So.... when do we see the Blackshirts handed out?

Here is the thought that another husker fan shared this weekend ............. does a Blackshirt mean we have one of the Best Defenses in the country or does it mean that you are the Best at your position at the University of Nebraska? Bo has redefined the Blackshirts, I had never thought much about it but I think it is good point, does a black shirt mean the you are a starter for the University of Nebraska defense of is it related to something else?

My response is this ........... I like what BO has done the Black Shirts they are a great tool to motivate our defense and it reminds them that they don't get to ride on the coat tails of the past. The black shirt is an identity and BO is protecting it. Perhaps I took the easy road but when I heard this it made me stop and think and I wonder what others think?

 
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mnhusker said:
Here is the thought that another husker fan shared this weekend ............. does a Blackshirt mean we have one of the Best Defenses in the country or does it mean that you are the Best at your position at the University of Nebraska? Bo has redefined the Blackshirts, I had never thought much about it but I think it is good point, does a black shirt mean the you are a starter for the University of Nebraska defense of is it related to something else?

My response is this ........... I like what BO has done the Black Shirts they are a great tool to motivate our defense and it reminds them that they don't get to ride on the coat tails of the past. The black shirt is an identity and BO is protecting it. Perhaps I took the easy road but when I heard this it made me stop and think and I wonder what otheres think?
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Before Bo's tenure, Blackshirts were just given to the starters. I like that Bo sets a standard, and is unwilling to hand out Blackshirts unless they actually play up to that standard. However, I do kind of wish he would give them out to individuals who are playing up to that standard - Lavonte and Dennard and Crick should have had Blackshirts all year long... But maybe that makes things too complicated in practice, having defenders with different colored jerseys on the same unit.

With McBride's defenses, the Blackshirts weren't just a source of pride, but they were intimidating. You saw Jason Peter or Grant Wistrom or Mike Minter out on the practice field with those things on, and it was scary... I feel like we miss out on that a bit now if the blackshirts don't get handed out until 3/4ths of the season is already over.

 
Hercules said:
mnhusker said:
Here is the thought that another husker fan shared this weekend ............. does a Blackshirt mean we have one of the Best Defenses in the country or does it mean that you are the Best at your position at the University of Nebraska? Bo has redefined the Blackshirts, I had never thought much about it but I think it is good point, does a black shirt mean the you are a starter for the University of Nebraska defense of is it related to something else?

My response is this ........... I like what BO has done the Black Shirts they are a great tool to motivate our defense and it reminds them that they don't get to ride on the coat tails of the past. The black shirt is an identity and BO is protecting it. Perhaps I took the easy road but when I heard this it made me stop and think and I wonder what otheres think?
Click to expand...
Before Bo's tenure, Blackshirts were just given to the starters. I like that Bo sets a standard, and is unwilling to hand out Blackshirts unless they actually play up to that standard. However, I do kind of wish he would give them out to individuals who are playing up to that standard - Lavonte and Dennard and Crick should have had Blackshirts all year long... But maybe that makes things too complicated in practice, having defenders with different colored jerseys on the same unit.

With McBride's defenses, the Blackshirts weren't just a source of pride, but they were intimidating. You saw Jason Peter or Grant Wistrom or Mike Minter out on the practice field with those things on, and it was scary... I feel like we miss out on that a bit now if the blackshirts don't get handed out until 3/4ths of the season is already over.
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I agree I would love to see some of the players get the recogniton. I loved the Mcbride Defenses. I rememder the days that when our QB took a late hit you knew the defense was going to come out and just bring the pain.

 
Someone bring me up to speed on the Blackshirt tradition and where it stands today...does the Defense always get blackshirts or is it just if they're really good? Is it the whole defense or just select players? Who decides? When do they get them? What are they...literally black shirts or black jerseys for practice or what?

 
Badgerfan said:
Someone bring me up to speed on the Blackshirt tradition and where it stands today...does the Defense always get blackshirts or is it just if they're really good? Is it the whole defense or just select players? Who decides? When do they get them? What are they...literally black shirts or black jerseys for practice or what?
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They're black practice jerseys. They used to be handed to the defensive starters in camp. The '07 unit handed theirs back in because they felt they weren't living up to the name. And they weren't. Pelini took over the next year and didn't hand them out until the defense was playing up to snuff. He's kind of used them as motivation ever since.

It's the starters, not just select players.

 
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Give them out now. This defense isn't going to get much better, and they are good enough to compete each week. They are after all 6-1. Hell, maybe we will see some of that fire in their play, with the pride that comes from getting one. It sure as hell couldn't hurt, and they will need it this week.

