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Tom Shatel: Knock on all-NU final doesn't upset Tagge
BY TOM SHATEL
WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST
First downs and second guesses:
The one person who should have been offended by Kirk Herbstreit's comments on ESPN about the 1971 Nebraska team wasn't.
"I didn't see all of the show," said former Nebraska quarterback Jerry Tagge. "I fell asleep."
How perfect is that?
Herbstreit was upset because voters picked the '71 Huskers to play the 1995 Nebraska team in a mythical "Greatest College Football Team Of All Time" debate. The former Ohio State quarterback and ESPN analyst threw a snit because two Nebraska teams were picked.
Herbstreit mocked the process, saying it was only people from Nebraska watching and voting. He asked aloud if the '71 team threw the ball. He questioned the defense of the team that beat the No. 2-ranked team twice (Oklahoma once and Alabama in the Orange Bowl), along with No. 3 Colorado.
Mostly, Herbstreit said the '71 team wouldn't have been able to physically match up against the 2004 USC or 2001 Miami teams.
"I don't mind that," Tagge said. "He (Herbstreit) has all of 15 years of history. Young people are not going to remember us. But, obviously, there were a lot of older folks who voted who remembered.
"I had a problem with two things he said. One, we did throw the ball. We were 50-50. Tom Osborne was a passing guru back then. We were very efficient in throwing the ball.
"The other thing was, our defense. We had a great defense. The one thing I remember is every time the offense ran onto the field, we were at the 35- or 40-yard line. Our field position was phenomenal. That was because of our defense."
One thing that surprised me about the show was when Lou Holtz said Nebraska ran the option in 1971. Was that true?
"Yeah, we ran some option," Tagge said. "Tom did that to pull the safeties up. We used the option to set up the passing game. Then, if the safety would play deep, watching for Johnny (Rodgers), I would run an option. We used the passing game to set up the option. That was Tom.
"We ran a lot of sprint options. But we did it out of the spread, too. I remember we lined Jeff Kinney off the tight end and went with a fullback behind me. I would run the option with the fullback."
Another myth shattered: So much for Florida coach Urban Meyer inventing the spread option.
Tagge said he agrees with one Herbstreit argument: that teams from his era would be physically overmatched today.
"That's obvious," Tagge said. "But we played by different rules, too. Our linemen couldn't use their hands, not like today, where anything goes. In fact, our linemen couldn't open their hands out of a fist. They couldn't grab anybody, like today's players do.
"Also, back then, you could bump and run people all over the field. A good defensive back could spy on a certain receiver all game. And if you ran across the middle, linebackers would knock your head off. I had a hard time getting receivers to run across the middle. Today, you can't touch anyone.
"The only guy who could have played today was Johnny (Rodgers). He was so phenomenal. There were some games where, if the other team had him, we wouldn't have won."
Maybe ESPN should include Tagge the next time it does one of those "Greatest Ever" shows. Of course, it might have to do it earlier in the evening.
Tom Shatel: Knock on all-NU final doesn't upset Tagge
BY TOM SHATEL
WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST
First downs and second guesses:
The one person who should have been offended by Kirk Herbstreit's comments on ESPN about the 1971 Nebraska team wasn't.
"I didn't see all of the show," said former Nebraska quarterback Jerry Tagge. "I fell asleep."
How perfect is that?
Herbstreit was upset because voters picked the '71 Huskers to play the 1995 Nebraska team in a mythical "Greatest College Football Team Of All Time" debate. The former Ohio State quarterback and ESPN analyst threw a snit because two Nebraska teams were picked.
Herbstreit mocked the process, saying it was only people from Nebraska watching and voting. He asked aloud if the '71 team threw the ball. He questioned the defense of the team that beat the No. 2-ranked team twice (Oklahoma once and Alabama in the Orange Bowl), along with No. 3 Colorado.
Mostly, Herbstreit said the '71 team wouldn't have been able to physically match up against the 2004 USC or 2001 Miami teams.
"I don't mind that," Tagge said. "He (Herbstreit) has all of 15 years of history. Young people are not going to remember us. But, obviously, there were a lot of older folks who voted who remembered.
"I had a problem with two things he said. One, we did throw the ball. We were 50-50. Tom Osborne was a passing guru back then. We were very efficient in throwing the ball.
"The other thing was, our defense. We had a great defense. The one thing I remember is every time the offense ran onto the field, we were at the 35- or 40-yard line. Our field position was phenomenal. That was because of our defense."
One thing that surprised me about the show was when Lou Holtz said Nebraska ran the option in 1971. Was that true?
"Yeah, we ran some option," Tagge said. "Tom did that to pull the safeties up. We used the option to set up the passing game. Then, if the safety would play deep, watching for Johnny (Rodgers), I would run an option. We used the passing game to set up the option. That was Tom.
"We ran a lot of sprint options. But we did it out of the spread, too. I remember we lined Jeff Kinney off the tight end and went with a fullback behind me. I would run the option with the fullback."
Another myth shattered: So much for Florida coach Urban Meyer inventing the spread option.
Tagge said he agrees with one Herbstreit argument: that teams from his era would be physically overmatched today.
"That's obvious," Tagge said. "But we played by different rules, too. Our linemen couldn't use their hands, not like today, where anything goes. In fact, our linemen couldn't open their hands out of a fist. They couldn't grab anybody, like today's players do.
"Also, back then, you could bump and run people all over the field. A good defensive back could spy on a certain receiver all game. And if you ran across the middle, linebackers would knock your head off. I had a hard time getting receivers to run across the middle. Today, you can't touch anyone.
"The only guy who could have played today was Johnny (Rodgers). He was so phenomenal. There were some games where, if the other team had him, we wouldn't have won."
Maybe ESPN should include Tagge the next time it does one of those "Greatest Ever" shows. Of course, it might have to do it earlier in the evening.
