Things Callahan did right..

[Landlord]

I could give a s*** what a Wisconsin fan thought of Coz. That is irrelevant to what went on and most of what you say is pretty much irrelevant to what I have told you.

Look at '04 when our offense could not stay on the field. We still fielded a top 50 defense and one of the best run defenses in the country.

Look at '05 when we fielded a top 25 defense.

Look at '06 when we had a top 60 defense with some of the worst DB's in the country.

However, it pisses me off to see somebody say that it wasn't soley Cally's fault. Last time I checked, he was head coach. Head coach is responsible for the team's performance

Not Callahan's fault that Nunn fumbled against Texas, that Smith fumbled his INT agaist TT, that Zac threw those 4 picks in the Big XII championship game, etc.

Blaming everything on one person is incredibly silly.

 

[Igetbored216]

I could give a s*** what a Wisconsin fan thought of Coz. That is irrelevant to what went on and most of what you say is pretty much irrelevant to what I have told you.

Look at '04 when our offense could not stay on the field. We still fielded a top 50 defense and one of the best run defenses in the country.

Look at '05 when we fielded a top 25 defense.

Look at '06 when we had a top 60 defense with some of the worst DB's in the country.

However, it pisses me off to see somebody say that it wasn't soley Cally's fault. Last time I checked, he was head coach. Head coach is responsible for the team's performance

Not Callahan's fault that Nunn fumbled against Texas, that Smith fumbled his INT agaist TT, that Zac threw those 4 picks in the Big XII championship game, etc.

Blaming everything on one person is incredibly silly.

No, it wasn't his fault. Remember, his system worked and he did very good in all areas of the game.

I mean...that D last season was stellar. I really loved the system they employed: trying to get the opposing team's offense tired by making them run up and down the field. Brilliant!!!

Unfortunately, by the time the opposing team's offense was tired, it was too late to make our comeback...

 

[skersfan]

I agre with Willy in a lot of his thoughts, but when it all boils down to it, it is the HC problem and he faced the music for it.

But this team had problems last year. We were all ready to make them winners against SC, they broke the huddle NChampions. They played good defense against Auburn, Oklahoma and Texas the year before. What happened is the question. Where did it go wrong.

My thoughts were the way we kept bringing in ringers. Keller, Culbert and a few others that really did not belong here. Nothing against them, but I think overall heart was hurt by some of Coach Callahans acquisitions. The wheels came off last year, I don't know why and I doubt really any of us here do.

Coz was Coz, but he had them playing pretty well a few times. How and why did they lose faith in him. Who was the ring leader of this melt down. Was it a talent problem on the Dline. Was it a lack of heart and motivation, loyalty.

Will it rear its head again if all does not go as Coach Pelini wants it to go. Did all the quitters leave last year? Or is it still ingrained in some still here? We can have faith that all is better, but until they are truly put to the test know one knows.

We know we have a different type of head coach, but we really do not know about the heart of this team. I need to see it on the field before I say it was just coaching. I do not believe that at this time. Too far of a fall to fast.

Was the recruiting that great, is there really talent with heart on this team? Or do we have a bunch of prima donnas that others saw for what they were and passed on them. I hope that is not the case, but it is actually the way I am leaning at this time. But I will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that Coach Pelini can motivate them or get rid of them instantly. We need die hard Huskers. Are what we have, that or are they pretenders. I do not want to hear NC breaking the huddle stories, I want to see and hear effort at 110% every single play in practice and on the game day field. Until then I am not going to say it was all coaching.

 

[bbhusker]

Well said.

 

[BigWillie]

Big Willie, why don't you take a second to look back and read a few post and read that I laid blame on both the players and coaches. Sometimes you need to realize that other people on this board have valid points too and let your ego relax. Their were good points made by an number of different members here.

We're just talkin football, no reason to get pissy.

When you stop talking down to others, I'm sure others will treat you with the same respect.

However, when you attribute a story you supposedly heard about Bo Ruud and how it justifies everything people say about Coz and BC, it really ticks me off. Not because Coz and BC do not deserve some blame, but for the sole fact that Ruud was probably runner-up for biggest POS on our team last year. McKeon took the award home running away.

I could give a s*** what a Wisconsin fan thought of Coz. That is irrelevant to what went on and most of what you say is pretty much irrelevant to what I have told you.

Look at '04 when our offense could not stay on the field. We still fielded a top 50 defense and one of the best run defenses in the country.

Look at '05 when we fielded a top 25 defense.

Look at '06 when we had a top 60 defense with some of the worst DB's in the country.

So how do we go from top 60 defense to bottom of the barrel with the same coaches in place?

Answer: The defensive line and others that had been taught the fundamentals by Solich and Company. As soon as these individuals left, it went downhill real fast because there was new talent that had not been coached, and according to recent interviews, there was not a whole lot of coaching during Cally's era, period.

