Nebraska mindset needs refinement

Abdullah the Butcher

Abdullah the Butcher

Banned
http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=bigten&id=108762

A general observation here, and maybe its just from the people whom I heard in the wake of predicting last week in step with our other five writers who cover the Big Ten that Michigan State would beat Nebraska: Husker Nation was in denial.

Not in denial so much about the reality that the Spartans were a better-tested and more complete team. People didnt want to listen to talk of that, either, but they were in denial about the state of college football and Nebraskas place in it.

It wasnt about talent as much as belief.

I feel like we didnt really have much emotion in the first half, receiver Jordan Westerkamp told reporters after the game.

Thats unexplainable, unless Nebraska no longer knows as a program how to respond to the big moment. To be fair, some of the struggles involved inexperience at key positions. Injuries played a big role, too.
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Sounds like the author was reading True's posts before the game.

 
Wow that article was all over the place. Placing any blame on the fans is crazy. I'll rewatch the game but I don't remember seeing any fans lined up, ready for the snap, at East Lansing. Saw quite a few fans in the stands, but none who actually played.

So the mindset of the fans.... not much of an issue.

Because here's the funny thing - there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who are perfectly happy with the staff we have, the players we have.

And there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who very much dislike this staff, and think we need to step up our recruiting game, big-time.

There are also a myriad of combinations of those mindsets in between. So making some blanket statement that "the fans" or even "some fans" bap bap bap, makes no sense.

Aside from that, I agree with the premise that we have a mindset issue. The article is a bit of a dog's breakfast in elucidating that point, though.

 
This has come up several times over the years. I'm not sure what the players are describing is a lack of emotion. I think it's nerves and anxiety and frustration when things aren't working. Those are all emotions. For some reason it sounds better to say "we didn't play with emotion" than "we were uptight and easily intimidated."

For all the talk about playcalling and schemes and adjustments, Nebraska's persistent issue is mental toughness and killer instinct. That's why my concerns revolve around the head coach more than the coordinators and assistants.

 
knapplc said:
Wow that article was all over the place. Placing any blame on the fans is crazy. I'll rewatch the game but I don't remember seeing any fans lined up, ready for the snap, at East Lansing. Saw quite a few fans in the stands, but none who actually played.So the mindset of the fans.... not much of an issue.Because here's the funny thing - there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who are perfectly happy with the staff we have, the players we have.And there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who very much dislike this staff, and think we need to step up our recruiting game, big-time.There are also a myriad of combinations of those mindsets in between. So making some blanket statement that "the fans" or even "some fans" bap bap bap, makes no sense.Aside from that, I agree with the premise that we have a mindset issue. The article is a bit of a dog's breakfast in elucidating that point, though.
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I love the phrase "dogs breakfast", great term.

Basically this guys writes about what I've said, you've said and many others have said. It's a matter of "want to" for a lot of these players, and walking into North stadium thinking they're the same Nebraska as the trophies on the walls.

They aren't.

There are better leaders on this team than there has in the past, sure. But I'll ask again, who's the Grant Wistrom getting players to run steps in the heat until they puke because they lost two games in 96 and that was unacceptable? Who are the guys making sure everyone is working towards the common goal?

There isn't one.

And Osborne and McBride didn't just magically have these guys. They cultivated them, molded them.

And this isn't a new issue, this was a gripe written about by a former player in Diary of a Husker back in 2002. It's been a fault in the coaching staff expecting these guys to "get it" from Solich, to Callahan to now.

 
The thing is, it's "gettable." Other teams get it. Sparty sure seemed to get it, have that mental edge, for the first three quarters.

I wonder if part of the issue isn't that the guys either don't know the plan going into the game, don't like the plan, or don't trust the plan. Seems like the Offensive Line wasn't being a cohesive unit, as evidenced by the fact that the false-start clapping stuff was happening in the first half, but not corrected on our side until the fourth quarter. Where was the communication between the linemen about that? Or between Tommy & Pelini? That's what makes me think there's too much "not on the same page" going on.

 
NUpolo8 said:
knapplc said:
Wow that article was all over the place. Placing any blame on the fans is crazy. I'll rewatch the game but I don't remember seeing any fans lined up, ready for the snap, at East Lansing. Saw quite a few fans in the stands, but none who actually played.So the mindset of the fans.... not much of an issue.Because here's the funny thing - there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who are perfectly happy with the staff we have, the players we have.And there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who very much dislike this staff, and think we need to step up our recruiting game, big-time.There are also a myriad of combinations of those mindsets in between. So making some blanket statement that "the fans" or even "some fans" bap bap bap, makes no sense.Aside from that, I agree with the premise that we have a mindset issue. The article is a bit of a dog's breakfast in elucidating that point, though.
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I love the phrase "dogs breakfast", great term.

Basically this guys writes about what I've said, you've said and many others have said. It's a matter of "want to" for a lot of these players, and walking into North stadium thinking they're the same Nebraska as the trophies on the walls.

They aren't.

There are better leaders on this team than there has in the past, sure. But I'll ask again, who's the Grant Wistrom getting players to run steps in the heat until they puke because they lost two games in 96 and that was unacceptable? Who are the guys making sure everyone is working towards the common goal?

There isn't one.

And Osborne and McBride didn't just magically have these guys. They cultivated them, molded them.