GBR!!!

 
I'm good for holding them until after the Spartan game. If our defense gets rolled (again) simply don't give them out this year. Like any good thing it has to be earned.

GBR!!

ps.....sorry David, that's the breaks.

 
Holding the Blackshirts out is BS. The fact that this team doesn't have their Blackshirts is as much the fault of the coaches as anyone else. You cannot tell me that it's possible that Bo recruited these players, has trained these players in his system for two/three/four years, and they are flat not good enough:

P.J. Smith – four years in the system, not even starting

Ciante Evans - two years in the system, started as a Freshman

Courtney Osborne - four years in the system, not even starting

Austin Cassidy – four years in the system, making many errors

Andrew Green – third year in the system, responsible for about half of all TDs caught against NU

Lance Thorell – four years in the system, making many errors

This is just a quick run-through of the secondary. Go through the D Line, go through the linebackers, it's the same thing. Bo has been here too long for the former regime to be at fault. These are his guys, his schemes, his coaches. You cannot blame this on Raymond, you cannot blame this on Els. If they are at fault, Bo is at fault more for bringing them in.

If Bo is holding these guys to some benchmark that they have not earned, then he has not given them the tools to earn it, and withholding the Blackshirts is a completely BS motivational tool. It all rests on Bo. If the players aren't good enough, then he failed somewhere, not them.

 
I can't agree that giving them to them now is okay. They haven't earned it, they haven't completely shut a team down this season. I'm sick and tired of hearing about the "blackshirt" defense from the national pundits and then watching that same "blackshirt" defense get eaten alive on national television. Until they start playing aggressively, shutting offenses down, and walking around with a swagger that just makes you sick, they don't deserve those blackshirts. They need to have that, "I'm going to kill you for stepping on the field with me and then take your sister out to dinner" attitude or they don't deserve them. JMO

 
knapplc said:
Holding the Blackshirts out is BS. The fact that this team doesn't have their Blackshirts is as much the fault of the coaches as anyone else. You cannot tell me that it's possible that Bo recruited these players, has trained these players in his system for two/three/four years, and they are flat not good enough:

P.J. Smith – four years in the system, not even starting

Ciante Evans - two years in the system, started as a Freshman

Courtney Osborne - four years in the system, not even starting

Austin Cassidy – four years in the system, making many errors

Andrew Green – third year in the system, responsible for about half of all TDs caught against NU

Lance Thorell – four years in the system, making many errors

This is just a quick run-through of the secondary. Go through the D Line, go through the linebackers, it's the same thing. Bo has been here too long for the former regime to be at fault. These are his guys, his schemes, his coaches. You cannot blame this on Raymond, you cannot blame this on Els. If they are at fault, Bo is at fault more for bringing them in.

If Bo is holding these guys to some benchmark that they have not earned, then he has not given them the tools to earn it, and withholding the Blackshirts is a completely BS motivational tool. It all rests on Bo. If the players aren't good enough, then he failed somewhere, not them.
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I guess you have a good point here, but I do remember that Bo said, this defense wasn't ready for B1G play, at l/b. That they were set up for the kind offenses they expected to be playing against, in the Big-12. So I will wait till he gets a couple of draft classes in from this point, before I would question his recruiting picks. You are right thou, some of those players have disappointed, but it may be because of the conference change. Time will tell.

GBR!!!

 
BIGREDIOWAN said:
I can't agree that giving them to them now is okay. They haven't earned it, they haven't completely shut a team down this season. I'm sick and tired of hearing about the "blackshirt" defense from the national pundits and then watching that same "blackshirt" defense get eaten alive on national television. Until they start playing aggressively, shutting offenses down, and walking around with a swagger that just makes you sick, they don't deserve those blackshirts. They need to have that, "I'm going to kill you for stepping on the field with me and then take your sister out to dinner" attitude or they don't deserve them. JMO
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But that whole "I'm going to kill you for stepping on the field" attitude isn't Bo's defensive philosophy. We are never going to see those Charlie McBride attacking defenses that we all know as the Blackshirts under Bo, unless he gets another superlative phenom like Ndamukong Suh, whose sheer abilities cannot help but be that way.

Bo's philosophy is bend-but-don't break. He wants to force the opponent to grind out long drives, to make their own play beat them. Bo's defenses don't dictate to their opponent, they're a read-and-react style of defense. That's what makes it so much harder to figure out what the benchmark is - they're always going to give up yards, and they're always going to give up points to high-powered offenses. It's just part of the style Bo runs. So if he's waiting for them to shut a team down.... he needs to switch what they do.

 
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