I didn't really want to respond to this thread at all, because what's done is done. I don't have a problem with Coz or Cally. However, it pisses me off to see somebody say that it wasn't soley Cally's fault. Last time I checked, he was head coach. Head coach is responsible for the team's performance, including: how much effort each of the players put forth every game, practice, in the classroom, etc. If these players were not putting forth effort, they should have been benched. This did not happen.

Let's take a look at some of the flaws I noticed with the Cally/Coz regime:

1) Practice attitude - Repetition, repetition. That was the key to the practices. Stupid. That's what I say. Especially since half the time they were practicing the wrong thing, and since the coaching staff didn't correct mistakes until AFTER they were off the field, these players could have been practicing the wrong thing for many, many reps. Brilliant.

Both coaches had a laid back attitude about practice. Most of the time, the players take on the attitude of the coaches, and well, there was alot of attitude missing from these coaches. Granted when T.O. coached, he wasn't running around on the sideline, but ask any player who played for him and you would get the same response, "I would run through a wall for Coach" Would you get the same response for Coz or Cally's players?

Maybe...maybe not. The point is the coaching staff was seriously lacking in the "win" attitude. When you say, "Hey, you know, a win is a win........Husker fans," or, "Well, this loss is only one game...Husker fans," it shows lack of passion for winning. Almost like winning is not important. Sure winning isn't everything, but when the coaches are being paid to win, it has to be important.

2) Not coaching - This is self-explanatory, and kind of ties in with 1. From many articles circulating recently (and from the performance on the field), you can see that the fundamentals were not being taught, and many were confused about what they were supposed to be doing.

3) Not making adjustments - This, to me, was one of the most annoying things. When it was obvious something wasn't working, they kept sticking with it anyway.

If I was in that position and kept doing what I was told to do and it wasn't working, after a while I would kind of play half a$$.

3-3-5 was not working against Mizzou, but NU stuck with it by-golly because, "that's what was practiced during the week." God.

Those are just a few. But to keep with the subject of this post:

1) Recruiting - he did recruit alot of talent, and I have a feeling this season, we will see what that talent can do with a little bit of talent development.

I hate it when people say NU doesn't have any talent on their team. I would strongly disagree.

Almost the entire O line was recruited by Cally (I believe), and they are being labeled by Bo as, and I quote, "One of the best offensive lines I have ever been around." Don't forget about Ganz or Lucky. Both are returning this season, and I am confident they will have a super season, barring any injuries (please no!).

On the defensive side, we should have a great D line. Potter and Turner both look great after losing a little weight and bulking up the amount of muscle (FYI: muscle does NOT weigh more than fat...it is however, more dense). Don't forget about Suh and Steinkuhler.

My point is that there is talent currently at NU. The only problem is trying to convert that talent by teaching them the correct way to do things within the new system (both offense and defense). Offense obviously has the edge, but with Bo helping alot on the defensive side of the ball, I think the D shouldn't be too far behind.

2) Winning Big 12 North - Hey, he did win the Big 12 North and even though they lost, did make it to the Big 12 Championship.

3) New offense - In my opinion, this was one of my favorite things Cally did right. While he wasn't a good head coach, he was and still is a great offensive coordinator/play caller. Watson said he thought he knew it all, but when he talked to Cally about play calling/offensive schemes, it was like he (Watson) learned 10 years of information in 10 minutes.

His system worked pretty good (keep in mind, the players made it work though...it was not just the system). The power running game mixed with option we had during the 90s was fine, but once Solich took over it showed some pretty big flaws. Namely, it was very difficult to come back from a medium to large defecit without a solid passing game.

The WCO, in my opinion, is a great offense because it seeks to take control of the clock. If our offense is on the field a majority of the time, the other team's offense cannot be out on the field. I like this style of play. It also has the ability to come from behind if needed by passing the ball down field for huge chunks of yardage.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out the way it was planned most of the time.

To summarize: yes, Cally did have some huge flaws. But in my opinion, he did some good things before his departure.

Let's just look ahead and get pumped for the new season to begin. It's getting closer and closer...

Your post is mixed with glorifying of the players in one instance by saying ...

"His system worked pretty good (keed in mind the players made it work though...it was not just the system)."

... but then vilifying the coaches earlier for their supposed downfalls. A classic case of having your cake and eating it too.

In any case, you as well as others still miss the premise of all of my rant -- when the players do not do their job to begin with, how much blame can you put on the coaches? They knew their job and what was required of them, but yet they still refused to do it. Coaches can only go as far as to put you in position, but they cannot FORCE you into position come game day.