And this isn't a new issue, this was a gripe written about by a former player in Diary of a Husker back in 2002. It's been a fault in the coaching staff expecting these guys to "get it" from Solich, to Callahan to now.
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The only thing I would argue is that there is no proof that any of the other "elite" teams have the "Grant Wistrom" of leaders on their team.

Also, as stated before, just because it worked back then doesn't mean it works today.

 
Maybe the playing down the big games as just another game is a problem? I know in high school we had a couple games that were always tougher and more important than the others. While the head coach always tried to play it down, we had a couple position coaches who would go behind his back and say otherwise. I always agreed. You gotta get up more for the big games, cuz you know the other team is. This team still has mentality issues. it's why I'm so down. I've thought for about 3 years now this was still this programs #1 hurdle. And it's still not fixed. So my hopes for this season are back in the shitter. Until I see it happen on the field, I've come to the assumption that this is an issue that Bo cant fix.

 
StPaulHusker said:
NUpolo8 said:
knapplc said:
Wow that article was all over the place. Placing any blame on the fans is crazy. I'll rewatch the game but I don't remember seeing any fans lined up, ready for the snap, at East Lansing. Saw quite a few fans in the stands, but none who actually played.So the mindset of the fans.... not much of an issue.Because here's the funny thing - there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who are perfectly happy with the staff we have, the players we have.And there are fans who expect a conference championship this year who very much dislike this staff, and think we need to step up our recruiting game, big-time.There are also a myriad of combinations of those mindsets in between. So making some blanket statement that "the fans" or even "some fans" bap bap bap, makes no sense.Aside from that, I agree with the premise that we have a mindset issue. The article is a bit of a dog's breakfast in elucidating that point, though.
Click to expand...
I love the phrase "dogs breakfast", great term.

Basically this guys writes about what I've said, you've said and many others have said. It's a matter of "want to" for a lot of these players, and walking into North stadium thinking they're the same Nebraska as the trophies on the walls.

They aren't.

There are better leaders on this team than there has in the past, sure. But I'll ask again, who's the Grant Wistrom getting players to run steps in the heat until they puke because they lost two games in 96 and that was unacceptable? Who are the guys making sure everyone is working towards the common goal?

There isn't one.

And Osborne and McBride didn't just magically have these guys. They cultivated them, molded them.

And this isn't a new issue, this was a gripe written about by a former player in Diary of a Husker back in 2002. It's been a fault in the coaching staff expecting these guys to "get it" from Solich, to Callahan to now.
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The only thing I would argue is that there is no proof that any of the other "elite" teams have the "Grant Wistrom" of leaders on their team.
Also, as stated before, just because it worked back then doesn't mean it works today.
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We might not know who does that on say, MSU. I mean, the Wistrom stories were local articles and player accounts on local radio. Basically, the fans knew. I wonder if Sparty fan knows.

But I do remember the 60 minutes piece on the special strength coach Bama used during the offseason. I'd love to see that at NU

 
Count 'Bility said:
Maybe the playing down the big games as just another game is a problem? I know in high school we had a couple games that were always tougher and more important than the others. While the head coach always tried to play it down, we had a couple position coaches who would go behind his back and say otherwise. I always agreed. You gotta get up more for the big games, cuz you know the other team is. This team still has mentality issues. it's why I'm so down. I've thought for about 3 years now this was still this programs #1 hurdle. And it's still not fixed. So my hopes for this season are back in the shitter. Until I see it happen on the field, I've come to the assumption that this is an issue that Bo cant fix.
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I disagree completely with this approach. "Getting up" for some opponents implies "being down" for others, which is exactly what our problem has been. Until this team approaches every game as a big game, every practice as a big practice, every workout as a big workout, etc., they'll continue losing four games a year.

It's also not enough to come into game week trying to get ready to play. If that's what players are doing, that's another reason they're losing games. Preparation for this season and these games needed to begin on January 2. It needed to continue through Spring, Summer and Fall. At least that's what winning teams do.

 
Again, part of what makes it a big game is that it's against better players.

Like Knapp says, what do you do the first time you get punched in the mouth? Or run to the edge and find a much faster player is there waiting for you?

By all available evidence, it was the same gameplan that got us to 5 - 0, so it's hard to imagine the players didn't like or trust the plan. Given we're already a multiple offense, it's not like we didn't go to our toolbelt.

I think you either need the cold swagger of a team that knows how to close, or the loose, go-for-broke attitude of an underdog. Nebraska is neither. Stuck dead in the middle.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
This has come up several times over the years. I'm not sure what the players are describing is a lack of emotion. I think it's nerves and anxiety and frustration when things aren't working. Those are all emotions. For some reason it sounds better to say "we didn't play with emotion" than "we were uptight and easily intimidated."

For all the talk about playcalling and schemes and adjustments, Nebraska's persistent issue is mental toughness and killer instinct. That's why my concerns revolve around the head coach more than the coordinators and assistants.
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I agree to an extent. I don't doubt they came in ready to play, but MSU's defense really played with an edge, and came out and punched them in the mouth right away and the o-line didn't respond. They took a step back and for lack of a better term were intimidated.

It is a complete contrast to the way they played against Miami. Now I don't think Miami is as good as MSU but the intensity and mental toughness was there in that game. They got punched in the mouth and NU responded against Miami it didn't happen against MSU.

 
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