. Foreman says the d-line needs to hold ground and make the play. Smith says it's tough because the safeties read pass at first, and then have to come up for run support.

PJ makes a joke that teams should run a QB sneak the first play of the game, because it would probably gain an easy 5 yards.

Foreman says the fans should give the defense a longer leash, because the youth will cause a lot of mistakes.

PJ says that he and other players don't care what fans/media say. TMart has taken so much criticism, but doesn't let it impact him. The coaches are just trying to protect their players.

This part is interesting. I think everyone can probably agree with PJ when players are in the system. HOWEVER, at some point, all of the players eventually become fans looking in from the outside.