For instance -- you go to work and you know what is required of you. Would you do your job in a manner that isn't efficient and doesn't produce results? To top that off, would you go about voicing your displeasure to your boss about lack of results because YOU are not doing YOUR job the way YOU are supposed to do it? That is essentially what these players did.

Does that fall back on these coaches? Of course, I am not saying they are not to blame in alot of instances. I am simply saying that people who intend to continuously bash these coaches as if they are the sole blame for our problems are blinded by their hate. Moreover, they are blinded by what those in the media tell them.

Lastly, spare me about these problems teaching, practicing, etc., These coaches adapted the same philosophy they were continuously praised for from day 1. You know, that NFL style of practice we all loved to hear from day 1 when BC arrived.

Those stories we heard then are the same stories we hear now.

Instead of bashing Solich and praising BC for the change in attitude, we are praising Pelini while tearing down Callahan.

The common theme of every spring is we hear these glossy, feel-good stories that make us believe everything will be grand. Hell, you can say the same about any coaching change. Along with any coaching change, you will get those stories about how horrible things were. What we forget is all the things we once praised and thought were grand are the same things we tear down.

I'm sure I will hear the same "oh I didn't say any of that" type response, but spare me the reply. I don't like to deal with hypocrisy.

 

[HUSKER 37]

...Lastly, spare me about these problems teaching, practicing, etc., These coaches adapted the same philosophy they were continuously praised for from day 1. You know, that NFL style of practice we all loved to hear from day 1 when BC arrived.

Those stories we heard then are the same stories we hear now.

Instead of bashing Solich and praising BC for the change in attitude, we are praising Pelini while tearing down Callahan.

The common theme of every spring is we hear these glossy, feel-good stories that make us believe everything will be grand. Hell, you can say the same about any coaching change. Along with any coaching change, you will get those stories about how horrible things were. What we forget is all the things we once praised and thought were grand are the same things we tear down.

I'm sure I will hear the same "oh I didn't say any of that" type response, but spare me the reply. I don't like to deal with hypocrisy.

...But I always HATED anything "NFL"..

So THERE!!!

I'm still not sure what anybody is arguing about in this thread..We all seem to be saying the same basic thing.

It takes two rights to not make a wrong (Good Coaching and good execution from the players).

If either one is deficient..the play breaks down.

The players didn't seem to execute consistently whether from lack of skeels, or not having any faith in what the coaches were trying to do.

The Coaches didn't seem to care enough or were clueless in how to go about working around our weaknesses or being able to make game-time changes like we were used to from previous coaching staffs.

For some reason..I believe this coaching staff will be better equipped at game planning on the fly.

And especially at motivating/selling the players to play with one heartbeat.

 

[Igetbored216]

Your post is mixed with glorifying of the players in one instance by saying ...
"His system worked pretty good (keed in mind the players made it work though...it was not just the system)."

... but then vilifying the coaches earlier for their supposed downfalls. A classic case of having your cake and eating it too.

Nope. How are those things incompatible? He took ALL the credit when things went well, but then pointed the finger when things didn't go so well (i.e., most of the time last season). I was just highlighting this point.

When Ganz had that killer game, it was the system that worked, not the players. I guess I did see an "O" out there hike the ball to another "O" who chucked it down field to another "O". Man, that system sure knows how to play football...

In any case, you as well as others still miss the premise of all of my rant -- when the players do not do their job to begin with, how much blame can you put on the coaches? They knew their job and what was required of them, but yet they still refused to do it. Coaches can only go as far as to put you in position, but they cannot FORCE you into position come game day.

Okay. Well, if the players actually refused to do what they were told (which has not been proven), it tells me: that there must not be too much leadership at the top, players don't buy into the system, or both. Either way, if I'm the head coach and looking at these "slackers," I would bench them. What would have been the difference? If they weren't doing their job, what difference would it have made if we put in a second stringer? Looking back at the results, I would say: no difference.

Sure, coaches can really only put you in a position to make plays (which didn't happen much last season either), but if players aren't playing up to expectations, then bench them. It's as simple as that.

For instance -- you go to work and you know what is required of you. Would you do your job in a manner that isn't efficient and doesn't produce results? To top that off, would you go about voicing your displeasure to your boss about lack of results because YOU are not doing YOUR job the way YOU are supposed to do it? That is essentially what these players did.

Yeah, pretty sure the same thing would happen to me. I would get benched for poor production. Also known as getting canned, fired, and laid off.

Does that fall back on these coaches? Of course, I am not saying they are not to blame in alot of instances. I am simply saying that people who intend to continuously bash these coaches as if they are the sole blame for our problems are blinded by their hate. Moreover, they are blinded by what those in the media tell them.

Yep. I just listen to whatever the media tells me and take it at face value. You sure do know me.

