Bo's Presser

[knapplc]

Won't prepare any different for Wash. than the last two times. They haven't changed a lot in the last couple of years. They'll tweak things for us, but not much.

Without Locker - they still do the same things. Still run the same offense with this guy compared to Locker.

Bo says we flat-out got beat on the Holiday Bowl. To say anything else would be to take away what they did.

We did better in this year's second week than in week one. We played against a better defense, but they struggle with the big plays. Bo knew going in that's how the game would go.

Bo is not concerned about "relying on the big play." That's our offense, and that's how Fresno's defense works.

Dennard - we'll see. He's ahead of schedule. He won't practice today.

Dennard's absence has affected us some. He's as good a corner as there is in the country. You have to deal with that.

HE'S SO VAGUE. They're really trying to pin him down and he won't commit. "He's close."

Chris Polk is a good football player, runs hard. It'll be a good test.

Bo is not worried about Fresno winning TOP. What he's concerned about is that we didn't play good defense. We didn't execute the way we were supposed to. We didn't play well, and that really goes to guys not being in the right spots, not executing. In coverage, the run game. It's not just young guys, it's the veterans that have been around here.

Hopefully it should be a wake-up call.

Bo doesn't think we handled anything well defensively. Didn't play well.

Bo would have substituted more up front in hind-sight, but that's about it.

Stafford has come a long way in a short amount of time. He's a good tackler and does well playing the football. He's got a lot of work to do, though.

Bo thinks we have four safeties back there that are all good, plus two young guys who are "on the come."

When Stafford is out there he's involved. He just needs to figure out how to play within the scheme, and as he gets more comfortable he'll make more plays.

The young corners have played average. When we play technique we play pretty good, but when they get out of their technique they're poor. That showed last week (Fresno).

If we prepare the right way this week the finished product on the field will show that.

Taylor's Fumbles - Bo is concerned any time the ball goes on the turf. It's fundamentals. When you're careless with how you carry the football it's a problem. It has to be a sense of urgency to put the ball away.

Bo thinks our Freshmen are talented. Hopefully they'll continue to make plays for us when they get the opportunity. They all have a ways to go, too. Ameer did a great job in the return game - he was a huge weapon for us, and he will continue to be.

We got a couple of other guys who didn't even get snaps the other night who can be weapons, too.

How do you feel about this 2-0 start?

Bo doesn't think about it much. He doesn't project, he lets the film speak for itself. He didn't think we'd be a finished product after two games. We have to keep working. He's seeing improvement in some areas and not enough in some areas. It's not about anything other than the process. We have to keep getting better as the season goes forward.

Bo could care less what the public's reaction is. There's consternation if you don't win 50-0 every week. Bo looks at the reality of where we are and how we can get better and win games. If he worries about what the public thinks he'll end up in a rubber room.

Bo doesn't buy into the fact that Fresno did things we weren't prepared for. We didn't play well and we didn't execute. Everything else is an excuse. That had everything to do with us, and that needs to get fixed.

Washington is multiple and they do things well. You have to communicate well and put yourself into position to execute. You have to be on your P's and Q's.

There was indication in practice leading up to Fresno from a couple of guys in a couple of areas that showed we had problems heading into the game. Guys listen to people tell them how good they are, and sometimes they need to get smacked around and get shown that you have to go out there and play. That's what makes this game great. You're only as good as your last snap. Hopefully our guys learned that.

We didn't play with an edge Saturday. That's obvious.

There was one running play that hurt us, but there were lots of other problems. Poor technique. Didn't play with NEAR the standard that we've established around here.

Bo again denies that it was because Fresno did things we hadn't seen on film. Also gives credit to Fresno.

Bo isn't answering question about how the crowd sounded. He has too many other things to worry about.

And that's it.

Bo laughed a couple of times, but he was terse when talking about the defense. Seemed very displeased with what he's seen on the field.

I would have to listen to a recap of the presser because I missed some of what Bo was saying in regard to the mindset of the defense, but the gist of it was that he feels like they've been thinking they're good and not showing they're good. It sounds like they're ready to challenge several guys to step it up. He was very displeased with the defense so far.

 

[The Dude]

This is why knapp is mah homie.

 

[knapplc]

Here's Rex Burkhead.

How does he feel about playing Washington for the third time in a year?

