2021 Spring Game - May 1st @ 1:00 CDT

lo country said:
FIFY.  TBH, I feel that way about every game the past few years.  Other than mistake prone, I am unsure which Husker team will show up week to week. Eventually we have to turn the corner right?  Right? 
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That would depend on the corner to be turned.  Shall we turn towards ice cream (Goodrich is my fav, I so miss it way down here), Valentino's, or Runza?  :D    

 
lo country said:
Haha. This might be the most realistic outlook going into a season that I can remember.  Peoples expectations truly appear to be more on the "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" level.  Can't disagree.  A ton of potential, but I feel like I have said this since Frank got fired.  Thought the D had the potential to be close to 2009/2010 good. This was prior to Honas going out.  Regardless of potential back-ups, he's not a guy "next man up" easily replaces.  Oh well, into the off season.  Again.
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Whoa whoa whoa, easy partner.  Remember the pass rush thing I mentioned before? That is still going to be missing, Honas or not, to get this team to that level. This team is also missing the best defensive tackle to ever play college football, in case you forgot, who made 2009 what it was.

 
runningblind said:
Whoa whoa whoa, easy partner.  Remember the pass rush thing I mentioned before? That is still going to be missing, Honas or not, to get this team to that level. This team is also missing the best defensive tackle to ever play college football, in case you forgot, who made 2009 what it was.
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2009 and 2010 were loaded with talent at each level no doubt.  Suh was a generational player who elevated the play of everyone.  Seeing how poor our D has been since then, close to is really subjective :lol:   I'm just more optimistic about the D than the O.  I think we are an edge rusher from being a salty D this year.  

 
Fun fact: statistically, our best defensive performance since joining the Big Ten was finishing #30 in total defense and #33 in scoring defense. That was the 2016 defense that got Mark Banker fired. :flush

(2011 was probably better, though. #37 total defense and #42 scoring defense, but against a #26 Sagarin strength of schedule, vs #49 in 2016.)

 
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Toe said:
Fun fact: statistically, our best defensive performance since joining the Big Ten was finishing #30 in total defense and #33 in scoring defense. That was the 2016 defense that got Mark Banker fired. :flush
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Eh, that might have been the defense with the best statistics but that doesn't make it the best defense (which you didn't say it was).  On a yards-per-play basis, the offenses we faced that year were the worst we've faced in the last decade.

All of Bo's defenses held opponents under their season average yards per play while the 2016 defense did not.  And last year's defense was actually the first since Bo was fired to do that.

YEAR - YPP - OYPP - DIFF
2003 - 4.3 - 5.15 -(0.85)

2004 - 5.0 - 4.91 - 0.09
2005 - 4.6 - 4.85 -(0.25)
2006 - 5.2 - 5.38 -(0.18)
2007 - 6.0 - 5.53 - 0.47

2008 - 5.4 - 5.41 -(0.01)
2009 - 3.9 - 5.21 -(1.31)
2010 - 4.5 - 5.29 -(0.79)
2011 - 5.2 - 5.51 -(0.31)
2012 - 5.3 - 5.48 -(0.18)
2013 - 4.9 - 5.36 -(0.46)
2014 - 5.2 - 5.53 -(0.33)

2015 - 5.7 - 5.28 - 0.42
2016 - 5.4 - 5.26 - 0.14

2017 - 6.3 - 5.37 - 0.93

2018 - 5.8 - 5.51 - 0.29

2019 - 5.6 - 5.33 - 0.27

2020 - 5.3 - 5.36 -(0.06)

 
I think we'll be in very good shape defensively so long as the Ohio States of the world agree to play 2-hand touch.

 
I honestly don't understand why some of you watch or care about this team if you're determined to be negative all the time. Has to be a miserable way to be a sports fan, but to each his own.

Very little to take away from this game but I thought it was mostly good signs. The starting defense shut down the backup offense, the starting offensive line moved people, running backs looked good, seem to have more receiving weapons, Smothers and Haarberg each had a couple good moments. Not going to get upset about QBs not having perfect ball placement in 30 mph winds because I'm not an insane person.

 
J-MAGIC said:
I honestly don't understand why some of you watch or care about this team if you're determined to be negative all the time. Has to be a miserable way to be a sports fan, but to each his own.
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I think some folks confuse negativity with reality. We've heard the same thing year after year, how great the team looks in spring and summer, how much progress they've made, blah blah blah, and then the season starts and it's the same old sloppy, undisciplined, mistake-prone play. No fire, no excitement, no passion. It's hard for many fans to be optimistic after so many seasons of disappointment. I think many of them - including me - expect the worst so that when things do go bad, we've already mentally prepared for it. That doesn't mean that we don't want the team to turn the corner and show improvement. Everybody wants that. I just prefer to see the product on the field before I make any judgment, because it's gotten to the point where I can't believe a word the coaches say. Does it suck having that mentality? Yes, it does. I wish it could be the way it was back in the day, when each week I could pretty much be guaranteed to witness hard-nosed, smash mouth, efficiently-played football where a win was almost always a given. Unfortunately those days are long gone.

 
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My thoughts. 

1.  Re-watched a couple of times.  Still way too many flags on 1st O.  GE22 needs to not get quite so deep when he leaks out of the backfield as the safety valve.  I'll reserve judgement on the check down throws.  I am not sure how you throw with touch laterally with a 30 MPH crosswind.  Otherwise, on the downfield throws, I thought Martinez looked pretty good. His numbers weren't as good as they could have been if 3 completions weren't called back by penalty and a couple catchable drops were caught.  No passes like the 2nd INT at Rutgers.  I don't count the 40 yards in the air against a 30 MPH headwind on the last play of the half that was about 2 yards short of dropping over for a TD.   I think the 1st O would have had a better chance of scoring more TD's if it wasn't touch football.  In the second half the RB had pretty good YAC (albeit against lower unit defense).  I don't remember one bad snap from Cam.   I will be interested to see how it translates to REAL action in the fall.  

2.  Never want to see Thud again in a spring game.  Thud is a dud.

3.  I think people largely saw what they wanted to see.  Good or Bad.  

 
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