"I wish I knew." -Bo Pelini 10/6/12

[Husker_x]

The "scrap everything, let the heads roll, hit the panic button" mentality that permeated after that game was most assuredly a false alarm.

Bo did the exact opposite, he kept his cool, and stuck with what he believes in. So far, so good.

However, I think we all agree (including Pelini - especially Pelini) that the team needs to play cleaner football. I'm pretty frustrated with that aspect of our team, but I don't think hitting the panic button is the answer. Bo still has learning to do. I don't think there's any question he's a good enough coach in other aspects to keep us afloat while he figures it all out.

The premise of the thread - the idea that he's completely clueless - has no merit.

The bolded part is all that needs to be said. And that's pretty much what I said. The problem with this team isn't that it can't beat mediocre teams with injured quarterbacks at home. Nor am I saying Michigan would have won the game with Robinson--useless argument, no way to know. The problem is you get a win against a mediocre team with an injured quarterback at home (two turnovers and another tsunami of penalties later) and people suddenly think we've arrived, and ignore the continuing trends.

Arrived at what? We've been here before. Riding high until our sloppy play kills us against a team we should beat. Do things look more positive than after the OSU game? Sure. But the OSU game happened. And consistency is only ever measured over time. This team is still wildly, freakishly inconsistent. It may be good enough to win the conference anyway. Time will tell. I for one can't buy stock until I see what we do down the stretch. Too many of the same issues are repeated week after week to get comfortable.

 

[The Dude]

I agree.

 

[Landlord]

The "scrap everything, let the heads roll, hit the panic button" mentality that permeated after that game was most assuredly a false alarm.

Bo did the exact opposite, he kept his cool, and stuck with what he believes in. So far, so good.

However, I think we all agree (including Pelini - especially Pelini) that the team needs to play cleaner football. I'm pretty frustrated with that aspect of our team, but I don't think hitting the panic button is the answer. Bo still has learning to do. I don't think there's any question he's a good enough coach in other aspects to keep us afloat while he figures it all out.

The premise of the thread - the idea that he's completely clueless - has no merit.

The bolded part is all that needs to be said. And that's pretty much what I said. The problem with this team isn't that it can't beat mediocre teams with injured quarterbacks at home. Nor am I saying Michigan would have won the game with Robinson--useless argument, no way to know. The problem is you get a win against a mediocre team with an injured quarterback at home (two turnovers and another tsunami of penalties later) and people suddenly think we've arrived, and ignore the continuing trends.

Arrived at what? We've been here before. Riding high until our sloppy play kills us against a team we should beat. Do things look more positive than after the OSU game? Sure. But the OSU game happened. And consistency is only ever measured over time. This team is still wildly, freakishly inconsistent. It may be good enough to win the conference anyway. Time will tell. I for one can't buy stock until I see what we do down the stretch. Too many of the same issues are repeated week after week to get comfortable.

I don't entirely disagree with you x, but I think you're discrediting Michigan more than is proper. Their only two losses before last night were against the #1 and #4 teams in the country. They are a pretty good football team and yes, I realize that statement has only held true with Robinson playing.

 

[Count 'Bility]

God help the Big 10 if we get the "little things" fixes. After UCLA and Ohio St I was pointing fingers to a slight talent disadvantage, but now I think that was overblown because poor execution and out-of-positioning can make a player look slow. Talent is there. Nebraska is a sleeping giant. There's nothing wrong with putting it that way. Still, cautious opitimism here. But the things coming out of camp are very VERY encouraging. Player refusal of the blackshirts last week is a huge development folks.

 

[whateveritis1224]

God help the Big 10 if we get the "little things" fixes. After UCLA and Ohio St I was pointing fingers to a slight talent disadvantage, but now I think that was overblown because poor execution and out-of-positioning can make a player look slow. Talent is there. Nebraska is a sleeping giant. There's nothing wrong with putting it that way. Still, cautious opitimism here. But the things coming out of camp are very VERY encouraging. Player refusal of the blackshirts last week is a huge development folks.

It seems like our LB class from last year has been lighting it up on the Scout team. Brown would be a 3rd down pass rush option this year if he hadn't rolled an ankle. I wouldn't be surprised if we went with a 3 down linemen look look next year with Brown taking over Martin's prowler role and Valentine manning the middle in a NT type spot. I'm worried about the Safeties next year, but Harvey Jackson got some PT in earlier in the year and Cooper is the Dime back this year.

On offense we lose Burkhead, Choi, and Jackson. That's it. Now Burkhead is a big loss, but we really haven't been playing with him this year either. Abdullah has stepped up in response to Burkhead's injury and Heard and Cross have looked good with their limited carries.

It all comes down for the team to get out of it's own way. If we do that, I wouldn't be surprised if next year we're undefeated heading into the B1G championship against an undefeated Ohio State.

