This is why you never, ever, ever let up

[deedsker]

We need to just beat the crap out of everyone on our schedule. Just do it.

This guy here has a good plan. I'm on board.

Sign me up on that one.

 

[knapplc]

Lo Country is the only one who is getting what I'm saying here. It has less to do with the other team and far more to do with the mindset of Nebraska. With the 85 scholarship limit everyone knows there's talent everywhere. Nobody is truly "scared" of anyone.

"Never Letting Up" is somewhat different from not being intimidating in the first place. Possibly outside of Wyoming last year, I don't recall many situations where a clearly superior Nebraska had an opponent down but failed to put their foot on the neck. I think the mindset of Nebraska is definetely where the problem lies, but I don't see much debate that we've lacked enthusiasm on the sideline, much less a killer instinct. Worse, I think some teams look at Nebraska as a wounded warrior; easier to beat but it still means something because we're still Nebraska.

You earn it on the field. But then, you always earn it on the field. Every game. Every year.

YES to the bold. Very much so. And I think that infects our team a bit, too.

I'm saying part of the reason we don't get teams down & step on their neck is that mentality. Frailty, lack of esprit de corps... whatever you want to call it. Maybe "letting up" wasn't the best phrase I ever came up with for a thread title, and I see I'm being held to that, when in reality if there's any "letting up," it's in the locker room before the game even starts. We seem to have athletes whose engines run on idle, when they have to have the RPMs racing from the opening kickoff.

 

[Sargon]

knapplc

You are losing this debate. And you don't know it, right?

 

[NUpolo8]

Lo Country is the only one who is getting what I'm saying here. It has less to do with the other team and far more to do with the mindset of Nebraska. With the 85 scholarship limit everyone knows there's talent everywhere. Nobody is truly "scared" of anyone.

"Never Letting Up" is somewhat different from not being intimidating in the first place. Possibly outside of Wyoming last year, I don't recall many situations where a clearly superior Nebraska had an opponent down but failed to put their foot on the neck. I think the mindset of Nebraska is definetely where the problem lies, but I don't see much debate that we've lacked enthusiasm on the sideline, much less a killer instinct. Worse, I think some teams look at Nebraska as a wounded warrior; easier to beat but it still means something because we're still Nebraska.

You earn it on the field. But then, you always earn it on the field. Every game. Every year.

YES to the bold. Very much so. And I think that infects our team a bit, too.

I'm saying part of the reason we don't get teams down & step on their neck is that mentality. Frailty, lack of esprit de corps... whatever you want to call it. Maybe "letting up" wasn't the best phrase I ever came up with for a thread title, and I see I'm being held to that, when in reality if there's any "letting up," it's in the locker room before the game even starts. We seem to have athletes whose engines run on idle, when they have to have the RPMs racing from the opening kickoff.

I think what you were looking for is something that we've talked about here and elsewhere, many of the recent Nebraska teams think they're the Nebraska of lore because of a shared zip code and common uniforms. That's a problem and games like FAU need to continue.

 

[Hoosker]

Nobody is afraid of anybody.

FAU wasn't scared? Good. I'm glad. We still kicked their a$$.

McNeese State isn't scared? Good. I'm glad. We're still going to kick their a$$.

 

[lo country]

Lo Country is the only one who is getting what I'm saying here. It has less to do with the other team and far more to do with the mindset of Nebraska. With the 85 scholarship limit everyone knows there's talent everywhere. Nobody is truly "scared" of anyone.

"Never Letting Up" is somewhat different from not being intimidating in the first place. Possibly outside of Wyoming last year, I don't recall many situations where a clearly superior Nebraska had an opponent down but failed to put their foot on the neck. I think the mindset of Nebraska is definetely where the problem lies, but I don't see much debate that we've lacked enthusiasm on the sideline, much less a killer instinct. Worse, I think some teams look at Nebraska as a wounded warrior; easier to beat but it still means something because we're still Nebraska.

You earn it on the field. But then, you always earn it on the field. Every game. Every year.

YES to the bold. Very much so. And I think that infects our team a bit, too.

I'm saying part of the reason we don't get teams down & step on their neck is that mentality. Frailty, lack of esprit de corps... whatever you want to call it. Maybe "letting up" wasn't the best phrase I ever came up with for a thread title, and I see I'm being held to that, when in reality if there's any "letting up," it's in the locker room before the game even starts. We seem to have athletes whose engines run on idle, when they have to have the RPMs racing from the opening kickoff.

I think what you were looking for is something that we've talked about here and elsewhere, many of the recent Nebraska teams think they're the Nebraska of lore because of a shared zip code and common uniforms. That's a problem and games like FAU need to continue.

Past players and former coaches alike have said this. NU needs to come out of the gate and play a complete 4 quarters of no mercy, a$$ kicking, play past the whistle, punch you in the throat football. Play like this and you will see opposing teams take notice. Will they be "scared"? That's a subjective word. Will a receiver be "short arming"balls across the middle? Possibly. QB and receivers "hearing footsteps"? Again possibly. RB's going down at first contact instead of trying to break tackles because the red horde is gunning for him in a huge gang tackle? Possibly.

All of this comes from a ruthless, but throat mentality that IMO has been absent from this team for several years. I hope the beat downs continue.

 

[knapplc]

knapplc

You are losing this debate. And you don't know it, right?

There's a debate going on?

Who's the pro, who's the con?

Maybe I'm just too far gone,

But I don't know what you're talking about, Sargon.