You just approach it like it's any other game. The game last season put a bad taste into their mouths, but you have to just focus on the game plan. You can't focus on it like it's revenge.

They made some adjustments, but they just out-executed us. They came ready to play and we didn't.

This year it's a different mindset. That's last year, we're focused on the present. We're learning from our mistakes.

Rex thinks the O Line got into some rhythm on the last few drives against Fresno. But it's a whole new ball game.

Rex says it's important to establish some longer drives as the year goes on. But they want to increase the tempo to keep the defense off balance.

Rex was a little surprised that Fresno held the ball much longer than they did. They didn't help the defense by holding the ball more, like they should have.

The team isn't that concerned about the way the fans are reacting. They're concerned with playing at the level they expect of themselves.

The Big Ten is going to be no joke, but before that we have two tough games against Washington and Wyoming.

The Holiday Bowl serves as some motivation, but you can't let that fuel you through practice because it won't last throughout the game.

We have a new offensive scheme this year than last year, so it'll be different for them. They have great playmakers on both sides of the ball. They get to the ball very quickly.

The Holiday Bowl was disappointing, but he took a head shot and that's why he reacted that way.

Ameer has come in very humble, and he's always ready to learn. He's bought into the culture that Bo has instilled. His character is going to make him a better player. He's a competitive "kid" and that's what Rex loves about him. He comes to work every day. Rex feels blessed to have him in the backfield with him.

Rex says Ameer has more shake-and-bake than he does.

Rex is very impressed that all of the Freshmen came in and broke into the starting lineups already. They've worked hard and they've picked it up pretty quickly.

All three of the RBs are great kids, very humble, they are excited and have good energy all the time. That's what separates them from other Freshmen, they're competitiveness.

All three are funny, fun to be around.

No matter how many guys the defense puts in the box, we expect to be able to run the ball. It upsets us a little bit when we can't, but you have to just keep going until it works.

 

[knapplc]

Ben Cotton up now.

Cotton says the Bowl game is one of those games you remember from the previous season. We had a great gameplan early in the season, but everything fell apart towards the end.

Cotton doesn't think we overlooked them in the bowl game, but we weren't there mentally. Not good enough focus. Weren't properly prepared.

It's helpful that they've played them twice recently because you get to know tendencies of the players. You also figure out what works against them.

One of the best things we've done is increasing our tempo, getting plays off quickly. We want to get more plays in quicker, and go after people. We have to be more physical across the board, including myself. We're going to have a good week of practice and get after them.

Last week's game, they were bringing in an extra safety. One guy was following Taylor wherever he went. They loaded the box and we expected that, and it took time to take advantage of it.

Thankfully we were able to take advantage of that, and we made some plays over the top in the second half.

Cotton says the Washington secondary is better than stats say. We're not going to take them lightly because of what they did to us in the Holiday Bowl.

Yoshi will do anything to be on that field. He doesn't play for himself, he plays for the guys around him and his family back home. Cotton couldn't be more proud of him for what he's gone through and what he's done for the team. When he came back from that broken finger, it made all the guys say to themselves that if he's willing to do that, I can do more for the team, too.

 

[Enhance]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

 

[beanman]

There was indication in practice leading up to Fresno from a couple of guys in a couple of areas that showed we had problems heading into the game. Guys listen to people tell them how good they are, and sometimes they need to get smacked around and get shown that you have to go out there and play. That's what makes this game great. You're only as good as your last snap. Hopefully our guys learned that.

We didn't play with an edge Saturday. That's obvious.

There was one running play that hurt us, but there were lots of other problems. Poor technique. Didn't play with NEAR the standard that we've established around here.

This is what bothers me about the teams we put out under Pelini.. Why don't we play like with passion? Is it because our style of defense doesn't lend itself to playing like wild men? Back under McBride we did more blitzing and basically beat the hell out of the opposing QB for 4 quarters. Is it a lack of leadership holding others accountable? It just doesn't seem like the team is fired up. Look at the way they were acting on the sidelines. We were in a close game and I saw a lot of smiling and joking around, which is bothersome.

 

[knapplc]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

The question was in relation to a comment Bo made during the offseason, where he said something about the crowd being louder and getting more involved. The reporter asked how Bo felt about the crowd's involvement or noise or whatever in the first two games, and Bo didn't want to touch it. He said he had too many other things to worry about.

