408 left us high and dry

Did you see the game?
The one where we scored 33 points, ran 77 plays, racked up 462 yards of offense, and went into overtime?

Yeah. I watched that game.

So... in what way did the staff not 'play to the strengths of the team?'

 
You can argue we're depleted at DE and LB, and maybe even QB.

Ok, so what about DT, Safety, CB, OL, WR, RB???

Again, I ask for someone to show me how talent is why FAU outrushed us against Miami (at 6.8 ypc, vs 4.8), or why we we kepting matching up a LB on the slot? Or how about the "adjustments" that the staff could make to help Davie didn't happen, so they pulled him?
I think most everyone (who is not trolling) will agree that we have a problem with both talent and coaching (mainly the D scheme) at the moment.
I'd agree with that. What I don't agree with, is the root post. This is EXACTLY what happened in 2008.

"Oh, Bo just needs time to get HIS guys, because we have no talent"

Yeah, no.
Callahan left Bo with plenty of talent and had a fantastic class lined up before he was fired. Riley coming in is most closely related to what Callahan came into in regards to talent. Bo came in much closer to what Solich inherited. They left the program in nearly the same shape talent wise. Frank and 408 were both overall recruiting failures.
Bullsqueeze. Frank left Billy C more NFL talent than Billy C left for Bo. You must've been drinking some funny koolaid back then.

Some coaches know how to coach the players they have, others know how to make excuses.

 
Frank left Billy C more NFL talent than Billy C left for Bo. You must've been drinking some funny koolaid back then.
NFL talent is irrelevant in college football. If NFL talent were a good barometer, Tommie Frazier would be remembered as an average quarterback.

Also, no. Solich did not leave more talent to Callahan than Callahan left to Pelini. Quite the opposite.

 
So, did we get a sudden influx of talent in the 4th quarter on Saturday?
Would we have needed a crazy 4th quarter if we'd have had better recruiting in the past three years?
If the staff would have played to the strengths of that talent on hand would we have needed that big 4th qtr comeback?
In what way did they not?
No dedication to the running game even though it was working.

As Saunders has said, putting a true freshman LB on the slot WR instead of a nickle, just to name a couple.

 
Hunter, I wish you the best of luck in finding a team that never lines up a LB on a slot WR. May you succeed in this hunt for a coaching staff worthy of your admiration. When you find them, come back and tell us, so we can root for Nebraska to hire him.

 
Hunter, I wish you the best of luck in finding a team that never lines up a LB on a slot WR. May you succeed in this hunt for a coaching staff worthy of your admiration. When you find them, come back and tell us, so we can root for Nebraska to hire him.
It's not that they did it once. It's that they did it repeatedly. I like to read what former players write on twitter during the game (Blake Lawrence, Fabian Washington, Jay Foreman, Jay Moore in this instance), and they were freaking out about it.

It's kinda like how we banged our head against the wall as we watched our Mike cover the RB out of the flat in Bo's D, and get abused.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
How would you combat it?

I mean, I do see what you are saying. But the defense shows weaknesses somewhere every which way it lines up on every play. A well designed offense with a savvy QB is going to find and exploit those weaknesses and mismatches and do it often. Rex Ryan isn't a moron. Not to say that that Banker is Rex Ryan or Kaaya is Tom Brady. Kaaya and the 'Canes offense certainly won this round.

*Although, they also didn't run us to death with it. Maybe Miami shot themselves in the foot, or maybe they simply couldn't anymore, or maybe they just won some early battles but never could simply do whatever they wanted, when they wanted.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Frank left Billy C more NFL talent than Billy C left for Bo. You must've been drinking some funny koolaid back then.
NFL talent is irrelevant in college football. If NFL talent were a good barometer, Tommie Frazier would be remembered as an average quarterback.

Also, no. Solich did not leave more talent to Callahan than Callahan left to Pelini. Quite the opposite.
By what metric? There were more players on Callahan's '04 roster that went on to sign NFL contracts then there were on Bo's '08 roster. Solich left 10-3 talent, Bo inherited 5-7 talent.

If Callahan was such a great recruiter, why were 7 of 11 starters on his '07 offense still Solich recruits? On Bo's first team in '08 he still had at least 5 of Solich's 5th year sr. recruits starting.

