Landlord
Banned
It's the offseason, right?
That means wasting more time than we usually waste talking about things that matter even less than the usual things that don't matter.
I present Exhibit A and B:
Now these really bug me. More than they should. Here's why:
1. There is no substantial evidence that the quarterback battle between these two was fixed. To my knowledge, no player, nor coach, nor anyone associated with the program has alluded to Ganz not being given a fair shake that spring/fall, which, given the reports of Ganz being a locker room favorite, would seem odd if it was so obvious he was being slighted. Further, while both quarterbacks did well in the Spring game, the prevailing opinion of writers and also fans was that Keller was the better of the two, Further still, I recall a preseason bit mentioning the quarterbacks trying to gun a ball through a small square in a net 30 yards away, with Keller being the only one to accomplish the feat. Here's a small snippet from an AP article on the matter:
"Those within the program say the two entered preseason work neck-and-neck. But most outside the program expect Keller to take the first snap when the Huskers open against Nevada on Sept. 1.
"I understand that the media and a lot of the fans have given it to Sam," Ganz said. "But this is my fourth year. I'm not going to back down to anybody, no matter who it is. That's not my personality.""
We all know what Joe Ganz went on to do his senior season, but his three games his junior year had a lot of big numbers, including interceptions. Maybe, it's possible that he could or should have been starting longer, but sometimes players are practice warriors and sometimes they need the game experience to thrive. Either way, it's unfair to say that Keller was handed the starting position.
2. Hype is generated by the fans - by you, not by the players. Even still, he didn't fail to show. He was a good quarterback and he put up good numbers. His stats over 9 games:
205/325 (63.1%) for 2,422 yards, 14 TD and 10 INT - 133.7
By comparison, here are the 2006 Big XII Offensive Player of the Year Zac Taylor's numbers through 9 games:
150/231 (64.9%) for 2,065 yards, 18 TD and 3 INT
As you can see he was on pace to reset single season records before being injured.
3. He did not make the team all about Sam Keller. He came in with a reputation as a wild party boy, but subdued all of it in his time here, put his nose down, and did work. Here are some various quotes that don't prove this, but that support it:
4. People look at Ganz in hindsight and forget two different key elements - that he was better as a senior than he was as a junior, and that Callahan went into full Air-Raid mode at the end of Ganz' junior year.
Yes, we saw what he could do, but it wasn't exactly the same circumstances, was it? Ignore his senior season for a moment, because it's not applicable. Look at his junior year.
He got to pass 50 times against Kansas. He completed 50% of his passes. He had four touchdowns and four interceptions. What's overly impressive about that?
He went balls out for 510 yards against a Kansas State team that got the entirety of Bill Callahan's frustration and attempts to save his job. An absolute monster game no doubt, but don't act like the coach didn't try to put up the biggest numbers he possibly could. Unless you don't remember us going for it on 4th and 20 in the fourth quarter.
Then he got to pass 58 times against Colorado (completing 53%, wow!), with three more interceptions, one of them a pick six to start the second half when we had a good lead.
True2tRA, you're right, we did see what he did when he was in there - he did a handful of good things and a pretty big handful of average to bad things as well. I was watching the same team as you, I think (2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers, right?), but fail to see any compelling evidence whatsoever that Ganz was any better of an option, let alone an obviously better option.
Rant over. Stop being asshats that demonize former players that came in here and gave everything they had to the best of their ability, doing everything asked of them.
That means wasting more time than we usually waste talking about things that matter even less than the usual things that don't matter.
I present Exhibit A and B:
Now these really bug me. More than they should. Here's why:
1. There is no substantial evidence that the quarterback battle between these two was fixed. To my knowledge, no player, nor coach, nor anyone associated with the program has alluded to Ganz not being given a fair shake that spring/fall, which, given the reports of Ganz being a locker room favorite, would seem odd if it was so obvious he was being slighted. Further, while both quarterbacks did well in the Spring game, the prevailing opinion of writers and also fans was that Keller was the better of the two, Further still, I recall a preseason bit mentioning the quarterbacks trying to gun a ball through a small square in a net 30 yards away, with Keller being the only one to accomplish the feat. Here's a small snippet from an AP article on the matter:
"Those within the program say the two entered preseason work neck-and-neck. But most outside the program expect Keller to take the first snap when the Huskers open against Nevada on Sept. 1.
"I understand that the media and a lot of the fans have given it to Sam," Ganz said. "But this is my fourth year. I'm not going to back down to anybody, no matter who it is. That's not my personality.""
We all know what Joe Ganz went on to do his senior season, but his three games his junior year had a lot of big numbers, including interceptions. Maybe, it's possible that he could or should have been starting longer, but sometimes players are practice warriors and sometimes they need the game experience to thrive. Either way, it's unfair to say that Keller was handed the starting position.
2. Hype is generated by the fans - by you, not by the players. Even still, he didn't fail to show. He was a good quarterback and he put up good numbers. His stats over 9 games:
205/325 (63.1%) for 2,422 yards, 14 TD and 10 INT - 133.7
By comparison, here are the 2006 Big XII Offensive Player of the Year Zac Taylor's numbers through 9 games:
150/231 (64.9%) for 2,065 yards, 18 TD and 3 INT
As you can see he was on pace to reset single season records before being injured.
3. He did not make the team all about Sam Keller. He came in with a reputation as a wild party boy, but subdued all of it in his time here, put his nose down, and did work. Here are some various quotes that don't prove this, but that support it:
Not only is the accusation that Sam Keller made it all about Sam Keller unfair and unfounded, to paint Joe Ganz as the ultimate team player in contrast is also erroneous. I saw Joe and several teammates at a party after the Texas A&M loss that season - they showed up wearing shirts that said, "Got Ganz?" Literally the definition of making it about yourself.
4. People look at Ganz in hindsight and forget two different key elements - that he was better as a senior than he was as a junior, and that Callahan went into full Air-Raid mode at the end of Ganz' junior year.
Yes, we saw what he could do, but it wasn't exactly the same circumstances, was it? Ignore his senior season for a moment, because it's not applicable. Look at his junior year.
He got to pass 50 times against Kansas. He completed 50% of his passes. He had four touchdowns and four interceptions. What's overly impressive about that?
He went balls out for 510 yards against a Kansas State team that got the entirety of Bill Callahan's frustration and attempts to save his job. An absolute monster game no doubt, but don't act like the coach didn't try to put up the biggest numbers he possibly could. Unless you don't remember us going for it on 4th and 20 in the fourth quarter.
Then he got to pass 58 times against Colorado (completing 53%, wow!), with three more interceptions, one of them a pick six to start the second half when we had a good lead.
True2tRA, you're right, we did see what he did when he was in there - he did a handful of good things and a pretty big handful of average to bad things as well. I was watching the same team as you, I think (2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers, right?), but fail to see any compelling evidence whatsoever that Ganz was any better of an option, let alone an obviously better option.
Rant over. Stop being asshats that demonize former players that came in here and gave everything they had to the best of their ability, doing everything asked of them.
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