A slick used-car-salesman kind of coach (Nick Saban) would have used that as an opportunity to suck up to the fans. Bo being Bo, he passed. Agree or disagree with him, you have to respect the fact that he is his own man.

 

[knapplc]

I think that's it for the presser, at least on the football side. They haven't brought out a new player to talk for a while, and it doesn't sound like any more are coming.

 

[Skull&Bones]

Well Thanks for the footnotes Knapplc.

Good to hear it sounds like we are healthy for the most part.

Dennard couldn't come back soon enough.

 

[Landlord]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

The question was in relation to a comment Bo made during the offseason, where he said something about the crowd being louder and getting more involved. The reporter asked how Bo felt about the crowd's involvement or noise or whatever in the first two games, and Bo didn't want to touch it. He said he had too many other things to worry about.

A slick used-car-salesman kind of coach (Nick Saban) would have used that as an opportunity to suck up to the fans. Bo being Bo, he passed. Agree or disagree with him, you have to respect the fact that he is his own man.

On tv it sounded like the crowd was really loud.

 

[knapplc]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

The question was in relation to a comment Bo made during the offseason, where he said something about the crowd being louder and getting more involved. The reporter asked how Bo felt about the crowd's involvement or noise or whatever in the first two games, and Bo didn't want to touch it. He said he had too many other things to worry about.

A slick used-car-salesman kind of coach (Nick Saban) would have used that as an opportunity to suck up to the fans. Bo being Bo, he passed. Agree or disagree with him, you have to respect the fact that he is his own man.

On tv it sounded like the crowd was really loud.

I think for the most part we were. I know I came home without a voice. The two girls sitting next to me were pretty quiet, as was the doofus who told me to sit down in the first quarter, but at halftime the girls left and in the second half even the doofus was up yelling.

 

[irafreak]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

The question was in relation to a comment Bo made during the offseason, where he said something about the crowd being louder and getting more involved. The reporter asked how Bo felt about the crowd's involvement or noise or whatever in the first two games, and Bo didn't want to touch it. He said he had too many other things to worry about.

A slick used-car-salesman kind of coach (Nick Saban) would have used that as an opportunity to suck up to the fans. Bo being Bo, he passed. Agree or disagree with him, you have to respect the fact that he is his own man.

On tv it sounded like the crowd was really loud.

I think for the most part we were. I know I came home without a voice. The two girls sitting next to me were pretty quiet, as was the doofus who told me to sit down in the first quarter, but at halftime the girls left and in the second half even the doofus was up yelling.

So this was your first time being told to sit down?

By the way, Bo mentioned that the defense might be a little full of themselves...I thought I remember hearing about McBride threatening to give a player's blackshirt to the next man in line during practices. Give those things out Bo so you can use them for leverage.

 

[knapplc]

So this was your first time being told to sit down?

Yep, first time that I can remember in more than 25 years. I covered it in the What We Learned thread, but in short I told the guy, "WHY?" and kept standing. He was, after all, a doofus.

 

[Landlord]

What did Bo mean when he said he wasn't going to talk about how the crowd sounded? The crowd sounded normal to me Saturday - loud when the team deserved it, quiet when the team was playing poorly. What was asked of Bo in regards to the crowd?

The question was in relation to a comment Bo made during the offseason, where he said something about the crowd being louder and getting more involved. The reporter asked how Bo felt about the crowd's involvement or noise or whatever in the first two games, and Bo didn't want to touch it. He said he had too many other things to worry about.

A slick used-car-salesman kind of coach (Nick Saban) would have used that as an opportunity to suck up to the fans. Bo being Bo, he passed. Agree or disagree with him, you have to respect the fact that he is his own man.

On tv it sounded like the crowd was really loud.

I think for the most part we were. I know I came home without a voice. The two girls sitting next to me were pretty quiet, as was the doofus who told me to sit down in the first quarter, but at halftime the girls left and in the second half even the doofus was up yelling.

Please. Everybody here knows, if they're honest with themselves, that those people are an urban myth amongst Husker fans

 

[bball_backer]

as was the doofus who told me to sit down in the first quarter

HOORAY! knapp finally lost his v-card, welcome to the club buddy! chuckleshuffle