A lot of you have probably already read this:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...1/06/couch-column-nebraska-football/75221314/
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...1/06/couch-column-nebraska-football/75221314/
From Lansing State Journal
- Thread starter Bugeater
- Start date
I thought it was a great article. I think it was pretty objective. It pointed out that hiring Riley was odd. As it stated he has only had one double digit winning season in his career. The writer wrote about our strength as an option team and how we have gone away from it. What is our identity now?
That's a very good article and would encourage others to read it. It's also worth pointing out that it comes from someone outside of the fishbowl here, so it comes with a bit of built in objectivity.
This statement in particular stood out to me:
"The modern Huskers are a result of greed and lack of self-awareness."
The end of the article is also on the mark:
"Nebraska went cheap."
This statement in particular stood out to me:
"The modern Huskers are a result of greed and lack of self-awareness."
The end of the article is also on the mark:
"Nebraska went cheap."
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"Maybe first-year coach Mike Riley is the answer. He’s widely considered a bright offensive coach — implementing a pro-style system — and a decent man. But he left the cupboard bare at Oregon State and only won double-digit games there once in 14 years, making the 62-year-old a strange hire at a place that gags at nine-win seasons."
Thanks for posting this. I don't think it has to be "option". Our identity is #1 great defense with superior speed getting the ball back, and #2 brutal power offense above all - setting up misdirection/ground game reads & play action when the defense sells out to stop the beating they are taking from the power game #3 emphasis on changing the game with special teams. From Johnny Rodgers to DeJaun Groce to regularly blocking kicks giving our offense more time to brutalize. "Strategic" synergy. Key word strategic - based on what we as a low population non-climate advantaged program need to do to differentiate and win. We can't beat e.g. So. Cal at their own game. Commitment to power vs soft dabbling at the run game. Speed on defense at all positions. Fast linebackers, fast defensive ends. Stop offenses before their plays get started.
I've been saying this for a while and it will take an alum like Scott Frost to bring it back. I'm not saying this would be like it was back in the glory days, but probably the only way NU ever becomes relevant again.
What you're really saying is, you two agree on something. Big difference.
"He get's it" is just a way for people tell each other how smart they are since they share the same belief.
In that case, there's a whole lotta people telling each other they're smart on both sides.
There is more validity in that piece than the pro-Riley crowd would like to admit. I would venture to say that this article depicts how the outside college football world views Nebraska more accurately than the people who like Riley solely because he isn't Bo Pelini.
Plenty of "outsiders" loved our hire and still do. Does their opinion count at all here? Or just the people's opinion "who get it"?
Those are sunshine pumpers and "nice guys" who don't want to appear negative. The results speak for themselves.
How's this, im not for Bo and not exactly pro Riley (i was stunned as any when he was hired), im just a born Husker fan that will support anything Huskers, threw crap seasons to good season's. Riley is our coach now and hes not going anywhere for 3 to 5 years and instead of bitchin and belly achin over ever struggle we have, im going to do my best to cheer the team on, help do my part to get the recruits we need and simply love being a HUSKER.
I don't get the whole Bolievers and pro Riley crap anyways, why can't we just be Husker fans instead and support our team? Fans that whine, bitch and complain can say that they don't hurt the team at all by what they do, but as much as they don't want to admit it, we do affect the team and recruiting more then we want to acknowledge.
So if they disagree with you, they are just sunshine pumpers, but if they agree with you, they "get it". Gotcha.
Option football will NEVER work to produce a winning, top program ... need to get over this.
Nebraska's biggest mistake in the last 18 years, concerning football was joining the Big 10.
No one from Michigan, or frankly no one from the Big 10 is in any position of sustained success to make comments about Nebraska football.
Riley is less of an odd choice, than Calahan and Pelini were.
Nebraska's biggest mistake in the last 18 years, concerning football was joining the Big 10.
No one from Michigan, or frankly no one from the Big 10 is in any position of sustained success to make comments about Nebraska football.
Riley is less of an odd choice, than Calahan and Pelini were.
