Injuries and Expectations

[Chaddyboxer]

Let me ask the people who claim that injuries shouldn't affect expectations. So...you are saying that there is absolutely no level of injuries on a team that could prevent the coach from winning a championship?

I'm saying we should all wait until the season starts to find out if those injuries do really affect the defense....can't tell until we see live action for the first 6 weeks...I'll make my judgement at the end of the season.

 

[skersfan]

My gawd a flicker of common sense.

 

[carlfense]

4 losses as par...now, maybe 5...we attend a bowl no one cares about...Bo keeps his job. repeat cycle

Um sure...2 players who haven't started gone, a 3rd string running back in a stable of backs that would start for most of our opponents and one player from the deepest position we have on defense and you're ready to sell the farm.

You might back off on that rhetoric a bit maybe? This hair on fire attitude is really irksome.

I think he means we lose 4 games every year regardless, why would these injuries change those expectations?

Dude, there is no hope for fans with this attitude....read this quote from a great man below and THINK about it. Things can change and you only looking to where the program has been means you're stuck looking behind your shoulder...the players deserve better support than this in my opinion.

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy

Are you a Bo-leaver or a Bo-liever?

I agree that change can happen.

 

[carlfense]

I don't care who is coaching. I cheered for Callahan too. I cheer for the HUSKERS and whoever is captain of the ship because Husker football is bigger than just the coach. So, I'm neither of those things.

Sounds like you aren't paying much attention to the last part of the quote that you shared.

 

[tschu]

4 losses as par...now, maybe 5...we attend a bowl no one cares about...Bo keeps his job. repeat cycle

I mean it's sad, but 3 or 4 years ago I would have gone off on you for this quote, but now I find myself agreeing. I see zero data that suggests otherwise. I'm not trying to be pessimistic or anything, I'm just as excited for the season to start as anyone here, but we kind of know what to expect, and looking at this team, I don't see anything dramatically different than the past several years that would make me think we will make any great jump (or fall). I'm basically hoping for good variance at this point - bink a 30/70 game that we shouldn't win, get some lucky bounces, find ourselves in the B1GCCG within striking distance at halftime. That's my best-case scenario.

 

[NebraskaHarry]

4 losses as par...now, maybe 5...we attend a bowl no one cares about...Bo keeps his job. repeat cycle

I mean it's sad, but 3 or 4 years ago I would have gone off on you for this quote, but now I find myself agreeing. I see zero data that suggests otherwise. I'm not trying to be pessimistic or anything, I'm just as excited for the season to start as anyone here, but we kind of know what to expect, and looking at this team, I don't see anything dramatically different than the past several years that would make me think we will make any great jump (or fall). I'm basically hoping for good variance at this point - bink a 30/70 game that we shouldn't win, get some lucky bounces, find ourselves in the B1GCCG within striking distance at halftime. That's my best-case scenario.

Try to hold some of that excitement for the season back a bit will ya.

 

[carlfense]

I don't care who is coaching. I cheered for Callahan too. I cheer for the HUSKERS and whoever is captain of the ship because Husker football is bigger than just the coach. So, I'm neither of those things.

Sounds like you aren't paying much attention to the last part of the quote that you shared.

Sounds like you're trying to derail the topic of conversation.

Don't be afraid of change. Someone said that once. But I guess that's in the past now. Think about it.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

It changes them...

About 14 or 15 years ago when I grabbed by first coaching gig...the school I was at had a running back that was a super star. I don't mean he was good. I mean this kid nationally ranked (no Rivals stuff back at that time, I think the big one was Max Preps or maybe super max, I can't remember for sure, there was one other and then the USA today did a little bit too)

Well...Kid went home before his junior year to visit his Dad in florida...his dad was a drug dealer. Kid never made it back for his junior year (this is not an injury but he was still not going to be playing for us)

Never heard anything about the kid again, he probably started dealing or is dead. No clue.

But I can tell you that the coaching staffs expectations changed when he did not show back up for school. We were going to win a state championship that year with ease. He was going to rush for 10 yards a carry, with ease. Instead we lost in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs, like 22-14 or something like that.

 

[HuskerCarter]

It doesn't change my expectations for the season or the coaching staff, because I'm sure it doesn't change their expectations or goals for the team. However, seeing that I am a fan I have the luxury of being able to be lenient on a record that might not come close to what we had last season. As a coach, you can't do that, because you project it on your players as weakness, when you should be showing them strength.

