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Sign up for our email list to be notified when we update the HF Blog. September 24th, 2007
Big Red Roundtable - Emergency Edition
The Husker blog party has convened an Emergency Roundtable meeting of the minds to discuss the state of the union that is Nebraska football. Read Husker Faithful's comments below, followed by links to other Husker football blog sites.
1) Assess the Huskers performance this season. What is going well, and what has surprised you?
Thank God for Sam Keller and the passing game. Without it, we'd be looking like Notre Dame, except with one win. The kicking game has been a pleasant surprise. Adi Kunalic continues to do well on kickoffs. Alex Henery has done a good job with the placekicking. One question though, when was the last time we had a punt return or kickoff return for a touchdown? I honestly can't remember. Other than the Blackshirts struggles, the biggest surprise for me has been the lack of intensity on that side of the ball. Other than Rickey Thenarse, Phillip Dillard and Steve Octavien, I can't think of anyone playing with a chip on their shoulder. What happened to Suh and Turner? Where's Corey McKeon hiding on the field? We haven't heard much from Corey either verbally or physically this season. That's surprising to me.
2) Let's not sugar coat things; the Blackshirts are
struggling. What do you think the issue is, and what
needs to be done to rectify things this season?
For most of last season I was of the opinion it was mainly a player personnel issue. Injuries and lack of depth hurt the Blackshirts along with poor tackling and missed opportunities. However, after the Ball State game, I'm convinced that whatever defensive philosophy Kevin Cosgrove employs, it is hindering our defensive playmakers from doing what they know how to do. How can we go from leading the country in sacks in 2005 to being near the bottom in 2006 and so far this season? How about putting Steve Octavien in as a rush end, similar to how Demorrio Williams was used by Bo Pelini? There has to be someone on the team capable of getting to the quarterback. Getting pressure on the passer will alleviate some of the other problems we're seeing, namely our DB's getting beat deep. I was under the impression that after the USC game, there were going to be changes made. Other than seeing Thenarse play more at safety, I didn't notice much of a difference. USC putting up a ton of yards is one thing. Ball State doing so is just unacceptable.
3) Kevin Cosgrove is the target of a lot of criticism
over the play of the Blackshirts. How will this play
out?
It will be interesting to see if Cosgrove sees the writing on the wall and quits or if it will come down on Callahan's shoulders to fire him. Will Billy C. fire one of his good friends? That is the $64,000 question. Changes need to be made one way or the other. The risk involved here is alienating a large part of the fan base with more subpar performances like we saw Saturday. Fans booing is one thing, but fans not supporting their program financially or vocally has a snowball effect. Everyone involved must realize this.
4) You went into this season with some expectations.
Has the start to this season changed your mind? Where
do you see the Huskers at the end of the season?
The Huskers win-loss record is exactly where I thought it would be at 3-1. The first two games went about as expected, but then the wheels came off. Look, USC is good, but they're not 11.1 yards per carry better than us. They're not running lanes as wide as a bus better than us. Even if our defense shows up and gives it their all, I still think we lose that game. If we stopped their run, they would have passed. We're not to that level yet. But this last game is the one that really changed my expectations for this season. If that's a sign of things to come, then we're in for a long season. A repeat performance like Ball State and we don't beat Kansas for sure. The Missouri game becomes a late night scoring festival. Can we outscore them? Who knows. K-State and Colorado...not too sure what to think at this point. And Iowa State is very schizophrenic. Our offense is good enough to compete for the Big 12 Championship, but I'm not sure we can even win the North at this point with our defense underachieving. The Blackshirts need to find a backbone and quick. If they do, then we're back in business.
5) There was a loud chorus of boos last weekend at
Memorial Stadium. Your reaction? Is it okay to boo
the Huskers under any circumstance?
I'm not in favor of booing because even if it's meant for the coaches, the players hear it. You get reactions like Steve Octavien's: "If they don't like it, they don't have to come and watch the game." That's not the message we want to be sending. I don't buy that it's a lack of effort by our players and I don't see them dogging it out there. It has to be the scheme and the coaching. Either they aren't being put in the right position to make a play or they're not buying into the defensive scheme. Regardless, there are problems that need immediate attention. Booing isn't going to solve them. Write letters to the editor and call in to local radio shows. But booing...come on. I'm only in favor of booing referees or opposing teams that cheap shot our quarterback.
Read other Husker blog comments at these links: MidWestCoastBias.com, CornNation.com, Husker Guy, BigRedNetwork.com, Husker Mike's Blasphemy
Comments (2)
Posted by Jon
Gerry, I understand your concerns about the defense. This year has been a shock to me on that side of the ball. The offense I\m not as worried about. With regards to your concerns about the quarterback position, Sam Keller is really the only one-year wonder Nebraska has had. Zac Lee is a junior college transfer who will have two years to play. Behind him is Patrick Witt who is a true freshman this year and coming in next year will be highly touted Blaine Gabbert. Hopefully Gabbert won\t end up being another Harrison Beck. But I would rather take my chances with the 5-star quarterback recruits than with the 3-stars. Eventually it will pay off. Defensively I think we have enough talent to at least be in the top 30 nationally. Is that too much to ask? So if we have the players, then it must be the coaching and/or schemes.
Posted by Gerry
I listened to the defensive ranking numbers for the blackshirts this morning and I don\t think I have ever heard of them being ranked in the 100th and lower ranking in the 20 years that I have watched them. This program has severe fundamental flaws and it does not appear that it is getting better on a year to year basis. I for one am very disappointed in the direction the defense has taken and I am cautiously optimistic about the offense. My concern on offense is that with our supposedly great recruiting classes, we have not recruited any depth at quarterback. These 1 year wonders do not inspire confidence that there will be any consistency in the quarterback area. I can see Sam Keller as the bridge player to provide the young blood quarterback time to mature, but where is the young blood quarterback.
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