Firing Bo and hiring Mike was certainly a step forward. We needed a significant shift at the helm, and Mike is a nice guy with tons of experience. That doesn't mean it was the right step forward.
Interesting.
A few things I believe:
1- NU has accomplished nothing over the course of the last 12-season experiment of trying to be like everyone else.
2- One of the things that made NU special for so many years was their unique, smash mouth offense.
3- As long as we continue trying to be like everyone else, we'll never be more than average most years.
As odd as it sounds to me, maybe it does take a 'smart' person to see the whole picture, to see that if what you're doing now isn't working, then maybe you should go back to doing what worked before. Seems pretty simple to me.
If given a choice, I would not take Larry, Moe, or Curly. Just because something is less bad does not make it a good option.
Concerning the article, it is an opinion and does not help us in our current situation. If nothing were to change, keeping Solich would not have helped us nor kept us at a highly competitive level.
Edit: I failed to mention the option offense. I prefer a run-heavy offense, meaning greater than 50% running (not including sacks and broken pass plays). Would depend on a coaching staffs talents/knowledge as to the offense installed. So, I don't lean for or against on option based attack.
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Bring back Nebraska players as coaches and bring back the option,or this is what you can expect Nebraska football to be forever.Nebraska is not Alabama the Floridas' Ohio State et al.It cannot offer the same things and will ever be able to recruit and get the same athletes.The option is a great offense ,not seen much by other teams and Nebraska can make it work again.
Not too many option coaches left out there. G-Tech, Navy come to mind. Would be nice to go to a style similar to the 80's. 90's, but don't see that happening any time soon.
We don't have to run an "option offense", but I'd love to see the option as a weapon in our playbook. Tommy has looked good running the option when he's been given the chance. I remember we ran the option on the goal line a few weeks ago - why not run that play more often?
What TO was running in the 80s is more ideal. Power, toss, misdirection with option sprinkled in. Main thing they need to do is established an physical identity and build on that. It helps the defense because that's what they see everyday in practice..
I have to ask what Frost brings to the table besides he played and starred for Nebraska? He didn't even pick them out of high school. He also runs an offense that is totally opposite to what you want. He has zero experience as a head coach and even limited experience as a coordinator but yet he is the hailed as the savior of this program because he is from Nebraska. If he were any other coordinator across the country his name would not be on anyone's lips.
Frost may well be a tremendous head coach some day but he has zero track record right now. I am not defending the MR hire as he is criticized because of his age and lack of consistent winning. Frost is young which does not seem to be a problem with some and has no experience at the top which is equally not a problem.
I have hired hundreds of people over the years and I do not hire on speculation of success because of the state and past business they came from.
Read this interview Scott did a few years ago about what offense he'd want to run as a head coach: Link
"I would love to see somebody go back to doing what Nebraska used to do. Personally, I’d love to someday mix a lot of the concepts that Oregon runs with some of the aspects Nebraska used to run. . . . The one thing I wish we could do at Oregon is be a little more physical. I don’t think that’s a secret. I think everybody on our staff wishes we could be a little more physical on offense. That’s what Nebraska’s calling card was. If we could play fast and physical, I don’t think there’s anybody in the country who could stop us.”
"I would love to see somebody go back to doing what Nebraska used to do. Personally, I’d love to someday mix a lot of the concepts that Oregon runs with some of the aspects Nebraska used to run. . . . The one thing I wish we could do at Oregon is be a little more physical. I don’t think that’s a secret. I think everybody on our staff wishes we could be a little more physical on offense. That’s what Nebraska’s calling card was. If we could play fast and physical, I don’t think there’s anybody in the country who could stop us.”
I'll be interested to see what Frost's vision is once he gets a crack somewhere as a head coach...if he'll stick more to what he/they do at Oregon or if he'll have a hybrid Chip Kelly/TO type of offense
Loved that game, Keith Jones ran over Colorado like he was at a track meet. Loved that Stanford just pounded the hell out of them (cu) today. Nothing against the cu players, but those fans are still idiots.
