This guy gets "it" when it comes to what NU needs on O.......

[Landlord]

Become a dumpster fire?

2007 wasn't that long ago...

And yet it has not bearing on anything right now. Stop being so afraid of 2007. It was one year.

yet it was the culmination of 4 of the most painful years I've experienced as a fan...

And here we have the reason that Nebraska fans are so terrified of hiring anyone other than Nick Saban or Tom Osborne incarnate, and why people think that previous head coaching experience matters much at all.

We aren't, and weren't, used to losing. For 50 years we were the bee's knees, not realizing that it is normal to experience down years in college football, and we were a one-of-a-kind anomaly. We still haven't figured out that it's an expected and okay thing to take some lumps on the way to the top.

You think those 4 years, including a bowl win, a divisional championship and a conference player of the year were painful?

Try being the mid'90's Sooners who went 6-6, 5-5, 3-8, 4-8, and 5-6.

Try being the early'00's Crimson Tide who had one winning season in 5 years and went 7-6 under Saban in year 1.

Try being Florida State in Bowden's last 5 years barely being able to break .500.

Try being Miami after 2002.

Try being Michigan right now.

The list goes on and on. It's time we stop being terrified of failure and embrace the possibility of it because fear of it is what is keeping us in perpetual football purgatory with no championships in sight.

 

[The Dude]

Look at the size of their linemen, both sides of the ball.

And their coaching.

I agree we need to be smashmouth, but it's a teamwide attitude more than an offensive formula.

Make no mistake, what Nebraska had for 40 years, and what Wisconsin adopted from us and maintains today, is absolutely a formula for success. Why we refuse to go back to what works is beyond me.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Look at the size of their linemen, both sides of the ball.

And their coaching.

I agree we need to be smashmouth, but it's a teamwide attitude more than an offensive formula.

Make no mistake, what Nebraska had for 40 years, and what Wisconsin adopted from us and maintains today, is absolutely a formula for success. Why we refuse to go back to what works is beyond me.

40 years? There were plenty of major overhauls within that era.

Devaney took us from a run first, run second, run third offense to a balanced run/pass attack. A few years later he turned to Tom Osborne to create innovative sets and schemes. Osborne built around passing quarterbacks like Humm and Ferragamo until he got tired of watching Oklahoma's wishbone run over us, then overhauled the offense to a triple-option with running quarterbacks. Not all fans were in love with chasing Oklahoma's tail. Success depended on finding the right guy, and Turner Gill was the right guy. Not surprisingly, the formula didn't work as well with lesser quarterbacks.

A commitment to weight training ran through everything, offense and defense. Boyd Epply built a lot of those wins. But for 20 of those 40 years, Nebraska fans complained about Nebraska overpowering teams we were supposed to beat, then laying an egg in big games against physically strong and well-coached teams.

And the big overhaul, which got us to the '93 - '97 era we're inclined to remember, was Osborne's decision to recruit for defensive speed instead of the previous formula based on size and strength. At least that was Tom's own observation, which came around 1990 when he was almost certain he and his staff were about to get fired after another big game meltdown.

What we want Nebraska to go back to is winning. It's culture, commitment, coaching and recruiting. If it was as simple as replicating an offensive formula, everyone would do it.

Of course we want to be Wisconsin right now. But I'd aim higher. Wisconsin's magic formula still has them looking up at a Top 10 of teams who would likely beat them with formulas of their own.

 

[The Dude]

Obviously it's not as simple as that, nobody said it was (I realize we argue everything to absurd extremes around here), but it's preferable to the identity crisis we've endured the last decade, and more conducive to winning football games against the big boys.

I get the sense you agree for the most part, so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Are you saying a strong power running game wasn't a constant during all those "major" overhauls?

Also, nobody said we should be Wisconsin, it's just kind od ironic how Wisconsin routinely beats the crap out of us these days by emulating what made Nebraska Nebraska. In fact it's kind of poetic, and on our side, kind of sickening.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Obviously it's not as simple as that, nobody said it was (I realize we argue everything to absurd extremes around here), but it's preferable to the identity crisis we've endured the last decade, and more conducive to winning football games against the big boy. I get the sense you agree for the most part, so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

Guess I was talking to the people who imply there is a formula that Nebraska needs to get back to, and that it's as simple as deciding to run the ball like Wisconsin — who run the ball like Nebraska used to — and thus declare our identity.

Sounds good, but like you say, not that simple. Or historically accurate.

What we don't talk about as much around here is that during those 40 years, Nebraska's "identity" revolved as much or more around the defense. The smashmouth rep came from the Blackshirts, too. And a grind-it-out offense needs a shutdown defense because it often starts slow and doesn't play catch-up well.

 

[The Dude]

I'm in favor of a Blackshirts revival too, but this is a thread about what we need on offense, so you might understand why we're discussing offense.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

When the conversation veers into head coaches, identity, formulas and what we need to get back to, the conversation opens up a bit.

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

 

[True2tRA]

When the conversation veers into head coaches, identity, formulas and what we need to get back to, the conversation opens up a bit.

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

I'm an exception here and I believe there are others. Win or lose, there are just too many things about this offense that are unbearable to watch for me. I'd prefer Beck moves on and honestly, if the option was out there for one new hire, only one, I'd ask that Tim Beck be replaced and Matt Limegrover be hired.