 

[knapplc]

The bolded part is all that needs to be said. And that's pretty much what I said. The problem with this team isn't that it can't beat mediocre teams with injured quarterbacks at home. Nor am I saying Michigan would have won the game with Robinson--useless argument, no way to know. The problem is you get a win against a mediocre team with an injured quarterback at home (two turnovers and another tsunami of penalties later) and people suddenly think we've arrived, and ignore the continuing trends.

Arrived at what? We've been here before. Riding high until our sloppy play kills us against a team we should beat. Do things look more positive than after the OSU game? Sure. But the OSU game happened. And consistency is only ever measured over time. This team is still wildly, freakishly inconsistent. It may be good enough to win the conference anyway. Time will tell. I for one can't buy stock until I see what we do down the stretch. Too many of the same issues are repeated week after week to get comfortable.

Backtrack to last year, and ask that same question, and it proves your point even further. We'd just come off a huge win, biggest comeback in school history, riding high, blah blah blah. Ride that wave two more games, then proceed to crap the bed in three of our last five, including a loss at home to Northwestern and two blowouts to decent-but-not-great teams, Michigan and South Carolina. Both teams we should have at least competed with.

We've arrived nowhere, and this mentality that we have is the very thing that causes this team problems. They rest on their laurels, coast in games, and generally play like a$$ far too often.

I'm very glad about this win, and I think we have a better-than-average chance of sweeping the rest of our Big Ten slate. But we could also lose to Sparty, we could also lose to Penn State, and we could screw ourselves out of a shot at Indianapolis. I'd believe either scenario right now.

 

[kchusker_chris]

The bolded part is all that needs to be said. And that's pretty much what I said. The problem with this team isn't that it can't beat mediocre teams with injured quarterbacks at home. Nor am I saying Michigan would have won the game with Robinson--useless argument, no way to know. The problem is you get a win against a mediocre team with an injured quarterback at home (two turnovers and another tsunami of penalties later) and people suddenly think we've arrived, and ignore the continuing trends.

Arrived at what? We've been here before. Riding high until our sloppy play kills us against a team we should beat. Do things look more positive than after the OSU game? Sure. But the OSU game happened. And consistency is only ever measured over time. This team is still wildly, freakishly inconsistent. It may be good enough to win the conference anyway. Time will tell. I for one can't buy stock until I see what we do down the stretch. Too many of the same issues are repeated week after week to get comfortable.

Backtrack to last year, and ask that same question, and it proves your point even further. We'd just come off a huge win, biggest comeback in school history, riding high, blah blah blah. Ride that wave two more games, then proceed to crap the bed in three of our last five, including a loss at home to Northwestern and two blowouts to decent-but-not-great teams, Michigan and South Carolina. Both teams we should have at least competed with.

We've arrived nowhere, and this mentality that we have is the very thing that causes this team problems. They rest on their laurels, coast in games, and generally play like a$$ far too often.

I'm very glad about this win, and I think we have a better-than-average chance of sweeping the rest of our Big Ten slate. But we could also lose to Sparty, we could also lose to Penn State, and we could screw ourselves out of a shot at Indianapolis. I'd believe either scenario right now.

The pendulum swings to extremes at Nebraska - especially with the fans. My only question is - where the hell was Santos at UCLA. No way that kid has learned so much in those 3 weeks watching from the sidelines that all of a sudden he's now "ready". 10 tackles? The kid is always around the ball. Who's the coach that had him riding pine?

 

[Danny Bateman]

We've arrived nowhere, and this mentality that we have is the very thing that causes this team problems. They rest on their laurels, coast in games, and generally play like a$$ far too often.

This is why I b*tched in the ranking thread.

I think right about the time we start getting into the Top 20 and making our way up the polls... is right about when the team starts playing like the bolded. Somehow, the ranking definitely goes to the players' heads, and they play like they're entitled to the win based on what they've done in the past few games. They seem to lose their hunger and expect to win based on reputation-- the exact same problem plagues my beloved Eagles, and it's hard to watch as a fan.

We're definitely good enough to win out. The match-ups are DEFINITELY in our favor-- 3 pro style offenses and a spread with a true frosh QB at our place.

But the players have to remain grounded, and play like every game is their last, as cliche as that sounds. 100% focus, play smart, aggressive Nebraska football, and limit your mistakes. Even with a favorable schedule to round out the year it's necessary. Do that, and NU WILL earn trip to Indy.

 

[Danny Bateman]

Who's the coach that had him riding pine?

Ross Els. The same dude who was responsible for the dumpster fire of a special teams unit we'd seen all year. Luckily, he seems to have gotten his ish in gear the past couple weeks. LB play has definitely improved and ST's looks good. Maher's bangin' em through again and the kick coverage doesn't resemble a my John Brown hindparts anymore.