Lastly, spare me about these problems teaching, practicing, etc., These coaches adapted the same philosophy they were continuously praised for from day 1. You know, that NFL style of practice we all loved to hear from day 1 when BC arrived.

Yeah, and not once did I go out of my way to say how I loved the style of practice. To me, it was stupid. You don't recruit a bunch of 4 or 5 star athletes and bring them into play college football like it's the NFL.

The common theme of every spring is we hear these glossy, feel-good stories that make us believe everything will be grand. Hell, you can say the same about any coaching change. Along with any coaching change, you will get those stories about how horrible things were. What we forget is all the things we once praised and thought were grand are the same things we tear down.

Yeah, it is a common theme. But I tend not to follow themes. When I see it, I will believe it. I feel we have the potential to have a great team this season, and it seems the spring practices are going well. That's really all I can say right now. I do have high hopes though, but it's from watching videos of their practices, not from what someone from a NEBRASKA newspaper is saying about a NEBRASKA team.

I'm sure I will hear the same "oh I didn't say any of that" type response, but spare me the reply. I don't like to deal with hypocrisy.

Please show me where I said I loved the Cally practices? Actually, other than my previous post, show me where I said anything positive about Cally.

I'll be waiting in my corner of hypocrisy.

 

[bbhusker]

-However, when you attribute a story you supposedly heard about Bo Ruud and how it justifies everything people say about Coz and BC, it really ticks me off. Not because Coz and BC do not deserve some blame, but for the sole fact that Ruud was probably runner-up for biggest POS on our team last year. McKeon took the award home running away.

I didn't "supposedly" hear anything. Read what I posted, it was witnessed. By my uncle and cousin.

-Does that fall back on these coaches? Of course, I am not saying they are not to blame in alot of instances. I am simply saying that people who intend to continuously bash these coaches as if they are the sole blame for our problems are blinded by their hate. Moreover, they are blinded by what those in the media tell them.

Again, go back and read. Both the coaches and players were blamed.

-I'm sure I will hear the same "oh I didn't say any of that" type response, but spare me the reply. I don't like to deal with hypocrisy.

Hows this for hypocisy?

"When you stop talking down to others, I'm sure others will treat you with the same respect."

 

[Apathy]

If I remember correclty isn't there 11 players on both sides of the ball? So why is just Bo and Corey the only ones being blammed for the poor performances of our 07' defense. Our front four were brand spanking new. I watched every game that was televised on TV and I went to the ISU game and not just Bo and Corey are to blame here because everybody on our defense was TERRIBLE. We had a lot of miss tackles and the only player on our defense that stood out from last year was Crixby. I couldn't stand Crixby last year but this year he was outstanding and a very much improved player.

I don't know where you guys are getting this crap where Bo and Corey were pulling themselves out of the game because they were afraid of getting hit. Didn't Corey play most of the season injuried (Ankle?) and Bo had his arm broken a few years ago before a bowl game (Bowl game against Michigan or Auburn I think it was Michigan). When people break a bone sometimes their not the same person after that injury for instance look at Matt Herian. Matt didn't have that speed anymore like he use to.

I think that Coz really is the big blame here cause COACHES COACH PLAYERS. Coaches are the ones who suppose to get into your faces when your not doing your job right and motivate players when things aren't going their way. I think that after the Wake Forest game is where everything started to go down hill for the players. I think that everybody on the Defense is part of the reason why we sucked so bad but the #1 reason is that Coz couldn't motivate our players or change anything during halftime or during a game.

 

[PIMPZILLA]

This whole thread = :ahhhhhhhh :bang dedhoarse

 

[Apathy]

This whole thread = :ahhhhhhhh :bang dedhoarse

:yeah

 

[Igetbored216]

This whole thread = :ahhhhhhhh :bang dedhoarse

No one is forcing you to read it. If you think these things have been said many times before, then don't read the thread. Simple as that.

I, however, am enjoying our discussion about last season. We are discussing Nebraska football in......a Nebraska football discussion board. I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

[PIMPZILLA]

This whole thread = :ahhhhhhhh :bang dedhoarse

No one is forcing you to read it.

If it makes you happy, I'm not. I'm just tired of it getting bumped to the top of the forum. 15 paragraph posts just don't do it for me.

 

[Igetbored216]

This whole thread = :ahhhhhhhh :bang dedhoarse

No one is forcing you to read it.

If it makes you happy, I'm not. I'm just tired of it getting bumped to the top of the forum. 15 paragraph posts just don't do it for me.

So, you aren't reading it, but you're responding to what I am writing?

That's quite an interesting situation you have going on there!

 

[Cy the Cyclone]

*BUMPITY BUMP BUMP*

Ha! What are you gonna do about it Big Man? Huh? Huh?

By the way...Things Callahan did right....NOTHING!

Thread closed :box