 

[The Dude]

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

Except it's been a major topic of discussion since Bill Callahan put the nail in the coffin. Even during the 2009 season when we had the best defense in the country.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I'm in favor of a Blackshirts revival too, but this is a thread about what we need on offense, so you might understand why we're discussing offense.

There are a lot more threads and a lot more rage directed at Tim Beck's offense than John Papuchis' defense, and I've always found that odd.

 

[The Dude]

I'm in favor of a Blackshirts revival too, but this is a thread about what we need on offense, so you might understand why we're discussing offense.

There are a lot more threads and a lot more rage directed at Tim Beck's offense than John Papuchis' defense, and I've always found that odd.

Fair enough. Although, I think most realize Papuchis doesn't really do anything other than flail his fat arms around and make funny faces. People should be griping more about Bo's defense since that was the #1 reason he was hired.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

Except it's been a major topic of discussion since Bill Callahan put the nail in the coffin. Even during the 2009 season when we had the best defense in the country.

Why did I even bother to say "for the past five years"?

Okay. Let me put it another way.

If Tommie Frazier was running Tom Osborne's offense, and then had to hand the game over to the current Husker defense, we wouldn't be celebrating the glory days of the mid-90s.

Nebraska's problem isn't the offense we we choose run (which everyone else in the country considers "run heavy.") It's the complete executional meltdown by offense, defense and special teams when we play good teams in high-pressure games,. The problem is when the exact same things that worked in previous games don't work, the entire team and coaching staff panics. When your best player fumbles three times, your receivers drop balls, your quarterback keeps looking helplessly to the sideline, and your vastly improved defense suddenly loses the will to tackle the player running right past them for 408 yards. When the halftime speeches and adjustments inspire the whole team to come out in the second half and play even worse.

Don't assume a new offensive coordinator would call significantly different plays than Tim Beck, any more than you assumed Tim Beck would call significantly different plays than Shawn Watson. Or any different than Wisconsin OC Andy Ludwig, who has called several games this year that would drive the same Beck-haters nuts.

Nebraska lack discipline, mental toughness and consistency across the board. That's a head coaching issue. But by all means, keep throwing the OC under the bus.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

(sorry. I posted that before reading your "fair enough" post. Carry on....)

 

[JJ Husker]

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

Except it's been a major topic of discussion since Bill Callahan put the nail in the coffin. Even during the 2009 season when we had the best defense in the country.

Why did I even bother to say "for the past five years"?

Okay. Let me put it another way.

If Tommie Frazier was running Tom Osborne's offense, and then had to hand the game over to the current Husker defense, we wouldn't be celebrating the glory days of the mid-90s.

Nebraska's problem isn't the offense we we choose run (which everyone else in the country considers "run heavy.") It's the complete executional meltdown by offense, defense and special teams when we play good teams in high-pressure games,. The problem is when the exact same things that worked in previous games don't work, the entire team and coaching staff panics. When your best player fumbles three times, your receivers drop balls, your quarterback keeps looking helplessly to the sideline, and your vastly improved defense suddenly loses the will to tackle the player running right past them for 408 yards. When the halftime speeches and adjustments inspire the whole team to come out in the second half and play even worse.

Don't assume a new offensive coordinator would call significantly different plays than Tim Beck, any more than you assumed Tim Beck would call significantly different plays than Shawn Watson. Or any different than Wisconsin OC Andy Ludwig, who has called several games this year that would drive the same Beck-haters nuts.

Nebraska lack discipline, mental toughness and consistency across the board. That's a head coaching issue. But by all means, keep throwing the OC under the bus.

Amen! (to the whole post but the bolded in particular)

 

[beanman]

Or to put it another way, if Nebraska had anything resembling a vintage Husker defense for the past five years, we wouldn't be having this offensive identity conversation at all.

Except it's been a major topic of discussion since Bill Callahan put the nail in the coffin. Even during the 2009 season when we had the best defense in the country.

Why did I even bother to say "for the past five years"?

Okay. Let me put it another way.

If Tommie Frazier was running Tom Osborne's offense, and then had to hand the game over to the current Husker defense, we wouldn't be celebrating the glory days of the mid-90s.

Nebraska's problem isn't the offense we we choose run (which everyone else in the country considers "run heavy.") It's the complete executional meltdown by offense, defense and special teams when we play good teams in high-pressure games,. The problem is when the exact same things that worked in previous games don't work, the entire team and coaching staff panics. When your best player fumbles three times, your receivers drop balls, your quarterback keeps looking helplessly to the sideline, and your vastly improved defense suddenly loses the will to tackle the player running right past them for 408 yards. When the halftime speeches and adjustments inspire the whole team to come out in the second half and play even worse.

Don't assume a new offensive coordinator would call significantly different plays than Tim Beck, any more than you assumed Tim Beck would call significantly different plays than Shawn Watson. Or any different than Wisconsin OC Andy Ludwig, who has called several games this year that would drive the same Beck-haters nuts.

Nebraska lack discipline, mental toughness and consistency across the board. That's a head coaching issue. But by all means, keep throwing the OC under the bus.

Amen! (to the whole post but the bolded in particular)

No disagreement here. Let me know if you convince walksalone.