 

[Sargon]

knapplc, you may be be too far gone but probably not

Anyway your reply was quite humorous and that's more useful

 

[JJ Husker]

I wouldn't say anybody is "winning" or "losing" in this discussion. Everyone is making valid points and they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Fact of the matter is, most teams do not hold Nebraska in the same level of respect as they used to. There may be all kinds of reasons for that but that IS a fact. Ex: We, and most sensible people, respect Alabama (what they do to opponents on the field to be specific) because we have seen their body of work over the past years, even though we have not played them. Most people expect them to bring a relentless, physical game and punish you for any mistake you make. That's what comes with dominating teams for an extended period of time. On the other hand you have Nebraska. Wounded warrior is a good analogy. We have not exhibited that dominance (stepping harder on the neck) that we had for a few decades prior. Teams generally may not "fear" other teams nowadays but I guarantee there are teams that have earned a healthy level of respect from most opponents. We are not back to that yet. It really is just that simple.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I'm not buying any of this. The reason why no one "respects" Nebraska is because of the culture of the player. Social media allows them to flap their gums at a more fervent pace than 20 years ago. And you even have head coaches making back handed comments about each other at press conferences and interviews.

It's just a different age and the level of sportsmanship we used to see and expect is gone. No team respects another team anymore. Period.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Lo Country is the only one who is getting what I'm saying here. It has less to do with the other team and far more to do with the mindset of Nebraska. With the 85 scholarship limit everyone knows there's talent everywhere. Nobody is truly "scared" of anyone.

"Never Letting Up" is somewhat different from not being intimidating in the first place. Possibly outside of Wyoming last year, I don't recall many situations where a clearly superior Nebraska had an opponent down but failed to put their foot on the neck. I think the mindset of Nebraska is definetely where the problem lies, but I don't see much debate that we've lacked enthusiasm on the sideline, much less a killer instinct. Worse, I think some teams look at Nebraska as a wounded warrior; easier to beat but it still means something because we're still Nebraska.

You earn it on the field. But then, you always earn it on the field. Every game. Every year.

UCLA last year, if you think we were superior.

Minnesota last year? Up 10-0.

At the end of the games I thought both UCLA and Minnesota were superior. It wasn't that we let down our guard, or lost a killer instinct we had earlier in the game. It's that the other teams made the proper adjustments early, we made virtually no adjustments to their adjustments, and both opponents won going away.

Attitude had something to do with it, but that's also part of being a superior team.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I'm not buying any of this. The reason why no one "respects" Nebraska is because of the culture of the player. Social media allows them to flap their gums at a more fervent pace than 20 years ago. And you even have head coaches making back handed comments about each other at press conferences and interviews.

It's just a different age and the level of sportsmanship we used to see and expect is gone. No team respects another team anymore. Period.

Isn't there a video of the Minnesota OC talking about Nebraska's defensive tendencies and how he planned to exploit them BEFORE the game was even played?

Meaning he wasn't afraid of telling Nebraska his strategy and daring us to prove him wrong? Which we didn't?

Talk about loss of respect.

 

[NUpolo8]

Lo Country is the only one who is getting what I'm saying here. It has less to do with the other team and far more to do with the mindset of Nebraska. With the 85 scholarship limit everyone knows there's talent everywhere. Nobody is truly "scared" of anyone.

"Never Letting Up" is somewhat different from not being intimidating in the first place. Possibly outside of Wyoming last year, I don't recall many situations where a clearly superior Nebraska had an opponent down but failed to put their foot on the neck. I think the mindset of Nebraska is definetely where the problem lies, but I don't see much debate that we've lacked enthusiasm on the sideline, much less a killer instinct. Worse, I think some teams look at Nebraska as a wounded warrior; easier to beat but it still means something because we're still Nebraska.

You earn it on the field. But then, you always earn it on the field. Every game. Every year.

YES to the bold. Very much so. And I think that infects our team a bit, too.

I'm saying part of the reason we don't get teams down & step on their neck is that mentality. Frailty, lack of esprit de corps... whatever you want to call it. Maybe "letting up" wasn't the best phrase I ever came up with for a thread title, and I see I'm being held to that, when in reality if there's any "letting up," it's in the locker room before the game even starts. We seem to have athletes whose engines run on idle, when they have to have the RPMs racing from the opening kickoff.

I think what you were looking for is something that we've talked about here and elsewhere, many of the recent Nebraska teams think they're the Nebraska of lore because of a shared zip code and common uniforms. That's a problem and games like FAU need to continue.

Past players and former coaches alike have said this. NU needs to come out of the gate and play a complete 4 quarters of no mercy, a$$ kicking, play past the whistle, punch you in the throat football. Play like this and you will see opposing teams take notice. Will they be "scared"? That's a subjective word. Will a receiver be "short arming"balls across the middle? Possibly. QB and receivers "hearing footsteps"? Again possibly. RB's going down at first contact instead of trying to break tackles because the red horde is gunning for him in a huge gang tackle? Possibly.
All of this comes from a ruthless, but throat mentality that IMO has been absent from this team for several years. I hope the beat downs continue.

So you're saying, if the beatings continue, the morale will improve.

 

[JJ Husker]

So you're saying, if the beatings continue, the morale will improve.

That's how we roll at my place of business.

 

[LukeinNE]

I agree with the general point that the mystique of Nebraska has steadily eroded since....basically Osborne departed. It's a long road to get back there.

That said, I find this a curious time for a topic like this. Last Saturday, Nebraska did exactly what a vintage Husker team would've done to a cupcake: ran up an obscene number of yards, the game was over by halftime, lots of reserves, who played hard to the end. I would think that a relatively downer post like this would make more sense after a lackluster showing against someone.