 
Bullsqueeze. Frank left Billy C more NFL talent than Billy C left for Bo. You must've been drinking some funny koolaid back then.
I looked that up, thinking you were wrong. But it's actually closer than I thought. I think the four years' of NFL drafts following Solich and Callahan captures most of the talent left on their teams when they left, although there are probly some exceptions. I crossed out the JUCOs who weren't leftover from the previous coach, including: Zac Taylor, Ola Dagunduro, Carl Nicks, Steve Octavien, Zackary Bowman, DeJon Gomes, Lavonte David Yoshi Hardrick. Probly some others on this list who weren't left over from the last guy.

The four NFL drafts after Solich that Callahan inherited:

2005 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Fabian Washington CB 1 23 Oakland

Barrett Ruud LB 2 36 Tampa Bay

Josh Bullocks S 2 40 New Orleans

Richie Incognito OG 3 81 St. Louis

Ira Cooper LB FA Minnesota

Mike Erickson OT FA Tennessee

2006 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Daniel Bullocks S 2 40 Detroit

Sam Koch P 6 203 Baltimore

LeKevin Smith DT 6 206 New England

Titus Adams DE 7 220 New York Jets

Seppo Evwaraye OL FA Carolina

Cory Ross RB FA Baltimore

2007 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Adam Carriker DE 1 13 St. Louis

Brandon Jackson RB 2 63 Green Bay

Stewart Bradley LB 3 87 Philadelphia

Jay Moore DE 4 104 San Francisco

Barry Cryer DT FA San Diego

Ola Dagunduro DT FA Dallas

Matt Herian TE FA Tampa Bay

Zac Taylor QB FA Tampa Bay

2008 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team
Zackary Bowman CB 5 142 Chicago
Carl Nicks OT 5 164 New Orleans
Bo Ruud LB 6 197 New England
Lance Brandenburgh LB FA San Francisco
Tierre Green S FA Green Bay
Cortney Grixby CB FA Carolina
Frantz Hardy WR FA Philadelphia
Steve Octavien LB FA Kansas City


The four NFL drafts after Callahan that Pelini inherited:

2009 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Cody Glenn LB 5 158 Washington

Matt Slauson OG 6 193 New York Jets

Lydon Murtha OT 7 228 Detroit

Todd Peterson WR FA Jacksonville

Nate Swift WR FA Denver

Marlon Lucky RB FA Cincinnati

Zach Potter DE FA New York Jets

Ty Steinkuhler DT FA New York Jets

Joe Ganz QB FA Washington

2010 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Ndamukong Suh DT 1 2 Detroit

Phillip Dillard LB 4 115 New York Giants

Larry Asante S 5 160 Cleveland

Chris Brooks WR FA Tampa Bay

Matt O'Hanlon S FA Carolina

Barry Turner DE FA Chicago

2011 DRAFT

Player Pos Rd Pick Team

Prince Amukamara CB 1 19 New York Giants

Roy Helu Jr. RB 4 105 Washington

Alex Henery K 4 120 Philadelphia

DeJon Gomes DB 5 147 Washington

Niles Paul WR 5 155 Washington

Keith Williams OL 6 196 Pittsburgh

Eric Hagg DB 7 248 Cleveland

Adi Kunalic K FA Carolina

Mike McNeill TE FA Indianapolis

Pierre Allen DE FA Seattle

Ricky Henry OG FA Chicago

D.J. Jones OT FA Miami

Rickey Thenarse S FA Seattle

Zac Lee QB FA Seattle

Mike Smith OL FA New Orleans

2012 DRAFT (Not sure whether to include this year)
Player Pos Rd Pick Team
Lavonte David LB 2 58 Tampa Bay
Jared Crick DT 4 126 Houston
Alfonzo Dennard CB 7 224 New England
Marcel Jones OT 7 234 New Orleans
Brandon Kinnie WR FA Kansas City
Yoshi Hardrick OL FA Tampa Bay
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hunter, I wish you the best of luck in finding a team that never lines up a LB on a slot WR. May you succeed in this hunt for a coaching staff worthy of your admiration. When you find them, come back and tell us, so we can root for Nebraska to hire him.
Yeah. That's a... weird gripe. It happens with some matchups.

And if you think you have the luxury of running the ball when you're down, by possession:

1st possession - 0 points

2nd possession - 7

3rd possession - 14

4th possession - 17

5th possession - 14

6th possession - 17

7th possession - 17

8th possession - 24

9th possession - 20

10th possession - 20

11th possession - 20

12th possession - 15

13th possession - 15

14th possession - 8

... then I've got a bridge for sale you might be interested in.

 
I think we ran the ball OK. Not great, but not bad either. I see similarities to 2008, and honestly, I think the key to this season, is mirroring that team.

We need to use a controlled passing game, burn the clock, and protect the defense. We can

 
Back
Top