As i remember, way back in the early fall before the season started several people set out some benchmarks of what they'd like to see from this year's team. Most said they wanted to see progress, sort of an unquantifiable term, but most said progress would be a solid bowl game and a 8-3 or 7-4 record. It now appears that the team has reached those expectations.
We're currently 7-4 and, while probably not looking at a new year's day bowl, are still looking at something respectable. IMO the defense for the most part has played much better than last year. The pass rush is now statistically in the top five in husker history, and believe it or not, that's not just because of the front four or seven, but you've got to credit the relatively young and inexperienced secondary too. The linebacking corps lost two starters, one a bona fide playmaker and the other at the very least a stud athlete.
The running game struggled the second half of the season, but we also played much better run defenses in that stretch. The upperclassmen on the O-line were injured for most the the second half of the season and we played several freshman and sophomores in their place.
The receiving corps has shown marked improvement and did so without Mr. Herian and two questionable replacements in his stead. We've got a freshman receiver who trails only the great Johnny Rodgers for catches and yardage in a season, and no Rodgers didn't play in strictly a running system.
Most importantly though, the staff got the team to play for them and for each other. There could have been another monumental collapse as we saw last season and no one would have blamed the team for it, but instead the boys kept their heads up, took ownership of their mistakes and played their hearts out for each other and for their coaches.
From my perspective all these things point to progress. I'm not just dwelling on the positives of the season as there have been several disappointments as well and we're all well aware of the letdown at Kansas, the horrible first half against Oklahoma etc. However, just as the great teams of the past were epitomized by the likes of Frazier, Wistrom, Connealy and Mike Brown, I feel this year's team is no different and we can look to the play and leadership of Taylor, Ross, Carriker, Moore, and McKeon and say they all stood in there, took their shots and refused to flinch.
I haven't been around the board for several weeks because i couldn't stand to see the extreme reactions from so many people after every game. IMHO the only true way to judge a team and staff is by their season taken as a whole. Judging the team and staff on a game by game basis is somewhat silly in my book as all but the very best teams will go through tough games each season and so far this year all but two have lost.
Its true that at the beginning of the season i was counting on KU as a win and after the 5-1 start i expected MU to be a win as well. But again, I'm unwilling to judge any team or staff based on a handful of games or even worse, a handful of plays. As far as I'm concerned the entire coaching staff has done quite well this season and deserves our support and respect. Anyone who says otherwise is being shortsighted in my opinion, or maybe buying into so much of the media hype that IMO has tried to stir the pot so to speak.
As far as I know most of the folks on this board aren't insiders with the program and most have not played major college football, so if you don't feel like listening to me b/c i'm just another average joe like y'all then look at some other threads and see what former coaches and players have to say. I haven't heard or read anything but positive comments and high praise for the the coaches and players. If anyone knows what's really going on its those guys and not a bunch of outsiders. For me that's enough to throw wholehearted support behind the entire coaching staff and every single player.
I'm proud to be a husker fan and can't wait til the bowl game. Go Big Red.