 

[cg_8]

Sad to see players out for the season. I think the hardest position lost so far was the good experience we had from Rose-Ivey at the MIKE. Other than that, I think the DB's will be fine, Bo has a knack for always having a pretty solid and deep defensive backfield. The MIKE position may have some growing pains unless Banderas has had significant growth, which is very much possible. He'll at least have a greater handle on what to do compared to last year. He showed a lot of athleticism and speed when he started and played a lot vs. UCLA, but his inexperienced showed. One year under a system does a kid a lot of good with understanding his role in the defense.

Besides that, injuries have some good that come from them. This sounds like a terrible thing to say, but if it weren't for Tommy Frazier's injuries, we wouldn't have known about Brook Berringer. Also, without the injury to Bobby Newcombe, Eric Crouch possibly wouldn't have gotten significant playing time as a Freshman, and could have possibly been moved to split end. Also, with TM's injury last year, we could have a QB this year with absolutely zero playing experience. Tom Brady would be a nobody had Bledsoe not been injured. Abdullah did a darn good job covering for Rex. Some players step up, and step up excellently.

These examples are all anomalies, but you just never when an injury actually brings the best out of a backup or another player.

Don't get me wrong, my initial thoughts weren't positive, but ya just never know.

 

[Street Novelist]

4 losses as par...now, maybe 5...we attend a bowl no one cares about...Bo keeps his job. repeat cycle

Um sure...2 players who haven't started gone, a 3rd string running back in a stable of backs that would start for most of our opponents and one player from the deepest position we have on defense and you're ready to sell the farm.

You might back off on that rhetoric a bit maybe? This hair on fire attitude is really irksome.

We've lost 4 games every year under Bo. I am just going on history. Why are you getting your panties in a twist? You try to bring facts and history into a conversation and people get all butt-hurt. Until Bo proves otherwise, why should anyone predict less than a 4 loss season?

 

[Abdullah the Butcher]

4 losses as par...now, maybe 5...we attend a bowl no one cares about...Bo keeps his job. repeat cycle

Um sure...2 players who haven't started gone, a 3rd string running back in a stable of backs that would start for most of our opponents and one player from the deepest position we have on defense and you're ready to sell the farm.

You might back off on that rhetoric a bit maybe? This hair on fire attitude is really irksome.

We've lost 4 games every year under Bo. I am just going on history. Why are you getting your panties in a twist? You try to bring facts and history into a conversation and people get all butt-hurt. Until Bo proves otherwise, why should anyone predict less than a 4 loss season?

 

[BigRedBuster]

Let me ask the people who claim that injuries shouldn't affect expectations. So...you are saying that there is absolutely no level of injuries on a team that could prevent the coach from winning a championship?

People would have to be dumb to answer this question....of course there is a level and it differs for every single team. Some teams are deeper than others with talent. So it's variable. To speculate what it would be for the Huskers is also silly since none of us are on the inside.

I do know this...if a backup gets in the game, he's going to play his heart out to help his team win. That's all I care about...I don't care about a fixed number that people can hash and rehash and debate in a forum.

That is sort of my point. There are some fans who say, "injuries happen to all teams" and act like injuries should have no affect on the ultimate outcome of the season. Coaches (for the most part) can't control injuries. The assemble the best group of players they can to start the year. A few injuries here and there are going to happen and shouldn't have major ramifications. However, to act like no level of injuries should change our feelings towards the coach at the end of the year I believe is naive.

Let the season play out. The injuries we have seen so far might not change much, Or, we might look back and be able to see that if certain players were able to still play, it might have had an affect on the outcome.

 

[Hunter94]

it will have a big affect, depth is going to be a real issue with us......but play on

 

[kchusker_chris]

Let me ask the people who claim that injuries shouldn't affect expectations. So...you are saying that there is absolutely no level of injuries on a team that could prevent the coach from winning a championship?

What level of injuries are acceptable? Zero, one, two? How many before we should start lining up the excuses and lowering expectations? Florida State loses Winston and I can see tempering the repeat expectations - but I bet that fan base would still be planning trips for the playoffs. Rose + Jackson < Winston (by a long shot). Our expectations have always been B1G championship. That isn't going to be lowered by the loss of a couple 2nd stringers and the 4th best RB.

There are injuries every season, for every team. We're going to have more than this, I will 100% guarantee it. So why does everyone jump off a ledge when they start to occur - packing it in looking to 2015 (where we'll again have injuries)? There are a lot of uncertainties in football. The coaching staff is paid 6 million a year to adapt to the changing landscape. We have 120+ kids on the roster so we can make those adjustments and find the best 22. If an injury or two sinks a season where we've already built in a couple losses as a best case scenario - 3 weeks before the first game - then the 120+ isn't adequate, or the staffs' ability to adjust isn't adequate; both land squarely on the shoulders of one man.