The hate is strong in this thread...
But this thread is so ridiculous I have to respond. What you're seeing on the field is a result of two things:
- Bo's undertalented first two recruiting classes have rolled back around to hurt us. There is no way that Fisher or Whaley, based strictly strictly on what they have shown on the field this year, should be taking the field as Blackshirts. I'd also lump Meredith into this group, as though he does his job a lot of the time and contains well at end, is slow as dirt peeling off blocks and therefore doesn't make plays at the edge, and provides virtually no pass rush whatsoever. But the point is, these kids still have to be troopers and go out there and play, because we have NO ONE BETTER at the current time. Our front 7 depth is terrible, as the young bucks aren't quite ready to take the reigns yet. This results in our defensive talent not being where it needs to be to run our defense effectively.
- Bo, as he is relatively young in his coaching career, is still stubbornly trying to make his scheme work. We've seen it produce amazing results in 09 and 10 when we had the most freakish defensive player in all of college football and our secondary was loaded, but we simply don't have the pieces right now. As a result we get guys out of position on a lot of plays either due to lack of comprehension of the system or lack of athletic ability and the big plays flow when we're on D. I do think the defensive backfield is our saving grace on defense (if we have one) which is the only reason our defense isn't one of the worst in all of CFB I do believe this will get better when the younger linebackers get up to speed (if they pan out as we all hope) and we finally find a way to stock the cupboard again at DL.
So, to recap, it's a cumulative thing. We failed to bring in the pieces we need to run our D well, and now we continue to try and make it work even when it resembles swiss cheese.
I think the people already calling for Bo's head are ridiculous knee-jerkers. I personally don't know if Taylor Martinez is the one to lead this team to a BCS bowl game and beyond... I find myself doubting whether he has the consistency, composure, and intangibles as a QB in order to lead us to big wins. I also think the people calling Bo on promoting coaching buddies are asinine. Beck, though he has gone full retard in big game situations and directly taken us out of contention with bad, imbalanced playcalling, has shown flashes of brilliance as an OC. Keep in mind, this is his SECOND full season as an OC. Give the guy some dang time and I think he will flourish and eventually become a very good offensive playcaller. I do think that this is a prove it season for Cotton, but I'll wait and see the rest of the season before I make my opinion on that. His OL has looked very good this year, aside from the UCLA game and OSU games, at times. But what facet of the team didn't look terrible in those game at times? B*tching about his kids getting schollies is idiotic, as Ben is a great TE and Sam is on the 2 deep at OL. They've been GOOD uses of scholarships.
I have no problem with Papuchis. He's also learning on the fly as his first season as a DC, but he showed great fire in that Arky State game. That's the kind of passion I want from someone so involved in the team we love. The fact is, Bo, Beck, and JP are learning on the fly at their respective positions. I do think eventually they will get a feel for the nuances and less obvious coaching intricacies that great coaches need to know. I think eventually Bo will learn to devise an altered gameplan for mobile QB's, as his job will be in jeopardy if he keeps getting destroyed by them, and he will lead the Nebraska Cornhuskers to great things given enough time and improvement on the recruiting front.
Sorry, end rant. Had to get that off my chest. All the trolls need to GTFO.