Kudos to Els.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Who's the coach that had him riding pine?

Ross Els. The same dude who was responsible for the dumpster fire of a special teams unit we'd seen all year. Luckily, he seems to have gotten his ish in gear the past couple weeks. LB play has definitely improved and ST's looks good. Maher's bangin' em through again and the kick coverage doesn't resemble a my John Brown hindparts anymore.

Kudos to Els.

...or whoever decided to jump in and take over (Bo?) -- err maybe just get out of the way (Bo?)

 

[RedDenver]

The pendulum swings to extremes at Nebraska - especially with the fans. My only question is - where the hell was Santos at UCLA. No way that kid has learned so much in those 3 weeks watching from the sidelines that all of a sudden he's now "ready". 10 tackles? The kid is always around the ball. Who's the coach that had him riding pine?

First, it's been 7 weeks since the UCLA game (6 games and a bye). Second, why is it so inconceivable that the kid got significantly better with more coaching and playing time? Third, shouldn't you be saying the same things about Whaley? He's looked pretty dang good.

(This last isn't directed at you specifically, kc.) I think the video game generation thinks real football is similar to those NCAA and Madden games. Each player has skills and ability that can be represented as a set of numbers. Player will play in accordance with those numbers week-in and week-out. In reality players are WAY more complex than that - as is the game itself. A player like Santos could have failed a test, broke up with a girlfriend, or been spending more time with his classes than in the film room which can lead to better or worse play on any given play. Even within the same game, players can play great and then lose focus for a play or two and get beat. I'm not sure what my point is here other than that we as fans tend to think things are much simpler and can be summed up (both good and bad) in easily understood terms when in reality nothing about football players and coaches is that simple.

 

[kchusker_chris]

The pendulum swings to extremes at Nebraska - especially with the fans. My only question is - where the hell was Santos at UCLA. No way that kid has learned so much in those 3 weeks watching from the sidelines that all of a sudden he's now "ready". 10 tackles? The kid is always around the ball. Who's the coach that had him riding pine?

First, it's been 7 weeks since the UCLA game (6 games and a bye). Second, why is it so inconceivable that the kid got significantly better with more coaching and playing time? Third, shouldn't you be saying the same things about Whaley? He's looked pretty dang good.

(This last isn't directed at you specifically, kc.) I think the video game generation thinks real football is similar to those NCAA and Madden games. Each player has skills and ability that can be represented as a set of numbers. Player will play in accordance with those numbers week-in and week-out. In reality players are WAY more complex than that - as is the game itself. A player like Santos could have failed a test, broke up with a girlfriend, or been spending more time with his classes than in the film room which can lead to better or worse play on any given play. Even within the same game, players can play great and then lose focus for a play or two and get beat. I'm not sure what my point is here other than that we as fans tend to think things are much simpler and can be summed up (both good and bad) in easily understood terms when in reality nothing about football players and coaches is that simple.

i meant it took a few weeks after the UCLA game (mainly after the Ohio State game) to finally see him. He's been playing a couple weeks now. Essentially after we decided to scap the defense and make some pretty drastic changes. Which you could certainly see during the Michigan game. Plenty of is was schematic (which I think is why we are seeing Whaley improve) and other parts personel (Santos/SJB).

It's pure speculation - but I think Santos could have covered those cross routes against UCLA better than Whaley. I have no idea why he wasn't in there - many on here were calling for both he and other LBers before that. I bet if we started over Bo might be doing some things differently during that game. That's easy to say though. Just too bad it took so many ugly defensive showings to change.

We'll see where it goes. 2008 we adjusted mid season and finished strong. 2009 we clamped down on the offense and finished strong. 2010/2011 seems more like we just rode through the season as we'd started, making few if any adjustments. 2012 is starting to feel a little different. Even if we lose out, it won't be beause Bo was so stubborn he wouldn't adjust the defense. That's more than I can say for the 2010 offense, or the 2011 defense.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Well, in 2010, we literally got screwed against A&M, lost a really close game to Oklahoma, and then packed it in after that. I wouldnt use the Texas game or Washington II games as any sort of measuring stick for that season.

 

[Undone]

Well, in 2010, we literally got screwed against A&M, lost a really close game to Oklahoma, and then packed it in after that. I wouldnt use the Texas game or Washington II games as any sort of measuring stick for that season.

Yeah...but our offense was really, really anemic. Our O-line didn't have a strong push, and Taylor had little to no rhythm in his passing game at that point.

That has changed. But I always get taken aback though by the portion of our fan base that believes we lost that A&M game solely because of the calls. That might be true to a great degree even, but our offense was just flat and unimpressive.

 

[whateveritis1224]

It was flat and unimpressive because Caputo stepped on Martinez's ankle. That was the first series. Before he got his ankle stepped on, the offense was having a pretty methodical drive IIRC.